Inside vs Outside

[robo]

O.K. Here we go. At the beginning of Mordant's Need I was feeling very claustrophobic but I didn't know why UNTIL the story goes outside, no surprise! For me the story really picked up when it moved outside and then backed down again when it went back inside - so my conclusion is that Mr Donaldson is much better at writing scenes that take place outside. If you think about it, most of the Covenant books take place outside. Thoughts?

[Skyweir]

Not sure I follow .. MN starts out with Teresa's dream of being in a wizz bang 'other world'/'outdoors' .. and her waking up and going off to work on a grey miserable day .. and then back to her apartment .. and I would have thought that it was shortly thereafter she got translated to this mysterious 'other world' .. though granted while she is there she spends perhaps the majority of her time indoors .. ..

.. its like the Gap .. true .. SRD is a gifted articulator of outdoor scenarios .. but most of the action in the Gap series takes place inside one space ship or another .. or inside a space station .. I dont think the series suffered for the chosen 'indoor' venues where the majority of the plot unfolded ..

but you are absolutely right .. in TCTC .. 'The Land' is portrayed in such a way that it is given life even .. it is so adeptly articulated and described that it is given animation ..

'The Land' becomes so much a part of the story that we the reader develop a strong emotional attachment to it and we acknowledge it (supposedly an inanimate geographical area) as a living character .. of equal importance to any other living character in the story ..

.. well thats my take .. and admittedly it can be challenged .. but personally speaking the Land becomes an entity .. THE entity .. that required saving .. SRD breathed life into this pristine environment and filled it with 'a power' .. so divine and so in need of protection and preservation .. and so in need of respect and in complying with its own natural lores ..

To me a real commentary on our relationship with this planet .. and how we perceive 'it' .. and need to protect and preserve its divinity and also a commentary on its vulnerability to being corrupted ..

I also think SRD triumphs in any area where he can explore humanity .. whether 'indoors' or 'outdoors' .. Each of his works is an exploration of humanity .. TCTC .. The Gap .. and Mordants Need ..

[danlo]

but cool nonetheless--I've always thought SRD has done an equally good job both inside and out. Very true Sky: almost EVERYTHING in the Gap series happens inside, it has 2! I felt kinda weird in the Gap when they were flying 2 Earth 4 the planetary council on the shuttle and looking @ the outdoors--but they never, even then, xcept 4 a very, very brief period of time were actually outdoors. In TCTC I loved the indoor scenes as well--especially in the Sandhold, and of course Revelstone--as the outdoor scenes. The only time I have felt claustrophobic (and I DO suffer from it, btw)in any of SRD's work is under Mt. Thunder, under Rivenrock and in the passageways of Orison--but u're supposed 2 feel claustrophobic in those scenes. Robo I know what u mean, however, something feels "bottled-up" in the beginning of MN: like the story keeps building and is almost over-explained--It's almost like being in a dark cell 4 a long period of time and then being dazed by the light, but instead of seeing something like The Land we're almost blinded---but what's really happening is we're SNOW blinded! It is a bit dazzeling! SRD is definately writting in a stlye that we are not used 2 in MN--not many writers, @ all, possess that talent...I 2, probably like Terisa, just wanted 2 get out, out, out! Out from being cooped up in the Peacock Room, out of the passageways out out Orison, out of the dank Congery! When we finally do get out it's all the more vivid!

[Skyweir]

now that you have said that .. I too felt that the characters were cooped up indoors and it was a darker kind of scenario in MN .. as in her room seemed dark and walking along the corridors and in the dungeon and blaah blaaah blaah ..

MN was entirely different to TCTC ur right .. not that I didnt appreciate SRD's style in MN .. actually I didnt enjoy MN as much as TCTC .. the end was wussy .. and I never got over Joyse's ridiculous strategy of playing the mentally defective simpleton .. which served him not a whit!!! That was mighty bl***y frustrating .. (to me) .. but overall .. SRD made it work .. but not as tightly as TCTC worked and The Gap .. imo

p.s. I too enjoyed the indoor scenes in the chrons. .. quite possibly way more than the indoor scenes in MN ..

.. just mulling it over some more ..

[danlo]

If u like Fantasy and r interested in xploring clastrophobic scenes try reading The Tombs of Atuan which is the 2nd book in the Earthsea series by Ursula K. Le Guinn---the good part about that is that u must 1st read A Wizard of Earthsea, which many fans of Fantasy herald as one of the all time classics. If any book gave me as much clastrophobia as AMOHDs it's Atuan!

[aliantha]

"The end was wussy"?? Of both books, or just the first book? Because at the end of the first book, I was soooo frustrated that SRD stopped there, I nearly threw the book across the room. And at the end of the second book, it was nice to read an SRD work that had a happy ending, for once....

Hmm, the claustrophobia question. Yeah, I visualize the castle rooms as being pretty much all dark and kind of gloomy; certainly the tunnels and the Imagers' chambers are dark because they're underground. I don't remember feeling particularly cooped up, though -- more like slightly frustrated at Terisa for letting people herd her around so much, and not reacting more. I wanted *her* to get things moving more than I wanted the action to move outside.

Actually, now that I think about it, the first outdoor scene in Mordant is the one in the castle courtyard at market day, isn't it? And even there, it felt crowded, to me -- all the booths and tents seemed to be cheek-by-jowl. Once Terisa and Geraden get out into the countryside, then yeah, things open up, and Geraden's home is just wonderful.

Maybe the castle seems so dark and gloomy and cramped partly because everyone there is busy playing his/her own little political game?

[Skyweir]

the end .. of the entire series .. not the first book. Yeah I was pretty frustrated by the sudden stop to the story at the end of aMoHD.

I was also frustrated by Terisa's inaction .. and lack of get up and go!! I think all of MN had such a different feel to it than TCTC .. and that is a mark of a good author .. that each work has its own uniqe style.

.. The castle did seem dark and dreary .. and I think alot of that feel was initiated by the weave of political intrigue and conspiring that was going on. Again .. Joyse to me was misdirected in doing what he did. It seemed so purposeless and futile and costly. But thats just my own personal 2 cents.

[scotty]

Don't you just want to emigrate to Householden,obviously BEFORE it was burned to the ground and not after!!!!I thought to myself"you can keep your castles and royalty-householden's the place for me!"SRD has such a wonderful way of making what could be a flat uninteresting place ALIVE,you could practically smell the fire and Quiss's cooking,feel the warmth in the room.I felt like saying to Terissa"just stay!!let everyone sort themselves out-be warm and cozy for a change!"
As for "inside-outside" it felt much more intense in MohD due to the darkness and claustrophobia and added to all the intrigue.I think while you didn't know who was who and what was going on, that oppresive atmosphere kept the suspense.
Anyway,I'm off to dream of sitting by the fire in householden, with a mug of warm ale,feet up,listeningto the Domne,with kids running around my feet etc etc..........I KNOW IT'S NOT REAL OK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!love scotty

[duchess of malfi]

It is claustrophobic to me. You are cooped up inside, and you can sense all of these weird currents going on, that you don't fully understand until later in the book...
It's not as claustrophobic as parts of Tad Williams's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn though...or as Lord Danlo mentioned, The Tombs of Atuan

[Ryzel]

I agree that the story seemed quite slow in the first book, but I did not find it all that claustrophobic. (Not that this is something I usually do.)