Gernian Character Discussion (spoilers all SS books)

[Farseer]

I thought I'd begin this thread for general discussions on the Soldier Son characters? As this is a Gernian thread, any comparisons or comments regarding the Realm of the Elderlings, will need spoiler tags.

[Nightchade]

Hmmm, I'm about half way through the first book. So far finding Navare a bit of a prig!

[Farseer]

A lot of people seem to find that about Nevare, Nightchade. I can't see it myself but then I possibly got so caught up with looking for RotE connections that I may have to one day go back and re-read SS, for it's own sake!

Of course, maybe I am also priggish, and so he suits me as a character just fine! It will be interesting to hear how you feel further down the track.

[Nightchade]

Re 'finding Nevare a bit of a prig'

It will be interesting to hear how you feel further down the track.

Well here I am down the track a few chapters into Forest Mage . Now he's a fat prig!

I was hoping he would just take off on his own after the wedding fiasco but... nahhh..however..Sgt D is talking about tracking down Dewara so that sounds interesting. I rather liked Dewara until he dumped the abused young Navare back home...the rotter.

I'm rather warming to Caulder and have hopes that he might develop in an interesting Hobbsy kind of way.

[Farseer]

Re 'finding Nevare a bit of a prig'

Well here I am down the track a few chapters into Forest Mage . Now he's a fat prig!

I don't agree...well, he is fat...but hilarious nonetheless!

As for Caulder, I didn't take to him at all ( ), and just sat here reading your post thinking, "Really?!" It's just incredible how different we all are and how we view or attach ourselves to the various characters - love it!!

[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.

[Farseer]

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.

Yes, I agree!

I didn’t enjoy SS as much as the other trilogies

I didn't either but I can say that of every other book series I have ever read that is not RotE-related!

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.

While not anywhere near the extent that I have re-read the RotE books, I do plan to revisit SS one day. No doubt there are some important points that I missed during the first reading...we ARE talking about a Hobb book, after all!

Caulder didn’t develop much either as I thought he might but did redeem himself I felt.

I must begrudgingly agree that he did redeem himself somewhat, as much as I disliked Caulder!

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.

Yes, the Plainspeople were the real losers and I, too, had expected/hoped more from Nevare on their behalf. While he 'became' a Speck, and therefore more sympathetic to their side of things, I still would have thought he would remain empathetic of the Plainspeople.

The end result may have been the same and, I guess, true to life (as this harming/near death of one culture to allow growth of another occurs in most, if not all, instances of colonialism) but I would have liked for Nevare to have done something in defence of them/their culture. It was definitely a lack in him that he didn't...even if he didn't know who he was half the time!