La pasticherie de Petra

When you are too tired to compose a post that ends with "in this essay I will", it is time to go to bed.

I am not writing an essay about Chalion tonight. I am not even writing an abstract of an essay about Chalion tonight. But if I did, it would be because I just learned that the east is the Orient because Jerusalem used to be This End Up for European maps.

"Heh, the Bastard is Jesus" : Chalion :: "Oh Shit, is Aslan Jesus?" : Narnia. Not that I probably thought "Oh shit" at that age, but the point stands.

Elseblog I read a comment about how LM Bujold's Chalion books, the first two at least, are a loose retelling of the Reconquest of Spain.

I have some pretty intense feelings about that--and about the Reconquest narrative--and the meme of "We must take our land back" doesn't feel like the driving force of Chalion to me at all.

( More nattering, spoilers for Paladin of Souls )