The Ladder Chapter 28

Cheers

The Tallest Tree

Fair points that I will try to address

Sigh... I really like this novel but there are lots of problems. Most of it is around how much you jump around without adequately filling the space. For example, we only see snapshots of Petyr’s plotting in Myr where one second he’s buying land to build ships then two weeks go by and he’s suddenly King. There’s no exploration of the city detailing what life is like there or the different factions with competing interests, nor is there any unveiling of what the Golden Company is plotting until the moment it's going down, nor is there any Petyr/Ben/Ashara conversations of what his plan will be in the future. This story is just all over the place. It has great bones but is hollow. Petyr is looking for a base of operations and the possible foundation for a kingdom. Cool, but why Myr? It would be hard to change 400+ years of culture and identity overnight. Yes, slavery is evil but why is he abolishing it without a plan in place? There’s no mention of negotiating with Braavos for support/alliance/trade. How about Pentos? How about with the local religious groups? If he wants freedom of religion why doesn’t he establish a religious council and lay bare his ideas? As I see it his plan seems to be to 1) Release slaves 2) Abolish taxes 3) Establish an army That is great. As is the fact that he rewards his own people. But where are the details? What is Ben’s role? Davos’? Etc. What are his plans for when Westeros/Volantis invade? Why is he so hot-tempered all of a sudden? He bashes his own people regarding slavery after sprining it on them out of the blue and the next chapter he suddenly can't even do a bit of politicking with a Red Priest without losing his cool and falling for the trap? SIGH Time is also a factor. How much time has passed since he arrived in Myr? A month? It just seems choppy and rushed. Petyr had a great idea with military service and land - like Ceasar - but in the next paragraph he’s giving land away for free? But that also isn’t clear. Does Myr own the land, or do the people? What will stop exploitation? Slavery ending is great for the long-term and he was right that things will work themselves out given decent policy-making but he has not made it clear if he has any decent policies to reduce people’s shock to such a change in the short-term At this point, the whole thing looks like it is built on a house of cards and will implode given the slightest breeze. He should see that…

The Tallest Tree