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Seriously, Thom. What were you thinking???
May. 7th, 2012 08:17 amI'm going to get back to George and the Bazhir (and, now that I've finished Lioness Rampant, the Doi and the K'mir, and Pierce's treatment of tribal peoples in general). But for now, on the topic of Lioness Rampant: my kingdom for some motivations!
I mean, I can just about wrap my mind around Roger's motivations (thwarted ambition! Also, being dead makes you crazy), and Delia's (who thinks she's going to be Roger's queen), and Josiane's (thwarted love for Jonathan/being Jonathan's queen! Also, apparently being from the Copper Islands makes you crazy), and Ralon's (thwarted ambition again. Jon and company chased him out of page training, for what was - in Ralon's mind, at least - mere customary hazing of Alanna).
But Alex. Alex's motivation is that - he wants to prove he's a better swordsman than Alanna? I'm not at all clear that this is his motivation, but no better explanation is offered...except that even by the fairly low standards set by the other villains' motivations, this makes no sense.
Why does proving that he's a better swordsman than Alanna involve sitting back and letting Corus be destroyed? - and the text states explicitly that Alex knows Roger's true plans (is, in fact, the only one who does; Delia et al just think Roger means to be king), so it's not like he doesn't know what's going to happen. He can't just corner her during sword practice and badger her into a duel?
But most of all, WHAT IS DRIVING THOM? Yes, yes, he wanted to prove he was a great sorcerer by resurrecting a dead person, but Tortall is a large kingdom with lots and lots of dead people, most of whom are not traitors to the crown who were killed by his very own twin sister, any one of whom Thom could resurrect!
(Also, doesn't resurrecting a traitor to the crown seem awfully treasonous? Or is that just me?)
I've read that in the original, unpublished, adult book version of SotL, Thom and Roger were lovers (which is its own barrel of worms...) but that doesn't make any sense in SotL as published, because Thom hates and fears Roger even more than Alanna, so clearly is not so in love with him to bring him back from the dead against all reason.
I can only assume that the Sorcerer's Sleep Roger cast upon himself included a compulsion that forced Thom to raise him. It would have been nice to have that stated somewhere.
I mean, I can just about wrap my mind around Roger's motivations (thwarted ambition! Also, being dead makes you crazy), and Delia's (who thinks she's going to be Roger's queen), and Josiane's (thwarted love for Jonathan/being Jonathan's queen! Also, apparently being from the Copper Islands makes you crazy), and Ralon's (thwarted ambition again. Jon and company chased him out of page training, for what was - in Ralon's mind, at least - mere customary hazing of Alanna).
But Alex. Alex's motivation is that - he wants to prove he's a better swordsman than Alanna? I'm not at all clear that this is his motivation, but no better explanation is offered...except that even by the fairly low standards set by the other villains' motivations, this makes no sense.
Why does proving that he's a better swordsman than Alanna involve sitting back and letting Corus be destroyed? - and the text states explicitly that Alex knows Roger's true plans (is, in fact, the only one who does; Delia et al just think Roger means to be king), so it's not like he doesn't know what's going to happen. He can't just corner her during sword practice and badger her into a duel?
But most of all, WHAT IS DRIVING THOM? Yes, yes, he wanted to prove he was a great sorcerer by resurrecting a dead person, but Tortall is a large kingdom with lots and lots of dead people, most of whom are not traitors to the crown who were killed by his very own twin sister, any one of whom Thom could resurrect!
(Also, doesn't resurrecting a traitor to the crown seem awfully treasonous? Or is that just me?)
I've read that in the original, unpublished, adult book version of SotL, Thom and Roger were lovers (which is its own barrel of worms...) but that doesn't make any sense in SotL as published, because Thom hates and fears Roger even more than Alanna, so clearly is not so in love with him to bring him back from the dead against all reason.
I can only assume that the Sorcerer's Sleep Roger cast upon himself included a compulsion that forced Thom to raise him. It would have been nice to have that stated somewhere.
