I’ve mentioned a few times that Merchant of Nevra Coil (COMING IN AUGUST!) has a strange storyline for our heroes. I’ve called it silly, but that’s not right. It definitely has a different feel after the heaviness of The Compass Key, Curse of the Dark Wind, and Sleeper of the Wildwood Fugue. Are there dire straits, character development, and the usual action? Yes, but there’s a lighter, odder tone to the whole thing. Primarily because it pulls Yola Biggs the Chaos Goddess into the forefront and I couldn’t do that with something ‘normal’.
This isn’t something entirely unique though, but it’s more common in anime. Before the heavy final act of a series, you may find an oddly lighthearted or bizarre one. It doesn’t always have plot significance or any lasting effect on events. That works for a visual medium like anime or a TV show (I’m looking at you, Supernatural!), but not as well for a book. That requires some type of impact. For example, Merchant of Nevra Coil does the following:
- Reveals more of Yola and makes her a stronger character.
- Sets up the events of The Mercenary Prince.
- Brings closure to a few characters in regards to a past event.
- Reveals more about gnome culture.
- Shows the technology is slipping into Windemere.
- Pushes a few more subplots.
- Demonstrates the kingdom-wide influence of the heroes.
- Gives the newest champion a time to shine.
- Something with Fizzle.
That’s a lot for what some may call a ‘silly’ book, which is rather telling about how this can be used. I’ll go into more details on Wednesday, but a book like this requires that the reader trust the author. Have faith that this is being done for a reason that will alter the main story for the better. Yes, the author might be doing something more zany to combat the residual effects of several darker storylines. That doesn’t always mean that this type of story is without merit, but you will find that it isn’t for everyone. It’s a risk and that’s why I’m talking about it this week. I’m fessing up to this being an oddball idea that solved a few issues and turned into character development nirvana for me.
So, what do you think of the lighthearted or bizarre story that can turn up right before the main run for the end? Personally, I find them interesting and they build up tension since I see it as a sign that stuff is about to go down. The more upbeat the tale, the more devastating the drop for our heroes . . . Not that I’m planning to do anything horrific to them . . . Yeah, Stephen’s existence already shows that I’m not nice to my heroes.
Legends of Windemere 
Remember that episode in season 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender when Team Avatar attended that play on Ember Island? That’s what I immediately thought of as I read your post. It was lighthearted. We needed that going into the season finale, which was very intense. I also thought of the tribbles episode in Star Trek–The Trouble with Tribbles. Very light hearted.
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I vaguely remember that episode. Season 3 and I have an odd history. My Tivo was ‘taping’ the new episodes, but the channel guide was wrong. I kept getting Spongebob and every time I thought I found Avatar, it was an older episode or something else. For a while, I believed Season 3 was a myth. Not sure I’ve seen all of it by catching random episodes. The only parts I’ve seen when they first came out was the finale.
This will have some similarities to ‘the play’ since you get to see what people think of the champions. 🙂
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I like the aspect of the calm before the storm. It helps get us ready for the intensity to come. I also thought of Babylon 5, which was very intense. The lighthearted episodes interspersed in the scenes were deliberate choices.
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Another trick will be if I can pull off 7 books of intensity. I know Book 13 has a really, really nasty event for one hero. So 9-12 need to have a good build up for that mess. Gotta love the balancing act of a series.
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I like the bizarre or as you say “silly” so I’ll look forward to this one.
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Good to hear. Hopefully it has just enough seriousness to be taken well. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of eye rolls from the initial idea.
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Sometimes eye rolls are a form of envy.
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Happens a lot in fantasy. For all the complaints about tropes and cliches, stepping away from those things seems to garner the same amount of disdain. God knows what will happen in a later series when I have aliens crash land on Windemere. 😀
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Ha ha ha. Let’s put it this way. I’m so glad I read fantasy and not write it.
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It’s a thankless job, but somebody has to do it. 😛
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I like the idea, and think it works well. Some of my favorite episodes of television deviated from the seriousness and allowed a bit of fun to slip in.
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Same here. Not sure if I used the term in the post, but I’ve called it a mental/emotional palette cleanser before.
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If the story has been serious and then suddenly gets goofy, that irritates me. The silliness needs to be there from the outset. If you’ve seen Ant-Man you know what I mean. They start with a situation that looks ominous but quickly come to a punchline. (Get it?)
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Probably harder to do with a series. I’ve always put in humor and the character that causes the mess has been doing stuff in the background. So I’m hoping it isn’t too much of a shock. It’s going to be a gamble no matter what.
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Silly is such a subjective word–then again, I like silly since it provides life with excitement. Always sending my best for your work, Charles.
BTW, listening to Nick of Time by AC/DC! 🙂
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Nice. Haven’t put on any music today, which is a shame. Hope your own project is moving along smoothly. It’s the finale, right?
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Yep, the end of the trilogy. Slated for Oct. 20th. Sad to see it go, but it was always to be three books.
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Kind of a bittersweet feeling. Will you be writing anything else afterwards? Or is that a secret?
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It’s a secret 😉
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