Flight of the Heron read-along: Part III chapters 1-2

[regshoe]

Charlie chose the place himsel', the graveyard of Culloden...

Well, it looks like Keith's prophecies about the fate of the Jacobites, at least, weren't too inaccurate...

Next week we'll read chapters 3 and 4 of part III.

Comments

[hedgebird]

V'ir arire xabja dhvgr jung gb guvax bs Nyvfba orvat hfurerq bss-fgntr ng guvf cbvag. Fur'f gur guveq znva punenpgre, ohg V fhccbfr gur znva pbasyvpg va ure fgbelyvar/eryngvbafuvc jvgu Rjra vf "pvephzfgnaprf qrynl bhe jrqqvat" naq nsgre gung'f erzbirq, nccneragyl gurer'f ab zber cybg sbe ure. And then on the other hand, the relationship that the novel is structured around, Ewen & Keith, is full of built-in conflict. IDK what I'm trying to say here except that I guess Broster had widely distinct tastes in Official Couple and Platonic Smarm relationships.

On a completely different note, I like a good battle scene and have always felt a bit cheated not getting them! The failed night raid is interesting too, though.

[luzula]

IDK what I'm trying to say here except that I guess Broster had widely distinct tastes in Official Couple and Platonic Smarm relationships.

Broster does have an Official Het Couple in Sir Isumbras at the Ford which gets the built-in conflict that Ewen/Keith has here. Very satisfying, though the conflict is resolved quicker than for Ewen and Keith. OTOH, there's also the slashy couple Laurent and Aymar in The Wounded Name which is entirely composed of loyalty kink and hurt/comfort and doesn't have any external conflict, or at least, the conflict that exists is that Aymar doesn't want to tell Laurent his secret, and Laurent trusts against all odds that despite appearances, his secret is nothing dishonourable. So it's not quite as clearcut as that!

Re: Alison's disappearance, I have a fic planned where Ewen and Alison get married in Edinburgh instead and Alison then follows the army as several Jacobite wives did. And then she's involved in the events that follow, and there is eventual Alison/Ewen/Keith.

On a completely different note, I like a good battle scene and have always felt a bit cheated not getting them!

Heh. I never expected to get so much into the military history, but it is fascinating!

[sanguinity]

Oh, that's a lovely fic idea! I hope someday it becomes a thing we get to read!

[luzula]

Well, it will take some time! But I already explored Ewen/Keith + Ewen/Alison at some length (140K, ha ha), so it will be interesting to explore the triad possibility as well.

[hedgebird]

Then I suppose we can only say she liked both internal and external relationship conflicts, regardless of the precise nature of the relationships! And evidently didn't feel she needed to match the length of the two story arcs, slightly odd though it feels to me.

That should be an interesting fic!

[regshoe]

Your point about not matching the length has me thinking about "Mr Rowl", which I've just finished a re-read of. There the smarm-y m/m relationship isn't even introduced until halfway through the book, but when it is there's an awesome conflict of duty and loyalties over it. Meanwhile the romance has some conflict caused by things always going wrong with Juliana's attempts to save Raoul, which continues all the way through the book, though it isn't always the focus.

Yeah, I don't think there are any general points here! Other than that I think Broster likes Honour and Loyalty etc. more than any particular types of conflict or anything else. :D

[sanguinity]

Alison: V guvax ure ebyr va gur abiry vf fgebatyl Qblyvfg, va gung nyy guebhtu gurfr svefg cnegf jura Rjra vf qvfzvffvir bs gur cebcurpl, fur'f Oebfgre'f gbby sbe xrrcvat vg ba gur cntr: fur'f vavgvnyyl gur bar orvat gbyq nobhg vg nal qrgnvy, fur'f gur bayl cbi punenpgre jbeelvat nobhg vg, naq fur'f gur bar oevatvat vg hc sbe qvfphffvba nf vg fgnegf gb or shysvyyrq. Nsgre gur fuvryvat, Rjra fgnegf gb perqvg gur cebcurpl uvzfrys, naq guhf ur naq Xrvgu pna cresbez nyy gubfr ebyrf orgjrra gurz, naq fur'f abg arrqrq gb xrrc vg ba gur cntr nalzber.

Fur'f nyfb hfrq va n flzobyvp jnl, nf n ersrerapr cbvag sbe yvxravat ure naq Xrvgu'f eryngvbafuvcf gb Rjra. Ohg gung qbrfa'g fb zhpu erdhver ure gb or ba-fgntr, bayl gung fur rkvfg. Fb lrnu, V guvax hfurevat ure bss-fgntr ng guvf cbvag vf n znggre bs ure univat freirq ure Qblyvfg checbfr va gur aneengvir.

[hedgebird]

Ohhh those are really good points. It also occurred to me after my first comment that the wedding allows for Nyvfba'f rkcbfvgvba nobhg Rjra fyrrc gnyxvat, gubhtu bs pbhefr gurer ner bgure punenpgref jub pbhyq unir vagebqhprq gung.

[sanguinity]

Yes, that too! Although I think Keith observed it firsthand in part one, when Ewen rolled himself up to sleep in his wet plaid? But given how important that is about to become, it's an excellent time for Broster to drop a reminder...

[luzula]

Although I think Keith observed it firsthand in part one, when Ewen rolled himself up to sleep in his wet plaid?

Not in canon, but regshoe wrote a fic where he did! : )

[regshoe]

I guess Broster had widely distinct tastes in Official Couple and Platonic Smarm relationships.

She certainly did, heh—it's a distinctive feature of several of her books. Although I second luzula's recommendation of something a bit different in Sir Isumbras at the Ford, which I love.