For Postarity

Been reading through The Aeronaut's Windlass, and so far quite enjoyed it. Not done yet, but considering I'm at the 600+ pages mark with only a dozen chapters or so to go, the book would darn near need to pull a Thomas Covenant to reverse my positive opinion at this stage.

(Long time fantasy readers will know what that means. I would only recommend that book if you're a writer, and want to see how it's possible to utterly throw every scrap of compassion and sympathy your readers ever felt for your main character into a pit full of hellfire with only a single chapter. )

Anyway, speaking of more pleasant things, one thing caught my eye, though:

'I would knock down a spire, for you, Littlemouse."

I am so calling foreshadowing on that one line. It's just so Butcher's style.

Comments

[RanmaChaos]

I liked "The Aeronaut's Windlass" a lot. My one complaint is that a sketch of the blaster gauntlet should have been included. Beyond a glove with a crystal in the palm, I just can't imagine what it looks like. The "cage" thing confuses me.

[Lord Of Dorkness]

4333908

My personal guess was some sort of Faraday cage like construction, since the crystals whole deal is changing one type of energy into another, and etheric energy is heavily implied to be the local magnetosphere.

So if that's the case, it's basically a metal mash covered in heat resistant cloth. From the outside, that would look just like an ungainly and stiff glove.

I would admit I would have liked a more detailed description of them and the long-guns, though. Both those were rather glossed over in all but function.

[psychosis]

4333946 I was thinking more like a leather glove with a crystal set in the palm, and a network of copper/brass pipes extended outward and around the arm, acting as a cooling system/converter, as they do mention overheating being an issue. Thus the cage description, since the overall affect would be a leather gauntlet wrapped in a cage of piping.

[Lord Of Dorkness]

4334203

Also a fair enough read, but I have to admit that, personally, that sounds way too heavy and bulky for practical combat use.