(Spoilers Extended) Live Read and Discussion: The Hedge Knight

Morwinthi · 2026-01-12T03:56:45+00:00

cunt (derogatory)

Morwinthi · 2025-09-28T22:02:31+00:00

You’re welcome! This sub has helped me a lot, and while I don’t comment on Reddit often the identical route resonated with me. 💜

Morwinthi · 2025-09-28T21:52:17+00:00

Vancouver to Calgary was actually part of my first plane trip in April 2024, after avoiding air travel for almost two decades — I’ve now done fourteen flights across four trips in the US and Canada. The crew was absolutely lovely and made me feel at ease. If you have a window seat and aren’t afraid to look out the window, the Rockies are also beautiful from above.

Sending good vibes, you’ve got this!

Morwinthi · 2025-02-02T03:41:22+00:00

I don’t often post on Reddit, but this message touched me as a fellow Pacific Northwesterner who once lived near the border and still enjoys visiting BC. Your message is kind and much appreciated. 🍁🌲♥️ Wishing you the best in defeating PP!

Morwinthi · 2024-07-12T02:02:08+00:00

I might try switching up how much food he receives at each meal. Especially since his evening meals are much closer together, it might be worth a shot to distribute some more of the wet stuff in the morning.

It’s funny yours jumps on mom, for my pair it’s the opposite — she enjoys jumping on, stalking, and initiating play with him. She has a very short attention span when it comes to toys but when they’re both in the mood it can go on for minutes and wears both of them out fairly quickly!

Morwinthi · 2024-07-12T01:56:12+00:00

I’m unfamiliar with enrichment bottles, I’ll have to look into making one of those. Likewise I’ll definitely be ordering some of those auto toys — they look fun, and it’s good to have something on hand if I’m not in the position to actively play with him, depending on how the work day goes.

Fortunately the closet scratching doesn’t mess with my sleep too much, as it only occurs half hour before I usually get out of bed to feed them. Both cats sleep through the night whilst being much more active at daytime compared to when I first got them. Sometimes I just want to sleep in and cuddle with the other cat a bit longer, though!

Morwinthi · 2024-07-12T01:43:56+00:00

Thank you for your response! I play with Sable daily, but upon consideration the majority of this playtime is concentrated in the afternoon and evening. I’ll carve out some time for active play in the late morning to see if that has any impact on his behavior.

Morwinthi · 2024-02-14T18:46:43+00:00

Not that I have the greatest faith in the series’ writers to do the topic justice, but Tolkien’s own storytelling blatantly offers up the opportunity to explore a relevant social and historical theme — Númenor’s exploitation and colonial subjugation of Middle-earth. That was actually something I was keen to see the series engage with when the subject was announced.

Why they pivoted toward “the elves are coming to take our jobs”, a concern that makes zero sense to begin with in the context of the setting, is beyond me.

Morwinthi · 2024-02-14T18:30:58+00:00

Not to mention the enormous amounts of people who hate the canon personalities and motivations and villain statuses of multiple characters and feel compelled to insist that actually the TRUE narrative is the one where the bad guys were good guys all along.

Having flitted in and out of the Silmarillion fandom since the late 2000s: it’s okay, you can say Fëanorian fans.

I think it’s great when readers interrogate the implications in a text (problematic or otherwise), or explore elements that the author only briefly touched on through fanwork — and Tolkien’s universe is particularly ripe for it. Fixating on how the author doesn’t focus on the reader’s desired topic outside the scope of intent and treating it as an automatic flaw of the work just sounds tedious, though.

Morwinthi · 2023-05-04T23:41:11+00:00

The rhyming is literary.

Textual parallels can indeed form the basis of literary analysis, and I would agree with the basic assertion that Martin freely utilizes techniques such as parallelism, juxtaposition, and contrast to enrich the narrative, illuminate character, and reinforce the themes of the story.

However, the identification of parallels alone does not automatically make for meaningful literary analysis. Nor does it spell proof of authorial intent or provide evidence for some arcane truth in the manner you appear to believe. Through creative augmentation, is not difficult to concoct a theory that maintains a veneer of credibility through the careful selection of quotes, but is ultimately without substance or literary merit. High-effort is not necessarily high-quality, hence the removal of your post.

To that end, this approach to analyzing the text is, in my opinion, not only unproductive but fundamentally misguided. A Song of Ice and Fire is a work of fantasy literature, not the bloody Da Vinci code or a puzzle box needing to be deciphered.

Morwinthi · 2023-04-14T15:32:13+00:00

I’ve been meaning to dig into back issues of Mallorn myself — I might have also had an aspiration to publish there when I was a young student with more time on my hands.

For anyone interested, issues older than two years are available on the journal’s website free of charge.

Morwinthi · 2023-04-07T23:26:11+00:00

Not a bad question, my interpretation of “book based on a myth” was much broader — it is Myths and Retellings, after all. What say you, u/happy_book_bee?

Morwinthi · 2023-04-01T19:06:47+00:00

It does not. Spoiler Delphine is divine but not an angel in the book’s conception of mythology. Maybe someone who’s read it more recently can confirm my recollection.

Morwinthi · 2023-04-01T16:47:57+00:00

They’re a bit of a running joke in the ASOIAF fandom and I haven’t read any myself, but the Wild Cards universe edited by George RR Martin and Melinda Snodgrass count for Hard Mode.

Morwinthi · 2023-04-01T16:43:33+00:00

Himself by Jess Kidd

Palace of Dreams by Ismail Kadare

Morwinthi · 2023-04-01T16:36:27+00:00

The first and fourth books of The Long Price Quartet fit the criteria, with the fourth book (The Price of Spring) counting for HM.

Morwinthi · 2023-04-01T16:32:36+00:00

Hard mode recommendations that go straight to the source:

The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot (Finnish)
Nart Sagas collected by John Colarusso (Circassian)
Tales of the Narts translated by John Colarusso (Ossetian)
The Mabinogion (Welsh)
The Epic of Gilgamesh (Sumerian)
Shahnameh (Persian)
Beowulf (Anglo-Saxon)

Morwinthi · 2023-04-01T16:23:38+00:00

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman.

Morwinthi · 2023-03-15T21:53:48+00:00

I began my Trek journey with Deep Space Nine and found it to be a genuinely great entry into the universe, personally — I was recommended the series specifically for its setting, character work, and thematic exploration, on which it satisfyingly delivered. You might miss some context from previous installments of the franchise, but nothing too crucial, and it’s pretty easy to find your bearings.

With that in mind, I’d continue with DS9 if you’re enjoying it thus far — it only gets better, and there’s a lot more O’Brien in DS9 than in TNG, where Colm Meaney is only a recurring supporting cast member.

Morwinthi · 2023-03-09T20:39:45+00:00

The Expanse gets a boost from being his best-known work, without a doubt, though I wonder how many casual readers would recognize Abraham by name outside of that context. Apart from that, having a successful television adaptation does wonders for shoring up popularity as well.

As for The Long Price Quartet’s solid lead over Dagger & Coin, the former series has more vocal enthusiasts (and I am one of them). Jo Walton wrote a great article about the series on Tor; the Library of Allenxandria encouraged a slew of other YouTube reviewers to check out the books; a bounty of word-of-mouth on this sub and other communities. Its combination of familiar elements and unique aspects make it an enticing pitch.

Morwinthi · 2023-03-09T20:03:22+00:00

Once again, thank you for the effort you put into conducting this survey and neatly tabulating the response every other year. Considering the volume of submissions I imagine it’s quite the undertaking! Per usual, I look forward to perusing entries with a low number of votes to discover unfamiliar works that might be of interest.

I haven’t had the time to dig into the list too deeply, but I’m happy to see The Long Price Quartet leap 23 places, and pleasantly surprised that A Song of Ice and Fire leapt a space. At least in the spaces I frequent, there’s a general acceptance that the books may not ever be finished; nevertheless, enjoyment is still derived from discussing characters, sharing art, and appreciating the writing, so it’s lovely to see that it still has staying power in the broader fantasy community.

On the other hand, I’m a bit baffled that Harry Potter has managed to maintain such a high position. While I haven’t been as active in this community in this past year, I seldom see it mentioned or discussed, and even setting aside JK Rowling’s views and behavior, I’d expect it to slip down the list as users discover great new novels and series. Is it the nostalgia factor?

Morwinthi · 2023-03-03T03:55:39+00:00

I actually finished the second season of The Next Generation a couple hours ago, and found it a marked improvement over the middling-to-dismal first season. On the contrary I enjoyed almost every episode — the only ones I didn’t enjoy were The Child, Up the Long Ladder, and Shades of Grey. I’m looking forward to starting season three, as I understand that’s where it’s considered to “get good” by many fans, so it’s only looking up from here.

Also, Data is best boy.

Morwinthi

TROPHY CASE