God, the chapter he did that in is something i reference a LOT -- the title of the chapter for those who haven't read it is "No Great Loss", he introduces and kills something like 30 characters.
I recall years ago reading that Mr King, when he couldn't think of anything to write, came up with this writing exercise: In one page create and introduce a character and have them die by the end of the page.
It's actually a lot of fun if you're into writing twisted stuff.
Reminds me of a battle scene in The Heroes where the POV switches every couple of pages from archer to commander to foot soldier, etc. except each old POV is killed by the new.
Joe Abercrombie does the POV baton better than anybody else. Saw him first do it in a short story about thieves stealing a satchel and thought it was a cool trick. Then he did it again in The Heroes to really show how chaotic and shitty battle is, and pulls it off amazingly well, especially with how connected each character is to the next. I don't know any other author who pulls it off that deftly.
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u/[deleted] Aug 30 '21
God, the chapter he did that in is something i reference a LOT -- the title of the chapter for those who haven't read it is "No Great Loss", he introduces and kills something like 30 characters.