The Dragon's Pool - Week 2 (Parts II and III)

[Edward C. Patterson]

Dnagirl:

Ezio, you mean. Tadzio's a lamb.  The Amalliatore.

Ed P

[dnagirl]

Dnagirl:

Ezio, you mean. Tadzio's a lamb.  The Amalliatore.

Ed P

Yes, that's what I meant.  I keep getting them backwards for some reason.

[Ann in Arlington]

not home at the moment but I just read the chapter about dinner and now I seriously want to go to an italian restaurant.  we have a favorite that we've not been to in quite a while.

[Edward C. Patterson]

I never had as glorious a meal at Fiesole, but I had a memorable one overloooking Firenze back in 1971 in the spirit of Nel' Pergolata with Mom and Dad, and my two younger brothers (and they were youngsters then. They're both in their fifties now).Of course, if I ever prepare the lamb again, I'll send out invitations. 

Ed P

[Ann in Arlington]

Of course, if I ever prepare the lamb again, I'll send out invitations. 

Ed P

Put me on your list. . . . . .

[Ann in Arlington]

Chapter 2 & 3 - Before the Stall & Nel' Pergolato

1 - Two short chapters designed to get Tuscany into your nostrils. Why would I show Rose so combative?

2 - The meal. Would you like an invitation to that meal?

(Well, in order to write those 2 paragraphs describing the Tuscan meal, I bought an authentic Tuscan cookbook and made the Lamb and some of the other dishes - and gained a couple of pounds capturing the textures and the tastes (not to mention the aroma). Sometimes an author's research is quite rewarding. But I also have traveled in Tuscany (can't you tell), and Fiesole is one of my favorite spots.

3 - So just as I get you settled in Tuscany, I slip back to . . . New Yawk City. Besides wanting to show you Rose's tale instead of having it told, what do you see in this slipback that's important? There are many telling clues here.

1.  Rose seems like a mother defending her cubs. .. .even if they're adopted cubs.  Also, she is the rightful 'mistress' of the villa as the wife of the master, not the sister. . . .but the sister's personality is such that she qoule claim that right.  But she's not going to go all 'unnamed deWinter bride' and just let Mrs. Danvers push her around.

2.  I already said the food description made me want to go to our favorite Italian place. . . .hope we can get to that soon. . .definitely want an invite if you cook! 

3.  John Battle was obsessed with the Owl at that point. . . .Rowden seems like he doesn't really believe in it.  But, if I recall correctly, he wasn't real sure about it at the beginning of The Jade Owl and had to be convinced by Nick. . .or maybe I'm misremembering.  Much meantion of pearls and warrants. . .surprised no rosebuds.

On to chapter 4. . . .I know I'm behind. . . this working thing cuts into my Kindle time!  I'll re-read all the posts when I get done this section.

[Ann in Arlington]

Reading some pertinent earlier posts:

Yes, between loveable Tadzio  and dispicable, Ezio.   

 

Ed P

Oh, I don't know. . . I think Ezio could be lovable in his way.  Right now, though, it's just that it's all about him

[Edward C. Patterson]

Ann:

About being behind - the only requirement I have laid on myself in this series is in The Jade Owl to begin like a bat out of hell so my readers will not want to put it down, but then ----- I want my readers to luxuriate it it - the back stroke, the bubble bath, something pleasurable, but lingering (nad not boiling oil  ).

You're right. Ezio is loveable in his own way. Like all charcters, they all need an arc, and perhaps that's his, but in his own way. You're right. Rowden fell out with John Battle over the Bird and Rowden's reluctance to "carry-on" the work, which fell to someone else (Book 4), when we return to Old Pew in real time. (BTW, the look and feel of Columbia is right from my own experiences, and in fact (or a factoid), I had a falling out while I was on my doctoral tract with Professor Han Bielenstein (one of the great China Hands), who wanted me to carry his work in early Han studies and NOT Sung, where I went. So the fracture between John and Rowden has a basis in academic truth, although John is not based on Bielenstein. I mock Bielenstein, when Rose described Professor Tholjaggerstein. I also remembered one of my fellow students showing up for class early just to get the only left-handed desk-seat. And the wind always blew into the lecture hall. Kent Hall was magic to me, with its thousands of books. I'd get lost there for hours and the scapula bones with the inscriptions and the . . . oh well, I could write a book.

'nuff for now. Back to revising Bobby's Trace for a February reluanch.

Ed P

[Ann in Arlington]

Chapter Four - La Giada Gufo

1 - Has Rafaelo changed in your eyes? Has Rose?

2 - Has the dots been connected for you as far as Nick and the Owl is concerned?

PS: I am constantly quoting Gilbert & Sullivan in all my novels for savoyard readers. This chapter has a silly arcane one. Agony. Rage. Despair. Which comes from the second Act of The Sorcerer.

"O, agony , rage, despair
The woman has light brown hair
And mine is as white as snow."

It's a minor little thing that adds to Rose's overall character, because also from The Sorcerer is "Now to the banquet we press," which Rose sang in The Third Peregrination.

1.  I don't feel like I knew Rafael that well from before to judge how he's changed. . . .even so, he's, not surprisingly, a bit more 'lord of the manor' there in Italy than he was in China.

Rose seems much less flighty. . .but then she began to 'serious up' as 'The Third Peregrination' progressed and she realized the weirdness was real.

2.  Nick has a very close connection to the Owl. . . .apparently he can sense where it is located as he keeps talking about being covered in dirt. . . . .Rose, the seer, I think is getting an idea of how closely connected he is. . .not sure she, or any of the others, quite realized it before.

Chapter Five - Sex (whoops) I mean - La Spezzia

1 - Are liking Ezio yet? (I'd be surprised).

2 - Were you surprised by the tidbit in his bed?

I did kinda like him before. . . .not really happy with him at this point though.

Surprised is not a strong enough word!  But, in retrospect, I should have expected some villains to return!

[Ann in Arlington]

Part IV - The Last Warrant (Don't you believe it for a moment)

Chapter I - Alcatraz

1 - How is Nicky shaping up as a father? and Simone as a mother?

2 - Nick's special talents excel here, but his mental journey serves to mingle not only the villainy of Pelasar, but thresh out some growing relationships? Between who(m)? Why are we on Alcatraz?

3 - Who's that woman? Any guesses?

PS: I wanted to have an Alcatraz scene in The Jade Owl but my agent had me cut it (good thing to), because this was the time for it.

(Really it's Part III )

1.  They're managing pretty well considering how they became 'parents'.  They're keeping calm which is what's needed.

2.  Why Alcatraz?  'Cause it's a quintessential San Francisco spot?  Relationships:  Win To and Sung Yi Di seem to be a fascination to Silky. . . got a feeling he's going to be a key to something later on.

Chapter II - Niu-wa (pronounced Nyu-wah)

1 - What do we learn about John Battle here?

2 - What do we learn about Rowden Gray?

Battle seemed to be trying to expose the story with the fairy tale but didn't quite have the nerve so kept it secret. . . .not sure about Rowden. . . he doesn't seem quite as keen to traipse off to China this time. . . .

Chapter III - A Look in the Mirror

1 - What is the problem between Nick and Rowden?

2 - What is happening to Nick?

R. seems to be much less willing to play the mind games Nick seems to like. . .and Nick's connection to the Owl is affecting their relationship. . .R. seems sure it's not quite 'safe'.  Nick is clearly 'feeling' what the Owl feels while buried in Italy.

Chapter IV - The Agent

1 - Is Ezio out of his element, do you think?

2 - What do you suppose the "Clot" joke means. If you don;t know, that's all right, I ask it again and again . . . and again.

3 - Do you think that the relics are still quiet in this Hall of quiet relics?

Yeah, Ezio is completely out of his league. . .Nick's not fooled even a little bit.

re: clot. . . .word first used in R. and N.'s mindspeak . . .they're talking about transfusion:  new blood. . .into the ki'ching maybe?  Right now I don't think Ezio is a good candidate, but there's hope for him.

Relics?  Quiet?  Duh!  No. . . .clearly the claw made the painting move. . . . .also, a thought just occurred to me:  In The TP, the Owl was needed . . . .maybe N. is so in tune with the Owl that the actual relic is not needed. . .just Nick's presence is good enough. . . .

Chapter V - A Slippery Slope

1 - Does this little dinner at the Drake reminiscent of anything?

2 - Who is Ezio's stalker?

The dinner reminded me a little of Sydney's story of dining with Connie. . .when he later stole back what she'd taken.

I first thought the 'stalker' might be Simone not in drag, but then hit on Griffith Jones. . . .

(by the way, at one point you use the phrase "she's a trooper".  I thought it was "she's a trouper"; a reference to a member of a theater troupe who could take any part as needed.)

Chapter VI - By Invitation Only

(Can't have a Jade Owl book without a party - in fact, in this one we have a few)

1 - What is the structural reason for this author having a reception at this point?

2 - Does Ch;en Jr-ling (Thomas) appear changed

3 - What seems to be happening to Silky?

4 - Siblings, siblings, what's the problem between these siblings?

1.  Well, it's a good way to put a lot of disparate characters in the same place and see how they interact and what is thereby revealed.

2.  Hard to tell. . . .he's clearly jet lagged. . . .possibly a little overwhelmed as it appears the trip was a bit of a surprise followed by a whirlsind. . . .

3.  Silky is definitely in the thrall of Yi-Di. . . or possibly the stone. . . by this time, presumably, Win to has talked to him about the stone. . . .he's supposed to 'acquire' it for Pelesar of course.

4.  Lots of secrets between the sibs. . . .also possibly resentment and jealousy.  In other words, normal siblings.

Chapter VII - Russian Hill

1 - Why Russian Hill? And what famous novel(s) is set on Barbary Lane in a house owned by Mrs. Anna Madrigal?

2 - Have some lights gone on regarding John Battle's little tale and the legend that Meng Ka-bao tells?

3 - What is a Chinese elemental?

4 - A lot to digest, but are the dots being further connected with this talk of eggs?

(BTW: I couldn't resist having the pot smoking scene on the porch as a throwback to Rowdy's hippy days, Nick's road days and a homage to Armistead's book)

1.  Why not Russian Hill?    Not familiar with any other book, sorry.
2.  Yeah. . .it's obviously at least in part the origin of all the freaky artifacts. . . I do wonder where the other egg is (assuming one is the red 'stone' Yi Di has).
3.  Western elements are earth, air, fire, water. . . . elemental often is used to refer to base spirits, 'fantastic' beings associated with the 4 'elements'. . . I assume it's similar in Chinese mythology, but admit to woeful ignorance.
4.  Dot's are kind of connecting, but I think it's still dotted lines. . . . .

O.K.  That's as far as I've gotten. . . must keep reading. . . . .

[Edward C. Patterson]

Lot's of ground covered An.

Good catch "she's a trooper". my bad and I'll add it to the list when I get to a maintnance release. It's a malapropism. Of course, I could say I meant she was a state cop, but I'd be lying to cover my artisitc butt.

You're tracking along very well - most observations are right on.

The book in question on Rusiian Hil is the Great Gay Book of the 70's, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the Coty, which takes place at the exact setting and in the same building that Meng rents his rooms. If you ver want a great read, those 6 books are wonderful. of course, gay readers would know it immediately, but the books rode high on a general readership and then three of the books were television series staring Laura Linney before her glory days, and Olivia Dukakis playing the transexual Mrs. Madrigal.

You're correct with the elementals. Niu-wa is a Chinese elemental spirit, older thn the hills and perhaps even older than those.

I think you're getting the gist that The Jade Owl isn;t necessarily needed for triangulations etc. In TTP, Li K'ai-men was able to perform it without the Jade Owl.

You have the Nicky - Jade Owl connection correct. Funny that the bird hasn;t appeared yet in the novel. Funny, that.

Silky is pivotal. In fact, where The ade Owl has a limited set of characters, and TTP many more, The Dragon's Pool is a grand opera when it comes to the number of characters. I know. I'm juggling them and their union while I'm writing The people's Treasure. Have you eve dalt with the Fictional Character Local No. 999? They're so demanding.

 Yep, keep readin'

Ed P

[Ann in Arlington]

Chapter VIII & IX - Mr. Firestone's Report & Mooning the Honey

(one of my favorite 2 Chapters)
1 - Our first view of China in this book, the slipback to Yang-shuo should disorient you a bit. Did it?

Only briefly. . . I figured out quickly what you were doing

2 - How do you like Gil "Featherduster" Canto now?

Clearly not a 'field' guy. . . . .he could be very annoying if one had to spend any length of time with him

3 - Why is this chapter set in the rain?

 Uh. . . .to annoy Canto?  

4 - If nothing else, you've learned the Chinese word for BUS, which I find funny - gung-gung-ch'ua.  Grin

 ah. . .so that's what it means.

5 - Did you enjoy the reunion with Charlie and then with Little Cricket? I mean, without these guys, where would the Legacy series be?

Please remind me:  Cricket was the 'signpost' which clearly affected him, but more so he was affected by the relics left behind. .. .which were what, exactly?

6 - If you had to guess, what Dickens novel inspired "Cricket in the Homestead?"

 It's totally Mrs. Haversham's house. . . . . . .

7 - Did you notice that you slipbacked a second time (a double slipback) when Cricket goes to Mt. Li? (You two levels deep and back now)

yep. . . . it followed. .. ...having Sidney's letter in italics helped emphasize that we were back to the here and now

8 - What are gifts of Mt. Li?" I detail them later, but wouldn;t it be nice if you can guess?

 yeah.. . .don't know. . . .but I guess it's not something that I forgot.. . . .

BTW: The double slipback - Rowden reading the letter, then slipping to Sydney in Yang-shou/Gui-lin and then Cricket slipping back to Mt. Li, and then sipping up and out to the letter and to Rose's appearance, whew! is a circus aerial acting for any author. Only time will tell if I got it right. (It's like Rodney Dangerfield's Triple Lindy).

===================================

On to the next part. . . . .

[Edward C. Patterson]

Ann - the relics in Little Crickets box are  --- Han Lin's ring, the Pearl pendant and the tomb key. Cricket was upset by being the human psignpost, but Charlie's protectiveness and his jealousy are also evident.

The rain does annoy Canto, but it gave me the chance to describe the market and streets of Gui-lin in the rain, just as I saw them. Canto, BTW, is a larger than life pain i the *ss, but he is also a crucial character to the proceedings - not only in thie book, but in the next one.

Yep, Great Expectations. I try to always doff my hat to my mentors, and Dickens is one. I sometimes slip into a more archaic turn of phrase because of that, but generally I editing it out or tone it down in revision (but sometimes not).

The triple slipback is a homage to Stephen King. He does a triple Lindy in one of the most brilliant books written in the 20th Century - The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower Book I). King is also a mentor, although he's my junior by a few months. Whenever I am stuck at how to handle a scene, I turn to King and dissect one of his, and then analyse what he's done and the effect it generates. Then I'll approach my material again. I never duplicate it (nor would I want to). However, he provides me with techiniques that transcend the usual rules of grammar and usage that sometimes bogs down creativity.

Ed P