I am currently reading The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers. In it, a Lindworm (Dinosaur type-thing) named Optimus Yarnspinner, is bequeathed a fantastically written anonymous manuscript, by his late authorial godfather. Optimus then travels to Bookholm, a city totally devoted to literature, to try to find the author of the mysterious manuscript. Shortly after his arrival, he is directed to the abode of the city's most specialized book-expert, Voltozan Smyke. Now a bit later in the book, it is discovered that Smyke was approached by the manuscript's author at an earlier date. Smyke, who secretly owns almost all of the book industry in Bookholm, doesn't want this author to publish, as he is so good that Smyke thinks the author's works will dominate the market. This would affect Smyke's monopoly adversely, causing him to lose money. So, he performs extensive surgeries on the author, rendering him physically unable to live in daylight, and forced to live underground.
Upon thinking about this gruesome act further, I began to realize that Smyke's choice to horribly mutilate the author may have not been the most profitable choice, as money was what Smyke was after most. Instead of getting rid of a fantastic author and all the potential funds his work could bring in, Smyke could've done a range of different things For instance:
- Force (or bewilder) the author to sign a contract that Smyke is the sole dealer of all of the author's works and gets 90% (or a similarly ridiculous share) of the profits.
- Leave the author be, and once he thinks of publishing a work or two, murder him, steal all of his work, and publish it under a pseudonym. Then, Smyke would get all the profits.
- Play on the author's insecurity over whether he will ever be a successful author and persuade him to take a high-paying job in a different industry and desert writing (This choice wouldn't necessarily be more profitable, but would still get the author out of the picture without harming him.).
These are just a few different decisions Smyke could've made. I'm not entirely sure if he could've pulled one of them off, but I think with his connections (Since he owns most of the city's industry) he would be able to. I think the surgeries and banishment was a great plot twist, but perhaps not the most logical decision if you delve deeper into the book.
i think your blogpost was very well put. even though you had a lot of spoilers, you had a lot of examples on what you would or could do differently if you were in the main cahracter's position.
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