But I thought I could post some of those I did remember here perhaps as I go. Most likely they'll not be very coherent, but it's something. Maybe there's a better place for this sort of rambling in which case this could all be moved.
I've only read the first two Chronicles once before. They were recommended to me very strongly with the caveat that they are "pretty grim", which they are of course, and I remember them being so when I read them. But I have to say I'm finding it far more so this time round. I suppose that, now, I'm both less overwhelmed by everything, since it's not all new, and my perspective is different in that I am also aware to some extent of where things are going, or where we are in the grand scheme.
But this time even LFB was quite hard going - again perhaps because I'm aware of what the long-term consequences in there are going to be - and TIW is nearly unbearable to read. Not just "that chapter", but really the whole thing. The bleak tone and sense of hopelessness almost all the way through make it a gruelling experience.
In my memory, though, TIW stood out as being rather like that (as does TWL) so it wasn't much of a surprise. But what I did not remember is how distressing TPTP is. I've actually been making very slow progress through it, in part because I can only really take it small doses. One thing I did remember, at least generally, is the "real world" beginning. I've actually always found these to be some of the most memorable and unsettling parts of the Chronicles
Spoiler
(that in ROTE in particular, actually).
That's me being hyperbolic of course. (Hey, I'm on the second beer.) Reading this morning the sixth chapter "The Defence of Mithil Stonedown" [Defense, if you insist] a couple of things did occur to me. One is that I was reminded of how I aware I was that the Land seems very sparsely populated. I know I'm hardly the first person to bring this up, but in the re-read of LFB I did find myself thinking, as I did the first time, that it seemed like the Land was largely empty space; the travelling time between settlements is huge. SRD addresses this in a Gradual Interview question (more or less saying that he describes just what needs to be described, and once you've seen one Stonedown you've seen them all) but the impression prevails. And in this chapter there's a mention of the nearest settlement to Mithil Stonedown being "thirty leagues away", which seems quite a distance to me. One one level I wonder how such a society really could work. But then I wonder about the whole "battle for the Land", since it really seems to be more about the Land itself (geographically) than about its population. If I were feeling uncharitable I might say that that seems a bit self-indulgent (on the part of the Lords) but I think it's rather a reversal of the usual model. The struggle is almost a matter of principle. I suppose that makes sense, given especially given that as far as TC is concerned at this point the whole thing is allegorical/metaphorical anyway.
The other thing is about the descriptive style. I watched recently the SRD interview on his website from June 2004, and was particularly struck by one of his responses where he said that he doesn't see things in his mind then describe them, but rather he only sees them once he's described them. So in other words if he doesn't describe it he doesn't see it. And it sort of clarified something I've been feeling throughout the reread, which is a- and at this point my vocabulary fails me - a different sort of descriptive vividness from the cinematic sort of experience I get from other writers. I suppose it is more internal and emotional; and sometimes the description, even when it's of pretty significant events, is pretty matter-of-fact. For instance:
Perhaps the point is that the real focus at that particular moment is not really on the end of the battle, but rather on TC who is having a, shall we say, somewhat awkward conversation with Lena (is that a spoiler? Do I need to spoiler-out first-Chronicles spoilers here?), but when I read it this morning, I have to say that what it most reminded me of in style was, bizarrely, the Old Testament, at least in the King James Version. Now I'm not exactly a religious person but I did read the KJV cover to cover last year (and I'm pretty sure that SRD has more than a passing familiarity with the book, even if not in that version). And perhaps I'm exaggerating in the comparison, and also it's no doubt not remotely deliberate, but it is what it made me think of.(...) Then a hoarse shout from the Stonedown rescued him. Looking down, he saw people standing in the centre of the village with their swords and spears upraised. Beyond them, the surviving marauders had fled for their lives towards the open plains. A handful of the defenders gave savage pursuit, harried the creatures to prevent as many as possible from escaping.
I'd better stop now (for now); that was all no doubt incomprehensible enough. It does seem to me that I remember the first two books of both the first two Chronicles far better than the third in each case, so I'm in for a lot of surprises. (I really have next to no recollection of how TPTP ends.)
someone stop me....!!). This book is so masterfully written, and the renewal of the story is so compelling...
). Until the end of TIW he actually behaves like a straightforward hero. He tries, to the best of his abilities, to help the Land. He's a fallguy really, because we know that you cannot defeat Despite with good intentions.