Let's Read: Book Club #18

[Thaal Sinestro]

My first Book Club post, so apologies if I messed this up. Obvious spoilers follow.

[spoiler]The Face of Your Father

So, I’ve never played Borderlands, but this thread made me really want to go buy it. And it wasn’t JUST the epic battle at the end though it certainly didn’t hurt =P. Even though I’ve had no real exposure to the games or similar media (still haven’t seen Fury Road yet, I get the idea that it would have the same vibe), the descriptions of the bandits (especially BWNN) painted a clear picture in my mind of a gang of ultra-violent marauders pillaging the desert.

Character-wise, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how fantastic is was to see Book in this thread. I had seen that Thaal had NPC’d him, but for some reason it took me completely off-guard (in the best way). And it needs saying that Thaal captured his kind of ‘humble kindness’ perfectly. As for Caret, not sure if you two were trying to make me think of Kaylee, but that’s definitely how I saw her (but redhead). Eighteen’s dialogue especially made me laugh and imagine it in her voice (“last I checked, sheets aren’t really in season”).

I really liked the dynamic that Caret and BWNN had throughout; despite how different they were, they got along like sisters. It was interesting to see BWNN as more of an ‘honorable’ bandit if that makes sense. She could have easily jumped Book and Caret when she got better and robbed them blind, but instead she took Caret (and some snacks) under her wing. I got the feeling that giving Caret control of the turret, especially with BWNN having the history she’s had, was really a big show of trust. Hell, I think trust in any form is not something she’s used to. Also, I appreciated the Starcraft reference. =P

The battle at the camp was brilliantly done. I got a real gladiator vibe when the two squared off, with the bandits showing little loyalty to their leader and screaming for bloodshed. I was genuinely concerned when none of BWNN’s shots were hitting (the same gun that literally tore holes through people normally) and Sledge whipped out the shotgun. I had seen Thaal write in his join post for her that the secondary version of her had died and the way the battle was going initially, I was sure this was the end for her. Until she nabbed the big guy’s hammer, that is. Had I read her current log page I’d have seen this coming, but I’m glad that I didn’t.

On the technical side, there were only a handful of typos and none that really took away from the reading at all. There was a great balance between dialogue and description. I wasn’t weighed down with huge blocks of dry description nor was I drowned in text. I feel like this made for great pacing throughout. Overall, excellent work by two excellent writers.

One small question, though. With what we saw between Book and BWNN and bearing in mind the title of the thread...plot twist?![/spoiler]

Oh man, I really appreciate your feedback! I promise you'll get a payoff on the thread title soon