A few musings.

[elisi]

So, writing my Pern crack!fic (and re-reading most of 'Dragonflight' in the process) made me think about Anne McCaffrey as a writer. I've read quite a lot of her output (most of her Pern stories, ditto 'The Tower and the Hive' series, the Peytabee trilogy, some of the Acorna books and The Crystal Singer. Maybe more, but those are the ones that spring to mind. It was some years ago...) - and I've come to a conclusion: Her biggest weakness is her characters. Let me explain:

1) Her 'good' characters/heroes are usually great and well-rounded. I adore F'lar, Lessa, Robinton etc. I think the only problem there is the lack of what Joss does so superbly - testing them to see what they're made of. I'm not thinking of self-sacrifice, but morally grey/difficult situations, and times when they might have to choose to sacrifice *someone else*.

2) I can't think of a single morally ambiguous character in any of her books (it's been a while though, so please remind me?). I mean people like Faith, Lindsey, Snape, Mr Bennet (from Heroes) etc. - those that blur the lines between good and bad, so you never know what side they'll go for, and those that cross over from one to the other - and back again. And so forth - there is endless variation.

3) Her baddies are all paperthin, with not a single redeeming feature. I could go into this in great depth, but instead I'll just for a moment ask you to compare Kylara and Lilah. QED.

And that's all you get today. She is a great storyteller, and has a brilliant imagination, but this one flaw is very sad. Is her son any better?


In other news, I wrote a review of issue 8 of s8, but it was so negative that I'm not going to post it (v. annoyed by characters being written like their S4 counter-parts, if you're curious). ETA: If it wasn't for the artwork and the characterisations, I'd like s8 so much more, I think (sidestepping the issue of the ret-cons, the castle, the high-tech stuff etc for now). But - since the artwork and the characterisations are what I love most about the Lynch/Urru comics, I'm guessing it's fairly obvious why I'm looking forward to 'After the Fall'. *crosses fingers yet again*

To end on a happier note I've (since Tuesday) written 2168 words of 'Divided Destiny', and nearly finished chapter 9. :) (It'll need a lot of work, obviously, but it's flowing nicely!)

Comments

[rahirah]

The main reason I never got into Pern fanfic was that when I sat down to think about what I'd do with a Pern fic, I realized that what I like about the series is...well...the dragons. The world itself, the society she's created, is as thin and uninteresting as painted cardboard. Think about it: one monolithic, generic-quasi-feudal society with one language and no imagination. Plus some really, really skeevy gender, class, and sexuality subtext.

[elisi]

I realized that what I like about the series is...well...the dragons.
There is that... I mean *everyone* loves the dragons!

I think that on the whole the world/society is very well thought out, but there really is nothing you can do with it - and the lack of religion always struck me as odd. Like there's a whole slice of their lives just missing (much in the same way that the baddies have no discernible personalities apart from being nasty). Not that religion would be a good thing, necessarily, but to do away with it completely makes the Pernese strangely unimaginative - and what about philosophy? (See? Many scattered thoughts. Actually - there's an idea for a fic: Let some religious space preacher land on Pern and see what happens!) Maybe the dragons *are* the religion, and in the long intervals the planet descended into heresy? Hmm...

(Please pardon the very rambly nature of this reply!)

[powerofthebook.livejournal.com]

That's a very interesting take on it - if dragons are religion, then during the last long interval between the Oldtimer's Pass and the 'current' Pass, the Holds quit tithing (giving sacrifices or tribute) to the Weyrs. After all, the dragons (their gods) had abandoned them, why should they continue? There's reference to the 'Old Laws' in 'Dragonflight' as if it were an old religion that few keep anymore.
Yet when Thread starts falling again, they run right back to the dragons and their riders (the priests) for protection and start tithing again. Oddly enough, I remember in 'All the Weyrs of Pern' when one Lord Holder makes a snide comment about the Weyrs and Jaxom just about tears off his head, along with the rest of the council, who make the Lord Holder apologize. Perhaps he was speaking heresy?
The split between the Oldtimers and the present, which leads to their defection to the south, could be viewed as a great Schism in the Temple.
Yep, I'm pretty sure dragons are the religion. After all, they're never wrong, are they?

[elisi]

Yep, I'm pretty sure dragons are the religion. After all, they're never wrong, are they?
That is true. Also - and I find this interesting - almost all the swear words (as far as I recall) are to do with dragons. Also the whole concept of between, a 'place' that is completely 'other', ties in v. neatly with this, and provides them with an unique concept of what happens when they die.

Someone should write an essay. And then McCaffrey could hunt them down for speaking heresy. *g*

[rahirah]

See, the worldbuilding in Pern always seemed to me to be kind of like a stage set. It looks OK from a distance, but when you start examining it, you discover it's only a model. It's lacking the rich, complex messiness of real human societies. Compare Pern to...oh, Steven Brust's Dragaera, and you'll see what I mean.

[elisi]

It's lacking the rich, complex messiness of real human societies.
Yes, you might be onto something. Not really having a gift for world building myself, I'm always impressed with people who can pull it off, and Pern is very impressive. From a writerly standpoint I guess the main problem is that there is nothing much you can *do* with a society that rigid and simple.