ACoK musings...

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

I've just started re-reading A Conspiracy of Kings, and thought I'd post things as I thought of them.

I am thinking that the thoughts of Hyacinth, that loathsome little traitor, wherever he is now and assuming the people who kidnapped Sophos didn't just kill him out of complete disgust (there's no mention of what happened to him, is there?), are probably running along these lines:

"Um. So, the feeble useless guy I betrayed and who even in the midst of being kidnapped tried to strangle me with his bare hands and nearly succeeded, is now the King of Sounis; has just sent the Medes packing; is good buddies with the King of Attolia who we all *know* can slip in and out of anywhere he wants; is also on quite good terms with the Queen of Attolia, who frankly scares the liver and lights out of everybody who makes her cranky; and also apparently now has muscles that just won't quit.

"You know, I have always wanted to be an explorer who travels to the far, far, far, far, far, far, far, farfarfarfarfar reaches of the world..."

Comments

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

I sort of took it as (1) gladness to see a familiar face, like it says; and (2) relief to finally meet a person whose motives he can be sure of. Here Sophos is in the middle of a giant guessing game, what with the Medes who are trying to steal his throne from him but pretending to be his friend, and barons who may or may not be rebels with various ulterior motives, and all of this uncertainty as to who he can trust and who's lying to his face...

...and he sees Basrus, who was always very straightforward with him even though he was kidnapping him to sell into slavery, and who didn't lie or pretend to be a friend or do anything according to hidden political motives. Basrus was in it for personal gain from beginning to end, and that was something Sophos could trust.

That's not a perfect explanation, since there's a line later where Sophos admits to being uncertain about Basrus... "I wasn't sure if I had a wolf or a dog, but I knew how to tell the difference: a dog does what you tell it to," as he sends Basrus off to fetch somebody for a dressing-down. Basically, though, I think the idea is that whether Basrus is a wolf (and too much for Sophos to handle) or a dog (and able to be used as a tool), he only has one motive: his own survival and self-interest. That's comforting to Sophos amid all these other confusing political power games.

Sorry for the mini essay. Does that make sense at all? I'm sure it's only one possible theory.

[creative-lefty2.livejournal.com]

It certainly relates back to the fact that Basrus was technically honest with Sophos. He might not have told Sophos who he was working for, but he was otherwise open about what was happening. I also got the feeling that Basrus was a little apologetic after he beat up Sophos, which would show Sophos that Barsus is a real person and not just someone's puppet.

What I don't understand is how he got Lady Hanaktia on his side. She seriously has no reason to love or respect him.

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

He found out from Berrone's breakdown that Lady Hanaktia had been part of the plot to get Sophos and Berrone married, and then kill Sophos off as soon as his heir was born so Hanaktos could be the regent. Knowing this, Sophos called Lady Hanaktia back into the room to speak to her, and it's implied that he used this new information to obtain her cooperation. Probably he said something to the effect of, "Hey, guess what I just found out? You're a traitor and your daughter's a witness. Now, I could have you beheaded, orrrr... you could help me out." And she agreed.

[katecoombs.livejournal.com]

I agree. Basrus was exactly what he seemed, unlike just about anyone else Sophos had run into in the last few years (including Gen!). And Basrus wasn't malicious, just pragmatically mercenary. Love the dog/wolf quote!

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I agree. That's actually maybe my favorite part of the book, when Sophos turns to Basrus because in a weird way he trusts him.