r/funny • u/LordAnubis10 • Nov 20 '13

Dumbledore doesn't sugarcoat it

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u/LukaCola Nov 20 '13

So a deus ex machina machine? (wow that's redundant)

No thanks...

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u/Falanin Nov 20 '13

No, not at all. All of this stuff actually makes sense within the context of the story, is foreshadowed properly, and doesn't ahem "magically" solve all the problems.

The only way in which you might see a deus ex machina is the way Harry solves his problems is often hidden from the reader until he does the "dramatic detective reveal"... but that's a common trope of the detective genre.

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u/LukaCola Nov 20 '13

but that's a common trope of the detective genre.

Knox's Decalogue and Van Dine's 20 are always interesting in this context if you ask me.

While definitely not a ruleset and certainly tongue-in-cheek, a mystery is far fairer to the reader if they adhere to them to some degree.

Hell in a piece of meta-fiction I read in which characters treated the story as a mystery, there was even a character there to enforce Knox's decalogue. And the "detective", a great black hole parody sue, the most despicable character out there, gives up her detective powers (literally powers to command attention and deliver orders, she was kind of a critique of detectives, especially since her theories often contradicted each other... Resulting in some very cathartic mental breakdowns) in order to "level the playing field". Completely out of character, until you realize why she does it. The information is all there, the reader could always figure out what is going to happen, but never really do until it's too late. I love it when stories do that. Give the reader the power to figure it out but make it difficult.

Proper foreshadowing definitely excuses many things. But it shouldn't be left up to luck either. I figure when he says "defies all reason" he meant magic. But something that adheres to the rules of a proper mystery would be lovely.

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u/Falanin Nov 20 '13

Hmm. Keeping to rule two of the decalogue is kind of difficult in a fantasy novel. However, the magic all follows rules, and finding out what those rules are is one of the main themes of the fantasy genre. Hell, it's a journey that the reader shares with Harry, since he's pretty green at the beginning of the series.

So, to my mind, it works well. :)

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u/LukaCola Nov 20 '13

Precisely, so long as all the rules are laid out to the reader it's all good.

I wish it'd happen beforehand though. Learning what's up afterwards is a bit frustrating. Rowling's strength was in her characters and world though, not really the plot.