Worm5 posted:

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Hello Mr. Stover. I'm a big fan of your work, and eagerly anticipating CBK and LSatSM, and so on and so forth.

I just started reading Heroes Die again, and every time I read this part at the beginning, it kind of drives me nuts, and I'm hoping you might be willing to clear it up for me. I know you don't comment on what you've written, but this is more of a technical detail kind of thing, not a 'Is Ma'elKoth supposed to be the bad guy or what?' kind of thing, so I'm hoping I'll get an answer . . . Anyway. On page 35, when talking about the nets that come to play a very large role in the rest of the book, Konnos says, "Silver is a nearly perfect channel for magickal force - gold is better, but I'm only a poor researcher . . . ". In Blade of Tyshalle, we see that seven years later, silver nets have become fairly commonplace/well known, but we never hear anything about gold nets again, though the above quote seems to very strongly imply that they'd be better. I'm just wondering, is there a reason we never see gold nets? Or was that just kind of a throwaway line, and you forgot about it? Also, come to think of it, Konnos also says that without griffinstones, a silver net is "Hardly proof against a determined effort by a powerful thaumaturge." In the books, I'm pretty sure we never see anyone able to penetrate a silver net with any magical effect. I can't remember offhand; do we simply never see a silver net used without an attached griffinstone as a powersource? Or is this another possible continuity error?

I also want to ask if either of these facts might play a role in CBK, but I know I won't get an answer to that, so I won't bother.

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luec3493 posted:

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Matt I loved reading revenage of the sith how close are you to finshing up shadows of mindor.

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MWStover posted:

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On this one, I will indeed give an answer. It lies in the silver netting's functional similarity to an Earthly Faraday cage; silver is a more efficient conductor of electricity than is, for example, copper, and gold is better yet (platinum, I believe, is better still, but you get the point). Given the electrochemical nature of human nerve impulse, the idea is that the interaction between matter and Flow--a product of a living nervous system, you might recall--must be at least partially electromagnetic in nature. Hence the Faraday cage as a defense against types of magick that seek to directly influence the human mind and/or nervous system. Won't save you from a Firebolt, or a magickal weapon (as we see in Caine's duel with Berne on Day Seven), but it'll stop all manner of Suggestions and Charms and render one immune to the effects of Cloaks (etc.).

The reason for the griffinstone power source is that I was informed by the hardcore electronics geek who served as my resource on Faraday cages, is that a simple metal framework will only partially interfere with electromagnetic impulses unless the "gaps" in the framework are smaller than (if I'm recalling this correctly) the wavelength of the incoming impulse; it works by inducted vortices of counterforce that cancel the impulse. Since, however, the incoming impulses of magick are not strictly electromagnetic, the shielding only becomes efficient in the presence of either an external ground (which is problematic, with magick), or a source of power to increase the incidence of vortex formation; also, such shielding is only perfect if the conducting material is a perfect conductor . . .

At any rate, people on Overworld use silver for very simple, pragmatic reasons: it is vastly less expensive than gold, and somewhat more durable (in terms of hardness and resistance to hard usage). It's the same reason we use copper for wiring instead of silver, if you follow me.

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Worm5 posted:

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The net had restrained her because it prevented her from accessing the power of Chambaraya; had she had access to the power to begin with, the net couldn't have stopped her, but she can't access the power until she's free from the net . . .

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MWStover posted:

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luec3493 posted:

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Matt I loved reading revenage of the sith how close are you to finshing up shadows of mindor.

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Soon.

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JediHobbit posted:

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the two most anticipated books of the year, both with amazing covers.

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