From: David_Lebling@avid.com
Subject: (whorl) "Blood Drinkers of Planet Blue"
Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 09:31:10 



(That's the Ace Double reprint of _On Blue's Waters_, of course.  Blurb: "They
crossed the stars to drink human blood, but he loved one like a son!" The cover
illustration I'll leave to your imagination. The flip side, of course, is
something by Kenneth Bulmer.)

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* *

In a message dated 9/28/99 4:42:03 PM, Alex_Groce@gs246.sp.cs.cmu.edu writes:

<<  I think I have a guess at the secret of the inhumi, but there's
probably some startling aspect I haven't considered--it seems obvious
 that they only are intelligent because they drink the blood of intelligent
creatures.>>

The relevant passages that I found most intriguing come near the end of the
book, where Horn says something on the order of "If we would only help each
other, the inhumi couldn't harm us." The other is by Krait, who says that if
humans knew the secret they could make the inhumi into animals, or make them be
animals again. (My copy isn't with me, so bear with me).

My speculations have been along the same lines as Alex's, but these comments
seem a stumbling block. The secret must be something humans could act on to
return the inhumi to an animal state, or otherwise use to protect themselves.

That being said, I still think the guess isn't far from the truth, I just don't
know what direction to go to find it.

The depiction of the relationship of inhumi to humans is one of many wonderful
things in a wonderful book. For example, soon after we meet him, Krait says "You
are our cattle." As the book progresses, we slowly remember that there's more to
being cattle than hamburger.

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* *

Obviously Gaon is India (in the sense that Viron is South America and
Triviguante is Iraq or Persia) and Han is China.  What about the other towns?
Wijzer is apparently from the same town as Yoda...

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* *

In a previous post I mentioned some elucidated mysteries. There is, for example,
Marble's remark re Maytera Rose, that "I took parts of her processor."  Wolfe
has a way of dropping these things into an otherwise normal conversation, and
only after a moment do you do the double-take and realize what he is talking
about. (Compare _Hannibal_.)

When is _Green_ scheduled for? Tell me it's next week, please!

     Dave Lebling
     (aka vizcacha)



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