Jason Powell
asked
Sebastien de Castell:
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Just finished the Greatcoat series and loved it!!!
One part I can't quite figure out is at the end. When Falcio asks which heir was "really" the charoite, and the king responds by saying "What's a charoite?"
I'm missing something. Was this ghost not really the king? Was the search for the charoites part of Falcio's madness? That doesn't track because Cunien was also asked to find the charoites. I'm confused. :-( (hide spoiler)]
One part I can't quite figure out is at the end. When Falcio asks which heir was "really" the charoite, and the king responds by saying "What's a charoite?"
I'm missing something. Was this ghost not really the king? Was the search for the charoites part of Falcio's madness? That doesn't track because Cunien was also asked to find the charoites. I'm confused. :-( (hide spoiler)]
Sebastien de Castell
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[There are two parts to the answer. The first is simply that the King was making a joke; he always loved to respond to Falcio's self-torment with something that made it seem almost trivial. So he's basically refusing to let Falcio torment himself over whether he did or didn't find the "right" one. The second part of this is that the individual quests on which he sent each of the hundred and forty-four Greatcoats weren't in and of themselves part of a "master plan". They were to keep the Greatcoats from losing themselves in despair, or worse, becoming a kind of paramilitary force (which is what happened with Morn.) The Greatcoats could be very dangerous if they decided to get revenge or "fix" the country (again, as Morn decided to do.) So the King wanted each of them to have a purpose – one which would benefit the country but which would also help them personally. In Falcio's case, it was a kind of holy grail quest for the "Charoites" – a representation of hope for the future. As Kest tells Falcio in the book, the King's greatest fear was that Falcio would become consumed by the kind of despair that leads to revenge and then despotism, because of all the Greatcoats, Falcio had the most potential both for brining justice back to the country or to drag it into tyranny.
Hope that helps!
Best,
Sebastien
(hide spoiler)]
Hope that helps!
Best,
Sebastien
(hide spoiler)]
More Answered Questions
Michael Tharp
asked
Sebastien de Castell:
Just finished Traitors Blade, and without waiting I plunged into Knights Shadow and i have the next two on deck waiting. Love the series so far. So, many have compared this series to the Three Musketeers. While they carry swords, and there are three that is where I see the comparison end. My Question (finally) is, What was the influence or inspiration for the series?
Picasso
asked
Sebastien de Castell:
Hi Sebastien, I have noticed you have read and reviewed a couple of books on writing. Do you ever feel that thinking about the craft "too much" negatively affects the way you read or write? For example, not being able to fully enjoy what you are reading by disecting it too much?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more