Comments on: The Astonishing Excursions of Helen Narbon &Co., Chapter Twenty-Two.

By: Adept Arcanist

Adept Arcanist — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 16:48:34 +0000

I wonder, was Victorian Dave also a latent mad scientist? We never see him quite doing the same things that our Dave starts heading towards. Although since we never meet his ghost, it *is* possible that he did go off the deep end and that’s why he isn’t with ghost Helen and Mell…

By: John Campbell (jcampbel)

John Campbell (jcampbel) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 22:23:50 +0000

Deep, Leon.

But, sadly, based on a false premise.

By: Leon Arnott (l)

Leon Arnott (l) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 22:23:49 +0000

One thing Dave never gets the opportunity to be, in any sense of the word, is Helen Narbon. Helen is, in spite of being the title character, unreachable and unknowable. Her secrets and talents are the weights in the plot's equilibrium, and for Dave to become her, even on a purely symbolic or facile level, is to break that fundamental imbalance.

But would he want to be Helen Narbon, if it were possible? Interestingly, although he holds her in awe as a love interest, he doesn't seem to hold her genius in awe in particular. He generally regards her science as just earthly talents and skills outside his discipline. He would probably not find himself personally inadequate or unworthy of taking on Helen's life, as if a man taking on the mantle of a god.

By: So It Begins (soitbegins)

So It Begins (soitbegins) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 22:23:48 +0000

Hee hee.