#pchodgell

Things that pull me into a story can vary from writer to writer, but I think one constant of mine is my fondness for moments of absurdity in the middle of a dire or difficult situation. For example, a character is chased through a maze by a giant snake, traps herself on a chandelier and when the maze’s owner reassures her that “Monster doesn’t bite”, her response is “As far as I can tell, Monster has no teeth.”

It’s a tiny bit of business. Blink and you’ve missed it. Yet it captures the characters’ personalities so well that you know what sort of person Jamethial Knorth of the Kencyrath is. You already know she’s honor bound and perfectly honest. But now you know, beyond a doubt, that she’s also brave and snarky, when faced with something absolutely terrifying.

(BTW: P.C. Hodgell’s Kencyrath is an incredible series and I highly recommend it.)

I also like to see writers who have a genuine affection for their worlds and characters, while still knowing that they have flaws and dark undersides. Discworld was that sort of place, full of people who felt like people. (#GNU PTerry Pratchett, btw)

Fans of P.C. Hodgell’s Kencyrath series should know there’s a Wikia wiki about it, at http://kencyr.wikia.com. It’s very incomplete; most characters and places have stubs, and there’s a bit more about some, but it needs more work.  Please feel free to help out here.

Open to essays and speculations about the series, as well; they’ll be clearly labelled as what they are, but it’s a place for those too.