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Author Topic: (Spoilers) about cats  (Read 8207 times)

Offline Dina

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(Spoilers) about cats
« on: October 15, 2015, 05:54:46 PM »
What's with the name "nine claws"? Someone knows why they are called like that? (I wish to ask Jim about that). I am imagining half a cat every time I've heard "9 claws"
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Offline SetStndbySmn

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2015, 07:08:41 PM »
Several possibilities leap to mind:
-Maybe the founding chief only had nine claws.
-Maybe a reference to structure (perhaps the chief has 9 elite warriors or "claws" similar to Maul's "whiskers")
-A reference to cats having nine lives, changed to claws to sound tougher.
-Something to do with their employment of battle-spurs, though I'm unsure of how any such configuration could equate to nine.
-Or perhaps they just find it funny that silly humans will waste time pondering a matter only a cat could understand.  :P
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Offline Dina

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2015, 07:13:01 PM »
I like the last idea  :D
Seriously, I like several of your suggestions.
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Offline Mith

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2015, 06:51:11 PM »
What were people's opinion on the cats in general?  I feel like they may work better as side characters.  Rowl had good scenes, but I would suspect that his ego would be a bit much after a while.
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Offline Dina

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2015, 07:09:54 PM »
I agree with that
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Offline Brightbane

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2015, 03:10:36 AM »
Quote from: Mith on October 16, 2015, 06:51:11 PM
What were people's opinion on the cats in general?  I feel like they may work better as side characters.  Rowl had good scenes, but I would suspect that his ego would be a bit much after a while.
I like them, Rowl constantly saying people were 'almost competent' got old pretty quick. He says it about everything people do that isn't just terrible, and it got really repetitive. I feel like Jim is going to improve on this viewpoint the most though as he continues through the series. It's a 100% new approach to a new character type, and he's doing an amazing job with it but I personally feel like there is a lot that could be improved. Cats are extremely clever, cats also have a ton of pride and I would like to see Rowl fall off a chair and then huffily act like it didn't happen.

If you've ever had a cat you know that they feel some form of embarrassment. It's weird to think of an animal having that capacity, but watch one stretch and fall off a couch and try to tell me that them furiously cleaning themselves and then running away and hiding for an hour beffore coming back to get pets and try to tell me that isn't embarrassment.

tl;dr, The cats were fun (And I liked them as they were) but there is tons of room for improvement (That I think would fill them out better as viewpoint characters).
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Offline Dina

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #6 on: October 18, 2015, 03:13:35 AM »
But that embarrassement
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Offline Aminar

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2015, 04:11:29 PM »
I liked them. It didn't get old anymore than Dresden talking about how tall he is. Or Michael praising god. It's part of their culture and identity. Of course it comes up a lot. Intelligent beings are repetative.
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Offline SetStndbySmn

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2015, 07:46:38 PM »
Speaking of things getting old, imagine if Dresden existed in this series; the guy can't be on a boat for any length of time without thinking about his disdain for nautical terminology.  Hell, he'd probably purposely call things by the wrong term just to be irritating to aeronauts.  ;D
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Offline novaseaker

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #9 on: October 23, 2015, 02:55:47 PM »
Quote from: SetStndbySmn on October 22, 2015, 07:46:38 PM
Speaking of things getting old, imagine if Dresden existed in this series; the guy can't be on a boat for any length of time without thinking about his disdain for nautical terminology.  Hell, he'd probably purposely call things by the wrong term just to be irritating to aeronauts.  ;D

I'm starting to think this may be a quirk of Jim rather than Harry. Gwen has a little internal monologue where she corrects herself on the terminology for walls and floors when she wakes up from the silkweaver venom and realizes she's on an airship. And then she has a bit of confusion about what the nautical term for "ceiling" is. She thinks it's just "ceiling".

I laughed, cause I felt like it was an in-joke between me, Jim, and Harry.
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Offline trixsterjl

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #10 on: November 14, 2015, 04:22:02 PM »
Because of the simple nature of cats Rowl was probably one of the most effective characters in the book. He doesn't need much more in the way of backstory. I really enjoyed the cat perspective chapters. Little things like "perhapse he would have to compose a song for her" made me laugh and I'm not a cat person at all.
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Offline Nimblegrund

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2015, 03:42:09 PM »
I think it is important not to take Rowl too seriously... He definitely makes an impact on the plot and we get a sampling of cat culture, but on the other hand we have him making rather silly observations about hats and the masts of ships being trees...

I think the hardest thing for me to work out is figuring out the relationship that cats have with humans. You have cats wearing spurs, a human invention made specifically so cats could be more capable hunters, but at the same time I am not even sure if everyone is aware that cats can speak and are intelligent. Bridget is the only human we ever find out can talk to cats that I can recall... and given the cats lack of interest in human affairs she is probably one of a handful of people who even care to. The only people who seem to take any interest in the cats is the Verminocitor's Guild, and they apparently kill cats.  :o

Also I saw it mentioned on here somewhere that cats had thumbs, but I recall no description of cats looking anything different than modern housecats. They would kind of have to have them in order to put on those spurs, right?
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Offline Dina

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Re: (Spoilers) about cats
« Reply #12 on: November 21, 2015, 06:06:59 PM »
Yes, they know they are intelligent. Even Gwen knows some people makes deals with them. What I don't think is that many people knows they can talk. Esterbrook, Grimm and other people know but I don't think the common people knows.
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There are many horrible sights in the multiverse. Somehow, though, to a soul attuned to the subtle rhythms of a library, there are few worse sights than a hole where a book ought to be. Someone has stolen a book (Terry Pratchett)
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