On naming

[bellinghman]

In a certain rather good fantasy novel{*} that I have just finished reading, I am somewhat amused by the name of one character: Seolfor.

Which is the Anglo-Saxon word from which the modern word 'silver' is derived.

Said character is specifically described as having silver hair.

{*} mizkit/C E Murphy's The Pretender's Crown. Strongly recommended, though do read its predecessor first.

Comments

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

I was weak. :)

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

And I was helpless!

What particularly led me to noticing the name's meaning was today's revelation of that cache of gold and silver discovered up in Staffordshire (as mentioned on Kari's LJ).

Ahem: when I last mentioned your mixing of genres, I hadn't anticipated Seolfor's gifts. That's sneaky: it's a time travel alternate history. Except without the time travel, and without actually being an alternate history either. (What does GGK call his The Sarantine Mosaic?)

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

I've actually always, right from the inception of the series, thought of it as SF. Or sci-fantasy, if one must, since it's definitely not *hard* SF, but that's where it resides in my brain. It's just that by setting it four hundred years ago it looks like magic... :)

(I donno what GGK calls the Mosaic, but I call it wonderful!)

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I may have to go back and reread part 1 (oh, the tedium! *snort*), but it's much less obvious in that one that it isn't trying to be a fantasy historical. On the other hand, the prologue to this one pretty well states up front that we're in SF.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's only at the very end of TQB that there's really any indication that it's not straight-out historical fantasy. It'll be at the other end of the spectrum by the final book...

[catness.livejournal.com]

Heh. I discovered your books through one of bellinghman's reviews here on LJ, and now have several. However, I haven't seen this series in the stores. I will have to look closer or maybe special order.

Thanks to both of you, for increasing my good reading in recent months.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Oh, well, you're very welcome! And thank you! :)

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear it: it's nice to know one has turned someone onto a new writer that they enjoy.

[liasbluestone.livejournal.com]

You *keep* doing it to us.
We now have THREE of mizkit's to which we need to get Vol.2, when we have an Amazon budget again.
Not to mention a certain Mr. Stross, and Scott Lynch (at least he doesn't have a back-catalogue).

[sbp.livejournal.com]

I was somewhat amused by the name of this month's Vagabond's DJ - Andy Ravensable. I mean, stereotypically goth or what?

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

It could be a real name, I suppose ... oh, tell me it actually is, and it's a case of nominative determinism.

[silly-swordsman.livejournal.com]

IRTA contraction of "rave ensemble" and got confused as I thought they usually had brightly coloured clothes...