So the vaen'ka really does work as a magic-eating analog of earth's European vampire myths - creating spawn by forcing their blood into a victim, while a turned vaen'ka is not fully vaen'ka until their first kill. In this case we're defining "first kill" as a wielder who had to figure out a method to do what they want with magic, vs an animal whose powers are instinctive or "hardwired," in the same way the traditional turned vampire isn't a true monster from eating rats and cats - only the step of eating a human.
Great, Simon, you made the rape metaphor even creepier.
Otherwise, you've succeeded in moving through a good 15 years of story in a short time with enough detail and depth to where I felt bad for Ceilhur - nesting the flashback in the flashback is a bit of a giveaway we're getting the backstory of the vaen'ka itself.
Now, next week, you've added another major dramatic question to "how badly is Daryla fucked up?" (We know Lola is badly injured, but we know she lives, of course...) Now we have, "Does Halbad suspect, or know that the Six Blades are fighting their co-founder/group namer/lost friend?" How personal is it for him?
Thanks for making the bad situation worse, Simon - you just couldn't resist adding another layer of compelling drama, could you? COULD YOU?
Oh, Ceilhur thinking of Mave after her death and the loss of the glamour she used to enhance her appearance as "...older, more weathered...more beautiful." Oof. That was a rough moment. Again, by then I had already figured out Ceilhur was going to be transformed, but that moment of true love lost, not to be forgotten (until it was)...
You've always been a good writer in terms of plot, prose, and character delineation, but during Triverse you've really hit your stride in hitting the emotional manipulation of the reader without it being obvious. Even when you pull out a well worn trope, you're finding good twists on them.
I very much enjoyed A Day of Faces and, The Mechanical Crown, and No Adults Allowed, on an intellectual level, as entertainment, and as thought provoking explorations of themes. Triverse is where you're dragging me through the wringer.
But you've done it well enough and subtly enough where it took me through typing this comment to really realize consciously noticing your growth as a writer.
The Triverse story at the moment is especially layered, more so than in most of my work, and I think the long time scale is paying off particularly strongly. The overlapping plot points and character motivations are very satisfying to write, and hopefully to read. Everything is intersecting without feeling forced.
We'll see how long I can continue spinning these particular plates..... :D
Well... Nice job nesting the flashbacks.
So the vaen'ka really does work as a magic-eating analog of earth's European vampire myths - creating spawn by forcing their blood into a victim, while a turned vaen'ka is not fully vaen'ka until their first kill. In this case we're defining "first kill" as a wielder who had to figure out a method to do what they want with magic, vs an animal whose powers are instinctive or "hardwired," in the same way the traditional turned vampire isn't a true monster from eating rats and cats - only the step of eating a human.
Great, Simon, you made the rape metaphor even creepier.
Otherwise, you've succeeded in moving through a good 15 years of story in a short time with enough detail and depth to where I felt bad for Ceilhur - nesting the flashback in the flashback is a bit of a giveaway we're getting the backstory of the vaen'ka itself.
Now, next week, you've added another major dramatic question to "how badly is Daryla fucked up?" (We know Lola is badly injured, but we know she lives, of course...) Now we have, "Does Halbad suspect, or know that the Six Blades are fighting their co-founder/group namer/lost friend?" How personal is it for him?
Thanks for making the bad situation worse, Simon - you just couldn't resist adding another layer of compelling drama, could you? COULD YOU?
Oh, Ceilhur thinking of Mave after her death and the loss of the glamour she used to enhance her appearance as "...older, more weathered...more beautiful." Oof. That was a rough moment. Again, by then I had already figured out Ceilhur was going to be transformed, but that moment of true love lost, not to be forgotten (until it was)...
You've always been a good writer in terms of plot, prose, and character delineation, but during Triverse you've really hit your stride in hitting the emotional manipulation of the reader without it being obvious. Even when you pull out a well worn trope, you're finding good twists on them.
I very much enjoyed A Day of Faces and, The Mechanical Crown, and No Adults Allowed, on an intellectual level, as entertainment, and as thought provoking explorations of themes. Triverse is where you're dragging me through the wringer.
But you've done it well enough and subtly enough where it took me through typing this comment to really realize consciously noticing your growth as a writer.
Thanks, Mike, really kind and much appreciated.
The Triverse story at the moment is especially layered, more so than in most of my work, and I think the long time scale is paying off particularly strongly. The overlapping plot points and character motivations are very satisfying to write, and hopefully to read. Everything is intersecting without feeling forced.
We'll see how long I can continue spinning these particular plates..... :D