1000 Worlds - Meathouse Man

prestonjacobs' review is up:

It's mine too, big time. Although, prestonjacobs  still needs to add The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr and With Morning Comes Mistfall to his Thousand Worlds reading list.



Great story. So dark. 

If we take it, and apply it to the tale of the Night's King, we see how he gave his seed and soul...

As the sun began to set the shadows of the towers lengthened and the wind blew harder, sending gusts of dry dead leaves rattling through the yards. The gathering gloom put Bran in mind of another of Old Nan's stories, the tale of Night's King. He had been the thirteenth man to lead the Night's Watch, she said; a warrior who knew no fear. "And that was the fault in him," she would add, "for all men must know fear." A woman was his downfall; a woman glimpsed from atop the Wall, with skin as white as the moon and eyes like blue stars. Fearing nothing, he chased her and caught her and loved her, though her skin was cold as ice, and when he gave his seed to her he gave his soul as well.

He brought her back to the Nightfort and proclaimed her a queen and himself her king, and with strange sorceries he bound his Sworn Brothers to his will. For thirteen years they had ruled, Night's King and his corpse queen, till finally the Stark of Winterfell and Joramun of the wildlings had joined to free the Watch from bondage. After his fall, when it was found he had been sacrificing to the Others, all records of Night's King had been destroyed, his very name forbidden.

"Some say he was a Bolton," Old Nan would always end. "Some say a Magnar out of Skagos, some say Umber, Flint, or Norrey. Some would have you think he was a Woodfoot, from them who ruled Bear Island before the ironmen came. He never was. He was a Stark, the brother of the man who brought him down." She always pinched Bran on the nose then, he would never forget it. "He was a Stark of Winterfell, and who can say? Mayhaps his name was Brandon. Mayhaps he slept in this very bed in this very room."

"Meathouse Man" is just another name for Brandon the Builder, like "The Last Hero" and "The Night's King."
 



PJ's analysis surprised me too. Like you, I thought his relationship with Josie was a real turning point for his character. But I think PJ is right. She was easy for him to control and manipulate. She wasn't dead, but she left him feeling just as low as his corpse-fucking.

In this, I'm reminded of Shae and Tyrion. Tyrion had fucked many whores (not corpses, but GRRM is certainly drawing that parallel in explicit terms), but he thought Shae was different. 

Turned out, she was just another whore. 



While I disagree with that conclusion, I certainly agree (now) that GRRM was making it. Crazy dark shit indeed. 



LOL! Yes she was.

Just noticed that it looks like you're using copy/paste, and the quotes function to quote.... we have a much easier way. Highlight the text you want to quote within someone's response, and you will see a "Quick Quote" button appear. Click it, and you'll have the person's quote at the ready at the bottom of the page. If you click the "Reply" button in the upper right of the Quick Reply box at the bottom of the page, you will be able to preview your post as you write it. "Quick Quote" is cool because the person quoted will receive a notification that they have been tagged/quoted.




And mayhaps his name was Brandon...


The two that attacked Castle Black acted independently, but were nonetheless coordinated and serving the same purpose. One distracted guards, the other attempted to assassinate LC Mormont. 

In the Corpse Handler Trilogy, we see the same level of semi-autonomous control, and coordination. (Like the attack on the Fist of the First Men)

Regarding the Wall, I've long argued that the Wall blocks human wargs and wolves, rather than the Others. A wall of ice cannot, and is not meant to, stop beings made of ice who ride ice spiders. 

The remote control of Othor and Jafer Flowers is clear evidence that the Wall that shines like blue crystal does not-block the starry-blue powers of Winter. If anything, the Wall seems to amplify the power of Winter... (see Symeon Star Eyes, the rise of the Night's King & Queen, etc)



  re: the myth of romantic love. Tis a western convention that is not oft found in other cultures. In several Native American languages, there are two unique terms that are often (mis)translates as meaning "love". One means "to want to nurture", and is used for family members. The other means "to be sexually attracted to someone", and is used for sexual partners. There is no word for marriage, as it does not exist. Sexual partners can become thought of as family members, over time, and when that happens, the familial term is used in the place of the more lustful term.

Not very romantic, but is an honest way to see it, imo. 



I don't think he feels differently, tbh. LOL I think he and Parris have a very mature and sober view of their relationship, and that she respects his cynical view of love. 



Laren Dorr is totally in it. A key indicator of 1000 Worlds stories is that they are a interconnected network of, well, many worlds. In Laren Dorr, we meet Sharra, who moves between them using hidden gates. We see those same gates in The Stone City. If you haven't read The Stone City yet, I highly recommend it! It's kinda boring until the end. Compare the gates, and their location, to how Sharra describes the ones she has used in the past (and the gate at the end of Laren Dorr).

Another indicator is that of common characters and planets. In Laren Dorr, we hear of "the pale child Bakkalon," who is also mentioned in Bitterblooms as well as some of the other 1000 Worlds stories.