LMB Quote Game

[Caroline Tredez]

So, next one :

"Formerly, this story was a state secret. [...]"

Which story, who's talking to who ?

[SPetty]

Note to self: there are too many state secrets in LMB's work. About all the narrowing I can do at the moment is that it's not TSK.

It wouldn't happen to be Auditor Vorthys to Ekaterin in Komarr about Miles' Dagoola IV mission (BoI), would it?

[Caroline Tredez]

Nope ^^

[Caroline Tredez]

(SPetty : you're right, too many secrets - even being the one posting the quote, it took me over 10 minutes to find the place again to expand it a little...)

"Formerly, this story was a state secret. A state crime. I suppose it is no longer. Whether it will in time become rumor or legend or dead and buried, I know not.[...]"

Hint : it's not a Vorkosigan (by blood or alliance...) speaking.

[voralfred]

Well, this sounds like Ista about the business with Ias and dy Lutez for breaking the curse.
I knew where to check when she told it to Cazaril in _CC_ and this wording is not there. And also, at that time it was still a burning state secret. In _PoS_ the need to keep it secret was less urgent, and Ista told it to several people. I did not remember to whom nor where exactly to check, and without clues I don't feel like going through the whole book now. So this may be a hint for someone else... (but if I am right I think I deserve half the sherlock...)

[voralfred]

I found it after all. This wording is when Ista told the truth about dy Lutez to dy Cabon in _PoS_

[Caroline Tredez]

You're good, I'll post your sherlock tomorrow. Your turn.

[voralfred]

So often the boys come back, if they come back at all, either broken and sick, or turned strange and hard and cruel.

Book?
Who is speaking?
To whom?
"come back": from where/what?

[SPetty]

Wow. I'm impressed that you managed to find a quote that long that isn't sounding remotely familiar. And all the words are there (no Xxx's). I'm really impressed.

It's narration, not dialogue, though, right? The new quote box (with the " in the upper corner) is a little confusing.

[voralfred]

No it is not narration, it actually is in a dialogue, but one speaker gave a rather long intervention. It is not a monologue, though, just speaking for a while without interruption. The above passage is neither the beginning not the end of this intervention, (though the other person present will start speaking very shortly after the end of the above quote, see below) so it really should have been given as

"(...) So often the boys come back, if they come back at all, either broken and sick, or turned strange and hard and cruel. But this, now..."

This time I went to the end of the speaker's speech, the final "..." do belong to the text, meaning the speaker either stopped at mid-sentence, hesitating on what to say next, or was interrupted by the other person, this is ambiguous in the text, while the initial "(...)" are mine, meaning that I started in the middle of the speaker's intervention.

So:
Book?
Speaker?
To whom is this said?
Who are "the boys"?
Where (or what) do they "come back" from (if at all)?

Caroline: 5 days start from first post, this new post does not "refresh" the starting point.


Bonus (which is also in a sense a hint)
In a different Universe than the one of this book,a character gives a very positive opinion (not necessarily LMB's personal opinion, though) to the equivalent, in that other Universe of "the boys". For 1/2 point, find the book where this person expresses this positive opinion, the character in question and the exact quote.

[Caroline Tredez]

Out of curiosity (and since I couldn't answer yet even if I had a clue where this came from), when are we going to allow quotes from Cryoburn ? Are there participants here who haven't read it yet (I got the e-ARC in august) ?

[voralfred]

I haven't read it yet but I expect to read it soon. We should put it to a vote, in some near future. I can guarantee that my latest quote is not from Cryoburn....

[voralfred]

Do you want a hint, or should I leave it like this for some more time?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Do you want a hint, or should I leave it like this for some more time?

Need you ask?

At the moment "Je donne ma langue au chat!"

[voralfred]

"(...) You know how I hated it when he went for a XXX. So often the boys come back, if they come back at all, either broken and sick, or turned strange and hard and cruel. But this, now..."

The final "..." do belong to the text, meaning the speaker either stopped at mid-sentence, hesitating on what to say next, or was interrupted by the other person, this is ambiguous in the text. The initial "(...)" are mine, meaning that I still started in the middle of the speaker's intervention, evne though I gave more than previously.

So:
Book?
Speaker?
To whom is this said?
Who are "the boys": this is the same as "What noun is XXX"?
Where (or what) do they "come back" from (if at all)?




Bonus (which is also in a sense a hint)
In a different Universe than the one of this book,a character gives a very positive opinion (not necessarily LMB's personal opinion, though) to the equivalent, in that other Universe of "XXX=the boys". For 1/2 point, find the book where this person expresses this positive opinion, the character in question and the exact quote.

More hint: in the four Universes (in decreasing number of books: Vorkosiverse, TSK, Chalion and Quattrocento Italy) which are allowed in this game, XXXs exist in three of them:
- in the one of the quote, they are common, though the speaker disapproves
- in the one of the bonus, they are also common, and at least one character strongly approves (find the quote!)
- in a third one they happen, but they are an anomaly, and several characters are incensed by their very existence
- in the last one they cannot exist as such, that Universe just does not work this way; but somehow something that might resemble them might develop, but, well, not exactly as in the three others.

(this order is not the decreasing number of books order given above)

Second bonus: for another 1/2 point, find the Universe, book, XXXs, context, characters who are incensed.

- in the last one they cannot exist as such, that Universe just does not work this way; but somehow something that might resemble them might develop, but, well, not exactly as in the three others.

Maybe I should qualify this statement lest it leads you astray rather than hinting in the right direction
Some characters in that Universe could be construed as XXXs, in the eyes of some other characters and, in some sense, in the eyes of the reader; but definitely not in their own eyes. The variant of XXXs that might emerge are others.

[voralfred]

"(...) You know how I hated it when he went for a XXX. So often the boys come back, if they come back at all, either broken and sick, or turned strange and hard and cruel. But this, now..."

The final "..." do belong to the text, meaning the speaker either stopped at mid-sentence, hesitating on what to say next, or was interrupted by the other person, this is ambiguous in the text. The initial "(...)" are mine, meaning that I still started in the middle of the speaker's intervention, evne though I gave more than previously.

So:
Book?
Speaker?
To whom is this said?
Who are "the boys": this is the same as "What noun is XXX"?
Where (or what) do they "come back" from (if at all)?




Bonus (which is also in a sense a hint)
In a different Universe than the one of this book,a character gives a very positive opinion (not necessarily LMB's personal opinion, though) to the equivalent, in that other Universe of "XXX=the boys". For 1/2 point, find the book where this person expresses this positive opinion, the character in question and the exact quote.

More hint: in the four Universes (in decreasing number of books: Vorkosiverse, TSK, Chalion and Quattrocento Italy) which are allowed in this game, XXXs exist in three of them:
- in the one of the quote, they are common, though the speaker disapproves
- in the one of the bonus, they are also common, and at least one character strongly approves (find the quote!)
- in a third one they happen, but they are an anomaly, and several characters are incensed by their very existence
- in the last one they cannot exist as such, that Universe just does not work this way; but somehow something that might resemble them might develop, but, well, not exactly as in the three others.

(this order is not the decreasing number of books order given above)

Second bonus: for another 1/2 point, find the Universe, book, XXXs, context, characters who are incensed.

- in the last one they cannot exist as such, that Universe just does not work this way; but somehow something that might resemble them might develop, but, well, not exactly as in the three others.

Maybe I should qualify this statement lest it leads you astray rather than hinting in the right direction
Some characters in that Universe could be construed as XXXs, in the eyes of some other characters and, in some sense, in the eyes of the reader; but definitely not in their own eyes. The variant of XXXs that might emerge are others.

Still a bit longer?

"(...) If ZZZ wanted you for a YYY, it would be different. You know how I hated it when he went for a XXX. So often the boys come back, if they come back at all, either broken and sick, or turned strange and hard and cruel. But this, now..."

The final "..." do belong to the text, meaning the speaker either stopped at mid-sentence, hesitating on what to say next, or was interrupted by the other person, this is ambiguous in the text. The initial "(...)" are mine, meaning that I still started in the middle of the speaker's intervention, even though I gave more than previously, which was more than initially.

YYY is about the same as XXX, but more general, while XXX is more precise. All the details I gave as hints for XXX are really for the noun XXX, they don't fit too well to the more general term YYY.
ZZZ is the name of a character.
"But this, now.." means that ZZZ wants the other character in the dialog for something else than XXX (which the speaker really means by YYY, but it would be bad writing to use twice the same word)

[SPetty]

Somehow extending the quote is making it harder to figure out, rather than easier....

[voralfred]

Sorry about that... maybe you could conecentrate on

"(...) But that, now...

Or should I give the full text of the speaker's?

"Your uncle will look after me. I'll rather have you safe in AAA than up in this vile BBB every day. If ZZZ wanted you for a YYY, it would be different. You know how I hated it when he went for a XXX. So often the boys come back, if they come back at all, either broken and sick, or turned strange and hard and cruel. But this, now..."

AAA is the name of a geographical place in that Universe.
BBB is a noun, that also describes a place but not in the geographical sense, more like topographical (BBBs exist in all kind of geographical locations, in all four worlds, even if they are not necessarily explicitly mentioned).
Both would be dead giveaways, at least of the book.

[Caroline Tredez]

Ha ! I think I've got it ! Thur's mother to Thur before he went to become master Beneforte's apprentice, in The Spirit Ring. She would rather have Thur apprenticed to a master jeweller than working as mercenary, as his brother (Uri ?), or in the "vile mine" (I think). And the boys come back from war, or whatever work a mercenary does, so not always nice.

The bonus has to be a Dendarii speaking about mercenary-ing, but I can't figure out which Dendari or where (I can think of several instances quite close).

[SPetty]

The bonus almost has to be Miles in Borders of Infinity to Beatrice. Beatrice says, "Mercenaries?", and Miles replied ,"We're not something wriggling with too many legs that you found in your sleeping bag. The proper tone of voice is Mercenaries!- with a glad cry."

[voralfred]

Caroline has the sherlock and the next quote
Suzette gets 1/2 point bonus (isn't that a very positive view of mercenarying?)

There is a second bonus: in what Universe (has to be TSK or Chalion, since Vorkosiverse and Italy are already taken) are some characters incensed by the use of mercenaries? Book, characters, context?

[SPetty]

I'm thinking it's Curse of Chalion, where Dondo hires the Daughter's Order out as mercenaries. It's the "good guys" who are incensed (Iselle and Palli most, but also Caz and Beatrice).

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

I hate those interminable questions, bonusses, mazes, riddles, quizzes, tests, exams, multiple choices, interrogations, inquisitions, tortures, interviews, interpellations, grillings, answer-truthfully-or-else-threats ...

[voralfred]

Do you really?

Why do you play the game, then?

Well, there is a possible answer

But I think the truth is, you like it!

You are just too shy to admit it


Anyway, Suzette got the second bonus... (I updated the by editing the previous post, not by a new one)

Your turn, Caroline!

[Caroline Tredez]

Yeah, I know, sorry for the delay, things happened.

"And do you know yet who gets the thank-you note for this gift ?"

So, who gets it ?

Bonus : find the possible pun in german.