The Art of Adaptation - AI: A New Chapter for Writers

AI and Writing Detection - Justin Gluska, October 2024

Next in the Art of Adaptation Series!

Embracing AI: A New Chapter for Fantasy Authors 

In the enchanting realm of fantasy literature, where dragons soar and magic zings through the air, we find ourselves on the brink of a transformative wave—the rise of artificial intelligence. As we dive into this brave (or frightening) new world, I want to reflect on how AI might shape the landscape for fantasy authors and, in turn, the stories we cherish. 

How will we all adapt?

1889 novel where AI takes over
the world.

Writing in a World of AI 

For many authors, writing is a deep, personal process, rich in emotion and intricately woven with their unique voice. AI presents an intriguing proposition here. With tools that can analyze narrative structures, suggest plot twists, or even help in world-building, could these innovations enhance the creative process? Some authors may find that AI serves as a brainstorming partner, helping to overcome writer's block or providing endless possibilities to consider. 

Can blending human creativity with AI capabilities result in more intricate and layered stories? If so, the concern remains: will the essence of storytelling be lost? 

The distinctive nuances of characters crafted from personal experiences, the way an author captures the intricacies of human emotions, or the intimate connection formed through relatable dilemmas might get overshadowed if automated systems take the wheel. Still, the heart of fantasy has always been its capacity to transport readers to new realms—perhaps AI can assist authors in doing just that, allowing them more freedom to focus on the emotional depth of their characters. 

1968 film inspired by
Arthur C Clarke 

Marketing Magic in the Digital Age 

What about marketing, you ask? 

As the publishing industry continues to evolve, so too will the strategies authors employ to connect with their audiences. Marketing in the age of AI could redefine how fantasy authors approach their readers. Personalized marketing campaigns powered by AI analytics may better target specific demographics, allowing authors to reach niche audiences who are eager for their tales. 

Imagine a world where illustrations, interactive maps, and additional digital content can be effortlessly integrated into a book’s marketing strategy. By leveraging AI, authors could create an immersive experience that complements their storytelling, enticing readers to dive into the world they've crafted even before turning the first page. 

But what does this mean for authenticity? Will the charm of grassroots marketing—intimate book signings and personal interactions with fans—be sacrificed for distant algorithms? Navigating this slope will require a fine balance between innovation and the warmth that the community of readers and writers cherish. 

A Changing Publishing Industry 

A 1968 novel made into Blade Runner
in 1982 directed by Ridley Scott

The publishing industry itself stands on the precipice of transformation as AI tools become more prevalent. From manuscript evaluations to editing, the potential for automating certain tasks could streamline the process. Publishers may gain the ability to sift through pitches more thoroughly, identifying hidden gems that previously might not have received any attention. 

Nonetheless, this shift raises important questions. If AI tools become standardized, will all fantasy stories begin to resemble one another, lacking the quirks and spark that make each narrative unique? Or could this be an opening for more adventurous, experimental works, as the time and barriers to entry are reduced for storytellers? 

The Human Touch 

At the end of the day, the most significant question remains: what does this mean for our experience as readers? Will the magic of reading mature into something more profound and immersive, or could it lose its heartfelt touch in the quest for efficiency? As avid fantasy lovers, we must be vigilant. 

Asimov's SF short stories 1940 - 1950
Proyas 2004 film with Will Smith

Our barometer for what constitutes a good story should always center on the depth of emotion and relatability it evokes. AI may alter the tools we use to craft and discover stories, but the soulful heart of storytelling will always thrive. The narratives we adore are stitched together not solely by structure, but by the human touch—the ability to connect, to inspire, and to transport us to realms beyond our own imagination. 

Adapt or Perish?

In 1968, a French literary critic and theorist named Roland Barthes wrote an essay called The Death of the Author. His thesis was that “The birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the author”. 

One way to understand this is to say that every text is eternally written here and now. But every time it is read, it is rewritten by the reader, and given a different meaning depending on the reader's mood, knowledge and perspective. In this way, the author (or artist) must step aside for the art to stand on its own and create new meaning.

Essentially, the author dies so the reader may be born. 

As AGI evolves, are authors to face a new kind of death, or was Barthes seeing sixty years into the future?

Conclsions

Features a compelling AI
character Character

As we venture forward into the uncharted territory of AI, can we celebrate the fusion of creativity and technology, while holding on to the essence of what makes fantasy fiction so wonderfully captivating?

After all, the story is still ours to tell—wrought from the tapestry of dreams, imagination, and the undeniable human spirit. Isn't it?

Do you think AI will change the way fantasy authors create? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! 

Disclaimer

If you've read all the way to the end, my AI buddy and I thank you.

That's right, I actually didn't write this post. 

To exemplify the ideas here, I took 2 minutes to set up an AI blog platform on Grammarly with ideas, tone and keywords to explore. I pressed GO, and two seconds - one, two - later, this article appeared.

2009 Novel with the quantum sentient
“Being” JARROD. 

I edited it a little, changing a word here and there, and adding different punctuation, but it's not really me, my research (which I would have spent 6 hours minimum doing, not 2 minutes) or my voice. 

Except for one heading and two paragraphs that follow it (and this disclaimer).

Can you tell which is me in the sea of AI (gathered and compiled in 2 seconds)? I'd love to hear your guess in the comments. 

xxKim

* * * 

About Kim Falconer 

Kim Falconer, also writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. 

Currently, she is ready with the third book, planned to be out in 2025. TBA

Kim can be found on AKWilder.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and KimFalconer.com. 

Throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site.. See you there!

Read Blood and Water, a PNR alt history that will leave you questioning every natural disaster ever endured.

“There is no doubt fiction makes a better job of the truth.”

― Doris May Lessing, Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography, to 1949

 

From The Backlist: "Great Dialog" By Stina Leicht

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It's always a delight to delve into our Supernatural Underground backlist-of-awesome and find a post we think you'll enjoy rereading (as much as we do!)

This month, we're featuring Stina Leicht's post on writing dialog, which is a deep dive that will interest readers and aspiring writers alike.

Enjoy!

Great Dialog 

by Stina Leicht

... Dialog should have texture. Some characters should be more serious. Others should speak in clipped tones. That’s more like real life, after all. Everyone has their way of speaking, and characters should too. Ultimately, dialog should say a great deal about the character, the world they’re from, the relationship they have with those with whom they’re speaking as well as the plot.

I’ll start with dialog as world-building. Everyone is familiar with the concept. We all know about accents, but geography and culture have a deeper, more subtle affect on speech. I learned that when I wrote Of Blood and Honey which is set in Northern Ireland. Unlike in American films, in reality an Irish accent isn’t the same all across the country even though its a small island. In fact, in the Irish language there are four distinct dialects. (There are others, but they aren’t officially recognized by the government.) And that’s when the Irish speak Irish. When they speak English, it’s possible for them to tell where someone is from within a few miles. It’s possible to tell a great deal about someone based on how they pronounce the letter “H.” It’s that nuanced. 

I’ll give you an American example. In Texas, an East Texas accent isn’t the same as a Central Texas accent. People who’ve spent all their lives in East Texas tend to, well… mumble. (And if you want a good example of East Texas dialog, read Joe R. Lansdale.) Central Texas accents are clearer and faster. People from other parts of Texas speak slower and more drawn out. It’s possible to convey these differences without writing in dialect. Listen closely. Ask any poet, language has rhythm. So do accents.

Once I get something down, I read it out loud. I ask myself if the words sound like something someone would actually say. If it doesn’t roll smoothly off the tongue, I fix it. Then I think about the environment the character came from. Are they upper class or lower class? How well educated are they? In addition, the analogies and slang they use should illustrate something about their background. The word choices can hint about about their age too. I once had a discussion with a new writer about whether a teenager would use the word “bosom.” Here’s a hint: they wouldn’t—that is, unless they’ve spent their entire lives around older southern (American) women and were home schooled.

..."

Like last month's What If: Folklore As A Source feature by Melissa Marr, the above is an abridged version of Stina's original, which you can read in full here.

To check in on Stina and what's she's writing currently, you can visit her here.

Hint, she has a new novel out this year: awesome, high five!

Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction #7: Signe in "A Song For Arbonne" by Guy Gavriel Kay

 .

In last month's post, I focused on when a book's "big bad" can also be a great leader. This month, I want to hone in on Signe de Barbentain in A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay. 

Signe is definitely on the side of the angels, but she has also had leadership thrust upon her, in a country -- Arbonne -- divided by a bitter rivalry for the past quarter century. 

For starters, she is an old woman, and the widow of Arbonne's ruling Count, rather than having always held the throne in her own right. The reason she does so now is because her husband died without an heir -- and the divisive rivalry is between the heads of Arbonne's two most powerful political and military families. So Signe, despite her age, must rule alone and in her own right, in order to hold the balance of power, and keep the peace, between the two.

What further complicates the situation for Signe, is that the cause of the feud was her daughter, Aelis. Aelis was married to one great nobleman, Urte de Miraval, but fell in love with the other, Bertran de Talair. She died in childbirth, but brought matters to a head by revealing the affair to Urte and telling him Bertran was the father of her child -- who also died, leaving no heir to Arbonne and a bitter feud between the two men. By the time Signe comes to rule alone, the rift is irreconcilable.

The problem for Signe is that Arbonne's neighbour, the militarily powerful and fervently religious nation of Gorhaut, makes no secret of its ambition to annexe Arbonne -- an ambition fueled by Gorhaut's desire to eradicate the worship of the goddess Rian, which prevails in Arbonne. 

Under such circumstances, Arbonne needs unity desperately, because unless Urte and Bertran reconcile, Gorhaut will conquer it. As Countess, Signe must strive to prevent that outcome. She also knows that Urte and Bertran will never work together, despite considerable effort by herself and other Arbonnais leaders. (Including 'influencers', as we would say. :-) )

Signe's unenviable dilemma is brought to a head when a very high-ranking Gorhautian noblewoman, Rosala de Garsenc, arrives in Arbonne requesting political sanctuary for herself and her about-to-be-born child. This is a considerable test for Signe in terms of living her "side of the angels" values, because granting it will give Gorhaut the perfect pretext to invade. 

The easiest, and most politically expedient, course for Signe would be to refuse Rosala and send her and the child back, irrespective of the adverse fate that awaits them. But although Signe is old, and tired, she is also astute. She understands that Gorhaut will invade at some point regardless, but most probably soon, and that sending Rosala back will very publicly negate the values that Arbonne -- and the disputed worship of the goddess Rian -- claim to stand for. So in bowing to Gorhaut, Arbonne will appear weak and craven, eroding public confidence and causing its allies to waver. 

In other words, Signe is capable of evaluating both immediate threats and a bigger picture, and -- however old, and physically frail -- of making the big calls. Yet the elephant in the Arbonne room is always the feud between Miraval and Talair, and defying Gorhaut will lay bare its consequences. 

Signe's dilemma is that Bertran de Talair is the most able military leader and must lead Arbonne's defense -- but if he does, Urte de Miraval won't fight himself or field Miraval's considerable military force. An impossible decision, but as ruler, Signe must make it. She appoints Bertran, as she must, and Urte withdraws. Leaving Arbonne's defense a forlorn hope, or so we think... 

[Herewith a "Spoiler Alert" for anyone who hasn't read this book, but thinks they might like to.] 

Signe realizes the only way to save Arbonne is to accept that she can't reconcile or compel Urte and Bertran, so she must come up with an alternate plan based on their division. But to work, complete secrecy must be maintained -- not only from Gorhaut, but from Arbonne's allies and the rest of Signe's leadership team. Only one other person, necessary to make it work, can be privy to the plan.

Here's the thing, though. Like many such secret plans, it's high risk and requires Signe to proceed on the basis of trust, even if she cannot be entirely certain of her ace in the hole. So Arbonne's fate rests on a gamble, but also Signe's nerve, wit, and determination in playing for the highest stakes.

So when I look across the array of leaders present in the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres, Signe de Barbentain is right up there in the ranks of the great. Among the many qualities that qualify her for greatness, the foremost (in my 'umble opine :-) ) is Signe's ability to accept what cannot be changed. Then use it, to defend the country, and way of life, she loves. 

~*~

About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
.
Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

......................................~*~

Prior Posts: Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction ~ 
Where To Find 'Em & Why They Rock

February: Mara of the Acoma in the "Empire" series by Raymond E Feist & Janny Wurts

March:  Kaladin and Dalinar in "The Stormlight Archive" by Brandon Sanderson

April: Pyanfar Chanur in "The Pride of Chanur" series by CH Cherryh

May: John Aversin in Dragonsbane, by Barbara Hambly

June: Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins

July: Ulric of the Nadir in Legend by David Gemmell

From the Backlist: Seasonal Reading Recommendations

Hello, Sup community,

This time from the backlist, we are turning back the clock to one of Helen Lowe's cosy book recommendations for reading 'in season.'

Join us as we explore her suggestions, get comfy and read!

Illustrator Yaoyao Ma Van As.

Solstice Favorites

by Helen Lowe

Tis the deep midwinter here on the far side of the world – which is absolutely the best time to pull up a chair by the fire and indulge in some solstice reading. 

 

And of course I want the kind of books that fit the season, all about secrets, mystery, adventure  – and cookies, which absolutely brings me to the first read on the fireside table: Robin McKinley's Sunshine.

 

 

Sunshine, given the heroine, Sunny, is a baker, delivers cookies a-plenty, as well as vampires, demons, and mystery in an adventure where Sunny herself may be the biggest secret... A great read for when the evenings start closing in.

Another pick, on the basis of name alone, has to be Patricia McKillip's Solstice Wood, which explores the boundary between the real world and the faerie realm.

 

There's a quilting circle that is more than what it seems, living on the verge of an "other" world, which delivers up sufficient changelings, undines, and witches to populate any respectable set of fireside shadows, plus forbidden love and misunderstood duty to keep things interesting ...

Read the complete article HERE and let us know what book you have by the bedside right now! 

Enjoy! 

 

* * *  

About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
.
Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

 

* * *

Speculative Fiction (Fantasy/Thriller/Sci-Fi/Urban Fantasy) for adults and teens.

 

 

We're a group of best-selling authors providing news, reviews and interviews from the darker, more speculative side of fiction.

Fiction that makes the heart beat faster...

The Art of Adaptation - Alternate History

The Place Promised In Our Early Days - This Alternate History Anime is a brilliant mixture of science fiction and war. In the alternate universe, the Soviet Union occupies most of Japan, while or heros the daunting task of turning their world away from the chaos that surrounds them.

Welcome everyone to another post on the Art of Adaptation Series. Today, let's look at the fascinating genre of Alternate History.

What is Alternate History?

...(from Wiki) Often described as fiction wherein the author speculates upon how the course of history might have been altered if a particular historical event had an outcome different from the real-life outcome.

Note 'real life'. Even in the Fantasy genres, alternate history begins with a grain of truth.

Alternate History can fall under genres including SF, Fantasy, Romance, Historical fictioon, and anything from adventure, murder and mystery to space opera, War and True Crime. My examples will include a few different varieties! 

Back to the grain of truth. 

To create an Alternate History work, you usually start with a 'real-life' event and then take a big 'ol step backward to alter how that event was shaped. Of course, the story will then have to adapt to the changes you envision, becoming something else entirely. Hopeful, it will be provocative, and inspiring... or maybe just haunting. Frightening!

Let's look at some examples:

11.22.63

This book takes a chilling event that rocked the world and alters it.

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King's heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand-page tour de force. 

The premise of 11.22.63 is that the world would be different if Kennedy had not been assassinated. Think of it as a supernatural, time-travel, quasi-historical, philosophical, science-fiction love story.

"We have been given pain to be astounded by joy. We have been given life to deny death. We did not ask for this room or this music. 

But because we are here, let us dance."

The Man in the High Castle

What if we hadn't won the war?

It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In this world, we meet characters like Frank Frink, a dealer of counterfeit Americana who is himself hiding his Jewish ancestry; Nobusuke Tagomi, the Japanese trade minister in San Francisco, unsure of his standing within the bureaucracy and Japan's with Germany; and Juliana Frink, Frank's ex-wife, who may be more important than she realizes.

These seemingly disparate characters gradually realize their connections to each other just as they see that something is not quite right about their world. And it seems as though the answers might lie with Hawthorne Abendsen, a mysterious and reclusive author, whose best-selling novel describes a world in which the US won the War... 

The Man in the High Castle is Dick at his best, giving readers a harrowing vision of the world that almost was. 

"The single most resonant and carefully imagined book of Dick's career."--New York Times

Harlem Rhapsody

What if Britain had stayed? 

Kalki Divekar grows up a daughter of Kingston—a city the British built on the ashes of Bombay. The older generation, including her father, have been lost to the brutal hunt for rebels. Young men are drafted to fight wars they will never return from. And the people of her city are more interested in fighting each other than facing their true oppressors.

When tragedy strikes close to home, Kalki and her group of friends begin to play a dangerous game, obtaining jobs working for the British while secretly planning to destroy the empire from the inside out. They found Kingston's new independence movement, knowing one wrong move means certain death. Facing threats from all quarters, Kalki must decide whether it’s more important to be a hero or to survive.

Told as ten moments from Kalki’s life that mirror the Dashavatara, the ten avatars of Vishnu, Ten Incarnations of Rebellion is a sweeping, deeply felt speculative novel of empowerment, friendship, self-determination, and the true meaning of freedom.

Blood and Water

Was it really an earthquake?

In my own contribution to the alternate history genre, the novella Blood and Water (in the anthology Vampires Gone Wild) takes on 1906 San Freansico just days before the great earthquake. In this version of history, the cause wasn't known to the unsuspecting population, or that it was no ordinary earthquake.

Beneath the waves of San Francisco Bay lives a vampire race that wants nothing to do with the "landers" except to feed on them. But when Stellan sets eyes on Angelina, the Sea King must risk everything to save the Mar tombs, and his ancient race of people... 

Do you have a favourite alt-history story? We'd love to hear about it in the comments!

xKim

Other Posts in the Art of Adaptation 2025

January - The Art of Adaptation - Films in 2025

February - The Art of Adaptation - Authors' Response to External Pressures

March - The Art of Adaptation - The Healing Magic of KDrama

April - The Art of Adaptation -  Reader Persuasion

May - The Art of Adaptation - Fantasy Monsters Part 1

June - The Art of Adaptation - Fantasy Monsters Part 2 

July - The Art of Adaptation - Alternate History

* * * 

About Kim Falconer 

Kim Falconer, also writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. 

Currently, she is ready with the third book, planned to be out in 2025. TBA

Kim can be found on AKWilder.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and KimFalconer.com. 

Throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site.. See you there!

Read Blood and Water, a PNR alt history that will leave you questioning every natural disaster ever endured.

“There is no doubt fiction makes a better job of the truth.”

― Doris May Lessing, Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography, to 1949

From The Backlist: "What If? Folklore As A Source" by Melissa Marr

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We love this post by the great Melissa Marr on where her stories come from, specifically their folklore origins. We're sure you'll love it, too, so read on and enjoy!

"What If?" Folklore As A Source

 by Melissa Marr

One of the questions every writer hears regularly is “where do you get your ideas?” Answers to this one range from quips to “everything” to very specific “this story came from ___.” All of these are true answers (or, they can be. . . writers being writers, there are inevitably truth-bendings going on sometime. ...) Every story I have started begins with a “what if” or a “what next.” Moreover, every one of those is connected to folklore or/and fairy tales in some way.

Life and Lore in My Texts

My first novel, Wicked Lovely, utilizes a few fairy tale tropes--in part for the purpose of defying them. There's a curse that can only be broken by finding the "fated love"...of course, the fated love doesn't quite want to be found, and the cursed faery is already in love with someone he hoped was his fated love, but wasn't...sorta, maybe. I had good fun playing with questions of volition and power here, the idea of what happily-ever-after means, and other fairy tale tidbits like a "woken with a kiss" scene wherein being "woken" is an awakening (i.e. epiphany rather than literally awakening). That novel is also very rooted in a folklore, specifically tales of Cailleach Bheur and of the King of Summer.

I used some of the same lore and fairy tale tropes in a short story in Cricket in 2007. It derives, in part, from my on-going love of Cailleach Bheur, but in it the protag is a girl who carries "Winter's Kiss" and feels it a burden rather than a joy. I added this to a world in which global warming is a problem, and threw in my childhood dream of traveling with an ice-bear (polar bear) that is a result of a fairy tale, & well, it became a story about a girl who carries winter and boy who is also a bear. ...

Why Write From Folklore

I didn’t intend to write these things. In many ways, writing is a bit of an accident for me. I grew up with these sorts of stories, the supernatural wasn’t just the stuff in my books, it was/is real in my family. I’ve been told not to go places because of the various creatures lurking out there; I’ve also been sent out to “catch” a faery that was lurking around the woodpile. I’m passing that tradition on to my children as best I can.

 ...

How Do I Learn This Stuff?

It’s really a case of write what I know. After a folklore saturated childhood, I grew up and became a lit major and after that a lit teacher at university. My focus areas were Romantic, Victorians, & the American South. Mmmm. Ghosts, Byronic heroes, Frankenstein, Dracula, the “Mortal Immortal,” Southern Gothic! Oh yes, literature is riddled with some weird stuff. Delicious, macabre, and addictive. Stir the lit into the lore, and I was on my way to being where I am now. Somewhere in there, I also discovered scholarly journals . . . FOLKLORE and THE LION AND THE UNICORN and MARVELS AND TALES (among others). ...

*pauses*

Yeah, I get to read what interests me, drown in it, and I know that somewhere along the line, I’ll get that moment where I say, “oooooh, what if . . .”

What a fabulous post! It's a lovely indepth one, too, so we've only given you the abridged version here. To absorb the complete goodness, just click on through to the original, here.

To read more about Melissa and her writing, go here.

Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction #6: Ulric & "Legend" by David Gemmell

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So far in this series, which focuses on leadership across the full gamut of speculative fiction novels, the featured leaders have all been from Team "the good guys", if not outright heroes. (If you want to check them out, there's a list at the end. :-) )

Today, though, I'm looking at Ulric, the chief "bad guy" from David Gemmell's Legend (Drenai #1.) Ulric is not a "monolithic evil" villain like Sauron in The Lord of the Rings (discussed here), but he is Legend's  primary antagonist and prepared to use black magic to achieve his ends. He's also a great leader.

I'll get to why in a moment, but the basic premise of Legend is that Ulric has achieved what's never been done before, and unified the warlike Nadir tribes. Now, he wants to conquer the world -- but the Drenai fortress of Dros Delnoch, which holds the Delnoch Pass, stands in his way. 

Ulric, unsurprisingly, intends taking it by any means necessary. Rek, the Earl of Bronze, and a patchwork army of defenders (including Druss, the legendary axeman), aim to prevent him. And the rest, as they say, is history -- or at least, the rest of the Legend story. :D

The original cover

So what makes Ulric, the Legend-ary antagonist, so great a leader? First and foremost, he has unified the Nadir, which as mentioned above, has never been done before. He's also charismatic and a military genius, which is part of what convinces so many Nadir to follow him. They're a warlike society and bask, so to speak, in the reflected glory of his successes.

As a leader, Ulric models outstanding performance, inspiring others to emulate him, but he also demands it of his followers. The same with loyalty -- but he doesn't just demand. He rewards both performance and loyalty generously, a leadership practice that revolutionizes the Nadir way. Conversely, failure and disloyalty are brutally punished, consistent with Nadir tradition.

So as a leader, Ulric not only offers both carrot and stick, but simultaneously revolutionizes and maintains the Nadir norms -- in a way that cements his followers' loyalty and serves his imperial ambitions. In order to create an empire, though, Ulric understands (yep, he's a very smart guy) that he must not only conquer, but rule. And that successful rulership and enduring empires both require stability.

Consequently, what was begun with the Nadir, Ulric extends to those he seeks to conquer. Surrender, and your lives, homes, and livelihoods will all be spared; fight, and your society will be exterminated and/or enslaved. Here's the important thing, though: either way, Ulric is scrupulous in keeping his word -- which is another reason he's a great leader. He understands that continued success, and a stable empire, depend on his followers and subjects being able to rely on his promises, while enemies really believe his threats. 

Echoes of Mongol warriors, as seen in "Marco Polo"

(By the way, if you're thinking all of this sounds a lot like Genghis Khan, I am "pretty sure" he was the inspiration for Ulric.) 

Or put another way, Ulric has internalized the observation of Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel-prize winning economist, that, “It’s trust...that makes the world go around.” And no, Stiglitz and his quote aren't mentioned in the book (grins :D) but understanding, and manifestation, of the observation is implicit to Ulric's leadership.

Charismatic; military genius; smart; generous; both demands and rewards performance and loyalty, while brutally punishing their opposite; a man of his word, whether promise or threat; ambitious and and clearly ruthless -- all these qualities contribute to why Ulric, although the "bad guy" in Legend, is one of genre fiction's great leaders.

Charismatic leadership

He does have one other, notable quality, though.  In the midst of a bloody and bitter conflict, Ulric is prepared to honor greatness, even in his enemies. So when one of the great heroes of the Dros Delnoch defense dies, Ulric allows a funeral truce and pays respect to his fallen enemy. Doing so is a considerable risk, but honoring and respecting the hero's greatness cements his own -- and elevates, rather than diminishes, his leadership.

So, the "bad guy" notwithstanding, when it comes to leadership in genre fiction, I tip my hat to Ulric of the Nadir.

~*~

About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
.
Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

......................................~*~

Previous Posts: Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction -- Where To Find 'Em & Why they Rock 

February: Mara of the Acoma in the Empire series by Raymond E Feist & Janny Wurts

March:  Kaladin and Dalinar in The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

April: Pyanfar Chanur in "The Pride of Chanur" series by CH Cherryh

May: John Aversin in Dragonsbane, by Barbara Hambly

June: Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins