Those interludes suddenly started to remind me very strongly of Lost.
Legolas Send a noteboard - 14/08/2013 09:01:04 PM
View original postAnd as for the interludes, I generally like them, though I had the feeling that a lot of these later ones don't have much to say. They give some nice background for the city, but I don't know if any of it is necessary. They sort of feel as though they've been included because the interludes were part of the narrative pattern so he needed to write more to fill the spaces. In the second book, he actually just plain stops using interludes once he tells all of the flashback story he needs to, meaning we have interludes for the first several chapters and then none for the rest of the book. I think I prefer it that way, even though it unbalances the structure.
I don't know if either of you has watched Lost, but most of its episodes are similar in structure - the main storyline is intertwined with flashbacks that reveal precisely those elements in the key character's history that are relevant to the main plot of the episode. It's pretty clever as a system, but the downside - in Lost like in this book - is that it makes character development feel artificial, with random memories and unlooked for abilities being added to the character seemingly ad hoc as per the requirements of the main storyline. I don't suppose Lynch is actually so clumsy as to really contradict himself that way on any remotely important point, though.
On the other hand, I did not get the impression that you did of the interludes being pointless - if anything, the later ones were much more blatant about merely serving as justification for the newly gained abilities/knowledge (okay, and also as pacing devices) than the earlier ones.
Reread: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- 03/06/2013 10:07:06 AM
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The Prologue
- 03/06/2013 10:08:39 AM
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It had been years and years since I'd read this, so I don't remember most of the plot...
- 05/06/2013 10:17:21 PM
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Re: It had been years and years since I'd read this, so I don't remember most of the plot...
- 10/06/2013 03:35:48 PM
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Chapters One and Two.
- 10/06/2013 03:36:57 PM
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I was waiting for someone else to go first.
- 13/06/2013 03:39:31 PM
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What do you mean by "lampshading"?
- 18/06/2013 02:52:46 PM
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Falling somewhat behind, but I'm still participating in this...
- 02/07/2013 10:50:27 PM
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Re: Falling somewhat behind, but I'm still participating in this...
- 03/07/2013 05:21:34 AM
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Not as entranced as I thought I would be.
- 18/06/2013 02:47:24 PM
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Chapters 3 and 4.
- 18/06/2013 02:53:34 PM
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Initial thought:
- 18/06/2013 02:55:52 PM
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This is another one with messed up timelines.
- 24/06/2013 04:47:16 PM
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Chapters 5 and 6. *NM*
- 25/06/2013 05:06:10 PM
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Chapters 7 and 8.
- 10/07/2013 06:22:02 PM
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I finally grabbed my book off the shelf so I could see what these chapters were.
- 16/07/2013 03:45:50 PM
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I'll come back to actually reply, but I just wanted to let you know that I've read this. *NM*
- 24/07/2013 06:35:54 PM
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I think this is where I became quite impressed with Lynch's plotting.
- 30/07/2013 02:20:31 PM
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Chapters 9 and 10. *NM*
- 10/07/2013 06:22:22 PM
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Chapters 11 and 12. *NM*
- 24/07/2013 06:34:25 PM
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Chapters 13 and 14. *NM*
- 24/07/2013 06:34:41 PM
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These are very satisfying chapters, on the whole.
- 30/07/2013 03:11:28 PM
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Locke's scheme is probably one of my two favourite sequences in the book.
- 02/08/2013 11:13:40 PM
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Those interludes suddenly started to remind me very strongly of Lost.
- 14/08/2013 09:01:04 PM
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Chapters 15 and 16 and the epilogue. *NM*
- 30/07/2013 02:09:39 PM
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Disappointing, on the whole, I felt.
- 14/08/2013 09:25:31 PM
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