(urth) AEG: Margaret

[Dave Tallman]

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> Has anyone commented on the various notes Cassie receives throughout the novel from Gid and Wally? They all seem gushingly, embarassingly OTT and somewhat out of character for the senders. Are they just supposed to signify her amazing magnetism? I must admit that I didn't find Cassie to be an especially sympathetic character.
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Chase's note (p. 216) doesn't seem OTT or OOC to me. Other than the 
first and last paragraphs, the rest gets down to the business of 
delivering her to Kololahi for Reis. The love parts seem barely sincere. 
If he "loved her for years" (presumably from watching her performances) 
why did he never make a move until she could be useful as bait in a scheme?

Wally's notes are a bit OTT, but he talks about love that way in person, 
too. "...I'll win. With a green goddess at my side" (125). That's about 
as flowery as his note on p. 175.

The note from Wally that feels completely wrong is the one on p. 254. 
"...Did you feel my kiss? I'm hungry for yours!" Pretty corny, and 
there's not one word about the danger she was in. It almost feels like 
it was written at a different time and delivered out-of-context -- is 
this another hint of time-travel for Reis?

> Did it strike anyone else as slightly suspicious that Cassie insisted on going for a walk on the beach with Wallace, then making out half in the sea, after being asked by the Storm God's emissary to do just that? I know Wallace had explained that there were lots of beaches in the area, and the Storm God couldn't watch them all, but it still seems almost like tempting fate...
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They weren't in the Takanga group at the time, but on some other island 
Reis chose for the private conversation. He didn't even want to say the 
name out loud, in case they were bugged (268). Perhaps the Volcano God 
provided some protection as well.  By the way, I notice that everyone 
worries about minaturized bugs, but nobody seems to be afraid of GPS 
(for example, Gideon's actions on p. 21 make no sense if there could be 
GPS chips in the photos). Have all the GPS satellites been taken down?

> As others have commented, the way Cassie is transformed by Prof Chase seems very reminiscent of the Dr Talos/Jolenta thaumaturgy (love that word!) and the idea of going up/down a level seems very similar to 'The Wizard Knight', not to mention sea monsters and werewolves! Wolfe certainly has his recurring tropes.
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Talos didn't care at all about Jolenta; he only wished to use her for 
Baldander's purposes. That seems to shed some light on Gideon's feeling 
for Cassie.