[Dragaera] Future Narrative Gimmicks

[Philip Hart]

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005, Scott Schultz wrote:

> Steve is playing with different narrative methods "recently" in order to
> best illustrate the theme of a book as well as keep himself entertained by
> the writing process. We have the typical first-person narration by Vlad, the
> "guest narration" by Kiera in the guise of a conversation with Cawti, a case
> of third-person narration of Savn's story (yes, this is Savn's story even
> though it features Vlad in a supporting role) and of course the historical
> meanderings of Paarfi.
>
> What sort of narrative ideas might Steve use for future books just to spice
> things up?
>
> Iorich - This is an epistolary novel, except that the "epistles" in question
> are not letters, but court records, transcripts of court sessions, and
> various bits of investigative evidence. The sub-text is that Vlad stays one
> step ahead of the investigators while conducting his own Sherlock Holmes/Sam
> Spade/Nick Charles (imagine Cawti as Nora, there's a laugh!) type of
> investigation. Anyone who thinks Steve doesn't read Holmes ought to go back
> and check out Tazendra's commentary on the interpretation of boot tracks.
> All she needed was to say that she'd once published a small monograph on the
> subject...
>
> Jhegalla - This is an unpublished manuscript for an avant garde new play in
> seventeen acts which seeks to explore the nature of the soul and the endless
> metamorphosis it encounters through its history or reincarnation. Each act
> puts Vlad into increasingly bizarre and surreal situations (act 10 is
> recited in seventeen syllable verse, act 3 is a mystery, act 5 is a romance,
> and act 13 is an opera; Vlad's age, sex, and race change from act to act)
> but the entire play examines his past, present, and his possible future,
> ultimately resolving some conflict that puts the Empire and House Jhereg in
> his debt while simultaneously bring him peace vis-a-vis the duality of his
> position as both an Easterner and a Dragaeran citizen. The "opera" episode
> of _Xena: Warrior Princess_ is a good model of the sort of chaos and growth
> that this story might represent. (Whatever you might think of the show
> itself, that episode (_The Bitter Suite_) was one of the most interesting
> and ground-breaking TV productions I've ever seen.)
>
> Vallista - In a nod to both _Brokedown Palace_ and _The Princess Bride_,
> _Vallista_ is entirely narrated by an old Easterner as a folk tale for his
> sick grand-daughter. It tells the story of the "Hero from Faerie" whose
> actions ultimately destroyed a regime and laid the foundation for a better
> to follow. The Hero ultimately returns to Faerie but his child stays behind
> and, of course, is our narrators grandfather. Come to think of it,
> _Brokedown Palace_ could well have been titled _Vallista_...
>
> Okay, this is just my attempt to shift the conversations back to Dragaera,
> but I AM curious what sort of odd narratives the other houses might inspire.
> ;)


I think I'll score your _Iorich_ prediction at 3/5.  I'm afraid _Jhegaala_
is a swing and a miss.  Looking forward to seeing how you do on 
_Vallista_.