2001-03-21 - 04:48 p.m.

My Central Kicks in Literature

Recently I tried to explain to author Joel Rosenberg why I liked one of his recent series more than the stuff that got me reading him in the first place. Thinking that through made me realize I have two central kicks on fiction reading: Invincibility, and historical sweep.

Invicibility sounds simple, but turns tricky in practice. If an author just makes up a character without weak spots, that character ends up being a lifeless charicature. I love the moment when circumstance puts an otherwise normal character in front of his enemy and, for that moment, he cannot be defeated. I love watching Brandon Lee in _The Crow_ lay waste to Tin-Tin. I like the bit in "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" when Johnny reminds the Devil that he's the best there's ever been. And while wrestling is limp and puerile as fiction, I really love those moments when some face who's been beat up in the locker room one time too many *finally* corners the heel in the ring, and you just *know* there's going to be one hell of a smackdown. Perhaps the best example, though, is Kou (sp?) Uraki from Gundam 0083, which sadly isn't out on DVD yet. Kou is a punk. He's untrained and way out of his depth. But when his rage reaches its fullest extent, when he sits inside his Gundam, he's unstoppable. He's just too damn pissed.

Historical sweep is a little trickier. Tolkien may be the best example. I love the way that Aragorn's true identity is revealed, piece by piece, until he finally takes the throne. It's brilliant writing. Unfortunately, _Lord of the Rings_ is such an essential work that today many people find it dull. Half the fantasy they've read has stolen from it, leaching the life out of Tolkien's excellent work. So let's find something else. There's a little of it in Alexander's Prydain books. When Math the High King confronts Arawn's soldiers and they pause for a second, that captures some of it. It makes me feel that there's some power in Math, yet unrevealed, that matters to these unstoppable killing machines. I like Freya, in Rosenberg's _Keepers of the Hidden Ways_ series, who knows that she's far weaker then she was, but retains her determination to do her part. But the best example would be in Tennyson's "Ulysses." Our hero of _The Odyssey" has grown old, his might mickle, but he's still Ulysses, friend of Achilles, foe of Poseidon, and you can *never* take him lightly.

Now that I've written that I realize that I called it wrong. It's not this historic aspect that gets me. It's the idea that appearances deceive, that the power of a person comes not from bulging biceps or evident genious but strength of character. It's the idea, perhaps best represented by Math, that those who have such strength of character cannot be overcome without effort.

I don't quite know how to achieve invincibility in real life. My attempts to gain power have met with only minimal success. But I think I've managed to find a fair degree of strength of character. I hope you all have found it too. Unless someone I don't like is reading this, in which case I hope you're a lazy undisciplined slug whose arteries are hardening by the minute.

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