Gernian Character Discussion (spoilers all SS books)

[Nightchade]

Well I finished the SS series a few weeks ago. I didn’t feel the bereavement that the ending of the Farseer series brought about but having read several books since and started and left a couple of others, I’m still missing the depth and challenges RH’s tales bring. I didn’t enjoy SS as much as the other trilogies and I don’t think I’ll revisit it as with the others but compared to a lot of other stuff out there it was still an excellent read. I must say I wearied at one point through Shamen’s Crossing but with the later books found I didn’t want to put them down.

Looking back at my last post I can see I was well off the mark with Dewara who was killed a few pages later! Caulder didn’t develop much either as I thought he might but did redeem himself I felt. I think there was more that could have been developed with both these and other characters. A long time seemed to be spent introducing some characters who then just fizzled out, Gord for example. As for Nevare (who I think refers to himself as a ‘prig’ at some point!) I did like him. He was kind and principled,stoic and hardworking. However, while I felt the depiction of a character who is essentially split in two was well done and a fascinating concept, the device also made each half frustrating to know and left me feeling the character was less ‘rounded’ (.. when of course he couldn’t be rounded as he was split; very very clever writing on one hand but a bit alienating to the reader on the other). I found myself constantly wanting to shake Nevare for being so cautious and slapping Soldier’s Boy for being so unthinking. As a joined entity the character was more likeable and I actually warmed more to Nevare when the ‘naughty’ side prevailed,such as when he was playing pranks in the academy. (I wrote this a while ago meaning to post it sooner but I'm just realising now that the effect was to 'split' me as a reader...hah!)

A downside for me was that Nevare seemed clearly ‘torn’ between the Speck and Gernians, the cultures he was exposed to, but never seemed to extend empathy in the end towards the Plainspeople and their beliefs. As a child and young man he had seen the injustices and been upset by them but the adult Nevare didn’t waste too much time stressing about them losing their magic etc. I felt that the Plainspeople were the real losers here and, having realised the unwitting harm done to one culture I would have expected Nevare to have been more upset about the Plainspeople and the harm done to them.