Joe Abercrombie Fans discussion

I think this character definitely deserves his own thread :-) I just loved how he is developed in the book. Somehow he reminds me of Terry Pratchett's City Watch members, especially Corporal Nobby Nobbs - they may share similar attitude towards their respective responsibilities which is basically being opportunistic and lazy :-)

Here are some quotes I find relevant.

Tunny defending his bad name:

‘Shh,’ hissed Tunny, waving at Yolk to get down. There were men in the trees on the other side of the rise. Three men, and two of them in Union uniforms. ‘Huh.’ One was Lance Corporal Hedges. A squinty, mean-spirited rat of a man who’d been with the First for about three years and thought himself quite the rogue but was no better than a nasty idiot. The kind of bad soldier who gives proper bad soldiers a bad name. His gangly sidekick was unfamiliar, probably a new recruit. Hedges’ version of Yolk, which was truly a concept too horrifying to entertain.

On stealth:

The officer nodded once then strode off, head down, in a way that suggested he’d simply walk through anything and anyone in his way.
‘Who was that?’ muttered one of the lads.
‘I believe that …’ Tunny let it hang in the air for a moment, ‘was Bremer dan Gorst.’
‘The one who fenced with the king?’
‘That’s right, and was his bodyguard until that mess in Sipani. Still has the king’s ear, some say.’ Not a good thing, that such a notable personage should be here. Never stand near anyone notable.

Tunny the messenger:

‘The same Tunny who was court-martialled after that business at Shricta?’
And further yet. The same, sir, though I hasten to point out that the tribunal found no evidence of wrongdoing, sir.’
Mitterick snorted. ‘So much for tribunals. ‘What brings you here, Tunny?’
He held out the letter. ‘I have come in my official capacity as standard-bearer, sir, with a letter from my commanding officer, Colonel Vallimir.’
Mitterick looked down at it. What does it say?’
‘I wouldn’t—’
‘I do not believe a soldier with your experience of tribunals would carry a letter without a good idea of the contents. What does it say?’
Tunny conceded the point. ‘Sir, I believe the colonel lays out at some length the reasons behind his failure to attack today.’

I am just now reading Sharp Ends and who do you think appears in one of the chapters? None other than Corporal Tunny!

Actually, the chapter with Tunny in it disappointed me a bit. Felt like a long list of name- dropping all union officers we knew, without much added value.