01-13-2013, 06:13 PM | #1546 | |
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Please explain. PS: ok, my friend google helped me... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue Last edited by Andy_T; 01-13-2013 at 06:15 PM. |
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01-13-2013, 06:32 PM | #1547 | |
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Marty Stu-ish
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Last edited by alansplace; 01-14-2013 at 11:12 AM. Reason: re-word |
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01-14-2013, 01:47 AM | #1548 |
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Falling back on D&D alignments, Atticus is probably Lawful Neutral (lawful within the context of his order, pantheon, and obligations) in contrast to Harry's Chaotic Good. He doesn't lack all empathy for human beings, but his first loyalty is to the Earth, not humanity. Harry would probably see him as a spooky, unpredictable supernatural entity on the order of a moderately powerful Sidhe, moreso than a fellow human magic user. He's not presented as admirable, though perhaps enviable in a Mary Sue-ish fashion; his interactions with women are very much adolescent wish-fulfillment, and of course he has lots of cool powers.
For me the appeal is more about the supporting characters, many of whom happen to be gods from a variety of pantheons. As a lifelong mythology nerd, I just find the scenarios that emerge a lot of fun. I'm not all that invested in Atticus or the other main characters (who are less well-realized and more pulp stereotypes than Butcher's characters), but I enjoy going along for the ride. For me Iron Druid is much more of a fantasy adventure story, whereas the Dresden Files are more in a horror/occult vein (and IMO at their best when Butcher steers clear of fairy kingdoms and sword fights). Another difference is that while both series owe a lot to Gaiman's American Gods (and to a lesser extent, his Sandman graphic novels), the Iron Druid universe is more genuinely polytheistic, whereas the Dresden Files are dancing around a basically Catholic worldview. The Carpenters are the paragons of virtue, the best refuge from more or less everything is St. Mary's Cathedral, and Harry is classic witness-bait with his "I'm not good enough for God's love" complex. Such a universe is of course more concerned with good and evil, whereas Atticus frequently points out that he and most of the gods he traffics with are products of the Iron Age, when not even deities were expected to be virtuous or infallible. |
01-14-2013, 12:41 PM | #1549 |
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I didn't see your first post, and have just started book 3. I think this supposed effect that wizards have on electrical items is going to be hard for the writer to write around today. Such a person couldn't function at all in a city today. Heck, he couldn't even start his car because of the electric ignition (which has been around since before Dresden Files came into existence. If you are basically a moving EMF field, phones don't work, cars won't work, lighting wherever you go would stop.
It's kindof like the movies - yeah, you know they didn't think it through when writing it, but you just have to pass it off and move forward. |
01-14-2013, 01:29 PM | #1550 | |
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Well, from what I gathered when reading them, Harry's field is not a guarantee, it's a variance of complex mechanical objects probability of proper function. I.E. it dramatically increases the likelihood that complex objects will malfunction, but doesn't guarantee it. Hence he drives a vintage VW Beetle with a incredibly simple engine, he uses revolvers instead of semi-automatics, etc. etc. It's not a walking EMP field, just highly increased likelihood. The more complex, the higher the probability. So less likely around indoor plumbing, more likely around a Crey supercomputer. At least that is how I've always read it. |
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01-14-2013, 02:15 PM | #1551 | |
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The term is something I picked up on TvTropes where it isn't only used to refer to Author Avatar Characters even though it's part of the definition there too. |
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01-14-2013, 05:22 PM | #1552 | |
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01-14-2013, 10:47 PM | #1553 | |
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considering
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01-15-2013, 05:44 PM | #1554 |
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Book Talk
Book Talk #13: Series by Jim Butcher & Timothy Zahn
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01-16-2013, 09:44 PM | #1555 | |
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‘Ghoul Goblin’ Dresden Files Comic and Fate Core Kickstarter
Quoted from jim-butcher.com.
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Last edited by alansplace; 01-16-2013 at 09:49 PM. Reason: oops! |
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01-17-2013, 01:44 PM | #1556 |
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Just finished up Cold Days, and it was enjoyable enough. It felt like it was more about setting up situations/roles for the series going forward, whereas standing on its own merits against the other books it was just okay.
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01-17-2013, 02:37 PM | #1557 | ||
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Wizards and Electrical problems
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01-17-2013, 04:06 PM | #1558 | |
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01-17-2013, 04:25 PM | #1559 |
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Yep
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01-17-2013, 09:00 PM | #1560 |
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Plus, don't forget, Harry can disable all ill-effects completely. At the slight cost of requiring a lot of energy and willpower. I love it when either one of them finally fail, and things go boom in a big way.
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fantasy series, magic, supernatural, the dresden files, urban fantasy |
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