Thursday, December 13, 2012
Magyck, Mystery and Morality
A brief discourse on the making of Azimuth so that you know what you are in for!
A portly and dry historian is commissioned by an emperor to write a trilogy, a history of the progenitor of all modern morality, a man remembered as The Magus. He reads the first two volumes to the daughter of the court and the third to the daughter's own daughter. As he reads to them they draw him into the machinations of court life with mysterious murders, plotting against the throne and occult events. His life is changed as he becomes a detective, a Poirot of ancient times, falls in love with a brothel keeper and kills for the first time. Each of the three volumes consist of twenty two tales recounting the adventures of the Magus. They are set in chapters which also describe the trials and tribulations of the historian. So, like a double helix you read about the historian's own day and then fly back through time to the journeyings of the Magus and his search for the meaning of his existence, involving him in the conflict between good and evil, religion and reason, life and death. His skills as a warrior are gradually superseded by his desire to find a different way to live among people. Reading the tales affects the lives of the historian and his listeners, too. The two narratives begin to intertwine.
Each volume concerns a different journey lasting many years. The Magus ages and becomes wiser. The 66 tales are headed by the images of tarot cards whose interpretation by the historian add a mysterious frisson to proceedings. Each chapter is underscored with a cryptic statement, an aphorism, a zen-like pronouncement. For example:
The book is a roller coaster of action and philosophy and is full of mystery and suspense. The early reviews say it all:
www.azimuthtrilogy.com/reviews
At this same site you can download the first three chapters, free. I hope you do!
A brief discourse on the making of Azimuth so that you know what you are in for!
A portly and dry historian is commissioned by an emperor to write a trilogy, a history of the progenitor of all modern morality, a man remembered as The Magus. He reads the first two volumes to the daughter of the court and the third to the daughter's own daughter. As he reads to them they draw him into the machinations of court life with mysterious murders, plotting against the throne and occult events. His life is changed as he becomes a detective, a Poirot of ancient times, falls in love with a brothel keeper and kills for the first time. Each of the three volumes consist of twenty two tales recounting the adventures of the Magus. They are set in chapters which also describe the trials and tribulations of the historian. So, like a double helix you read about the historian's own day and then fly back through time to the journeyings of the Magus and his search for the meaning of his existence, involving him in the conflict between good and evil, religion and reason, life and death. His skills as a warrior are gradually superseded by his desire to find a different way to live among people. Reading the tales affects the lives of the historian and his listeners, too. The two narratives begin to intertwine.
Each volume concerns a different journey lasting many years. The Magus ages and becomes wiser. The 66 tales are headed by the images of tarot cards whose interpretation by the historian add a mysterious frisson to proceedings. Each chapter is underscored with a cryptic statement, an aphorism, a zen-like pronouncement. For example:
Chapter Two
Believing
what is seen is a form of blindness
The book is a roller coaster of action and philosophy and is full of mystery and suspense. The early reviews say it all:
www.azimuthtrilogy.com/reviews
At this same site you can download the first three chapters, free. I hope you do!
Labels: #Writing: the structure of a trilogy. Tarot and zen.
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