It's the difference between reading about future devils and reading about future paving stones - whether people's flaws are in the end corrected by the suffering they endure, or if it simply destroys them. The first book is about a man aspiring to greatness and conquest, whom healthy Chelish girls might justly desire as a superior to seduce and exploit. The second book is a story of people who could have been great, but whose flaws - their need for love, their need to love, their dissatisfaction with a life that contains only power - in the end prevent them from achieving that greatness and destroy them. It's realistic, don't get her wrong, but it's not fun to read.
Abrogail has turned any number of people into probable future paving stones, to be clear, and enjoyed the process. But she wouldn't continue to enjoy reading their story from the victim's perspective after they'd been broken. People who are broken stop being really interesting to her. She sometimes keeps them around in the dungeon for a few years so she can come back and enjoy how broken they are, but that's - how can Abrogail put this? That's a passing moment of pleasure in her story. Not their story. They don't have stories anymore once Abrogail is through with them.
The second book is a novel of literary self-destruction, as the novel's characters become less and less deserving of having any story at all.
It's the difference between reading about future devils and reading about future paving stones - whether people's flaws are in the end corrected by the suffering they endure, or if it simply destroys them. The first book is about a man aspiring to greatness and conquest, whom healthy Chelish girls might justly desire as a superior to seduce and exploit. The second book is a story of people who could have been great, but whose flaws - their need for love, their need to love, their dissatisfaction with a life that contains only power - in the end prevent them from achieving that greatness. It's realistic, don't get her wrong, but it's not fun to read.
Abrogail has turned any number of people into probable future paving stones, to be clear, and enjoyed the process. But she wouldn't continue to enjoy reading their story from the victim's perspective after they'd been broken. People who are broken stop being really interesting to her. She sometimes keeps them around in the dungeon for a few years so she can come back and enjoy how broken they are, but that's - how can Abrogail put this? That's a passing moment of pleasure in her story. Not their story. They don't have stories anymore once Abrogail is through with them.
The second book is a novel of literary self-destruction, as the novel's characters become less and less deserving of having any story at all.
It's the difference between reading about future devils and reading about future paving stones - whether people's flaws are in the end corrected by the suffering they endure, or if it simply destroys them. The first book is about a man aspiring to greatness and conquest, whom healthy Chelish girls might justly desire as a superior to seduce and exploit. The second book is a story of people who could have been great, but whose flaws - their need for love, their need to love, their dissatisfaction with a life that contains only power - in the end prevent them from achieving that greatness. It's realistic, don't get her wrong, but it's not fun to read.
Abrogail has turned any number of people into probable future paving stones, to be clear, and enjoyed the process. But she wouldn't continue to enjoy reading their story from the victim's perspective after they'd been broken. People who finish completely breaking stop being really interesting to her. She sometimes keeps them around in the dungeon for a few years, worked on by other employees of hers, so she can come back and enjoy how broken they still are. But that's - how can Abrogail put this? That's a passing moment of pleasure in her story. Not their story. They don't have stories anymore once Abrogail is through with them.
The second book is a novel of literary self-destruction, as the novel's characters become less and less deserving of having any story at all.
It's the difference between reading about future devils and reading about future paving stones - whether people's flaws are in the end corrected by the suffering they endure, or if it simply destroys them. The first book is about a man aspiring to greatness and conquest, whom healthy Chelish girls might justly desire as a superior to seduce and exploit. The second book is a story of people who could have been great, but whose flaws - their need for love, their need to love, their dissatisfaction with a life that contains only power - in the end prevent them from achieving that greatness. It's realistic, don't get her wrong, but it's not fun to read.
Abrogail has turned any number of people into probable future paving stones, to be clear, and enjoyed the process. But she wouldn't continue to enjoy reading their stories from the victim's perspective after they'd broken. People who finish completely breaking stop being really interesting to her. She sometimes keeps them around in the dungeon for a few years, worked on by other employees of hers, so she can come back and enjoy how broken they still are. But that's - how can Abrogail put this? That's a passing moment of pleasure in her story. Not their story. They don't have stories anymore once Abrogail is through with them. It's not about their horror and anguish and suffering, at that point, just about herself being so powerful and rich that she can afford to have that done to people on a whim, that she can make herself be the center of somebody else's universe and then just ignore them.
The second book is a novel of literary self-destruction, as the novel's characters become less and less deserving of having any story at all.
It's the difference between reading about future devils and reading about future paving stones - whether people's flaws are in the end corrected by the suffering they endure, or if it simply destroys them. The first book-half is about a man aspiring to greatness and conquest, whom healthy Chelish girls might justly desire as a superior to seduce and exploit. The second book-half is a story of people who could have been great, but whose flaws - their need for love, their need to love, their dissatisfaction with a life that contains only power - in the end prevent them from achieving that greatness. It's realistic, don't get her wrong, but it's not fun to read.
Abrogail has turned any number of people into probable future paving stones, to be clear, and enjoyed the process. But she wouldn't continue to enjoy reading their stories from the victim's perspective after they'd broken. People who finish completely breaking stop being really interesting to her. She sometimes keeps them around in the dungeon for a few years, worked on by other employees of hers, so she can come back and enjoy how broken they still are. But that's - how can Abrogail put this? That's a passing moment of pleasure in her story. Not their story. They don't have stories anymore once Abrogail is through with them. It's not about their horror and anguish and suffering, at that point, just about herself being so powerful and rich that she can afford to have that done to people on a whim, that she can make herself be the center of somebody else's universe and then just ignore them.
The second book-half is a novel of literary self-destruction, as the novel's characters become less and less deserving of having any story at all.
It's the difference between reading about future devils and reading about future paving stones - whether people's flaws are in the end corrected by the suffering they endure, or if it simply destroys them. The first book-half is about a man aspiring to greatness and conquest, whom healthy Chelish girls might justly desire as a superior to seduce and exploit. The second book-half is a story of people who could have been great, but whose flaws - their need for love, their need to love, their dissatisfaction with a life that contains only power - in the end prevent them from achieving that greatness. It's realistic, don't get her wrong, but it's not fun to read.
Abrogail has turned any number of people into probable future paving stones, to be clear, and enjoyed the process. But she wouldn't continue to enjoy reading their stories from the victim's perspective after they'd broken. People who finish completely breaking stop being really interesting to her. She sometimes keeps them around in the dungeon for a few years, worked on by other employees of hers, so she can come back and enjoy how broken they still are. But that's - how can Abrogail put this? That's a passing moment of pleasure in her story. Not their story. They don't have stories anymore once Abrogail is through with them. It's not about their horror and anguish and suffering, at that point, just about herself being so powerful and rich that she can afford to have that done to people on a whim, that she can make herself be the center of somebody else's universe, make it so their universe contains nothing else but her own Will and the endless horror it inflicts on them, and then that Will just ignores them from then on except to occasionally look in on and enjoy the meaninglessness of a meaninglessly suffering empty thing.
The second book-half is a novel of literary self-destruction, as the novel's characters become less and less deserving of having any story at all.
It's the difference between reading about future devils and reading about future paving stones - whether people's flaws are in the end corrected by the suffering they endure, or if it simply destroys them. The first book-half is about a man aspiring to greatness and conquest, whom healthy Chelish girls might justly desire as a superior to seduce and exploit. The second book-half is a story of people who could have been great, but whose flaws - their need for love, their need to love, their dissatisfaction with a life that contains only power - in the end prevent them from achieving that greatness. It's realistic, don't get her wrong, but it's not fun to read.
Abrogail has turned any number of people into probable future paving stones, to be clear, and enjoyed the process. But she wouldn't continue to enjoy reading their stories from the victim's perspective after they'd broken. People who shatter completely stop being interesting to her. She sometimes keeps them around in the dungeon for a few years, worked on by other employees of hers, so she can come back and enjoy how broken they still are. But that's - how can Abrogail put this? That's a passing moment of pleasure in her story. Not their story. They don't have stories anymore once Abrogail is through with them. It's not about their horror and anguish and suffering, past that point, it's about herself being so powerful and rich that she can afford to have that done to people on a whim. That she can make herself be the center of somebody else's universe, make it so their universe contains nothing else but her own Will and the endless horror it inflicts on them, and then that Will just ignores them from then on except to occasionally look in on and enjoy the meaninglessness of a meaninglessly suffering empty thing.
The second book-half is a novel of literary self-destruction, as the novel's characters become less and less deserving of having a story.
It's the difference between reading about future devils and reading about future paving stones - whether people's flaws are in the end corrected by the suffering they endure, or if it simply destroys them. The first book-half is about a man aspiring to greatness and conquest, whom healthy Chelish girls might justly desire as a superior to seduce and exploit. The second book-half is a story of people who could have been great, but whose flaws - their need for love, their need to love, their dissatisfaction with a life that contains only power - in the end prevent them from achieving that greatness. It's realistic, don't get her wrong, but it's not fun to read.
Abrogail has turned any number of people into probable future paving stones, to be clear, and enjoyed the process. But she wouldn't continue to enjoy reading their stories from the victim's perspective after they'd broken. People who shatter completely stop being interesting to her. She sometimes keeps them around in the dungeon for a few years, worked on by other employees of hers, so she can come back and enjoy how broken they still are. But that's - how can Abrogail put this? That's a passing moment of pleasure in her story. Not their story. They don't have stories anymore once Abrogail is through with them. It's not about their horror and anguish and suffering, past that point, it's about herself being so powerful and rich that she can afford to have that done to people on a whim. That she can make herself be the center of somebody else's universe, make it so their universe contains nothing else but her own Will and the endless horror it inflicts on them, and then that Will just ignores them from then on except to occasionally look in and enjoy the meaninglessness of a meaninglessly suffering empty thing.
The second book-half is a novel of literary self-destruction, as the novel's characters become less and less deserving of having a story.
