Writing and Reading.
Vatta's War. I'm reading the 3rd book- engaging the enemy. I have a small complaint with the book: it seems that the enemy and all the non-major cast are too conspiratorial. If I were to break down the events and outline, the bad guys seem to be diffuse, disorganized and has almost unlimited resources. I find the adversaries in Vorkosigan Saga and Honerverse more believable because of their limits and predictability.
In Vatta's war the police are all stupid and lacking of common sense. The main characters deal a lot with the law enforcement doesnt seem to have some basic common sense. I know its not a detective story or I understand difference of modern taste when it comes to crime related story and the their proliferation in todays media but the Police in the story lacks the ability to not take everything at first glance. For law enforcement and supposedly one of the more people savy types, especially when you consider they are cosmopolitanism of starport personnel, they pretty dumb and trigger happy.
My other minor complaint is when the Main character Explains too much to Total Strangers their complicated circumstance, what is worse is that these strangers take her word or worse, react totaly opposite.
It just got to bad that I'm having a hard time continuing and started to have a craving for Webber's ship combat like that of Honor among Enemies.
Also, the combat scenes are a bit confusing and some of the cast is a bit too bland, their physical description is not gotten out of the way and trickles in little by little.
It is at this point I miss and note some tools the other writers use to describe characters. POV characters are described by how their appearance and quirks interact with the environment. A classic example is how Ethan of Athos is descibed and how his features seem to find their way in alot of the things that happen in the start- its like letting the reader get a chance to wear his skin. Other characters who are not central, are roughly shaped by archetypes at first, then further refined by notable observances by the main POV that pepper their introduction.
Maybe I'll just read webber again to compare.
Wishing to write. Anyway, concerning Sci Fi, I have a story that centers around an unusual crew for Traveller.
Don Fernando de la Joya. A retired Senior Mega Corporate Merchant Ship captain and Executive, formerly a rebel leader, and now a Ship Captain owner. Henry's character, inspired by Ricardo Montalban's character of from Fantasy Island is a easy going altruist with a difficult and remarkable past. He is where much of the humor and the source of the amazing diplomacy. He is very complicated, and so are the solutions and by-products of his deals tend to be. There is a little Eddie Garcia in the character.
Tribonian. Named for the Cut-Throat Questor of Emperor Justinain of the Byzantine Empire of the 6th Century. This Tribonian is a milder version of that, directly inspired by Adrian Monk in the TV series Monk. A retired Lieutenant Detective (Like Angel in Dexter), all around nice guy with his cute obsessive compulsive quirks that makes him such an excellent detective. Like Monk, he is retired because of an accident that severs his ties to people (his wife dies) and his spiraling to isolation aggravated by internal politics at work.
Despite being retired, he gets back into work as his previous reputation as the genius detective reputation that he thought waned resurfaced after a few investigative favors for people too stubborn to give up pestering him.
Tribonian basically meets with the Imperial Nobility in this exploits and Don Fernando, who he helps out and becomes an unlikely odd couple.
Later on he ends up as Don Fernandos Business partner and Anastasius' Mentor and Guardian. He acts as the Ship Steward and Chief Operating Officer managing the details and getting convulsions because ofh Don Fernando's talent for getting into adventure. (which is a natural extension of DF's good nature and need to fix things he feels are broken, even when it is inappropriate and embarassing- like my dad)
Anastasius of House Sabattios. He is basically an awkward and good hearted teen whose idealistic virtues get him into too much trouble. He is not a harry potter or a good boy but misunderstood archetype. he is what I find an interesting paradox. He is what you get when an impulsive youth, makes an impulsive decision to grow up and make himself better despite his teen complexes . The Paradox is when he uses drugs to control his mood swings, impulsive tendencies, and enhance his concentration.
He gets into this, because of his imperfect but well meaning powerful family. The pressures to be the Ideal Noble are too much, and the demands of him cannot be met without some superhuman sacrifce. Impulsively he chooses to sacrifice a big chunk of himself in an early age and uses drugs to repress his teen age tendencies so that he can swallow the bitter pill of growing up fast. He is pushed to this point when his family became a target of an assassination attempt and further on their death.
This is further complicated by the fact that despite his conscious self is normal and "well adjusted" the he has a slowly growing escalating dependency to his drugs as his own Psyche betrays him while asleep. All the urges that he drowns out because of the drugs just scream for attention while asleep slowly finding its way to his consiousness... like a Jekle.
- A little Background. Anastasius' Family is an important pillar of the ArchDuke Norris's power structure to maintain the loyalty of the Sector and keep it vigilant to Zhodani ("Psychic Human Enemy Empire") Intelligence Efforts. His family is slowly growing under threat and Tribonian and Don Fernando gets involved because of this escalation.
In a tragic even, Anastasius' family is assassinated and Tribonian was only able to save him. They were on the run on planet when Don Fernando was able to warn the Arch Duke and buy time for help to arrive. In the end, the ArchDuke lost of his key most influence in the Planet but was able to rescue Anastasius- the remaining heir and who has proven his loyalty to the ArchDuke.
The ArchDuke then pledges Holdings his family had given his to him after his grows into a capable vassal and charges Don Fernando and Tribonian to educate him and protect him so that one day he can return and take the place of his family.
In this story, its not Anastasius' command or combat ability the ArchDuke approves of the youth, it is actually his diplomatic, organizational and intelligence gathering and analysis ability (much like the ArchDuke Norris's own talents).
3 Main characters that are constant, and many other recurring characters.
Ideally, the story is told with the Baddies POV being seen now and then, and disassembling the mistakes of the heroes and the mistakes of the baddies. As the heroes are the heroes, it is their virtues and imperfection (of the cast as well) that I would like to focus on. Painting characters with the colors of those who do not share the POV of the main characters. Always Imperfect information and elements and complications that are open to discussion. Doubt is one of the elements that tie the POV elements strongly together, especially when this doubt is fueled the personality of those who have it.
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