News! and a question

[trobadora]

Most of you likely know this already, but there is now a Coldfire category at fanfiction.net. A new fic has been posted there too.

And a question for y'all:

I've noticed it always surprises me when Tarrant is referred to as "blond" in fanfic, and after checking my books I suppose that's because he is never actually called that, so I don't expect the word. (Electronic versions are really useful, aren't they?) In fact, I'm not sure whether his hair colour is ever explicitly mentioned at all. Is it? Damien notices his hair quite a bit, but what about its colour? Can anyone point me anywhere?

Comments

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

The cover images certainly play a role in it. But I seem to remember that there are occasional mentions of "fair" or "light brown" or "light" hair...

I still have half of CoS to reread, so I'll pay attention to it from now on.

It would be interesting if it were actually never mentioned. I know we never find out about Damien (checked for that one), but I'm not so sure about Gerald.

[trobadora]

Yes, I know about the cover art, but I don't remember seeing it in the text, and a quick search didn't reveal anything.

And yes, it would be interesting, considering how often Gerald's hair is mentioned!

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

If it's never mentioned, then it might be one of those fandom phenomena. *grin* Spontaneous creation of character appearance.

It's a good excuse to start rereading again, actually... you're making me wonder about it.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be chestnut. Light chestunut, but brown, not blonde. I could try to find a quote and page for you, but that's a definite impression I remember from the books.

[trobadora]

If you could find a quote that would be marvellous! I honestly couldn't find anything definite myself, even though I tried.

[trobadora]

Fanon can be like that! Maybe we've all been brainwashed by the cover art and never even noticed...

(And etrangere says below that she believes it is chestnut! I'm really curious if anyone can find proof either way.)

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

And here begins the hunt for quotes to prove Tarrant's hair colour. *g*

I could live with light chestnut.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

That's it, I'm hitting the books to look for this.

Brainwashing by the cover art does sound possible...

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

found it !
(knew it was in one of Narilka's first chapter of crown of shadow)

p.50
""Just as this man's hair was the same (golden brown, fine as silk)"

what do I win ?

and so it ends

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

It's described as "golden brown" as it is. Which I definitely interprete as light chestnut :p

Re: and so it ends

[trobadora]

Really? Where is that? Don't leave me hanging!

[trobadora]

Sorry, only just now saw this. LJ is still eating comments...

Wow. Talk about being brainwashed by the cover art! Thank you for finding the proof.

Unfortunately I'm not a writer or an artist, so all you win is my eternal gratitude for proving my instincts weren't completely off about the wrongness of "blond"!

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

The yield of a search for "hair" through the trilogy:

"He bowed, soft brown hair catching the moonlight as he moved."
BSR, when Tarrant meets Narilka

"Until the hair is Core-golden, soft strands tangling in the thermal gusts."
BSR, Damien dreaming about Senzei transforming into Tarrant in the fire

"The light of a single candle backlit the Hunter, its corona like a halo about his light brown hair."
WTNF, when Hesseth loses her hair

"Tarrant would stand out like a sore thumb, he realized, with his light brown hair and melanin-deficient skin clearly declaring him a stranger."
WTNF, during the church service with the Matria

"Frost shivered from his boots as he climbed to where the two had made camp, and ice crystals glimmered in his soft brown hair."
WTNF, when Tarrant joins Damien and Hesseth again after their escape

"Strands of pale hair were fanned across his forehead like a spider's web."
WTNF, after that incident about looking at God...

"A raindrop splattered on the light brown hair."
WTNF, in Hellsport

"Just as this man's hair was the same (golden brown, fine as silk), only Andrys Tarrant had trimmed his in a stylish cut, indisputably modern, while the other had let his grow to the shoulder."
CoS, at the end of the second chapter

"His golden-brown hair was tangled about his head, his eyes faintly bloodshot."
CoS, when Narilka calls on Andrys in the hotel

"Fine golden-brown hair flowed down about his shoulders, tousled by an unseen wind."
CoS, when Andrys shows Narilka the painting of Gerald

"He is an image out of mural splendor, this brave soldier, with the coronet of Merentha holding back his golden hair, and the armor of that doomed neocounty glittering upon his chest and limbs."
CoS, the Patriarch's vision of Andrys leading the troops

"Against such a background his skin, normally so pale in aspect, took on the bronze sheen of a healthy tan, and the sun picked out Core-gold highlights in his newly trimmed hair."
CoS, Andrys at his wedding

"Andrys Tarrant holds the grisly trophy aloft, fingers clasped about its golden hair, and holds it still for all to see. For all to identify."
CoS, Damien's memory in the last chapter

Re: and so it ends

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

It kind of changes a bit through the books, though. I collected the references I found above. It seems to set out as soft brown, then turn golden... But I'm not a native speaker, so arguing about colour nuances is tricky. :-)

Re: and so it ends

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

lol, LJ is messing with you. I answered you with the page

(longuer quote)

"For a long time after Andrys Tarrant had left, Narilka stared at the door in silence. [...yadda yadda...]
That face. So familiar. Those eyes... she could picture them cast in a paler hue (silever, cracked silver, the color of ice and sunlight) and that was enough to transform them, because in all other ways - in shape, in expression - they were the same as his. Just as this man's hair was the same (golden brown, fine as silk), only Andry Tarrant had trimmed his in a stylish cut, indisputably modern, while the other had let his grow to the shoulder."

[trobadora]

You are way better at searching than I am! Way more systematic, too. Thanks for all of this. No idea how I managed to miss this, or the rest of fandom for that matter. I'm going with the brainwash theory. ;-)

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Can it be that German "blond" is different from English "blond"? Because to my mind golden or golden brown is an alternative label for dark blond...

But then you wouldn't have felt that blond is wrong. I'm feeling confused.

[alice_montrose]

You girls have been busy while I was watching fellowship of the Rings tonight. Tsk tsk.

Gerald's hair is light brown, which would obviously have golden reflexes in a certain light.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

After the kind of stuff I've looked up in the books, finding quotes on hair was almost too easy. *g*

The cover certainly had an influence. But I'm still not sure now whether it's closer to blond or brown. Golden seems somewhat ambiguous.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

You could have saved us twenty minutes of wondering. ;-)

[trobadora]

In German, if you called someone's hair "goldbraun" would you really also call it "blond"? I wouldn't. This is only my opinion of course, but for me, blond hair can be golden, but it can't be golden brown.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Hm, goldbraun... I think I'd include it as blond, but barely. Depends on whether it's more golden or more brown. It's a bit of a borderline case for me.

Re: and so it ends

[trobadora]

Light brown and golden brown mostly seem to depend on the lighting, but what throws me is that it's also called pale once. Pale and golden somehow don't seem to go together...

Re: and so it ends

[trobadora]

Thank you! I saw it now, but only by going directly to the page. Stupid LJ, not sending comment notifications!

Re: and so it ends

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

wow, impressive collection.

there's references to golden alone, but nowhere blonde. It's light brown or golden brown otherwise. Granted, you wouldn't usually interprete golden alone as brown hair, but with the fact it's often put next to it, I think it's brown and golden, somewhere in between light chestnut and dark blonde.