Jim Butcher interview from 2 months ago

[LordDresden2]

  But that would be merely revenge if Nic gets Maggie..  Very hollow if she ends up with a coin which would be really horrible..

This is actually more what I would expect, something along those lines.  Not necessarily exactly that, but simply killing Maggie is too easy, too quick.  From revenge, it would probably be more interesting and more manageable to somehow corrupt or taint Maggie.  Ideally, from Nicodemus' POV, that creates a situation where Harry must either kill his own child (thus in Nicodemus' twisted thinking equivalent to him and Dierdre) or live with the knowledge of what she has become.

I doubt giving her a Coin would be the preferred option, though.  Nicodemus would want something subtler, and harder to deal with, Coins can be and have been given up, after all.

[Mira]

This is actually more what I would expect, something along those lines.  Not necessarily exactly that, but simply killing Maggie is too easy, too quick.  From revenge, it would probably be more interesting and more manageable to somehow corrupt or taint Maggie.  Ideally, from Nicodemus' POV, that creates a situation where Harry must either kill his own child (thus in Nicodemus' twisted thinking equivalent to him and Dierdre) or live with the knowledge of what she has become.

 Harry having to kill Maggie would be a cruel twisted thing that Nic would love to arrange..  I think he might take it a step further, have Maggie sacrifice herself willingly for Harry as his daughter had done.  If Maggie had to be "put down" because of what she had become, Harry maybe wouldn't forgive himself but as seen in a mercy light learn to live with it.. Sacrifice herself though, perhaps like her mother, I don't think he could.

[Quantus]

Harry having to kill Maggie would be a cruel twisted thing that Nic would love to arrange..  I think he might take it a step further, have Maggie sacrifice herself willingly for Harry as his daughter had done.  If Maggie had to be "put down" because of what she had become, Harry maybe wouldn't forgive himself but as seen in a mercy light learn to live with it.. Sacrifice herself though, perhaps like her mother, I don't think he could.

Id almost see it as the opposite, mostly because of the Respect Their Choices theme harry has been on with his own personal growth.  He can respect a persons right to Choose now, but wouldnt forgive himself if they were "Pushed" and never got the chance to fix it (especially after all the supernatural second chances he has gotten).  Rather, if she Fell hard because of being Pushed and because of exposure to things and/or enemies in his life, and had to put her down himself would be hard.  THe only thing harder would be if one of his /Friends/ had to put her down, like say Sir Butters.  Then he'd be grieving more along the lines of Titania, with her Hate in Spite of knowing intellectually that it had to be done. 

[Mira]

Id almost see it as the opposite, mostly because of the Respect Their Choices theme harry has been on with his own personal growth.  He can respect a persons right to Choose now, but wouldnt forgive himself if they were "Pushed" and never got the chance to fix it (especially after all the supernatural second chances he has gotten).  Rather, if she Fell hard because of being Pushed and because of exposure to things and/or enemies in his life, and had to put her down himself would be hard.  THe only thing harder would be if one of his /Friends/ had to put her down, like say Sir Butters.  Then he'd be grieving more along the lines of Titania, with her Hate in Spite of knowing intellectually that it had to be done.

It would be hard but if it was best for Maggie as well and the world, I think he could live with it, no matter who did it including himself.  Look at it as a form of suffering and putting an end to her suffering...  On the other hand if somehow she was convinced that her sacrifice was necessary for a goal much like Nic's daughter was, I don't think Harry could handle that.. Because  I believe he try to exhaust all other ways to accomplish the goal first..  If he failed, even if it was Maggie's choice I don't think he could live with that.

[Quantus]

It would be hard but if it was best for Maggie as well and the world, I think he could live with it, no matter who did it including himself.  Look at it as a form of suffering and putting an end to her suffering...  On the other hand if somehow she was convinced that her sacrifice was necessary for a goal much like Nic's daughter was, I don't think Harry could handle that.. Because  I believe he try to exhaust all other ways to accomplish the goal first..  If he failed, even if it was Maggie's choice I don't think he could live with that.

Oh, I very much think that SHE'd believe it, I just think the impact would be much worse for harry if he did not agree, but she went through with it anyway.  More a mirror to McCoy and Maggie, actually

[groinkick]

I don't think Jim will be killing Maggie off.  He may need to help with the college tuition of his future grandchildren

[Dina]

Sadly, I agree 

[forumghost]

I don't care much for Maggie myself, but I'd honestly be really annoyed if Jim killed her after everything Harry lost to save her.

My ideal solution is for her to be shipped off to Hogwarts whatever Jim called his magic school and then be busy not showing up in the main books.

Contain her in her own series where she can be safely ignored. Losing Mouse is a bit of a blow I admit, but it's worth it in the end.

[Dina]

+1

[Kindler]

I don't mind Maggie. I do mind the way she was introduced (randomly, with no build-up, and just old enough that Harry didn't have to deal with having a literal baby around, which a lot of authors like to skip (Twilight was infamous for this—all of the baby, none of the gross parts!)). I can see why she'd rub some the wrong way.

Personally, I think she'll be a great motivation for Harry to quell some of his more self-sacrificial/destructive tendencies, now that he's actually trying to be a dad.

[Quantus]

just old enough that Harry didn't have to deal with having a literal baby around,

Im not sure Eight qualifies as "just old enough to no be a literal baby", unless youre calling her a baby right up to the pre-teen years.  My niece is six and can already roll her eyes and be sarcastic.

[Kindler]

Im not sure Eight qualifies as "just old enough to no be a literal baby", unless youre calling her a baby right up to the pre-teen years.  My niece is six and can already roll her eyes and be sarcastic.

I'm quite familiar with six-year olds, and yeah, that's usually the case. I meant that he didn't have to go through changing diapers, potty training, bed wetting, crawling into his bed at night, et cetera et cetera. A lot of that drops off by three or four in many cases. Harry missed the parts of infancy and toddler-hood that are the hardest (though I often remind my sisters with their little ones that 1-6 months is the easy part; it's when they're ambulatory and trying to lick electrical sockets that you have to start freaking out). Harry got a daughter with her own personality, her own capabilities, and a level of autonomy he didn't have to encourage, monitor, or raise.

There are downsides to it, of course, and Harry went through plenty to get his daughter back at all. He paid for it in a very Dresden-ish way, and there's going to be a certain amount of sudden-onset-parenthood shock for him; I'm just saying he didn't have to put the work in.

[Quantus]

I'm quite familiar with six-year olds, and yeah, that's usually the case. I meant that he didn't have to go through changing diapers, potty training, bed wetting, crawling into his bed at night, et cetera et cetera. A lot of that drops off by three or four in many cases. Harry missed the parts of infancy and toddler-hood that are the hardest (though I often remind my sisters with their little ones that 1-6 months is the easy part; it's when they're ambulatory and trying to lick electrical sockets that you have to start freaking out). Harry got a daughter with her own personality, her own capabilities, and a level of autonomy he didn't have to encourage, monitor, or raise.

There are downsides to it, of course, and Harry went through plenty to get his daughter back at all. He paid for it in a very Dresden-ish way, and there's going to be a certain amount of sudden-onset-parenthood shock for him; I'm just saying he didn't have to put the work in.

Fair enough.  There is a reason there are not many successful fiction series featuring a new parent battling sleep deprivation and diapers, though.  I honestly think skipping that part is doing US a favor more than anything.

[Kindler]

Fair enough.  There is a reason there are not many successful fiction series featuring a new parent battling sleep deprivation and diapers, though.  I honestly think skipping that part is doing US a favor more than anything.

There are plenty of narrative reasons to do it, but there are also plenty of narrative methods to deal with that creatively, without a Sudden Parenthood MOAB. I would've been WAY more on board with Harry's "I MUST PROTECT MY DAUGHTER" attitude in Changes if we had known he'd had a daughter for longer than five pages. I get it, and there are character reasons for Harry to immediately be Papa Bear, but I wasn't Papa Bear alongside him, if that makes sense. In Changes, Maggie is a MacGuffin, and I tend to prefer it when MacGuffins aren't people.

For instance, when Molly is taken in Proven Guilty, I was worried about her, because I knew who Molly was, and liked her character. If Harry was instead chasing after, say, Sandra Marling, or Boyfriend Nelson, my reaction would be "Meh."

Don't get me wrong, Changes is in my top three, but mostly because of the lunatic pacing. I would've been way more invested in Harry's primary motivation if I had anything to invest in, aside from Harry's desires.

[Dina]

That sounds about right