Quill

Sorry … but I really wanted Arthur to feel that we were still solidly behind him as we have been throughout his previous two books. I have been very surprised at the lack of enthusiastic discussion over the first 14 chapters [yes, 14 whole chapters folks!] of 'Mir Pacifica' - as though people just expected Arthur to keep churning out more of the same stuff without allowing for his characters to grow as they got older and matured into young adults. In time we may well see that the much-loved valley at Vimeiro is still functioning as a refuge for orphaned lads and a long term home for injured and disabled soldiers and that the many other projects that Thomas set up in Spain and Portugal with the help of his friends are also developing - but just now only Arthur knows this! Do you remember the inn that Carmello actually purchased from the owner because the food was so bad [or did you all miss that?] - I suspect that a few of the lads were left there to run it and began to take in the local street urchins to work for them and give them a home. Arthur is a master at leaving little seeds like this in his writing that he may or may not return to - it doesn't stop our own imaginations from exploring them! So come on guys - stop being so lazy and lets encourage this author to keep going … yes? Incidentally, I am really pleased to see Eric Trager's story "It is what it is" being added to the Castle's Library. I have been reading it on another source and it is a stunning story - here he has reached Chapter 13 but the other source is already at Chapter 58 so there is much, much more to come and it just gets better and better!

I have taken several weeks to think about what I actually wanted to place in this reply - because when I read the posts from "Minimee" I was actually quite angry that Arthur should have been subjected to them. "Minimee" states "it's hard for me to find my former Thomas Marking" but you see Thomas Marking is NOT yours or mine! Thomas is a product of Arthur's amazing imagination and months of disciplined careful work! The extraordinary depth which he has achieved in DB1 and DB2 is possible only because Arthur expects us to look up things that we don't know about - such as the various battles that took place on the Iberian Peninsular in the early years of the 19th century; the turmoil that Napolean's greed created in Spain and Portugal and the complete setting of the story. Arthur had me trailing along behind him looking at maps from that period to locate the various cities, towns and villages where the battles were fought, the weapons that were used at that time, the clothes and uniforms that were "proper" - even the "Della guerra"! In short before you criticise the author for not writing his story as you would have done I think you should have looked up some historical information yourself about the Dutch "expansionism" which was taking place not only over the Spice Islands but across the rest of the world. The barbaric cruelty with which they achieved their own ends was every bit as bad as the French [and the English aristocracy!]. During the stunning DB1 and 2 Thomas was reacting to things which were asked of him- by his own Father, by the British army and Wellington, by Mr. Percy in his spying role for the British Prime Minister Spencer Percival, even by Carmello who used and manipulated him to provide shelter for his waifs and strays; by the Morgan clan and the Black Hand, by Prince Pimental, almost everyone who meets Thomas sees that he is special and tries to use his gifts for their own advantage. When he returns to Portugal prior to setting sail for the Mir Pacifica he tries to distance himself from the past - he no longer wants to be "The General" - that part of his life is over - or so he thinks. Yet he still has to answer the summons from the Portuguese monarch and has already agreed to find out what has happened to the dead Black Hand member. He has never been to sea in this way before, everything is way outside of his comfort zone - the Captains under Mr. Scully are in charge. Thomas is searching for himself - he is becoming a man, no longer doing the bidding of others! And yet even when he agrees to free the slaves and return the Chief's "heir" to him Thomas is kidnapped by the tribe and placed once again in great danger. However what happened to him away from everyone else is a superb piece of writing and Arthur himself puts Thomas through a kind of "coming of age" ceremony. Eventually the chief sees just how special Thomas is and showers him with gifts - but the real gift to Thomas is his acceptance into the tribe as an equal. He achieves his victory alone without the others around him. And with a greater self knowledge and inner confidence he sets off on the quest. Carmello seems to have almost stepped back on purpose giving his dearest friend the space to find himself. I suspect one of the reasons that DB3 is on hold just now is that Arthur has begun to realise just what he has begun!? We are already on chapter 14 and we have only just now sailed into the outer edges of the Pacific Ocean. I can see DB3 becoming DB4 and possibly even DB5 very easily and still Thomas and Snot and Fairley and Carmello and probably most of the others will still have us spell-bound wishing we could write as well as Arthur does! Thank you, Sir, for allowing us to see and share in the results of your labours! When you are ready to pick up your pen again you will find a willing reader here!

I have watched in awe as Arthur has crafted this brilliant tale. Like many others I have been spellbound waiting anxiously for midnight on Thursday to come around [in England that is the time we receive it] and have come to know these characters as though they were real friends. I have read some of Arthur's earlier work which is good in itself but with the Drummer Boy tales he has surpassed himself. Everything is so carefully thought through - just enough detail about the characters, their relationships, accurate research of the historical setting, knowledge of the locale [I think he has a secret stash of Smithson's maps] but more importantly it is the stuff he has left out and the openings for later enhancements that makes the rest of us feel inadequate. Like the mention of the change in Prime Minister which is alluded to in about Chapter 7 of DB2 which led to my looking up who actually was Prime Minister then and discovering Spencer Perceval who was our only PM to be assassinated. And I echo all that is said above by the others - a stunning piece of work - and thank God for the TBC!