Fry & Laurie: A word, Timothy

[with_rainfall]

Hey guys, I hope this isn't way off topic - if so, mods, feel free to delete it. But it immediately reminded me of a certain fantasy protagonist we all know and love, and how awesome it would've been if The Blue Brick had started differently and Garrow had had the same motive as Stephen Fry does. (Actually, it also reminded me of Deltora Quest, but

Comments

[nerdyanlovingit]

Haha, I dig that. That's awesome.

[with_rainfall]

"Organic" is a good way of putting it. I mean, I quite liked the Deltora Quest books and still do, but they were, at their core, pretty typical quest stories, with clear antagonists. I've never understood why DQ seems to be more popular, because I think Rowan's world was much more imaginative in some ways. The characters were more compelling, for one, and the tropes were less obvious (no dragons or magical artefacts or last-minute identity swaps). It was a more cohesive 'verse. And the characterisation was really quite nuanced - look at Allun or Bronden, for instance.

I also think there was a marked improvement in Emily Rodda's writing and worldbuilding in Rowan and the Keeper of the Crystal. I don't know, maybe it was because she got sick of Rin? The third & fourth books were where she really shone, I think.