Notes from halfway through Checkmate

[oyceter]

I think everyone in RL who knows me now thinks I am entirely insane because most of me is still living in Dunnett's world. Plus, there's the fact that I grin crazily every so often thinking about the books and what's going to happen next.

So, to get this out of my system, below are many incoherent thoughts and many strange noises, mostly incoherent (I was scribbling these down at work because as I said, I am insane and entirely obsessed):

(the incoherency can mostly be summed up as: OH THE ANGST!!!)

- no Lymond, why Russia?? Silly boy, Philippa is perfect for you
- Jerott is so messed up!
- eep, Lymond sounding unsteady when Philippa says she's not infatuated with him
- EEP, Lymond admits he's bound to someone for life to Philippa and she thinks it's Kate! Waaah! *wibbles*
- I think I'm half in love with Lymond now. Oh dear, Philippa, you've fallen too
- I love the Philippa and Lymond chase scene
- OMG Lymond tried to kill himself after that?!
- Waaaaah, the angst of Lymond and Philippa!
- Oh no, Marthe has found Philippa's in love and it can only be bad (poor Philippa, standing there crying) <-- for some reason this scene reminds me of the last scene in Perilous gard
- OMG the angst because they're in love with each other except Lymond keeps pushing everyone away and Philippa thinks he's in love with someone else!
- Marthe! What are you doing? Don't tell Lymond Philippa loves him! Oh Lymond, when do you ever not strike out at everyone in the worst possible way?
- No! Sybilla and Richard can't be dead! It's the middle of the book!
- Oh thank god Sybilla is still alive. Oh no, is Richard really dead?? Waah!!
- Hey, Lymond, be nice to your mother!
- PHEW. Richard is still alive and the messed up Crawfords are back together.
- Still think Lymond is Sybilla's son somehow and not Gavin's, but will probably be embarrassingly off target
- How can Lymond be so intoxicating when he's having fun and so utterly insane all the other times?
- Oh, Philippa suffering nobly and not knowing about Lymond! And poor Austin! And eep, her speech to Austin on falling in love utterly with the right man at the wrong time and wrong everything and not knowing!
- WTF? Who fathered Lymond?!

Comments

[oyceter]

I adore the whole jokemaking/cleverness-masking-real-emotion type. Diarmuid in the Fionavar Tapestry. Mmmmm.

Oh I love the legend and that Kate saves the day and I love the Fair Folk and the Lady.

And that last scene, with Kate outside and the snow dappling her dress.

[cofax7]

GGK was on Dunnetwork back in the mid-90s, and as much as admitted Lymond was Diarmuid's model.

Heee.

See also: Wimsey, Peter Death Bredon; Vorkosigan, Miles Naismith.

[oyceter]

Ooooo, that explains very much indeed.

Mmm. Now I'm going to have to read the Sayers books sometime.

Sayers

[oracne.livejournal.com]

You MUST. And then read truepenny's posts on them.

Re: Sayers

[oyceter]

Ooo, ok. Is this the Gaudy Night book everyone seems to be talking about?

Do they go in any order?

Re: Sayers

[oracne.livejournal.com]

http://www.spies.com/~rawdon/books/mystery/sayers.html

This site gives a chronology of the books and the short stories.

GAUDY NIGHT is towards the end of the series.

At the beginning of the series, Peter Wimsey has less depth than he does later. It's when he meets Harriet Vane in STRONG POISON that the series really takes off. Though, of the earlier books, I really like CLOUDS OF WITNESS and THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB.

The books with Harriet are the only ones that, I think, really need to be read in order.

Re: Sayers

[oyceter]

Thanks!

Oh, good, female character!

(heroine addiction)

Re: Sayers

[oracne.livejournal.com]

(heroine addiction)

Hee!

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Diarmuid in the Fionavar Tapestry.

Loved *him* (and Kay's a big Dunnett fan). HATED what Kay did with him. HATED! Like, I did not want to finish the books after that (frickin' frackin' King Arthur!! I want my Diarmuid back.) And he really fell down with the Sharra disappearing from the rest of the novel too, IMO.

Hee! I'm so bitter about this that I can't rant at the drop of the proverbial hat ;)

[oyceter]

I know!! I was so traumatized, especially because he and Sharra were already in Fionavar and they don't get to be reborn there or something like everyone else in all his other books!!

But, oh, I loved that he picked that way to go out, if he had to go out, out of the blue and for the Black Boar ;).

And Sharra's "Let it be done with love" kills me every single time.