It struck me recently as I was deciding what to read next, that it was like deciding what music to listen to next.
Should I read / listen to something new and modern, or go for a well-known classic? Something to relax into or feel stimulated by?
For example, if Tolkien is to Mozart as David Gemmell is to Led Zeppelin, what music fits Brandon Sanderson?
My wife said if you want to write better short stories (I do) why not read some good examples, like Neil Gaiman’s Smoke and Mirrors, a collection of his works first published in 1999. What a wise woman (my wife, not Neil Gaiman, he is a wise man).
I have finished now and I am inspired. Generally I find anything less than a full-blown novel difficult to write, but Gaiman can’t stop himself launching into an extra short tale in his introduction to the book that is full of them.
Simple words, nothing pretentious or fancy, but so imaginatively and brilliantly written with such lifelike characters. I feel like I know Mrs Whitaker – I really should nip around for a cup of tea and check she is all right. And somehow it’s very credible that she came to posses the Holy Grail.
As I progressed through the collection I found the stories quite mixed, some would work for young readers and some would be unsuitable. I didn’t really get on with the narrative poems, but no doubt that says more about me than Mr Gaiman’s work.
What the book left me with , apart from excellent entertainment, was a fine demonstration that while an obvious truth, uttered tentatively or timidly, can become doubtful and unbelievable, the impossible, stated with confidence and conviction, can become plausible and even probable…
Congratulations (a little belatedly) to Mark Lawrence for winning the Legend Award for best fantasy novel for Emperor of Thorns. 
I really enjoyed the Broken Empire trilogy, grim though it is!
David Gemmell is of course a legend and the snaga trophy is fantastic, look at the pics on Mark’s blog.
It’s great to see old and new fantasy authors linked in this way, both promoting fantasy stories!
Today is Tolkien reading Day!
The Tolkien Society says
“Tolkien Reading Day is an international event held on 25 March – the day of the destruction of the One Ring – each year. It is held to promote interest in the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien, with many local groups putting on events at local library and book-stores.”
Reading The Lord of the Rings (the first time) as a young teenager was inspirational – it had a lasting effect that is still with me now (a few years on, let’s not be too specific). Reading, writing, nature, nobility of spirit, morality, strength of character – all hugely important aspects of life Tolkien touches still, long after he left us.
I love that the theme this year according to the Society is ‘hope‘ (I missed that above). He managed to take his characters and readers to places of such despair – but there was always hope that somehow shined through.
Ever noticed a speculative element in a book being treated in a cursory manner, or not taken too seriously? I have and it’s a problem for me. Fantasy and science fiction books are my favourite reads and are hugely popular with many – but obviously are not to everyone’s taste. So is it good news when a mainstream author dabbles in fantasy or sci-fi? In theory yes, for example bringing some wider audiences along and reducing the stigma, but in practice I’d say it doesn’t always work.
For me when an author doesn’t take the fantasy element seriously enough it can damage the story’s credibility overall. Credibility in fantasy? Absolutely – I would say it is even more important than in contemporary fiction. Fantasy is a medium for what-ifs, but that doesn’t work if the characters are not believable, or if the make-believe world is poorly imagined. For example you might say it is relatively easy to set any story in a dystopian world to give it a twist, but is it so straightforward? I loved Ursula K Le Guin’s recent review in the Guardian (On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee) where she addressed this issue excellently. Although I haven’t read the book she reviewed, I found myself cheering as I read her words.
Contrast this dabbling with the skilful writing of China Miéville for example. He is able to hop genres and craft fantasy that if you described it out of context would sound preposterously unbelievable. And yet he achieves highly credible and thoroughly engaging stories. I found that giant moth creatures sucking out sentience from people was highly believable, because they were embedded in a great story and written in a way that made you somehow unable to doubt it.
Tolkien was a master of course – everyone knows Middle Earth exists.
Stephen King is another example, topiary hedge creatures moving when you aren’t looking – absurd mentioned here and yet in The Shining it becomes chilling. Oh and Peter V Brett convinced me that demons rise at night, I had no time to doubt it in a such a believable world filled with scintillating action scenes.
So inspired by these examples I have a plea in two parts:
Let’s take fantasy seriously
P.S.
I’ve deliberately avoided negative examples above (apologies to Chang-rae Lee) but would love to hear more positive examples of authors who make you believe irrational things….
CLIVE ANTHONY 