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From: ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories About Making Amends
Date: 1 Jul 2025 15:37:10 GMT
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In article <1040hbd$2qi5k$4@dont-email.me>,
Tony Nance  <tnusenet17@gmail.com> wrote:
>On 6/26/25 10:21 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>> Five SFF Stories About Making Amends
>> 
>> People adopt very different strategies when it comes to making
>> up for mistakes.
>> 
>> https://reactormag.com/five-sff-stories-about-making-amends/
>
>After some days of on-and-off thinking, the only halfway decent example 
>I can add is our favorite guilt-driven angst-ridden wizard, Harry Dresden.
>
>I believe there are 17 novels in the series so far, and he spends most 
>of the middle 15 of them[1] blaming himself for just about 
>everything.[2] These aren't book-long angst-fests, but when they crop up 
>it can be annoying.
>
>Tony
>
>[1] I kid, I kid. But it is definitely prominent in roughly 6-7 books in 
>the middle - starting around Dead Beat or Proven Guilty and then pretty 
>consistently through Ghost Story.
>
>[2] To be fair, a very small number of those things are indeed his fault.

Reminds me of a youtube skit about getting your "Southern Card", something
like:

	Well, North Dakota's a stretch, but you've already apologized
	three times for things that aren't your fault, so we're just
	gonna let you in...

Not written, but Xena's whole character arc from s1e01 through s6e22
is guilt ridden expiation.
-- 
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..