When we all lived in the forest
  • Home
  • Fantasy Reading
  • Science Fiction Reading
  • Publications
  • Amusements
  • Moth Books

#44: The Dark Tower by Stephen King

4/25/2015

2 Comments

 
There are other worlds than these.

Back in 2011, when I started this Fantasy Reading List, I knew I would read all the books in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, because I had always intended to read the series, and never had.  When King first wrote The Gunslinger in 1982, he did not know where the story would take him or his readers, or if he would even ever finish it in his lifetime.

Fast forward to now, 2015: The Dark Tower has eight books, a short story, countless allusions in his other novels, Marvel comic books, books and dictionaries about the books, a massive website, fandoms, an online gaming world, conventions, and this very month, yet another announcement that this will be made into a movie, and possibly even an animated series.

The world has moved on.  Bring it on.


Read More
2 Comments

#43: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones

4/25/2015

0 Comments

 
I acquired this book in a way I have not done so before: I borrowed it. 

I went to my friend Taryn's house and said, "I need a Diana Wynn Jones book.  A good one.  One that I haven't read.  I couldn't get into the Dalemark book I had."  (I had read only half of it.  It was okay.  But Diana Wynn Jones, who died in 2011 and wrote dozens of books, is an author who deserves to be represented well.)

Taryn has over fifteen feet of bookcases in her living room -- and she went over to her large collection of Diana Wynn Jones books (Archer's Goon, Dogsbody, books we have loved and read over and over) and handed my favorite kind of book to me -- one that has been read so many times the pages are falling out.  "Here.  It's really funny. They changed everything in the movie."

I had not seen the movie, so I got to read the book afresh.  The story is about Sophie, a pretty hat-maker who is unfortunately the eldest of three sisters, so it is assumed she has no remarkable future ahead of her -- until is turned into an old lady by a witch -- and goes to seek a solution to this problem by finding the Wizard Howl (or Howell) who has a reputation of being quite wicked and lives in a castle that bounces  across the landscape like an hysterical jalopy.  And Howl?

"Have you heard of a land called Wales?" she asked.

"No," said Sophie.  "Is it under the sea?"

The Witch found this funnier than ever.  "Not at the moment," she said.  "It's where Wizard Howl comes from.  You know Wizard Howl, don't you?"

"Only by hearsay," Sophie lied.  "He eats girls.  He's as wicked as you."

Of course, everything Welsh gets my attention, especially now: Chris and I are returning to Wales for our tenth anniversary in a mere two weeks.  So I thought: Diana Wynn Jones has been to Wales, otherwise why would she insert it?  And then: Jones!  It's the most common welsh surname.  She at least has Welsh ancestors?

So I went to a fan site.  Yes and yes.  She lived in Wales with relatives for a short time during World War II, and describes it here, including picking up a Welsh accent.

Howl's Moving Castle is vintage DWJ as well -- amusingly described characters, not a perfect one in the lot of them.  My favorite was Calcifer, the fire demon who lived in the hearth.  It is definitely a children's book, and I found myself impatient (as was Sophie actually) for being trapped in the castle for so long (with no stylistic contortions to keep myself entertained, I am starting to realize that is the difference between adult and children's writing), but it is a warm-hearted story.  More importantly, there are things I will always remember about it from now on.

I can't say the same about a lot of adult books I've read.

Lessons for Writers:  On Diana Wynn Jones's website there is an article of hers on writing that is very salient, and I think I will pick one of those plums to share... The IMPORTANT THING is that you should ENJOY making up your story. If it bores you, stop and try something else.

               Oh, and you should read what else she said, here.  These are stories everyone should know.

0 Comments

#42: The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

4/4/2015

0 Comments

 
This book is... interesting.  I say that with respect, awe, and wonder.  I've read many entertaining books, many beautiful books, many touching books, many amazing books, but this one was interesting: it represented a fantasy world where everything was so novel that I had to rely on the author to guide me, much like the lovely, blind protagonist Oree relied on everyone around her to traverse her strange, beautiful, and at times frightening world.  There was a part that dragged in the middle -- where Oree was a captive and not much else was happening, but then the story jumps back into its saddle and rides like hell.  "Interesting" creates attachment, and I became so involved in the relationship of Oree and the cursed god "Shiny", aside from reading it in a few short days, the ending stung me more than I expected and almost more than I could handle.

This is a world where a giant tree grows through a city; a city where gods and godlings and humans of different classes and races intermingle, re-gentrification of a neighborhood at its most extreme, with all the problems that come with it.  One of the most interesting parts of this book are the gods themselves. In fantasy, interacting with magical creatures is pretty much the norm, but has there been any other book I can recall where mortals have day-to-day relationships with deities as friends?  As lovers?  From a human point of view? Not to my recollection -- and I've read (and written) a substantial amount of mythology-based stories, starting with my most favorite of authors, Roger Zelazny.  See?  Interesting.

Okay: mortals interact with gods and goddesses fairly routinely in Greek and Roman mythology.  Perhaps that is why I found this so enchanting. Also, the godling Madding has a house where the bottom floor is pretty much a lush lagoon -- I wanted with all my heart to visit it. That is exactly the way I would set up a house, if I had my druthers.

Jemisin's city Shadow echoed of Viriconium, but not as alien; her characters' chatty relationships reminded me of Emma Bull, but this world is something new and... again,  interesting.  I am a little embarrassed I had not heard of her before -- I had found this book, which in in the middle of a trilogy at Bookman in Anaheim last November.  This one was written in 2010, and she now has five books out. (This lets me know that I can now venture into picking the best of a series, not just the first of a series, as I continue this "100 Great Fantasy Novels Reading List.")  It did not hurt that this book stands alone as it own story, another strength.  There were so many great images, passages, and lines.  A favorite:

"Loneliness is a darkness of the soul."

Lessons for writers: this book has made me really ponder what the nature of "interesting" is.  What makes things interesting, rather than merely imaginative or evocative?  What makes us interested in some stories, but not in others?  Novelty can only be one part of that equation -- there are lots of imaginative inventions out there in the world of Story.  What gains our interest?  How do we make our stories interesting to others?  I think it may take years just to define the parameters of this question alone.

                                    Visit this wonderful author at her website.  
0 Comments

    Page

    In 2011, I began reading a list of 100 Great Fantasy Novels. I am listing them on this page.

    Me
    ​
    Hi!  I am Nye Joell Hardy.  
    I write science fiction and fantasy.  The science fiction makes my head happy.  The fantasy makes my heart happy.  Although I sell all these things, none are making me rich.  But I'm happy, damn it.  

    Picture

    Archives

    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    Categories

    All
    Atlantis
    Buddhist
    Charles John Cutliffe Wright Hyne
    Christopher Priest
    Cthulhu
    Dean Koontz
    Diana Wynn Jones
    Dylan Thomas
    Emma Bull
    Fantasy
    Forgotten Books
    Gene Wolfe
    Hindu
    Howl's Moving Castle
    H.P. Lovecraft
    Jan Lars Jensen
    John Crowley
    Lovecraft
    N.K. Jemisin
    Odd Apocalypse
    Odd Thomas
    Oree
    Pterodactyl
    Roger Zelazny
    Rudyard Kipling
    Shere Khan
    Shiny
    Shiva 3000
    Stephen King
    The Broken Kingsoms
    The Dark Tower
    The Drawing Of The Three
    The Gunslinger
    The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
    The Jungle Book
    The Lost Continent
    The Waste Lands
    T.S. Eliot
    Viriconium
    Wales
    Welsh
    Writing
    Writing Lessons

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly