WhiskeyJackDaniels, on 17 November 2010 - 04:37 PM, said:
I don't get why you can't wrap your head around the idea that Laseen would know who a prominent and wealthy citizen, who was also the pre-eminent scholar on her predecessors and herself, was. Just because it didn't happen in the 5 seconds of screen time we got of Laseen and Tavore before HoC doesn't mean it didn't happen.
By your reasoning it makes just as much sense to question how the hell Lorn became adjunct, because we never get any backstory on her other than the fact that she grew up in the Mouse. Which, btw, Laseen had destroyed basically in her time as regent. It seems like perhaps Lorn would be much less trust-worthy as Laseen's chosen adjunct than a woman whose brother was part of an army that was fake-exiled for political reasons.
I don't require a backstory to every character, just when a character launches into importance from obscurity in a way that seems a little too convenient to be underexplained.
I like Abyss' explanation because it at least shows how Tavore managed to get noticed, but what could have been done, for example, would be that during the scene where Paran returns to his home estate in GotM and meets his sisters, there could have been some mention of Tavore's "career" advancing within Paran's musings or something like that.
We don't need a backstory on Lorn because she's established as the "character who is the adjunct" from the beginning.
And yes, I DO trust SE. That's why these are "little points" and in no way ruining my enjoyment of the series.
Thanks for the replies. I have read all of the books, so no worries about spoilers, but it's my first full "in order" re-read and I'm already surprised at all the details I've missed/forgotten.