But McMaster Bujold continues writing, talking a lot about what comes after the heroic deed. Then together they kill the malice and the story would typically end here with the heroic deed done. And it’s an effective tactic, using dialogue to tell after actions have shown. This is where the heavy-lifting of the fantastic elements of the world-building occur. Their time together allows her questioning to get explanations out of Dag in dialogue, telling the reader more than they could infer from the actions already shown. Then Fawn gets captured by some of those slaves and Dag ends up rescuing her. He and his patrol encounter evidence of a malice’s slaves and start hunting the malice, showing plenty of glimpses of ground-sense in action, but no real strong explanation-whetting the reader’s tongue. He is a Lakewalker, somebody who can sense ground, and a patroller who patrols for malices-those ancient evils periodically waking up. Then she brings in the fantastic elements by introducing the other main character, Dag Redwing. This reference point and her questioning persona help build the world through dialogue. This helps the fantastic elements find their place in the reader’s mind by having something pre-existing to relate them to.

Beginning with what is familiar to the reader-Fawn is like us. She begins by building characters: initially Fawn Bluefield, who is a Farmer, a term for those who cannot sense ground.

McMaster Bujold does a brilliant job introducing the reader to this concept simply, by spreading the explanation out over a couple of chapters. This life force is called ground and certain people can sense it like gravity, or hearing. This novel starts out as fantasy, building a complex and engaging world about ancient evils that periodically awaken to steal the life-force of things around them, growing stronger and stronger until killed by a magic knife that has captured the death of a human. I appreciate surprise and exploration above many things in life, and I find going into books blind more informative than taking pre-conceptions with me. I consistently approach books and films with as much of a blank slate as possible-watch no trailers, never read the back of the book, look at no reviews.

Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold