tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504598332261057441.post8766550436443381252..comments2024-03-21T19:03:19.133-04:00Comments on Where there had been darkness...: October 18: A Night in the Lonesome October-festJugularjoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768939120752611597noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504598332261057441.post-7136438738743288792023-10-23T17:00:34.236-04:002023-10-23T17:00:34.236-04:00In regards to postures, I looked at it like an Ame...In regards to postures, I looked at it like an American trying to remember what they know of Japanese polite behavior based on anime and ine James Bond movie -with the same level of ham-handednessehlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358981434091732397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504598332261057441.post-14814894151999082512023-10-23T16:58:19.652-04:002023-10-23T16:58:19.652-04:00I think Snuff was something dog/hound/beast like f...I think Snuff was something dog/hound/beast like from mythology or Dreanlands, who was summoned into mortal dog form.<br /><br />Excellent work on investigation into Irish Wolf Hounds. Great catch!<br /><br />Conrad is both - Zelazny loves ambiguity. <br /><br />ehlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358981434091732397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504598332261057441.post-6604874550270311532017-12-04T00:54:33.113-05:002017-12-04T00:54:33.113-05:00Snuff certainly seems to be an Irish wolfhound. I ...Snuff certainly seems to be an Irish wolfhound. I first encountered the breed when I was 14 years old. They had a male and female on display at a county fair. I was 5' 10" at the time and the male looked me right in the eye! Huge, tall dog!<br /><br />(It seems as plausible as magic might be that Snuff was a minor demon infused into a dog. And for a-possibly-fallen angel, his heart seems at least reasonably pure. Dog seems to suit him for more than demon!)vilstefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14183356136648221026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504598332261057441.post-59699322862495582792013-10-20T12:05:09.412-04:002013-10-20T12:05:09.412-04:00Hm. You're probably right about Snuff being a...Hm. You're probably right about Snuff being a dog first.<br /><br />But I'm going to keep on believing what I was believing, because I'm stubborn. So nyeh!Zachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07692070094174090593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504598332261057441.post-7843071649721755452013-10-19T12:20:50.872-04:002013-10-19T12:20:50.872-04:00Heh. I was thinking of the same "is he or isn...Heh. I was thinking of the same "is he or isn't he?" question when I looked at that passage and came to the different conclusion. (Yes, shocking, someone finds evidence supporting a viewpoint he already holds. News at 11!)<br /><br />I was reading it that dogs and wolves are biologically the same thing, but the animals we call dogs are socialized and while Snuff might have submissive responses in his repertoire, he hasn't had cause to use them with regular dogs, which he intimidates by virtue of his size and demeanor. <br /><br />I think of the only two animals companions whose origins are explicitly discussed, Graymalk and Cheeter, both were regular animals before they joined the Game, and that's some circumstantial evidence pointing towards the uplifted animal theory, though I admit the sample size is small.<br /><br />I was thinking about Growler too, and I don't think a primal dog spirit would have much traffic with some alien thing that wears the shape of a dog. I'll address that in more detail as he becomes more prominent. (And I was remembering him as part of the story already. I didn't realize how late he popped up. All we've gotten is that one throwaway line.)<br /><br />Conrad, mutant or Pan? I've always come down on the mutant side, thought Chris Kovacs offers some arguments to the contrary in the comment section of this post:<br /><br />http://where-there-had-been-darkness.blogspot.com/2010/10/roger-zelazny-book-review-and-call-me_9496.htmlJugularjoshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03768939120752611597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504598332261057441.post-33775471308051652052013-10-19T12:03:38.487-04:002013-10-19T12:03:38.487-04:00Going back to a note on one of your earlier posts,...Going back to a note on one of your earlier posts, you said that it's not clear whether Snuff is a dog who was elevated by Jack or some other entity who was put into dog form by Jack. This was one of those things that hadn't even *occurred* to me as a possibility--I'd never thought that maybe Snuff was a regular old dog first. But since you brought it up a few days ago, I've decided to keep an eye out for clues, one way or another, and I think one of the passages you quoted here today reinforces my thoughts that Snuff was some sort of demon/spirit/whatever who just got turned into a dog.<br /><br />The particular line I'm thinking of is this: "I quickly reviewed my knowledge of the submissive postures these guys are into as I backed away from the corpse."<br /><br />Now, you *could* argue that when Snuff says "these guys" he's referring to wolves specifically, and not dogs, but . . . well, I'm fairly certain wolves and dogs have the same submissive postures. So to me, he's saying, ". . . the submissive postures wolves and dogs are into . . ." Which, of course, would seem to imply that he's not naturally a dog himself.<br /><br />Granted, it's still possible that Zelazny *did* intend for this to be ambiguous (and if so, I love him for it), but as of now, I'm still firmly in the "Snuff was something else, originally" camp.<br /><br />Next topic of debate: Conrad Nomikos--mutant, or Pan?Zachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07692070094174090593noreply@blogger.com