SPOILERS I Shall Wear Midnight/Tiffany Aching question *spoilers*
- Thread starter amyjw
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swreader said:
Raptorix01-- I understand that you (and lots of other people) would like to have Terry continue his works indefinitely. But, I think that he leaves all sorts of things apparently unfinished (Esk's son, Amber's future as Kelda, Laetia as witch, and I suppose even the certainty that Tiffany and Preston will marry--something Tiffany tries to ask her future self, but is only told to "listen").
The point is, these elements are useful to Terry in his primary focus in this book, which is the confirmation that Tiffany is a full-blown, competent witch around whom, as Granny says, her whole steading revolves. And, her defeat of the Cunning Man--who has been defeated once before (that we know of) by Granny should tell you that Terry probably has no intention of writing any more of the Tiffany books. This is the greatest test of Tiffany, the greatest threat to Disc world--and I don't think Terry thinks there's more to be said.
I think, as I've said earlier, that he's finishing off all the Disc world series (with Snuff), and will write (perhaps with others for as long as he's able, other kinds of novels. I don't particularly like that conclusion, but I think it's accurate.
The point is, these elements are useful to Terry in his primary focus in this book, which is the confirmation that Tiffany is a full-blown, competent witch around whom, as Granny says, her whole steading revolves. And, her defeat of the Cunning Man--who has been defeated once before (that we know of) by Granny should tell you that Terry probably has no intention of writing any more of the Tiffany books. This is the greatest test of Tiffany, the greatest threat to Disc world--and I don't think Terry thinks there's more to be said.
I think, as I've said earlier, that he's finishing off all the Disc world series (with Snuff), and will write (perhaps with others for as long as he's able, other kinds of novels. I don't particularly like that conclusion, but I think it's accurate.
I won't lie and say I wouldn't like him to continue for as long as possible with DW books. but it is what it is. i take them as they come. at most though, i would hope for closure to those few things mentioned here. beyond that, if he decides to do more, or someone else takes over the mantle, or not, its all good to me. what ever he feels comfortable with.
Who's Wee Dug said:
Thanks for that Dotsie are you having a good time or is that a stupid question. 
Actually, even though I thought Snuff was bringing the watch books to a close, something Terry said indicated that he doesn't think this is the case. Maybe he's making sure that loose ends are tied up in case he never goes back to them, but he can if he wants to.
I definitely got the impression that he wants to write more about goblins and parody Africa, but in a way that would be unexpected and not in the way other writers have done so already. This might also include members of the Watch (*misquote* 'the line in the sand appears to have been moved'). What happens in the future remains to be seen, of course, but I think his current work with Stephen Baxter is a welcome holiday from the Disc for him and hopefully he will come back with his batteries fully charged.
Totally unrelated to the original question, but just occurred to me when I was re-reading ISWM.
According to Esk, the Cunning Man is the spirit of a particularly nasty Omnian priest who specialized in witch hunting and book burning and had enormous influence over the other Omnian clergy. He fell in love with a witch, but when she was caught he chose to burn her rather than admit his relationship. When he's lighting the fire (or about to), she grabs him and essentially curses him, and he eventually becomes the Cunning Man.
Now, the first person I thought of when hearing this description of the priest was--Vorbis, since he possesses all of the dogmatic and cruel characteristics of the Cunning Man's mortal ancestor. We know that Vorbis was killed by the tortoise Om at the end of Small Gods. But...since Esk's story doesn't make it totally clear whether the witch's embrace actually KILLED the Omnian priest, could it be possible that Vorbis survived this attack (which would have occurred years before the events of Small Gods) and only became the Cunning Man after he was killed many, many years later? It would explain a lot of why the Vorbis of Small Gods was the way he was.
According to Esk, the Cunning Man is the spirit of a particularly nasty Omnian priest who specialized in witch hunting and book burning and had enormous influence over the other Omnian clergy. He fell in love with a witch, but when she was caught he chose to burn her rather than admit his relationship. When he's lighting the fire (or about to), she grabs him and essentially curses him, and he eventually becomes the Cunning Man.
Now, the first person I thought of when hearing this description of the priest was--Vorbis, since he possesses all of the dogmatic and cruel characteristics of the Cunning Man's mortal ancestor. We know that Vorbis was killed by the tortoise Om at the end of Small Gods. But...since Esk's story doesn't make it totally clear whether the witch's embrace actually KILLED the Omnian priest, could it be possible that Vorbis survived this attack (which would have occurred years before the events of Small Gods) and only became the Cunning Man after he was killed many, many years later? It would explain a lot of why the Vorbis of Small Gods was the way he was.
