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Kathleen OConnor's avatar

Bravo! Your identification of the connection to the Tree Brother’s via the Pardoner’s Tale brilliant. What fun this is! Thank you so much, and I am certain Robin would love your beard.

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Sandy Hope's avatar

Evan, I was so intrigued by your comparison of the UHC to the Pythagoreans, hiding the truth about irrational numbers in a pentagram. The irony of such rational thinkers being irrational about irrational numbers is rich. I also appreciate your likeness of the Pardoner in the Canterbury tales to Jonathan Wace, both itinerant swindlers.

As to Mercury Markers I'm wondering about a couple possibilities, that I only noticed after I finished my first read. I seem to remember these markers were often right before, but could they also be during or right after an encounter with a villain? I say "a villain" because there's clearly more than one. Strike has to travel to his first interview with Abigail, and travelers and traveling is a hermetic aspect. Then their interview is interrupted by Baz, a name which can mean bird of prey or hawk, and hawks are one of Hermes' spirit animals. Back at the office Strike's study of that interview is also interrupted by a raven who crashes into his window. Ravens are talking birds often associated with the dead and acting as a psychopomp in stories. I could be completely off-base but I've been fascinated by the idea of Mercury markers for a while now.

Finally your parallel of Dobby's and Charlotte's deaths, especially the purifying of purpose our heroes experience in their grieving, is very poignant. I was struck by the poetic aspect of Strike's reverie at the church beginning and ending with "still."

Oh and how many ways can Strike's first name be messed up? When Sheila referred to Robin's partner as "Condoman" I laughed out loud!

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