FormCritic wrote:MetamorphosisSigma wrote:Yeah, but dead on this time, for the most part . Aslan doesn't get a pass from me, though. Even when I was 11 and reading these, I got to the part where he surrenders himself as a sacrifice to save Edmund, and face met palm. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before that point, and it only goes downhill from there. Lewis was a hamfisted hack, IMO. And except for Dune. There's a whole lot more going on there than commentary on Islam and oil. The book may be allegorical on some level, but it's more complex than that, and there's certainly no one-to-one correspondence between people/organizations/events in the book(s) and real life. Those Fremen (free men) dudes are American-style revolutionaries of some sort, for starters...Lewis is a dork, unless the reader is sympathetic to his Christian viewpoint...on which he is both subtle and profound. On a deeper level, in the Narnia novels Lewis isn't just blathering about Jesus. He has a lot to say about moral dilemmas, human nature, the cycles of history, the cynicism of the modern world versus the wonder of childhood and the nature of God.One thing to remember about the Narnia novels: They are not evangelism. They are a Christian thinker talking to other Christians about God. Everyone else is just invited along as guests.One of my favorite moments is in The Silver Chair, when a girl who is new to Narnia tries to reassure herself that Aslan wouldn't harm a young girl. Aslan responds that not only would he harm little girls, he has swallowed entire nations. God, speaking through Aslan, does not offer excuses, justifications or explanations. That isn't kid stuff. It is Lewis saying something about the nature of God that is worth discussing between adults.
MetamorphosisSigma wrote:Yeah, but dead on this time, for the most part . Aslan doesn't get a pass from me, though. Even when I was 11 and reading these, I got to the part where he surrenders himself as a sacrifice to save Edmund, and face met palm. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before that point, and it only goes downhill from there. Lewis was a hamfisted hack, IMO. And except for Dune. There's a whole lot more going on there than commentary on Islam and oil. The book may be allegorical on some level, but it's more complex than that, and there's certainly no one-to-one correspondence between people/organizations/events in the book(s) and real life. Those Fremen (free men) dudes are American-style revolutionaries of some sort, for starters...
Bloom wrote:Some very good short works from Vance for those who prefer The Dying Earth to The Demon Princes but which get little mention are: The Dragon Masters, The Last Castle and the excellent The Miracle Workers from Fantasms and Magics.Im reading The Island of Doctor Moreau again at the moment. I want to plant the guy on a lone mountain in my campaign.
MetamorphosisSigma wrote:Currently reading Jorge Luis Borges, making my way in meandering fashion through the stories in Ficciones ...
MetamorphosisSigma wrote:(just re-read all five Demon Princes recently
MetamorphosisSigma wrote:To my shame, I've yet to read anything by Wells other than The Time Machine, which I need to rectify soon.
MetamorphosisSigma wrote:Currently reading Jorge Luis Borges
Bloom wrote:MetamorphosisSigma wrote:(just re-read all five Demon Princes recentlyDo you prefer Demon Princes to Cugel? Im fairly surprised anyone does - I feel his language, thought and imagination are at their peak in the Dying Earth books (not to mention his PG Wodehouse influence.)
MetamorphosisSigma wrote:Currently reading Jorge Luis BorgesI only read literature in translation if there is evidence that a translation exists to do justice to the original, which is often the case. Borges is one of literary figures I haven't been lucky enough to find a translation which gives me confidence enough to read him. My test is simple - 'Is this a fucking briliiant read?' If the answer is, 'no', then I blame the translator. Maybe you could recommend one.
DiscoDadda wrote:A couple months back I picked up an anthology The Best of HP Lovecraft... primarily because several guys here gave Lovecraft 5 stars... I managed to read about 10 or so stories got about 1/2 way thru it before setting it aside. Some of the stories were The Call of Cthulhu, The Hunter of Dark the Colour of Space, the Dunwich Horror... etc... I found most to be okay and I can respect Lovecraft's ability to write... None of the stories really grabbed me and said you have to read this now! Maybe its just too "old school" and I know this post will be sacreligious but the stories were kinda bland.Probably my favorite was the Dunwich Horror which should have been a longer novel...Also, there was one technique he seemed to use over and over again, where he would have the main character read the notes of a departed soul who was being driven crazy by some horror that was sooooo horrific, as to be >>>>>> "unspeakable" >>>>>> I really wish he would have described the "unspeakable" horror.... but then it would not have been "unspeakable"Disco
jasonw1239 wrote:In many ways Lovecraft's work was ground breaking and set the direction for many other horror writers in the 20th century.
Pipswich wrote:Granted, Lovecraft occasionally suffered from madness and that madness suffuses his writing. I expect that for some people the more of the madness, cultural, geographic, academic and other attributes one shares with Lovecraft, the easier it is to look past his failures (as a person and a writer) to his success as a storyteller.
JasonZavoda wrote:I know Disco here didn't get into Lovecraft, which is a damn shame because he is missing out on many hours of enjoyment if the stories clicked for him, and Formcritic likes to make fun of Lovecraft, but we all know he wears that Cthulhu for president underwear at convetions (and nothing else) while going around asking women if they want to see his three-lobed eye (I don't want to know what that means).
JasonZavoda wrote:One of the greatest things that Lovecraft did was to encourage other writers like Clark Ashton Smith and Robert Bloch. He not only let other writers use the Cthulhu Mythos, he encouraged it, and used their contributions in his stories. If Lovecraft used some named book, monster or elder god from outer space then that was the seal of approval for its general use by all the other writers writing in the Mythos.