Pages 663-673

This page-by-page annotation is organized by sections, as delineated by the seven squares (sprockets) which separate each section. The page numbers for this page-by-page annotation are for the original Viking edition (760 pages). Editions by other publishers vary in pagination — the newer Penguin editions are 776 pages; the Bantam edition is 886 pages.

Contributors: Please use a 760-page edition (either the original Viking edition with the orange cover or the Penguin USA edition with the blue cover and rocket diagram — there are plenty on Ebay for around $10) or search the Google edition for the correct page number. Readers: To calculate the Bantam edition use this formula: Bantam page # x 1.165. Before p.50 it's about a page earlier; as you get later in the book, add a page.

Finally, profound thanks to Prof. Don Larsson for providing the foundation for this page-by-page annotation.

Page 665

665.15 Faffner
In Norse mythology, Fáfnir (Old Norse) or Frænir (Faroese) was a son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and brother of Regin and Ótr. In the Volsunga saga, Fáfnir was a dwarf gifted with a powerful arm and fearless soul. He wore the Aegis helmet and guarded his father's house of glittering gold and flashing gems. He was the strongest and most aggressive of the three brothers.

As Fafner, he is featured in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, although he began life as a giant rather than a dwarf, before once again turning into a dragon to better guard the gold.

Page 670

Dragon Lady

Refers to the hairstyle of the Oriental arch-villainess of the comic strip Terry and the Pirates, created by Milton Caniff and continued by George Wunder, although as originally drawn by Caniff, she did not have bangs.