Perils of Autotranslate
Continuing my ongoing coverage of events in Deutschland, I’d like to announce that the German website Booksection.de has just posted their translation of an interview I sent them last week.
In my last post I included links to google translate versions of all the other German posts out there about me. Of course, I did this knowing full well how crappy autotranslate programs can be. This is nothing against google or other autotranslate programs. This technology is wonderful and goes a long way towards bringing all the disparate people of the world, long divided along language lines, together.
But that said, I don’t think any translation program can hope to convey all the subtle connotations and context-based meanings of native language text into another language without a human operator. Someday, maybe, but no time soon. We’ll have sentient A.I. first (and possibly a world war of humans vs. robots).
Anyway, out of curiosity, I plugged in the interview to see how it compared to my original English submission. Obviously, it was mangled to all hell. See the mangled autotranslation here.
Out of respect to my English speaking readers (or bilingual Germans) interested in the original text of the interview, here it is:
Interview for www.booksection.de
Peter V. Brett
1. Your first novel “The Painted Man” takes the fantasy-fans by assault all over the world. Does a longtime dream come true?
a. Being a published fantasy author was my dream ever since I was very young, but it never occurred to me that my work might one day be translated into other languages and read all over the world. When my first translation offer came from Heyne in Germany, reality surpassed my dreams. I’m wandering in uncharted territory now.
2. Your novel is multifarious and has also got well-known elements. What are your inspirations?
a. The first book I can remember reading is The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien. It was that book, more than anything, started my life-long love of fantasy, and I’ve literally read hundreds of fantasy novels by dozens of authors since then. Some I liked and some I didn’t, but I think every one of them has influenced my writing in some way. In particular, I am inspired by the works of Terry Brooks, CS Friedman, Robert Jordan, George RR Martin, RA Salvatore, and David Eddings, though there are many other authors I could name.
In The Painted Man, I wanted to write a story that kept some of the familiar trappings of the stories I loved, but moved in its own unique direction and challenged some of the tired elements of the genre.
3. Is it difficult to mark yourself off from other fantasy-authors, making your own thing?
a. I don’t worry too much about what other authors are doing. I’ve never been one to follow the beaten path, so finding a unique voice hasn’t been a problem for me. I’m not alone in this, by any means. It’s really a wonderful time to be a fantasy fan, because there are more unique and wonderful voices in the genre today that ever before. Amazing new writers appear every day, it seems.
4. Arlen, Leesha and Rojer are the three main characters in “The Painted Man”. Who is the one your heart beats most for?
a. That would be like asking a father which of his children he loves most. I tend to fall so deeply into whatever character I am writing at a given time, that I love them the most until I start writing another. Each has their own unique perspective.
5. Was it difficult for you to see the world through Leesha’s eyes?
a. I’ve always been fascinated by how differently men and women communicate, and enjoy writing from the female perspective because in many ways, I think women communicate more effectively.
I had written strong female characters before, but never one like Leesha. She wasn’t a skilled fighting woman or a princess or Queen. She didn’t have some latent magical power, mystic talisman, or a prophecy telling her she would one day do something great. She was just a 13 year old girl struggling to take control of her own life.
At first, I was afraid this would be too difficult to write, but instead, Leesha came alive with a voice of her own almost immediately, stealing every scene she was in. Her story was intended to be much shorter, but it refused to be contained.
6. Do you write your novels like going to office or are you catched by the tide of events sometimes?
a. I used to have a very regimented schedule for writing with clearly defined hours and a daily word quota, but all that changed last year when my wife and I had our daughter Cassandra. It’s impossible to keep a regimented schedule when you work from home and have a new baby in the house. Now, I steal writing time whenever I can get it, usually working late into the night after my ladies are asleep.
In terms of story, I try to take the same balanced approach. I believe in outlining in detail everything that will happen in a book before I begin writing it, but I am also prepared to change the plan if I come up with better ideas as I go along.
7. A lot of fantastic novels comes as a trilogy. How difficult is it for you telling a good story in only one book.
a. I think that no matter how many books there are in a series, each should have its own complete story arc with a beginning, middle and an end, so that new readers can pick up any one and comfortably relate to the characters and follow along as the larger story progresses. Of course, this gets more and more difficult with each successive book in a series, as the characters become weighed down with more and more history. This is another reason why I think it is important to outline each book before writing it, and why I like to change protagonists from time to time.
8. Is it your first aim to entertain with your stories or would you like to transport something more with it. For example: The rescue is in yourself?
a. Both. Above all, a story should be entertaining, but it can also carry other themes, if they are included subtly. I think your example is a very good one. In The Painted Man, humanity is broken in spirit and ruled by their fears. It is only by standing up for themselves and facing those fears that the characters find their own path and begin to solve their problems.
9. Can you tell us something about how the story of Arlen, Leesha and Rojer is going to be continued?
a. The second book, “The Desert Spear”, will be centered mostly around two new point of view characters, Ahmann Jardir of Krasia, and Renna Tanner from Tibbet’s Brook. These two lesser characters from the first book have their own stories to tell, stories I believe are just as compelling and influential in the war with the corelings as those of Arlen, Rojer and Leesha. Jardir seeks to find a way to unify all mankind in a war against the demons before it is too late and they become extinct. Renna’s problems are simpler, but no less dire, as she seeks escape from an isolated existence trapped with her abusive father.
Of course, there will also be many chapters continuing the points of view of the characters from the first book as well. Arlen, still struggling to understand his own powers, travels to the Free Cities to spread word of the new magic that allows mankind to fight back against the demons. At the same time, Leesha and Rojer are left to prepare Deliverer’s Hollow from an seemingly imminent invasion by the Krasians.
But even as these characters struggle with their own problems, a new breed of demon rises from the Core, more powerful and intelligent than any they have faced before…
While I’m at it, here’s another German mini-review from “Hellspawn” on Digital Nippon (mangled autotranslation here).
Next up, Spain! I have two interviews pending for Minotauro publishing in Spain, regarding their translation, El Hombre Marcado. I’ll try to finish them up soon and send them off so my Spanish readers can join the fun, and we can see how google translate butchers my answers.