Synopsis for At the Sign of Triumph

Nick wrote:

cnrd22 wrote:The synopsis clearly indicates this is the last book of the arc as we already suspected based on DW's recent comments

I'd say that the synopsis suggests that this is the last book of the arc. It's been my impression that RFC will let people run with assumptions and enjoy the surprise when they turn out to be incorrect. It's not like he's setting out to mislead us (heaven forbid!), but he's not going to pass up the opportunity to have some fun.

Although I'm excited to see how this all gets wrapped up, HFQ didn't feel like the penultimate book to me. I'm thinking that before we get to that final showdown we'll see our heroes encounter what appears to be an insurmountable obstacle, such as whatever lies beneath the temple going active. Maybe that all happens in a single book, but I wouldn't put it past our favorite author to end a book named "At the Sign of Triumph" with triumph having disappeared from sight. (I'll be quite happy to be proven wrong, which admittedly happens more often than not.)

I wouldn't disagree about book 8, but DW stated fairly firmly in his latest talk in the fall that the next Safehold book (the one we now know as At the Sign of Triumph) is the last in the arc and in that context I think the synopsis kind of confirms it; in another thread I mentioned that I think the endgame for the arc will be negotiated peace with (a sincere) Duchairn after Aivah sacrifices herself to take out Clyntahn, while in the background the future bad guys of the next arc start plotting on how to take down Charis in a few decades

Anyway let's hope the book is not a mirage and we will get it in October as that would be a bit surprising for me but awesome

Sigh....Only nine more months, we hope!!!

In the end, it is simple, for only one can survive.

Why do these words put images of Scotland and swords in my mind?

cnrd22 wrote:At the Sign of Triumph by David Weber (on sale October 4)

"...So after eight years of war, it is not Charis but the Church that stands upon the brink of defeat. But the Church still commands immense resources, and — faced with the unthinkable — it’s decided that it, too, must embrace the forbidden technology which has carried Charis so far..."

I've been pointing out for some time that Rayno has finally become convinced that they are facing actual "demons" and not simply claiming that for propaganda purposes. Moreover, now that they are aware that they are facing a "supernatural" threat, he and Clyntahn need come up with a way to deal with it or acknowledge that they need "angelic" assistance. Given that no such assistance has come (despite the Holy Writ's promises) they and the common folk must either conclude Merlin and his "other seijin" are not demons or that the Holy Writ was wrong (the latter being the tougher sell in general). They have already tried to spin it to the media that God has shown his support for the CoGA with the Sword of Schueler and the defeat of the heretics in battle on the mainland (never mind all those pesky defeats at sea). Yet now they're looking down the barrel of actual military defeat on land as well.

So given what the synopsis says, we must ask how desperate is Clyntahn and the Church? He's already given "dispensations" up the wazoo just to keep the Church in shouting distance of Charis' technological capabilities. But would he for instance countenance the exploration of electricity despite the very specific injunctions against it in the Proscriptions (all the way to "sanctifying" Safehold's electric eel analogues)? Or does he know or have something useful with which to protect the temple and Zion (part of it at least) from a heretic attack? Yet even a fight to a standstill would be a loss for the Church as their finances are in terrible shape (10-15 months tops according to Duchairn). They wouldn't be able to fund the army for long so unless they succeed outright and recapture territory lost to the heresy (that they control before HFQ) they're screwed.

thanatos wrote:<snip>

So given what the synopsis says, we must ask how desperate is Clyntahn and the Church? He's already given "dispensations" up the wazoo just to keep the Church in shouting distance of Charis' technological capabilities. But would he for instance countenance the exploration of electricity despite the very specific injunctions against it in the Proscriptions (all the way to "sanctifying" Safehold's electric eel analogues)?

<snip>

You know, this may be how the next story arc is set up. Clyntahn messes with electricity or other forbidden technology, the Thing Under The Temple is woken up by this. Noticing how close its faction is to defeat, Thing instead opts to bide for time, learning about the world as it is now, creating various cults, sowing spies and various plots to be engaged when necessary, all with the Inner Circle having nothing more than a suspicion that something might be up... Cue twenty years later and Thing's plans all come to head.

cnrd22 wrote:I wouldn't disagree about book 8, but DW stated fairly firmly in his latest talk in the fall that the next Safehold book (the one we now know as At the Sign of Triumph) is the last in the arc and in that context I think the synopsis kind of confirms it; in another thread I mentioned that I think the endgame for the arc will be negotiated peace with (a sincere) Duchairn after Aivah sacrifices herself to take out Clyntahn, while in the background the future bad guys of the next arc start plotting on how to take down Charis in a few decades

Anyway let's hope the book is not a mirage and we will get it in October as that would be a bit surprising for me but awesome

OK, if he out and out said it's the last one in the arc, that's a horse of a different color. I'm not going to speculate myself on how it works out, but your theory and some of the others around here are good ones.

Kakai wrote:

thanatos wrote:<snip>

So given what the synopsis says, we must ask how desperate is Clyntahn and the Church? He's already given "dispensations" up the wazoo just to keep the Church in shouting distance of Charis' technological capabilities. But would he for instance countenance the exploration of electricity despite the very specific injunctions against it in the Proscriptions (all the way to "sanctifying" Safehold's electric eel analogues)?

<snip>

You know, this may be how the next story arc is set up. Clyntahn messes with electricity or other forbidden technology, the Thing Under The Temple is woken up by this. Noticing how close its faction is to defeat, Thing instead opts to bide for time, learning about the world as it is now, creating various cults, sowing spies and various plots to be engaged when necessary, all with the Inner Circle having nothing more than a suspicion that something might be up... Cue twenty years later and Thing's plans all come to head.

Have I missed something? I don't remember any textev for anyone but Merlin, Owl, and Nimue knowing the least thing about electricity. Unless somebody's been exploring, and found Merlin's experiments on that uninhabited island, that is. Or was that steam engines? I'm confused . . .
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Clyntahn could dig through Inquisition archives and find records of all the Inquisition victims run through the mill for waving magnets near wires or putting dissimilar metals in acid, then repeat their experiments.

Expert snuggler wrote:Clyntahn could dig through Inquisition archives and find records of all the Inquisition victims run through the mill for waving magnets near wires or putting dissimilar metals in acid, then repeat their experiments.

Perhaps. But we've seen no sign that Clyntahn is creative or that he would have any idea what to look for. Smart to the point of brilliant on occasion, although that tends to get swamped by his self centeredness, narcism and prejudices.

But creative? Nope.

Don

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Peter2 wrote:
Have I missed something? I don't remember any textev for anyone but Merlin, Owl, and Nimue knowing the least thing about electricity. Unless somebody's been exploring, and found Merlin's experiments on that uninhabited island, that is. Or was that steam engines? I'm confused . . .
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I was mostly referring to thanatos' idea of Clyntahn approving electricity, via, for example, electric eels, but you're right, he's unlikely to work on this (unless there's something deep within Inquisitorial archives talking about using "sacred lightning"). But I'd say the basic idea of my post stands: Clyntahn does something one should not, the Thing wakes up and decides to bide for time. Cue arc 2 and heroes starting from disadvantageous position thanks to Thing's plans.