The resolution of the Coldfire trilogy--spoilers

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

So, a good place to start is at the end.

The way I read, I'm constantly trying to figure out where the plot is going, and how it might resolve. One of the things I so liked about the Coldfire trilogy was that it was very hard for me to figure out how she could bring it to a satisfying conclusion. I like it when someone is able to really surprise me. So when I first read Crown of Shadows, I looked forward to seeing how it would end.

Well, most of us know how it ends, and my first response was to nearly throw the book across the room. It felt so...unfitting. I had the impression that Friedman had written herself into a corner, and that she had left plots dangling. I mean...Damien, just standing there? Surely he would've done something. Everything in my reading experience said that you don't simply leave a character standing there at the end, with nothing left to do and nowhere to go. Isn't that a story in itself? And Tarrant...egad, what happened with Tarrant? It was weird, and jarring for me. I felt terribly let down that this was how it would all end after everything that had happened.

In subsequent reads, it came together for me a bit. Or maybe I just learned to live with my disappointment. I can get behind Damien's mixture of joy and despair now. I can snicker at Tarrant's parting one-up on the ex-priest. I can look forward and wonder what Tarrant, in his new body, might be going off to do; what Damien might find to do with the rest of his broken life. Wondering what could possibly come after for them both has become part of the story for me.

But I still wonder...is that what she was trying to do? I mean really. What was the point of that ending?

Comments

[trobadora]

The way I read, I always look at the ending first, and I shudder to think how I'd have felt if I hadn't known it was coming.

I've no clue what she actually wanted to acomplish with that ending myself, I can only offer my own reaction. And that is... if he had to die, I'd rather he'd have died on top of the volcano. That was a brilliant death scene, and bringing him back after that seemed somewhat anticlimactic, as did everything else afterwards. It seems she opens up a whole new world of possiblities for their new journey, just for a second there, and then kills him off again, only to again tell us, oops, no, he's actually not quite gone. Sorry, but it does lose its power the second time around. As you say, there is a lot much potential in it all, but it's still a rather weird ending.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

I actually liked that second death. After the first time it seems like they'd get away with it all, but then reality catches up with them. But the second resurrection... that's where it gets repetitive for me.

Btw, can I link to your fic index from the community page?

[trobadora]

Yes, exactly - you can let him off the hook once, but if the second time he isn't really, well and truly dead I'm not sure what the message is supposed to be. Other than the fact she doesn't want him dead any more than we do, I suppose...

As for linking: anywhere and everywhere you please. If someone else can benefit from my obsession it's almost a justification. ;-)

[alice_montrose]

The message? The man just won't stay dead - what do you think the message is? That his spirit will live forever. He might have picked up a trick or two from the Undying Prince, you know.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

He'd have to modify those tricks, though, because they're clearly not foolproof.

[alice_montrose]

Well he obviously did. I don't think he'd ever share a body with another soul, for example. And besides, what is he if not an example of self-improvement and adaptation? *pets Gerald's hair* So smart...

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

It doesn't feel like an ending to me, more like a beginning. Who knows, maybe she was toying with the idea of a sequel at the time.

It wasn't really disappointment I felt the first time I read the ending. More like relief that Gerald managed to die twice in the book and still be alive at the end. But during re-readings it was becoming more and more obvious just how many unresolved issues there are. Especially Damien, who really looks completely lost and without any purpose whatsoever in the end.

I like the final scene, for all its implications. I just wish it hadn't been the end of the books. But well, that's why people write fanfiction - finding out what happens after the last page is always a great motivation.

[zedmeister.livejournal.com]

Initial disclaimer: it's been a couple of years since I've last reread the trilogy, so I may misspell names or misremember bits of story :) Now that's been said:

The last book definitely went off in a direction I wasn't expecting. Who would have thought, in the first two books, that the Iezu would play such a big role in the end? Or one of Gerald's decendants? And what about the rakthae? Their story was pretty much dropped along the way. And where on earth did the idea of the patriarch as an undiscovered sorcerer come from? I didn't buy the explanation for that at all. It seemed to me like CSF had spent two books creating a particular world only to completely reinterpret and reframe it in the third one, keeping only certain elements. It almost read like fanfic, except the characters were too true to themselves.

That aside, however, I found the ending completely fitting within the context of CoS alone. A lot of time was spent developing Andreas' character, to the point where my main reaction to him showing off Gerald's severed head was intense disbelief. I simply coulsn't believe that after everything he'd still go through with killing Gerald. It didn't ring true to what we'd seen of his character ta all, so I wasn't at all surprised when Gerald turned out to be alive after all. It was a case of the characters dictating the story.

As for the ending, I think the Patriarch's sacrifice was the actual ending and climax to the series, more so than Gerald's death or rebirth. The scope of the story had moved beyond him and Damien; the last scene was simply closure for the readers. Only I guess it didn't work that way for some, hence your post :D

I'm curious - what sort of ending were you expecting? Personally, after the (cruel, cruel) ending of WTNF, I was on tenterhooks waiting to find out what would happen to Gerald. The ending of CoS, on the other hand, felt like a chance to say goodbye and wish good luck to both him and Damien, whatever the future may have in store for them. The ending was just perfect, IMO. They've both been granted a fresh start, a chance at a new life in the new world they've helped create.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

As for the ending, I think the Patriarch's sacrifice was the actual ending and climax to the series, more so than Gerald's death or rebirth.

Yes, I think you're right there. The story has sort of moved on. And in many ways, that's exactly what they were working for, at least by the end. It's certainly what Damien was after the entire time.

What ending was I expecting? I wasn't, really. I couldn't figure out how she could possibly end the books in a way that would round everything up. And maybe that was the problem for me. I was looking for resolution for the two characters. What she gave us was resolution for the story. I'm more comfortable with that now, but at the time it rather shocked and disappointed me.

After thinking about it quite a lot, actually, I came to the understanding that some characters you can't easily produce resolution for. For instance, how do you wrap up a 900-year-long life that was dedicated to evil and is now attempting to atone? How do you resolve the story of a man who willingly shattered his whole existence for the sake of someone else?

[laylah.livejournal.com]

As a writer, I feel like I understand the ending emtionally, despite the sort of "craft" problems that I have with it. It did feel cheap, bringing him back again -- there ought to be a point at which a man's luck runs out, even a man like Tarrant.

...But I was so attached to him just as a reader, after something like 2000 pages, that I was grateful to be able to avoid the heartbreak of his final death. I wouldn't be at all surprised if part of Friedman's reason for giving him that ending was the same kind of attachment multiplied by the factor of having written him and lived with him and gotten so familiar with him that it was just too painful to let him die.

You can probably hear how torn I am. I think there'd be more artistic merit, or something, more serious credibility, to killing Tarrant in order to save Erna. But I'm grateful that Friedman didn't do it, because I love him so much that I want to believe he has a chance.

I always sort of vaguely disclaim the ending when reccomending the books to people -- "The ending gets a little weird, and there are some plot twists that are kind of hard to swallow, but they're forgivable because they're for the sake of a really excellent character," that sort of thing. I'm not comfortable with it and never really have been, but I'd have been crushed by the more-technically-perfect (?) ending.

[merentha.livejournal.com]

I thought the ending was perfect because it was absolutely consistent with Tarrant's character. For somebody who's been trying his darndest to stay alive for 900 years, he isn't about to up and die simply because of a little inconvenience like not having instant access to his powers. He had so much time to contemplate about the Fae that I would be surprised if that final trick hadn't played around in his brain for some time. What was once a hypothesis was finally put to actual test to cheat death once more. And he'll probably go on cheating death for as long as Erna exists by reinventing himself in suitable ways. Remember, the entire planet is a giant laboratory to him. Tarrant is a survivor, and a very dangerous one too. I'm under no illusion that he's a changed man. If future conditions dictate that he should go back to his vampiric ways to survive, he won't be held back by any troublesome conscience.

Damien is perhaps the saddest character. All his beliefs have been shredded by his long association with the Hunter. His vow to kill the Hunter has become meaningless. He is outside the Church's grace. And he's lost his girl. Well, maybe he'll redefine himself by stalking the new Tarrant, just to be sure that he's not up to no good again. :P

As for the Patriach, there are enough hints of his sorcerous potential in the first book, like his memories of his drugged mother devoured by demons. Even Damien suspected his powers but refrained by using a Knowing in his presence. It wasn't something that was thrown up in the last book.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

If future conditions dictate that he should go back to his vampiric ways to survive, he won't be held back by any troublesome conscience.

Probably not, no. Though it would mean giving up his last chance at redemption - however small it is.

[merentha.livejournal.com]

That's assuming that redemption is a big issue for him. I think that Tarrant's need for knowledge far outweighs his wish for redemption, especially considering that he's well aware that the Ernan God was, in a way, created by himself during his time as the Prophet.

OTOH, with the much weakened reactivity of the Fae, Tarrant might be tempted to remould human society towards a more atheistic bent. Once the belief in the old Ernan Church fades, there'll be no God and no Hell to fear.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Good point about the redemption issue. It would be difficult to devote his new life to redemption when he's aware that the whole need for doing so is a flaw in the system. Tarrant tried to do away with hell, so there shouldn't be a need for redeeming himself if the Church hadn't messed with that idea.

OTOH, with the much weakened reactivity of the Fae, Tarrant might be tempted to remould human society towards a more atheistic bent. Once the belief in the old Ernan Church fades, there'll be no God and no Hell to fear.

He'd have to lead society towards actively believing that there is no Hell, though. I don't think it would disappear if they simply stopped believing in it. Demons don't fade once they are created, so I assume it is the same with Hell.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hadn't thought of that either. Tarrant trying to erase the idea of Hell... Hm.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

And he could pull it off if he really sets his mind to it.

[alice_montrose]

It's... complicated. I would be lying if I said Crown of Shadows is not my least favourite book in the trilogy. Still, we work with what we get, eh?

In my eyes, the book always ended with the Patriarch's Sacrifice. What comes afterward - the introduction of Riven Forrest, Andrys & Narilka's wedding, and of course Damien's meeting with a certain young man - is a series of... I'm not sure what to call them... epilogues, perhaps, that attempt to bring a certain closure to the series while still leaving plenty of room for interpretation. Because that's what it is, isn't it? An open ending, so that each reader can imagine for himself or herself what happens afterward.

Anyway, in regards with Gerald's second resurrection, I think we could have expected it. Throughout the books, he has held onto life with teeth and claws. How many times was he on the brink of death and came back? He wouldn't be one who is satisfied with mortality, and he probably knows that his soul's redemption for 900 years of sins will not happen in a lifetime. You must remember who he is - or rather, was: proud, arrogant... and immortal. No, I don't think he would give that up so easily, not with a new world out there just waiting for him to explore, and exploit all those new possibilities.

I am not quite sure what to make of poor Damien, though. After all he's been through he finds himself alone, with no purpose. Perhaps he'll manage to pick up what's left of him and reinvent himself? And if not, maybe a certain young man will show up to give him a good kick in the derriere and drag him off to have some new adventures. *lol* But seriously, I'm not really sure how Damien will carry on, for he has lost everything. Everything.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

He wouldn't be one who is satisfied with mortality, and he probably knows that his soul's redemption for 900 years of sins will not happen in a lifetime.

He doesn't have much of a choice, does he? Either he dies and ends up in hell, or he tries to redeem himself (which will take another few centuries at least), or he finds a way to avoid dying once more. And since that last option has worked rather well for nine hundred years, why change a winning formula...

But poor Damien, there at the end. *sigh*

[alice_montrose]

*nod nod* On both counts.

Oh, btw,. I think we forgot to list Hesseth in the interests section. *sweatdrops*

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

*off to add Hesseth*

I am wondering about something, though. The whole purpose of the Church was to bring mankind back to space. So if Gerald achieves that final goal all by himself, would that mean redemption for him?

[alice_montrose]

Hmm... maybe. Who knows? I mean, the way I see it he might try his best to redeem himself over the next few centuries. Or he'll try his best at becoming the best scientist there is and eventually accomplish space travel. Maybe the Mother of the Iezu will give him a hand there.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

The second option seems more likely to me... Redemption is a bit tricky for him. He'd have to do something that outweighs his past because as he said, he can't pretend to regret what he did.

But turning into a scientist and coming up with the occasional new way to live a few centuries longer...

[(Anonymous)]

That's a very interesting point, actually. If God is created from the fae, and the fae is only on Erna...then if Tarrant were to leave the planet someday, would that rid him of the irritating problem of redemption?

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Argh. That was me. Forgot to sign in.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

That's a very interesting point, actually. If God is created from the fae, and the fae is only on Erna...then if Tarrant were to leave the planet someday, would that rid him of the irritating problem of redemption?

It would seem logical... so all he has to do is stay alive until he (or someone else) develops reliable ways of space travel, and then find another planet without fae or something similar. No more Hell to worry about, so dying wouldn't be quite as scary as before anymore. Even though immortality probably does become a habit at some point.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

...You know, I was going to point out that no fae means no immortality, too. But...well, who knows what sorts of technology humans have come up with at that point? Maybe a more scientific sort of immortality does wait for him out there.

And now I'm imagining the kind of culture shock that'd happen if Tarrant ran into super-futuristic humans.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Culture shock to him or to the super-futuristic humans? ;-)

Actually he might not venture out to space until he is certain there is a way of immortality waiting which won't need the fae to work. He might just try to first find the technology to go to space, then figure out a way to make immortality last without the fae, then go to space. I doubt time is much of an issue for him.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Culture shock to him or to the super-futuristic humans? ;-)

Good question. Frankly, I'm not quite sure! :)

[alice_montrose]

*lol* My bet is, culture shock on the super-futuristic humans. Because Gerald would likely be... intrigued.

[ariss-tenoh.livejournal.com]

As someone else has said, the real ending to the plot was when the Patriarch changed the nature of the Fae. Thereby insuring that mankind wouldn't be plagued by nightmares and demons given flesh. The main opposition in the form of Calesta was gone and so were the other bad guys. Andrys gets sorted out and gets his own happy ending. Even the Iezu begin to think about breeding naturally, or what passes for natural to them, and expanding their race.

The ending scene with Damien and the not-so-mysterious young man was more for the fans, that's what I think. Damien might be cast out of the Church but he's grown mentally and emotionally and no longer sees the world in black&white. As for Gerald, he too had grown beyong his myopic view of himself and his world which consisted of the Forest and its surroundings. I'm certain it pleased Damien to no end and set his mind at ease that Gerald managed to survive no matter what, and Gerald probably knows that or wouldn't have risked meeting the ex-priest in such a public place.

The ending was that of a beginning, a rebirth for Erna and the novels's characters. And where Gerald and Damien's relationship is concerned, I think it was necessary for them to start over again. If they are to be friends or lovers, it should be a mutually consented matter. Not the whole forced way it's been for the past 3 books as somehow necessary for each other's survival. Friendships don't stay alive when they're more like alliances.

So yep, I think the ending of the series was fitting. Anything more and that's where we fanfiction writers step in^_~

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

The final scene as fan service... it does make sense.

I'm certain it pleased Damien to no end and set his mind at ease that Gerald managed to survive no matter what, and Gerald probably knows that or wouldn't have risked meeting the ex-priest in such a public place.

Oh, definitely. He must have known how much it would mean to Damien to know that he was still alive. And it does give them a fresh start, in a way, because there is so much about their mutual past that has to be forgotten now, or which at least cannot be talked about anymore.