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v01.n271
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2003-10-22
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From: owner-glencook-fans-digest@lists.xmission.com (glencook-fans-digest)
To: glencook-fans-digest@lists.xmission.com
Subject: glencook-fans-digest V1 #271
Reply-To: glencook-fans-digest
Sender: owner-glencook-fans-digest@lists.xmission.com
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Precedence: bulk
glencook-fans-digest Thursday, October 23 2003 Volume 01 : Number 271
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 19:17:58 -0500
From: Steve Harris <harrissg@slu.edu>
Subject: Re: (glencook-fans) Last BC books
Steve,
I think you nailed it exactly:
"one of the big problems in those two books was the omniscient viewpoint
provided by Murgen and that wizard. It took away a lot of the tension
and instead of involving
the characters (and reader) in the action we observed it from above."
That was a tactical error on the author's part, I think; it made it too
easy to set everything down, at the expense of leaving the reader wondering.
And I also agree on the can't-put-it-down nature of the last two BC
books. Further, "Soldiers Live" has the feel for me of a leave-taking
and of leaving the reader more in possession of the author's intent of
the moral purpose of the whole long tale.
As I have obsevered in the past: The real hero of the Black Company
books is The Company. Individuals come on stage, do their part in
pulling the Company along, die, and others take their place. This makes
for a strange sort of tale-telling, and yet it has its strong
satisfactions. But the individual soldier in the tale: His or her own
life is as important to that soldier as mine is to me or yours to you.
They have a deadly uncertain career, which they pursue for lack of
another or for the rewards of camraderie. But it hurts when they lose
their comrades and they learn more of their own mortality.
Soldiers live--and wonder why.
Steve
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 21:52:20 -0300
From: Richard Chilton <rchilton@auracom.com>
Subject: Re: (glencook-fans) Last BC books
Steve Harris wrote:
>
> Steve,
>
> I think you nailed it exactly:
>
> "one of the big problems in those two books was the omniscient viewpoint
> provided by Murgen and that wizard. It took away a lot of the tension
> and instead of involving
> the characters (and reader) in the action we observed it from above."
>
> That was a tactical error on the author's part, I think; it made it too
> easy to set everything down, at the expense of leaving the reader wondering.
>
One big thing omniscient lacks is that wonderful sense that we may not
be getting the whole story.
In the first book Croaker admits what most suspected - that he toned
down the descriptions of the company's actions. While sacking Whisper's
camp he opens the window a bit - talking about the rape, burning, and
slaughter. Once he did that you could read the books knowing that
ugliest parts were being edited out.
Raven's letters to Croaker in the third book, while intriguing, had
little to do with the actual events involving Lady and the Ten's
return. They were accepted as truth until they brought back the author
who didn't keep notes, much a journal. What really happened on the
night that the Lady rose? We'll never know.
Lady invited Croaker to write an uninfluenced account of her big battle
so history might paint her in a more positive light if she lost it. She
knew how she'd been painted after the fall of the Dominion and didn't
want that to happen again. With that in mind I wasn't really surprised
that she 'edited' things a bit to paint her command of the company in
the best possible light.
With the other narrators, well, they might be telling the absolute truth
or they might be painting things in a certain light - the reader
decides. The near omniscient viewpoint (Murgen missed the whole Blade
thing until the end) lacks the feel of "I'm recording the annals of the
company for history" feel of the other books. It's harder for
inconsistencies to prop up.
Richard
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 17:59:50 -0400
From: Steve Chew <schew@interzone.com>
Subject: (glencook-fans) Online book search tool
Hi all,
Just came across an online book search tool: addall.com
It found quite a few Glen Cook books, most of them for pretty reasonable
prices (Dragon Never Sleeps is $20 plus shipping though, unfortunately).
As an aside, slashdot.org has a poll today on "your favorite
tyrannical overlord" and The Dominator was one of the selections.
Heheh. Sadly, hardly anyone knew who The Dominator was, though
someone posted the fan website and I posted a link to the mailing
list info.
Steve
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------------------------------
End of glencook-fans-digest V1 #271
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