ciaraldi@rochester.UUCP (09/09/84)
From: Mike Ciaraldi <ciaraldi> WARNING**SPOILER**WARNING**SPOILER Well, EQ #20 arrived yesterday and I got it and read it today. What can I say? When you wait 8 years for something, it is bound to be a little disappointing (e.g. The Magic Labyrinth or Gods of Riverworld by P.J.Farmer) just because you expect it to be so much better than anything done before. It was good, it tied up almost all the loose ends, and that's what I expected, but somehow I wanted the original elves to be more than space travellers, even if they were immensely powerful ones. On the other hand, the fact that they were not intrinsically elves, but rather just took the shape of elves, is also somewhat unsatisfying, since then the elves are just sort of arbitrary, not "special". Picky, picky... A few nice points: Even after finding out the truth of their history, there are still some eleves and some dwarves who are not changed, and revert to their old ways. There are mor e casualties (this is good??), even on the brink of success, adding to the verissimilitude. A few bad points: So, what are the preservers for, anyway? They were just bugs when the High Ones left their planet, so the power they developed, i.e. preserving living beings, was just something that came about during the journey. Interesting, but not foreseen. So, why did the High Ones who were driving the ship have to be "preserved"? Was it to focus all their energies? Or to avoid the boredom of long hjourneys? Since they were immortal already, they didn't need suspened animation to survive to the end of the trip. And why did the elves shrink and the trolls grow in the centuries (millenia?) since the High Ones' arrival? Anyway, these are just some quick thoughts. I still rate EQ as one of the greatest achievements in graphic storytelling ever, and I think the Pinis deserve all the acclaim they are getting. As more people read this last issue, I am looking forward to more comments. Mike Ciaraldi ciaraldi@rochester seismo!rochester!ciaraldi
jrb@wdl1.UUCP (jrb ) (09/10/84)
#R:rocheste:-49500:wdl1:23300002:000:1218 wdl1!jrb Sep 10 11:16:00 1984 **SPOILER WARNING** What I want to know is the following: What about Two-Edge? We know that he has 'escaped' (although his feet may take awhile to heal. What will he do next? What about Winnowill (sp)? When she gets out of that body-cast she is going to be VERY pissed. What about the other gliders, especially now that Lord Voll has kicked the proverbial bucket? What about the elves left behind at Sorrow's End? I suppose that if the series is ever picked up again, these points will be taken care of. Notes from The End of the Quest Party at the Worldcon: 1. Issue 21 out sometime in October. Will include the photos taken of those in costume at the party. Probably lots of letters to catch up on. 2. Colour Book 4 out about Thanksgiving. 3. Second novel out maybe by Christmas 1985. Comment: The EotQP was the LARGEST party except for the Icecream Social. In fact, it was held in most of the same ballroom at the Hilton. There must have been close to 800 people there. Well, that's all. I may have got some dates wrong. Anyone else out there who was at the party? John R Blaker UUCP: ...!fortune!wdl1!jrb ARPA: jrb@FORD-WDL1 and blaker@FORD-WDL2
rh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Randy Haskins) (09/11/84)
Well, fortunately, I didn't have to wait 8 years for this lame ending, I just started reading EQ less than a year ago. But I was still incredibly disappointed. I suppose a lot of it was that I was suprised when the end of the book came. I was expecting a little more than just Skywise coming out and demanding his lode-stone back. But I'm glad it's over. I think the series went downhill after 15. Oh, well. -- Randwulf (Randy Haskins); Path= genrad!mit-eddie!rh
rokshull@uok.UUCP (09/15/84)
Personally, I thought the ending was very well done. I was glad that they didn't put in some ridiculous ending (like having them all fly off into space in the repaired castle.) They did something much more important: they had the elves find out about themselves. It was obvious all through the series that the elves (the Wolfriders at least) wouldn't be happy in the castle. After all, they didn't like living with the Gliders, and their mountain was carved in imitation of the castle. The ending reflected the "life-like" reactions which their characters have had throughout the second half of the quest. Robert Shull