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+--- Thread: questions about RJ/Adversary theology (/thread-1575.html)
questions about RJ/Adversary theology - Viscount Radu - 03-28-2006
I'm new to this board, so please forgive me if this has already been asked.
I have read both the Adversary Cycle and the Repairman Jack novels. I am rereading the Adversary Cycle now to get a better understanding of the theology of this world.
In the Adversary Cycle you learned that there was a first age of man where two forces battled for Earth. In the RJ novels you learn they are battling for a lot more than our planet. The Adversary/Otherness is evil (but not Satan, more a god of chaos?). The Ally opposes the otherness, but is not necessarily good (god of order?). In the RJ books we meet a third power, Mother (Mother Earth, I suppose?), who is more interested in the fate of Earth than the Ally. Glaeken is the champion for the Ally, while Jack is the/a champion for Mother. Is this why Jack couldn't be the champion in Nightworld? Because he was already Mother's champion? Does Mother factor at all into the rewrite of Nightworld coming out?
questions about RJ/Adversary theology - Bluesman Mike Lindner - 03-28-2006
Viscount Radu Wrote:I'm new to this board, so please forgive me if this has already been asked.
I have read both the Adversary Cycle and the Repairman Jack novels. I am rereading the Adversary Cycle now to get a better understanding of the theology of this world.
In the Adversary Cycle you learned that there was a first age of man where two forces battled for Earth. In the RJ novels you learn they are battling for a lot more than our planet. The Adversary/Otherness is evil (but not Satan, more a god of chaos?). The Ally opposes the otherness, but is not necessarily good (god of order?). In the RJ books we meet a third power, Mother (Mother Earth, I suppose?), who is more interested in the fate of Earth than the Ally. Glaeken is the champion for the Ally, while Jack is the/a champion for Mother. Is this why Jack couldn't be the champion in Nightworld? Because he was already Mother's champion? Does Mother factor at all into the rewrite of Nightworld coming out?
Welcome to the board, Viscount! (Can I call you "Vi"?
) You know your stuff and pose good questions. I'm not sure "theology" is the precise word, though. "Cosmology," mebbe? And I agree about Mother Earth--"Herta," in CRISSCROSS is an anagram for "Earth." Remember too that Paul is a great HP Lovecraft fan (if you haven't read "The Barrens," you're in for a treat). So I look upon the Otherness/Ally battle as a continuation in Howard Phillip's tradition: the Old Ones and the Elder Gods. And why couldn't Jack be the champion in NIGHTWORLD? I certainly can't speak for Paul, but it seems to me that it's more dramatically effective for the ancient foes Glaeken and Rasalom to square off for the final battle, all the chips on the table, no quarter asked and none given. The most satisfying denouement. As for the new NIGHTWORLD, well, that's up to Paul. An hombre notorious for holding his fictioneer's cards close to his chest.
But I'm sure it will be worth the wait.
questions about RJ/Adversary theology - Blake - 03-28-2006
We might want to have a Nightworld spoiler warning here for those who haven't read it. I'll put one here for my next comment:
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
If I had to guess, I'd say the Ally might view Jack as too much of a loose cannon. Glaeken's already been honed to near-perfection by millennia of discipline, so he's still the first choice as long as he's alive. Jack probably provides the best raw material for a successor, though (at least that we know of).
Blake
questions about RJ/Adversary theology - Ossicle - 03-28-2006
Viscount Radu Wrote:Glaeken is the champion for the Ally, while Jack is the/a champion for Mother. Is this why Jack couldn't be the champion in Nightworld? Because he was already Mother's champion? Does Mother factor at all into the rewrite of Nightworld coming out?Welcome, Radu.
We simply don't know yet.
We don't even know if Jack is the/a champion for Mother (or if Mother can be championed), though that may prove to be the case.
-o
questions about RJ/Adversary theology - cobalt - 03-28-2006
Welcome Radu,
Excellent questions! I've always thought that Jack would replace Glaeken until I re-read the Adversary series. It's suprising how much you forget. It had been YEARS since I read Nightworld. The good friends on this board helped me see the error in my thinking. But FPW is re-writing Nightworld to line up with the recent events in his books, so we all could be wrong! I suggest that you read the latest books in the series (if you haven't already) and follow along with us. Great reads all of them, but I'm a tad biased!
P.S.
Radu? From Lumley fame?
questions about RJ/Adversary theology - KRW - 03-28-2006
Blake Wrote:We might want to have a Nightworld spoiler warning here for those who haven't read it. I'll put one here for my next comment:
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
If I had to guess, I'd say the Ally might view Jack as too much of a loose cannon. Glaeken's already been honed to near-perfection by millennia of discipline, so he's still the first choice as long as he's alive. Jack probably provides the best raw material for a successor, though (at least that we know of).
Blake
That's exactaly how I see it, but it's fun to speculate!
KRW