(urth) Gideon

[Dave Tallman]

>
> Gid used Reis' ego to engineer his downfall. That's the beauty of it. Reis
> would set himself up to fail, with a little nudge from Gid and help from
> Gid's friends in high places.
>
> If Gid was aware of Reis's scheme to get the Navy to do the dirty work, then
> that would be a very good reason not to come to the island to pick up
> Cassie. The tempest might strike at any time, as it did. When Gid delivered
> Cassie to the island, he told her the secret of his success: "Never set
> yourself up to fail. Never!" (223)
>   
If Chase was aware of Reis' scheme (whether or not he suggested it), and 
did nothing for Cassie other than possibly give her the eleventh-hour 
airlift by Death's Visitors, he appears in a far more sinister light 
than I've been seeing him. It's plausible, and there are a couple of 
other hints. "Give me some time to blow the man down" (p. 101) fits as 
an ironic pun, since Reis perished as the result of high winds. "The 
devil's son is born tonight," could mean Gideon is the devil and the son 
is his plan come to fruition.

In an interview, Wolfe said the book was about freedom, and Gideon was 
the most free character. That could mean the one most unconstrained by 
morality. Queen Cassiopeia was the least free, eventually becoming a 
literal puppet for the will of her people.