I posted a small snippet on Twitter and got a really varying guesses as to who the speaker is. So here is a snippet and a poll to go with it. If the majority of people guess correctly, the mysterious speaker will be confirmed on Friday.
“Did I stutter, Sharrim? Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?”
“Yes.”
“Repeat back to me what I said.”
“You said not to go,” I intoned.
“And what did you do?”
“I went.”
“So you deliberately disobeyed me.”
“Yep.”
Loading ...PS. There is a clue in Magic Binds.
Ahhh! That was hard! It could be Erra… but it sounded kind of calm for Erra… It was WAY too calm for Roland (scary thought there)… The sarcasm felt on par for Ghastek though. 😉
I don’t think it’s Ghastek becouse in ninth book he willingly promised Kate obedience so he wouldn’t expect that she would follow his orders. I was thinking about Erra but it seems too calm for her to say. Roland is posible but he wouldn’t call her Sharrim the same goes for Curran, Dali and Jim and they know her too well to order her around. Rowena and Adora wouldn’t dare to order Kate as she is a lot higher in hierarchy so i think it’s Nick. He hates Kate for being Roland daugther and blames her for his parents divorce so he could be sarcastic and cold to her plus he is head of Order in Atlanta now so he can expect from Kate to do what he says. I can be wrong but i vote for Nick.
You have almost the same thought process as I do. I don’t think it is Ghastek because the speaker is trying to order Kate around. That cuts out anyone lower than him in the chain of command as well. The fact that the speaker called her Sharrim means it is someone from that side (Roland’s), not the pack side, they would call her Kate. Roland wouldn’t call her Sharrim either IMO. So it is either Erra or Nick, I went with Nick because Erra don’t usually act that calm.
Agree, Roland calls her Blossom. I think it’s Nick.
Although, Erra is a Grand Master at snark & sarcasm just like Ghastek. And she has no problem ordering Kate around (much good it does her). Even though Ghastek isn’t afraid to be snarky with Kate, I don’t think he’d try to order her around. I think its Erra, even though I initially voted for Ghastek.
It has to be either Roland or Erra. Curren, Jim, and Dali wouldn’t call her Sharrim, Adora would never be in a position to be ‘disobeyed’, Kate would never pretend to even take orders from Nick, Ghastek or Rowena. Erra and Roland would both be more than happy to talk down to her, but Roland tends to use endearments.
I am both elated and a little depressed at the thought of this last Kate book. I can’t wait. It’s literally the only thing preventing me from falling into the depressing political abyss that is our administration right now.
Hee hee
Snorting over here
lololol
Giggle
Thank you for always finding ways to entertain The Hoard…even when you are swamped and under the weather.
Sending hugs…
That has Nick’s flavor of sarcasm on the word sharrim. He also likes to try and tell her what to do.
I agree. I don’t think the others would have any expectations about Kate’s obedience. And she indulges Nick because of Greg.
Me too. Roland and Erra don’t call her Sharrim typically; Rowena and Adora are usually too respectful to be that sarcastic which leave Ghastek and Nick. Ghastek is usually more direct in his confrontations. Nick is always sarcastic.
Now watch and it turns out to be Curran being an ass.
I tend to think it is Nick speaking. I think it is an order matter and Kate involved herself. Roland and Erra would not call her Sharrim. Curran wouldn’t expect her to obey by calling her Sharrim. Ghastek, Rowena and Adorra wouldn’t dare to boss her arround. Als Jim or Dhali wouldn’t speak to her like this.
I voted for Erra, but after reading your reasoning, I could totally see Nick as the one.
Nick was my #2 choice, but the combination of modern vernacular, the sarcasm, and her title pointed me to Erra as being more likely. Roland doesn’t tend to do sarcasm that we’ve seen and he’s never used her title to address her.
Oh gosh. Now I totally agree on Nick but I guessed Jim. He is beast lord now and could have some expectation of her following his orders (haha) and I thought he was using Sharrim sarcastically.
Also Erra called her Sharratum – “Queen” – rather than Sharrim – “of the king” while Nick just loves to dig at Kate by calling her Sharrim.
Yeah, similar reasoning, here. Though it’s kind of “best choice” when I’m looking at the list and guessing?
This is wonderful,,, and I’m an idiot, I’d have guessed Erra, but didn’t see her name there, so I guessed Roland,, then of course, saw Erra in the totals,,, , scratch one voting senior moment, lol.
The sarcastic tone is the key, I think. Must be Erra.
That was tough. I voted Terra, but it was very calm for her.
Stupid autocorrect!! Erra
Family! Loved the snippet. Thanks. Be sure to unpack your tea as soon as you move.
Erra!!??
Hi Ilona,
Sending you well wishes! And, thank you for the snippet!
At first I though Ghastek, but I don’t think he’d try to boss Kate around. I cast my vote for Roland after reading it twice. Now I’m off to read it again!
I like the picture with the post. That’s a good look for Kate.
I can’t imagine anyone on that list, except for Erra or Roland, saying to Kate the words “So you deliberately disobeyed me.” It’s a toss up. I think Erra would be more likely to call her Sharrim. I think Roland would definitely think he could boss her. Yeah, 50/50. I’m going with Roland.
why would erra call her sharrim. she calls kate stupid names all the time. it’s ghastek
I kind of thought she and Ghastek were on more polite grounds these days…
So on a positive note, this is a new thing to agonize over……
LOL!
Has to be someone who uses modern dialect. I could see either curran or jim saying that with the ‘Sharrim’ part dripping sarcasm. Except, Curren is well aware that no obedience would be happening. Beast lord Jim may give it a shot. I don’t think Erra is hip to the modern lingo, based on her missing most of Kate’s taunts in the past. I’m ruling out Daddy Dearest and adora on that same theory. Could well be Ghastek; he can certainly talk the talk when it suits him. I’m going with Jim.
The only reason I could see Curran calling her Sharrim is for payback for all the times Kate made fun of his title as Beast Lord. Lord knows how many times she called him “Your Furriness, Your Majesty, Your Highness.” Now that she has a title, which basically translates to Princess of the Ultimate Wizard of Darkness or whatever, Curran could definitely use it for payback. But again he would never dream of ordering her around because he knows very well how Kate deals with authority, and they clashed a lot at the beginning of their relationship.
I think it would be either Erra or Ghastek. I voted for Erra.
Hope your feeling better today. I voted for Jim, my thinking is that he would feel he could and should be able to boss Kate. It was such a small snippet that ou could feel almost all of them could be talking to her.
That was totally Curran…he does sarcasm like no one else does.
Given deadlines, dread dentist and the delights of moving house (never mind Xmas): this is so, so nice for you to do as a blog post: thank you (with no current or future expectations, just gratitude for your nice-ness).
I hope that all is…errr I cant say ‘hope all is well’ (deadlines and moving inevitable screw with that stuff), mebbe ‘manageable’, hopefully with the real necessity of time off and less-pressing deadlines for you in the not-too-near future. Please do take care. We (as reader(s), if I may say) value what you do because of your creativity and efforts, but also because who you (both, and with family) are. I would hate to feel in any way that any enthusiam I contribute to in respect to your writing, also contributed to pressure at this (or any) time. Within the confines of deadlines and moving: I hope that all is and will be, well.
i didn’t think it was any of them, but I like carolin’s logic, so I went with nick.
have to say, all of us debating this like these are real people entertains me, and is a testament to your character building. yay, you!
Gasp! What do you mean, “like real people”? They ARE real people. ???
<3
I think it would be either Roland or Erra because of the “you deliberately disobeyed me”. I can’t see anyone else thinking she needed to obey them. Maybe Nick … I voted for Roland, but I think it could be Nick.
The problem is tone and nonverbal cues. “Don’t go, it’ll make things worse. I’m telling you and I’ll use I told you so when this is f’d”
The word choice – disobeyed – puts the speaker on an authoritative level with her.
I need more scene!
Is needing more scene, kinda like needing more Cow Bell? ?
I think only Roland or Erra would think they could control Kate but if they were being sarcastic it could be several. I am going with Erra
Huzzah! Fun! A challenge!
I tossed Roland, Curran, and Dali because I didn’t think they’d call her “Sharrim”. (Not even DRIPPING with sarcasm – any number of other things, but not Sharrim.)
Erra, Jim, Adora and Rowena wouldn’t expect obedience. (They know her too well.)
That left Ghastek and Nick – and I think Ghastek is too smart to expect to influence Kate with orders.
That leaves Nick. (He don’t know her vewwy well, do he?)
I fully expect to be wrong. I usually am, which is why I reads them, I don’t writes them.
I picked Erra since I honed in on the “you deliberately disobeyed me”. It could be Roland. Nick? I know he’s sarcastic with Kate (as well as hating Kate for who she is), but I didn’t think they were speaking to each other. Curran, Jim, and Dali wouldn’t call Kate “sharrim”.
Ghastek? I know he calls Kate sharrim, but saying she deliberately disobeyed him? I don’t think he would say that to Kate.
I am going with Erra.
This is soo Nick! He would expect obedience and would be calm but sarcastic. Erra would be very erratic! 😉
Erra is the only one who would call her Sharrim and give her an order, with an expectation of obedience. It could be Roland, but I didn’t think they were speaking much. I guess they could get together to fight an outside threat, that would be very, very interesting. If Erra gets the vote and proves to be wrong then it is indeed Roland.
I voted for Curran. I could be way off base, but the sarcasm fits. Also, I’m pretty sure the character quoted two movies: Major Payne and Lion King. That doesn’t seem to fit with Erra or Roland. I can’t wait for the new book!!!
3 movies: I just caught Rush Hour as well, Lol!!
to my way of thinking only Roland or Erra could realistically even HOPE that Kate would OBEY something they told her, no one else who would call her Sharrim, would have the ranking to TRY and TELL her what to do.
OK. I voted for Roland. He wasn’t my first choice, but I did look for the clue in Magic Binds. There is a scene there that is VERY like the snippet.
I think it is Erra because they were expected to be obeyed. Erra is the only one out of all of them that would call her Sharrim and expect obedience.
I totally agree. I believe Erra is the only one who would call Kate by the name Sharrim, give her instructions and expect to be obeyed.
Deliberately disobey me: Erra”s arrogance. And thinking that Kate would obey.
Did I stutter? And Sharim: Nick.
So I voted Erra, but it could be Nick. It’s the obedience thing that makes it confusing.
I hope you feel better today.
I thought Roland because he told her not to go to Mishmar and she went anyway. I didn’t think about the speaker calling her Sharrim so now I’m confused. I voted for Roland before I read the comments.
I think it’s Curran. I think he’s being snarkey by calling her “Sharrim”
I think Curran is the only one that would order Kate around.
My thoughts exactly.
Lol The BDH loves it when you screw around with us!
The only people on the list that would have the cajones to tell Kate anything and expect obedience are Roland and Erra. The problem is the vernacular “stutter” – that’s not a word I would expect them to use.
In Magic Binds the only character who says ”Sharrim” and “deliberately disobey” is Roland. But Kate would have switched sides to be taking orders from him. Although she did promise Erra she would take her and Semiramis out of Mishmar, and we all know going back there would definitely flip his lid.
Curran would definitely snark the Sharrim and stutter sentence tho. Maybe Nick. But in those instances it would be a performance for the ones watching, and direct obedience wasn’t actually gonna happen anyway. Which makes Jim a possible then.
I’m going with the performance angle and voting for Curran. If it were Roland, he’d be YELLING AT HIS DAUGHTER.
Maybe.
I feel it’s Curran. He would never call her Sharrim, unless he thinks she is getting a big head. Then he would, just to be a smart ass. Roland would never think Kate would obey him. I don’t think Era would call her Sharrim she’s more likely to call her a “disobedient moron”.
I picked Erra , now I’m thinking Nick .
I forgot, Kate is Inshinar now?
I thought Jim, its sarcastic enough for him, and he could be calling her Sharrim sarcastically. it just didnt fit the type for anyone else on the list that i could think of.
I voted one thing, then I went back and read the pertinent sections of Magic Binds. My vote was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! Darn it.
I’m the Chris with the comment in essay form at 4:23 pm that decided to vote for Curran, tho. I don’t want people thinking I changed my mind.
There are 9 possible choices in the poll. If the majority of users don’t pick the correct one, then you won’t tell us who said it, so will you give us another poll with 8 possible choices? And maybe a couple of extra lines to the beginning or ending of the snippet? Kind of like those game shows where they reveal another letter every turn until you have enough to fill in the whole word or phrase.
‘Cause we could do this every day, you know. Just sayin’.
Sitting here reading it and I can’t get James Earl Jones out of my head saying “you deliberately disobeyed me” bit 😀
It has to be Nick. He is the only one of those who call her sharim without it being sign of respect. Also he does have certain power so it could be that she disobeyed him in some way
Can I just comment on that head shot? That model is spot on!
Definitely Roland. He’s the only one who would expect obedience from Kate.
This was fun! Thanks for doing it
I think certain AuthorLords just likes to torment us… “P.S. there is a clue in Magic Binds.” Much fun searching 🙂
Of those listed, only Nick, Adora, Roland (in all caps), and Rowena used the term “Sharrim” in Magic Binds
Adora officially stopped using the term, Rowena seems unlikely to be giving Kate orders or taking harsh tone.
So, Nick or Roland… I can see Nick telling Kate what to do, and using sarcastic/modern language. But actually expecting to be obeyed? That is harder to see. I still vote for Roland, he would still expect to be obeyed.
Hmm, on second thought, Erra has used similar term for talking to Kate (Sharratum), and speaks more in the tone of the quote, and has specifically used “Do you understand?” with Kate before in Magic Binds.
So majority with Erra at this point may well be right.
Love this discussion! I originally voted for Erra based on prior knowledge, but after the clue of looking in Magic Binds, I think it’s actually Roland. Too late to switch the vote now! Sneaky sneaky Authorlords!!!
I originally voted for Nick because of the “give ’em hell, Sharrim” part in MAGIC BINDS, but after re-reading I think it’s actually Roland, too. When she is in Mishmar and he arrives, it’s almost the same thing that he says, but not in all caps this time.
I wonder how many of us went back and re-read last night to see if we were right? And I hope our gracious Authorlords take pity on us and confirm the identity regardless ~
I voted Roland. Then I read the comments and went … hmmm… never thought about it being Nick.
I was debating myself between Erra and Roland.
I love the comments. Some of you guys could be lawyers.. you make good arguments.
Thanks Author Lords.
Ok. It has to be Erra, Roland or Nick.
Roland calls her daughter, or blossom.
Erra calls her niece, ,sharratum and often idiot.
Nick does call her sharrim. And he could be the one channeling Chris Rock.
Darn it. I was sure it was Erra.
Couldn’t have been Roland. When he wants to enforce things, he calls her daughter. Erra or Nick we’re the only two others who would even consider giving her an order, but Erra would call her an idiot or a fool for disobeying, not act as if she EXPECTED to be obeyed. Only Nick is that special kind of asshole.
On the other hand, if there hadn’t been a list of options to consider, I’d probably have guessed something stupid, like Adora. I just knew it couldn’t have been Roland.
Right. I ruled out Roland. Deliberately disobeyed has Erra written all over it. But “are you hearing the words coming out of my mouth” is a contemporary reference which made me doubt myself and consider Nick.
I bet Ilona didn’t have fun at the dentist and decided that we needed to be brought into her world of pain.
Chris Tucker:/
I would’ve thought Barnabas, but he isn’t even an option.
That said, given the combination of both familiarity, seeming obescience and condescension all wrapped in the same tone I’m going with Ghastek.
Haven’t got the space in my head at the moment to think back through the interactions in the previous books. If I get around to doing a re-read before your reveal and want to change my vote I’ll come back 🙂
Ghastek was my first thought!
Mine too!
Ghastek does NOT give orders to Kate.
I thought it was Roland talking about Kate going to MishMar. I didn’t say Erra because Erra really didn’t speak to Kate until after Kate brought her back from MishMar. But as always, I could be completely wrong 😉
My thoughts, too.
Who else tells Kate what to do? Not Nick, not Ghastek, only Roland, Erra, or Curran.
i think the word sharrim is also a big clue. The pack normally doesn’t call her that, only to mock her. I think it has to be either ghastek or nick. Erra would be more aggressive and or bitchy 😉 (i love that about her :D). Roland calls her blossom or daughter. Adora is still to polite to word the sentence that way, i think. tricky tricky… 😉 lets hope my vote for ghastek is right.
Aaah, but as of previous books Adora has only just had her obedient world view shattered and is coming to appreciate how she really feels about the world around her on her own terms, not on what she is told to perceive – so I can see her still being in the habit of calling Kate sharrim, but also perhaps starting to express her own confidence, especially if she feels Kate might be disrespecting her experience and advice.
But yeah, it just doesn’t feel like Adora.
==================
a) Uses Sharrim
b) Feels comfortable giving Kate directions.
c) Gets upset when Kate doesn’t follow those directions.
d) Is powerful enough, and familiar to Kate enough, to express anger when Kate disobeys (but in doing so still uses Sharrim)
Really, if it wasn’t for a) I’d think it was Curran – a) is really the only reason I thought it might be Barnabas, or Ghastek.
It’s not the use of ‘Sharrim’ but ‘disboyed me’ which has me piqued. Not a lot of people who can talk to Kate that way, or rather whom she would allow to talk to her that way…
“And then he had the audacity to tell me that this is what happens to the people that disobey him. Disobey. Like I’m one of his flunkies…” Kate didn’t like Roland using the word in Magic Binds, but he’s not going to stop all of a sudden. Damn, I should have voted for Roland.
Sure Roland could have expressed himself like that (but I think they’re passed that level/degree of tone in their communications) … but would Kate have responded in an ‘intoned’ way?
There’s also the issue of balance of power.
Kate can allow her flunkies/friends/advisors to interact with her in this way because everyone of them now knows who and what she is, and that she is the biggest badass in the room. Kate loses nothing by allowing some degree of emotional expression from that set of people without lashing out herself, but gains everything, as she keeps herself from becoming too aloof with those she needs to keep close. Everyone still knows she is boss.
In her interactions with Roland however? She can’t allow him to take one iota of tonal authority. He already pushes at her borders, interferes with her citizens, makes degrading comments on her capability to provide for her wedding guests. If she gives him one inch he will never let her take it back.
Hmmm. I’ve just talked myself into thinking it might be Erra.
But Kate also takes her time with setting people straight. She does it right, not right away. She’s let people dig their holes before and only then told them exactly what she thinks about their attitude. Joke’s on me because I voted wrong before reading the passage and deciding it must be Roland after all 😀
Oh no, now I have to re-read Magic Binds in its entirety! There goes my weekend. What a tragic development. 😉
I think the key words here are disobey and Sharrim, which mean of the king. Anyone who knows Kate would understand that ordering her to do something is counter productive. Also, after the break with Roland, Ghastek would not reference him in connection to Kate, because as her Legatus he wants her power to be separate from her father’s. In fact among this list the only person who still wants her associated with Roland, is Nick, because it justifies his rage at her. Otherwise he would have to see they are on the same side and that he is judging her too harshly for the actions of others, rather than on her own merits.
I see your point.
This a a compelling argument. I’ve voted but I must now reflect and re-think. I had voted for Ghastek.
Okay, my vote was for Ghastek but your argument is very compelling. Darn it, I’m so confused. lol
This is so hard! I’m voting Roland. The only time he calls her sharrim is when he shouts at her over Mishamar.
Please please pretty please tell us anyway? I thought Nick (since he calls her Sharrim a couple of times) and there could be a situation where she has agreed to follow his orders and the tone is just wrong for all the other suggestions. And Ghastek? No way can I see kate agreeing to obeying him?
Aaahhh, the agony of indecision!!!! ? I absolutely LOVE it when you torture us so exquisitely like this! I feel like my brain is going to explode through the top of my head any moment now. ? Kaboom!! Yep, there it went.
The overall sound and feel of the exchange just made me instinctively think of either Jim or Ghastek (actually made me think Barrabas first but he wasn’t one of the choices). I could reason around and make justifications for Curran, Roland, and Erra as well (depending on the context).
I looked at the results after I voted, and where they stand now I don’t think we have a majority voting correctly (of course I am probably wrong as I so often am!). If we don’t, would you give us another clue and let us have at it again?! Purty purty please with extra chocolate sauce on top? It is just too much fun!!
I hope the dentist went well, that your cold is better (or that you are at least feeling a bit better), and that things in general do not seem as dreary.
You are a mischievious imp with this challenge, and I hope you get as much a kick out of this as we have.
Thank you for the snippet and for taking the time to do it when you have so much else on your shoulders. I am currently rereading the Innkeeper series for the umpteenth time, but now I will have to hurry up and finish it so I can reread the Kate series (also for the umpteenth time). I said it before and I will say it again – You are an evil genius!! Muahaha, muahaha! (Add rubbing of hands together and a twinkle in the eye – or maybe you are more of a sit there and stroke the cat kind instead of gleefully rubbing your hands together.) ?
I voted Jim too, based on the familiarity Kate’s jupp denotes combined with the lunacy of thinking whoever has the right to order Kate to do anything.
I agree Kate would probably only allow someone she is friendly with to get away with the disrespect, and Jim is the delusional enough to think his position as pack leader gives him any power over her. And in the past she has let him get away with stuff because of her bonds to the pack. But it is that, allowance. After Jim let her down as a friend she might be doing it mostly for Curran (Jim is his friend) and her other friends though. Keeping the family peace so to speak. And Jim is both manipulative and dominant enough to take advantage.
So I can totally see him ordering her around. And her just ignoring the order rather than immediately confronting him. And Jim then using the title, not as a title, but as a reminder of his distrust, because he knows her enough to know that his good opinion used to matter, and he’s manipulative. But not sensitive enough to have realised he’s burnt some of the closeness bridges with her, and she’s just pretending they’re still cool because of her hubby’s feelings…
Soo…its Friday where I am, is it Friday where you are ? Did the majority of us guess correctly??
My year-end vacation/office closing starts at 2 pm mt….starting a reread of the entire Kate Daniels books. This series is one of my favorites and often reread. Happy Holidays all! And yeah, Kate is defying her Pop’s.
A fun challenge. I’m voting for Erra, but will re-read the book this weekend. And may I point out that in spite of the “Everything is Bad” blog you have not only survived it, you have rebounded excellently. Miserable damned cold. Lemon and honey – a life saver. Good luck on the move.
Like some others, I think the two key words here are “Sharrim” and “disobey”. While there are others who call Kate Sharrim, I figure only Erra, Roland, or Nick have the arrogance to assume the right to expect obedience from Kate. Because there’s a reference to this in Magic Binds, I can only guess that it’s Roland talking about Kate going to Mishmar. Even if Roland has never called her Sharrim before, I can see him doing so.
So I voted for Erra. Partly because she has the arrogance & standing to use Sharrim while expecting obedience and the ignorance to think Kate would care. Mostly though I want to see Erra absorbing pop culture and quoting Chris Rock (or Jackie Chan). Brilliant! Erra watching Game of a Thrones… can you imagine?!?
Okay. I guessed Rowena. For the simple fact Roland calls her daughter and Blossom. Ghastek calls her Kate. Nick doesnt necessarily call her anything. I mean he hardly acknowledges her. If he does he’ll call her Sharrim to annoy her. Plus I cant really see Nick giving her advice. Sooo. I know her friends and Curran sure as heck wont call her that. Erra is her Aunt and doesnt really call her that either but its possible. My guess is Rowena because she ALWAYS calls her Sharrim ever since she was outed and she did help her with her blood magic briefly. Probably guessed wrong but oh well. LOL.
If Nick had been at Mishmar, I would have picked him, because he is just the kind of wet nasty that would remember and use Kate’s father’s words against her. But I can’t remember, and I don’t think he was there undercover, so I’m going to have to go with dear old dad himself. Roland gets the vote!
I have a feeling its Ghastek. I thought Erra for a second but she tends to call Kate “Child” so I don’t thinks it her. It was a toss up with Roland and Ghastek. But since Roland and her are at war and not talking so much and this is something Ghastek would say now that he is her Legatus of her Legion.
Nick
I think it’s Curren. I thinks thinks he’s just poking at her a little.
Bacon
I guess enough people didn’t get it correct? I don’t see a confirmation :(. I really do think I was right though and its Ghastek, he started calling her Sharim when he found out who she was, especially if in front of other masters of the dead.