Tuesday 5 December 2017

A Pre-Change Historical Novel

How might a text acknowledge a source? Read on and learn.

The leisurely train journey (see here) continues. The land lit by the rising sun is described:

the Blue Mountains;
fields;
poplars;
vineyards;
orchards;
manors;
villages;
gardens;
woods;
banners flying from barons' castles;
towns;
monastries;
convents;
almshouses;
hospices;
ox-wagons;
carriages;
gaudy riding nobles;
peasants;
peddlers;
monks;
pilgrims;
autumnal trees.

Orlaith reads, then:

"She laid aside her book - it was The Broken Sword, a pre-Change historical novel of grim gritty realism by a knight named Sir Bela of Eastmarch, and more accessible to modern tastes than the more fanciful efforts of the time." (p. 102)

Have you read The Broken Sword? Very realistic! It has already been quoted in the Emberverse. See Seidh II. And we do not need to explain why the Emberversers attribute this realistic novel to "Sir Bela of Eastmarch."

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

And all true fans know what was the alternative name of Sir Bela of Eastmarch! I loved that inside allusion to PA by Stirling! And I've read both the original and revised versions of THE BROKEN SWORD. And I still wonder what some Emberverser might make of, say, WE CLAIM THESE STARS.

Sean