Well, and I read The Warrior’s Apprentice again. Such fun.
I did notice, this time through, that Miles is not convincingly a teenager at all. I mean, yes, there are ways that his teen-ness plays out, but for the most part, Miles is Miles already. On the other hand, he does get to display a sort of exhilaration when things actually work that later Miles hardly ever gets to do. Of course, things rarely work so well for later Miles (perhaps on Dagoola). What’s particularly fun about this book is the way that everybody unconsciously helps Miles with his scam, wanting to believe what will work, even when Miles doesn’t come up with the right words or ideas. It’s an aspect of the Little Admiral that is not an aspect of Miles, now that Miles has put everything away. He is a grupp now, and although he still lies and schemes to get what he wants, he doesn’t run out over the edge of the canyon, and convince everyone to move the other side over to where he is.
chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek,
-Vardibidian.