irilyth: (Only in Kenya)
irilyth ([personal profile] irilyth) wrote in [personal profile] psocoptera 2012-06-19 10:29 am (UTC)

I wonder if Cashore's Thing TM is something like "characters who define themselves by overcoming their past", since that's certainly what Bitterblue is doing here (and I find that kind of thing somewhat interesting in general), maybe somewhat what Fire is doing in her book (although I've forgotten most of the details, and my memory of it now is that it was more like she was carried along by the plot in a constant state of exhaustion and injury than that she actually did anything, for most of the book; but I could be wrong about that), and definitely what Katsa is doing in Graceling. But you're certainly right that Graceling was a lot more fun and badass, and Bitterblue is more sober and reflective.

I also liked Death a lot. From a literary point of view, why did she name him "Death, rhymes with teeth", and not, say "Deeth" or "Dieth" or any other variation? It's not like Gracelingian is secretly English, or that anyone else in the book has names that are pronounced differently than they're spelled (well, as far as we know :^). Is it just a Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey reference? (If so, I sadly did not get it.)

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