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Hobbit Hole XI: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1155177/posts |
Posted on 06/01/2004 9:35:59 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
New verse:
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Upon the hearth the fire is red, |
Still round the corner there may wait |
Home is behind, the world ahead, |
Cool--that means there's more for me to read after I finish that one :)
So are you reading anything right now?
I just finished a pair of re-reads, "Harry Potter" and "Otherland". I'm not reading anything right now, actually; I've been watching a little Fruits Basket or spending time with the family most evenings this week. Think I'm going to re-read "Fallen Angels" (Niven, Pournelle and Some Other Guy) or "Passage" (The one and only Connie Willis) next. Probably "Passage", because of Reagan's death, and that book's the one that made me really fear Alzheimer's.
"Niven, Pournelle and Some Other Guy"
Ah, yes, I'm familiar with Some Other Guy--he writes a lot of stuff :)
I still want to read "Otherland". Wouldn't mind reading some more Willis, too. What does she do with Alzheimer's in "Passage"?
Sigh--I have so many unread SF and fantasy books on my shelf I want to read. Have you ever read "Canticle for Leibowitz"?--that's another one I mean to get to.
Passage is... more or less... about death. Great disasters, near death experiences, sudden death, lingering departures... it's a very good book. One of the many plotlines involves a young woman who's caring for an uncle who has Alzheimer's. In some scenes, it's nearly heartbreaking. And it serves as a counterpoint to other tragedies.
Connie Willis isn't afraid of making you ask deep questions. It's a beautiful book, probably her best after "Doomsday Book", although "To Say Nothing of the Dog" is more fun. So tight, so dense. If I could write like she does, I'd be happy.
Oh, yeah, and it's about the Titanic, too.
"If I could write like she does, I'd be happy."
I'm sure you can if you work at it :)
"Passage" sounds like a deep book--like SF as a vehicle for philosophy. I want to read that.
Another book on my reading list is this old fantasy collection my friend just mailed me, "The Circus of Dr. Lao", published in 1956 and edited by Ray Bradbury. Here are the stories:
Charles G. Finney, "The Circus of Dr. Lao"
Nigel Kneale, "The Pond"
E.B. White, "The Hour of Letdown" [I didn't know E.B. White wrote adult fiction, too!]
Roald Dahl, "Wish"
Shirley Jackson, "The Summer People"
Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Earth's Holocaust"
Loren Eisley, "Buzby's Petrified Woman"
Oliver LeFarge, "The Resting Place"
Henry Kuttner, "Threshold"
James H. Schmitz, "Greenface"
John Seymour Sharnik, "The Limits of Walter Horton"
Robert M. Coates, "The Man Who Vanished"
The discussion of various authors reminded me of the recommended reading list from the "Dungeon Master's Guide", which I've been gradually working through. Any of these y'all have read that you'd recommend? (other than Tolkien of course):
Anderson, Paul. Three Hearta and Three Lions; The High Crusade; The Broken Sword.
Bellairs, John. The Face in the Frost.
Brackett, Leigh.
Brown, Fredric.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Pellucidar series; Mars series; Venus series.
Carter, Lin. World's End series.
de Camp, l. Sprague. Lest Darkness Fall; Fallible Fiend; et al.
de Camp & Pratt. Harold Shea series; Carnelian Cube.
Derleth, August.
Dunsany, Lord.
Farmer, P.J. The World of the Tiers series, et al.
Fox, Gardner. Kothar series, Kyrik series, et al.
Howard, R.E. Conan series.
Lanier, Sterling. Hero's Journey.
Lieber, Fritz. Fafhrd & Grey Mouser series; et al.
Lovecraft, H.P.
Merritt, A. Creep, Shadow, Creep; Moon Pool; Dwellers in the Mirage; et al.
Moorcock, Michael. Stormbringer; Stealer of Souls; Hawkmoon series esp. first three books.
Norton, Andre.
Offutt, Andrew J. (ed.) Swords against Darkness III.
Pratt, Fletcher. Blue Star; et al.
Saberhagen, Fred. Changeling Earth; et al.
St. Clair, Margaret. The Shadow People; Sign of the Labrys.
Tolkien, J.R.R. Hobbit; LotR.
Vance, Jack. The Eyes of the Overworld; The Dying Earth; et al.
Weinbaum, Stanley.
Wellman, Manly Wade.
Williamson, Jack.
Zelazny, Roger. Jack of Shadows; Amber series; et al.
de Camp, l. Sprague. Lest Darkness Fall; Fallible Fiend; et al. Lest Darkness Fall is classic. Also, "The Glory That Was"
de Camp & Pratt. Harold Shea series; Carnelian Cube. Yngvi is a louse! Harold Shea stories are great - look for "The Compleat Enchanter"
Lieber, Fritz. Fafhrd & Grey Mouser series; et al. Yes. Definitely
Zelazny, Roger. Jack of Shadows; Amber series; et al. Amber is one of the great books. I love Amber. Corwin is a great hero.
Brown, Fredric. - Haven't read enough of him, but yeah
Haven't read him yet.
de Camp, l. Sprague. Lest Darkness Fall; Fallible Fiend; et al. Lest Darkness Fall is classic. Also, "The Glory That Was"
Haven't read these--I've been keeping an eye out for de Camp books but rarely have luck finding them, except for his Conan stories.
de Camp & Pratt. Harold Shea series; Carnelian Cube.
Yngvi is a louse! Harold Shea stories are great - look for "The Compleat Enchanter"
That's one I do have :)
Lieber, Fritz. Fafhrd & Grey Mouser series; et al. Yes. Definitely
Have six of those.
Zelazny, Roger. Jack of Shadows; Amber series; et al. Amber is one of the great books. I love Amber. Corwin is a great hero.
Need to read those.
Sounds like Zelazny is getting high recommendations! :) I don't know what D&D took from "Jack of Shadows". What's that about?
I won't give away the story, though, just the setup. ;)
"I won't give away the story, though, just the setup. ;)"
Thanks for the non-spoiler summary, LOL! That sounds like a pretty clever premise. I'm not sure why the D&D list includes it. Gary Gygax's intro to the D&D recommended reading list says this is how the books on the list were picked:
"The following authors were of particular inspiration to me. In some cases I cite specific works, in others, I simply recommend all their fantasy writing to you. From such sources, as well as just about any other imaginative writing or screenplay you will be able to pluck kernels from which grow the fruits of exciting campaigns. . .The most immediate influences upon AD&D were probably de Camp & Pratt, REH, Leiber, Jack Vance, HPL, and A. Merritt; but all of the above authors, as well as many not listed, certainly helped to shape the form of the game."
Hmm, "Jack of Shadows" was written in 1971, which is earlier than I thought.
As to why it's included, well... each of the magicians, once they discover their "place of power", do all they can to establish a stronghold on the location, usually a great big magically-enhanced castle. Jack, being a thief with "non-localized" abilities, spends a lot of time trying to sneak in to these castles and steal magical objects, often at the request (and pay) of other, rival, magicians. It's a setup tailor-made for a D&D campaign. ;)
Plus, Zelazny is an excellent writer! As I said, I recommend anything and everything he's written. :)
s.b. "was", sigh.
I haven't read enough Zelazny, sadly. Just Amber, and Lords of Light, and some of the short stories. I remember really liking the story "Home is the Hangman".
Something about the notion of a computer programmer "opting out" of the global computer database really appealed to me. ;)
Let me especially recommend the following Zelazny novels: This Immortal; Isle of the Dead; Doorways in the Sand; and A Night in the Lonesome October. Also, I recommend all of his short story collections: The Doors of his Face, the Lamps of his Mouth; The Last Defender of Camelot; Unicorn Variations; and Frost and Fire. Not only does each contain excellent stories, but starting with The Last Defender of Camelot Zelazny introduces each story with a small anecdote or remembrance, often discussing the creative thought that went in to the writing of the story. In fact, in Unicorn Variations, each story is selected to illustrate the different ways a story can come to be written.
By the way... the last Zelazny story collection, Manna From Heaven, is due out in hardcover soon. It will include all six of the Amber short stories that he wrote after the last novel. I can't wait to get it!
Oh, more Amber! Huzzah!
Read one of the threads about it.
Had a slightly rhetorical/sarcastic anti-UN comment about it.
"As to why it's included, well... each of the magicians, once they discover their "place of power", do all they can to establish a stronghold on the location, usually a great big magically-enhanced castle. Jack, being a thief with "non-localized" abilities, spends a lot of time trying to sneak in to these castles and steal magical objects, often at the request (and pay) of other, rival, magicians. It's a setup tailor-made for a D&D campaign. ;)"
That does sound like a good D&D module scenario! Sounds like Jack is a thief/magic-user, too :)
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