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Fiction tropes that annoy
So, I've been attempting Kushiel's Dart again, because I have had too many people whose judgement I trust say it's way too good to miss.
I tried reading it in hardcover a few years ago, and couldn't get past the first hour's reading (so, less than 100 pages). I'm liking it a bit better this time, since I perhaps can see that the lead character isn't as unbalanced (in terms of not fully fleshed-out) as I initially thought she was.
However. One thing that I really hate in fiction - and fantasy is particularly prone to it, including this one - is the One True X who is "destined" for something or to do something. And because they're "destined", they may resist, but they will eventually accede to their Perfect Fate. Oh, whatthefuckever.
Perfection is a concept I find terribly dangerous. Perhaps that's why various religions make a point of saying only god is perfect - unfortunately, they leave off the corollary "so, as a human, relax and enjoy the fact you are not perfect". No, they seem to expect we try an emulate god in striving for perfection. Since, according to them, we can't succeed anyway, I find that kind of carryon pointless.
So, the cheesier the fantasy, the more blatant the plot that shepherds the Perfect (but often Ignorant of his/her True Destiny) Hero onto his/her Fate. You know, jewels light up, magic swords appear from nowhere, a bunch of companions show up who just happen to have the right skills for getting him/her out of the stickier parts... *yawn*
The best fiction writing doesn't resort to that crap. And I find the idea of Perfect Destiny terribly demeaning to humans as a whole. We manage to create the most beautiful, most compelling, most amazing things out of imperfection. Most of us are generalists. We can do a number of things reasonably well. Some few are geniuses, but perhaps they're useless cooks, or can't sing.
So human endeavour is a vast pool of people combining their creativity and insights into making things which approach perfection. Einstein may have come up with the Theory of Relativity in a (fairly protracted) flash of insight, but it took Ernest Rutherford years of plodding in a fairly uninspired way to be able to split the atom.
The fact that we can get together and do such things, either working together or building on someone else's work is a fairly good example of human society being more functional than not. So what if the vast majority of us are mostly plodders, most of the time? We all have occasional flashes of insight - some more than others, to be sure - but most of achievement is to do with experimentation. Oh, and the willingness to try again when the experiment doesn't work, which they mostly don't. That doesn't necessitate perfection or genius. Just the ability to try and learn.
Otherwise, if we truly believe that only the gifted few create or contribute, just what are we bothering for?
Anyways, one of my favourite SFF authors, Lois McMaster Bujold, doesn't fall into the Perfect Hero trap - her heros are worthy because they work through their imperfections. The best piece of advice one character gives to another is: "[There's no trick to success.] You just go on." Her best quote, and a philosophy (not to mention fiction inspiration) I can get behind:
I don't confuse greatness with perfection. To be great anyhow is…the higher achievement.
I tried reading it in hardcover a few years ago, and couldn't get past the first hour's reading (so, less than 100 pages). I'm liking it a bit better this time, since I perhaps can see that the lead character isn't as unbalanced (in terms of not fully fleshed-out) as I initially thought she was.
However. One thing that I really hate in fiction - and fantasy is particularly prone to it, including this one - is the One True X who is "destined" for something or to do something. And because they're "destined", they may resist, but they will eventually accede to their Perfect Fate. Oh, whatthefuckever.
Perfection is a concept I find terribly dangerous. Perhaps that's why various religions make a point of saying only god is perfect - unfortunately, they leave off the corollary "so, as a human, relax and enjoy the fact you are not perfect". No, they seem to expect we try an emulate god in striving for perfection. Since, according to them, we can't succeed anyway, I find that kind of carryon pointless.
So, the cheesier the fantasy, the more blatant the plot that shepherds the Perfect (but often Ignorant of his/her True Destiny) Hero onto his/her Fate. You know, jewels light up, magic swords appear from nowhere, a bunch of companions show up who just happen to have the right skills for getting him/her out of the stickier parts... *yawn*
The best fiction writing doesn't resort to that crap. And I find the idea of Perfect Destiny terribly demeaning to humans as a whole. We manage to create the most beautiful, most compelling, most amazing things out of imperfection. Most of us are generalists. We can do a number of things reasonably well. Some few are geniuses, but perhaps they're useless cooks, or can't sing.
So human endeavour is a vast pool of people combining their creativity and insights into making things which approach perfection. Einstein may have come up with the Theory of Relativity in a (fairly protracted) flash of insight, but it took Ernest Rutherford years of plodding in a fairly uninspired way to be able to split the atom.
The fact that we can get together and do such things, either working together or building on someone else's work is a fairly good example of human society being more functional than not. So what if the vast majority of us are mostly plodders, most of the time? We all have occasional flashes of insight - some more than others, to be sure - but most of achievement is to do with experimentation. Oh, and the willingness to try again when the experiment doesn't work, which they mostly don't. That doesn't necessitate perfection or genius. Just the ability to try and learn.
Otherwise, if we truly believe that only the gifted few create or contribute, just what are we bothering for?
Anyways, one of my favourite SFF authors, Lois McMaster Bujold, doesn't fall into the Perfect Hero trap - her heros are worthy because they work through their imperfections. The best piece of advice one character gives to another is: "[There's no trick to success.] You just go on." Her best quote, and a philosophy (not to mention fiction inspiration) I can get behind:
I don't confuse greatness with perfection. To be great anyhow is…the higher achievement.
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(We had an incident a while ago that was international in scope in that it occurred at the Olympics, but possibly only memorable to Canadians, as it was a Canadian athlete. This guy, a Canadian, won the gold in snowboarding. Later, it was stripped away because it was revealed that he tested positive for marijuana use. The whole thing seemed ridiculous to me because, first, the drug testing was originally supposed to be for performance-enhancing drugs, not as a punitive morality thing. Nobody even tried to argue that marijuana was performance-enhancing -- they all just on this, "He's supposed to be a role model! Think of the children!" trip. However, to me, it seemed that if this guy can manage to nail the gold medal in the Olympics *WHILE HE'S HIGH*, then hot damn, he must be amazing!)
One of my best friends in the world recommended Kushiel's Dart to me for years upon years and tries heartily to get all of her friends to read it. Finally she just up and mailed me a copy one day. I tried really hard, but I couldn't get past 200 pages. It was like putting hot pokers in my eye. (And since I don't have the little red fleck that indicates that I'm the ONE TRUE MASOCHIST who actually *likes* pain in the entire world for the last few generations but for whom they still maintain an entire fabric making trade producing a specific colour of fabric that only I can wear, that's not an appealing concept.) I'm glad it's going better for you this time around. :)
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Have you read David Brin's Salon article, ( here (http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/1999/06/15/brin_main/index.html) ) contrasting "Star Wars" and "Star Trek", in which he expresses a preference for the latter because of a similar distaste for the formers reliance on the same "destiny" themes. It's obviously a tad old, as he starts out explaining why he was boycotting "The Phantom Menace" ( at least as long as he could hold out ), but I think he eventually makes some really good points.
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