Strangely on-topic

On Sun, 01 Apr 2007 23:30:51 -0700, William George Ferguson
stomped through my brain with:

>Seen on Amazon.com
>
>October 7, 2007
>Reserved for the Cat (Elemental Masters #5)
>Mercedes Lackey
>
>The only fairy tale (of the type that Lackey has been using in the
>Elemental Masters books so far, at least) that I can think of that fits the
>title is Puss 'n Boots, but we'll see.

Actually, considering the title, the addage "A cat can look at a
king" comes to mind. I believe that there is a fairy tale to
that effect as well.

Speaking of which, I still haven't quite figured out "Wizard of
London". What fairy tale was that one? It just didn't seem to
follow any one that I was familiar with. All the others were
very recognizable (I really enjoyed the retelling of Snow White
and Sleeping Beauty).

Another note...


.... that troll is back. I've kill-filed him... AGAIN. OY! I'm
assuming folks have been reporting him? Wish I knew what his
beef with Purrt is so I could put him straight... preferrably
with a BIG stick... with nails in it.

Tristaan

--
Beware Spam Trap!: "us" is an "ogre"
*******************************************************
Ogre-Monk, AIM TristaanOgre
God of Grilled-SPAM™ and Summer, Disciple of Babble
Assistant Librarian/Orangutan, Pedant Target,
Chief Brute, Husband of Amethyst, Father of Charis and Talia
Co-Owner of The Ogre, the Elf, The Imp, and The Urchin
Keyboard Martyr, Keeper of the ABML Cookbook
PGP Public Key available
*******************************************************
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a
mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from
here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be
impossible for you." - Matthew 17:20, NIV
Want to know more?
http://www.smallseeds.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=9
*******************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: Strangely on-topic 

On Tue, 03 Apr 2007 09:59:40 -0400, Tristaan <tristaanus.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 01 Apr 2007 23:30:51 -0700, William George Ferguson
>stomped through my brain with:
>
>>Seen on Amazon.com
>>
>>October 7, 2007
>>Reserved for the Cat (Elemental Masters #5)
>>Mercedes Lackey
>>
>>The only fairy tale (of the type that Lackey has been using in the
>>Elemental Masters books so far, at least) that I can think of that fits the
>>title is Puss 'n Boots, but we'll see.
>
>Actually, considering the title, the addage "A cat can look at a
>king" comes to mind. I believe that there is a fairy tale to
>that effect as well.

There are a couple of modern stories with the title of 'A Cat May Look At A
King', but they originate from the phrase rather than the phrase
originating from them. Both (I know of) were written in the 20th century,
and Lewis Carroll had Alice refer to the phrase while talking to the
Cheshire Cat, back in the late 19th century.

While there are a ton of 'cat as helper' folk tales, the two best known in
the English are Puss 'n Boots and Dick Whittington's Cat, and I'm guessing
it's the first (now if the protagonist wizard is going to be a Lord
Mayor...)

>Speaking of which, I still haven't quite figured out "Wizard of
>London". What fairy tale was that one? It just didn't seem to
>follow any one that I was familiar with. All the others were
>very recognizable (I really enjoyed the retelling of Snow White
>and Sleeping Beauty).

Wikipedia says "The Snow Queen".

My biggest problem is that I didn't like Lord Aldershot in the first
(second) book, and didn't like him in any of the succeeding books, Lackey
doesn't really get me to like him in a book where he's the title character.

That 'first (second)' is because "The Fire Rose" isn't officially counted
as part of the series (although it expicitly takes place in the same world,
there are references to it in one of the other books) not because it
doesn't take place in England, but because it doesn't take place in DAW
books (it was published By Baen).

And my favorite one so far is "Phoenix and Ashes", because of how
pro-active the heroine (not protagonist, heroine) is. I also like "The
Serpent's Shadow" for the same reason, although Snow Dusky Brown needs a
little more help with the 'evil queen' than Eleanor Enchanting (but, except
where the magic intervenes, Maya does a bang-up job of getting on with her
life through her own efforts, without whining or complaining)


--
"Oh Buffy, you really do need to have
every square inch of your ass kicked."
- Willow Rosenberg
 >> Stay informed about: Strangely on-topic 

William George Ferguson wrote:
> On Tue, 03 Apr 2007 09:59:40 -0400, Tristaan <tristaanus DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 01 Apr 2007 23:30:51 -0700, William George Ferguson
>> stomped through my brain with:
>>
>>> Seen on Amazon.com
>>>
>>> October 7, 2007
>>> Reserved for the Cat (Elemental Masters #5)
>>> Mercedes Lackey
>>>
>>> The only fairy tale (of the type that Lackey has been using in the
>>> Elemental Masters books so far, at least) that I can think of that fits the
>>> title is Puss 'n Boots, but we'll see.
>> Actually, considering the title, the addage "A cat can look at a
>> king" comes to mind. I believe that there is a fairy tale to
>> that effect as well.
>
> There are a couple of modern stories with the title of 'A Cat May Look At A
> King', but they originate from the phrase rather than the phrase
> originating from them. Both (I know of) were written in the 20th century,
> and Lewis Carroll had Alice refer to the phrase while talking to the
> Cheshire Cat, back in the late 19th century.
>
> While there are a ton of 'cat as helper' folk tales, the two best known in
> the English are Puss 'n Boots and Dick Whittington's Cat, and I'm guessing
> it's the first (now if the protagonist wizard is going to be a Lord
> Mayor...)
>
>> Speaking of which, I still haven't quite figured out "Wizard of
>> London". What fairy tale was that one? It just didn't seem to
>> follow any one that I was familiar with. All the others were
>> very recognizable (I really enjoyed the retelling of Snow White
>> and Sleeping Beauty).
>
> Wikipedia says "The Snow Queen".


Yes, it definitely was The Snow Queen. It's strange how few people
are familiar with the Hans Christian Andersen tales, other than The Ugly
Ducking and The Little Mermaid.

I really liked it, primarily because I'd never read the Grey stories,
for some reason. (#1 being that I don't like to read stories on the
computer, and we only have them electronically)

>
> My biggest problem is that I didn't like Lord Aldershot in the first
> (second) book, and didn't like him in any of the succeeding books, Lackey
> doesn't really get me to like him in a book where he's the title character.
>
> That 'first (second)' is because "The Fire Rose" isn't officially counted
> as part of the series (although it expicitly takes place in the same world,
> there are references to it in one of the other books) not because it
> doesn't take place in England, but because it doesn't take place in DAW
> books (it was published By Baen).
>
> And my favorite one so far is "Phoenix and Ashes", because of how
> pro-active the heroine (not protagonist, heroine) is. I also like "The
> Serpent's Shadow" for the same reason, although Snow Dusky Brown needs a
> little more help with the 'evil queen' than Eleanor Enchanting (but, except
> where the magic intervenes, Maya does a bang-up job of getting on with her
> life through her own efforts, without whining or complaining)
>
>

My favorite remains Fire Rose (it's the same universe, I don't care if
DAW pretends the book doesn't exist), followed by Gates of Sleep. I
didn't much care for Phoenix and Ashes at all. It seemed darker than the
others, I don't like the time period, and I think she got too caught up
in naming the characters after people from Baen's Bar (myself included)
and not leaving anyone out, which cluttered up the story with lists of
names.

It's rather ironic that you didn't care much for Wizard of London. One
of the reasons The Snow Queen always stood out in my mind is because it
was the rare fairy tale where the BOY got himself into trouble and was
rescued by the GIRL. *G*

Kat
 >> Stay informed about: Strangely on-topic 

On Tue, 03 Apr 2007 13:13:27 -0700, William George Ferguson
stomped through my brain with:

>There are a couple of modern stories with the title of 'A Cat May Look At A
>King', but they originate from the phrase rather than the phrase
>originating from them. Both (I know of) were written in the 20th century,
>and Lewis Carroll had Alice refer to the phrase while talking to the
>Cheshire Cat, back in the late 19th century.

I could have sworn that there was a more "ancient" tale by that
title than 20th centure. Ah well.. Google and Wikipedia don't
come back with anything so I guess that means it doesn't exist.


>While there are a ton of 'cat as helper' folk tales, the two best known in
>the English are Puss 'n Boots and Dick Whittington's Cat, and I'm guessing
>it's the first (now if the protagonist wizard is going to be a Lord
>Mayor...)

Hehe... and all we'd need then is a bit of a feline critter
running around and we're well off.

>Wikipedia says "The Snow Queen".

Don't know that one. I understand it's Hans Christian Anderson
but I'm not familiar with the story. I'm gonna have to go
hunting.

>My biggest problem is that I didn't like Lord Aldershot in the first
>(second) book, and didn't like him in any of the succeeding books, Lackey
>doesn't really get me to like him in a book where he's the title character.

He's not a likeable guy. I think that's intentional.

>That 'first (second)' is because "The Fire Rose" isn't officially counted
>as part of the series (although it expicitly takes place in the same world,
>there are references to it in one of the other books) not because it
>doesn't take place in England, but because it doesn't take place in DAW
>books (it was published By Baen).

I never understood that until now. Thanks for explaining it.

>And my favorite one so far is "Phoenix and Ashes", because of how
>pro-active the heroine (not protagonist, heroine) is. I also like "The
>Serpent's Shadow" for the same reason, although Snow Dusky Brown needs a
>little more help with the 'evil queen' than Eleanor Enchanting (but, except
>where the magic intervenes, Maya does a bang-up job of getting on with her
>life through her own efforts, without whining or complaining)

Heh, bit of feminism in Victorian England.

Tristaan
--
Beware Spam Trap!: "us" is an "ogre"
*******************************************************
Ogre-Monk, AIM TristaanOgre
God of Grilled-SPAM™ and Summer, Disciple of Babble
Assistant Librarian/Orangutan, Pedant Target,
Chief Brute, Husband of Amethyst, Father of Charis and Talia
Co-Owner of The Ogre, the Elf, The Imp, and The Urchin
Keyboard Martyr, Keeper of the ABML Cookbook
PGP Public Key available
*******************************************************
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a
mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from
here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be
impossible for you." - Matthew 17:20, NIV
Want to know more?
http://www.smallseeds.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=9
*******************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: Strangely on-topic 

Tristaan wrote:

<snip>

>
>> And my favorite one so far is "Phoenix and Ashes", because of how
>> pro-active the heroine (not protagonist, heroine) is. I also like "The
>> Serpent's Shadow" for the same reason, although Snow Dusky Brown needs a
>> little more help with the 'evil queen' than Eleanor Enchanting (but, except
>> where the magic intervenes, Maya does a bang-up job of getting on with her
>> life through her own efforts, without whining or complaining)
>
> Heh, bit of feminism in Victorian England.
>

Edwardian (1901-1910). The book was set in 1909- it says that inside
the dust cover specifically. Or you can get the era from the look of
Maya on the cover, but I wouldn't expect you to be an expert in women's
fashion eras. ROFL I'm a newly self-proclaimed Era Pedant, it seems.
*GGG* I was driven insane last week while looking for doll clothes for
my god daughter's Colonial American Girl doll by all the people on Ebay
who specifically advertised clothing for this doll and described it as
"Victorian" Grrrr

Anyway, feminism was rampant in 1909. It was the era of the suffragette,
after all.

Kat
 >> Stay informed about: Strangely on-topic 

On Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:06:42 GMT, Kat Hein stomped through my
brain with:


>Edwardian (1901-1910). The book was set in 1909- it says that inside

<mode="Pedant Annoyance">Eh, close enough</mode>

I just got done reading "The Great Train Robbery" by Crichton
recently so my freshest literary memories are of the Victorian
Era. Seemed that they were similar enough so I kinda guessed.


>Anyway, feminism was rampant in 1909. It was the era of the suffragette,
> after all.

As is evident in "Mary Poppins"...If I remember correctly, in the
movie, Mr. Banks sings in his opening song "King Edward is on the
throne."

Tristaan
--
Beware Spam Trap!: "us" is an "ogre"
*******************************************************
Ogre-Monk, AIM TristaanOgre
God of Grilled-SPAM™ and Summer, Disciple of Babble
Assistant Librarian/Orangutan, Pedant Target,
Chief Brute, Husband of Amethyst, Father of Charis and Talia
Co-Owner of The Ogre, the Elf, The Imp, and The Urchin
Keyboard Martyr, Keeper of the ABML Cookbook
PGP Public Key available
*******************************************************
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a
mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from
here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be
impossible for you." - Matthew 17:20, NIV
Want to know more?
http://www.smallseeds.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=9
*******************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: Strangely on-topic 

>On Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:06:42 GMT, Kat Hein stomped through my
>brain with:
>
>>Anyway, feminism was rampant in 1909. It was the era of the suffragette,
>> after all.
>
>As is evident in "Mary Poppins"...If I remember correctly, in the
>movie, Mr. Banks sings in his opening song "King Edward is on the
>throne."
>
>Tristaan

hehehe ... amazing our sources of information

The (drive by) Bookwurm
--
Goddess of Libraries ™,
Pedant in Chief
Keeper of the BotRoM
Sister Hand Grenade of Sweet Reason
Believer, Church of the Cosmic Muffin
<spam trapped - remove the fish from address>
 >> Stay informed about: Strangely on-topic 

On Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:30:44 -0700, Rhino 7 stomped through my
brain with:

>hehehe ... amazing our sources of information

The dancing Barbarians queue up to do the ABML version of "Step
in Time"

<singing>
Roast the troll now step in time
Roast the troll now step in time
Never need a reason never need a rhyme
Roast the troll now step in time

Throw the food now step in time
Throw the food now step in time
Never need a reason never need a rhyme
Throw the food now step in time

Clone the monkeys step in time
Clone the monkeys step in time
Never need a reason never need a rhyme
Clone the monkeys step in time
</singing>

Tristaan
--
Beware Spam Trap!: "us" is an "ogre"
*******************************************************
Ogre-Monk, AIM TristaanOgre
God of Grilled-SPAM™ and Summer, Disciple of Babble
Assistant Librarian/Orangutan, Pedant Target,
Chief Brute, Husband of Amethyst, Father of Charis and Talia
Co-Owner of The Ogre, the Elf, The Imp, and The Urchin
Keyboard Martyr, Keeper of the ABML Cookbook
PGP Public Key available
*******************************************************
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a
mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from
here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be
impossible for you." - Matthew 17:20, NIV
Want to know more?
http://www.smallseeds.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=9
*******************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: Strangely on-topic