rannald, on 10 March 2011 - 11:19 PM, said:
i just reread the book, but i thought the whole ending of this book was fantastically written, the whole thing left me sad,
but really
1) mallets reaction to the circumstances of whiskeyjacks death was painful to read,
2) quick ben leaving the pebble behind so he and kalam could return,
3) Gruntles view on Dujek's "ive lost a friend" bit
since re-reading the series ive noticed that while DG and MoI left me feeling sad none of the other books has had this reaction with me
You know, I'm with you on that, except maybe TTH. DG and MOI, though, for all the progress they were making, ended on more of a downnote than anything uplifting. I mean sure, soletaken events, refugees saved and 7C crises averted, but at a horrific cost. In MOI -- Pannion Domin crisis averted, but again, what horrifying, extraordinary cost. In future books (I don't know how far you or others who might be reading these might have gone so I'm loathe to be specific), tragic, crushing things happen, but the benefit is more immediately tangible, whether sacrificing oneself to save an entire force, or to, er, reconcile with estranged family members. Later deaths, while equally painful (in my opinion) don't have that sense of 'son of a biscuit that could have been entirely averted if someone pulled their head out of their pooper' that so much of those first two had: Trotts and Detoran died because Envy wasn't paying attention; Whiskeyjack died because he was too stubborn to get his leg properly healed; Pormqual's army could have helped Coltaine's army and averted their entire slaughter ... that sort of thing. Even Itkovian's death wasn't really the tragic part of that whole thing, because he died giving some measure of mercy to a race so removed from the concept that it brought them to their knees.
Yeah, that sort of thing. Or maybe that's just how
I see it, I have no idea. ;D