Author Topic: Where did the Snarky Wiseassery Go?  (Read 1454 times)

Offline ClintACK

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Where did the Snarky Wiseassery Go?
« on: July 30, 2020, 03:50:02 PM »
I've been skimming around and rereading favorite bits of other DF books for discussions, and I think I realized what's missing for me in Peace Talks that *isn't* just the fact that it's Act I of a three act novel: It's the mood.

Harry Dresden is, above all, a snarky wiseass with a heart of gold. He's the happy warrior making jokes in the face of certain doom, always ready to lighten the mood with a self-deprecatory aside, always able to laugh at himself.

Many of the greatest moments of the series revolve around this -- eating his donut and not explaining, because secrets are like wizard crack; deflating Gatekeeper's concerns by pointing at his bandaged head and saying, "Dude."; the building was on fire and it wasn't my fault; and on and on... Even in Changes, with his daughter in danger, he lightens the mood when he's showing Susan and Martin the map he made of the storage bunker.

In Peace Talks, Harry Dresden is bitter and angry all the time. The snarky wisecracks have been replaced with bitter sarcasm, the self-deprecation with self-pity and whining, and worst of all the courage to not back down has been replaced with an eagerness to do violence.

What makes it particularly weird is that he's constantly surrounded by people who are making happy snarky wisecracks, and Harry spends the whole book playing the curmudgeonly straight man for *everyone*.

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Fear is a prison. But when you combine it with secrets, it becomes especially toxic, vicious. It puts us all into solitary, unable to hear one another clearly.
That's Harry, in this book. He's tired and sick and afraid to trust anyone, even the people he loves. And it makes him bitter and angry.

I miss the Happy Warrior.

Hoping this is part of the setup to Harry learning what he really, really needs to learn from River Shoulders and/or LTW.

Offline Grifter

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Re: Where did the Snarky Wiseassery Go?
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2020, 04:14:08 PM »
I doubt losing people in the second half of the story is going to help.  He was flat out depressed in PT, and he broke down in tears at a traffic light.  I think between his previous trauma, losing friends, friends dying, and a growing sense of isolation, it's only going to get worse.

Offline Conspiracy Theorist

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Re: Where did the Snarky Wiseassery Go?
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2020, 04:20:06 PM »
“The Best Defence Is A T-Rex” Harry was going to use it as a prank on Butters, and Butters is suspicious of a forthcoming prank from Harry, leaving him guilty.

Harry’s snark is at its best against a bad guy, and his two major throw downs are against the Hounds and Eb, he Dino Serenaded the Hounds and got him sassing Eb about what he told him.

The throw down against Eb was completely different, because he isn’t fighting a bad guy, he is fighting his grandfather. His snark is just Harry being Harry annoying an opponent (it’s a gift) that wouldn’t work against Eb, so he used Thomas.

Against Ethnui and King Corb expect the Snark to turn up to 11.

If he tries to strangle Ethnui with Corbs lease I would expect him to utter “hoist by her own pet toad” (thank you League of Gentlemen), a pun soooo bad it could fell a Titan.

Offline morriswalters

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Re: Where did the Snarky Wiseassery Go?
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2020, 05:05:19 PM »
I think the doom and gloom is a working to get the city in the right mood, like in Dead Beat.