Hi, if you don't mind I have a few questions....

1. In The Amulet of Samarkand it is mentioned that there was 'great love' between Asmoral and Ianna. I always thought it meant they were friends, but one of my friends who's reading the trilogy thought they were romantically related. I'm wondering who is right....

2. And, in general, can spirits even carry on romantic relationships?

3. In the books, especially Ptolemy's Gate, not many of the characters (most notably Nathaniel and Kitty) seem to hate theater. Is it simply Makepeace they can't stand or is the theater what they truly dislike? But, since it is wrote this way and all, I've been wondering if you don't like the theater...

4. In Ptolemy's Gate, Faqural defeats all of Nathaniel's djinni. Inside Hopkin's body, what kind of entity would it have taken to defeat him?

Thanks for your time. It's really cool you're willing to answer questions like this.

~Ianna

Hello again...

1 & 2. From a human perspective it's pretty tricky to gauge exactly how relationships between spirits work. In the Other Place, they are all one anyway - intermingled forever - which is the kind of union that humans cannot attain. I think it's safe to assume that Ianna and Asmoral's bond was passionate and steadfast in the way that only the deepest friendships can be - they would sacrifice themselves rather than hurt the other. It is perhaps similar to the idealised love that we get in medieval tales of chivalry, rather than being 'romantic' in our modern sense. There are similar things going on between Bart and Ptolemy, and in the last book Bart, Nat and Kitty all find themselves prepared to makes sacrifices for each other.

3. Good question! Well, Makepeace is evidently a terrible playwright - shallow and sensationalistic - but he is also hugely popular. Partly this is because the government controls what is allowed on stage, so rubbish impressarios like Makepeace succeed, and good stuff (which would certainly be critical of the govt) is forbidden. Partly it may be that the public has bad taste. So N and Kitty are responding to Makepeace rather than 'good' theatre. As for me I have nothing against theatre at all - honest!

4. Faquarl is certainly pretty tough, though Gladstone's Staff makes short work of him. He's a high-level djinni (more powerful than Bart, much to Bart's resentment), but not an afrit or marid, so it's possible that either of those categories could have destroyed him. Mind you, he's also inteligent, and as Bart's career shows brains (or at least cunning) can often beat raw muscle, so even those powerful spirits would have had to be wary of him.

J