Shalidar

[I, Brian]

I'm sorry, Mark, but if you intended otherwise, for me this was easily the most interesting chracter of Imperial Spy.

I guess the fact that his is the opening Point of View helps create a sense of
association, but the way he constantly keeps ahead of the game made him so interesting.

And some of the tricks he used were great.







*****SPOILERS!!!!******


I particularly liked the way you had him use a second assassin to distract Femke while Shalidar he cornered Lord Damar - that was a very clever move, and I wouldn't have figured that one out.

And it was especially ingenious that he got around the Assassin's Code by making himself the employer, not the employee.



Question is, how much have readers of the Darkweaver Trilogy seen of him - and also, how much more are we going to see of Shalidar in the follow-ups to Imperial Spy?

He's a very enigmatic character, and I'm really interested in finding out more of his background.

[Mark Robson]

Shalidar is a fascinating character. From the moment he entered The Darkweaver Legacy, I knew he was going to be fun. His first act in 'First Sword' was to betray and kill the Emperor of that time, which was in direct contravention of the Assassin's Creed and demonstrated his fickle nature. He has always worked outside of the rules, but is careful to be seen to be complying with them. You are going to be seeing a lot of Shalidar during the coming books, as he plays a major role in each of them. His manipulation of those he comes into contact with is masterful - you will see a lot of irony in the second book, which I feel would appeal to his twisted sense of humour.

[rune]

I brought a sense of peril I feel to Imperial Spy and gave Femke a definate strong and unpredictable apponent

[tomo2]

Are the darkweaver books tied in with the Imperial Books?

[Mark Robson]

Hi, Tomo. Welcome to Chronicles. Yes, the Darkweaver Legacy series precedes Imperial Spy. Femke is a minor character in the last two books of the series, as is Shalidar. Imperial Spy was supposed to be a single spin off book, but the ideas have developed into a new series. I'm currently editing Imperial Assassin and have just started writing Imperial Traitor.

[Threddy]

I can't wait for Imperial Assasin to be published, I finished Imperial Spy this morning and I think it was the best book I've ever read, the suspense, the storyline, Reynik, I am just hoping that you will be thinking about making it into a film. Ed (Threddy)

[Mark Robson]

Thank you for the compliment, Threddy. Nice to see you here at Chronicles. I see you've been exploring the boards - that's nice to see. I hope you are finding you've gained a warm welcome. It's a great community of readers and writers, so I'm sure you'll fit in just fine.

Imperial Assassin is already available to pre-order through amazon.co.uk and I see that it now has a sales ranking, so some keen people are already ordering it. Imperial Spy was delivered out some time before the official release date by amazon, so it's not a bad place to get it from. I'm told that it will be released on 6 November, so there's not too long to wait.

[Aerin]

Pretty much the only disappointement I had in reading Imperial Spy was finding out I had to wait for a sequel to get all my questions answered. Which isn't so bad when you think about it, but it is, since I hate waiting.

Also, if anyone here has read Crown Duel, for some reason, Shalidar and Shevraeth are two people I keep contrasting in my mind.

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by Aerin

Pretty much the only disappointement I had in reading Imperial Spy was finding out I had to wait for a sequel to get all my questions answered. Which isn't so bad when you think about it, but it is, since I hate waiting.

Also, if anyone here has read Crown Duel, for some reason, Shalidar and Shevraeth are two people I keep contrasting in my mind.

Ah, Aerin, isn't life just like that! Welcome to the Chronicles Network. Great to see you here. Out of interest what questions did you have from Imperial Spy? I won't promise to answer them here, but it would be useful to know what people would like to see answered later on in case I miss anything!

I've not read Crown Duel. Who wrote it?

[Aerin]

Sherwood Smith wrote it, but well, how do I put this nicely. It's a bit of a more.. feminine fantasy, mostly since there is a bit of element of almost cliched romance. It's a great book, still.
And the only thing I don't understand about how I keep comparing Shevraeth and Shalidar is that Shevraeth is a good guy, and one of the main characters, too. Maybe it's simply the fact of similar names and similar appearance, at least in my mind. (I feel stupid asking this but, is Shalidar blonde? And long-haired? 'Cause that's usually how I pictured him. And I don't currently have the book to check.)

Back to the questions, well, most of them were about Shalidar. (MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW!) Well, you see, you have certainly not included, and twice or more mentioned, a silver bracelet engraved with a dragon (which is quite unusual and detailed) just for the sake of more writing. It has some significance, even if it's just fore-shadowing. I was also mildly disappointed with Reynik. He has quite a bit of suspense built around his reactions on the backcover of the book, but he keeps a relatively minor role. And, at least as far as my memory goes, it hasn't been explained why his uncle, I think it was, was murdered by Shalidar. And why Shalidar made a huge slip, according to his own standards, by not only making a public murder, but in front of someone directly involved with the person, which would lead to at least an attempt of revenge. He was also most likely aware that Reynik's family is of considerable expertise, and dislike of criminals, which gives them both knowledge and motivation to hunt any assassins down.

Oh my. I've written a lot. And I sound snobby, too. No offense meant to you, really. (Actually, quite the other way around. It makes me incredibly happy to know I can chat with the writer of one of the best books I've ever read, and certainly the best spy fantasy one.)

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by Aerin

Sherwood Smith wrote it ... Maybe it's simply the fact of similar names and similar appearance, at least in my mind. (I feel stupid asking this but, is Shalidar blonde? And long-haired? 'Cause that's usually how I pictured him. And I don't currently have the book to check.)

Sherwood Smith - ah! Not an author I'm familiar with, I'm afraid.

Shalidar's appearance is debatable. If I'm running true to form, then you should not be able to tell his hair colour and length from my descriptions. I deliberately only drip feed very minor snippets of information on physical characteristics of my characters. This is deliberate, as it allows the reader to use their imagination a bit. I tend to build characters around personal motivation, interaction with others and their actions, rather than giving great, long, detailed descriptions of how they appear physically. It's great that you have a mental image of Shalidar that has that level of detail, because it partially justifies my methodology.

Back to the questions, well, most of them were about Shalidar. (MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW!) Well, you see, you have certainly not included, and twice or more mentioned, a silver bracelet engraved with a dragon (which is quite unusual and detailed) just for the sake of more writing. It has some significance, even if it's just fore-shadowing. I was also mildly disappointed with Reynik. He has quite a bit of suspense built around his reactions on the backcover of the book, but he keeps a relatively minor role. And, at least as far as my memory goes, it hasn't been explained why his uncle, I think it was, was murdered by Shalidar. And why Shalidar made a huge slip, according to his own standards, by not only making a public murder, but in front of someone directly involved with the person, which would lead to at least an attempt of revenge. He was also most likely aware that Reynik's family is of considerable expertise, and dislike of criminals, which gives them both knowledge and motivation to hunt any assassins down.

The silver bracelet that Shalidar wears is of huge significance, as you will discover in Imperial Assassin. The spider will also appear as a symbol, but to tell you what the purpose of this symbology was would be an enormous spoiler, so I'll leave it at that.

If I were to tell you that Reynik never featured at all in the original story of Imperial Spy, you should be able to see that I had to work hard to work him into the plot without disrupting the storyline too drastically. He was added at the request of the Publisher, who wanted a male, military character to link with my own military background in the marketing of the book. As it happens, the addition was very useful. The original manuscript was written as a one off novel with Shalidar dying at the end. I was asked to re-write it such that there could be a sequel. The addition of Reynik gave me a great character to boost into the lead role for book two.

Shalidar has a very low opinion of the military generally. I think this comes through in some of his thoughts. He would not see that making an enemy of two young lads, or even their relatives (with them all being military types) as being of any great significance.

[Aerin]

I couldn't help laughing at your saying "that level of detail" for Shalidar's hair length and color. Well, just for those two, I picture him as that ash, almost gray blonde, and his hair is about half-way down his back. His eyes are also grey, with a hint of green-gold, and are either playful or menacing. He smiles with one side of his mouth, and it's usually more of a grin than a smile. He looks thin, but is in fact quite strong. He dresses in frivolous clothing to impress, which usually ends up being gold, silver or deep greens and blues, but if he has the choice, he goes for dark or neutral. I could go on for a while, but you get the idea. Just wondering, what do you picture him like?

I'm quite glad Reynik was added in there. I like him a lot. None of the characters are bad, but he's my favorite. I don't have much of a clue as to why. I can tell you I'm very much looking forward to reading Imperial Assassin. (If it's not too much to ask, don't kill him. Unless it's really necessary.)

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by Aerin

Just wondering, what do you picture him like?

I'm quite glad Reynik was added in there. I like him a lot. None of the characters are bad, but he's my favorite. I don't have much of a clue as to why. I can tell you I'm very much looking forward to reading Imperial Assassin. (If it's not too much to ask, don't kill him. Unless it's really necessary.)

How do I picture Shalidar? Well, I see him as taller than average, with dark, shoulder length hair. He's lean, athletic, mature, (for an assassin - in his early to mid thirties) and has a sort of brooding air about him. Oh, and he's selfish - very selfish. His main motivation is personal gain, and it is this that drives him as a character. I don't really want to give any more of my thoughts, though, as it would destroy the images that others have of him. As I said earlier, I paint my characters by motivation and action rather than with phyisical detail. I intend to gradually shift the balance of this towards more of the physical stuff, but I feel that what I have done works quite well. It gives everyone the chance to build their own image, and would allow a lot of freedom with casting if the books were ever translated into film.

As for killing Reynik, well all I will say is that no one is safe in this story.

[Aerin]

Selfishness is a bit of a pre-requisite to an assassin's job, though, isn't it?

Ah, I see. You're thinking way ahead, huh? I would love to see an Imperial Spy movie. Though the plot would be complicated to follow if it was squashed into 2 or 3 hours.

Aww. You're not the kind of author who kills his characters as a way to finish a series, though, are you?

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by Aerin

Selfishness is a bit of a pre-requisite to an assassin's job, though, isn't it?

Ah, I see. You're thinking way ahead, huh? I would love to see an Imperial Spy movie. Though the plot would be complicated to follow if it was squashed into 2 or 3 hours.

Aww. You're not the kind of author who kills his characters as a way to finish a series, though, are you?

I guess selfishness would be a fairly common trait.

I've been moving more and more towards storylines that I feel would make good films, but finding someone who wants to invest their money in such a project may prove more tricky. We shall have to wait and see.

I wouldn't kill a character in order to finish the series, but whenever you come towards the culmination of this sort of storyline, there are inevitably a few characters who get caught in the crossfire. To tell you the truth, I haven't yet decided whether Reynik will live or die. Ah, the power! With one flourish of the pen I can obliterate worlds ... mwah, ha, ha!