Mouse Guard

 

Mouse Guard Fall 1152
Mouse Guard Winter 1152
David Petersen, 2005-2009

(Spoilers for events of the first issue.)

If you were ever a fan of Redwall, you owe it to yourself to check out Mouse Guard.  Petersen's comic tale of mice with swords doesn't always have inspired text, (the poetry in particular is weak), but so what?  The illustrations are what you're here for.  You have to pay attention to keep up, because with only 6 issues of 20-24pgs to tell a story arc, there is very little wasted space.

Now, these are swordsmice.  Trained, disciplined, ruthless in the defense of their fellows.  The Guardsmice are an organization charged to uphold peace and the common good, but during the time we follow them the tiny swords are often bloodied.   The first arc describes a betrayal of the organization, the second, the aftermath.  There is a lot of mouse vs. mouse internal strife, but the really striking images are the tiny mice going up against foes many times their size. 

When I first picked these up, it was because cute mice with swords are awesome.  I cannot tell you enough how beautiful the illustrations are.  See for yourself.  Then in the first issue, the patrol finds a clutch of snake eggs, and shows no mercy.  After that, I was hooked.  (Incidentally, you can see that sequence on the website: Click on Issue One: Belly of the Beast)

The simplicity of the text does allow for a certain gravitas.  This is about as far from Cinderella's comic relief crew as anthropomorphic mice can go.

The biggest down side to collecting Mouse Guard is that due to distribution/time required/unknown issues, they don't come out very regularly. 

What I find most fascinating on a story level is that only a couple species, mice and weasels, seem to have weapons.  These are also the only two species we've seen build buildings, to have civilization.  I like the idea that at some point in the past, a mouse discovered the forging of blades, and this technology is what allows the mice, smallest of prey animals, to carve out a civilization at all.


Anthropomorphic Society Rundown:
(I know there is a role playing game with more world info, but I'm just going off the comic.)

Overall: Species Specific Civilization
The mice have little dealings with most other animals, because most other animals are out to eat them.  At least one other species (weasels) has a civilization as well, but they are separate from, and at war with, the mice.

Size: Normal Size
This is a case of being very clear just how badass a mouse has to be to take on creatures many times its size.  In the first issue, Lieam kills a snake, by jumping into it's mouth (avoiding a fang), and stabbing up into its brain.  Wow. 
Later seen are some animals who are allied with mice, a beetle (the relative size of a dog to a human), bees (relative size of large falcons), and hares, who give them rides in return for protection and food.  The hares are big compared to their riders; bigger than elephants are to humans.  No confusion here about relative size, it's a constant reminder of the danger most other animals represent.

Law and Order: Order maintained by loose alliance of cities, Guards
The Guardsmice patrol the routes between the cities, and the cities themselves seem to have their own councils/internal police.  In Winter, Gwendolyn (leader of the Guards) is putting together a summit of the various leaders to evaluate their mutual defense.

Own language: Unclear, some animals understand each other.
The mice don't seem to have much interest in speaking to other animals, but can understand, and be understood by, bats and hares at least, and can learn to speak other animals' language.

Own religion: Probably, not fully explored
Seem to believe in an afterlife where brave souls go, but it's not gone into in detail.

Other Notes:
I like that the mouse cities (like the rats' dwellings in NIMH) are pointedly underground, hidden, carved out of trees, or into cliffs.  The mice do have doors, tables, cups, and clothing up to a point.  The Guards wear colored cloaks, sometimes armor pieces, high status mice have more clothing/jewelry.  A certain level of science is clearly available as well, they have herbal medicine, spectacles, lanterns, specialists like map-makers and researchers, and, of course, well-forged blades.

Level of Anthropomorphism:  Middling/Growing
They are fairly anthropomorphic, they are organized, and have a relatively good amount of technology, analogous to the late middle ages.  They seem to be only lately removed from their wild roots.


New Week, saving the best for last; rabbits...

Redwall

Redwall
Brian Jacques, 1986

I loved the Redwall books when I read them, mostly in middle school and early high school as I recall.  This one doesn't hold up quite as well as I may have hoped.  There are definitely things to enjoy here; the story clips along at a good pace, the characters are amusing and often adorable.

The thing I expected to criticize, the stereotyping of species, didn't bother me as much as I anticipated.  In this world, rats, stoats, ferrets, etc. are bad, untrustworthy creatures.  Mice, badgers, squirrels, rabbits, etc. are good, kind, etc.  It's a little odd, especially given how anthropomorphic they are.  They are fully sentient, society based creatures, and it's not just predator animals vs. prey animals, although that seems to underlie much of it.  (I know that Jacques changes it up a bit in some of the later books, but I'm only looking at the first today.)  Add to that that many of the species are typed by broad regional English accents, and it could stray easily into odd animal-based classism/racism.  In this case, I feel you just have to go with it (or not) just as you would standard fantasy-world species stereotyping.  Like how goblins are bastards, and dwarves are drunken Scotsmen, here hares are adventurous sporting British gentlemen, and foxes are treacherous.

Oh goodness, the wikipedia List of Redwall Species is even divided into Good and Evil Species.  In case you thought it was just me.

What did bother me on this read through was how boring the book was, much of the time.  The good characters are wise, they make good decisions, and even when they make bad decisions, they come to good ends.  The ghost of Martin the Warrior watches over the hero and torments the villain.  Matthias  naturally becomes a great tactician and swordsmouse.  There never really was a chance for the bad guys, not really. 

Everyone who isn't explicitly evil helps Matthias out of a sense that it's the right thing to do.  Even the neutral (read barbarian warrior-race) sparrows quickly befriend the mice once their mad king is taken out of the picture.  Good characters do die, but generally not before making their contribution toward a happy ending.  The good characters never stubbornly hold to a position when a friend makes a valid counter-point, they spend very little time solving the riddles that make up much of the plot, and the book is peppered with description like the following:

The meeting continued....Methuselah also attended to act as mediator and counselor, approving some ideas while discouraging others, calming the hothead and encouraging the timid.  Much good sense was talked and the tone of the meeting was that of creatures who were determined to win at all costs.

And in the next chapter, regarding the villians:

Cluny lay back and smirked.  Everything was going according to plan.  He had lost Redtooth, but what the devil?  Redtooth had been an ambitious rat.  Cluny only admired ambition in one rodent – himself.

The book is still fun, adventurous, sweet.  The sense that good can win, just because it's good, (through the grace of spirit warrior mice) can be very comforting.  There may be a straight through-line in my book habits from the rousing warcry of rabbits in the Redwall books in middle school through various fantasy battle scenes right to the military sci-fi I tend to favor today.  Just don't go looking for extreme nuance in the cute, fuzzy, badass characters. 


Animal Society Rundown:

Overall:  Alternative World Society
The animals in Redwall make very few concessions to being animals.  For the most part, they act as  stand-ins for humans.  There appear to be no humans in the world.  Most animals are sentient, except possibly insects?  One corollary to that is most “good” animals are mostly vegetarians.

Size: Unclear
The mice are smaller than most animals, but don't seem as much smaller as they should be.  On Earth a mouse: average size 3-4 inches nose to end of tail.  Badger average size: 29 inches nose to tail.  How these two animals climb the same staircase or sit at the same table is beyond my math.  I've always assumed that you have to average out the scale a bit.  Mice are smaller in proportion, badgers larger, but more like a range between a human who's 3' and one who's 6', not one 3' and one 30'.  Similar to Wind in the Willows.

Law and Order: Rule of Good and Might
No stated ruler higher than local rulers/warlords, feudal-type society.  Redwall animals are given passage many places as healers and generally nice folk. Local authority at Redwall rests with the Abbott or those who he sees fit to appoint.  They hold power through both fortification and being all-around good guys.  Follows the trope that good guys fight better because bad guys are constantly backstabbing each other.

Own language: Accents vary
Sparrows, for one, are described as having their own language, but it's just fast, broken English.  Other species, notably hares, moles, are assigned their own dialects.  Considering the source, it's safe to say that all characters speak accented British English.

Own religion: …?
For a book set in an abbey, there wasn't much of anything in the way of religion. Martin is a patron ghost, there is a bit of a mystical sense there, they say a fairly secular grace over their food, and no deities to be seen.  Words like devil and hell are used, also there's a place called the Church of St. Ninians, which is apparently explained away in a later book. 
Quoth the author, from redwall.org:

There is no religion in my stories and no hidden meanings. What you see is what you get. The Abbey is just a place of peace and comradeship, where creatures choose to live together.

Other Notes:
Exceptions to the general scale/relationship between animals seem to be confined to Matthias' travels through the forest, in which he is almost eaten by a cat, an owl and a snake.  Only the snake is actually an 'evil' character, the cat is an accident and the owl makes friends, but all three are clearly bigger than the mouse by quite a bit.  Animals who live in the woods seem to be less civilized in general, although it's not a hard rule.

Level of Anthropomorphism: Very High
Almost all characters wear clothes, walk on their hind legs, cook food, use weapons, live in buildings, etc.  This is a case of a fully non-human world, where most species are civilized.  Very little would change in this book if the characters were all human (or more humanoid), except that the simplicity of the story might be harder to swallow.  And it's a great mental image, the heroic swordsmouse.


Next week, swordsmice go darker and way more badass.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Robert C. O'Brien, 1971

A few months back I re-watched the animated movie adapted from this book, and it lead to a strong desire to reread the book.  The movie, Secret of NIMH, is fine for what it is, but the book is far more subtle.
And there's no magic.
And the plot is much less melodramatic.

The things I found most striking re-reading this book was how even-handed it was.  The scientists who turn the rats into super-rats are perhaps unthinking, but well-meaning, and they care for their lab animals.  The farmers only want to drive out the rats because they steal.  The owl makes Mrs. Frisby understandably nervous, but is generally courteous to her.  The only openly cruel character is Dragon the cat.

Mrs. Frisby is a widowed mouse caring alone for her kids.  She is naturally timid, as a mouse is, but when needed becomes brave and strong, running risks that go against her instincts, for the sake of her family.  (The rats only help her because of their prior relationship with her husband, but they do have their own worries.)

“You forget,” Mrs. Frisby said, “I'm Timothy's mother.  If you, and Arthur, and others in your group can take risks to save him, surely I can, too.”

Ah, the story of the rats of NIMH.  The Frisby family is the main plot, but  the history of the rats is half the book.  I love their journey from wild, to lab rats, to escapees, to slowly exploring their new potential.  Altered by science, they are intelligent and long-lived, and they decide they can do better than living on the fringe of human society.  At the end they are on their way, hopefully to build a city of intelligent rats, somewhere where humans almost never go.  It's not mentioned explicitly, but implied that Nicodemus is smart enough to realize that eventually the rats could be found out, and if that happens, they need to be both independent from human society (not thieves), and able to prove by example that they deserve to continue to exist.  Willingly giving up living off human food, building their own structures, and hoping to be left in peace long enough to develop a true civilization of rats are an admirable and ambitious set of goals. 

“There could be room enough for a thousand of us”
“There aren't a thousand of us.”
“There might be, someday”
“But why?  Why move?....We've got all the food we want.  We've got electricity, and lights, and running water....”
“Because everything we have is stolen.”
“That's silly.  Is it stealing when farmers take milk from cows, or eggs from chickens?  They're just smarter than the cows and chickens, that's all.  Well, people are our cows.  If we're smart enough, why shouldn't we get food from them?”
“It's not the same.  Farmers feed the cows and take care of them.... Besides, if we keep it up, we're sure to be found out.” -Nicodemus and Jenner

The end of the book was rather sudden, and not all questions are answered, but not in a bad way.


Animal Society Rundown:

Overall: Separate 'nature'-based animal society
The 'normal' animals have a loose association where they may help each other out, but keep mostly to themselves.  The Rats, on the other hand, are consciously building a fair, communal society.

Size: Real, with extenuating circumstances
Mrs. F, the birds, shrews, etc are all normal size animals, the Rats are larger than normal rats.

Law and Order: unclear/democratic
The Rats govern themselves in a vaguely democratic way, they vote on major issues, the group that disagrees with the larger body exiles themselves.  The other animals don't seem to have an overall system beyond an understanding of the seasons, the food chain, etc.  Each keeps to its own.  Most animals see no problem with stealing from humans, taking left over food where it appears.

Own language: Yes, cannot speak to humans.
Animals can speak across species boundaries.  The cat is the only animal who does not speak to the others.  The animals on the farm can understand human speech.  The Rats (and Mr. Ages, Mr. Frisby, and the Frisby kids) learn to read human language, but are only rodents, they cannot speak it.

Own religion: None Stated
Aside from a moral quoted more than once: “We all help one another against the cat.”

Other Notes: Rats fond of stuff, but not clothing.
The Rats build themselves quite a base, complete with lighting, an elevator, furniture, rat-sized books (I have no idea how they did that), ventilation, they have designed and built rat-sized plows...Their supplies are stolen and items built with a high level of sophistication.  The Frisby family is described to have blankets and a simple table made of a bit of discarded wood, but their home is makeshift and furnished with found natural items.  Nicodemus is described as having an eyepatch, but none of the other animals are said to wear any clothing.

Level of Anthropomorphism:  Aspiring
The rats are consciously attempting to build their own society, pulling what they like from human technology and history (and attempting to learn from what they dislike).  The climactic trip to Thorn Valley is the first big step toward their final goal of being self-sufficient, to stop stealing from humans.  The other animals are basically just living their lives.


Side Note:  Of course, rats are in truth quite smart, and I have a certain affection for them.  I also highly recommend the nonfiction book Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants.  My first pet rat was named Isabella, after a young rat Mrs. Frisby meets studying in the library.

The Rescuers

The Rescuers
Margery Sharp, 1959

I reread the first four books in this series, though I'll mainly talk about the first one (The Rescuers itself) here.

They are adorable.  Garth Williams' illustrations in my edition only make them even more adorable.

I love Margery Sharp's writing.  She has a way with gently ironic turns of phrase, or bits of description which completely capture the whimsy of her world of mice. 

pg 6- “There is nothing like breeding to give one confidence: [Madam Chairwoman] was descended in direct line from the senior of the Three Blind Mice.”

It's interesting to me that it was clearly not intended to be a series when the first one was written.   The Rescuers sums up each character's probable future at the end.  There is no explanation at the top of book two as to why they're all back together.  Also between books one and two the relationship between Bernard and Bianca changes from open flirtation with the strong possibility of something more to a standard friendship with undercurrents of unresolvable romantic interest.

Sharp is gently mocking both of aristocrats like Bianca and the humans around her, as well as middle and lower class characters, both among humans and mice. 

pg 27- “The singing and shouting almost deafened her ears, there wasn't a moment of repose. (Miss Bianca had frequently assisted, from the Boy's pocket, at diplomatic soirees.  There, always, a moment of repose; in fact, sometimes the moments ran into each other and made hours of repose.)”

I love Miss Bianca; while early on subject to fainting, she spends the first book quickly and consciously shedding prejudices and preconceptions to struggle alongside her new friends.  She's never very physically strong - always feminine and delicate - but uses her charm, cleverness, diplomacy and knowledge to great effect, even against cats. 

pg 99 - “always, at the last moment, by some exquisite trick or clever piece of flattery, she held Mamelouk's paw suspended – and then skimmed like a hummingbird to safety.

Anthropomorphic Society Rundown:

Overall: Separate/parallel animal society
The mouse society exists alongside humans, without their knowledge.  They do parody/pick up some human conventions.

Size: Real size
The mice are mouse-sized, and the other animals they encounter likewise are their actual size.

Law and Order:  Ignore Human Law
The mice have their own regulations governing their behavior, but openly flout human law.  In The Rescuers, there is exactly zero thought given to why the prisoner in question (a Norwegian poet) is in prison when they decide to get him out.  All jailers/guards are described as immoral, usually gluttonous and cruel.

Own language: Yes, but mutilingual
Mice have their own language and speak the local human language.  In the Rescuers, they recruit a Norwegian mouse to translate for the Norwegian prisoner.  They sometimes speak to other animals as well, primarily Bianca, who over the four books, negotiates/talks with a cat, two bloodhounds, a bunch of doves, a racehorse, and a colony of bats.  Being educated, she speaks, “with a much better accent than most... in a foreign tongue.” 
It seems to be uncommon to talk to humans, Bianca doesn't speak to the Boy who looks after her, but they do speak to those they rescue, and expect them to be surprised that mice can talk.

Own religion: None Stated

Although the Prisoner's Aid Society is a charitable organization.

Other Notes:
The amount of clothing/accessories they wear seems to change as needed by the plot.  They don't seem to wear clothing as a matter of course.  Most clothing described is accessories, for example boots for rain, a coat for cold, hats, jewelry, suitcases/bags, military-style honors.  (Side note, the Tybalt Star is awarded for gallantry in the face of cats.)

Level of Anthropomorphism: Middling
The mice have a fairly human-like society, including mouse-sized furniture and buildings, (the meeting hall for the Society is made of an empty wine cask).  They still eat like mice, food made of bits found here and there, and are aware of their danger around most humans and large animals.  Do have a human like sense of class, although the only aristocratic mouse described is Bianca, and she is exceptional because she is a pet mouse.


Next week: more mice, and rats as well!

The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows

1908, Kenneth Grahame

The above is what people often remember from The Wind in the Willows.  I blame Disney. 

For a book that everyone seems to vaguely remember, there's very little in the way of plot.  Toad's story is a plot, misadventure piling on misadventure, thrown in jail, escape, battle, the final defeat of vanity.  The other chapters, which I find much more interesting, are almost a series of sketches exploring the significance of place: Dwelling Places, Wild Places, Play Places, Holy Places, Exotic Places.

The lyrical descriptions leave no doubt in my mind of the affection Grahame held for the countryside where he lived.  In the first chapter, Mole meets the River:

The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spellbound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea. - Chapter 1: "The River Bank"

The use of animal characters, in this case, allows them to be closer to the land they live on, and in, and with.  Although it's not an action-packed book to read, it is a beautiful one.

Personally I have a soft spot for the Rankin-Bass animated adaptation, even though the voice acting is far superior to the animation, and the voice acting is just okay.  Mostly I loved it growing up because unlike the Disney animated version, the Rankin Bass spends time with two of my favorite chapters: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and Wayfarers All, although it awkwardly combines them into one section.  At some point I need to find time to watch some of the British film and TV versions for comparison.

Both chapters in question are highly mystical in nature.  Me being me, an adventure in which the main characters meet Pan won my interest from a young age, and in Wayfarers All, Rat is possessed somewhat literally by the spirit of wanderlust.

A quick search of the Project Gutenberg text confirms a suspicion of mine:  Of five uses of the word “willow”, four are in the chapter The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and similarly almost all references to wind in the reeds.  (The actual title phrase is not in the text.)  So I think it isn't unreasonable to think that Grahame considered it the heart of the book.  Especially given the cover of the first edition.

I like the chapter.  I like that it's just there, not foreshadowed, doesn't come up again, just standing alone.


To clarify the differences between the books in this cycle, I'm going to run through some of the characteristics of the anthropomorphic society in each book. 
Here we go.

Overall: Unclear relationship toward humans.
Animals probably wear clothes and do talk to humans.  (Not all animals, though.  Stray dog and barge horse seem to be mute, some animals are pets) 

Size: Unclear.
The characters can drive cars, and may be mistaken for human.  On the other hand, the Sea Rat seems to easily stow away on ships, which implies a certain smallness.  Most film adaptations seem to split the difference, and make the characters equivalent to rather short humans.  The pictures in an early edition imply normal animal size.  So... yeah.

Law and Order: Partially subject to human law.  Maybe.
Toad is sentenced to prison time by humans, but does not fear recapture after he gets back into animal territory...
No stated repercussions for either the Weasels squatting in Toad Hall, or when the main group attacks them (with staffs and pistols) and drives them away.

Own language: Not implied.
Can communicate across species, and with humans.

Own religion: Yes.
Pan is presented as the protector and secret champion of animalkind.  He is worshiped by them, albeit semi-unconsciously.

Other Notes:
Human class structure.  The main characters are British gentlemen, appear to be upper-class, have plenty of leisure and money.

Level of Anthropomorphism:  Very High
Clothing, furniture, pistols, pipes, cars, letters, etc.  Does not seem like a put-on to pretend to be human.  I get the feeling the characters would feel naked without clothing, but it may be the influence of the illustrations of the edition I had and the animated version I watched.


This is the first time I've read this book in a while.  It's not quite as brilliant throughout as I wanted it to be, but there's a lot of pleasure to be had.

"And you, you will come too, young brother; for the days pass, and never return, and the South still waits for you. Take the adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes! 'Tis but a banging of the door behind you, a blithesome step forward, and you are out of the old life and into the new! Then some day, some day long hence, jog home here if you will, when the cup has been drained and the play has been played, and sit down by your quiet river with a store of goodly memories for company. You can easily overtake me on the road, for you are young, and I am ageing and go softly. I will linger, and look back; and at last I will surely see you coming, eager and light-hearted, with all the South in your face!" - The Sea Rat, Chapter 9: "Wayfarers All"

New Theme: Anthropomorphic Animal Societies

In searching through Children's sections on the hunt for Girl's Books, I discovered another genre I'd been meaning to re-read a bunch of.

For each of these books I plan to chat both about the book itself and the structure of the animal society.

Planned Subjects:

• Wind in the Willows
• The Rescuers (and sequels)
  
• Watership Down
• Redwall
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
• Mouse Guard (Graphic Novel)
  

Hyperion

 Hyperion
Dan Simmons, 1989

There are lots of reasons to like Hyperion.  The form is intriguing, the characters complicated, the plot mysterious, and the prose lovely.  But aside from all that, I'm glad I read Hyperion because it gives me more ammunition in my long-standing fight to prove that The Time Traveler's Wife is a pointless book.

One of the main conceits in Hyperion is "time-debt".  Time-debt is what happens to people who travel via FTL drive (somewhat adorably called Hawking Drive), as they enter a kind of stasis and age slower than people who stay on planets or travel via a kind of tele-portals.  So if your friend travels to a distant world and back, you will end up many years older than the traveler.  In several of the novellas which make up the backbone of the novel, this disconnect between those who go and those who stay behind is explored beautifully.  This is a good, emotionally effective use of time "travel", even though it's only one way.  The final novella is a far better romantic time-problem story than that previously named piece of feather-weight lit.  (Okay, I have a grudge.  And TTTW was way way overrated.)

I had read a few pieces by Simmons previously.  I liked Ilium and Olympos, they were very weird, but intriguing.  So I thought I'd pick up what seems to be his most acclaimed book (and a Hugo winner.)

I got 25 pages in and went, "Oh, I get it, it's The Canterbury Tales, IN SPACE."  That is not intended as a derogatory remark.  The frame story works well, and since each character's tale is intended as the answer to the question 'why are you on the pilgrimage?' (which is usually fatal), each one builds on the previous to create a progressively clearer view of their world, and its potential turning point. 

It's not all drama and SF ideas (and literary references, obscure and less so, and religious and moral philosophizing).  The Soldier's Tale, in particular, takes a sudden left turn into highly visceral descriptions of sex and violence, which mostly startled me because I was reading on the subway at the time.  Now, I read romance and such on the subway, but I like to have a little warning.  I read a criticism of this novel that it's sexist, and I will say that there are not a ton of good female characters, and while the tough lady cop who's one of the tale-tellers is cool, her tale is, well, it has ups and downs, and the technobabble (and explanation-babble) within I found the least interesting. 

I'll admit, unless your book is really really fascinating, I'm not going to do outside research which seems to be applicable to the plot (I might seek out additional information if I'm interested enough in the original subject, for example I went to the South Street Seaport Museum when I was into naval history, reading the Aubrey-Maturin series).  But it felt like I was missing something in this book, despite what seemed like adequate explanation.  If you can't give me enough infodump to understand the plot, I'm a little disappointed.  I'm not going to research romantic poetry for background to read a sci-fi novel.  Even a really "literary" sci-fi novel.

Now it's entirely possible that I wasn't missing anything, but I didn't, by the end, completely understand the relevance of the planet Hyperion.  On the other hand, I didn't think this was an obstacle to enjoying the novel.  I read what various characters hypothesized, and in the end there was a certain amount of faith involved that the planet - and the creature - that the characters are moving toward is important.  It's unfathomable, and I can get into that.  The characters themselves don't understand it, but they're hoping to.  Whatever happens (in Book Two), they might affect the course of the future, or even of the past (given all the time stuff.)  I found the ending suitable.  It could be argued it's a bit of a cliff-hanger for the next book, but I found it satisfying in itself, mystical, funny and dark, both bleak and hopeful.  The whole book is kind of like that.