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Eight o' Many: Steven Brust |
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Readers of Real Life Comics (a comic I linked in one of my journal entries) will have noticed a neat thing in today's comic. It makes mention about a certain author named Steven Brust, and his Vlad Taltos series.
The thing you must understand is this: Steven Brust is like unto a god. His novels are so thoroughly entertaining as to keep a reader with a literary grin on his face steadily through each work.
And that's just the surface of the plots and characters and things. Once you read a few and realize just what a damn genius this man is, you start reading more, and then you reread the ones you've already read, and sooner or later, you realize other things. How intricate his plots are, for instance. How deliciously clever and without deus ex machina - there is no machine of the gods, even when the gods throw a hissy cow and jump into the action.
His characters are distinct, with depth, clarity, and individual goals and methods of reaching those goals. Each character has a voice, and the best of his are unforgettable. They are predictable according to each of their characters. And while one may say "Woe unto those who cross the likes of Vlad. Woe unto those who cross the likes of Morrolan. Woe unto those who cross the likes of Sethra," you can bet as hell that each of those woes is going to feel drastically different to those who cross, and will have a drastically different effect on the course of the plot.
On top of all this, here is the thing that brings me to my knees. Once you read most of his books (including the hard-to-find ones) you get a feeling for his mastery of voice. This is something that can casually be described as point of view, but goes much deeper. When it is Kiera's turn to speak of things that have gone, you have Keira's voice in your head, her way of speaking, the way her thoughts are organized. When Vlad tells you the story, you have all that from him, and it is different from Kiera. When you get to play with Paarfi of Roundwood, there again is another distinct character speaking to us. Some books feel more as though Steven Brust is talking at us than others (largely, Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille) but in these books, you get no flashes of Vlad, Kiera, Paarfi, or anyone else. His voice is clear, and unmuddled.
Of course, Brust makes me sad. He used to live in Minneapolis, a mere four hours from my hometown. Now he lives in Las Vegas, many many large states away from me. This is a man I would gladly stalk - not in a creepy way, exactly, but more a distant watching until I get up the nerve to go up to him, collapse at his feet, and beg him to teach me his ways, his genius. Or at least write his name and some small writing secret on a napkin for me. I will then have the kindness to pass out from joy to allow him to escape discretely.
Comic Link:
Errant Story, from the twisted mind that gave us Exploitation Now
Brain Thinky:
3179. I’ve heard it said: ‘By his home you shall know him’; and we all know that we must pay attention to anyone who reverses the subject and auxiliary verb in his sentence.
(How can you not love anyone that gives us pearls of happy like that???)
 Adeiras · Fri Oct 01, 2004 @ 10:37pm · 0 Comments |
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