Makepeace, not war Mite
7 Jun 07 - 05:51
First of all, hi. I've finished reading your trilogy recently, and I'm stunned. I was literally in tears by page 501. Honestly, these books beat Harry Potter by so much it's not even funny. You're a fantastic author, and I'm definitely reading more of your work as soon as I get back to the library. And I know it's not likely that I'll have my questions answered, but I got to thinking.
Bartimaeus' monologue at the end of PG was very interesting. The Other Place, a world of seemingly infinite energy, all in unison, enjoying its harmony. No individuality. Bartimaeus says that what they hate most are names. Names are like a lock, and as it's said, once you tear essence from the OP by giving it a name and pulling it to Earth, you define it, restrict its freedom. I started thinking about how the origins of such a system might have happened. Also having loved analyzing the symbolism in Lord Of The Flies, I realized that this situation points out a few things about human nature.
As I believe you've said in an answer to another question, magicians are just ordinary people with quick intelligence and intense motivation. Somehow, it was discovered that another place existed, full of mystery. Through rites and rituals, the powers within could be "yanked out", so to speak, and harnessed in the magician's favor. The greedy, power-hungry humans abused this ability to the finest degree, eventually leading to 2005 A.D. in an alternate reality. Clearly, the inhabitants of the Other Place want nothing but to be left alone; so I imagine it's cruel. Cruel to interrupt eternal peace just to give yourself an unfair advantage. Darwin would have cried.
So, more towards the point of an actual question: is this the kind of relationship between the worlds you were really trying to illustrate? I keep seeing the symbolism tying in with what Flies says about our evil nature.
Also, how did you imagine spirits being created? Would a more involved ritual pull more essence, creating a stronger demon? Would a shaman/magician have to be somehow equal to whatever they summoned to control it? Entities with such fearsome power as Ramuthra and Nouda make me wonder if, perhaps, there were magicians in ancient history able to control them as the modern British do their djinni.
Once again, thanks for putting up with my wall of text; I had a more coherent point in mind when I started writing, but it dissolved shortly after my fingers hit the keys. And I know that since this is my first post, it's likely to be ignored; but for all it's worth, I now regard the person who recommended me The Amulet of Samarkand MUCH higher now.
~Zach
Bartimaeus' monologue at the end of PG was very interesting. The Other Place, a world of seemingly infinite energy, all in unison, enjoying its harmony. No individuality. Bartimaeus says that what they hate most are names. Names are like a lock, and as it's said, once you tear essence from the OP by giving it a name and pulling it to Earth, you define it, restrict its freedom. I started thinking about how the origins of such a system might have happened. Also having loved analyzing the symbolism in Lord Of The Flies, I realized that this situation points out a few things about human nature.
As I believe you've said in an answer to another question, magicians are just ordinary people with quick intelligence and intense motivation. Somehow, it was discovered that another place existed, full of mystery. Through rites and rituals, the powers within could be "yanked out", so to speak, and harnessed in the magician's favor. The greedy, power-hungry humans abused this ability to the finest degree, eventually leading to 2005 A.D. in an alternate reality. Clearly, the inhabitants of the Other Place want nothing but to be left alone; so I imagine it's cruel. Cruel to interrupt eternal peace just to give yourself an unfair advantage. Darwin would have cried.
So, more towards the point of an actual question: is this the kind of relationship between the worlds you were really trying to illustrate? I keep seeing the symbolism tying in with what Flies says about our evil nature.
Also, how did you imagine spirits being created? Would a more involved ritual pull more essence, creating a stronger demon? Would a shaman/magician have to be somehow equal to whatever they summoned to control it? Entities with such fearsome power as Ramuthra and Nouda make me wonder if, perhaps, there were magicians in ancient history able to control them as the modern British do their djinni.
Once again, thanks for putting up with my wall of text; I had a more coherent point in mind when I started writing, but it dissolved shortly after my fingers hit the keys. And I know that since this is my first post, it's likely to be ignored; but for all it's worth, I now regard the person who recommended me The Amulet of Samarkand MUCH higher now.
~Zach