Reader Request

Hi all,

Reader Sparky has asked me to talk about "Deus ex Machina," and I am happy to oblige.

It literally means "God from the Machine." It used to be used in Greek plays, when there was an unsolvable problem: a God would appear on stage and save the day! Now, it's a literary device consisting of a surprise solution or ending, used mostly when the author can't figure out how to finish the story. So, it could be a new character that appears at the end with the missing clue that solves the mystery. Or a character suddenly says, "Oh, I already called the police before the robbers took our phones. Here they come now!"

OR like in one of those Jurassic Park movies (okay, I looked it up and it's #3), when the paleontologist who I thought was Jeff Goldblum, but imdb tells me that it was Sam Neill) tries to call Laura Dern and tell her that the dinosaurs are loose and trying to eat the people, but he drops the satellite phone (or the dinosaurs take it or something). They're all doomed. Then, what do you know? Here comes the freaking Coast Guard! Laura found out that he called, assumed the dinosaurs had evolved and were more intelligent than previously believed, and were in fact communicating amongst themselves and working together to kill the humans. And she just made a call.

It's often kind of annoying, and it sometimes feels like the author cheated. But, sometimes you want a surprise at the end, and if you give away too many clues earlier on, everyone will guess the ending.