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What if the Safehold series...

This fascinating series is a combination of historical seafaring, swashbuckling adventure, and high technological science-fiction. Join us in a discussion!
What if the Safehold series...
Post by evilauthor   » Mon May 25, 2015 1:28 am

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...had been written entirely from the perspective of those not in the know?

IOW, what if the first book at least had been written mostly or only from the perspective of Safeholdians who didn't know the Secret so that the series at first looks like a straight up fantasy setting?

The Big Reveal that Safehold is a far future space colony doesn't happen until the end of OAR at the earliest. Likely in the epilogue. Or when Cayleb gets told about it.

And at the latest, the Big Reveal hasn't happened yet at all for the reader. People inducted into the Inner Circle simply have the story stop telling things from their perspective leaving the reader with the impression that there's something sinister going on.

Okay, I know Weber doesn't write stories that way, but I was wondering how the series and fandom would be affected. Would fans be crying "foul!" when the Big Reveal happens? Or would many be saying, "I knew it!"?
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Re: What if the Safehold series...
Post by SWM   » Mon May 25, 2015 11:25 am

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An interesting question.

I think that this hypothetical story would have included enough information to make the reader realize that something odd is going on. First there are the Adams and Eves. Then there are unusual aspects of the Writ. The Writ was given by angelic beings and contains details on medicine, agriculture, and low-level technology? To a Safeholdian that seems normal, but to a modern reader that screams of high-tech intervention.

I don't think the readers would be screaming foul. If anything, they would become frustrated if more information was not meted out over the course of the series. It could be an interesting series if done right. It's been done a few times before, some good and some bad.
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Re: What if the Safehold series...
Post by niethil   » Tue May 26, 2015 5:51 pm

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Here are several things that we can be almost sure would have happened :

There would be a "the true nature of the Archangels" thread, where the forum's semi-professional speculators would argue about whether the archangels are technologically advanced humans or aliens interfering with humanity.

There would be "schedule of Merlin Athrawes' apparitions" and "isn't Merlin travelling very fast ?" threads, where the same semi-professional speculators would measure the map in every direction, trying to compute the exact speed Merlin must be travelling at to reach his various destinations.

The above would inevitably have led to "can we have better maps ?" and "problems with the map's scale" threads. Some things never change ...
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Re: What if the Safehold series...
Post by clancy688   » Thu May 28, 2015 5:24 pm

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evilauthor wrote:...had been written entirely from the perspective of those not in the know?


That reminds me a bit of the anime Scrapped Princess...

Spoiler, mark to read:

The anime starts quite normally for any given fantasy anime, mages and stuff... the first hint that something may be out of the ordinary when one character (some kind of dragon familiar) mumbles strange spells (which sound suspiciously similar to computer boot up processes) to activate her powers.

But the real kicker comes when our heroes enter an ancient "flying fortress". They end up in a giant room with giant... things. On one of which the phrase "Tokamak" is written - the whole thing is not a magical fortress, but an ancient warship powered with nuclear fusion. Magic is in reality swarms of controlled nanomachines and the familiars are highly-advanced bio-weapons.
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Re: What if the Safehold series...
Post by McGuiness   » Sun May 31, 2015 12:26 am

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OAR written from the perspective of Charis' enemies would be interesting. The valiant warriors of god facing the evil heretics, and at the end, just when they'd killed the heretical King Haarahld, his evil son and bodyguard arrive to slaughter the hero Black Water... :(

BSRA and BHD would be a bit more difficult, as the evil Charisians, now joined in an expanding evil empire with Chisholm, invade the Godly princedom of Corisande and murder its prince. Fortunately the princess and her younger brother, the heir to the throne, manage to escape.

AMF would be interesting - the righteous CoGA builds a navy to eliminate the threat that the evil Empire of Charis may conquer the seas. After some initial success, wherein they capture several ships filled with heretical Charisian sailors, their combined fleets are captured or destroyed by a diabolical new Charisian weapon.

HFaF would feature the evil Charisian fleet destroying the courageous CoGA forces at Iythria, while Emperor Cayleb sends his demon familiar Merlin to kidnap Princess Irys and her brother Daivyn of Corisande. Clyntahn strikes back heroically by releasing the Sword of Schueler on Siddarmark, one of the major mainland kingdoms whose leadership was about to join with the evil Charisians to threaten the Temple Lands and the very Temple itself.

In MTaT the glorious armies of the CoGA would march on the heretical Republic of Siddarmark, scything down the unbelievers like wheat. Just when victory seemed assured, the evil armies of the Charisian empire arrive, driving back the righteous forces in the Sylmahn Gap and stalling the advance of the forces sent to rescue the faithful in Glacierheart. Even so, the CoGA's superior manpower is poised to drive the heretics back when iron boats powered by deviltry appear from nowhere and destroy the locks of the entire canal system in northern Siddarmark, halting the advance of the valiant defenders of Mother Church.

LaMA would feature the CoGA's clever wizards who turn the very weapons of the heretics against them by studying captured examples and creating similar or better versions. Despite receiving brilliant orders from the Grand Inquisitor himself, the Army of Glacierheart is nearly destroyed by the cowardly new weapons of the heretics - explosives that can kill a man with no warning. In the south the brave Army of Shiloh, composed of the united armies of Dohlar and Desnair, prepares to sweep across the South March Lands and seize control of the Siddarmark province of Shiloh, which will give them a direct invasion route to Siddar City and the evil Lord Protector of Siddarmark, Greyghor Stohnar himself. Unfortunately the army is betrayed by its logistics train and Siddarmarkan spies, and the evil Imperial Charisian Army cuts off its supplies, and destroys it after a valiant battle. The book ends with Ahlverez, its brilliant commander retreating toward Dohlar in a desperate race to save some of his army...

At some point we readers would start thinking "Hey, where are these Charisians getting all these new weapons from? And isn't the church acting like a bully? Isn't slaughtering men, women, and children who think the church leaders are acting in an evil fashion utterly despicable? Which side is actually good and which is evil? Who is this Merlin guy and why does he seem to have superhuman abilities?"

It's a fun exercise for thought, but writing from the perspective of the underdog who overcomes overwhelming odds makes a more entertaining story. Trying to explain how 85% of the planet is the underdog, especially when they attack with overwhelming force would be a bit of a stretch.

I had fun writing the synopses of the books though! :D

"Oh bother", said Pooh as he glanced through the airlock window at the helmet he'd forgotten to wear.
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Re: What if the Safehold series...
Post by evilauthor   » Sun May 31, 2015 1:38 am

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McGuiness wrote:OAR written from the perspective of Charis' enemies would be interesting. The valiant warriors of god facing the evil heretics, and at the end, just when they'd killed the heretical King Haarahld, his evil son and bodyguard arrive to slaughter the hero Black Water... :(

*snip long post*


Heh. Sounds like a story I heard about: I am Legend.

It was written entirely from the perspective of the villain who didn't realize he was the villain until the end of the book. And that's about all I know about it.

I don't think it's possible to keep an I am Legend style story going for as many books as the Safehold series has without turning the whole thing into a farce though. Especially if you stick to the canon event sequence.

I've read a few series like that. They were definitely farces and parodies. Bill the Galactic Hero comes to mind.
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Re: What if the Safehold series...
Post by McGuiness   » Sun May 31, 2015 1:44 am

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evilauthor wrote:I've read a few series like that. They were definitely farces and parodies. Bill the Galactic Hero comes to mind.
Except IIRC, "Bill the Galactic Hero" was a heck of a lot funnier than Safehold is! :lol:

"Oh bother", said Pooh as he glanced through the airlock window at the helmet he'd forgotten to wear.
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