WARRING STATES discussion

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Mags L Halliday) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:32:46 GMT

bthogg wrote:
I've finally got around to reading this this weekend and OH WOW. I'm glad I kept myself unspoiled, it was absolutely wonderful. I loved the structure of the plot, the first two "books" showing the same events from Octavia and Liu's different perspectives, and then all coming together at the end. The subtext between them (fairly blatant IMO, more so than Justine/Eliza) is absolutely...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (ushas the rani) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:22:59 GMT

Mags L Halliday wrote:
There's a whole school of thought which says that if you can explain The Way then you are not explaining the Way

but are we not all Wayists? Do we not all follow the Way even if we do not realise it? Have I watched too much Andromeda? Is Rev Bem a prophet or a red herring? I don't think any one school of thought has all the answers, I think they all have some of the answers, but...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (bthogg) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:00:27 GMT

I've finally got around to reading this this weekend and OH WOW. I'm glad I kept myself unspoiled, it was absolutely wonderful. I loved the structure of the plot, the first two "books" showing the same events from Octavia and Liu's different perspectives, and then all coming together at the end. The subtext between them (fairly blatant IMO, more so than Justine/Eliza) is absolutely lovely too, particularly that final night in the cave. So I'm very much going...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (War Arrow) — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 22:11:33 GMT

Jim! Nice to have you back. I was getting worried.

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Jim Carner) — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 19:50:59 GMT

Finn's forts on WS earwig:

www.pagefillers.com/dwrg/warring.htm#2

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (JT Swift) — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 08:26:38 GMT

Does Warring States have any bonus material like Warlords of Utopia and the reprint of Dead Romance had?

-JT Swift

"I was told by the producer that the
guiding principle was to make the
scripts complex enough to keep the
Kids interested and simple enough for
the Adults to understand!"
-Douglas Adams on
writing Doctor Who

For all things Gallifreyan check...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Mags L Halliday) — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 01:17:37 GMT

The ending is...variable because it depends on whether you are reading the novel as a physical, spiritual or metaphorical journey. One reason I dislike talking about it, aside from providing a concrete answer which even I don't have, is that I always end up sounding like Yoda. There's a whole school of thought which says that if you can explain The Way then you are not explaining the Way* which strikes me as rather like not being sure whether Schrdinger's cat is alive or dead. So there are a...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Diovix) — Sun, 14 Aug 2005 04:56:32 GMT

So I didn't understand it because it was meant to be vague and not properly explained? huh?

Now I feel somehat disappointed.

I feel I had a good grip on the whole story up until that last thing. Its frustrating because I Do like the book, it just now seems to have a hole in its plotting for...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (flynnparadox) — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 08:53:08 GMT

SPOILER SPACE

Well, if we're talking about theories of the ending of this (great) book, I'll put my two cents in. Someone mentioned earlier (on this site or on GallifreyOne, I don't remember which) the idea that Octavia and Liu "create their own perfect world together." This makes a certain kind of sense (to me at least.) But maybe I'm biased. I loved the two of them together, they're just so perfect for each other!

Flynn

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Mags L Halliday) — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 16:31:59 GMT

Oh no, this is the one thing I won't be drawn on! I'm much more interested in seeing other peoples' responses and ideas. I know what I think happened, but it very much is your personal interpretation.

Sorry to go all amnesiac on you...

Mags

"You must not find symbols in...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Lars Pearson) — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:34:52 GMT

Hrrrrrmmmmmm... well, I could provide an answer, but since Mags in on this board, it's probably best if she fields it.

Glad you enjoyed the book, though...

Larzo

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Diovix) — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 05:21:15 GMT

SPOILERish

I finished it. I enjoyed it. I'm a bit confused by the ending though. Do Octavia and Liu just disappear in a pot of logic by not choosing in the end? Did all of it never happen now?

confused,
r.

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Mags L Halliday) — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 04:20:03 GMT

Quote:
Quote:
Quote:[1] Cultural side-note: It's never really struck me before, how through Buddhism, ideas of basically Hindu origin have spread throughout the whole of Asia, ending up influencing profoundly non-Indian cultures like China and Japan. Obviously similar to the spread of Middle-Eastern monotheism (and Hellenic rationalism) throughout Europe on the...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Kun Rgyu) — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 22:39:18 GMT

Thanks for the clarification, Phil. I kinda figured that the Compassion from "City" was kind of the gestalt Compassion...Good to be validated once in a while. ;-)

Quote:
[1] Cultural side-note: It's never really struck me before, how through Buddhism, ideas of basically Hindu origin have spread throughout the whole of Asia, ending up influencing profoundly non-Indian cultures like China and Japan. Obviously...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Phil PH) — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 18:10:34 GMT

Quote:
Phil might be able to shed a little further light on this, but I took the whole thing there to read that her role as the City is pretty much the coda to her existance. Pretty well insane and with a Goddess complex. She can't very well die, but I gathered that this is the end of Compassion's timeline, as much as such a thing can exist.

That was my idea, pretty much -- the City...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Kun Rgyu) — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 02:54:29 GMT

Loved the book!

Now, I'm a big fan of Wu Xia anyway, but this really took the cake. Certainly the most "Faction Paradox" book in the "Faction Paradox" line so far.

Mags kept me guessing until the very end. There were multiple points when I thought I had it sussed out, and would think, "oh come on, Mags! It can't be THIS obvious!" and then I'd find out that it wasn't. Smile and keep going. (could point out where, but those would be...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Phil PH) — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 17:10:14 GMT

Quote:
Unless I changed it, of course...heh heh heh.

Ah yes, of course. That should probably be "I have a vague idea what happens". (Although I have read the rest of this thread, as well, so I know that some of the fundamentals have remained intact.)

Kelly's prologue is cool -- I'm not sufficient of a Holmes fanboy to have realised that Mrs Watson's confinement was a...

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Mags L Halliday) — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 15:22:06 GMT

Quote:
I know what happens, because I read the synopsis,

Unless I changed it, of course...heh heh heh.

And, yes, I adore Kelly's preview and have told her so. I love the image of the woman in the street, and that Mrs Watson is pregnant (which is most definately not canon - whilst there are many Mrs Watsons, there are no mini-Watsons).

Mags

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Phil PH) — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 15:07:40 GMT

It's not exactly "discussion", but my copy arrived yesterday, and very nice it looks too.

I know what happens, because I read the synopsis, but I'm still looking forward to reading about it. So far I've only read Chapter One (and the preview for Erasing Sherlock), and it's lovely -- intriguing and vividly described. Mm.

Re: WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (Sean Gaffney) — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 06:27:40 GMT

Just finished the book. I was very impressed.

For one thing, after a book featuring a City affected by the War, a book featuring the City of the Saved, and a book featuring alternate Universes, we now get a Faction Paradox book that actually... stars the Faction! Strange but true.

The book takes place during the Boxer Rebellion, and its historical events churn around all through it. I was pleased that it didn't feature in the climax, though, as it wasn't meant to be the...

WARRING STATES discussion

feeds@yuku.com (hauserkinder) — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 06:37:48 GMT

Somebody has to pull the string that makes this thing go! Allow me to do the honors.

What Ms. Halliday has accomplished here is fabulous. Characterization and plot are well-handled. But, in WS, scene and setting are the things that impress me the most. From nicely evoked historical characters like the Empress Dowager Ci Xi, to the appropriately-placed references to important figures like Sun-Yat-Sen, to the cultural accuracies laced throughout like the concepts of...