Thanks! Just wondering if maybe it was part of Jack's inner struggle to understand his cosmic situation - if these 2 forces exist then the possiblity of a God and Satan isn't so inconceivable or maybe they are one in the same, etc. It was just a thought that popped into my head.

Say crap is acceptable but shit isn't? Someone tell me the differance between the two, when they mean the same thing, and why one is more acceptable than the other?KRW

I've always wondered the same thing. I don't think it's a word that is offensive so much as how it's used. Ex: "Feces" is used in an intelligent way, "Poop" is used in a funny way, and "shit" is used in a foul way. And for some reason it's in my head that a lot of words were deemed as curses ages ago by European royalty because they were used by the peasants. I may be completely off my rocker but I believe I've read that before. :confused:

I've always wondered the same thing. I don't think it's a word that is offensive so much as how it's used. Ex: "Feces" is used in an intelligent way, "Poop" is used in a funny way, and "shit" is used in a foul way. And for some reason it's in my head that a lot of words were deemed as curses ages ago by European royalty because they were used by the peasants. I may be completely off my rocker but I believe I've read that before. :confused:

Maybe, history has a lot to doo doo with language. But we have several words that meen the same thing, that are all acceptable. Loaf, one you eat and one you leave. Stool, one you leave and one you set on. (And how am I to know wich one they are refering too when the sign say "Stools and Dinettes"? Commen sense has to be a factor of course, but when I say "poop" with the exact same meaning as "shit", well, my brain gets constapated.
Maybe my soul is soiled and I can't see passed this crap. But am I supposed to believe this excrement? Do we look at the evedince in a pile, or work it out in peices?


KRW

I just finished Infernal yesterday and I kind of got the feeling that the entire book was meant to be a setup for future story lines. The two key things I got out of the book are (1) Jack still has the Compedium, which I'm sure could be invaluable in his war with The Otherness and The Adversary, and (2) Jack now has Charlie as a "tool" to use when he's not sure what his next step should be. I hope we get to see more of the Kenton brothers in future books.

Just my two cents. This is only my second post so be gentle with your replies.

I just finished Infernal yesterday and I kind of got the feeling that the entire book was meant to be a setup for future story lines. The two key things I got out of the book are (1) Jack still has the Compedium, which I'm sure could be invaluable in his war with The Otherness and The Adversary, and (2) Jack now has Charlie as a "tool" to use when he's not sure what his next step should be. I hope we get to see more of the Kenton brothers in future books.

Just my two cents. This is only my second post so be gentle with your replies.

Everyone's thoughts are always welcome, MD. We have had a few clownboys with a stupid attitude, but they don't last long with our cool-and-no-fools gang. And I agree 100% that the Kenton bros should be brought back! SPOILER! SPOILER! NIGHTWORLD--Jack in Hawaii, Charlie there: "Jack--too many, dawg!--I'm holdin' em...get to her! GET TO HER! She gotta help us. She gotta..."

... Jack now has Charlie as a "tool" to use when he's not sure what his next step should be. I hope we get to see more of the Kenton brothers in future books.

Just my two cents. This is only my second post so be gentle with your replies.

First, welcome to the board MisterDizzle.

Second, you are so right about the Kenton brothers. I also hope we get to see lots more of them in the future.

Infernal reminded me of Hosts. Not for the plots, mind you, but for the author's reining in of the characters. Writers on the board know of the characters that they create literally taking over the story and having to rein in the characters to keep control over the plot. In Hosts, as I recall, fpw let the Kate, Jack's sister, storyline unfold and Jack was almost a subplot; I also recall his having to rewrite the ending so that Jack could reassert himself into the finale and retake control of the story. (I'm curious how the original ending was played out before the rewrite--is it still in your computer, Paul?). Anyway, I still consider Hosts to be Kate's book, with Jack along because it's his series.

In Infernal, the Tom (Jack's brother) storyline also takes control of the book early on, but with the release of the Lillitongue, the story shifts back to Jack and Tom's story reverts to subplot. If I'm correct, fpw kept a tighter rein on the character of Tom, so that Jack, Gia, and Vicky's story would play out, although Tom does get more page-time in the book (page-counters can point out my error, but that's how I remember it) albeit with Jack at his side most of the way.

Also, the elements common throughout the RP series (the old women, the dogs, an otherness monster, etc.) were somewhat inverted in Infernal: A ten year old girl instead of an old woman; the midsection, or Lillitongue, (symbol for pregnancy) the monster element (leaving Tom to be "reborn" as he is enveloped by the girl's "womb" perhaps). So, instead of an otherness monster, or a creature of destruction, we have a "Mother Earth" monster, or a creature of creation. I don't think we've seen the last of Tom.

Infernal was more subtle than the other books, more set-up than unfolding. With Kate's death there was a finality; with Tom's there was a hint of a beginning, as I said earlier, "a rebirth." Did Tom die? Who knows? But as Hosts, to me, was a self-contained Kate story, Infernal was a stepping stone to what's to come in the unfolding of Jack vs. the Otherness, as well as to Nightworld. I enjoyed the subtlety of Infernal, as one can only enjoy that serene calm before the storm.

AC

[SIZE="3"]You're certainly right about Kate and Tom trying to take over. I first experienced that sort of insurrection in The Keep when Woermann tried to usurp the novel; so I gave him enough rope and let him, um, hang himself.

Kate took me by surprise and, as you said, I had to reconfigure the finale of Hosts to keep Jack the doer rather than the doee. When Tom came along I was ready for him. Kate, by virtue of her loving nature, almost stole Hosts. Tom, by being Jack's antipode, had the same potential in Infernal, but I cracked the whip and kept him in line. No denying though that I find it fun writing about venal, mendacious characters. [/SIZE]

Infernal reminded me of Hosts. Not for the plots, mind you, but for the author's reining in of the characters. Writers on the board know of the characters that they create literally taking over the story and having to rein in the characters to keep control over the plot. In Hosts, as I recall, fpw let the Kate, Jack's sister, storyline unfold and Jack was almost a subplot; I also recall his having to rewrite the ending so that Jack could reassert himself into the finale and retake control of the story. (I'm curious how the original ending was played out before the rewrite--is it still in your computer, Paul?). Anyway, I still consider Hosts to be Kate's book, with Jack along because it's his series.

In Infernal, the Tom (Jack's brother) storyline also takes control of the book early on, but with the release of the Lillitongue, the story shifts back to Jack and Tom's story reverts to subplot. If I'm correct, fpw kept a tighter rein on the character of Tom, so that Jack, Gia, and Vicky's story would play out, although Tom does get more page-time in the book (page-counters can point out my error, but that's how I remember it) albeit with Jack at his side most of the way.

Also, the elements common throughout the RP series (the old women, the dogs, an otherness monster, etc.) were somewhat inverted in Infernal: A ten year old girl instead of an old woman; the midsection, or Lillitongue, (symbol for pregnancy) the monster element (leaving Tom to be "reborn" as he is enveloped by the girl's "womb" perhaps). So, instead of an otherness monster, or a creature of destruction, we have a "Mother Earth" monster, or a creature of creation. I don't think we've seen the last of Tom.

Infernal was more subtle than the other books, more set-up than unfolding. With Kate's death there was a finality; with Tom's there was a hint of a beginning, as I said earlier, "a rebirth." Did Tom die? Who knows? But as Hosts, to me, was a self-contained Kate story, Infernal was a stepping stone to what's to come in the unfolding of Jack vs. the Otherness, as well as to Nightworld. I enjoyed the subtlety of Infernal, as one can only enjoy that serene calm before the storm.

AC

Thanks for the insight AC. It gives me a new perspective on the books I read.


Ken

Now I know you're all huffy and puffy about Gia being so perfect, (or you were a couple of months ago), but don't you read Gia's desciption and get worried? Six months pregnant and she looks like she's three. This sets off warning bells for me. I am worried about this baby not getting enough nutrition, and not being a healthy birth weight. And she doesn't eat for two. She doesn't get tired. The baby hardly kicks. I am not worried so much about Gia farting, as I am worried that the baby will be premature.

Stephanie