We think that Raven is about to be killed at the end. The concluding phrase:
"And not remember." (p. 660)
- applies to neither of the two viewpoint characters but to Elfavy because the Gwydiona, if they survive Baletime, forget what has happened then. Instead of escaping, Raven stays to try to protect Elfavy and her son. On a first reading, seeing Raven mainly through Tolteca's eyes, we dislike the former but subsequent readings change our perspective considerably.
When the Gwydiona menacingly surround Raven:
"None said a word, but he could hear them breathing, a sound like the sea beyond Instar's dike." (p. 651)
That sound threatened Raven before. See The Night Shift.
Why do a dying soldier on Brae and a frightened boy on Gwydion speak the same sentence? I will elaborate in a subsequent post.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Anderson deliberately made Raven SEEM to be only a harsh and unsympathetic character, and then showing us how wrong that was. Nicely done!
Ad astra! Sean
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