I'm almost ashamed that I never thought of the classic wild west style opening in this terms - now that you point it out, it's so obvious!
Damien's curiosity was probably the first thing I noticed, and it immediately made me take to him where dozens of fantasy heroes leave me desinterested. Well, not just curiosity per se - the way he's so utterly himself, comfortable inside his own mind, and very, very open-minded about everything. He *notices* where things differ from his home, but he's curious, not judgemental.
He's also awesomely not sexist in any way, and there's this beautiful touch of self-irony in the way he woos Ciani. It's hard to explain, but here's someone who'd have every potential to ooze machismo, and he just doesn't at all. I like that. Little things - like that we get to hear Ciani is ordering for him in the inn, that sort of thing. And yeah - I really, really liked the priest without the celibate bit! ;). Not getting into the female character problem... yet. I just *love* the man to bits :).
Oh, and one other thing - like in the prologue, Friedman's gift of packing information about the world and the fae into the chapter without detracting from the flow of the story is *awesome* - like the way Ciani doles out the 'there is no cure for true night' information.
The last line also really made the connection between Damien and Gerald for me - well, in retrospect.
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Damien's curiosity was probably the first thing I noticed, and it immediately made me take to him where dozens of fantasy heroes leave me desinterested. Well, not just curiosity per se - the way he's so utterly himself, comfortable inside his own mind, and very, very open-minded about everything. He *notices* where things differ from his home, but he's curious, not judgemental.
He's also awesomely not sexist in any way, and there's this beautiful touch of self-irony in the way he woos Ciani. It's hard to explain, but here's someone who'd have every potential to ooze machismo, and he just doesn't at all. I like that. Little things - like that we get to hear Ciani is ordering for him in the inn, that sort of thing. And yeah - I really, really liked the priest without the celibate bit! ;). Not getting into the female character problem... yet. I just *love* the man to bits :).
Oh, and one other thing - like in the prologue, Friedman's gift of packing information about the world and the fae into the chapter without detracting from the flow of the story is *awesome* - like the way Ciani doles out the 'there is no cure for true night' information.
The last line also really made the connection between Damien and Gerald for me - well, in retrospect.