I am late with this blog post. Yes, my life is officially a runaway freight train.
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My favorite duos are outside of the SF, fantasy or horror genres. For my money, I am never dissatisfied with P.G. Wodehouse’s inimitable pair, Wooster and Jeeves, or Rex Stout’s Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. These two duos make an interesting compare and contrast exercise. And even moreso because Stout was close friends with Wodehouse. (more…)
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It’s Kameron’s release week (again!) Infidel, the sequel to God’s War, comes out this week. Read a sample, check out the book trailer, or visit the series website. And if you’d to win a copy of the book, just comment on any post this week with an example of a great team (duo, trio or larger) in a SF/F/H work. Up your chances of winning with comments on multiple posts! (One entry per post).
This week we’re talking about duos and ensembles, and I confess to having an aversion to such things in fiction. Like Brad, I tend to prefer stories about individuals, although I really appreciate colorful supporting characters. And I can’t disagree with Stina’s sentiment about ensemble casts:
They are my favorite type of story because they’re more realistic, frankly. We’re all a small part of a whole. I know that a large sector of the population is madly in lust with the concept of every [man] for themselves but that is a selfish fantasy. None of us makes it in this world alone no matter what the “Me Generation/Baby Boomers” say.
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My original concept for this column was (since duos are fairly easy) to instead write up my top five ensemble television shows and my top five ensembles from book series, since I don’t think movies tend to lend themselves to (successful) ensembles. So I’ll go ahead kiss Joss Whedon’s butt up-front this week, so I can move on to what I’m really interested in writing about, which is communities and chosen family.
In science fiction/fantasy/horror media, nobody has done ensemble casts as well as Whedon, with the sort of iconoclastic and contemporary-feeling social cues offered in Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. (I thought Dollhouse was a wretched, pathetic excuse for a television show, with boring, cardboard characters, and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, while truly brilliant, isn’t an ensemble.) (more…)
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A big round of applause goes out to Kameron for her second book, Infidel, which was released just this week! Remember, Kameron’s giving away copies of Infidel to those what comment on these here posts (this week only). So what are you waiting for?
Ok, on to the subject at hand.
I can’t say that I’m really drawn to duos or ensembles. I tend to want to write about the individual, the hero or the heroine. Even though I write epic fantasy with multiple POVs, I don’t quite consider them an ensemble in the classic sense, but rather a group of individuals working toward what they believe is a greater good from their own perspective. It just so happens that some of their goals coincide for a time.
But that isn’t to say that I haven’t read books like these or that I haven’t enjoyed them. Thinking back, the earliest duo I can remember reading is The Hardy Boys. I can’t even remember the individual stories anymore, but I remember liking them a lot, and I recall the feeling of wonder and suspense as they went about their way, solving mysteries. And it was really cool when Nancy Drew teamed up with them.
I read a ton of comic books in my teen years, and so of course there are loads of examples of successful duos and ensembles. The X-Men (Uncanny and otherwise), The Avengers, Daredevil and Electra, Sandman and his sister, Death, and on and on. One my all-time favorites was Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, in which he was pitted against Superman. They weren’t exactly allies, but there was so much history between them, you saw their old alliance through their dealings with one another in this new, older DC universe. And it was that contrast between old and new that made for some really compelling reading, especially toward the end of the series when they were pitted directly against one another.
Read More...Congrats to Kameron on this week’s debut of her second novel, Infidel. I haven’t read God’s War yet* but it’s waiting on the reading stack and definitely sounds like something I’ll enjoy. That said, do remember to comment on this post and get a chance to win a copy of Infidel.
And now… my take on partnerships and ensemble casts. They are my favorite type of story because they’re more realistic, frankly. We’re all a small part of a whole. I know that a large sector of the population is madly in lust with the concept of every man** for themselves but that is a selfish fantasy. None of us makes it in this world alone no matter what the “Me Generation/Baby Boomers” say. One person can’t make a difference. It always takes a stalwart group. Yank all the factory workers, assistants, and friends away from John Galt and all you’ve got left is a spoiled sociopath with pretensions of grandeur. He may be wearing a crown and standing on top of a hill, but that hill is comprised of the backs of everyone else around him. A leader is only a part of a team, and possibly the least powerful aspect of it at that. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs a healthy encounter with Douglas Adams’ small piece of fairy cake.
Like Courtney, my favorite story partnerships involve a bit of friction. My theory is that they symbolically portray the journey into trust. In real life none of us would hang onto a relationship where the other person annoys us that much. Unless forced, we’d be out of there like a shot. Trust is huge–more huge than love. Love is nothing without trust. Trust is also terrifying, particularly when you’ve been let down, and face it, we’ve all been let down by others at least once in life. The more we’ve been hurt the harder it is to trust again. That’s what makes such stories so universal.
Some of my favorite examples in television/film are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her Scoobies (naturally,) the unlikely partnership which develops between Stephen Rea (who plays a harried Russian coroner) and Donald Sutherland (who plays a political/military leader) in HBOs Citizen X (a fictionalised account of the hunt for world’s most prolific serial killer,***) the gang of theives from The Italian Job, and Mal and the crew of Serenity (of course.) In SFF lit, I’ll name Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards, and Jonathan Stroud’s Nathaniel and Bartimaeus in The Amulet of Samarkand. Other works that I consider favorites that feature teams and partnerships are: A Wrinkle in Time, The Last Unicorn, The Faded Sun series, The Stand, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Wee Free Men, Night Watch, Good Omens, Neverwhere, The Lord of the Rings, and V for Vendetta. Oh! As for female partnerships in SFF may I recommend Terry Pratchett’s witches?
What are your favorites? Do you have any theories about ensemble casts and partnerships in story?
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* Did I mention I’m a slow reader? I really am. I feel horrible, but that’s just how it is.
** Women don’t count in their eyes–not really.
*** An under-rated film, frankly. Beautifully written, but definitely not for the squeamish. Oh, and there’s a third member of their little team–a terrified abnormal psychologist wonderfully played by Max von Sydow.
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Huge congratulations to Kameron, whose second novel Infidel releases this week! (Wow, amazing to think the Night Bazaar has been going long enough now that one of our little gang has a second novel about to hit the shelf!) Can’t wait to read it, myself – I thought God’s War was one hell of a kick-ass book, and from all reports, Infidel looks to be another brutal, brilliant ride. So don’t forget, comment on this post for the chance to win a copy!
I’m sure it’ll come as no surprise to anyone who’s read The Whitefire Crossing that I’m a total sucker for buddy stories. In particular, the kind where two characters start off with excellent reasons to distrust/dislike each other, yet as they pursue some common goal, a friendship develops that challenges and changes both characters.
Note that I say friendship, not romance. Yes, I enjoy romantic subplots that follow the same theme…but in some ways, I find platonic friendship between two characters the more interesting ground to explore. Sexual attraction provides a powerful incentive for characters to ignore their differences; and it’s all too often used by authors to “cheat.” (“His cavalier attitude toward the gods and abiding selfishness made her want to stab him. Yet somehow, she couldn’t take her eyes off him…” Gaah.) I think a believable, strong friendship can be just as interesting as a romantic bond, and sometimes more complex. Without romantic love in the mix, outside loyalties often have a far stronger pull, leading to a lot more tension over whether a friendship can be sustained. (more…)
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Hey, you can buy INFIDEL starting Tuesday, October 4th! To celebrate, we’re giving away some free copies of this backstabbing little romp here at The Night Bazaar. Simply comment on this post or any other post this week to enter to win!
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In real life, we tend to surround ourselves with people just like us.
It can be pretty boring.
Most folks prefer drama-free circles where most everybody has the same political and religious leanings, and the biggest arguments folks get into are about whether or not fan fiction should be on the Tiptree ballot. In real life, this can be a good strategy. People with drama-filled lives end up dead at 26 of some overdose, or in jail for wandering around pants-less at some sporting event, and though that’s certainly a fine life goal, the vast majority enjoy a roof over their heads and a warm meal on occasion.
Trouble is, the best stories are the ones about conflict – about people who shouldn’t be together. People with wildly different views of the world, questionable choices in lovers, and wonky morality.
For GOD’S WAR and INFIDEL, I went out of my way to find people who were totally not right for each other. Through circumstance and some poor choices, they’ve been thrown together with one shared goal – they are desperately poor and not much good at anything but killing. Money is a poor social glue, and that means lots of backstabbing and double crosses and angry tirades and fistfights.
What binds these disparate people together can also be more interesting than what tears them apart. If you hate somebody’s politics to the point of believing that their stance endangers people, how do you stay friends? Interact socially? How do you get the job done? (more…)
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