Thursday, May 9, 2013
The beginnings of Urban Fantasy
Who among you remembers the first book you read? Or, shall we say the first which made a real impression on you? For me, I grew up on a household that didn't read, and didn't really provide books for a budding bibliophile. So, I did what I could, mostly snitching school books to read from my older cousins. The first I really remember? Being six years old and sneaking my cousin's high school mythology books from her room. The ideas there absolutely fascinated me. Gods and monsters. Far distant lands with strange languages and customs. I was truly hooked on mythology, fantasy and reading itself. It was an epiphany of massive personal proportions.
Back in the middle/late 80's, I was gifted with "Moonheart." Another epiphany of massive personal proportions. I fell into the story, into it's world of myth and legend, and became an Urban Fantasy fan for life. Moonheart's story was, for it's time, groundbreaking. While most mythology of the time retained the ancient characteristics of other myths and legends, Moonheart brought the stories into the modern day, creating the modern Urban Fantasy genre. Of course, Emma Bull's "War For The Oaks" winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel , Terri Windling's "The Wood Wife" The Wood Wife and Ellen Datlow's various compilations of UF helped cement my love at the time. I spent years collecting all the works I could get my hands on, including a rare, signed copy of de Lint's "The Buffalo Man," The Buffalo Man illustrated by Charles Vess, that I cherish.
Moonheart is perfect for anyone who wants to study the beginnings of UF, but it is a tremendous story for what it is - a beautifully written tale combining music (another of my passions), fairie, mystical forests, mythical artifacts and beings and layers upon layers of worlds. De Lint is a musician himself, and his writing is a paean to the musical heart of myth and mystery.
A living house which straddles two worlds, a cast of characters who I love dearly. Moonheart is a beautiful story I return to over and over again.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower Book 1)
The
Dark Tower The Gunslinger
"The Man In Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed. The desert was the apotheosis of all deserts, huge, standing to the sky for what looked like eternity in all directions."
Back in the 80's, before "The Dark Tower" became the huge hit it is today, I lucked out, coming upon this jewel of modern American writing in a tiny little used book store in a tiny little town in Texas. King dreamed up the story from a reading of "Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, and carries all of the angst, pain an despair which fills that poem.
The series centres around Roland Deschain, The Last Gunslinger, who may be a creature of myth and legend, or simply a man, as he tracks the Man In Black across a bleak and hopeless desert - a desert of reality and of the soul.
"My first thought was, he lied in every word,
That hoary cripple, with malicious eye
Askance to watch the working of his lie
On mine, and mouth scarce able to afford
Suppression of the glee that pursed and scored
Its edge, at one more victim gained thereby. " Robert Browning
The Gunslinger immediately gripped my attention and refused to release me. Poetry, mythology, pain and loss, a searching of the mind soul and body. As a Browning fan, the concept touched me deeply.
Over the years, I was thrilled every time a new Tower came out, and was never disappointed. This is King stretching himself, moving outside his "horror" boundaries, while still remaining true to his writing style in many ways. The world of the Tower is desolate, painful and digs deep into archetypes of the human soul.
Is this another world, somewhere lost among the tides and times of the Universe, old beyond measure and dying? Or is this our world, old itself beyond measure, stretched thin and worn, fading into the universe with a whimper, rather than a bang.
The story grows and develops over the subsequent editions, building and expanding on its mythos, its archetypes, its heart. A serialized novel of depth and power, of heartbreak and redemption, with characters unlike any others, The Tower is a blend of poetry, art and prose unlike any other. Read "The Gunslinger." Then gift your soul with the rest of the series. And think - - - what is real? Are we? Is Roland? Is the world of Roland just on the other side of our own reality?
George
Guidell does his normal, spectacular job as the voice of the
Audible.com edition of the series. His voice, which has narrated over
900 audio books, and won two Audie Awards for Excellence in audio
book narration, is perfect for the part and never deviates from its
power and perfection.
Freebies!
I started a new Goodreads group!http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/103429-freebies-and-low-cost-books
If you know places to go for great new (or established!) authors who are giving away or making their books available for a low cost for a period of time, Please post!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Baby steps!
Today I am composing my first Blog! It will no doubt change and grow over time, but for right now, it is a learning curve and should be viewed as such. Thanks for taking the time to visit with me on my blog. If you have thoughts on my layout or just want to chat, let me know.
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