| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Kryztoffur |
Posted - 28 Feb 2015 : 09:12:42
I just finished re-reading The Halfling's Gem and during the epilogue, RAS gives a brief description of the retaking of Mithril Hall. During this, he introduces the leader of the dwarves from Citadel Adbar as General Dagnabit.
I quickly moved onto the next book, The Legacy, and came across basically a more descriptive version of the epilogue from the previous book. This time, however, it names the general from Adbar as General Dagna. I was confused and looked it up to see if there was a mistake and only found that Dagnabbit is the son of Dagna.
Can anyone help me understand this? Was it just a screw up on RAS' s side? |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| BEAST |
Posted - 02 Mar 2015 : 22:36:05
quote:
Originally posted by Schreckstoff
Was it the same editor who made Guen male in the Crystal Shard?
Realms novel editors rarely get citations in the books, so I don't know. Bob's quick to give shout-outs to the editors by name when he has a positive anecdote. But when it's negative, he just uses the umbrella phrase "one of the editors". It's classier that way. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 02 Mar 2015 : 20:38:49
I much prefer Dagna. Hard to take a character named Dagnabit seriously. |
| Schreckstoff |
Posted - 02 Mar 2015 : 16:32:01
Was it the same editor who made Guen male in the Crystal Shard? |
| BEAST |
Posted - 28 Feb 2015 : 23:16:54
You're quite welcome!
I blame Clyde Caldwell, cover artist for the first edition of Bob's novel Streams of Silver.
I strongly believe that Clyde is the one who gave Bruenor his signature one-horned helm. (In The Crystal Shard, Bruenor's helmet had no descriptive details, and Larry Elmore painted the first ed. cover art merely with some studs, rather than horns). I've asked Bob about this, and he says he can't quite remember exactly when in the process that it came to him to describe Bruenor's helmet as having one of the horns broken off. I suggested to him that it was during the scene in SOSi when the male Companions are taken prisoner by the Uthgardt barbarians, and Bruenor gets kicked in the head by one of their horses. But RAS has said that he considers Bruenor's helmet to have lost that one horn long, long ago, before we ever get to know him. My guess is that Bob might have seen some early concept art from Clyde before the final manuscript was turned in. (But I don't know if that really happens in the publishing business.)
At any rate, Clyde also made Bruenor look an awful lot like the Looney Tunes cartoon character Yosemite Sam. (That depiction of Bruenor serves as my Candlekeep avatar.) Just look at that countenance, and you can practically hear him calling out, "Dagnabbit, you rascally varmint! I'm gonna get you good!" 
And that sort of imagery was probably stuck in Bob's subconscious when he was writing the next novel, The Halfling's Gem, and General Dagnabit popped into his head. |
| Kryztoffur |
Posted - 28 Feb 2015 : 15:42:22
Awesome! Thanks for clearing that up. I stopped reading the series before The Hunter's Blades began so I was a little lost.
And I agree...When I read Dagnabit, I had to shake my head in disbelief. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 28 Feb 2015 : 12:59:15
Some might say that the screw-up was for RAS to have ever used the name "Dagnabbit" in the first place.
His editor for The Legacy didn't like the name Dagnabbit, so that person changed it to just plain Dagna. It was retroactive editorial interference.
So much later on, in "The Hunter's Blades Trilogy", RAS retconned the situation to say that General Dagna was the father, and General Dagnabbit was the son, and they both came from Citadel Adbar to help Clan Battlehammer to retake Mithral Hall. |
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