BrettM Wrote:SERIOUS SPOILER ALERTS FOR THE WHOLE FERSLUGGINER AC/RJ SERIES, ESPECIALLY HAUNTED AIR and REPRISAL.
I'll repeat this, SERIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!
BrettM Wrote:Yes, that's true. So, why would stones carrying the imprint of the hilt be imbued with Otherness, rather than imbued with the power of the Ally? Those stones existed to help restrain Rasalom, acting against him! The Circle might have been attracted to them simply because of their aura of power, regardless of source. The Ally, as we know, can't be defined as "good". (I like to think of the Ally as The Great Indifference, but it is a known source of some pretty horrible things, like the death of poor Olive at the hands of the Twins in Conspiracies.) Even in Nightworld the Keep was a place of refuge against the Otherness, so the stones still retained some kind of anti-Otherness effect.
Take it one step further, if the blocks of stone where imbued with the Allies power, it would have kept the spirits there for the reason of trimming another branch, maybe even responsible for the blocks making it to this house just for this purpose? Jack and Gia threw a wrench in that plan. Gia by living long enough inside the house, and Jack by producing Eli to save Gia.
BrettM Wrote:The job done on Danny was definitely Otherness, but I'm not ready to concede that Sara Lom selected the house because it had a history of Otherness. Rasalom feeds on human misery regardless of it's source, and he would have liked the aura created by the child killers in any case. The appeal of the mansion was in its history of pain and death to innocent lives. We can't even be sure that the Circle was truly working under the influence of ANY power, because the book left open the possibility that Eli Bellitto was a self-deluded nutburger born in 1940, and not a 206-year-old "adept".
I'll bet you Rasalom never even set foot in that celler. I wonder if it would have kept him like the Keep did? It's the same blocks. Probably the reason Danny was done on the second floor. But I also bet he had a feast on the residue of those murders!
BrettM Wrote:I think most people saw it that way. In fact, that was my reaction as well, until other possibilities started occuring to me. There is an ambiguity here that isn't present in other events that are clearly Otherness related.
[QUOTE=BrettM]In Conspiracies we have the presence of Rasalom, the actions of the Monroe Cluster created by his rebirth, and a Chaos Hole. Clearly Otherness.
We also are introduced to the twins, and the reason for Jacks involvement in this war. He killed a whole nest of Rakosh, and was marked by the very beasts he killed. In fact, It was because of this reason his immune system could fight off the virus in "Hosts". The Allie didn't care who won that night, he just needed a champion to imerge. One did. He was also saved from Maurcio in the basement, kinda like the Allie wanted a tete' a tete' with his champions.
BrettM Wrote:In All the Rage we have a Rakosh (created from a piece of Rasalom's own flesh, by his own admission) as the source of the drug, and the hand of Rasalom is evident in the way in which Prather and Monnet learned of the creature. Clearly Otherness. .
Not just the drug, but it was also Jack's first meeting with Ba and Dr. Bulmer. They probably don't realize, but their lives started to become intwined in this book, because of that drug. He also discovered Scarlip again because of the drug. I smell Allie again. As far as Otherness, you also had the freak show, the pine barrens light, and a fight with scarlip, (The Jersey Devil) at least now he his.
BrettM Wrote:In Hosts we have evidence that Rasalom himself infected the viral cultures with the mutant strain. Clearly Otherness. (But, Rasalom could not possibly have forseen that Jack's sister would become involved through such an odd chain of "coincidences". Could some other power have been responsible for this aspect, forcing Jack's involvement?).
Only because Ms. Arola had a hand in this mutation, I think it was Otherness. The Allie could have gained as much by doing the same. But because of Jack's prior exposure to the Otherness, he was able to fight this virus and win. I don't think anyone but Glaken could do that. This could have even been forseen by the Allie, therefor the reason for Kate to be involved. Was it really The Otherness that made the propane tank explode when it did?
BrettM Wrote:In Gateways we have a Chaos Hole at a Nexus, a Florida clan similar to the Monroe Cluster, and another personal appearance by Rasalom. Clearly Otherness. (But, what actually DID bring Tom Sr. to Florida? Is there evidence that this was an Otherness-influnced decison? Or, again, some other power at work, trying to draw Jack into the situation there?).
This book was great! This was the first book to make the third party truelly a player in this cosmic game. They've showed themselves before, but on a very small scale. Anya herself said she volunteered time to send flyers of Gateways through the mail. I'll bet you a dozen doughnuts she sent the flyer to Tom! He doesen't even have a good reason that he can understand why he moved to Florida. Anya and Oyv, I don't think it was Otherness, I also don't think it was the Allie. The third party has made their presonce known to Jack through this story.
BrettM Wrote:In Crisscross we have evidence that the founder of the Dormentalists got the idea from the Otherness, and Rasalom arranged to have Brady receive the Compendium, all as part of a millenia-long plan to kill the Lady. Clearly Otherness..
No, Cooper Blascoe just wanted to have fun, Luther Brady was contacted by the Ohterness. He made it the monster it became. I found it interesting that he discovered he was not the only one in history to make these coulmns. Some of the work had already been done for him. But don't forget how Jack became involved in this, the third party again! Another major book for them!
BrettM Wrote:But, things are much more ambiguous in The Haunted Air and Infernal. They seem to suggest that other forces with other agendas are at work, but not leaving a clear trail.
I felt the third party played a small part in Infernal. I thought it was all The Allies work. From the point Tom died, to the point Tom Jr. dissappeared.
The third party was, once again, just warning them with no real involvment. If Anya hadn't protected Tom in Florida like she did, I would say they want a spear also. But they always give warnings.
BrettM Wrote:The provenance of Tom's map to the Lilitongue is very strange. But, unlike similar events in the series (such as the way in which Brady got the Compendium), there isn't any hint of Rasalom's hand at work. The Lady warns of danger again, but does not mention the Otherness, and does not contact Jack. (Strange. Given her history with Jack, she knew he would understand and believe anything she told him, so why was she avoiding him? Why give the warning only to someone who would ignore her? Unless she felt morally obligated to give a warning, but did not actually want it heeded. Maybe the Lady actually wanted events to proceed as they did, wiping out another branch of the spear!)
BrettM Wrote:The Otherness has a great hatred for Jack, but it doesn't strike me as being a very subtle power. After its first try for his life in Conspiracies, would it really settle for torturing him by bumping off his relatives? Would it really indulge itself in complicated plans like filling a plane full of Hassidic Jews to attract terrorists who would kill Jack's father? Or is some other power really responsible for the "coincidences" that bring Jack where he's needed to fight the Otherness?
(Wow, when did this turn into an essay? Sorry for the length! :o)
Maybe we read to much in this series, then again...........
KRW