For a while now, I’ve known that the second book would be a heist, a way to introduce some of the more complex machinations of the various magical factions by having them meet new characters as they build the crew.
For inspiration, I rewatched a bunch of heist films: Ocean’s Eleven / Twelve / Thirteen; The Italian Job; Fast Five.
And, uh… most of those twists don’t seem like they would work in a book? They rely on montages and visual bait and switch (or, in the case of Ocean’s Twelve, some real buffoonery with the script, woof) and I didn’t find much of it useful?
So now I’ve got to find some books that are heist stories so I can see how the authors constructed the mysteries and the twists. A good heist story lets you see all of the components, and maybe even think you understand how they’re going to come together, but in the end need to surprise you with how it gets pulled off.
Ocean’s Eight was great, sit down shitty bros who hated it because you hate women, but… a few of those flashback reveals didn’t land very well because they weren’t set up in a way that felt satisfying? Even if the end result was deeply satisfying as they all came together? I don’t know, it was a good example of how to get the tone and energy right, but… I don’t know.
I’ve read (and enjoyed) Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo, and now I need to keep working my way down that Goodreads list.
Anyways, that’s my research for now.