age

[alpestars.livejournal.com]

How old is Gen, exactly? He alternates between taking on a childish affectation and behaving regal-like (because of his experiences, I guess) that I simply *do not* know.

I'm guessing he was 16/17 in The Thief and in his... 20s? in the sequels. The Queen of Attolia mentions a growth spurt or some indication that he's changed, I think.
I don't know. Any thoughts?

Comments

[kilerkki.livejournal.com]

My impression was that he was in his early to mid-teens in The Thief--14 or 15, perhaps, since it's made clear that people think of him as a boy. 16 or 17 in The Queen of Attolia, and 18 or 19 in King of Attolia--he's still considered exceptionally young even by people who aren't very old themselves.

I think some of the BNFs in this comm have worked up a much better scheme of the ages, though, so I'll bow out and leave them to make the Pronouncements from Olympus. XD

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

We've actually had this discussion many a time. XD But it's always fun. I forget what age we figured he probably was... my personal impression was about 16 in The Thief, 17 - 18 in Queen of Attolia, and 18/19 in King of Attolia. Or so. He's young, anyway, is the point. :P

[fragilistikal.livejournal.com]

Those are the ages I think of when I think of Gen. =) Also that Attolia is a cradle-robber since she's older than Eddis. Much love.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

...

*stares*

BNFs?

omg.

you said BNFs.

whoa.

anyway, in reply to the original question, Kilerkki, you pretty much stated the estimations that the comm has worked up. ^_^

if you go to the community tags and click the "age" one, you should be able to find the previous posts dealing with this subject. ^_^

[kilerkki.livejournal.com]

Dude, you guys are totally BNFs. As a lowly lurker (and occasional poster), I feel that I know whereof I speak. XD

Well, yay! It's nice to be right.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

XD *is amused* thanks?

:-b

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

I think the entire fandom is located in this community... but I guess BNFs could still exist. XD

[kilerkki.livejournal.com]

Well, no one's ever said how big the fandom has to be in order to have BNFs. I believe that it's all relative, and if the entire fandom's one community, and you're the movers and shakers in that comm... Well, there you go!

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

Have you read the short story Megan wrote for Disney Advantures Magazine? If not, Queen Ro will send it to you. Well, it allowed us to work out the ages. MWT says their ages will become more fixed in future books but she likes everyone having their own age in their head. Feel free to ignore.

Um, the short story is about Gen 10 years old when Eddis is just about to become queen.

In the Thief it says something like this about Eddis: in her five year reign she has won the loyalty and love of her subjects. So this makes Gen approximately 15 at the end of The Thief.

In mid-QoA, Eddis is said to have ruled 7 years so Gen is 17-18 in QoA, making him 19-maybe 20 in KoA.

curse you and your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

[fabricalchemist.livejournal.com]

LMAO BNFS ^^ That's fantastic ^^

Re: curse you and your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

XD

[rowana.livejournal.com]

You've got pretty much the same estimates as the ones Emerald came up with. :)

(And BNFs? Seriously? :D)

Re: curse you and your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

LMAO! :DDDDDDD

[(Anonymous)]

MEGAN WROTE A SHORT STORY ABOUT GEN!?!? 2rj;fewoifjeio

Ahem.

Please send it to me, Queen Ro (Queen Ro, wait, who's Queen Ro?), and I will be forever grateful!

Sorry, I'm kind of new to this online part of this fandom.

Awww, Gen is 15 at the end of the thief? That's slightly younger than I imagined. (Wait, now that I reflect about it, I don't think I truly thought about the protagonist's age when I was reading it -- the plot was so gripping, it didn't matter.)

I mean, Gen at 15 being forced into that terrible prison and throwing tantrums about being hungry/tired/etc. when he was let out is SO darn cute. And admirable, when he turns out to be way smarter than anyone suspected him to be.

[alpestars.livejournal.com]

Oops, that was me.

[alpestars.livejournal.com]

Heh, sorry. It was late at night, and I'd just finished The King of Attolia, and I was either too brain-dead or excited to be so responsible as to check the memories.

[rowana.livejournal.com]

*waves* Ro here. Friendly neighbourhood mod. I'll send the short story to you somtime today - just send an email to rowanatheblerg@yahoo.co.uk so that I can have your email address. :)

I think it's meant to be fairly flexible so that we can all stick with the age we pictured Gen being in our heads. I imagine him being a little older too, when I thought about it.

He's incredibly charming to the reader in all his sulkiness, and then when he turns out to be so much more, it just takes everything even further. :)

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Queen Ro is rowana, moderator-who-runs-the-comm. I didn't get into the whole age debate until I joined the comm - it was all what happens next that bothered me!

*hearts adorable Gen*

[crazyviolin.livejournal.com]

I feel really stupid and unsavvy now, but what's a BNF?

[alpestars.livejournal.com]

BNF stands for "big name fan," and describes one of the more well-known people (not including the author) in a particular fandom.

[alpestars.livejournal.com]

The only other fandom I know is on facebook, but there's not much discussion going on (lj allows much more room for posts, and thus more intellectualization, in my opinion). Yay lj comms!

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

Hah! Don't feel stupid and unsavvy - Quite a few people, including me, didn't know what it was til this post came up! :P

Well

[dgfduck.livejournal.com]

There obviously isn't a definite answer to that. We all have to suit ourselves.
Personally, I never liked the "kiddish" young image of Eugenides. Instead, I portray myself a 26 very immature man. Just my thoughts...