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SotS Official Snippet #3

Fans of Bahzell and Tomenack come on in! Let's talk about David's fantasy series and our favorite hradani!
Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by Nick   » Tue Dec 16, 2014 3:52 pm

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runsforcelery wrote:
/snip/

The redhaired man turned towards the deep, jovial bellow . . . and froze in mid stride, as he found himself face-to-face with two fathoms of midnight-black death. He stood there, not daring even to breathe, as the immense direcat gazed up at him out of amber eyes. It was one of the great direcats of the plains, almost seven feet in length, not counting its tail, and well over three feet at the shoulder, with five-inch bone-white fangs. It was also the most feared predator of Norfressa, with absolutely no business in a Belhadan tavern.

He waited, frozen, anticipating its spring. But it merely seated itself and wrapped its yard-long tail neatly about its toes like some enormous house cat. It cocked its massive head to gaze straight across at him out of those frighteningly intelligent yellow eyes. And as it did, he realized no one else in the entire tavern seemed to consider its deadly presence the least bit out of the ordinary.

He inhaled cautiously, pulling his gaze away from the direcat by sheer force of will to look at whoever had spoken, and his nostrils widened in fresh astonishment. No stripling himself, he was overtopped by the man he faced, and his green eyes widened as he recognized a hradani. Not just any hradani, either. This was a giant among them; at six and a half feet, the redhaired man’s head barely topped the other’s shoulder. The white apron over the leathers of a fighting man — and the sheathed Wakūo hook knife at his hip — only added to the aura of unreality, for the hradani were the only foes more savage in combat than the huge direcat which sat with such bizarre daintiness at the giant’s side.

“It’s a powerful thirst as brings a man out on a night like this!” the hradani laughed, and the redhaired man studied the massive figure carefully, reassured by the other’s cheerful manner . . . and the fact that the direcat hadn’t yet pounced. He glanced back at the beast, and it yawned through its fangs as it returned his regard.

“Not thirst so much as an excess of drinking water,” he said, kicking his wits back to life, and smiled. The hradani’s tufted ears, fox-like and mobile, twitched in amusement, and his huge laugh bounced back from the rafters like enclosed thunder.

“Aye, I’m thinking Chemalka and Khalifrio are after having their heads together this night,” he agreed. “Myself, I’m one as prefers my drink in a mug and not so cold! If it’s something stronger than water you’re seeking, you’ve come to the right place in the Iron Axe.”

“I may have, but I fear the contents of my purse haven’t,” the redhaired man confessed candidly.

“No money?” The hradani eyed him thoughtfully, then shrugged. “No matter. I’ll not turn any man out on a night such as this. We’ll fire your belly with rockfish stew while the fire’s after drying your hide.”

He chuckled rumblingly at his own humor and turned to plow through the crowded taproom like a barque under full sail. The press parted before him like foam, and the redhaired man trailed gratefully in his wake. He stayed carefully clear of the direcat, but the beast only glanced at him as he passed and began grooming a scimitared paw. The redhaired man met its incurious gaze respectfully, for the cat must have weighed at least eight hundred pounds which made it worthy of all the respect he could muster.

“Leeana! Leeana!”


So there are a few clues that this is Bahzell like the height, attitude, and calling out to Leeana, but it's not explicitly stated that it is Bahzell. Have we ever seen direcats in these stories or is that a new element? That too would be a sign we're not working in the exact same universe as the previous books. It's obviously very closely related to that Norfressa, much closer than the universe of Ken Houghtan and APCs and U.S. Marines. The blurb clearly states that the Bahzell in this book is a Champion of Tomonak, and I doubt that Tomonak would have his Champions spending their time tending bar. That would suggest that wherever the story is now it's going to end up back in the same universe as the first books. Hopefully there won't be a lot of hopping between one universe and the next. Dimensional travel always gives me a headache.
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Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by Peter2   » Tue Dec 16, 2014 4:26 pm

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John Prigent wrote:What makes anyone think that these are OUR Bahzell, Leeana, Wencit, and Ken Houghton/Kenhodan? We've been told by Himself (as Bahzell calls him)that there are many universes and our heroes have counterparts in all of them. Though if these aren't our people I'll be very interested to learn how they link to the Bahzellverse, and if they are, what they are doing incognito will be equally interesting to learn. Bring it on, RFC!
Cheers
John


Previously . . .

Tomanak speaks: "So go home, Kenneth Houghton. Go home, remembering all that happened here, and remembering this promise: someday you will meet Bahzell again, and your Gwynn will be with you when you do."
Sword Brother by David Weber

I guess this is the start of RFC fulfilling that quote. :D
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Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by Peter2   » Tue Dec 16, 2014 4:30 pm

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PeterZ wrote:
MPCatchup wrote:Excited to finally be getting snippets from the new book and be able to revisit Bahzell. Just so confused with who this Ken Houghton is, I'm going to have to go reread the series to try to find my bearings.


Just read the Sword Bother novella included in the last edition of Oath of Swords.



It's also included in Worlds of Weber, if that helps.
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Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by akira.taylor   » Tue Dec 16, 2014 4:58 pm

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Nick wrote:<SNIP>
So there are a few clues that this is Bahzell like the height, attitude, and calling out to Leeana, but it's not explicitly stated that it is Bahzell. Have we ever seen direcats in these stories or is that a new element? That too would be a sign we're not working in the exact same universe as the previous books. It's obviously very closely related to that Norfressa, much closer than the universe of Ken Houghtan and APCs and U.S. Marines. The blurb clearly states that the Bahzell in this book is a Champion of Tomonak, and I doubt that Tomonak would have his Champions spending their time tending bar. That would suggest that wherever the story is now it's going to end up back in the same universe as the first books. Hopefully there won't be a lot of hopping between one universe and the next. Dimensional travel always gives me a headache.


Bahzell's height: actually, he is identified as over a foot shorter than normal (6'6", instead of 7'9"), but I would guess that is viewer imprecision, and a typo.

Direcats: I believe we see one in Oath of Swords, when Bahzell and Brandark meet ... Tomanak's sister the Bard (that's how they find the cave).
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Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by DrakBibliophile   » Tue Dec 16, 2014 5:08 pm

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I thought the 6'6" was referring to Kenhodan's height, not the height of the hradani.

As for the direcat, I believe you're correct but why would one of them be peaceably be in a tavern? [Wink]


akira.taylor wrote:Bahzell's height: actually, he is identified as over a foot shorter than normal (6'6", instead of 7'9"), but I would guess that is viewer imprecision, and a typo.

Direcats: I believe we see one in Oath of Swords, when Bahzell and Brandark meet ... Tomanak's sister the Bard (that's how they find the cave).
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Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by Bahzellstudent   » Tue Dec 16, 2014 6:44 pm

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Well that's me good and confused! But liking what I'm reading - so the fact that I can't predict what happens next just means that I am not an author, and certainly not one as good as RFC
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Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by runsforcelery   » Tue Dec 16, 2014 7:20 pm

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Bahzellstudent wrote:Well that's me good and confused! But liking what I'm reading - so the fact that I can't predict what happens next just means that I am not an author, and certainly not one as good as RFC



You guys are so cute! :lol:

Why do you insist in assigning such Byzantine motives to me? :twisted:


"Oh, bother!" said Pooh, as Piglet came back from the dead.
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Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by fallsfromtrees   » Tue Dec 16, 2014 8:42 pm

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runsforcelery wrote:
Bahzellstudent wrote:Well that's me good and confused! But liking what I'm reading - so the fact that I can't predict what happens next just means that I am not an author, and certainly not one as good as RFC



You guys are so cute! :lol:

Why do you insist in assigning such Byzantine motives to me? :twisted:

Experience?
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The only problem with quotes on the internet is that you can't authenticate them -- Abraham Lincoln
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Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by PeterZ   » Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:21 pm

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C'mon Drak. Don't you see a Drakesque journey between worlds? Not sure this is the same Ken Houghton. There will be loads of characters "close enough for tactical Nukes" to "our" characters in their journeys. Loads of characters that made one or two different decisions and defined a different world than the one RFC wrote about in the current series.

DrakBibliophile wrote:Ken Houghton? I know who "Ken Houghton" is but this red-haired guy knows too much about Norfressa to be our friend Ken.

Of course, if the red-haired guy is be greeted by "our" Bahzell & Leeanas, where are their coursers?

The coursers would be a "little out of place" in the tavern's stable or in a fair sized town.

For that matter, if a hradani would raise a few eye-brows, a hradani married to a human woman would raise even more.


PeterZ wrote:Dang! Just how many realities will this grand opus cover? Methinks this Ken Houghton will be meeting many Bahzells and Leeanas as Kenhodan before completing his mission as Ken Houghton with his brother Champion of Tomanak.
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Re: SotS Official Snippet #3
Post by DrakBibliophile   » Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:39 am

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Well Peter, I hadn't read the SotS blurb to know about Kenhodan as a man without personal memories when I posted that.

As I already said, I can see how Kenhodan could be Ken Houghton (either the one we met in Sword Brother or another one).

On the other hand, I need more info to know if this hradani is our Bahzell or another Bahzell.

As it is, the next snippet may have this hradani calling himself Harimudd or Petezed or Pauhowrd. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

PeterZ wrote:C'mon Drak. Don't you see a Drakesque journey between worlds? Not sure this is the same Ken Houghton. There will be loads of characters "close enough for tactical Nukes" to "our" characters in their journeys. Loads of characters that made one or two different decisions and defined a different world than the one RFC wrote about in the current series.

DrakBibliophile wrote:Ken Houghton? I know who "Ken Houghton" is but this red-haired guy knows too much about Norfressa to be our friend Ken.

Of course, if the red-haired guy is be greeted by "our" Bahzell & Leeanas, where are their coursers?

The coursers would be a "little out of place" in the tavern's stable or in a fair sized town.

For that matter, if a hradani would raise a few eye-brows, a hradani married to a human woman would raise even more.

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Paul Howard (Alias Drak Bibliophile)
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Sometimes The Dragon Wins! [Polite Dragon Smile]
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