I don’t know what it is about
swords, spears and arrows that fascinates me. To me, nothing beats witnessing a
good charge down a rocky slope, hooves pounding, voices roaring, spears
flashing, and a line of the enemy standing firm, shields raised, spear points
bristling.
Nothing, except for some good
vanilla ice cream and a whole Monday of relaxation after getting back from a
three hour commute. That’s something else, entirely.
But, on swords and stuff? There’s almost nothing that can surpass that sort of thrill. I mean, just look at this:
Tell me you don’t feel good now,
and in the mood for a LOTR movie. I know you do.
To me, Narnia was where I first
found a place that had the whole swords and spears thing going on. My elder sis
already had a copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and I’m looking at
it on my shelf right now as I write. It was THE book that made me love reading, I suppose. I was seven at the time, and I still remember lying in bed with that book in hand. Sigh. (Wipes tear)
Man, did I love that book. It wasn’t till
years later that I found out that it actually had sequels, (and once I did, you’re
darn right I didn’t waste time getting my hands on them). Even then, though, I realized
something about Mr. C.S. Lewis that I find depressing to this day: all of his
stories had one common flaw. Each and every one of them was just too darn short.
The Seven Chronicles of Narnia (C.S.Lewis) |
This picture I pulled off the
internet. I don’t have all seven books, I’m afraid. I will always love libraries. Sigh.
Sure, the directors of the first
three Narnia movies might have been grateful for that fact that the books are the size that they are. The less there was
to adopt, the less they would have to cut out of the allotted two and a half
hours. And in principle, that would give much less reason for fans to get annoyed. I’m not sure whether that theory worked out so well with Prince
Caspian, but let that be a tale for another day.
Top: Poster for Eragon (2006) Stefen Fangmeier Bottom: The Inheritance Cycle (Christopher Paolini) Left to Right in order from first to last |
Can’t blame the producers, there
were roughly five hundred pages there, but honestly, they seriously could have
done a better job. As far as movies go, I personally enjoyed the three Chronicles
of Narnia, even though the slight changes to The Dawn Treader kind of didn’t
seem necessary to me.
But most of the time, movies can
never replace the thrill a good book can give you. I don’t know about you, but
I really would have appreciated it if Mr. Lewis had found a way to make his
stories much longer than they really are. To me, the Last Battle was a rather sad disappointment, especially when compared to the other six.
Since I’m still here on the
movie adaptations thing, I’d have to mention The Hobbit to do justice to the
topic. I guess I’m on the side of the folks who love what Peter Jackson has
done with J.R.R. Tolkien's prequel to The Lord of The Rings. Honestly, the only movie adaptation of novels I have ever
enjoyed was the Lord of the Rings, and now, The Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug took their place right next to them. Sure, maybe it’s not
right to meddle with the source material of a book as well loved as this one,
but when you do a pretty awesome job of it, I guess you could be excused,
really. And that’s exactly what I think Peter Jackson has done, an awesome job.
Left: Poster for The Desolation of Smaug; Center: The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien; Right, Poster for The Unexpected Journey |
I’ve spoken to a few people who
feel the other way; like there were too many subplots, and the fact that three
movies were really unnecessary. To be honest, I agree with them, and I respect their
opinions. Personally, though, I’m still looking forward to watching There and Back
Again (the third and final Hobbit movie). It's way up on my most anticipated movies of 2014, along with Amazing Spiderman 2, Captain America 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, and of course, X-Men Days of Future Past. 2014 seems to be a great year for movies!
As far as books go, I do read a
heck of a lot. Everyone has their favorite authors; I have my list. There’s Enid
Blyton from when I was younger. There’s Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl), more
recently. And there will always be Diana Wynne Jones. And so many more. Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle, J.K. Rowling, Christopher Paolini (Inheritance Cycle), Alistair MacLean, Edgar Rice
Burroughs, K.A. Applegate (Animorphs, Remnants, Everworld), Agatha Christie… one of these days I’m going to have to list them all.
But for now, I’ll have to say
that there is a three way tie for the all-time favorite spot on my list of best
authors.
First up, Mr. Terry Pratchett. Oh, the glorious Terry Pratchett. There is only one of his Discworld books I have
managed to read, (Guards! Guards!) and it had me hooked. Totally hooked. My best
friend N keeps telling me to get more of his books, and it’s about time I took
his advice. Terry Pratchett is just simply awesome. His use of words, his
satirical descriptions, the pure comedy on every page… he is a master.
Seriously, if you have not tried him, you don’t know what you’re missing.
His discworld novels are truly
worth reading. I say again, I’ve just read one. But that was enough to bump him
to the top of my list along with my other two all-time favorites. And one thing
for sure: I need more Terry Pratchett!!!
Next author contesting for the all time favorite title, Mr. Rick Riordan. Now, I
know his books mostly have a younger audience of 14 to 18, but I’m 21 and I love
his work. For those who don’t know, he’s the author of the Percy Jackson
series, as well as the Kane Chronicles and the ongoing Heroes of Olympus
series. I have read all his books, and I love his fresh, simple take on Greek,
Roman and Egyptian mythology in a modern setting.
Left: Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series; Center: Kane Chronicles; Right: Heroes of Olympus Series |
And add The Lightning Thief to
you list of books to read. You will not be disappointed.
Rick Riordan tops my list, vying
for the title with Terry Pratchett. But the two of them are not alone. With them
stand the impressive, the outstanding, the totally unlikable Mr. George R.R.
Martin.
I’m not going to be too quick in
recommending the Game of Thrones to anyone out there. You need to be one strong
minded, determined, resolute reader if you’re going to get through The Song of
Ice and Fire. This series is just one twisted, confusing, messed up, gritty and
yet simply brilliant piece of work. Sometimes I get so depressed I just put the
book down and tell myself “No more, just no more!”
I always come back ten minutes
later, but that’s not the point.
A Song of Ice and Fire books 1 to 5 |
That is a picture of my own five
books, by the way. I'm a writer, not a photographer. Meh
Mr. Martin is brilliant, just
brilliant. I mean, I’ve set standards for myself, like which well-known author
would I like to be compared to far in the future when I finally become rich and
famous. (Let a dude enjoy his dreams, people).
But even in my wildest dreams, I
know I can never touch this man. He is just another level entirely. I won’t
even bother trying, because I can’t. No one can. This is one person who you both admire and hate, all at the same time. Having your favorite characters die off repeatedly, whatever the reason, does that to you. It gets so I don't want to root for anyone anymore. But of course I do. (Sigh)
Granted, The Game of Thrones is really
boring at the beginning, and it may seem that the story won’t stop dragging
along. At one point I was kicking myself for wasting money on that book. But
then all of a sudden it just exploded in my face. Characters start dropping
dead all over the place and sometimes I felt like I needed a pen and paper to
just keep track of what’s going on. And even if I had, chances were slim that I’d
be able to put it to good use. How he keeps track I’ll never know.
Mr. Martin is truly a genius.
His descriptions are flawless, and his insight into the human emotion, and not
just any one person, but hundreds of them… this guy is just so thorough. He says it himself: the Devil is
in the details. But man, has he got that Devil under his heel.
But it’s not so much the way the
events taking place are so lifelike that get me, it’s the bigger picture that’s
slowly taking shape that really holds me in awe.
I mean, I’ve done a trilogy, and
I’ve plans for another series that I still haven’t started yet. I have spent
countless bus trips thinking up my bigger picture and refining it over and over
again… but the way Mr. Martin’s tale just weaves this way and that, I am
instantly humbled. He is a genius. No doubt about that.
And so there you go; my top
three authors. There are more, so many more; but these three will probably
forever battle it out at the top. I’m eager for my next Terry Pratchett book;
and Blood of Olympus, the fifth and final book of the Heroes of Olympus is due
this October. And as for The Winds of Winter, the next in the Song of Ice and
Fire series, no one knows when that one will ever be done.
I’m really looking forward to
all these books, especially the Winds of Winter… even if, after all the wait, this is really what
happens:
Knowing Mr. Martin, he’ll
probably do it the most awesome and spectacular way imaginable.
♥
ReplyDelete:) thanks. glad you liked it :D
DeleteDefinitely a good article. I am very passionate about fantasy books. I was on a kick where I was reading quite a bit of Mercedes Lackey's work which I have found are quite well written.
ReplyDeleteI think I know who to try next. Thanks for the tip!
Delete