Hey I just realized something....

[samehl]

OMG I just realized that someone actually wrotethe manual! I really feel like a retard, but I thought the manual was also just was. Wow, can you imagine WRITING the manual. It says that Hearnssen wrote it. I wonder who that is?

[Peter Murray]

DD's first novel, Door Into Fire has as its main character a Herewiss, whose father's name is Hearn. I think it was Kathy who first realised the connection.

(He uses magic/wizardry.)

[Gigo]

I always thought that it was a random name, to fit in the disguise of being a library book.

But this is interesting too.

[A Traveller with Magic]

Well, Hearnssen couldn't have been the only one who wrote the manual. He probably just wrote the information on Earth...In Wizard's Holiday, it says the chief of the wizards on Alaalu, Seseil, wrote the first part of the Telling. All the others did the same thing, but heard different words.
And in TBONWM the Whispering comes from one of the Powers that Be.

[Peter Murray]

It's even more confusing than that, since Door Into Fire doesn't seem to be set on Earth.

At least, not unless it's like the Conan books, where there are big changes in sea level etc between Conan's time and historical times/the present day.

[Fox]

No I think your right PM, I've read all those books too and I would agree with you saying it was not set on earth. Maybe a another version of earth? hmmm be intresting to ask DD this! I mean it might just be that she liked the name?

I read that she is getting there with book 4 PM!! But Wizards of Mars is coming first! Yahhh Both will be good
Fox

[Birdhead]

Yes, it was Kathy who first picked up on Hearnssen. Or first mentioned it to DD, anyway.

Personally, I just thought it was one of those kind-of-fun references that obsessives like Kathy (I say "obsessive" with love. I think it's cool too...) can pick up and go "Heh" about. I mean, I think the whole concept of the Manual really precludes it being written by anyone- sections of it I can buy, sure, articles and whatnot, but much of the Manual actually seems to be self-authored or written by the H'rauf the Silent/Wise Power. I mean, you never hear about Nita or Kit writing the precis (what's the plural of precis?? Precises?) of their latest adventure, but they're in the Manual. On the other hand, things like spellwork and wizardly research does seem to come from wizards in general, so in that sense Herewiss could definitely be an author- or co-author, rather.

I'm not sure where, but somewhere around here there was a discussion about DD and self-referencing and a couple of people went through and picked up references in YW to Middle Kingdoms, and in Stealing the Elf-King's Roses also. This might be it but I rather think I actually participated in the one I'm thinking of, so then again, it might not be. Or maybe this was it, although a page later it deteriorates into more discussion of the Doctor. :P I seem to recall we also talked about the fact that the.. noun or verb stiho/stiheh is present in both Dracon and the Speech. & in Sunset Segnbora mentions that Dracon the verb that means "to be" is also the verb that means "to do" which is a distinction I can really see the Speech having, myself. So MK and YW are... if not set in the same universe, which is to be honest not all that difficult to believe- it's a big universe, you know - at least closely related. And of course there are some very clear repeated themes (can anyone spell entropy?) and motifs- I think there was laughing in the dark somewhere there. Possibly when Herewiss is breaking down Cillmod's defenses?

Speaking of the Doctor: I've finally seen a few episodes of the new series and thoroughly enjoyed it... yay, me? AND I have also, as you can tell, at last, read A Door into Sunset.(You should have seen me in Arty Bee's; I was jumping up and down like a... fangirl. The shop assistant gave me some seriously strange looks.) And the whole marriage thing which I ADORED, thanks Kathy and Peter for SPOILING me (kidding, kidding). At last I can join the masses in eagerly awaiting Door into Starlight. *dark laughter*

[Peter Murray]

So finally, I belatedly remember that DD wrote an entry in the Errantry Concordance about Mr Hearnssen, which is non-committal about the connection to Herewiss. (Yeah, right .)

[Birdhead]

That's like saying the Concordance is noncommittal about the possibility of The Man in the Bar being the fifth Doctor. Technically it's unconfirmed. Practically? There's a photograph.

[Kathy Li]

Tui, congrats on getting Door Into Sunset. And now you know why we were being so cagy (and annoying) about just who was marrying whom. And just who's being obsessive (in that good way), now?

As for who wrote the manual, remember that to non-wizard folks it looks just like some kids' book called So You Want to Be a Wizard...?

[Birdhead]

*grins* I think my "SOMETHING REALLY WIERD AND UNEXPECTED" can be viewed as quite a good guess, don't you?

Obsessive? What do you mean? Browsing through forum archives for upwards of half an hour to find the relevant topics isn't obsessive, it's... uh... well, I'll get back to you.

[meteorite]

So let's see if this computer will let me post...

Plural of Precis is Preces, for all you ******-retentive folks out there...

I found in an old sword and sorcery short story collection one by Our Favorite Author! I can't remember the title, but it was set in the Door world. Even scrubs have things to do for the Goddess...

[Birdhead]

I find that there are a few computers out there that won't let me post here. :-/ I think it's a right-software thing, although sometimes it seems to be related to the moods of the machine is question.

My inner pedant thanks you. You don't happen to remember which anthology it was in, do you? 'cause I'm feeling like I really ought to be a bit more completist about Door short stories, seeing as how I haven't read any of them.

[Kathy Li]

meteorite, lemme guess: "Parting Gifts" in Flashing Swords #5 ed. Lin Carter, maybe? The first Sirronde story? Great stuff. Love the kitten. Love that the heroine's an old woman. The other stories in that collection, iirc, include one by John Jakes when he was still doing barbarian/fantasy stuff before he started writing endless series of historical fiction.

The only other Middle Kingdoms short stories I know of would be "Lior and the Sea" in Moonsinger's Friends (Susan Schwartz? or Shwartz? editing. An anthology honoring Andre Norton), and the other Sirronde story "The Span" in Dragon magazine, #256 (which Nathan found).

[samehl]

What are the Door into fire books? Did DD write them? What are they about? Ok, I guess I just need to accept it, just about everybody here is a heck of a lot smarter than me. Half of what everybody is saying went way over my head.