AFFC Critique #1: The Nicknames

[grrrm]

Greetings and happy holidays to all.  Sorry for the delay in posting, but as you can probably understand, Joey and I have quite a busy holiday season, what with all the family functions, mall openings, and rehab reunions to attend.  But as promised, here is the first in what will probably be many critiques on various aspects of The Incredible Bulk'

Comments

[anonymous]

Going to have to disagree with you on this one. Surnames in the Western sense did not come into widespread use until the last few centuries. Certainly in the Middle Ages pretty much no one used them, not even nobles, who mostly relied on geographical indicators which later became surnames in their own rights (de, von, etc followed by a place name.) Nicknames would probably have been in fairly widespread use as way of distinguishing people, especially since many names were chosen from a fairly narrow range and no one made up fake names like Skyler or DeShaunte. Also, I used to be a specialist in ancient Middle Eastern languages and I can tell you that many names in inscriptions were actually nicknames ("Hairy" "Fat" "Sharp-nosed" "Cow" and so on

the main criticism is not about the validity of the naming system

[anonymous]

it's just the excessive use of various names and nicknames that make certain characters virtually impossible to keep track of. sure it may be historically similar, but historical symmetry does not equal clear writing.

Re: the main criticism is not about the validity of the naming system

[anonymous]

In response to this I can only say that real life is messy and repetitive. It's a skilled (and in this case fat, self-indulgent and profiteering) writer who captures that disarray rather than prettying it up for the sake of consumption. The more a novel strives to do this rather than churn out another sterile, well- ordered, paint by numbers fantasy, the better. The criticism is still off-base.

Re: the main criticism is not about the validity of the naming system

[grrrm]

Yet again, I have to make this point: this is NOT real life. People who attempt to argue for "historical accuracy" in these novels seem to ignore the fact that they involve dragons, the walking dead, and castles that were somehow engineered to stand on top of mountain peaks

Re: the main criticism is not about the validity of the naming system

[anonymous]

Well, I can't change your mind anymore than you can change mine so I'll just close by pointing out that Khal is a title, not a name. All the rest of the people you cited in your comment are nobleborn with the possible exception of Syrio and it's generally only the nobles who have surnames, not the commoners. You're right, this is not blindingly accurate but the use of nicknames is a nice change. I've read too many fantasy novels with characters who strictly bear the names and attitudes of stereotypical English yeomen so this attempt at a somewhat greater degree of fidelity is still welcome.