Sorry about the thread necromancy, but I wanted to share my little moment of revelation.

At two o'clock this morning, I suddenly realised exactly who the antagonist is in "Fragments": Nesh! She's Carrick's friend, and probably the most honest person in the whole book, but she is Carrick's antagonist. It's her behaviour that challenges his world view, and her refusal to give up on him that undoes the damage caused by Falerian. Finally, it is seeing the way his compatriots treat her and the other "outsiders" that pushes Carrick to take the final step and become the leader he never meant to be.

And, now that I have his antagonist, I have a better understanding of Carrick himself. And I see that working on "Silver Tongue" alongside "Fragments" is actually helping both stories, because of the parallels between the two leads. John Silver and Carrick are both selfish jerks, with selfish goals. John Silver succeeds in his goals, and remains a scoundrel; while Carrick fails to achieve his goals because he becomes a better man and outgrows his selfishness.

Kell Willsen
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