# What are some interesting obscure dialogue you read in a fantasy novel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102 "2014-08-21T16:26:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jon\_Snow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Jon\_Snow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jon_Snow)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/1 "2014-08-21T16:26:11Z")
Because certain creature and people talk in a very cryptic way. Can you quote some that you’ve personally read and found interesting and can you explain what they were saying in layman’s terms? Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/2 "2014-08-21T19:17:39Z")
_The Wise Man’s Fear_, by Patrick Rothfuss Kvothe, the main character, has led a group of mercenaries to wipe out a band of highwaymen. One of the mercs is Tempi from Ademre, kind of a warrior monk society. Tempi is kind of withdrawn and hardly socializes with the others, constantly practicing his katas (for lack of a better term). Kvothe tries to get to know him better, and in so doing learns of the Lethani philosophy. It’s a strict code that’s difficult to learn, especially to those not native to Ademre. In addition to its exercises and tenets, Lethani incorporates a hand language along with spoken words. The idea is that communication between individuals must be completely candid and without double meaning or inconsistency. The spoken language eschews expression beyond what is totally necessary, and the hands do the rest of the expressing. Some hand gestures are subtly different from others and can be misinterpreted if one is not completely enlightened by Lethani. The hand gesturing is as much an art as it is a science, and the same principles apply to Lethani fighting styles. I can’t really quote passages and their interpretations. It’s all part of the intricate reading process. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/3 "2014-08-21T19:20:05Z")
Are we allowed to quote from _The Eye Of Argon_? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/4 "2014-08-21T19:54:42Z")
Easily the most interesting “dialogue” I’ve encountered is the multiple interactions (so it’s not really “di” alogue, but a “multilogue”) between telepaths in Alfred Bester’s _The Demolished Man_ . Bester’s wonderful idea is that telepathy is not merely people talking without using words, but a wholly different and multidimensional way of communicating, as different from mere speech as television is from radio. On one page he has a group of telepaths “conversing”, and the words are formed into non-horizontal lines and patterns on the page. Here’s a sample of some of it: > **[Review: The Demolished Man](http://quillandkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/05/demolished-man.html)** > >   The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1951) Ben Reich, Überkapitalist and owner of Monarch Enterprises is locked in a financial death s... This novel won the very first Hugo Best Novel of the Year award. ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/5 "2014-08-21T20:16:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Easily the most interesting “dialogue” I’ve encountered is the multiple interactions (so it’s not really “di” alogue, but a “multilogue”) between telepaths in Alfred Bester’s _The Demolished Man_ . Actually, a dialogue can be one person speaking, or any other number. A dialogue with two people speaking is a duologue. When it comes to interesting, secretive dialogues, a lot of scheming Steerpike does in the Gormenghast books can be beautifully twisted, with meaning to be inferred based on context. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/6 "2014-08-21T23:28:31Z")
> [@Neverending\_Elbow](#): > > Actually, a dialogue can be one person speaking, or any other number. Two or more, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/7 "2014-08-22T00:59:59Z")
Fritz Leiber, in the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories, loves to use obscure English terms – certes, mauger, that sort of thing. (Damn, I can’t think of any more right now…) It’s lovely stuff, but sometimes is a bit distracting. Most of the colloquy between Gandalf and Frodo in the opening of Lord of the Rings is remarkably obscure. WTF is that old fart talking about? It’d be like the Archbishop of Rheims coming to my home and talking about the siege of Antioch. Okay…huh? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/8 "2014-08-22T01:13:49Z")
“Marjoram. The name of the spice is Marjoram.” --Raistlin Majere ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/9 "2014-08-22T01:36:03Z")
“Our Snark is a Boojum.” ~ Roger Zelazny ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/10 "2014-08-22T01:37:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Are we allowed to quote from _The Eye Of Argon_? Only after midnight. ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/11 "2014-08-22T08:54:25Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Two or more, actually. In real life, yes. In fiction, it’s not so clear cut. 🙂 Anything said by a character in a work of fiction is dialogue. My cites: [A QI episode (who doesn’t like fun cites?)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HEe2n4fn47o#t=1439) [This definition (the bit just under the word, and then definition 3)](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialogue) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-interesting-obscure-dialogue-you-read-in-a-fantasy-novel/696102/12 "2014-08-22T11:52:16Z")
Folks, you’re derailing the thread. It’s about the dialogue, however defined, not the definition itself.