Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 9254184" data-attributes="member: 71699">Nice take. I've often felt that magic differs from science on the matter of consistency. To some extent, in narrative, it's deviation from baseline that one most notices.I also notice that when folk say inconsistency, they ordinarily mean something well within their established norms. Bilbo isn't turned into a duck in honour of his feats. A Boeing doesn't crashland on Boromir. The Barrow Wight is not in a nuclear missile silo only recently breached.An epic in the making, but one along very normal lines. When thinking about consistency and inconsistency, I like ideas like "contrast", "unexpectedly", "contrary"... generally going against the expected, but still consistent with the overall fiction. Bilbo is granted access to a place we already know about - the Undying Lands - in generous fulfillment of his recognition as elf-friend, and following acts of tremendous significance to the elves. The barrow wights are vestiges from background lore regarding the petty, vindicative kings of a previous age. Even though these may be unexpected or even perverse, they have power in the fiction because they leverage consistency.</blockquote>