In the fourth part of Thief of Time, Lu-Tze begins to realize how special Lobsang Ludd is, and Susan relents. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Discworld.
I feel like this is more of a set-up for things to come than any sort of escalation of the plot. That’s okay, for the record, and Pratchett needs to do this if we’re going to be dealing with the complications of time. For example: I’m not quite sure why we need the scenes between Wen and Clodpole, but I suspect they’re part of the worldbuilding. If the mentor relationship between Lu-Tze and Ludd is going to comprise a large part of Thief of Time, then I’m guessing that we need to know why it’s set in this specific monastery. At the very least, Pratchett helps us understand the importance of this location and the method used to observe the currents of time. And that matters because of Ludd’s reaction to the currents in the last section, which I didn’t really comment on at all within the previous review.
Then there’s Lu-Tze’s conversation with the abbot, which pushed forward the notion that there’s something really special about Lobsang Ludd. I enjoyed the rapport that the abbot and Lu-Tze had, first of all, since they respect one another so highly. They speak plainly about Ludd’s complications: that he is as quick as he is, that he can recognize patterns in the Mandala, that he saw more than he realized, THAT THE CURRENTS REACTED TO HIM… this kid truly doesn’t know how powerful he might be. From his perspective, the world mostly bores him or scares him, and it explains the way he behaves.
But what does this mean for the larger story? Ludd is most likely going to be the link between the Monks of History and Jeremy’s construction of the Glass Clock. If that object really is as awful as I’m guessing it is, then it’ll have repercussions that will appear in the currents of time. Yet what of Ludd’s apparent ability to anticipate things before they happen? Is that something that can be developed, or is it so rare that the monks don’t know what to do with him? I don’t actually know!
My hope here is that Ludd finds the kind of guidance he’s so desperately needed in Lu-Tze. The two seem to like one another well enough, so that’s a good start, and hopefully, Ludd abandons the terror and reverence he feels towards Lu-Tze. That feels like the only impediment at this point. From there… I don’t know, y’all. I’m still in the dark. IT’S VERY EXCITING.
It’s the same case with Susan. I have a basis for understanding her in the context of fighting against the Auditors, but I’m ultimately in the dark, too. She gets a long sequence here where the woman who runs the school she’s employed at is confused by her tactics, which are both in contradiction of the school’s mantra (to learn only while having fun) and drawing more students in than ever before. And what a place to feel stuck within! Madam Frout knows she can’t fire Susan, as Susan will most likely start up her own school and steal all of Frout’s students. At the same time, Frout is bothered by the seemingly impossible things that keep happening around Susan! IT’S VERY ENTERTAINING. Well, it’s also meaningful to me because I really enjoy teachers who make a concerted effort to be interesting when they’re teaching others. I had this professor in college – Dr. Roberts, actually. He was one of the heads of the Political Science department, if I recall correctly. I had three or four courses with him before I dropped out, and I lived for those lessons. He did this thing during lectures where he performed belief systems and political ideologies, which helped us to udnerstand all of these complicated forces at work throughout history. I cannot remember ever being bored by him, and I loved that.
I cannot imagine feeling bored by a lesson from Susan. So… what are her students going to do? She relents to the Death of Rats after much pestering, so she’s about to be wrapped up in another adventure. But how is she gonna deal with leaving her students behind? I FEEL VERY DEEPLY FOR THEM HAVING TO DEAL WITH A TEACHER THAT ISN’T SUSAN STO HELIT.
http://youtu.be/K6lX4_MDJkU?a
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