So as release date for A Dance of Death gets closer, I thought I’d try doing a series of blogs rambling on about various parts of the story (while keeping spoilers to a minimum). For example, I won’t tell you who the villain is, but I will tell you that there’s a villain. I figure something like that isn’t exactly a big surprise. Hopefully this will get me in the habit of posting more often, instead of the once every three months like I have been.
First up is probably the biggest change between this book and the previous two: we’re leaving Veldaren, and heading to Angelport. Angelport is the port town in the far south, where one of the leaders of the Trifect (the Keenan family) hangs out, since they’re not too keen on Veldaren anymore, what with thieves running around like mad. So why the switch?
I want to really delve into what separates Haern from the rest of the thieves he hunts. What makes the vigilante killer better than the other killers? To do this, I needed to portray his actions in a new setting, with brand new rules to the game. Things won’t be as clear cut in Veldaren, particular when it comes to who’s on the side of right. Haern might have made some sense, some order in a place like Veldaren, but I want him to walk into a city far, far worse. If you thought the other books had shades of grey, well, you should be in heaven here.
Second reason was because I can’t have the specter of Thren Felhorn hanging over the book. He’s an awesome villain, and I wish I could give him the focus he deserves…but anyone who has read the Half-Orcs knows he’s still around in Cost of Betrayal. Hard to make him the capstone villain if there’s no real tension whether or not he dies. I have no intention of this being a comic book series, where after everything’s said and done a whole lot has happened yet nothing has changed.
Leaving to Angelport also lets me operate outside the familiar realm of thieves and Trifect, and introduce a whole different faction: the elves. When I first started Dance of Cloaks, I wanted a low-fantasy, just humans, and little magic. In Blades, I started to skew a little bit more on the magical side (but come on, I can’t have Tarlak running around and *not* fireball someone). With Death, I’m pulling back the magic, but budging a little on the no-humans. The thing is, I’m adding elves to emphasize the human elements. These elves are not just noble humans with pointy ears. They’re outsiders, strangers, hated, mistrusted, and responsible for a lot of deaths. And don’t think they’re going to automatically be on the side of right. This isn’t Avatar. I’m writing Dance of Death, not Dances with Wolves. This allows me to add in all sorts of racism and intrigue I just can’t do in Veldaren.
Oh, and for longtime readers…a certain Scoutmaster makes a cameo. I can’t help myself.
Overall, the new location helps remove any sense of ‘been there, done that’ I was worried this third book might fall into (hey, Haern’s killing more thieves, *yawn*). I get to introduce some new factions and leaders, such as Lord Ingram, the elves, and the Merchant Lords. Even members of the Trifect, such as Alyssa and Laurie, find themselves at odds. There’s a lot of pieces to juggle, but I’ve tried to return to the barely controlled chaos of Cloaks, and here in Angelport, we’re going to spill a lot of blood.
