In the the Archives, Message 1331, February 6, 2000, Nonnie shared her experience in reading Veryan. Since several of us had similar experiences, it is only fair that her message be shared with others until she writes her novel.
Here's Nonnie...
And so, cleansed by the purifying fire of responsible work, surfeited with delectable holiday dumplings, je suis au retour, je suis au retour, and the wind, chasing through the emptiness of my mind, remarked no tremor in my hands at the keyboard. (ok, I confess, I've been rereading Lymond)
But this morning, most other duties complete, I lay in bed and finished Never Doubt I Love. Yippee! Well, what a darn fine book that is. Well written, lots of action, plot twists, appealing and interesting main love interests, increasingly subtle and meaningful August information. But no discussion of NDIL can begin without....context. The context, for you madcaps who read the series out of sequence, the context which makes the JM series in its entirety the wonderful rush that it is. Let us review, shall we, the progression of events in which the well- behaved reader has approached NDIL...in context:
Reader reads Times Fool. Hmmm. Heroine could use an occasional boot on the behind, but earnest hero does cry which is nice. And there's a great duel with this August guy who seems to be pretty rude and offensive. He's even mean to the hero when the hero cries! And the mystery of the Jewelled Men is not solved. And there seems to be another very nice guy named Morris. Oh well, reader is sure it will all be dealt with properly in the next book.
Reader goes to Had I Never Loved. Oddly enough, despite the fact that there is lots more detail about this August guy and this very funny woman Gwen and this very sweet guy Jamie, and how August now seems to be getting to like Jamie and maybe Gwen, this book is about Tio and Amy. Nice ending. Bad guys still outstanding, so obviously the next book will be about August, Gwen and Jamie.
Reader brings home Ask Me No Questions. The book opens up, as it should, with August, Gwen and Jamie together in the park. But wait! There is some great long excursion about Gordon Chandler for heavens sake and some woman named Ruth. Reader gallops through the book, ignoring them and just reading the scenes about August. Contrite, reader rereads book and pays attention to poor Gordon and Ruth. They are charming. Reader is mollified, knowing that in the next book, Veryan will come to her senses and deal with August.
Reader gets Shadow's Bliss. What??! Dammit, reader wonders if Veryan has lost her mind. Who on earth cares about Jonathan and Jennifer? Those J's are sucking up valuable book space that should be devoted to August. Reader throws down book, then rereading it, realizes that there is quite a bit about August in in, but, sadly, not enough, not enough. Reader cares or pretends to care about the Js.
And so, hands trembling, reader opens Never Doubt I Love...Arghhh! It's still not about August. This is taking foreplay too far! Frenzied reader now wonders if Veryan is senile and hasn't realized that she's ignoring the best part of the story. But then red haze of rage ebbs and reader, who after five books begins to have a little faith in Veryan, decides to play along with the tease, and reads NDIL, calmly and with good faith. After all, it takes two to play the game of delaying gratification. And surely the reward for postponing the great moment will be greater...satisfaction...at the end? And in the meantime, reader does enjoy a good read in NDIL...while bracing herself for the hoped for coming moment.
And that is context for NDIL. And that's why JM is the better series.
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times since February 29, 2000.