ABANDONED. Fantasy novel with hyper-intelligent elves that have to slow their speech when talking to others

[Matt]

It had Elves that were hyper-intelligent, so much so that they spoke really fast and they had to deliberately slow down their speaking for non-Elves. The only scene I remember was that the Human government was rounding up all non-Humans and they came to a commune with Elves, Dwarves, Humans, etc. and one of the soldiers told one of the Dwarves "don't try any of your tricks" and the Dwarf "looked at him with innocent eyes" and threw a knife at the Human's neck, then all the residents of the commune exploded into action against one of the soldiers, double teamed the soldiers, etc.

[Sam~~ we cannot see the moon, and yet the waves still rise~~]

Could it be one of these? I haven't read any of them, but one of them might be what you're looking for.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Matt--I put a little more info into your title, so that it would grab the attention of anyone who might have an idea.

It sounds interesting, so I'll be watching for it to be ID'ed.

[Matt]

Oh, and the book is at least twenty years old

[Matt]

Sam- I'm almost certain that it's not a Shannara book, I've read a few of those recently that I remember them fairly well. The only one the reviews on Amazon sounded close to was The Death Gate Cycle books but I'm not sure. Ann, I appreciate your help; I couldn't figure out how to phrase that title, so you having a better idea is a big favor.

[Matt]

How do I "bump" this so people who are new to this group can see this?

[bookel]

You just did by posting a reply. Is it adult fiction? Are the words hyper intelligent actually used in the story or is that adult's wording? Identify keywords and that'll help with searching on Google books advanced search for example, if text is searchable.

[Matt]

Oh, okay. Good to know. It is adult fiction. I believe hyper-intelligent is in the story but I am not 100% certain about that. I'm almost certain that I'm quoting the soldier in the book when he says "Don't try any of your tricks" and I'm almost certain I'm quoting the book when about the dwarf "looks at him with innocent eyes" while he throws the knife at the soldier.

[Kate]

Mercedes Lackey has a series of elves in fast cars. I don't know if they also speak quickly.

[Cheryl]

"elves in fast cars"
I almost snorted my tea, thanks.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I know, what? That's the first time I have seen those words linked together...

[Ann aka Iftcan]

lol, hey, don't knock 'em til you've read 'em. It's quite a good series. And the "fast cars" are actually Faery Steeds that LOOK like cars. Totally cool stuff. Oh, and the Elves in that series help abused kids.

I don't think that they speak quickly--altho they DO use glamour to hide what they really are.

[Matt]

I can say with absolute certainty that it is not "Elves in Fast Cars". It's set in pre-modern technology times. Bladed weapons, bow&arrows, crossbows are considered the height of weapons technology. Everybody riding horses or carriages and they look like horses without magic.

[Cheryl]

(Ann, not knocking 'em, just amused, and I'm sure Lackey wouldn't mind. :)

[Ann aka Iftcan]

One of the books in Lackey's series had the elves tracking down an older car designer and getting him to come in with them to pretend to be their designer. In the past they'd "woken" his father up to the fact that he was abusing the boy in his grief after the death of the boy's mother/his wife.

I really enjoyed the series immensely.

(Er, sorry Matt. Still don't know your book, but waiting for it to be ID'ed so that I can see about getting a copy.)

[Matt]

It's okay, Ann. I enjoy good conversation and the more comments this gets, the more it gets bumped.

[Matt]

Bump.

[Rebecca]

This sounds really good wish knew what it was. Do you remember any character or place names?

[Matt]

Sorry, I just saw your question. I don't remember any names at all, place or character. It's been driving me crazy for almost twenty years now.

[Eva]

Matt wrote: "Sorry, I just saw your question. I don't remember any names at all, place or character. It's been driving me crazy for almost twenty years now."

Wow.. that is a very long time.. I hope somebody will help you :)

[Matt]

Yeah, it is a pretty long time but I have faith there's somebody who knows what book this is. Thank you for your well-wishings.

[Matt]

Bump.

[Matt]

Bump.

[Rebecca]

I got excited then thought someone knew what it was haha

[Matt]

Lol. thanks anyway rebecca.

[Matt]

What i meant was i got excited because i thought someone knew what it was as well.

[Mir]

The slowing the speech sounds really familiar, but if I read this I also read it 20 or so years ago. I'll try to remember more...

[Matt]

I'd appreciate anything and everything you do to help me figure this out miriam

[Mir]

Next time I visit my parents I'll try to find the notebook where I wrote down books I read as a kid... my be a while, though! In the mean time, have you check this list?

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[Matt]

Do not worry i will not try to rush you i have waited better than twenty years i can wait awhile longer. i do not think it was any on your list but you do have some really good books on there. sorry about all the grammaratical mistakes on this and my past few posts i do not know what is wrong with my stupid smartphone or this website or a combination of both. i feel like i am getting stupider the more i write like this.

[Mir]

Oh, no worries -- so many people post from phones that if the format is odd I just assume that's why.

Now I want to know what book this is, too, because I suspect it was one of the masses of high fantasy I read in middle school.

[Matt]

That would have been about the time frame that i would have read this as well middle school or so. thank you for being understanding about the grammar issue.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

The problem probably isn't you Matt--it's the app for GR. The stupid thing really needs some serious updating. And I got excited too when I saw this was bumped up, since I want to read this as well. le sigh.

[Matt]

Ah ok. i see. i have pretty much the stupidest smartphone in existence so if i am on my phone and something is not working i have atendency to assume that it is my phone.

[Matt]

I meant a tendency of course

[Mir]

Hey, can you remember the names of any main characters? Sometimes those are searchable...

[Cheryl]

bump

[Cumbling Michael]

Sounds a bit like parts of Guy Gavriel Kay's "Fionvar Tapestry" Trilogy, in which the elves' (the Lios Alfar) language and culture could not be understood by ordinary, uninitiated humans. The trilogy being:
The Summer Tree,
The Wandering Fire,
and The Darkest Road

Mike

[Michele]

Not Fionavar. The lios alfar don't talk any faster than anyone else. And it's not that they can't be understood, it's that they've hidden their land from casual intrusion -- it's more a privacy thing. No soldiers rounding up elves and dwarves.

Not The Dragonbone Chair, that's all medieval fantasy world, also no soldiers rounding people up.

Maybe A Darkness Forged in Fire? Haven't read it, though, so it may not be a good match. Besides, it was published in 2008 so not early enough...

Hm. You'd think fast-talking elves would be easy to track down, but noooo.

[Cheryl]

Here's a free bump for autumn.

[Matt]

Thanks for the bump, Cheryl. And thanks for making me laugh, Michele. "You'd think fast talking elves would be easy to track down, but noooo", lol. This is true but it's surprisingly hard to find.

[Lark]

hmm a long shot, but maybe Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Woodring Stover?
Blade of Tyshalle

[B.]

Seems like the elfy race (they were kinda cat-like, I think) in Tad William's "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" trilogy may have had this issue. Sounds so familiar...

[Jezi]

This sounds so familiar to me, although I can't remember the title either. Does the book you remember feature a female elf, with a lot of focus on the color of her eyes? How they can look different shades of blue and purple, and she knows exactly what impact they have and also how to use them to get what she wants...? If not, then I'm remembering a completely different book and should probably start another topic for that one...

[Krazykiwi]

Every time I see this thread I remember the Quicklings from the Dragonlance RPG. I don't think they're your answer, because I don't recall them being in any of the books (although I've far from read all of them). But they're sort of evil brownies rather than elves, but you might want to try widening your search to more general "fey" or "fae". In an elf heavy setting like Dragonlance, I could easily see how someone would misremember the Quicklings as elves - perhaps the real source you're looking for is similar?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Matt, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Matt, are you still looking for this or did you find it?"

No response in 2 years. Moving to Abandoned.