Warning: Contains Spoilers!
She raised her staff and gave a commanding shout: ‘Come forth, my loathly sisters!’
Aufwader’s Thoughts: I must say, the troll witches are wonderfully grotesque and sinister in this chapter’s illustration. The banner which Robin very kindly created to announce the Reread depicts one in a slightly less intimidating, more cuddly light, so it’s rather enjoyable to finally see them in there original form; that is to say, hideous and ravening.
From then on, it’s all highly dramatic and theatrical, with Clarisant wielding a Pucca-wrought sword and blood raining from the sky as friend and foe are hewn asunder. Ah, nothing like a Robin Jarvis battle scene for a spot of cosy bedtime reading.
Matt’s Thoughts: I do wonder, reading this, whether Robin back in his TV days used to hang out with the sound guys a lot.
The reason for this is the sound design on Robin’s books is quite loud and dynamic. We usually think of reading as a silent pursuit but this chapter is as good an example of any of Robin’s relentless use of sound to paint his world.
Electric jags snake and spark, breastplates shatter, forks of fire blast down. It’s DTS 5.1 surround sound at full volume plus an extra-loud subwoofer. And this happens all the time in Jarvis climaxes. Is it just his way of fleshing out scenes? Or being helpful to that film crew we’re all waiting to come along and make a movie of these books?
Myth & Sacrifice 