Mirrors

[RobReece]

If I remember correctly, MM takes place in a Universe that split at a decision in GP.  I wonder if we'll ever see glimpses of the universes where Harry chose the Coin or DarkHallow over taking up the Winter Knight mantle.

But on a side note, I think that Jim's posturing over how he didn't know which route Harry would take in Changes is just that, posturing.  He already had the series outline and I think it would have been much more difficult to stay within that original story line if he had made any other choice... but it's a nice line to hear in his interviews...

[jonas]

Yep, yep and yep.

[Talby16]

We know that Jim had each book planned out via a one to two sentence description from the beginning. The specifics of Harry's actions/changes were probably not planned until much closer to the book that contained them. I think that while it is likely Jim knew that in Changes Harry would have to make a choice to get more power to save someone he loved from the beginning, he probably did not know which path he would choose until much closer to the book. At some point (probably several books before Changes) it became very evident that Harry would choose Mab (the lesser of the evils). Therefore, Jim's posturing is true depending on what point in time he was talking about not knowing which path Harry would take.

[Snark Knight]

But on a side note, I think that Jim's posturing over how he didn't know which route Harry would take in Changes is just that, posturing.  He already had the series outline and I think it would have been much more difficult to stay within that original story line if he had made any other choice... but it's a nice line to hear in his interviews...

I think he only meant that the broad outlines like what the case is and which antagonist he's putting Harry up against are planned out. So for example, Skin Game would still have worked if he was directly beholden to Nicodemus but trying to ensure a mission fail, instead of on loan from Mab and trying to ensure a mission fail. Which is an interesting point, because if Cold Days could still have shaken out similarly with Denarian Dresden, it's another circumstantial bit of evidence for the Denarians being anti-Outsider.

Going with the Darkhallow would have been a harder choice to write, because it's virtually impossible to keep the audience rooting for a character who's life-drained thousands to tens of thousands of people to fuel his own power. There's no reason Harry couldn't have gone on to use that power against N-fected Maeve and then Nicodemus, but a Darkhallow probably would have left him overpowered for those to even be interesting adversaries.

[Kindler]

Skin Game with Harry as a Denarian would be pretty interesting. It'd be Harry trying to outfox Mab's Winter Knight--maybe even Thomas.

[forumghost]

Skin Game with Harry as a Denarian would be pretty interesting. It'd be Harry trying to outfox Mab's Winter Knight--maybe even Thomas.

Or harry working as the "inside man" (for a given definition of the term) trying to aid Mab's Winter Knight in taking Nick down.

[Kindler]

Or harry working as the "inside man" (for a given definition of the term) trying to aid Mab's Winter Knight in taking Nick down.

Battling Lasciel for control as she tries to get word to Nick...

I'd read it.

[Snark Knight]

Battling Lasciel for control as she tries to get word to Nick...
I'd read it.

Hard to say how that might have gone down. Given Lasciel's standing as a rebel among the rebel angels, she might have been perfectly happy to see her host nab the treasures out from under Nic's nose. Not for any altruistic reasons or to protect the world from him abusing them, but so she'd be the one calling the shots over how they got used instead of Anduriel and Nic.

[Fcrate]

Battling Lasciel for control as she tries to get word to Nick...

I'd read it.

Nah, we've already read about 3 books where the main theme is battling Lasciel for control.

Going with the Darkhallow would have been a harder choice to write, because it's virtually impossible to keep the audience rooting for a character who's life-drained thousands to tens of thousands of people to fuel his own power. There's no reason Harry couldn't have gone on to use that power against N-fected Maeve and then Nicodemus, but a Darkhallow probably would have left him overpowered for those to even be interesting adversaries.

I disagree, you do what you have to do, and Harry always does. I'd still root for him; there's something captivating about someone who's dedicated enough to kill thousands to protect even more. Peace loving ideas aside, historically speaking, to get anything done you have to spill blood, and much of it (even innocent's blood)

I agree with the overpowered bit though.

[Snark Knight]

I'd still root for him; there's something captivating about someone who's dedicated enough to kill thousands to protect even more. Peace loving ideas aside, historically speaking, to get anything done you have to spill blood, and much of it (even innocent's blood)

If Harry had gone with the Darkhallow, it wouldn't have been about sacrificing thousands to wipe out the Reds and save hundreds of thousands more from becoming their victims. Several Halloweens have gone by from Dead Beat to Changes to make that kind of a calculated choice if he was going to. Reaching there for power in Changes would have been killing thousands because his daughter matters more to him than all the other victims he would have had to kill to save that one life.

[RobReece]

If Harry had gone with the Darkhallow, it wouldn't have been about sacrificing thousands to wipe out the Reds and save hundreds of thousands more from becoming their victims. Several Halloweens have gone by from Dead Beat to Changes to make that kind of a calculated choice if he was going to. Reaching there for power in Changes would have been killing thousands because his daughter matters more to him than all the other victims he would have had to kill to save that one life.

I think that there's a huge difference between "sitting back, roasting marshmallows and watching the world burn"; and feeding thousands to the fire yourself to kickstart the conflagration.
Even for His daughter, and based on what we've known of Harry, I can't see him making a decision to go that route.

[Fcrate]

I think that there's a huge difference between "sitting back, roasting marshmallows and watching the world burn"; and feeding thousands to the fire yourself to kickstart the conflagration.
Even for His daughter, and based on what we've known of Harry, I can't see him making a decision to go that route.

I can. Lucky for him and us, he had other options. I believe that the evil scale is: Winter Knight<DarkHallow<Coin. And Harry's preference: Winter Knight>Coin>DarkHallow.

If Harry had gone with the Darkhallow, it wouldn't have been about sacrificing thousands to wipe out the Reds and save hundreds of thousands more from becoming their victims. Several Halloweens have gone by from Dead Beat to Changes to make that kind of a calculated choice if he was going to. Reaching there for power in Changes would have been killing thousands because his daughter matters more to him than all the other victims he would have had to kill to save that one life.

I'm 99.99% sure that lacking other options, he would've killed thousands of innocents to save his daughter. After all, he did wipe out an entire species of innocents (relatively speaking) and Susan as an added bonus.

[groinkick]

After all, he did wipe out an entire species of innocents (relatively speaking) and Susan as an added bonus.

Come on, that's not the same as a DarkHallow.  There is a difference in killing people for power, and casualties if war.  His targets were the evil Red Court vampires, the innocents that died as a result weren't targets, but other victims of the Red's who'd been infected without permission.

[jonas]

Actually at some point every single Ramp made the choice to kill to become what they were, so even the most diet conscious Ramp isn't 'innocent'. The very turn of phrase for them is laughable.(thats almost verbatim what Woj said on the matter)

[groinkick]

Actually at some point every single Ramp made the choice to kill to become what they were, so even the most diet conscious Ramp isn't 'innocent'. The very turn of phrase for them is laughable.(thats almost verbatim what Woj said on the matter)

I think the innocence being talked about were the people infected, but not turned who died.  Only the younger once's survived I believe.