Wind Whispered

Regular readers know how often this blog analyzes the role of the wind in Poul Anderson's texts where it punctuates the dialogue and effectively comments on the action. This wind theme has become so persistent that it has made me oversensitive to similar turns of phrase in works by other authors. 

In Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates, when William Ashbless' magically generated clone says that it has come to kill him, Ashbless draws his sword and asks why. That is all that needs to happen for narrative purposes. However, between the drawing of the sword and the asking of the question:

"The wind whispered in the tall grasses."

-Epilogue, p. 463.

That sentence could have been written by Anderson - and a whisper is appropriate in the circumstances.

On the following, and concluding, page of the novel, when Ashbless has killed his attacker:

"The chilly spring breeze blew all thoughts of the past out of his mind, and with a sense of adventure he hadn't known in decades he walked on down the path to the moored boat..." (p. 464)

Ashbless, formerly time traveller Brendan Doyle, had known that Ashbless's body - so it was thought - would be found dead from a sword wound. Since he is now living beyond his expected span and with a sense of adventure, that "spring breeze" is highly appropriate.

Don't just follow the narrative. Appreciate the text!

(The Anubis Gates has a sequel, Nobody's Home, which seems to concentrate on fantasy since it is about ghosts.)