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May '08

Protected: An American Changeling

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  • http://gelasticjew.blogspot.com/ Kai Jones

    That was great! Suspense and magic and family, good combination.

    • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

      Thanks!

  • http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com Chris Gerrib

    I’m not a fantasy guy, but I like – especially the urban crossover flavor. I was confused a bit – was Kim’s dad always in the back seat of the Prius with her? Also, does he have a name? Referring to him as “Kim’s dad” felt awkward to me.

    Just my thoughts – hope they’re helpful. If not, please delete.

    • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

      Oh, good. I was hoping the urban elements would work.

      Yes, Kim’s dad was always in the back seat with her, but I can make that line a little more apparent.

      Kim’s father has the same name as my father. Dad. :) Seriously though, I tend to be of the school of thought that one refers to other characters by the name that the POV character uses. But, I’ll see if there’s some variation I can try.

  • http://www.michelelee.net Michele Lee

    I definitely liked the fairies, but I was slightly confused as to where the unseelie traitors came from? Where they the ones that came out of the gate with the Queen? I would have liked to hear more about the seelie vs the unseelie (my only information comes from LKH books, so I could use some truly reliable information for your take on the mythology). I loved the bit with the rebar. I also like that Kim, who is tolerant of iron and salt and other fae-banes ends up being sort of dazzled by the full power of the faerie. Is there any reason this has to remain so short? i think there’s plenty of potential for a longer, richer story. :)

    • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

      Thanks, Michele. I’ll see if I can clarify that in the text. The explanation is that once the wall came down, it came down everywhere. The Unseelie knew where the Queen was coming because of the traitors. In the Queen’s retinue, only Oreyn, was a traitor, but I can make that clearer.

      In the version of the mythos that I’m using, the Unseelie want the gate to remain closed to avoid any taint of the mortal world. The Seelie want to be able to go back and forth between the worlds.

      And why so short? I wanted to write a short story, but as I was working on it, I did think that there were ideas that would be interesting to play with in long form.

      • http://www.michelelee.net Michele Lee

        Ah, see, not knowing about the traitors until after the unseelie show up might be the cause of my confusion. I do love that the unseelie want the Fairie to be clean of the mortal taint. That seems like a real strong motivation. But of course that makes me wonder how the wall was put up in the first place. and if the unseelie see the human world as a source of taint do the seelie see more boons than just having the humans to play with? Not that fae aren’t surface creatures, but preventing taint versus just wanting to see the mortal realm feels like a big imbalance in motivation.

        Only Oreyn was the traitor, eh? I think you have the magical/urban fantasy elements down real well, meshing it into a modern setting. It’s the faerie side that was a bit confusing.

        One of the better urban fantasies I’ve read lately has been Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. She does a fantastic job of meshing technology and magic together.

        • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

          And this is why I like to have people read this stuff in first draft. ‘Cause I’m sitting here thinking, “But I mention the traitor on page 7!” Which means that I need to bump that part of the scene up, because it seems forgotten it by the time we get to Stonehenge. And the other traitors… they are in the bones of the story, but not clear on the page. Fortunately, I think that’s an easy fix.

          Thank you for clarifying where the confusion lies!

  • http://everythingsun.blogspot.com Mike F

    I’m not well versed in fantasy myself, but I liked this story. I liked how the parents were traditional in their beliefs yet the daughter was a typical teen who tries her best to antagonize her parents. Yet, when the time comes, she embraces her heritage, in a sense, and fulfills her destiny. We also see that she truly cares about her parents even though she tries to irritate them; especially at the end when she clears the salt and leaves her door open.

    Like Michelle, I was a bit confused about the traitors at first. I chalked it up to not knowing enough about the fantasy elements.

    I really enjoyed the story. Thanks for sharing.

    • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

      Thanks for reading, Mike.

      Was it the appearance of the traitors during the ambush, or why they were traitors or something else entirely that you found confusing?

      • http://everythingsun.blogspot.com Mike F

        I guess you could say it was their appearance. I thought only the queen and her people showed up and was confused when they announced there was an ambush. I was confused on who the ambushers were, I guess that’s the best way to explain it. But, like I said, I’m not sure how much of that is due to my lack of knowledge in fantasy. Does that make sense?

        • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

          Ah! I see. Thank you, that helps me sort out what to fix.

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