Snowflake Challenge 2021: Day 5

[tyrsibs]

Challenge #5: In your own space, promote a canon/talk about a part of canon that you love.

Of course, I could talk SPN, which I love, or Firefly, which created a beautifully realized 'verse in 14 episodes and a movie, but I find myself wanting to dig a little deeper and talk about the first canon that I fell hard for. The Nero Wolfe mysteries by

Comments

[borgmama1of5]

I've put Nero Wolfe on my reread list--last read 50 years ago in high school...

[tyrsibs]

That's awesome! Let me know what you think? I admit that the plots, though Stout came up with some good ones, were never the strongest points of the books, and I wonder how some things I didn't question as a teenager would hit me now. But I'll always come back for Wolfe and Archie, not to mention all of their friends, enemies, clients and suspects.

[kalliel]

ORCHIDS. What a beauteous detail. XD I like the idea of teaming up those two hero-types. I feel like (and maybe this is just me) the expectation is that the assistant role will be taken up by the more... idk, I don't think submissive is the word I'm going for here, but the "one who gets somewhat dragged along," which doesn't seem like the case here at all.

[tyrsibs]

Exactly! Archie is a good detective in his own right--he's just not a genius like Wolfe. I'm not sure if he was conceived as just a hardboiled Watson, but if he was, he quickly grew out of it.

I can see an SPN parallel here with Dean. Kripke originally thought of his characters as Luke and Han, right? So Sam would ultimately be the main protagonist. But the chemistry between the J's, and the recklessness and pathos Jensen brought to Dean quickly sparked the writers' attentions, and the characters became co-leads, with their relationship becoming the story's highest stake.

[bratfarrar]

Archie's narrative voice is what sells the series for me--I'm extremely picky about first person POVs, but his is so perfect that it's frequently a joy to read.

[tyrsibs]

I completely agree!