Q&A Fantasyfestival 2023 in Esbjerg/Denmark

[g33k]

Uh, Bradley was there, too. And he already told Harry that Rudolph would face justice.

Was Bradley at the site of the shooting?
I thought he was with the kids.
I need to re-read BG!

[Mira]

Well, those Einherjar already passed through that whole "until they have passed out of living memory" thing, so no wonder they have no big connection to their old families. Murphy just died and was brought back and I would say a lot of special rules apply to her. Lover of a big ally of Odin, former wielder of a holy sword and therefore in the good graces of the Archangel Uriel and his boss. Also, she's Murphy.

 But that becomes a "roll your eyes" problem, I know that is difficult for her devoted fans, but there it is.  It was beginning to become a problem for the story, Murphy, yes, good at hand to hand combat, but as she gets older and injured still takes down just about everyone? Suddenly she all the wisdom of the world? I could go on, but that was the problem, she stopped being realistic, it was more give me a break... That's why Jim had to kill her off, and if she is brought back too soon, what's new there? Other than as one of Odin's fighters she does what she always did? Her fans will love that I know and respect that, but in my opinion it hurts the story. 

[vincentric]

Uh, Bradley was there, too. And he already told Harry that Rudolph would face justice.

Bradley wasn't there when Murphy was shot. He runs off with his daughter before the Jotun fight and does not reappear later in the book. He does come to the realization that Rudolph is the problem on the steps though. What can be done about it, isn't mentioned.

[Mira]

Bradley wasn't there when Murphy was shot. He runs off with his daughter before the Jotun fight and does not reappear later in the book. He does come to the realization that Rudolph is the problem on the steps though. What can be done about it, isn't mentioned.

  Which is a problem... Even severe paranoia can be hard to spot..

[g33k]

But that becomes a "roll your eyes" problem, I know that is difficult for her devoted fans, but there it is.  It was beginning to become a problem for the story, Murphy, yes, good at hand to hand combat, but as she gets older and injured still takes down just about everyone? Suddenly she all the wisdom of the world? I could go on, but that was the problem, she stopped being realistic, it was more give me a break... That's why Jim had to kill her off, and if she is brought back too soon, what's new there? Other than as one of Odin's fighters she does what she always did? Her fans will love that I know and respect that, but in my opinion it hurts the story. 

We knew Murphy was due to retire (or be killed) pretty soon:  we are past (long past!) the point where Harry can take vanilla mortals on his adventures.

Some of the Alpha's died when Harry led the Naagloshi to them; Michael lost much of the use of his leg on Demonreach.  Murphy was permanently crippled by Nicodemus, and Molly wasn't all the way sane in when she got hammered with the Ladymantle.  Etc etc etc.

Twelve Months looks to be "milder" in many ways, but if so it's likely to be just a calm-before-the-storm mildness.

Thing is -- I was actually liking the direction Murphy was going.

Her big-family experiences were giving her some good perspectives to share with orphaned Harry.  As for the "action hero" schtick, remember:  she's been watching Harry for years, he taught her to cheat.  Surprise Freydis with a minimal move relying mostly on close-in balance (very aikido); then surprise her with grenades.  Murphy could't keep winning indefinitely, against all foes; but she can keep taking advantage of expectations.

Aikido emphasizes a reflective & wisdom-oriented approach; the founder was a very spiritual man, active with Shinto.  A senior aikidoka who is facing enforced quiet, long periods alone with their thoughts, is likely to have some pretty deep thinking to share.

[magnuskn]

Was Bradley at the site of the shooting?
I thought he was with the kids.
I need to re-read BG!

Apparently he was away, as vincentric pointed out. My bad, I misremembered that (it's been a few year). However, he still promised Harry that Rudolph would be brought to justice, because he saw Murphy's corpse before she was yoinked to Valhalla. Honestly, Rudolph is more secure being imprisoned than if he'd skate on a technicality, because Harry would not let that go. I guess we'll see in Twelve Months.

But that becomes a "roll your eyes" problem, I know that is difficult for her devoted fans, but there it is.  It was beginning to become a problem for the story, Murphy, yes, good at hand to hand combat, but as she gets older and injured still takes down just about everyone? Suddenly she all the wisdom of the world? I could go on, but that was the problem, she stopped being realistic, it was more give me a break... That's why Jim had to kill her off, and if she is brought back too soon, what's new there? Other than as one of Odin's fighters she does what she always did? Her fans will love that I know and respect that, but in my opinion it hurts the story.

Yeah, well, you're a known "not fan" of her, therefore I have to politely point out that your opinion is therefore also quite biased. Personally, I'd rather see her brought back rather sooner than later, but even then it will probably be only after Mirror Mirror, i.e. in three books at the soonest. Which seems plenty time to me, especially with Jims writing rythm still not being what it was (and the books getting longer and longer as well).

That she will return is now a certainty for me and Jims comment to my question in the Q&A indicated to me that it won't be without Murphy herself working on it from her side, which indicates it won't be just before or during the BAT. That may be optimistic expectations on my side, but Jim put up the barriers around Harry to prevent him from entering any serious romance (i.e. magic chastity belt for Molly, Lara being a dead fish romantically) for the time being.

[LaraBeck]

It is not Bradley who says Rudolph will pay, it is Butters.

Yeah, well, you're a known "not fan" of her, therefore I have to politely point out that your opinion is therefore also quite biased. Personally, I'd rather see her brought back rather sooner than later, but even then it will probably be only after Mirror Mirror, i.e. in three books at the soonest. Which seems plenty time to me, especially with Jims writing rythm still not being what it was (and the books getting longer and longer as well).

I have to strongly agree with everything said here.

Now about this:

That she will return is now a certainty for me and Jims comment to my question in the Q&A indicated to me that it won't be without Murphy herself working on it from her side, which indicates it won't be just before or during the BAT. That may be optimistic expectations on my side, but Jim put up the barriers around Harry to prevent him from entering any serious romance (i.e. magic chastity belt for Molly, Lara being a dead fish romantically) for the time being.

I'm not certain Murph will be back, the way Jim has been writing things lately, but I confess I lost a lot of faith in him after PT/BG. But if she does, and I want to believe his answer to your question does merit to have at least some optimism, I don't think we'll need to wait until the BAT either, it'll happen before.

[magnuskn]

It is not Bradley who says Rudolph will pay, it is Butters.

Damn, I really should look up things in the book before fishing it out of my, ever more faulty, memory banks. Anyway, we'll see how it goes in the next book. It'd be inconceivable that Jim would not address this in some way.

[Mira]

I'm not certain Murph will be back, the way Jim has been writing things lately, but I confess I lost a lot of faith in him after PT/BG. But if she does, and I want to believe his answer to your question does merit to have at least some optimism, I don't think we'll need to wait until the BAT either, it'll happen before.

 As the old proverb says, "be careful for what you wish for, you may get it!"  If she does come back, you can bet it is only to make Harry suffer more.. 

[magnuskn]

As the old proverb says, "be careful for what you wish for, you may get it!"  If she does come back, you can bet it is only to make Harry suffer more..

Everything is designed to make Harry (and through him, us) suffer more. As Jim said in the Q&A, he doesn't get to torture the readers, so he does it to Harry. 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

I am surprised Jim hasn’t had Harry suffer from the norovirus aka Winter Vomiting Bug, clearly one of Mab’s nastier inventions, during a case.

[Regenbogen]

I am surprised Jim hasn’t had Harry suffer from the norovirus aka Winter Vomiting Bug, clearly one of Mab’s nastier inventions, during a case.

Probably because that would be a rather boring story set between Harry's bed and his toilet. Except if it involved conjuritis resulting in Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo messing with Toot Toot and contaminating all the pizza.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

I mean’t during a case having to fight a bad guy and explosive diarrhoea at the same time, and with Harry the emphasis is likely to be on the explosive side.

[Mira]

Everything is designed to make Harry (and through him, us) suffer more. As Jim said in the Q&A, he doesn't get to torture the readers, so he does it to Harry. 

  Thank you, my point..    Also give thought as to why you love her so much and if you'd still love her after all these twists and turns to bring her back?  That's my problem with the character, I liked her when she was a good,strong,smart cop who worked with Harry, kept him on his toes and was a good friend as well as a critic.  I think her previous reasons stated to him for not wanting their friendship to be more in I think was Proven Guilty are still valid.  I began to have problems with her once she was fired and Jim didn't know quite what to do with her.  I still don't think he does, while the idea of turning her into Mab or a Valkyrie may be appealing to those who want her back.. My response is, really?  She won't be Murphy anymore because her perspective won't be what it once was.  It changes everything, not unlike Ivy/Archive, when Ivy was a little girl her relationship with both Harry and Kincaid was very different from what it is now as young adult, Ivy, the Archive..  I loved the old relationships as well, but they had to change to be believable. Why? Because the perspective of a more mature Ivy changed, she sees both Harry and Kincaid differently.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Having Harry have to adjust to a new dynamic with Murphy after she died would certainly put Harry through the wringer. As presumably an Einenjharen can be resurrected multiple times, Harry may get to see Murphy die multiple times, Jim could get to kill her off once per book in ever inventive ways and Harry not know whether this time it was final.

Also I bet the first thing they do on their reunion is the thing Harry tried last, a soul gaze, but it doesn’t work because Murphy is no longer human enough. More anguish for Harry about lost opportunity, and wondering whether Murphy is Murphy anymore.

Oh and Harry needs to get audited by the IRS “you were dead for 6 months?, we get a lot of people trying that one” “so you were just given this castle?””you are claiming two children as dependents, and yet there is no  sign of this ‘Bonita Dresden’”you say your dog does your accounts?” If it isn’t in NEXT BOOK it needs to be.