He was interrupted by a gasp of terror from Miles.
* * * * * * * * * *
One thing I think horror movies don't take quite enough advantage of is how many people have inappropriate reactions to mundane things. Like here, the tension is raised because the ship was almost crashing while 3/5ths of the crew (if we ignore Pugnax entirely) hardly cared. The disaster was just barely averted when suddenly, looking over the side of the ship, Miles gasps in terror! IN TERROR!
For readers who have yet to read the next line and who were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door or an incoming text so they had to put the book down, their mind might be racing. "What could possibly be happening now to these poor, beleaguered kids?! Maybe it's some kind of The Twilight Zone wing gremlin!" they might think if they're too dumb to understand what an airship is like and how it doesn't have wings.
Just from the gasp, Randolph was probably ready to go to Red Alert! You don't gasp in terror unless something terrific is happening! I'm using "terrific" in the original sense and not in the post-1920s era meaning. Although if you have read the next sentence, you'll know something post-1920s terrific is definitely happening: Miles has seen a naked lady! Which, I guess if we're firmly in the Victorian Era, that might fill a kid with terror. So maybe his reaction was spot on and not inappropriate at all. Pynchon would know better than me!
No comments:
Post a Comment