Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 19:00:57 -0800
From: "Brett M. Grace" 
Subject: Re: (urth) ...belated response... (re: Aeneas)

>
> BTW - my memory's about as bad as Latro's, but wasn't he supposed to 
> be Aeneas, and the series the story of his adventures pre-Rome?  Did I 
> read that somewhere, a Wolfe I/V perhaps, or am I finally losing it 
> for real?
>
> ->Zx<-

    Doubtful, because he is plainly already Roman given the historical 
context, and other cluse (his reaction to seeing the Roman standard); 
the events of the Soldier books happen 400-900 years after Aeneas' time 
(mythically speaking).  I'm not sure when the eagle came into wide usage 
so that may be an anachronism in the book.  Or perhaps now I'm 
misremembering :)

    Even if you are losing it for real (finally!), you've still managed 
to intrigue me on the point of how the Soldier books draw from and 
invert the epic homecoming framework.  Latro's "blindness" forces him to 
become his own storyteller, and in a way the vengeful goddess is also 
The Muse driving the story.

    It probably wouldn't be very instructive but I wonder what the map 
of Latro's journey looks like compared to the speculative waypoints of 
Odysseus and Aeneas.

BMG



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