I agree that she seems sympathetic to paganism (I haven't read enough of her books set during Christian eras to know how it compares) - the protagonists tend to end up fighting people whipped up by pagan priests because, well, that's the kind of priests who were around to whip people up.
And she seems strangely fond of the Little Dark People - I'm thinking specifically of Anhalt in Knight's Fee, who is very positively portrayed for a non-warrior in Sutcliff. (Of course, she is a healer. Drat, now I'm going to be thinking over all the Sutcliffs I've read to see if there are any acceptable career paths other than warrior or healer.)
Are the Little Dark People in any of her other books? I want to know more about the Little Dark People.
And I agree, it's specifically the priests and their ability to manipulate people she's skeptical about. The religious laypeople just get on with their lives, about as sympathetically as everyone else.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-08-03 03:45 pm (UTC)And she seems strangely fond of the Little Dark People - I'm thinking specifically of Anhalt in Knight's Fee, who is very positively portrayed for a non-warrior in Sutcliff. (Of course, she is a healer. Drat, now I'm going to be thinking over all the Sutcliffs I've read to see if there are any acceptable career paths other than warrior or healer.)
Are the Little Dark People in any of her other books? I want to know more about the Little Dark People.
And I agree, it's specifically the priests and their ability to manipulate people she's skeptical about. The religious laypeople just get on with their lives, about as sympathetically as everyone else.