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Reverb, Chapter 15
Well, here's something to get the weekend started -- this is the last chapter of this story (well, novel . . . ).
There is still an epilogue to come, but no further cliffhangers. Those of you who have been waiting until it's finished can consider starting at this point; or wait till the epilogue is posted as well.
Anyone who still wants to make spoilery comments or discuss chapter 14, you can do so by clicking here.
Chapter 15 teaser:
Chapter 15: Direct Object
MacGyver sat at the big wooden table up in his cabin, hunched over the radio. He hadn’t fired up the stove yet and he was still wearing his heavy coat, although the cabin wasn’t all that cold in spite of having been left empty for a week. It had been designed to get the most out of passive solar heating, and he’d found several ways to improve the insulation. But the ambient temperature couldn’t touch or ease the chill inside himself.
Later, he’d have time to adjust to the drastic rearrangement of his mental furniture. Later.
Right now, he was listening to Nikki’s voice on the radio, in full tirade.
“MacGyver, what the hell is going on? You’re damned lucky I was still where they could get hold of me. I wasn’t expecting a radio check-in at all. Why didn’t you email me the – ”
“Nikki, the internet’s out.”
“Oh, for God’s sake. Don’t tell me your grandkids took your computer apart this time!”
“Nikki, watch what you’re saying for pity’s sake! They aren’t up here with me and you know that! Anyway, I can’t tell if the radio’s been booby-trapped or not, so I’m using the backup unit. Just in case.”
“Just in . . . you mean Felix Sandoval got up there? How?”
“I don’t know! I mean, I don’t know if he’s been here or not. But it makes sense. It’s what Murdoc would’ve done.”
“Oh God, Mac, get out now! The whole cabin could be a mass of traps!"
Chapter 15 is posted here, and the story actually starts here.
'Beth
August 2010
There is still an epilogue to come, but no further cliffhangers. Those of you who have been waiting until it's finished can consider starting at this point; or wait till the epilogue is posted as well.
Anyone who still wants to make spoilery comments or discuss chapter 14, you can do so by clicking here.
Chapter 15 teaser:
Reverb
Chapter 15: Direct Object
MacGyver sat at the big wooden table up in his cabin, hunched over the radio. He hadn’t fired up the stove yet and he was still wearing his heavy coat, although the cabin wasn’t all that cold in spite of having been left empty for a week. It had been designed to get the most out of passive solar heating, and he’d found several ways to improve the insulation. But the ambient temperature couldn’t touch or ease the chill inside himself.
Later, he’d have time to adjust to the drastic rearrangement of his mental furniture. Later.
Right now, he was listening to Nikki’s voice on the radio, in full tirade.
“MacGyver, what the hell is going on? You’re damned lucky I was still where they could get hold of me. I wasn’t expecting a radio check-in at all. Why didn’t you email me the – ”
“Nikki, the internet’s out.”
“Oh, for God’s sake. Don’t tell me your grandkids took your computer apart this time!”
“Nikki, watch what you’re saying for pity’s sake! They aren’t up here with me and you know that! Anyway, I can’t tell if the radio’s been booby-trapped or not, so I’m using the backup unit. Just in case.”
“Just in . . . you mean Felix Sandoval got up there? How?”
“I don’t know! I mean, I don’t know if he’s been here or not. But it makes sense. It’s what Murdoc would’ve done.”
“Oh God, Mac, get out now! The whole cabin could be a mass of traps!"
- - -
Chapter 15 is posted here, and the story actually starts here.
'Beth
August 2010
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*bumps up the "To Read" list*
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I just had a fortune cookie, with the sort of fortune that was only entertaining if read with the implicit "in bed" statement, so wine would be preferable.
As I noted, I was smiling all the way through the first half of the chapter, and also chuckling at certain moments. Petra's five online identities - ah, the joys of smart kids. We have friends whose daughter figured out how to post videos of she and her sister in their horribly messy room on Youtube at age 8. It's a whole new world for parents of intelligent kids and you captured that beautifully. I liked Sam's tiny moment of collusion with Petra over the fifth identity. The way that even though they're smart kids they're still kids with all their crazy ideas about the world and insecurities and fears was fantastic. It was just such lovely warm family stuff.
You've been doing such a wonderful job with the generational conflicts. I really appreciated that even though of course we love Mac, Sam can see that his Dad has flaws and short-comings. And you don't get through this life without making choices that cascade on down the family line. Of course, having crazed killers threatening the whole family is an extreme example, but the bittersweet aspect couldn't feel more real to me. Also, I did laugh out loud about Mac being the one who slept around. He sure did... somehow when I was watching MacGyver the first time around as a child I totally blocked out the part where he actually slept with women he had a spark with. (Oh my god. You have no idea how much of a prude I was. Did two adults just get out of a bed naked on television? Well that doesn't mean they had sex... they could have just been cuddling!)
The second half... would it be smug if I said I figured Mac was the predator, not the prey? But I didn't figure out just how sneaky until after the revelation of the whole setup. I loved the bit with the fishing line... and felt that the whole full-circle falling from great heights was a very satisfying way to end things.
I found it ... poignant... (I have ellipsis fever tonight apparently. Forgive me.) that Mac has really seen so much and dealt with so much violence that he appeared to be able to quite calculatingly plan in a way that allowed for Félix's death, should Félix do the predictable thing and try to pull MacGyver over the edge. I can see from the precision of your writing in the scene that it wasn't that Mac desired Félix's death, but that he was able to be rather stunningly pragmatic about it. I guess as an audience member who can bug the author I'd love to hear more of your feelings about that scene, but I'm also content to leave it as read and puzzle through it in my own mind.
I'll enjoy reading an epilogue because, duh. But I think you did an excellent job in bringing all the strands together and wrapping them up, showing two different families and the legacies of, to be broadly simplistic, teaching love versus engendering hatred.
Dang, sad it's over, though, of course. Thank you for a wonderful story.
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