Characters you dislike (spoiler alert)

[Sarah]

Do you find as you read these books theres people you can't help but
dislike? For me Arianna tops this particular list.

I've just reached the part in the Sea Watch where she dies, and
honestly, how relieved I am! I found her constant oscillation between
sides extremely wearying, and her constant apparent soul searching
even more so. I call it apparent soul searching because well, she only
goes out to save Stenwold once Teornis is already overboard, so I got
the strong impression she was once more trying to do an about turn and
hedge her bets.For a Spider, she seemed to me to embody all the less
likeable and admirable qualities of that kinden, and very few of the
redeeming ones.

[Ian Toltz]

I really liked Arianna, and was annoyed when she died because it seemed like she was just coming into her own...

I dislike Totho. Never really got a good grasp on the character, and he just seems to make really, really boneheaded decisions.

--
-Ian Toltz

[Sarah]

I like how Totho was in the Scarab Path, how he handled the Iron Path
men and dealth with Amnon, his efforts in that war etc. But yes, this
blind spot of his concerning Che, and all the stupid stupid things it
makes him do, is quite an annoying thing about him.

On Dec 23, 10:16 am, Ian Toltz <ito...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I really liked Arianna, and was annoyed when she died because it seemed
> like she was just coming into her own...
>
> I dislike Totho. Never really got a good grasp on the character, and he
> just seems to make really, really boneheaded decisions.
>

[Gabriel Brouillard]

I have to say I dislike Jakal and Hrathen from The Scarab Path (which
is currently as far as I am within the series). Jakal's death was too
unceremonious and Hrathen's well-deserved. The latter really rubbed me
the wrong way. I found him quite annoying to read. Hrathen was nothing
more than an imperial brownnoser to my eyes and though he did play his
cards moderately well up until the end, I don't feel all that moved to
mourn him.

Gabriel

[Roderick Easton]

Arianna, I think, does typify the worst of Spider-kinden, but perhaps realises it more than most, which is ultimately to her disadvantage.

Totho, on the other hand, has been continually looked down on, discriminated against and unconsciously dismissed.  If the college had taken him seriously at all, they would have had the Snapbow, not Drephos.  Yes, he makes some foolish mistakes, but then again he's a moody teenager with a crush and a victim complex.  Once he decides what he's going to do with himself, It goes very well: see Scarab Path.

Thalric is still to receive his just desserts, in my opinion [Up to the end of Sea Watch].  In some ways he's admirable.  He is brilliant at what he does, has overcome some of the rage and prejudice of his kinden and is extremely loyal.  Then again, he has done execrable things without batting an eyelid and got away with it again and again and again.  Not even being married to Seda is punishment enough.

Roderick

[Ian Toltz]

I don't know about "without batting an eyelid"... Thalric has acknowledged that he's done terrible things that can't really be excused. There's definitely a hint of remorse there, particularly with regard to the slaughter of the Dragonfly-kinden children and (SPOILER for... one of the first two books-------------------------) being forced to kill his old friend, the governor of Myna.

Not saying he hasn't done terrible things, just saying that he does have a conscience and it eats at him a bit. It's actually a rather important part of the character.

--
-Ian Toltz

[Sarah]

I got the distinct impression that increasing disenchantment with what
he was asked to do for the Empire (kill old friends, assasinate
children) by his superiors when compared against the increasingly
visible fact that these things were done for the generals rather than
the Empire's good, is what drove him to eventually make his (multiple)
breaks from the Empire.

On Dec 24, 12:26 am, Ian Toltz <ito...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I don't know about "without batting an eyelid"... Thalric has acknowledged
> that he's done terrible things that can't really be excused. There's
> definitely a hint of remorse there, particularly with regard to the
> slaughter of the Dragonfly-kinden children and (SPOILER for... one of the
> first two books-------------------------) being forced to kill his old
> friend, the governor of Myna.
>
> Not saying he hasn't done terrible things, just saying that he does have a
> conscience and it eats at him a bit. It's actually a rather important part
> of the character.
>

> On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 5:26 AM, Roderick Easton <tonbo.kar...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Arianna, I think, does typify the worst of Spider-kinden, but perhaps
> > realises it more than most, which is ultimately to her disadvantage.
>
> > Totho, on the other hand, has been continually looked down on,
> > discriminated against and unconsciously dismissed.  If the college had
> > taken him seriously at all, they would have had the Snapbow, not Drephos.
> > Yes, he makes some foolish mistakes, but then again he's a moody teenager
> > with a crush and a victim complex.  Once he decides what he's going to do
> > with himself, It goes very well: see Scarab Path.
>
> > Thalric is still to receive his just desserts, in my opinion [Up to the
> > end of Sea Watch].  In some ways he's admirable.  He is brilliant at what
> > he does, has overcome some of the rage and prejudice of his kinden and is
> > extremely loyal.  Then again, he has done execrable things without batting
> > an eyelid and got away with it again and again and again.  Not even being
> > married to Seda is punishment enough.
>
> > Roderick
>

[Roderick Easton]

In some ways, that's my point.  If he ever believed that killing every 10th man in a Collegium would be the best thing for the Empire, as he understands it, he would do that without a qualm.  In some ways, he'd make a better General of the Rekef than any of the three.