Paarfi of Roundwood: On Brevity

Paarfi of Roundwood is the supposed author of Steven Brust’s “Khaavren” romances, which begin with that most excellent tale The Phoenix Guards. Paarfi, a Hawklord of the Dragaeran Empire, is a scholar and historian who has learned (evidently through first-hand experience) that the rewards of scholarship are great but unsustaining, while the rewards of writing popular trash for the consumption and amusement of the masses put dinner on the table. The Phoenix Guards is one such amusement, a tale of swashbuckling and historical interest.

And yet, while writing historical potboilers Paarfi retains his historical outlook and scholarly demeanor; which is to say that he inserts himself into the tale at frequent intervals and says, “Look at me! Look at me!”

At one point he has led up to a fierce battle between our heroes and a band of brigands; all that remains is for one of our heroes to cast a simple spell and the attack will begin. And then we get this from Paarfi (do read every word):

And while it would be possible for us to simply relate all that followed the casting of this simplest of spells, we must admit that we would find it more amusing to delay this revelation; or rather, to find an indirect method of describing it. While the amusement of the historian may be insufficient reason to take such a circuitous route to relation of facts, rest assured we have another reason as well, that being the necessity of describing another conversation in which these very events are announced.

It would seem, therefore, that if we were to allow our readers, by virtue of being in the company of the historian, to eavesdrop on this interchange, we will have, in one scene, discharged two obligations; a sacrifice, if we may say so, to the god Brevity, whom all historians, indeed, all who work with the written word, ought to worship. We cannot say too little on this subject.

Emphasis mine; and a truer word was never spoken.

In short, says Paarfi, I’m not going to relate the battle. Instead, he says, I’m going to relate a conversation in which two other characters discuss the battle after the fact. And that’s what he does, and it’s surprisingly entertaining once you get past his administrative comments.