The problem with this, like many closed-loop stories, is that there is no way that one half could happen without the other (ie- he wouldn't have gone back to those times if he hadn't known her, and he wouldn't have known her if he hadn't gone back. And that sound you hear ismy brain going *poof*)

Re: SG1, meet you in Boxed Set? I've not seen 7, but I'm aware of most of what happens.

In this case, though, I don't think that it's inherently unhealthy, given the people involved. There are people for whom it would be, but, in this case, nsm.

It impressed me that they were able to draw me a Henry who I believed had been a time-traveler his entire life. I can believe that it would be impossible to be a successful person under the traditional model. Punk librarian works for me, on both ends.

At that point, you start asking questions about cause and effect, and whether there's something outside that loop which has decided that Henry and Clare should be together, and somehow sets the loop in motion. But then I start quoting ancient Greek dramatists on the subject of fate and Zeus.

Re: SG1, meet you in Boxed Set? I've not seen 7, but I'm aware of most of what happens.

Yeah, okay. I'll dodge any SV spoilers (being in Britian, I'm way behind, but since I keep missing episodes and not caring, I think I'll cope).

My dear, punk librarian is always a good thing. But yes, all the characters were well-drawn, actually. I found Clare quite compelling, and Henry's family interesting, too. The only one I didn't 'connect' with was Alba, and that might be because she was such a minor character in some regards.

The problem with this, like many closed-loop stories, is that there is no way that one half could happen without the other (ie- he wouldn't have gone back to those times if he hadn't known her, and he wouldn't have known her if he hadn't gone back.

But he doesn't know her the first time (in his timeline) that he sees her, right? I may be misremembering, but isn't there a scene in which he shows up in the meadow behind her house and has no idea where he is or who she is? So he doesn't choose to visit her; he's taken there, by the same force or power that takes him to other places and times not of his choosing. He doesn't ever have control over where/when he goes.

So then the question becomes who or what is controlling his time travel? It's left wide open. It could, in fact, be the work of his subconscious, given that the large majority of the trips he takes are to places and times in his own life, like the dozens of times he witnesses his mother's death. In that case, it doesn't make as much sense why he would start appearing in her life to begin with... except that by the time (in his timeline) that he starts visiting her in the past, he already knows her, so it does actually make sense that his subconscious would send him there... Still, I prefer to believe that Fate and Destiny play a larger part in their relationship. He starts visiting her because they are destined to be together.

Okay, now I've managed to confuse myself even further.

It's the subconcious (or fate) interacting with the genetic code for time-travel, somehow, which boggles me.

But there may be a point at which one is overthinking this. Not that I'm ever sure where it is.

I'm pretty sure that every time he goes to the meadow is, in his timeline, after he's already met Clare, and since she tells him about the meadow the first time (in his timeline) that they meet, he's known who she was every time he went there. (Wow, this is confusing to try to phrase.)

Hil, yeah, I think you're right.

I have here a 20-page booklet inviting me to join the Science Fiction Book Club. Page 3 is dedicated to LKH's "A Stroke of Midnight." They've included a pull quote which begins "Yesterday we'd tried to be discrete about the weapons..."

I understand that LKH cannot spell, does not run spell check, and it has never occurred to her nor her minions that maybe they could try giving an English teacher $20 to proofread the material before it goes to the publisher, which doesn't seem to care about issues concerning proper language use either. All these people with good jobs, and none of them care that they look dumb! (bangs head with aura of utter frustration)

Could be worse. It could be like that cover of Ms. Magazine, which went out worldwide with big letters:

The Future of Feminisim

So sad. Everybody sort of laughed and said, "We got this week's edition of the publishing bad-luck special."

I forgive a small number of typoes in print (more inside a book than in press materials or cover copy), considering how many I have missed in my lifetime.

the publisher, which doesn't seem to care about issues concerning proper language use either.

That's what gets my goat the most (yes, I have a goat, and ita, STAY AWAY) -- the freaking PUBLISHER. I mean, I have contempt for authors who are too lazy/arrogant to run spell-check (though spell-check wouldn't catch "discrete," since it's a correct spelling, just an incorrect usage) or hire a proofreader (who would catch usage issues like "discreet/discrete").

But publishing companies who let more than a few mistakes get through? I'm appalled.

When publishers started making severe cutbacks in their budgets back in the late 1980s, the first thing to go was the proofreading departments. They just relied on spell check and making the editors do the proofreading, in addition to all their other work. I could probably tell you the exact month when Harlequin got rid of their proofreaders, since I was still buying their books on a fairly regular basis back then.