Coldfire trilogy

[winter]

I don't think I'm up to a coherent review of C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy. Not yet, not now. But - if you haven't read it, do it. Please. You won't regret it.

I think I've found my Ultimate OTP, too. Though Andrys+Narilka are running a close second, simply because he's cute and she's kickass.



Damn :S The main problem about writing any potential Coldfire fic is the timeframe. There's just too much action packed into too few months and years. Anything set pre-Lema would have to be very one-sided, since IMHO it wasn't until Damien pulled him out of the fire that Gerald got the first knock on the head that had him seeing a little bit straighter and establishing the OMG!OTP. I'm not saying that I don't like twisted forbidden liaisons, mind you, and I definitely see a possibility for Gerald/Damien in the rakhlands. Surprisingly, the scene that draws me most is not the opening of the bond, but the similarly glossed-over coldfire mock-healing that Tarrant performs on Damien in the rakhene camp after pulling him out of the river.

The end of Black Sun Rising would be in some ways perfect for friendly-ish G/D, but there's just no time - all of Tarrant's moves are annoyingly accounted for. The voyage east would be a good opportunity, especially after Rasya kicks Damien out of bed, and I'll have to consider that. Too much canon character development going on in the east for much fic leeway, but I'm willing to let that slip simply because especially after Jenseny the duo are just so unconsciously married best friends. I'd say the voyage home, eleven months that we don't see, would be good too, but there's Sisa to consider, and I have a very, very bad feeling that Damien spent all of this time sulking mightily. Unless he slipped and started considering her presence as something normal until he was shaken out of it by her death, which would go aways to explaining how angry he is with Gerald at the beginning of Crown of Shadows.

Crown of Shadows - again, too fast and too packed, too full of despair perhaps, but oh, so easy to twist. Why'd you walk away, anyway, you dumb ox? Since when did you do what Gerald told you to? But realistically, unless I consider reworking a canon scene or two (not impossible, since Gerald's breaking his compact right and left as it is - what's a bit of emotional attachment and shagging on the side?), I'm left with post-Trilogy.

Which is damn easy. Gerald renounced and sacrificed part of his identity - the Hunter, the legend, the undying evil sorcerer bastard. No-one said anything about Gerald Tarrant the scientist, the Prophet, the careful manipulator of his line of descent, finally Gerald Tarrant the best friend of Damien Vryce. No reason for Damien not to follow him, tell him he's being an ass again, and tag along wherever fate and fancy takes them.

No reason, in fact, for there not to be a covert Tarrant family reunion at, say, the christening of the newest scion of the Tarrant line, with Gerald Garret critiquing everything from the cradle's design to the new draperies, Narilka having to beat Riven Forrest over the head with a frying pan to stop him from trying to cop a feel, and Andrys and Damien liberating a bottle of brandy to get drunk somewhere together and commiserate >:)

Mmmm. This would be very fun to write.

Oh, and I identified two distinct behavioural patterns between Gerald and Damien that prove they're so married:

Damien: *says something short-sighted*
Gerald: Wrong. Do as I say.
Damien: Grrr.
Gerald: *shadow of a smile*
Damien: *melts*

and

Gerald: *does something OOC for an evil vampire sorceror* *slams the door and runs*
Damien: *sigh* *follows*
Gerald: *is waiting and tapping his foot brooding. In the DARK. In the RAIN*
Damien: You're being an ass.
Gerald: I know.

Honestly. Those two need to go shopping for curtains already.

Comments

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

*grin* I know the crowded feeling. My muses seem to be on a timeshare as far as my mind is concerned. Everybody gets a few hours... And in the case of vampire muses, arguing with them isn't the safest thing. ;-)

Ah, that new body... it is a handy excuse to have Damien do all the heavy lifting now, but aside from that... I'm reverting him back to his old appearance in my fics. I like that look too much to let it go without at least trying to come up with a good explanation for why he can keep it.

[winter]

In my current thingie I'm keeping the new appearance, mainly because it allows Damien to wax snarky about the stupidity of Gerald's last plan and provides comedy material, what with Gerald being the shortest person around (except for Narilka and the baby) and the amount of care that his long hair needs. But I've a feeling that further post-trilogy stories will follow the template of Damien rolling his eyes when Gerald tells him to leave, then telling both Tarrants what he thinks of them and quite possibly knocking their heads together until they give in.

I still think the main reason Gerald opted for total bodyswitch was that it was the only way he could get rid of the scar. It's a good thing they don't have malls in Erna, because that's one shopaholic in the making...

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Knocking some sense into the two Tarrants sounds like a wonderful idea. They are making things so much more complicated for everybody, when there could be such an easy solution.

Hm, the scar... it's a tricky thing. He'll definitely want to get rid of it, I just haven't considered yet how to do that.

And definitely a shopaholic. *g* It's a good thing that after nine centuries he probably can afford it.

[winter]

I think the scar, like the memories of his victims and the presence of his conscience (in which role, starring Damien Vryce), is part of his punishment for his sins. But I wouldn't know how to get rid of it, barring Working. Even with it, with the wound's nature, it could be necessary to tear off the entire patch of skin and Heal it to regrow it, something I'm sure neither Gerald nor Damien would enjoy in the least.

It's been a long while since I wanted to do an Earth-insert of a non-Earth character just to see how he'd deal with modern conveniences :> Maybe I'll be satisfied with a shopping scene in the East, since in CoS it's mentioned that at some point Gerald replaced his knife. Once I'm finished with the current thing, at the moment at 5,100 words and counting O_O

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

They probably wouldn't enjoy it, but I think at least Gerald would do it despite that. And the scar is something he can get rid of, other than the memories and, of course, Damien. But at least one of them would have to be able to Work for that, and I can't quite see Damien willing to give his life for a bit of cosmetic surgery.

*grin* Is there any doubt that Gerald would absolutely love all of Earth's conveniences and technology? This is someone who has been collecting damaged computer chips...

And, yay for the fic!

[winter]

I'm not sure what's the non-fae medicine up to in Erna, since IIRC IVs were mentioned in Black Sun; perhaps skin grafts are available, at least as an experimental procedure? On Earth, I've read descriptions of rudimentary skin grafts and facial reconstruction even in the nineteenth century.

Stop tempting me. I have a semi-demi-vague idea of a red-haired witch trying to summon someone who'd know how to turn a vampire into a human. I don't need to deal with Gerald in culture shock after meeting Buffy, thankyouverymuch ;P

(5,800 words, but only because I need to re-read the bits in WTNF where Gerald storms out and Damien follows him, to make sure I follow the same post-temper-flareup behaviour template. For all three Tarrants, because there's just been a minor temper explosion behind locked doors...)

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

I think that in medicine, anything is possible that doesn't require sophisticated technology. IVs are straightforward, so they work. And I assume that the same would be true for most kinds of surgery. They'd surely have the knowledge, so all they lack is the complicated machinery.

*grin* Gerald and Buffy. Now that's an idea! And it wouldn't even be the strangest thing that ever happened in that series. (Personally I've been toying with the Stargate approach...)

Temper explosions behind closed doors, with three Tarrants involved... *gets popcorn and settles down to watch*

[winter]

I'm not sure about how the lack of antibiotics etc would hinder recovery though - the one thing the second and third Sacrifices screwed up was certainly the medical system if Healing's no longer possible. (One of the reasons why I don't like the no-Workings-at-all rule - how about congenital deformities like Gerald's heart? It was difficult but possible, and now people like that, or children with heart defects etc, are condemned to die.)

I think I need to stop musing and start writing, especially since I still have to study for an exam tomorrow :>

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Antibiotics should be obtainable, I think. Some trial and error until the right kind of mould is found, but once you know that what you have is what you are looking for... That Healing is impossible is a major blow. It made up for the missing chances at doing complicated surgery - it seems to throw them back to about the time of Gerald's first mortal life, when they started to look into Healing. (And I'm arguing my way around the no-Working, at least as far as Gerald is concerned. A sacrifice of 900 years must be worth a bit more than just a moment of Workable fae.)

Oh yes, better write then. And study, of course. ;-)

[winter]

Between that and the fact it's no longer possible to construct new quake wards, way to lessen humanity's survival chances ^.^; Just another notch on my list of "why the ending of CoS is stupid", I believe. If the alteration required conscious will (and strong focus, the way it was for Damien after Gerald's first sacrifice), they could have had their cake and eaten it, too.

Between the exam, full-time work and starting the next term of college next week, I need to work in a re-read of Coldfire somehow, which is scary. I'm still not sure I've got all the narrative voices right - I'm blaming the differences in Narilka and Andrys on impending maturity, but Damien and Gerald... argh. My normal narrative style is SO not like Friedman's sentence construction.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

I re-read the ending just this afternoon. All we really know about the changes is what Gerald and Damien conclude, and considering the shape they're in at the time... who knows, they might have misinterpreted things. They had other things on their minds at that time, after all.

Do you match your entire style to the original author, or only the dialogue?

[winter]

I need to re-read Coldfire badly, I think. So many interpretations, so little stuff I remember :S

I was trying to match the entire style, since I'm using a similar technique - multiple POVs, one POV in each scene - but I'm just not feeling the vibe. Dialogue's easy, it's the narration that kills me. See point about re-reading carefully instead of flipping pages and going "OMG what will happen idiots both of you !!!!" ;)

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

If you manage to match the overall style, it would be an impressive feat. I tried it at the beginning, but then went back to only aiming for the dialogues. Friedman's style is... I can't quite figure it out, and not being a native speaker isn't helpful in these situations.

*grin* The first reading is always different. Especially when you need to know what crazy idea they'll have next. ;-)

[winter]

One of the keys to Friedman's style is that it's very fragmented and visual - one of the images that I've retained is Damien watching Gerald in the rain during WTNF and the way a drop of water hangs on a strand of Gerald's hair. I sometimes write like that, but for some reason I'm in a nineteenth-century phase right now, with long sentences and lots of semicolons. Narilka's narration is especially bad that way, which I'm trying to blame on her maturing and changing in the two years that have passed.

Plus, not so much with the native speaker here either, though I've been learning for close to 20 years now :)

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Good point on the visual aspect. Still she manages to not go overboard with descriptions - it's a tricky balance to strike.

Then we're in the same situation, as far as language goes. ;-)

[winter]

That's why I'm not even attempting to strike it. Urgh. Maybe I should just write this and keep it on the harddrive :S