Two Gods of a Darker Sort by Jaimie L. Elliot

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kailhofer
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Two Gods of a Darker Sort by Jaimie L. Elliot

Post by kailhofer »

I found this one a tad confusing, perhaps because it was so short.<br><br>At first, I began reading the first part and thought it was a standard D&D-style crew taking on monsters in a hole. (Strange Horizons puts this style at #16 on their lists of plots they see too often, so a caution if your trying to sell any other parts of this out there.) Still, it was fine for that genre--written exactly in that style. No real complaints, apart from wishing for more description and an explanation why a god would need rescuing... but I know I was only reading an excerpt and was fine with that.<br><br>Then came the second half of it, which was good comedy, but didn't at all fit with the style of the first half.<br>(Speaking of Strange Horizons, this story reminded me of a 2001 story that appeared there titled "Toaster of the Gods" by Randall Coots.  Check it out if you have time--in the archives section.)<br><br>Given this disparity between the two halves, I went back to see if the maybe first half was meant to be literary, and I was just missing the allusions. I don't think it was. Was it?<br><br>I think you seem to have 2 perfectly good stories here if kept seperate. How did you marry them together in Harvest Moon?<br><br>Nate
Last edited by kailhofer on September 13, 2004, 01:14:28 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Two Gods of a Darker Sort by Jaimie L. Elliot

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

... The first thing I noticed was the oddly choppy sentence structure in the first few paragraphs, which modulated into something smoother later on when the action picked up.  In terms of rhythm, it might have made more sense the other way (slower rhythm/longer sentences during the lead-in; shorter sentences when the action starts).<br><br>The contrast between the monosyllabic Arzo whom the other characters see, and the gabby, con-man Arzo who bamboozles the death god whom he no longer worships is an interesting one.  Presumably, in the novel, the other characters get to show similar contrasting aspects (I would suspect that Keplu, for example, is much smarter and more complex than he appears to Xan and the others.)<br><br>The Arzo / Rock of Death debate is very funny, suitable for a Monty Python routine.  I could see a long, long sequence of Arzo playing Confuse a God:<br><br>(Behold the Rock of Death!<br>Where?  Behind that small, unimpressive boulder?<br>I AM THE ROCK OF DEATH!<br>Of course you are ...<br>etc.)<br><br>Fortunately for Arzo, gods (aside from being mad, according to Harlan Ellison, anyway) are not notable for being particularly bright.  (When you're omnipotent, you don't need to be very smart.)  And Death Gods in particular aren't used to being questioned, even if they're as dumb as -- well, a rock.<br><br>The transitions between traditional swords-and-sorcery action and comedy may detract from the success of either aspect of the story.  (I should know, given the recent Al Majius stories (a plug!  He knows no shame!) and their life-and-death battles interspersed with Abbott and Costello dialogue.)  But what the hell -- one editor's nectar is another editor's bucket 'o squid guts.<br><br>Robert M.
Last edited by Robert_Moriyama on September 16, 2004, 03:13:41 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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