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and come back to learn Tom Disch has committed suicide and some scumbucket stole the laptops from four students at this year's Clarion West Workshop. What a lousy weekend for the sf communitiy. However, since I'm coming back at the end of these ordeals, I do see that at least the Clarion West Workshop tale of woe had a nice ending, as the SF community rallied to raise the funds to replace the lost laptops ...in mere hours!
Well done, my sf peeps!
Well, it's all over LJ, but I'm still going to add my own quick post to mark his passing. On its most basic level, the man was a giant in our field and he shall be missed. Lots of seminal work, much of which I still need to read. In fact, I've only read two things by Mr. Clarke. But if you were going to pick just two stories by him, I think I can point to two worthwhile reads. One I had to read for a class in college, and it was nothing other than CHILDHOOD'S END. At this point in my reading life, I had read lots of fantasy but only some science fiction. Today, it still ranks as one of the better sf novels I've read. There was a cold and logical beauty to this story that really resonated with me. It still does when I think about it.
The other story I've read is "The Nine Billion Names of God." Back when I worked in the Strand Bookstore and bought everthing for 25% of the cover price (you heard me!) I loaded up on more books than you could shake a stick at. One of them was the Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. I had no idea when I was going to read it, but it seemed a worthwhile purchase. So on the way home I'm looking at the TOC when I notice a story called "The Nine Billion Names of God." At the time, I didn't know it was one of his most respected stories. I just knew that was an awesome title and I needed to read it immediately. So I did, and was quite pleased. I still remember the last line to that one.
One of these days I'll pick up SPACE ODYSSEY: 2001 & RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA, and perhaps a few others. But I'm glad I managed to read a couple things of his before he left us.
RIP.
Sigh.
And with all this said, I need to say a few personal words about the deceased. Robert Jordan was seminal in my development as a fan and writer of this literature. Before I discovered Robert Jordan, I was but a casual fan. I enjoyed Robert E. Howard 's fantasy (still do), and the Dragonlance novels of Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. I read some of the spin-offs of both as well.
Then I was introduced to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I must admit I was hesitant to give this series a try. It had nothing to do with the length. The problem was that I'd read many of those old pastiche Conan novels by Tor, a number of them by Robert Jordan. And I never enjoyed his Conan novels. So why would I enjoy anything else by him? But the guy who recommended Jordan (I don't even remember his name anymore) was so adamant about how amazing these books were, so I decided to give them a try.
I was 14 at the time, and it was a lazy Sunday afternoon when I opened The Eye of the World. The prologue with Lews Therin Telamon* was really cool, which gave me hope I'd enjoy the rest of the book. But once the prologue was over I found myself becoming immensely bored. As I recall there was absolutely nothing to do that day, or I would've put the book down and said good riddance. Instead I kept reading. Around page 100 or so (in paperback form), the Trollocs attacked Emond's Field. And from there everything changed. The hours faded away. Dinner was skipped. Sleep was forfeited. Every scrap of free time (oh fuck, let's be honest--every scrap of time) was devoted to learning what happened next to Rand al'Thor and Matrim Cauthon and Perrin Aybarra, to Egwene and Nynaeve, to Moraine & Lan al'Mandragoran, and plucky old Thom Merrilin. For hours at a time I lived in this world, this wonderful place, with these characters and their quests, in a way I'd never experienced before.
By the time I finished The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt & The Dragon Reborn were already in my room, waiting to be read. I started The Great Hunt at once. When I finished it, about 30 seconds passed before I got to work on The Dragon Reborn. I was in absolute awe of the story. And then a terrible thing happened. There was nothing more to read! Suddenly I needed to read another fantasy novel to fill this unthinkable void inside me. I needed to absorb another fantasy story to take my mind off the Wheel of Time. So I read all of the Shannara books by Terry Brooks...all of Raymond E. Feist's Midkemia books ...The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Read them? I feasted on them. But none of them could tickle my imagination the way old RJ could.
Then came that glorious day. The Shadow Rising, book 4 in the Wheel of Time series, bless the Creator, it was out! It marked the first time I ever paid money for a hardcover. I was fifteen at the time, and that book was thick. I read it in four days.
So I kept reading these fat fantasies, and I tried some sword & sorcery novels too. And somewhere along the way I started reading science fiction. And one day I knew I wanted to write a fantasy book somewhere down the road. And then one day I knew I didn't just want to write a fantasy book, I wanted to be a writer. Period.
It wasn't until George R. R. Martin came along with A Game of Thrones (sophomore year of college, as I recall) that an author actually managed to write an epic fantasy that sunk its teeth into me even deeper than Jordan's books. It was interesting timing too, because I admit that with the publication A Path of Daggers (book 8 in the WOT) Robert Jordan's story started going downhill for me. As I recall, the timetable for these two books wasn't that far apart. In effect, the torch had been passed.
Yet I kept reading Jordan and many of his contemporaries. Eventually I went to the Odyssey Writing Workshop. By the time I finished those six weeks, I was a much more discerning reader (and even more now because of working at Realms of Fantasy). I came back to find that I simply couldn't enjoy so many of my adolescent regulars anymore. One by one they dropped off my reading list: Weis & Hickman ...Brooks ...Eddings ...Feist ...Farland ...Goodkind ...even (to my horror) David Gemmell. Some of them had older stories I was sure I could go back and still enjoy, but I'd grown beyond reading authors' current works out of a misplaced sense of loyalty because they used to write stuff I enjoyed.
But Robert Jordan was different. I didn't enjoy his books too much anymore, but I stubbornly kept reading them. Damn it, I was going to read Tarmon Gaidin (the promised final apocalyptic battle) if it killed me. He'd planted a seed with that story, in mind, in my heart, in my very soul, and I needed to see it to its end. Despite what I might have thought of Jordan's later works, this is an absolute testament to his storytelling abilities at their peak. He was tough to beat.
When I was younger I probably turned 20+ people onto this series. I know I'm not alone. It's why he was so widely read. Lots of us may like to sneer at someone like Robert Jordan, because we consider his work derivative or "not literary enough," but you know what? Robert E. Howard may have have lit the fires of my imagination, but Robert Jordan turned those fires into an inferno. His works set me down the path that ultimately led to me wanting to be a writer. Look hard enough and you'll find other people around my age in this industry that owe a debt of gratitude to old RJ. He knew how to spin a yarn, and he did so with ten balls of it per book. And on a commercial level, there are very few names who have influenced the genres of speculative literature more than he has. Rowling ...Stephen King ...Anne Rice ...Dean Koontz ...Tolkien ...C.S. Lewis. Maybe Terry Brooks & Clive Barker? (both of them are prolific bestsellers, after all). I doubt anyone else has outsold RJ (if there are other names, throw them out there--I'm curious!) And this does matter. People that sell on this sort of level bring new fans (and sometimes new writers) to the genre. They help it thrive. Ask Tor how much Robert Jordan has meant to their publishing success over these last 16 years or so.
So I salute you, Robert Jordan. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, and may it come to pass that in the next age the Wheel wills it so that you have the chance to write Tarmon Gaidin. As for me, I shall always remember the way you fired my imagination in my adolescence, how approachable you were the time I spoke to you at the World Fantasy Convention, and how, unfortunately, you
RIP
*I've only read these books once, so I may be spelling some of the names wrong as my memory has grown a bit fuzzy since reading Knife of Dreams.
Thankfully I made it, and when I arrived in NJ, Gary Frank, the VP of the GSHWA, was waiting to pick me up. The drive to the workshop was about another hour, and then I sat through the business meeting before the actual workshop started. I found this interersting, because I had never sat in on the behind-the-scenes workings of a writing organization before. So hearing them talk about upcoming events, money matters, etc. was all cool. And once I got some coffee in me, the grumpiness lifted.
Unforunately, I was saddened to learn during this meeting that Charles Grant, a highly respected writer in the horror field, died yesterday. When I attended Odyssey in 2000, Charles Grant was my week 2 instructor. At the time I was still very new to the field, so meeting any writer (even one I hadn't heard of :)), was still a new and exciting prospect. I'll always be appreciative for the time Mr. Grant took to teach me about the craft, and I wish his family & friends all the best during this difficult time.
Jack Fischer, the former publisher/editor of the defunct Flesh & Blood Magazine, was supposed to be one of my cohorts for this panel, but unfortunately Jack had to work. However, my other partner-in-crime, Kelly Laymon, was still there. Kelly is a former slush reader for Cemetery Dance, and she brought in the some of the funniest, wackiest cover letters I've ever encountered. As to the discussion itself, I went over a bunch of dos and don'ts, adding a caveat that while these are good rules to follow, most magazines will differ slightly in what they want done.
Overall I really enjoyed myself, and everyone proved really receptive and appreciative. Having been a student at the Odyssey Workshop and also Orson Scott Card's workshop, it was nice to play teacher this time, and pay it forward in whatever small way I could. It was also nice getting reiumbursed for travel expenses, and honorariums never hurt.
Afterward we went out to lunch (on them), and then Gary drove me all the way back to NYC. Good man. Now I'm going to do nothing for the rest of the night, except watch the Yankees play the Red Sox. Until next time everyone . . . but before I go I will add that I was very impressed with the way the Garden State Writers conducted themselves, and I have nothing but nice things to say about them.
I'd like to say that I knew David Gemmell. And in a way I did. Because when you sit down to read a book and fall completely into it--heart, soul, and mind--come the end of the story, you feel as if you do know the author, at least a little. This was my experience when seven years ago, I bought a copy of LEGEND, the first book Gemmell ever wrote. No one had recommended him, and I had never even heard of him as a writer. While he was huge in the UK (every book he wrote was a London Times bestseller), at the time he was relatively new to the U.S. audience. His work has been released here in 1984 by New Infinity Press with the title of AGAINST THE HORDE, but it had yet to reach the American speculative audience on a mainstream level.
Enter Del Rey.
On that day seven years ago I happened to be browsing in the bookstore, looking for something to read. What should I come across but a book called LEGEND. Not a particularly original title, but the spine caught my eye. Del Rey was marketing the book at part of their Fantasy Classics line, at a very sexy $3.99. That was enough to make me pull this book down from the shelves, selecting it out of what must have been over a thousand books filling the sf section. And guess what? Covers do sell stories. The back cover copy was okay, but the picture on the cover absolutely sang to me. Imagine a man obviously past his prime, but still a mighty warrior, wielding a sword and bedecked in armor, guarding a mighty fortress against an attacking army. And depsite the fact that he's old, you just know that he is one of the greatest warriors ever.
I know, I know. Doesn't sound like a particularly original cover. But the artist did a damn fine job, and looking at the cover, I just knew that whoever that warrior was, he was the reason the book was called LEGEND. So I shelled out my $3.99 + tax, took the book home, and started to read that same day. I read about 20 pages before my friends came over, and I must admit that I was rather annoyed that I had to put the book down.
I rectified that situation the next day. I inhaled it the way only a true fantasy lover can, and from there I ran out and bought every available sequel in the DRENAI SAGA. The next book was called KING BEYOND THE GATE, and while it wasn't quite the novel that LEGEND was, it also blew me away. From there I became a full-fledged fan of David Gemmell.
As to LEGEND, it was indeed a legendary book. As you all may imagine, I've read a sizable amount of fantasy novels (and short stories, of course), but without a doubt LEGEND ranks as one of the best stand-alone fantasy novels I have ever read. David Gemmell was a champion of the heroic tale, the larger-than-life hero, the sword swinging action that cuts its way to the very heart of your imagination. His work followed in the footsteps of some of the great S&S pulp writers of the first half of the 20th century, particularly Robert E. Howard. But unlike his predecessors, Gemmell managed to translate these high octane tales into novels, and his stories avoided so many of the prejudices evidenced by writers such as Howard, thus making them more accessible to today's readers.
But his books were more than just this. Gemmell had a knack for characters. Not the kind of characters that you remember, but instead the ones you know you'll never forget. And that is a remarkable skill. There can only be one Rek. One Ananaias the Golden One. One Decado the Ice Killer. One Tenaka Khan. One Pagan. One Waylander the Slayer. And of course, there can be only one Druss the Legend. When these characters went on adventures, the reader went too, right until the last page, and let me tell you all there was no one in the business who wrote a last page with such consistency like David Gemmell.
Over the years I've read about a number of authors from the speculative community that have passed away. Each time it happens I feel bad. I love this genre, and when we lose anyone it's a terrible thing. We're a small community. But for me, the death of David Gemmell is different. When we come to the genre, our imaginations are very eager and very visceral. For those of us that start reading this stuff as children or adolescents, I would guess there is a period of anywhere from 5-10 years where our reading experiences in speculative literature surpass any special effect that Industrial Light & Magic can muster. That's a big reason why we read the stuff like crack addicts. Eventually we become a bit more discerning, and while we still enjoy the genre, our reading experience rarely achieves the sense of wonder we experienced during these golden formative years, and certainly not with such consistency.
I discovered the genre at around 12. For me, these golden years of reading lasted until about 21. David Gemmell was the last great author to find my eyes before my reading habits started changing, and much of that resulted from the realization that I wanted to be a writer. But more than this, David Gemmell was alive when I first read his work. This is the first author in the genre to die whose work I read and loved while he was still alive. For this reason, it hurts a little extra to have lost him.
I'll admit that in recent years I've drifted away from Gemmell's work, and I never took to any of his other worlds the way I did the DRENAI SAGA. But that doesn't change the fact that his early books in the DRENAI SAGA were something special. If I pick up LEGEND tomorrow, I am 100% certain I would fall in love with it all over again. That is why the book is called LEGEND. And this is why it will have a place in fantasy for years to come.
You will be missed Mr. Gemmell. RIP.
It's great!!!
Butler writes with very clear prose, which is especially important with this book, because the ideas and characterizations she presents are very challenging. I don't want to be slowed down trying to unravel the meaning of flowery prose, not when I'm busy considering the future of humanity, and what it means to be human. And Butler does understand what it means to be a human being, more than most of us ever will. She knows what makes us tic, what gets our hackles up. She understands how even when we are a society inundated with technology, there are still so many ways to make us act on pure instinct. She knows how to make you uncomfortable as you read because of the truths you're being confronted with, a rare talent for any writer of any sort of fiction.
And she also understands the word "alien." More than this I won't say, because you need to experience it for yourself.
Anyone that likes to read novels should read this woman. I understand now why she received the "genius grant." When I learned of her death some months back, I was saddened to hear about it. Even though I had never read her works, I knew how well respected she was, and that she had made great contributions to the field. And now that I have read her . . .well, her time came too soon. My only consolation is that I have lots of her work left to read.
http://darkush.blogspot.com/
