NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/misc/writing/2739

Text File | 1992-08-31 | 2.0 KB | 41 lines

Newsgroups: misc.writing
Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!news.iastate.edu!bible
From: [e-mail] (Anthony E Bible)
Subject: Re: Work in Progress: Outline
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (USENET News System)
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
References: <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 14:08:41 GMT
Lines: 29

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Crawford Kilian) writes:
>
>Since we're dealing with two hostile cultures who've never met before, I need
>to surmount the language barrier. Given my themes and issues, I think I can do
>this: bring my hero into near-contact with the bad guys. They realize he's a
>world-class magician and want to learn more about him. The boss Tlax Kah
>magicians, being mighty quickwitted, orders a young warrior to pretend to
>defect; his job is to learn about these newcomers, then get back home and
>report. That in turn implies the old magician is pretty smart, the young
>warrior is a plausible liar, and my hero is prepared to accept this potential
>threat if it means learning more about some very sinister characters. Well,
>it's a start...

    I am unfamiliar with books about magic and magicians and such so
perhaps this question has an obvious answer but ...  Why is this necessary?  If
I buy into the concept of a world where magic works, having a magic ring that
lets people understand all languages (or have it as an inherent ability of
magicians) would seem to be an easy way to satisfy any questions about
foreign languages.  Or perhaps you have more function intended for this
character than just passing on the language.  Are you, for example,
thinking of providing information about the two cultures through the eyes and
memory of the defector?

    Before I return to lurking I'd like to thank you for this thread
Crawford.  I expect it to be both interesting and useful.


Regards,
tony