Renegades of Pern - Chapter Fifteen
Apr. 11th, 2024 08:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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i_read_whatI won't say Renegades is the worst book I've read on this blog. It would need a lot more deliberate racism and rape before it reaches Shapechangers level of bad, and even at her worst, McCaffrey's at least mostly coherent with her narrative.
It is possibly the most disappointing book on this blog. But happily, for me, the end is in sight. We're on the penultimate chapter and I'll need to decide what book I'll be starting next.
But until then...more nonsense.
Jancis is a useful new character, at least, as her measurements enable everyone to find the original entrance to the cavern. They are able to shore it up and reinforce things using some of the ancients' materials.
She and Piemur have an interesting discussion about the architecture. She notes that the dwellings they've uncovered in the south all seemed to be designed to admit and use light. Yet, eventually, they all became cavemen.
Piemur wonders if maybe they didn't know about Thread when they initially landed. They also note how the ancient settlements were above ground, in free standing buildings. Jancis rather shyly adds that she'd like to see one of those sites. Piemur is a man with game, indeed, and while he tries not to read too much into the request, he does say that can be arranged.
Okay, fine, McCaffrey, I can ship it. I still think he deserves a better romantic plot than a third to last chapter afterthought, but they at least seem compatible. That's more than Jaxom and Sharra ever got.
We're told that they've spent basically the last ten days together, as they're the assistants of Robinton and Fandarel. When not working directly for their bosses, they've been doing inventory work.
So Piemur takes the opportunity to write a message to V'line at Eastern, and Jancis admits she envies him his little flying cat. Piemur asks why she doesn't have one herself. Basically, she's too far down the list. That sucks.
Piemur thinks she'll make a good fire lizard friend and admits that Farli has clutched, but he's not sure where. Apparently fire lizards find nesting places near where they originally clutched. And Piemur doesn't know exactly where that was.
This is the first we've ever heard of this habit, and I'm not sure it really makes sense. Menolly never seems to have a problem, after all. But then, she does know where she bonded with her lizards. And I suppose Robinton can always make sure she has dragon transport there.
So basically Piemur can't help. Jancis doesn't seem to mind though. Especially since Farli returns with good news: V'line's happy to play taxi for a little date. Aw, that's cute!
Piemur blatantly lies to V'line about this being "official" and Jancis is pretty delighted by the whole deal. It's not her first time on dragonback, but she's still pretty new at it, which means she's gripping Piemur pretty tightly. He doesn't seem to mind.
V'line's also fine with giving them some time. He has to take Clarinath hunting anyway. They ask Jayge for a good location. Jancis makes Piemur's lie truth - she wants to go check out the coding in the storerooms. Piemur, a professional slacker, is a bit offended. And wonders if maybe she's not as into him as he thought. But he decides to be cheerful anyway.
We learn that Paradise River Hold is much more occupied than it used to be. They brought down some Bloodkin, after all. And Menolly apparently is the one who suggested Alemi come here. Which is more thought than I ever believed she gave for her family. So well done there. No mention of Elgion though, poor Elgion.
There's also a glassmaker as the sands here are really fine.
Jancis doesn't really approve of the Paradise River folks using the ancients' stuff, but Piemur points out that these things were all Jayge and Ara had when they became shipwrecked. And it's not like they disturbed "artifacts". These were tools just being used.
I mean, they ARE artifacts, Piemur. But he's got a point, and I like this discussion. I like that they actually talk about things that they both care about, even if they don't agree. I do think Jancis has a bit of unconscious classism here. Fanderal using tools is explicitly NOT "waste", where the people here are "misusing historical relics".
Piemur isn't really sure why they're quarrelling, and he decides to take a bit of an afternoon nap. He's woke up by an alarmed fire-lizard.
The hold is being invaded!
...now? Really, McCaffrey? I mean, I guess it had to happen eventually, but we're one chapter from the end. It's not like there's any suspense here.
That said, they're basically sitting ducks and they're pretty quickly overpowered.
Inadvertently Jayge stiffened, straining against his bonds. Thella! He had never believed his own words when he had reassured Aramina over and over that the woman must have perished, or been apprehended. Of late, when their formal acquisition of the Paradise River Hold had meant that their names would be circulated, he had had twinges of anxiety. If Thella lived, would she hear? Would she care? Would she act? Common sense made that seem unlikely. But common sense was not a likely virtue in someone as vindictive as Thella.
...this still boggles me. WHY is Thella so vindictive anyway?
Okay, by now, it's an established character trait. But it really does seem like such a stretch.
These are the events per Thella:
1) She builds up a successful settlement populated with refugees and outcasts.
2) She becomes a raider, making attacks that are very calculated and well-planned, with almost no violence.
3) She decides that dragons are a problem, though she manages pretty well for YEARS without that.
4) She learns about a girl who talks to dragons and wants to use her.
This part all makes sense. It's starts to fall apart here though:
5) She decides she wants the girl, even if she's unwilling. (How THAT's supposed to work, who knows?)
6) She tries to track the girl's family and meets a caravan that points her in the wrong direction.
7) She does actually catch up with the girl, but the girl calls for help and is rescued by a dragon.
8) Thella decides the caravan deserves her wrath and massacres them!
I said it then, but none of this makes sense. If Thella had been this impulsive and foolhardy she'd never have lasted as long as she did as a raider/Holder.
And indeed:
9) The Holders and Weyrleaders band together and eventually find her stronghold. Jayge is a part of this, but it's not clear Thella ever knew that.
10) Thella kills Giron and escapes with...whatever the fuck his name was.
Then things get fucking STUPID.
11) Despite having NO men, resources, headquarters, or even a place to PUT her hostage, she decides to go after Aramina, who as far as she knows, has actually been recruited by the WEYR.
12) Somehow through a misadventure of luck, she actually kidnaps Aramina.
13) And decides to murder her in a pit, for...reasons. Despite going to that much effort to kidnap her in the first place.
14) Her henchman dies and Aramina is rescued.
Thella herself wasn't even present for this, but
15) Thella gets sick while waiting for a rendezvous that doesn't happen. This is somehow Jayge and Aramina's fault and she spends 2 years getting an army together to attack them for...what?!
EVEN granting that Thella does not like being thwarted, the sheer cost-benefit analysis - something that at the beginning of the book, she was very capable of doing - would say to let it go and rebuild what worked!
I sincerely resent McCaffrey for giving me a great villain and then turning her into an idiot halfway through the story.
Apparently Ara and the kids did manage to escape though. But look at this nonsense:
‘I thought it was him you wanted to kill?’ someone complained indignantly.
‘Killing’s easy. I want him to suffer! As he’s made me suffer for the past two Turns. But that can be best accomplished by forcing him to watch what I’ve planned for her! And you imbecilic dolts let her get away from you!’ Jayge heard the sound of startled grunts.
‘Why kick us? We did out best,’ someone complained. ‘You never said nothing about canines! Vicious, they was. Couldn’t get past ‘em. Fangs a hand long. Great brutes as big as herdbeasts!’
‘There were six of you, with swords and spears! More than enough to take a drudge slut. Are these all tied up now? And the women in the fisherholds? All right, then, now we go after her. She can’t go far with small kids. She may be holed up in those big ruins. If she took to the forest, that underbrush is so thick she’ll have to have left some sort of a trail even tunnel turds like you could find. I want her and those children. She’ll wish she’d never been born before I’m through with them. And her.’
1) How did Jayge make her suffer?
2) But even if we do allow that a villain is irrational, HOW DOES SHE KNOW WHO JAYGE IS?
All she knew is that she put Aramina in a pit. She had no idea if anyone survived the caravan massacre to begin with. She didn't know Jayge was part of the group that stormed her stronghold. She didn't know he was tracking Aramina. And she had no way to know he'd rescued her. SHE WASN'T THERE. And the only guys who were DIED. All she knows is that Aramina was in a pit, somehow escaped, and lives in the south with a husband.
(Even if she DID hear his name, why would she connect it to some random caravan guy? She'd never heard his name then either?)
NONE of this makes sense.
Also, remember how she tolerated Giron's many issues for a long time. And they made many points about her ability to deal with subordinates' idiosyncracies. Farewell to that nuance.
This is not the Thella I enjoyed, and I'm very sad about that.
I also might care more about this plot if Jayge and Aramina had been allowed to be more than random side characters in the last five chapters.
Anyway, I can't even bother to excerpt this shit. It's just pointless. Jayge wakes up, tries to think about who might be alive or dead. He's tied up and trying to work his way out of the bonds. Farli, by the way, is gone - probably for help. Which again shows how stupid Thella became, that she'd attack without noticing a) that there are lizards or b) that they're unaccounted for.
Someone appears to help!
‘Easy!’ a quiet voice cautioned.
‘V’line?’
‘K’van.’ The bronze rider was already sawing at Jayge’s bonds. ‘Aramina yelled — a good knack to rediscover at a moment of crisis. Heth responded. I can see why. Did Thella leave only the one guard?’
Nah, of course it wouldn't be V'line. Even though he's the one who was nearby. K'van is one of McCaffrey's favorites, so he gets to rescue them. Aramina is, of course, safe already. Having been rescued off screen.
And...this makes no sense:
Jayge shook his head at the dragonrider’s levity. ‘Look, K’van, ask Heth to contact Ramoth and Mnementh. They’ll want to know…’ Jayge’s stiff, thick hands refused to close on the dagger in Bloors’ belt.
‘I expect they will, but as Benden Weyr’s fighting Threadfall, Heth can’t bespeak them yet.’
‘Then call up your own Weyr!’
K’van gave him a long, measuring look. ‘You know I can’t do that, Jayge.’
‘I don’t understand you, K’van. I thought you were our friend, and now when we really need your help…’
‘I’ve already done more than I should,’ K’van said, a trace of impatience in his tone as he bent to cut Temma loose.
WHAT?
HOW?
McCaffrey, what the fuck?
First of all: YES, the dragonriders should be concerned about people invading each other.
Second of all: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT HISTORICAL SITE, so YES, the dragonriders should be concerned about that.
Third of all: F'lar and company don't give a shit about jurisdiction and never have, don't try to tell me that matters now.
But yeah, everyone's fine. Jancis had freed the dogs and is now offering wine to a pale Piemur. Temma is untied - that woman has been through a LOT of shit for someone who has no real speaking lines.
Oh, here's more bullshit:
‘Much as I would like to, I can’t compromise the Weyr, Jayge, not without Benden’s permission,’ K’van said impassively. ‘It could be constituted as direct interference in hold management. You have to rescue yourself from Thella.’
SINCE FUCKING WHEN.
Jancis, of course, says K'van's right. Because McCaffrey will never allow her favorites to be wrong or anyone to even meaningfully disagree with them. Careful with your complaints, Jayge. You don't want to get Wind Blossomed.
Anyway, K'van did his job by rescuing Aramina and the kids, and to his credit, he does say he would again. But it's up to the civilians of the hold to go stop Thella. Despite, you know, the ruins being a valuable resource full of knowledge and technology that all the Crafts, Weyrs, et cetera are using.
THIS MAKES NO SENSE and I now hate K'van through proximity. Is it his fault that McCaffrey's decided to be a hack this book? No. But he's here and saying her stupid dialogue.
I'm not recapping to the level of detail that I should at this point, because if I did, I would probably gnaw my fingers off. They talk, they plan, they bicker and try to figure out where everyone is.
Fortunately, Thella might be an idiot but, for whatever reason, that didn't extend to actually killing anyone. Alemi's womenfolk are tied up in another location. Aramina pays some lip service to actually being a proactive member of the cast, only for K'van to say this:
‘I think you’d make it a lot easier for Jayge if you were out of Thella’s range,’ K’van said firmly. ‘You and the children. Let him deal with her. It’s going to come to that one way or another, you know.’ And with that the bronze dragonrider looked Jayge squarely in the eyes.
WHY?
Yes, Thella massacred the caravan, because she believed they got in the way of her capturing Aramina. She shouldn't even know Jayge's NAME. Why does this have to be between her and Jayge when it's always been about Aramina?!
Why doesn't Aramina get to be a fucking character and actually make fucking decisions for herself rather than get the narrative equivalent of being banished to the fucking kitchen.
McCaffrey, for all her faults, can write active female characters. Was this ghost-written??? (And honestly, Gigi and Todd are better than this too. Who wrote this?!)
Piemur, despite having been barely conscious, gets to be part of the hunting group. As does Temma and Nazer, which almost would have emotional resonance, if THEY mattered at all to the plot aside from the one caravan chapter. I just...what the fuck ever.
I've checked out. I'm out.
Oh, hey, V'line shows up belatedly:
V’line was scrambling down his dragon’s side and came racing toward them, his expression anxious. ‘Is it true?’
‘You’ve been attacked, Jayge? By whom? It’s outrageous. This sort of thing can’t be permitted.’
‘Permission is never the issue,’ K’van said grimly. ‘And our hands are tied in such matters.’
‘Oh, yes, that’s true, you’re right,’ V’line said, belatedly recalling Weyr strictures.
...
WHAT THE FUCK?!
"Weyr structure?!"
THAT's the excuse? The Weyr structure. The thing ruled by F'lar and Lessa? F'lar, who wanted the Weyrs to work together and fought T'ron to sepsis, to ensure that right. Lessa, who has a proprietary protective interest in her people, which includes Aramina, per this book.
THAT WEYR STRUCTURE???
This is ass-pull bullshit. This is McCaffrey realizing that she's written herself into a corner and none of this should be happening, and there's no fucking reason that the dragons wouldn't fucking scorch Thella alive at this point.
And if this is a Weyr vs. Hold thing - JAYGE IS THE HOLDER AND REQUESTED HELP. Remember? Everyone wanted smaller, self-sufficient holds. He's NOT in Toric's territory. So there's no one to get permission from, except Jayge and Aramina!!
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
This horrible nonsense is physically painful to me.
K'van tries to be heroic belatedly, but in a dickish way.
Jayge caught Aramina’s hands as she hefted a fishing spear. ‘Oh, no, my love. You will take yourself and our children as far away from here as possible. Do you understand me? There’s no time to argue the point. You’re going.’
And Heth and I will make sure she does,’ K’van said unexpectedly, taking Aramina by the arm. ‘That much I can do.’
Help protect historical ruins important enough that Jancis pooh poohs seeing peasants use them? Nah.
Violate a woman's autonomy? Sure, why not.
SO anyway, they track Thella, who is now approaching the tree that Aramina and Jancis had hid in. This might have been suspenseful if the women hadn't been rescued pages ago. Maybe then, we could have avoided dealing the with the nonsense of the dragonriders.
She's got fifteen men closing on the tree. Because of course she does. And she's ugly now, because of course she is:
Then Thella swaggered forward. Even in the dim light, Jayge realized that the woman who had caused him and Aramina so much pain and anguish had altered considerably since their first encounter on the trail. Though better clothed than her ragtag minions, she was as gaunt, and her close-cropped hair framed a face made ugly by scar pocks and privations.
‘Aramina!’ She peered up into the branches, and her call was brightly wheedling. ‘We know you’re up there. Your man and all your other friends are tied up tight and out of their senses. This time—’ Thella’s throaty laugh was malicious ‘—you haven’t any handy dragons to help you.’
Again, this really would have worked better if Aramina were actually in danger. Maybe we could have avoided the nonsense with the dragonriders at all.
She decides to burn the tree that she thinks the women are hiding in. With lots of shouted taunts. Then:
The three men she named had set aside their weapons and begun to gather kindling. The others continued to peer up into the tree, circling it, oblivious to the holders’ stealthy advance. A fourth man began to kick the dry ground cover into a pile against the trunk and knelt to start a blaze. Suddenly he collapsed across the pile of brush, the flickering flame extinguished by his body.
‘What the—’ someone else declared. ‘Hey, there’s a knife in Birsan’s back!’
‘Attack!’ Jayge yelled, and sprang from behind his tree.
Whatever. This could have been done well. It could at least have been done with some suspense. But whatever.
Thella and Jayge get their fight. Somehow she knows who he is, calling him "little trader man". Whatever. I already complained about that.
This is very cinematic now. Jayge vs. Thella, lots of circling and taunting and weapons measuring up, clashing blades, what-the-fuck-ever.
‘I wouldn’t be too sure of that, little holdling,’ Thella said with a sneer. ‘First blood’s mine!’
‘Only heart’s blood counts.’ He slammed his sword’s edge against her knuckleguard, hoping for a flinch, for the weapon to twist in her grip, maybe even for it to fly from her hand. Jayge had no such luck; she let the stroke glissade and expend its force along the sweep of her own blade — and then the dagger in her left fist jabbed at his face, his throat, his belly, three flickers of bright metal that reminded him where her true skill lay.
See?
It's cinematic and utterly fucking pointless here. Oh, we do get an even more stupid, pointless reveal here.
‘And that was for Readis!’
‘Readis?’ Her voice was trembling, from surprise as much as from pain. ‘What was Readis to you?’
‘My uncle, Thella. My uncle!’ Jayge backed off, seeing the pallor in her pocked face as shock changed to despair. The rage in him abated briefly, and he charged it again to do what was necessary and end it all.
...
Okay, fine. Whatever. It might have been interesting if there'd been a genuine relationship between Thella and Readis. But whatever.
Aramina gets to do something actually, even though it makes no sense:
Is it necessary, Jayge? Is it really? The voice in his head, and in his memory, belonged to Readis — but the voice in his ears belonged to Aramina. ‘Enough, Jayge! Or you’ll be no better than she is.’
For all his surprise at hearing his wife when she should have been safely away, Jayge did not let his gaze waver from Thella’s face. But hers, startled, went over his left shoulder, and her face contorted with loathing. Eyes blazing, she lunged in a savage futile attack at the girl who had eluded her. Jayge was in the way.
1) I can't believe McCaffrey's using the "you'll be no better than she is" cliche here. For one, Jayge didn't assemble an army of raiders, twice, shove a girl in a pit, massacre a caravan, or invade a settlement.
2) K'van's really fucking incompetent isn't he? Why not have K'van protect the kids and Aramina join the hunting party to begin with, if we're going to end up here.
Seriously this action sequence reads like it was written for a truly awful TV movie. Or maybe a low budget Netflix vehicle. It does not fit with anything that came before.
And in fact, it's so dumb because once Thella lunges at Aramina, Jayge kills her. Because now that's absolutely fine and doesn't make him exactly like Thella. What the fuck ever.
Hey, F'lar and Lessa appear two hours later, straight from Threadfall. Hey, McCaffrey, have you thought of the fact that you could have just kept the dragons out of this. Claimed they were fighting Thread, and had Farli or Piemur or Alemi or someone else let Jayge free. Then they could all have gone to rescue Aramina and Jancis IN the tree, so that it would actually make sense for Aramina to be there at all to talk Jayge down?
And we wouldn't have sudden asspulled jurisdiction issues???
Oh, and of course we get a massively out of character F'lar and Lessa here:
der his tan. ‘A rider doesn’t ignore his dragon’s summons.’
‘A rider makes certain a dragon doesn’t endanger himself,’ the Benden Weyrwoman replied, ‘much less his entire Weyr! Did you forget your position, Southern Leader?’
‘No,’ K’van replied. ‘But neither did Heth.’
‘At least, you had the good sense to limit Weyr involvement tp the one rescue.’ F’lar’s expression was as grim as Lessa’s. ‘Jayge honorably concluded the affair.’
You can't convince me that either of these characters would react this way, McCaffrey. Fuck that.
Oh god, the chapter's STILL going? You could at least do me the courtesy of ending it so that I can stew over how bad this book's gotten.
--
Okay, well. No one in the hold is too badly hurt. Ara did do some stitches of course, because that's appropriate for a woman. Six renegades survive. One's the ship captain who brought them there. Lessa notes that Idarolan should be informed, as he doesn't like disloyal masters. We're told the man wasn't a master, but was instead a dissatisfied journeyman who stole the ship at Thella's instigation.
Of course, because as we well know, no one of rank and quality would ever side with the villain. Whatever.
Hey, enjoy some implied slavery:
‘And the others?’ F’lar asked.
‘Holdless men,’ Piemur shrugged. ‘Promised rewards and easy living in the south.’ He eased himself on to the broad couch beside Jancis.
‘They can go back with the ship,’ F’lar said, ‘and then wherever Master Idarolan requires drudges.
I like that the dragonriders can't get involved in a fucking invasion, but they can conscript the defeated criminals. But this is fake F'lar, so what the fuck ever.
They decide also that publicizing Thella's death should deter other renegades. Why would it? The renegades are raiders. They ought to be familiar with the idea that a raid can go wrong and the homeowner/Holder might be victorious.
Now if the dragons HAD been involved in defeating them. Let's say for example that Aramina hadn't miraculously and unexplicably lost her power. Let's say she overcame her fear and aversion because she believed her loved ones were in danger and begged for help. Let's say Heth or Clarinath or some other dragon came and wreaked havoc to save her home.
THAT would be a deterrent. It would also be a point of growth for the character, and while folks might be a little uneasy about dragon involvement, it can be handwaved by the Lord Holder asking for help. Maybe there'll be some tension after worth exploring.
My solution isn't perfect, but it would have allowed Aramina to have an active role in the climax as opposed to a shelved McGuffin.
Oh, and because apparently McCaffrey wants to tie together her crap themes now:
‘I’ll make a full report to the Masterharper — both of them,’ Piemur said, a twinkle in his eye.
Lessa gave an impatient exclamation. ‘Robinton’s nearly as much of a renegade as—’ She paused to think of a suitable comparison and then, with a sly smile, fixed her eyes on Piemur. ‘As you are, journeyman!’
‘Truly spoken,’ Piemur said, grinning broadly.
Fuck off, book.
Anyway, Lessa warmly greets Aramina, delighted that Aramina can hear dragons again. She can't actually, just fire lizards. We still don't know why. Nor does it actually matter, except to remove any possibility of Aramina having any proactive role ever.
There is ONE interesting note, which is how the chapter ends:
‘We’re not even halfway through this Pass,’ Lessa reminded her as the Weyrleaders prepared to leave, ‘and we’ll need good women for our queens. I — and Ramoth — hoped to have you in our number, but perhaps that daughter of yours… The ability is in the Bloodline, you know, and you’re Ruathan, too, Mina!’
It might hit harder if Aramina had ever been allowed to be a character in this book.
(There is an interesting characterization note of Lessa calling Aramina "Mina" while her preferred nickname is "Ara", but it's really not worth examining at this point.)
Mercifully, the chapter is indeed over. One left and I'll be free.
It is possibly the most disappointing book on this blog. But happily, for me, the end is in sight. We're on the penultimate chapter and I'll need to decide what book I'll be starting next.
But until then...more nonsense.
Jancis is a useful new character, at least, as her measurements enable everyone to find the original entrance to the cavern. They are able to shore it up and reinforce things using some of the ancients' materials.
She and Piemur have an interesting discussion about the architecture. She notes that the dwellings they've uncovered in the south all seemed to be designed to admit and use light. Yet, eventually, they all became cavemen.
Piemur wonders if maybe they didn't know about Thread when they initially landed. They also note how the ancient settlements were above ground, in free standing buildings. Jancis rather shyly adds that she'd like to see one of those sites. Piemur is a man with game, indeed, and while he tries not to read too much into the request, he does say that can be arranged.
Okay, fine, McCaffrey, I can ship it. I still think he deserves a better romantic plot than a third to last chapter afterthought, but they at least seem compatible. That's more than Jaxom and Sharra ever got.
We're told that they've spent basically the last ten days together, as they're the assistants of Robinton and Fandarel. When not working directly for their bosses, they've been doing inventory work.
So Piemur takes the opportunity to write a message to V'line at Eastern, and Jancis admits she envies him his little flying cat. Piemur asks why she doesn't have one herself. Basically, she's too far down the list. That sucks.
Piemur thinks she'll make a good fire lizard friend and admits that Farli has clutched, but he's not sure where. Apparently fire lizards find nesting places near where they originally clutched. And Piemur doesn't know exactly where that was.
This is the first we've ever heard of this habit, and I'm not sure it really makes sense. Menolly never seems to have a problem, after all. But then, she does know where she bonded with her lizards. And I suppose Robinton can always make sure she has dragon transport there.
So basically Piemur can't help. Jancis doesn't seem to mind though. Especially since Farli returns with good news: V'line's happy to play taxi for a little date. Aw, that's cute!
Piemur blatantly lies to V'line about this being "official" and Jancis is pretty delighted by the whole deal. It's not her first time on dragonback, but she's still pretty new at it, which means she's gripping Piemur pretty tightly. He doesn't seem to mind.
V'line's also fine with giving them some time. He has to take Clarinath hunting anyway. They ask Jayge for a good location. Jancis makes Piemur's lie truth - she wants to go check out the coding in the storerooms. Piemur, a professional slacker, is a bit offended. And wonders if maybe she's not as into him as he thought. But he decides to be cheerful anyway.
We learn that Paradise River Hold is much more occupied than it used to be. They brought down some Bloodkin, after all. And Menolly apparently is the one who suggested Alemi come here. Which is more thought than I ever believed she gave for her family. So well done there. No mention of Elgion though, poor Elgion.
There's also a glassmaker as the sands here are really fine.
Jancis doesn't really approve of the Paradise River folks using the ancients' stuff, but Piemur points out that these things were all Jayge and Ara had when they became shipwrecked. And it's not like they disturbed "artifacts". These were tools just being used.
I mean, they ARE artifacts, Piemur. But he's got a point, and I like this discussion. I like that they actually talk about things that they both care about, even if they don't agree. I do think Jancis has a bit of unconscious classism here. Fanderal using tools is explicitly NOT "waste", where the people here are "misusing historical relics".
Piemur isn't really sure why they're quarrelling, and he decides to take a bit of an afternoon nap. He's woke up by an alarmed fire-lizard.
The hold is being invaded!
...now? Really, McCaffrey? I mean, I guess it had to happen eventually, but we're one chapter from the end. It's not like there's any suspense here.
That said, they're basically sitting ducks and they're pretty quickly overpowered.
Inadvertently Jayge stiffened, straining against his bonds. Thella! He had never believed his own words when he had reassured Aramina over and over that the woman must have perished, or been apprehended. Of late, when their formal acquisition of the Paradise River Hold had meant that their names would be circulated, he had had twinges of anxiety. If Thella lived, would she hear? Would she care? Would she act? Common sense made that seem unlikely. But common sense was not a likely virtue in someone as vindictive as Thella.
...this still boggles me. WHY is Thella so vindictive anyway?
Okay, by now, it's an established character trait. But it really does seem like such a stretch.
These are the events per Thella:
1) She builds up a successful settlement populated with refugees and outcasts.
2) She becomes a raider, making attacks that are very calculated and well-planned, with almost no violence.
3) She decides that dragons are a problem, though she manages pretty well for YEARS without that.
4) She learns about a girl who talks to dragons and wants to use her.
This part all makes sense. It's starts to fall apart here though:
5) She decides she wants the girl, even if she's unwilling. (How THAT's supposed to work, who knows?)
6) She tries to track the girl's family and meets a caravan that points her in the wrong direction.
7) She does actually catch up with the girl, but the girl calls for help and is rescued by a dragon.
8) Thella decides the caravan deserves her wrath and massacres them!
I said it then, but none of this makes sense. If Thella had been this impulsive and foolhardy she'd never have lasted as long as she did as a raider/Holder.
And indeed:
9) The Holders and Weyrleaders band together and eventually find her stronghold. Jayge is a part of this, but it's not clear Thella ever knew that.
10) Thella kills Giron and escapes with...whatever the fuck his name was.
Then things get fucking STUPID.
11) Despite having NO men, resources, headquarters, or even a place to PUT her hostage, she decides to go after Aramina, who as far as she knows, has actually been recruited by the WEYR.
12) Somehow through a misadventure of luck, she actually kidnaps Aramina.
13) And decides to murder her in a pit, for...reasons. Despite going to that much effort to kidnap her in the first place.
14) Her henchman dies and Aramina is rescued.
Thella herself wasn't even present for this, but
15) Thella gets sick while waiting for a rendezvous that doesn't happen. This is somehow Jayge and Aramina's fault and she spends 2 years getting an army together to attack them for...what?!
EVEN granting that Thella does not like being thwarted, the sheer cost-benefit analysis - something that at the beginning of the book, she was very capable of doing - would say to let it go and rebuild what worked!
I sincerely resent McCaffrey for giving me a great villain and then turning her into an idiot halfway through the story.
Apparently Ara and the kids did manage to escape though. But look at this nonsense:
‘I thought it was him you wanted to kill?’ someone complained indignantly.
‘Killing’s easy. I want him to suffer! As he’s made me suffer for the past two Turns. But that can be best accomplished by forcing him to watch what I’ve planned for her! And you imbecilic dolts let her get away from you!’ Jayge heard the sound of startled grunts.
‘Why kick us? We did out best,’ someone complained. ‘You never said nothing about canines! Vicious, they was. Couldn’t get past ‘em. Fangs a hand long. Great brutes as big as herdbeasts!’
‘There were six of you, with swords and spears! More than enough to take a drudge slut. Are these all tied up now? And the women in the fisherholds? All right, then, now we go after her. She can’t go far with small kids. She may be holed up in those big ruins. If she took to the forest, that underbrush is so thick she’ll have to have left some sort of a trail even tunnel turds like you could find. I want her and those children. She’ll wish she’d never been born before I’m through with them. And her.’
1) How did Jayge make her suffer?
2) But even if we do allow that a villain is irrational, HOW DOES SHE KNOW WHO JAYGE IS?
All she knew is that she put Aramina in a pit. She had no idea if anyone survived the caravan massacre to begin with. She didn't know Jayge was part of the group that stormed her stronghold. She didn't know he was tracking Aramina. And she had no way to know he'd rescued her. SHE WASN'T THERE. And the only guys who were DIED. All she knows is that Aramina was in a pit, somehow escaped, and lives in the south with a husband.
(Even if she DID hear his name, why would she connect it to some random caravan guy? She'd never heard his name then either?)
NONE of this makes sense.
Also, remember how she tolerated Giron's many issues for a long time. And they made many points about her ability to deal with subordinates' idiosyncracies. Farewell to that nuance.
This is not the Thella I enjoyed, and I'm very sad about that.
I also might care more about this plot if Jayge and Aramina had been allowed to be more than random side characters in the last five chapters.
Anyway, I can't even bother to excerpt this shit. It's just pointless. Jayge wakes up, tries to think about who might be alive or dead. He's tied up and trying to work his way out of the bonds. Farli, by the way, is gone - probably for help. Which again shows how stupid Thella became, that she'd attack without noticing a) that there are lizards or b) that they're unaccounted for.
Someone appears to help!
‘Easy!’ a quiet voice cautioned.
‘V’line?’
‘K’van.’ The bronze rider was already sawing at Jayge’s bonds. ‘Aramina yelled — a good knack to rediscover at a moment of crisis. Heth responded. I can see why. Did Thella leave only the one guard?’
Nah, of course it wouldn't be V'line. Even though he's the one who was nearby. K'van is one of McCaffrey's favorites, so he gets to rescue them. Aramina is, of course, safe already. Having been rescued off screen.
And...this makes no sense:
Jayge shook his head at the dragonrider’s levity. ‘Look, K’van, ask Heth to contact Ramoth and Mnementh. They’ll want to know…’ Jayge’s stiff, thick hands refused to close on the dagger in Bloors’ belt.
‘I expect they will, but as Benden Weyr’s fighting Threadfall, Heth can’t bespeak them yet.’
‘Then call up your own Weyr!’
K’van gave him a long, measuring look. ‘You know I can’t do that, Jayge.’
‘I don’t understand you, K’van. I thought you were our friend, and now when we really need your help…’
‘I’ve already done more than I should,’ K’van said, a trace of impatience in his tone as he bent to cut Temma loose.
WHAT?
HOW?
McCaffrey, what the fuck?
First of all: YES, the dragonriders should be concerned about people invading each other.
Second of all: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT HISTORICAL SITE, so YES, the dragonriders should be concerned about that.
Third of all: F'lar and company don't give a shit about jurisdiction and never have, don't try to tell me that matters now.
But yeah, everyone's fine. Jancis had freed the dogs and is now offering wine to a pale Piemur. Temma is untied - that woman has been through a LOT of shit for someone who has no real speaking lines.
Oh, here's more bullshit:
‘Much as I would like to, I can’t compromise the Weyr, Jayge, not without Benden’s permission,’ K’van said impassively. ‘It could be constituted as direct interference in hold management. You have to rescue yourself from Thella.’
SINCE FUCKING WHEN.
Jancis, of course, says K'van's right. Because McCaffrey will never allow her favorites to be wrong or anyone to even meaningfully disagree with them. Careful with your complaints, Jayge. You don't want to get Wind Blossomed.
Anyway, K'van did his job by rescuing Aramina and the kids, and to his credit, he does say he would again. But it's up to the civilians of the hold to go stop Thella. Despite, you know, the ruins being a valuable resource full of knowledge and technology that all the Crafts, Weyrs, et cetera are using.
THIS MAKES NO SENSE and I now hate K'van through proximity. Is it his fault that McCaffrey's decided to be a hack this book? No. But he's here and saying her stupid dialogue.
I'm not recapping to the level of detail that I should at this point, because if I did, I would probably gnaw my fingers off. They talk, they plan, they bicker and try to figure out where everyone is.
Fortunately, Thella might be an idiot but, for whatever reason, that didn't extend to actually killing anyone. Alemi's womenfolk are tied up in another location. Aramina pays some lip service to actually being a proactive member of the cast, only for K'van to say this:
‘I think you’d make it a lot easier for Jayge if you were out of Thella’s range,’ K’van said firmly. ‘You and the children. Let him deal with her. It’s going to come to that one way or another, you know.’ And with that the bronze dragonrider looked Jayge squarely in the eyes.
WHY?
Yes, Thella massacred the caravan, because she believed they got in the way of her capturing Aramina. She shouldn't even know Jayge's NAME. Why does this have to be between her and Jayge when it's always been about Aramina?!
Why doesn't Aramina get to be a fucking character and actually make fucking decisions for herself rather than get the narrative equivalent of being banished to the fucking kitchen.
McCaffrey, for all her faults, can write active female characters. Was this ghost-written??? (And honestly, Gigi and Todd are better than this too. Who wrote this?!)
Piemur, despite having been barely conscious, gets to be part of the hunting group. As does Temma and Nazer, which almost would have emotional resonance, if THEY mattered at all to the plot aside from the one caravan chapter. I just...what the fuck ever.
I've checked out. I'm out.
Oh, hey, V'line shows up belatedly:
V’line was scrambling down his dragon’s side and came racing toward them, his expression anxious. ‘Is it true?’
‘You’ve been attacked, Jayge? By whom? It’s outrageous. This sort of thing can’t be permitted.’
‘Permission is never the issue,’ K’van said grimly. ‘And our hands are tied in such matters.’
‘Oh, yes, that’s true, you’re right,’ V’line said, belatedly recalling Weyr strictures.
...
WHAT THE FUCK?!
"Weyr structure?!"
THAT's the excuse? The Weyr structure. The thing ruled by F'lar and Lessa? F'lar, who wanted the Weyrs to work together and fought T'ron to sepsis, to ensure that right. Lessa, who has a proprietary protective interest in her people, which includes Aramina, per this book.
THAT WEYR STRUCTURE???
This is ass-pull bullshit. This is McCaffrey realizing that she's written herself into a corner and none of this should be happening, and there's no fucking reason that the dragons wouldn't fucking scorch Thella alive at this point.
And if this is a Weyr vs. Hold thing - JAYGE IS THE HOLDER AND REQUESTED HELP. Remember? Everyone wanted smaller, self-sufficient holds. He's NOT in Toric's territory. So there's no one to get permission from, except Jayge and Aramina!!
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
This horrible nonsense is physically painful to me.
K'van tries to be heroic belatedly, but in a dickish way.
Jayge caught Aramina’s hands as she hefted a fishing spear. ‘Oh, no, my love. You will take yourself and our children as far away from here as possible. Do you understand me? There’s no time to argue the point. You’re going.’
And Heth and I will make sure she does,’ K’van said unexpectedly, taking Aramina by the arm. ‘That much I can do.’
Help protect historical ruins important enough that Jancis pooh poohs seeing peasants use them? Nah.
Violate a woman's autonomy? Sure, why not.
SO anyway, they track Thella, who is now approaching the tree that Aramina and Jancis had hid in. This might have been suspenseful if the women hadn't been rescued pages ago. Maybe then, we could have avoided dealing the with the nonsense of the dragonriders.
She's got fifteen men closing on the tree. Because of course she does. And she's ugly now, because of course she is:
Then Thella swaggered forward. Even in the dim light, Jayge realized that the woman who had caused him and Aramina so much pain and anguish had altered considerably since their first encounter on the trail. Though better clothed than her ragtag minions, she was as gaunt, and her close-cropped hair framed a face made ugly by scar pocks and privations.
‘Aramina!’ She peered up into the branches, and her call was brightly wheedling. ‘We know you’re up there. Your man and all your other friends are tied up tight and out of their senses. This time—’ Thella’s throaty laugh was malicious ‘—you haven’t any handy dragons to help you.’
Again, this really would have worked better if Aramina were actually in danger. Maybe we could have avoided the nonsense with the dragonriders at all.
She decides to burn the tree that she thinks the women are hiding in. With lots of shouted taunts. Then:
The three men she named had set aside their weapons and begun to gather kindling. The others continued to peer up into the tree, circling it, oblivious to the holders’ stealthy advance. A fourth man began to kick the dry ground cover into a pile against the trunk and knelt to start a blaze. Suddenly he collapsed across the pile of brush, the flickering flame extinguished by his body.
‘What the—’ someone else declared. ‘Hey, there’s a knife in Birsan’s back!’
‘Attack!’ Jayge yelled, and sprang from behind his tree.
Whatever. This could have been done well. It could at least have been done with some suspense. But whatever.
Thella and Jayge get their fight. Somehow she knows who he is, calling him "little trader man". Whatever. I already complained about that.
This is very cinematic now. Jayge vs. Thella, lots of circling and taunting and weapons measuring up, clashing blades, what-the-fuck-ever.
‘I wouldn’t be too sure of that, little holdling,’ Thella said with a sneer. ‘First blood’s mine!’
‘Only heart’s blood counts.’ He slammed his sword’s edge against her knuckleguard, hoping for a flinch, for the weapon to twist in her grip, maybe even for it to fly from her hand. Jayge had no such luck; she let the stroke glissade and expend its force along the sweep of her own blade — and then the dagger in her left fist jabbed at his face, his throat, his belly, three flickers of bright metal that reminded him where her true skill lay.
See?
It's cinematic and utterly fucking pointless here. Oh, we do get an even more stupid, pointless reveal here.
‘And that was for Readis!’
‘Readis?’ Her voice was trembling, from surprise as much as from pain. ‘What was Readis to you?’
‘My uncle, Thella. My uncle!’ Jayge backed off, seeing the pallor in her pocked face as shock changed to despair. The rage in him abated briefly, and he charged it again to do what was necessary and end it all.
...
Okay, fine. Whatever. It might have been interesting if there'd been a genuine relationship between Thella and Readis. But whatever.
Aramina gets to do something actually, even though it makes no sense:
Is it necessary, Jayge? Is it really? The voice in his head, and in his memory, belonged to Readis — but the voice in his ears belonged to Aramina. ‘Enough, Jayge! Or you’ll be no better than she is.’
For all his surprise at hearing his wife when she should have been safely away, Jayge did not let his gaze waver from Thella’s face. But hers, startled, went over his left shoulder, and her face contorted with loathing. Eyes blazing, she lunged in a savage futile attack at the girl who had eluded her. Jayge was in the way.
1) I can't believe McCaffrey's using the "you'll be no better than she is" cliche here. For one, Jayge didn't assemble an army of raiders, twice, shove a girl in a pit, massacre a caravan, or invade a settlement.
2) K'van's really fucking incompetent isn't he? Why not have K'van protect the kids and Aramina join the hunting party to begin with, if we're going to end up here.
Seriously this action sequence reads like it was written for a truly awful TV movie. Or maybe a low budget Netflix vehicle. It does not fit with anything that came before.
And in fact, it's so dumb because once Thella lunges at Aramina, Jayge kills her. Because now that's absolutely fine and doesn't make him exactly like Thella. What the fuck ever.
Hey, F'lar and Lessa appear two hours later, straight from Threadfall. Hey, McCaffrey, have you thought of the fact that you could have just kept the dragons out of this. Claimed they were fighting Thread, and had Farli or Piemur or Alemi or someone else let Jayge free. Then they could all have gone to rescue Aramina and Jancis IN the tree, so that it would actually make sense for Aramina to be there at all to talk Jayge down?
And we wouldn't have sudden asspulled jurisdiction issues???
Oh, and of course we get a massively out of character F'lar and Lessa here:
der his tan. ‘A rider doesn’t ignore his dragon’s summons.’
‘A rider makes certain a dragon doesn’t endanger himself,’ the Benden Weyrwoman replied, ‘much less his entire Weyr! Did you forget your position, Southern Leader?’
‘No,’ K’van replied. ‘But neither did Heth.’
‘At least, you had the good sense to limit Weyr involvement tp the one rescue.’ F’lar’s expression was as grim as Lessa’s. ‘Jayge honorably concluded the affair.’
You can't convince me that either of these characters would react this way, McCaffrey. Fuck that.
Oh god, the chapter's STILL going? You could at least do me the courtesy of ending it so that I can stew over how bad this book's gotten.
--
Okay, well. No one in the hold is too badly hurt. Ara did do some stitches of course, because that's appropriate for a woman. Six renegades survive. One's the ship captain who brought them there. Lessa notes that Idarolan should be informed, as he doesn't like disloyal masters. We're told the man wasn't a master, but was instead a dissatisfied journeyman who stole the ship at Thella's instigation.
Of course, because as we well know, no one of rank and quality would ever side with the villain. Whatever.
Hey, enjoy some implied slavery:
‘And the others?’ F’lar asked.
‘Holdless men,’ Piemur shrugged. ‘Promised rewards and easy living in the south.’ He eased himself on to the broad couch beside Jancis.
‘They can go back with the ship,’ F’lar said, ‘and then wherever Master Idarolan requires drudges.
I like that the dragonriders can't get involved in a fucking invasion, but they can conscript the defeated criminals. But this is fake F'lar, so what the fuck ever.
They decide also that publicizing Thella's death should deter other renegades. Why would it? The renegades are raiders. They ought to be familiar with the idea that a raid can go wrong and the homeowner/Holder might be victorious.
Now if the dragons HAD been involved in defeating them. Let's say for example that Aramina hadn't miraculously and unexplicably lost her power. Let's say she overcame her fear and aversion because she believed her loved ones were in danger and begged for help. Let's say Heth or Clarinath or some other dragon came and wreaked havoc to save her home.
THAT would be a deterrent. It would also be a point of growth for the character, and while folks might be a little uneasy about dragon involvement, it can be handwaved by the Lord Holder asking for help. Maybe there'll be some tension after worth exploring.
My solution isn't perfect, but it would have allowed Aramina to have an active role in the climax as opposed to a shelved McGuffin.
Oh, and because apparently McCaffrey wants to tie together her crap themes now:
‘I’ll make a full report to the Masterharper — both of them,’ Piemur said, a twinkle in his eye.
Lessa gave an impatient exclamation. ‘Robinton’s nearly as much of a renegade as—’ She paused to think of a suitable comparison and then, with a sly smile, fixed her eyes on Piemur. ‘As you are, journeyman!’
‘Truly spoken,’ Piemur said, grinning broadly.
Fuck off, book.
Anyway, Lessa warmly greets Aramina, delighted that Aramina can hear dragons again. She can't actually, just fire lizards. We still don't know why. Nor does it actually matter, except to remove any possibility of Aramina having any proactive role ever.
There is ONE interesting note, which is how the chapter ends:
‘We’re not even halfway through this Pass,’ Lessa reminded her as the Weyrleaders prepared to leave, ‘and we’ll need good women for our queens. I — and Ramoth — hoped to have you in our number, but perhaps that daughter of yours… The ability is in the Bloodline, you know, and you’re Ruathan, too, Mina!’
It might hit harder if Aramina had ever been allowed to be a character in this book.
(There is an interesting characterization note of Lessa calling Aramina "Mina" while her preferred nickname is "Ara", but it's really not worth examining at this point.)
Mercifully, the chapter is indeed over. One left and I'll be free.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-13 07:17 pm (UTC)One thing that always bugged me about this book is that is supposedly spans something like 27 years from a year or two before the Ninth Pass begins to the midpoint of the Pass yet at the same time absolutely nothing seems to happen in the book... it's... well, I call it the badly written filler, or contract, book that had to be done before the author got to the stuff they really wanted to write.
Also, why the hell didn't Aramina's parents go back to Ruatha after Fax's death? They had ties to the place... the probably knew that Lessa was alive... and the hold was safe. So, why didn't they return, ask Lytol for space in the hold? I know, I know... we'd have nothing if people did things logically.... plus, I'm certain the other Lord's Holder would have preferred Aramina's father as Lord Holder to the baby... especially since he was part (either directly or by marriage) of the direct Ruathan bloodline.
Ever get the urge to rewrite Ninth Pass in ways that make logical sense?
no subject
Date: 2024-04-13 08:01 pm (UTC)The funny thing about this book is that "nothing happens" but in the opposite way of say Dragonsinger or White Dragon. Dragonsinger had literally nothing, no momentum, no event, nothing of significance worth telling in more than a paragraph. White Dragon had a few events (referenced here), but they were scattered, separated by eight chapters of nonsense, and half didn't even involve the main character.
This book has PLENTY of events and momentum, when we think about it. We have: Toric developing Southern Hold (including starting a family), Thella building her army, Aramina and Jayge getting shipwrecked, discovering ruins, and creating a life together, Piemur actually exploring the South...
But none of it actually happens on page. We see THESE characters, but only during their downtime, so they can react to other events. It's utterly bizarre.
In a better book, I'd be willing to debate on the Weyr vs. Hold matter issue (I'd argue that the existence of the ruins, and Aramina's particular status, makes it more of an international/Dragonrider jurisdiction issue, but I do think there's room to argue) - but in THIS book, it's just more nonsense atop nonsense.
From day one though, I've wanted to see a Shadowhunters* style critical revamp/adaptation of the Weyr system/Dragonflight. I'd be happy to extend that to the entire Ninth Pass. :-D
(Shadowhunters is a reference to the tv adaptation of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, which takes the general plot of the books, but rewrites a lot of aspects of the setting into something more coherent and logical, while putting a lot more direct focus on the flaws and admittedly intentional in the book but less explored aspects of racism and privilege.)