Ursula Kroeber Le Guin was born in California in 1929 and started writing as a teenager. Mostly during the 1960s and 1970s she has written many novels, most of them part of science-fiction or fantasy series, making her an influential author in these genres.
Especially by writing the popular Earthsee series, Ursula K. Le Guin has had a large influence on the development of the fantasy genre during the 20th century. A television mini-series, also called Earthsee, was even made in 2004.
Themes
Le Guin is known for including a number of themes in her stories. Her novels often center around social aspects such as anthropology and ecology. Persons and races are suppressed or discriminated, causing the protagonists (who are often colored people) of the stories to rise up against the establishment. Another theme is the disrespect of people for nature with all possible consequences.
Works
Within the fantasy community Ursula Le Guin is of course mainly know for her novels of the Earthsee series. But she has written many more books, most with science-fiction elements.
Below a listing of Le Guin’s most important works:
Earthsea
A Wizard of Earthsea, 1968
The Tombs of Atuan, 1971
The Farthest Shore, 1972
Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea, 1990
Tales from Earthsea, 2001
The Other Wind, 2001
Hainish Cycle
Rocannon’s World, 1966
Planet of Exile, 1966
City of Illusions, 1967
The Left Hand of Darkness, 1969
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia, 1974
The Word for World is Forest, 1976
Four Ways to Forgiveness, 1995
The Telling, 2000
Other
The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, 1975
Orsinian Tales, 1976
The Eye of the Heron, 1978
The Beginning Place, 1980
Always Coming Home, 1985
Lavinia, 2008
Official website of Ursula K. Le Guin
Amidst a period of watching the first of the Games of Thrones episodes and reading a lot of Malazan tales (The Crippled God by Erikson and Stonewielder by Esslemont, reviews coming soon!), I have found the time to read a very nice novel called Blunderland, written by Elizabeth O’Kane.
Contrary to the high/ epic fantasy I am mostly into, Blunderland is a contemporary fantasy novel describing an Alice in Wonderland kind of story.
Story
Blunderland tells the story of the young woman Fin who enters a world called Blunder that is quite different from our own but also connected to it at the same time. Interesting as this world is, all is not right and Fin finds herself at the center of the problems. First she has to escape the Creeps who are after her but then she finds out she is the only one who can stop them from ravaging Blunder.
See below for the back cover summary.
Review
As stated above, Elizabeth O’Kane has created a very enjoyable contemporary fantasy story by writing Blunderland. She has managed to include several interesting and fascinating fantasy concepts in the story. Being transported to a fantasy world is of course nothing new but Blunder is linked to our world and events there may influence our world on a large scale. Also other aspects, like superfast cars and using folded or knotted materials to “write and read” instead of pen and paper are nice little differences. What I would have liked to see is that these fantasy elements were more structural, providing a more consistent and deeper setting of this fantasy world.
The story that is told interchanges dark, disturbing events with light, almost childish situations in which the main character Fin explores the otherworldly aspects of Blunder and its people. Although these extremes sometimes felt too far apart, O’Kane has managed to find a balance that kept the story exciting and fascinating.
A point of criticism I do have is regarding the pace of the story. There are quite a few moments when nothing much is happening except for Fin taking yet another shower and playing with her dog. This doesn’t seem to fit well with the urgency of stopping the Creeps.
Apart from the main story of Fin having to safe Blunder, a lot of attention is given to the personal issues of Fin which have caused her to forget parts of her past and continue to influence her behavior. This gives the story the necessary depth and definitely helps build the character.
Conclusion
All in all, I have really enjoyed reading Blunderland. The pace and depth of the story could have been somewhat better but I hope that Elizabeth O’Kane is already working on a sequel (or prequel) that will allow for this. The land of Blunder, its history and its connection to our world definitely seem to have more than enough elements that would justify using it as the setting for other stories!
Back cover summary
Fin Barrett is a survivor who believes her life is in order once and for all. Unfortunately, she is wrong. As Fin attempts to make a fresh start with her new puppy Zipper, she has no idea that Creeps from another world are stalking her. But then, late one night in a nearby sculpture garden, Fin suddenly finds herself sprinting after Zipper through a mosaic arch. In mere seconds, she is transported to a strange place called the land of Blunder.
In Blunder, sparkly goo makes solid objects penetrable, an old woman’s Mercedes travels at unimaginable speeds, and people read handcrafted objects rather than printed words. To top it off, a few of Blunder’s citizens seem to know Fin-and not all of them are happy with her. After Fin dredges up terrifying memories of her first visit to Blunder, she remembers it is up to her to stop the Creeps who receive thrills from randomly attacking innocent people.
With the help of an irritating shaman, the ridiculous Sullivan brothers, and a host of other oddball characters, Fin is unwittingly propelled into the role of savior as she and Zipper traverse through an outlandish world where nothing will ever be normal.
By showing a dead King Kong, George R.R. Martin has let the world know that he has finished writing A Dance with Dragons!
The due date for this fifth installment of the highly acclaimed fantasy series A Song of Ice & Fire is July 12, 2011.
The timing is of course great as HBO’s new TV series Game of Thrones, based on the first book of Ice & Fire and co-produced by George Martin, has just aired and is turning out to be quite the hit series. A Dance with Dragons with fly of the shelfs!
I cannot wait to get my hands on this book, read it and let you know if it is just as great as its predecessors!
Source: Not A Blog
Preview
The future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance.
In the east, Daenerys, last scion of House Targaryen, her dragons grown to terrifying maturity, rules as queen of a city built on dust and death, beset by enemies.
Now that her whereabouts are known many are seeking Daenerys and her dragons. Among them the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister, who has escaped King’s Landing with a price on his head, wrongfully condemned to death for the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey. But not before killing his hated father, Lord Tywin.
To the north lies the great Wall of ice and stone – a structure only as strong as those guarding it. Eddard Stark’s bastard son Jon Snow has been elected the 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, but he has enemies both in the Watch and beyond the Wall, where the wildling armies are massing for an assault.
On all sides bitter conflicts are reigniting, played out by a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves. The tides of destiny will inevitably lead to the greatest dance of all…
Contrary to almost all other well-known fantasy series, the Shannara trilogy is set in the distant future. However, all other classic elements of fantasy stories are present: strange lands and races, magic and a fight between good and evil.
Author Terry Brooks has written many Shannara series after the original trilogy, many of them best sellers, making him one of the most successful fantasy authors.
Story & Setting
After the destruction of the world as we know it, several races (men, elves, dwarves and trolls) fight each other for world domination. A group of elves, known as the Druids try to prevent war and defeat evil, as do the members of the Shannara family, who are from mixed heritage of elf and man.
Magic plays an important part but throughout the series technology is also being used.
Conclusion
With a storyline and races comparable to those of The Lord of the Rings, some say this series is a simplified copy of LoTR. To me, that statement is cutting corners a bit. However, I also feel that the series is a nice and easy read but not much more than that. Then again, Shannara has a lot of fans and has been an introduction to fantasy for many so I felt I had to include it in the list of best fantasy series.
There have been plans to make a movie based on the Shannara novels (Warner Bros had to rights to do so until 2010) but so far this has not happened.
Prime Focus has released a press statement informing the world that it has come to an agreement with sir Terry Pratchet to make a television series based on the Night Watch of his popular Discworld series.
Personally, I love the Discworld novels and the Night Watch is my favorite group of characters so I really hope this cooperation will result in a great new fantasy TV series!
Press statement
Sir Terry Pratchett and Rod Brown, managing director of Prime Focus Productions, have announced an agreement for the unprecedented and exclusive worldwide television rights to create brand new storylines for the iconic characters of Pratchett’s phenomenally successful Discworld series.
Terry’s universal success has seen him create one of the leading fantasy fiction franchises of all time, with 70 million worldwide sales of his 38-book Discworld titles. This will rise to 39 following another book to be published in October 2011. While there have been three successful mini-series adaptations of his Discworld books made for television in the UK, this is the first time Pratchett has granted a production company the international rights to his characters and their world. The agreement will see Prime Focus Productions create a series of new stories exclusively for a television audience.
The main focus of the series will be the bustling, highly mercantile, largely untrustworthy and vibrant city of Ankh Morpork. It will follow the day-to-day activities of the men, women, trolls, dwarves, vampires and several other species who daily pound its ancient cobbles. This will of course also include Igor in the forensics department. Terry commonly refers to the City Watch police force series as “the jewels in his Discworld Crown.” These richly developed and highly compelling characters will feature in a ‘crime of the week’ episodic storyline. As each weekly adventure unfolds, viewers will be taken on a ride through Pratchett’s genius imagination, with the author overseeing the creation of the series. In this world, wild and exciting encounters with werewolves, dragons, dwarfs, trolls, golems and the classic heroes and villains are an everyday occurrence… many of whom even make outstanding crime fighters!
“I believe the globally successful Discworld franchise will readily translate to the small screen in the form of a high-end, mass appeal weekly drama series, giving the audience the anticipation and excitement of brand new Discworld stories every week through the medium of television, rather than books,” said Rod Brown, managing director of Prime Focus Productions. “It’s a huge responsibility to get this right for Terry, his legions of Discworld fans and the new followers that we’ll attract along the way. I believe they’ll be in for a treat with a high calibre writing team already attached, including Monty Python’s Terry Jones and Gavin Scott (Small Soldiers, The Borrowers). We’ve already spoken to a number of international broadcasters who’ve shown early interest and we hope to move forward very quickly to bring this exciting project to fruition.”
Sir Terry Pratchett said of the agreement: “I’m very excited and incredibly happy about this because Rod was co-head of the team that produced the very successful Sky One adaptations. My message of encouragement to him now is: don’t bugger it up!”
Source: Prime Focus Productions
As of yesterday (March 1, 2011) a second novel of Patrick Rothfuss in the Kingkiller Chronicles is available, called The Wise Man’s Fear.
Based on what I have heard so far about the book, it is of at least the same level as the first novel, The Name of the Wind, one of the best fantasy novels of the last decade. That means that The Wise Man’s Fear will contain a complex and intriguing story and will be an amazing read.
The next installment in the series will be called The Doors of Stone. If Rothfuss continues like this, the Kingkiller Chronicles will definitely earn it’s place among the best fantasy series ever, making him one of the best fantasy authors around.
Official summary
“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
An escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe discovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King’s road.
All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived. Under her tutelage, Kvothe learns much about true magic and the ways of women.
In The Wise Man’s Fear Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
Robin Hobb is the pen name of American author Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden. She is a great storyteller and has proven to be very good in developing strong and believable characters in her books, making her one of the best fantasy authors alive.
Hobb has written several series, often trilogies, over the years. Especially her Farseer and Liveship Traders series are highly recommendable.
Biography & Style
Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden was borne in California in 1952 but grew up in Alaska. She began writing for children’s magazines at the age of around eightteen. Since then, Ogden has written several series and novels under the pen name of Megan Lindholm but became well known as author Robin Hobb. She currently lives in Washington and has three grown children and a young daughter.
As for Hobb’s writing style, it is characterized by a lot of attention to character development, a very detailed fantasy world and carefully constructed story lines. It may be a prejudice but one could argue that when reading her books, you know they have been written by a woman.
Series & Novels
The Farseer Trilogy
* Assassin’s Apprentice (1995)
* Royal Assassin (1996)
* Assassin’s Quest (1997)
Read more about the Farseer Trilogy.
Liveship Traders Trilogy
* Ship of Magic (1998)
* The Mad Ship (1999)
* Ship of Destiny (2000)
The Tawny Man Trilogy
* Fool’s Errand (2002)
* Golden Fool (2003)
* Fool’s Fate (2003)
The Rain Wild Chronicles
* Dragon Keeper (2009)
* Dragon Haven (2010)
Soldier Son Trilogy
* Shaman’s Crossing (2005)
* Forest Mage (2006)
* Renegade’s Magic (2008)
Official website of Robin Hobb
Review of the fantasy series The Belgariad. Written by David Eddings, the series consists of a total of five novels (see below).
The novels are a nice read but they are definitely not ground-breaking in my opinion. The overall story is quite straightforward and the characters are not very complex. Simplicity is not always a bad thing but it is one of the reasons why The Belgariad is not a series I will read for a second time.
On the other hand, many people have read the series and like it, making The Belgariad one of the most influential fantasy series.
Story
The young orphan Garion finds out he is a descendant of a powerful sorcerer and goes on a quest to find and protect an orb that has the power to rule the world.
Over the course of the series Garion finds out he too as special powers but still needs the help of his family and friends to fulfill the ancient prophecy. Garion has to battle the followers of the evil god Torak and even will even have to face the god himself.
Themes & Setting
The Belgariad is classical high fantasy. Set in a completely imaginary world, magic comes in many forms in The Belgariad, with a lot of characters who have supernatural abilities.
There are gods with almost supreme power, sorcerer who can teleport and create things with nothing more than their imagination and wizards who can summon demons. Interesting enough, no one has the power to undo/ unmake things.
The different races and characters are clearly different, each with their unique trademarks, specialties and weaknesses.
Books
1. Pawn of Prophecy (1982)
2. Queen of Sorcery (1982)
3. Magician’s Gambit (1983)
4. Castle of Wizardry (1984)
5. Enchanters’ End Game (1984)
A five book sequel called The Malloreon was also written by David Eddings.
After a year that has not been too special on the fantasy front, I really don’t know where to start off discussing the short term future of fantasy; there are simply too many great new things happening in the fantasy genre during 2011!
Novels that will surely be amazing, endings of series that have taken decades to create and have held millions in their grip. Blockbuster movies and a television series that can only blow our minds.
Here are my personal hightlights: the best and most anticipated fantasy titles of the year to come!
Books and Series
The novel I am looking most forward to is The Crippled God by Steven Erikson. It is the last installment of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series and should be several hundreds of pages filled with the resolution of all mysteries that Erikson has created during the series. Allthough, knowing Erikson a bit, much will probably remain unsolved.
Close second on my list, mostly because we will have to wait till the end of September before it will be released, is A Dance with Dragons, the fifth novel in George R.R. Martin‘s already legendary A Song of Ice & Fire series. Together with the first season of Game of Thrones (see below), this novel will put a huge spotlight on the fantasy genre.
Soon available (in March) is the latest book of Patrick Rothfuss called The Wise Man’s Fear. After the succes of The Name of the Wind, the anticipation for this new novel is very high.
Last book I want to mention is A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, the last installment in The Wheel of Time series. I somewhat lost interest in the series over the years but for many fans this novel will be the most anticipated of the year and it is bound to be high in the New York Times bestsellers list for a long time. It is expected for November 2011.
Movies
Several interesting fantasy movies will be released in theatres in 2011 so there is a lot to look forward to but none of them are guaranteed to be very good. The most promising one is the last movie in the Potter series: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II, set to premiere in July. I am not that much of a fan of the Potter movies but the first Deathly Hallows movie was quite good so I am expecting a lot from part II.
The comedy fantasy movie Your Highness can go either way. Or it will be a hilarious ridicule of fantasy movies or it will be a annoying succession of desperately-trying-to-be-funny fantasy scenes. Your Highness will be in theatres on April 8.
Another movie I am not so sure about is Thor, with a story based on the Marvel comics. There is a good chance of this being a movie solely revolving around action scenes with the story having no depth and the characters being flat. Thor will premiere late April/ early May.
Last in this category of doubtfull movies is the remake of Conan the Barbarian. They will have to make an extremely good movie to come near the “level” of the original movie and to shake of the criticism and cynicism that fans will surely have. We will have to wait a while for Conan as it will not be in theatres until August.
One movie I am personally definitely not looking forward to is the first of the two Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn movies that will be released in November 2011.
Game of Thrones
I simply cannot say it enough: Game of Thrones is starting in 2011! On April 17, the first episode will air on HBO in the US and on Sky in the UK and like almost everybody with a heart for fantasy, I love Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series and am highly anticipating this television series.
As mentioned before, 2010 was not the greatest of years for the fantasy genre but 2011 will surely make us forget all about it. In addition, we will have the anticipation of the movie The Hobbit that is scheduled for 2012…
The start of a new year is a good time to glance back at the past year and try to make some sense of everything that happened. I will do this in a small way by summing up some of the major ripples in the pond called fantasy during 2010. This means that I have made an overview of the best fantasy novels, series, movies, TV series and games of the past year.
Perhaps this short overview will point out a movie you have not seen or remind you of a novel you should have read during last year. If not, it will at least help you form an opinion of the level of the fantasy media in 2010.
Fantasy books and series
First, a quick look at the most popular fantasy books of the pas year. Several novels stand out but in particular Towers of Midnight, the 13th novel in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. It has been written by Brandon Sanderson and the general opinion is that he has done this quite well. This is also reflected by the number one position of the book in the New York Times Best Seller list and the fact that it remained high in this list and was sold in high numbers for many weeks.
Another novel that is absolutely worth mentioning is Under Heaven, written by Guy Gavriel Kay. Kay is probably best know for Tigana but has shown that he can become a stable and important author in the genre.
Last book I want to mention is the recently released Stonewielder. Written by Ian Cameron Esslemont and set in the Malazan world he has created with Steven Erikson, it is a great read that I will review in the near future.
Fantasy movies, TV series and games
The major fantasy event on the screen in 2010 must have been the latest Harry Potter movie The Deathly Hallows: Part I. This penultimate movie in the Potter Series was of course very popular and successful and, I have to admit, quite good. I will review the movie sometime in the coming weeks.
Of course there were more new fantasy movies in 2010, like Twilight: Eclipse and Clash of the Titans. Both are entertaining films but not ones you will remember as a classic.
Looking at fantasy television series, there was the news of the cancellation of Legend of the Seeker which is a shame but not that big a loss as this TV series had dwindling viewer ratings and simply wasn’t that good. Hopefully, HBO can fill the gap and show how a fantasy TV series should be made when Game of Thrones airs on April 17, 2011!
On the game front there has not been much fantasy activity worth mentioning. The World of Warcraft expansion pack Cataclysm was very successful but that was hardly surprising.
Looking back, I would say it was a pretty decent year for the fantasy genre but not a great one. In one of the next posts I will look ahead and will explain what the year 2011 has to offer and boy, that will be something!
An insight in the life and works of Stephen R. Donaldson, author of the fantasy series “The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant”.
His novels and series are in general not an easy read, containing dark themes and ethical questions, but they have definitely made a impact in the genre. Donaldson writes very intensely and, although set in an fantasy world, his stories have great depth and loads of morality, making him one of the major fantasy authors of our time.
Known for his Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (the unbeliever), Donaldson’s world and characters are even seen by many as rivaling those of Tolkien.
Biography
Stephen R. Donaldson was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1947 but lived in India (his father was a missionary) until 1963. He received his M.A. in English in 1971 but, when doing his Ph.D. afterwards, he decided to quit and start writing. He made his debute with the first novel in the now famous “Chronicles of Thomas Covenant” series in 1977.
Donaldson has kept on writing since, although he has not written that many novels. He now lives in New Mexico and is working on finishing “The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant”. Interesting to note is that Donaldson also has a Doctor of Literature degree and a black belt in Shotokan karate.
Style & Themes
The novels of Donaldson have a strong focus on the personality of the characters, especially the dark side of human nature. His stories involve many ethical choices and mistakes made by characters. Often psychological questions are addressed but not necessarily answered. A good example from the Covenant Chronicles is Thomas’ act of raping a girl in what he believes to be an imaginary world. Apart from being unsure wether or not the world is real, the question can be asked what this act says about Thomas and what the ethicial consequences are. Also, most of time the protagonist Thomas is unbalanced and moody to say the least. This results in him being quite an unlikeable person who is often difficult to relate to.
All together, this makes the books of Donaldson often difficult to read but at the same time also sets them apart and makes them all the more interesting. They are definitely not the standard high fantasy good versus evil stories we have grown used to.
Most important works
Stephen R. Donaldson made fame with his Thomas Covenant saga, describing the struggles of a leper who becomes an reluctant hero on alternate, fantasy world called The Land. Written in the seventies, the first two trilogies (The First and the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever) of this series have become landmarks in the fantasy genre.
Currently, Donaldson is in the process of writing the Last Chronicles, which will finalize the story of Thomas Covenant.
As you will see below, Donaldson has also written several other novels over the years, most of them part of three other series he has created. These series also have fantasy or science-fiction settings.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever
The First Chronicles
1. Lord Foul’s Bane (1977)
2. The Illearth War (1978)
3. The Power That Preserves (1979)
The Second Chronicles
1. The Wounded Land (1980)
2. The One Tree (1982)
3. White Gold Wielder (1983)
The Last Chronicles
1. The Runes of the Earth (2004)
2. Fatal Revenant (2007)
3. Against All Things Ending (2010)
4. The Last Dark (to be released: 2013)
The Gap Series
1. The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story (1991)
2. The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge (1991)
3. The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises (1993)
4. The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order (1994)
5. The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die (1996)
Mordant’s Need
1. The Mirror of Her Dreams (1986)
2. A Man Rides Through (1987)
The Man Who… series
* The Man Who Killed His Brother (1980)
* The Man Who Risked His Partner (1984)
* The Man Who Tried to Get Away (1990)
* The Man Who Fought Alone (2001)
Official website of Stephen R. Donaldson
