Study Buddies discussion

Hi all! I found a very interesting review of Poison Study (and to some extent, Magic Study) here:
http://thehathorlegacy.com/books/pois...
The Hathor Legacy is a blog looking for positive female characters in popular culture. However, I think even those who aren't interested in such things or in feminism in general will like Firebird's take on the Study series, as she has interesting views on Ixian society and on the Commander.
Enjoy!

See now I wonder if the reviewer read Book 3 when Yelena finds out why the Commander has two very distinct gender-different personalities. Did she think it was a cop-out? Did she feel beatrayed by what she thought was powerful character direction and focus?

I honestly didn't even think about the Commander being a male in a female's body (or vice versa). The Commander was the Commander, he didn't indulge in fits of girlish coyness, lament being the way he is or regret it (well maybe minutely, and only to the point of that if the secret got out it would blow up). He obviously had a 'soft'ish side and held great affection for those he trusted implicitly (which I'm guessing was only Valek and Yelena seemed on her way), but he wasn't having fits of vapors or long drawn out monolouges about it.

Even as Ambassador SigornSigne he was a strong force that didnt' deal in whining or flirtation.

Suzann--when you say his body transforms by magic, do you mean at his birth that happened or do you mean from Ambrose to Signe? I know Yelena said that if she didn't already know she wouldn't guess, but did she mean his facial features or complete body?

i often wonder at why Valek doesn't realize. I guess Ambrose introduced his 'cousin' early on in their relationship and the family resemblence is remarkable of course.

I agree with Suzann with pretty much everything she said, and never saw the commander as a transsexual, but two separate entities completely. Even before Fire Study.

Did anyone else notice that the first comment comes from MVS directly? All she says is something like: 'I liked reading your thoughts on my world and characters.' If I'd been her, I would have been tempted to comment back, at least about the commander and if that's what was intended or not. I like that she just acknowledged the review and thanked her for it.

I neglected to mention it when I posted the link, but that review was kind of old----posted back in 2007, which I believe was before Fire Study came out. I like Suzann's interpretation of the Commander and his/her gender identity and I'm wondering: if "transgendered" is the term for someone who switches genders completely(as opposed to a transvestite, who dresses as the opposite sex), what would the word be for someone who can do it multiple times?
I would also liked to have read the reviewer's take on the third book, but so far there hasn't been one posted.

Kim, you think if we harassemail the reviewer she might clue us in? Maybe stop by the boards here and discuss with us?

I actually think that could be quite interesting. I've really only just discovered "The Hathor Legacy," (via a post on the tv show "Heroes" of all things) but I bet they have an email contact somewhere on the site. It would be worth a try, I think.

Hi Suzann/Soozanne,

I'm posting this here since I can't contact you through your profile--You won a runner-up prize in the Extra Credit contest!

That means you get personalized bookplates and bookmarks.

I will need your name and mailing address, I promise not to sell or spam it, just to send you the contest goodies. Don't post this here! Just message me on my profile.

Let me know if you want the bookplates made out to another name (if giving them as a gift) or just to you! Also let me know which spelling should be used.

Congratulations again!

WARNING: super, super small spoiler for Storm Glass towards the bottom (and clearly marked). I describe a magical ability but do not describe who has it, whether it is used or merely mentioned, or how it affects the plot, if at all. The spoiler is the last thing in the post, even after the footnotes. I think it's easy to skip reading that paragraph and the spoiler is buried inside and not marked out in any way.


re comments above:

(First, I may have a different take on transsexual than a lot of people: I live in San Francisco, I know a moderate number of transsexuals (pre-op, post-op, no-op, and other) and I know both transvestites and homosexuals for contrast. I don't believe this is the norm in general America. In addition, my gf is a trained sex ed teacher and covers transsexual and intergender issues often.


"Instead of a female in a man's body, or a male in a female's body, I pictured the Commander as having 2 complete and separate personalities within a magical body."

This is the main issue. I can see the interpretation. I disagree because I can't think of any values, beliefs, or goals that differ between the two morphs(1). The underlying personalities seem the same to me; only the behavior seems different.


"...surely, being a master of disguises himself, he would know if the Commander was really a man in a woman's body."

FWIW, I know very few, if any, transsexuals who would agree with this statement. The Commander isn't disguising himself (using male pronouns to indicate the male morph); he actually identifies more completely with this morph. Valek meets The Commander and doesn't see a "woman in a man's body," he sees The Commander, a person comfortable in his body.

(I'm assuming here that we aren't reading the original quote as implying that transsexuals are just disguises from their birth sex; I'm taking it as non-judgemental.)

When Valek meets the female morph, I still don't think it's a disguise. She doesn't change her personality, just her language (she's not giving orders constantly), clothing, and perhaps some mannerisms. The language change is a moderately big behavior shift, but it isn't concealing anything.

In my read, The Commander isn't transsexual (identifying as a gender not associated with the birth physiology), but intersex (having physical traits not associated with either common gender definition) and has a personality consistent with either visual gender interpretation. That the intersex is magical is interesting; the story of how she formed, claimed, created, or even demanded it is pretty powerful stuff taken on its own.


"There is no cross-dressing."

Let's separate transvestite (mostly straight people who identify with their birth gender and wear clothing associated with a different gender in some context of their life), transsexual (people who identify as a different gender that their birth; whether they are gay, straight, or other may depend on whether you consider them to be their birth or self-identified gender; most prefer to be considered their self-identified gender, regardless of operative or chemical status, as soon as they are out as transsexual), sexual orientation (gay men identify as male and gay women as female, for example, which is a contrast to The Commander), and intersex.


"he didn't indulge in fits of girlish coyness... He obviously had a 'soft'ish side and held great affection for those he trusted implicitly... but he wasn't having fits of vapors or long drawn out monolouges about it."

I don't know that any of those behaviors are assigned to any gender by Snyder. I can't think of a female character who is coyish, has fits of vapours, or monologues extensively about their angst. Similarly, most of the male characters seem to exhibit soft sides and demonstrate great affection for those they implicitly trust (or even those they learn to trust over time).


BTW, this is a great subject and discussion and the comments are thoughtful and thought-provoking.



1) Using some terminology from aquarium-keeping. A kind of fish called a wrasse switches from female to male based on age and what other wrasses are nearby. These are sometimes called morphs of the wrasse (although morph is also used for different colorations of the same species of fish).


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I finished Storm Glass last night and the blood magic "body switching" trick made me think of The Commander's ability. I wonder if they're related (could killing the cat be a form of blood magic sacrifice?) and I wonder if the blood magic trick can be/is used to switch genders (for example, two swap two willing participants who want to be the other gender, rather permanently or temporarily, a la Tiresius).

Wow, Seth! How did I miss this post? I need to use the "unread" link more often... Excellent and well-put argument.

Seth's comment should be directed to the "ask Maria" topic where the question of the commander's sex is questioned as to how it pertains to the story. Seth it is nice to have a different opinion, keep making comments, and my husband may feel like he can join. :)