[Dragaera] ryhme or reason?

[Michael Wojcik]

Ken Koester wrote:
>>
> Even Homer begins /in media res/. . . .

"in medias res", usually, in case someone unfamiliar with the term
wants to look it up. (Latin's not one of my languages, so I don't know
if Ken was simply construing the phrase differently.)

It's typical of epics to begin in medias res. Frank Kermode starts his
_The Sense of an Ending_ by observing that for each of us, life begins
and ends in medias res, though I can't remember if that's his original
observation or if he's quoting someone. Still, it seems appropriate
for the Vladiad, both because of the epic qualities (episodes, heroic
acts, grand scale, the relationship of hero and society, etc) of the
series and because it's about an assassin, and assassination is all
about the interruption of a life in the midst of its narrative.

-- 
Michael Wojcik
Micro Focus
Rhetoric & Writing, Michigan State University