Gorgeous Words: Laini Taylor and “Strange the Dreamer”
It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a Gorgeous Words post, but I can think of absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t dip back in, and add to, an earlier post series — or more of a mini series in this case. 🙂
Especially when the words are as gorgeous as Laini Taylor’s in Strange The Dreamer (2017) — and her earlier series that started with Daughter of Smoke and Bone, to be honest.
I was hunting for books #2 and #3 of Kate Elliott’s Court of Fives series, having loved #1 and also in order to ensure no gaps when I discussed the world (Efea) in my worldbuilding series on Supernatural Underground — see The Many Worlds of Kate Elliott. (Just ICYMI 😉 ) In the process of snaffling them from the shelves of the awesome Tūranga, Christchurch’s new public library, I spotted Strange the Dreamer, so grabbed that, too.
A great decision, as it turned out, because I was pretty much hooked from the get-go. (I am still reading currently.) Part of that was definitely the language, which is always an important part of what speaks to my heart in both reading and writing. The language doesn’t have to be lush to be gorgeous — Ursula Le Guin’s spare, elegant prose also fits the bill, but there does have to be power in the language and the way the author puts the words together.
I believe Laini Taylor’s prose is lush, in the most positive sense of that word (e.g. luxuriant, abundant, sensory), with poetic rhythm, glorious imagery, and a real knack for evoking emotion and setting.
Here are just a few examples:
“On the second Sabbat of Twelfthmoon, in the city of Weep, a girl fell from the sky.
Her skin was blue, her blood was red.
She broke over an iron gate, crimping it on impact, and there she hung, impossibly arched, graceful as a temple dancer swooning on a lover’s arm. One slick finial anchored her in place. Its point, protruding through her sternum, glittered like a brooch. She fluttered briefly as her ghost shook loose, and torch-ginger buds rained out of her long hair.”
I felt the juxtaposition of the poetic with the brutality of the scene made it more powerful, while also evoking regret and a sense of the ephemeral—at the same time establishing the mystery associated with blue skin and falling from the sky.
I also liked:
“The Angelus rang, its bronze voice pouring through the sheepfold and over the orchard walls in slow, rich waves.”
Again, very evocative.
“The black trees danced. His breath-ghost scudded away on a gust, only to be replaced by another. His shadow splayed out huge before him, and his mind gleamed with ancient wars and winged beings, a mountain of melted demon bones and the city on the far side of it—a city that had vanished in the mists of time.”
It may not work for you, but I feel as if I’m there with the protagonist, Lazlo, living his dream of conflict and glory.
Anyway, if gorgeous words are your thing and you haven’t yet read Laini Taylor, it may be time to give her writing a go. By way of further recommendation, I note that Strange the Dreamer is a Printz Honor Book and the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series were New York Times bestselling works.
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The prior posts in the Gorgeous Words mini-series are:
