The Witch Doctor: Difference between revisions
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Snowybeagle (talk | contribs) Added list of characters and annotations |
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Also explored largely through discussions amongst the characters was the institutions of government, bureaucracy, accountability of the public servants to those they serve, balanced against the need to keep things running. |
Also explored largely through discussions amongst the characters was the institutions of government, bureaucracy, accountability of the public servants to those they serve, balanced against the need to keep things running. |
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==Characters== |
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* Saul Delacroix Bremer : A social misfit since young as he was a kid who didn't like baseball but liked poetry, Saul learned not to compromise himself just to be accepted by others. But in the process of learning, he picked up karate in an attempt to fit in. Through karate, he came in touch with Eastern philosophy. In university, he met Matt who accepted him as he was, and became the only friend Saul had. When Saul was mysteriously transported to the universe where Matt had gone to, he resisted every attempt from Good and Evil to sway him to their side. |
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* Sir Hohle of the Tarn : first knight encountered by Saul in the new realms. His crest is an upside-down torch and mashed flat. |
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* Heinrich, Rudolf, Gustang, Hans, Klaus : Men-at-arms of Sir Hohle of the Tarn. |
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* Guardian Angel : an entity unwittingly invoked by Saul to appear in the flesh, whose existence and origins Saul could not fully accept, but whose powers Saul could not deny and even grudgingly called upon several times in the story. |
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* Sobaka : First witch encountered by Saul. |
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* Gilbert : A squire in the Order of Saint Moncaire, assigned by knights foraying into Ibile to assist Saul who was obviously very much clueless about the dangers of Ibile. |
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* Gruesome : A troll under a bridge who was geased by the elf prince to protect Saul. |
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* Elf prince : leader of elvenfolk. |
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* |
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==Annotations== |
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* ''The [[Kalevala]]'' - Recital of Kullervo's lines led Saul to directly encounter his guardian angel in the "flesh". |
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* [[Othello]], Act 5, Scene 2 - Recital of "Put out the light" invoked by Saul to counter a fireball, with a little rewriting on the spot in the heat of the battle. |
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* '''Couéism''' - Invoked by Saul to help Sobaka recovery from her inner demons. |
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* [[The Wife of Usher's Well]] - "Day doth daw" invoked by Saul to get Sobaka out of a hole. |
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* '''The Faeries''' by [[William Allingham ]]- Invoked unwittingly by Saul to summon elvenfolks to deal with Gruesome. |
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* '''Ballad of East and West''' by [[Rudyard Kipling]] - "Now is thy master" invoked by Saul to doubly-bind Gruesome's geas. |
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== Sources == |
== Sources == |
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Revision as of 09:18, 15 October 2007
| File:The witch doctor.JPG The Witch Doctor cover | |
| Author | Christopher Stasheff |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | A Wizard in Rhyme |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Publication date | 1994 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-345-38851-8 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Preceded by | The Oathbound Wizard |
| Followed by | The Secular Wizard |
The Witch Doctor is the third in the A Wizard in Rhyme series by Christopher Stasheff.
Plot introduction
In the third installment of the A Wizard in Rhyme series, poet and martial arts expert, Saul Bremener, is drawn into Allustria when looking for his missing friend, Matt Mantrell.
Plot summary
The beginning of this book took off directly from the beginning of Her Majesty's Wizard. After parting with Matt Mantrell one evening, Saul Delacroix Bremener discovered Matt seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. Saul took it upon himself to track down his missing chum. But nobody, not Matt's family, not the other friends not the police, could help. Breaking into Matt's apartment, he found the rune-filled scrap of parchment which had transported Matt into the magical alternate world ...
Like Matt, Saul found himself able to wield magic by reciting verses. And not too soon, for he quickly made himself a formidable foe: yet another a powerful monarch steeped in wickedness and evil - Queen Suettay.
Intrigued by Saul's command of magic, Suettay was determined make him hers, or destroy him.
A menagerie of unlikely allies gave Saul the critical help needed : Gruesome the troll, young squire Gilbert, the miserable poet Frisson, a guardian angel, a handful of the faerie folk, and the beautiful but wraithlike Angelique.
But Saul would need more than that, he would have to find a way to enlist the mysterious Spider King to help Saul to counter the machinations of the evil sorceress.
Themes covered
In a departure from the first two novels in the series, the author explored the magical realm through the perspective of an agnostic whose primary concern was not to commit himself to others, but to stay true to himself and his conscience. The division between good and evil is less distinct compared to previous books.
Also explored largely through discussions amongst the characters was the institutions of government, bureaucracy, accountability of the public servants to those they serve, balanced against the need to keep things running.
Characters
- Saul Delacroix Bremer : A social misfit since young as he was a kid who didn't like baseball but liked poetry, Saul learned not to compromise himself just to be accepted by others. But in the process of learning, he picked up karate in an attempt to fit in. Through karate, he came in touch with Eastern philosophy. In university, he met Matt who accepted him as he was, and became the only friend Saul had. When Saul was mysteriously transported to the universe where Matt had gone to, he resisted every attempt from Good and Evil to sway him to their side.
- Sir Hohle of the Tarn : first knight encountered by Saul in the new realms. His crest is an upside-down torch and mashed flat.
- Heinrich, Rudolf, Gustang, Hans, Klaus : Men-at-arms of Sir Hohle of the Tarn.
- Guardian Angel : an entity unwittingly invoked by Saul to appear in the flesh, whose existence and origins Saul could not fully accept, but whose powers Saul could not deny and even grudgingly called upon several times in the story.
- Sobaka : First witch encountered by Saul.
- Gilbert : A squire in the Order of Saint Moncaire, assigned by knights foraying into Ibile to assist Saul who was obviously very much clueless about the dangers of Ibile.
- Gruesome : A troll under a bridge who was geased by the elf prince to protect Saul.
- Elf prince : leader of elvenfolk.
Annotations
- The Kalevala - Recital of Kullervo's lines led Saul to directly encounter his guardian angel in the "flesh".
- Othello, Act 5, Scene 2 - Recital of "Put out the light" invoked by Saul to counter a fireball, with a little rewriting on the spot in the heat of the battle.
- Couéism - Invoked by Saul to help Sobaka recovery from her inner demons.
- The Wife of Usher's Well - "Day doth daw" invoked by Saul to get Sobaka out of a hole.
- The Faeries by William Allingham - Invoked unwittingly by Saul to summon elvenfolks to deal with Gruesome.
- Ballad of East and West by Rudyard Kipling - "Now is thy master" invoked by Saul to doubly-bind Gruesome's geas.
Sources
[1] The Witch Doctor, Christopher Stasheff, 1994