In the New Yorker, an extremely interesting article about George R. R. Martin's unfinished final "Song of Fire and Ice" novel and his impatient fans:
"Just Write It!" by Laura MillerIn the New York Times Magazine, a mostly irritating article about HBO's Game of Thrones and contemporary fantasy:
"The Bleak Game of Thrones Needs More Light," by Heather HavrileskyAlso in the NYTM, a good piece on Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games series:
"Suzanne Collins's War Stories for Kids," by Susan DominusAlso there, an article from a while back on our friends at Marvel Comics:
"Modern Marvel," by Dave ItzkoffAnd for good measure, Publishers Weekly's regular comics roundup:
Comics Briefly 4.12.122
5 comments:
I just wish that people "outside of our stuff" would see more than just the "stale variations on what Joseph Campbell called 'the hero’s journey,'"
I don't go around saying "in a genre crowded with stale copies of 'The Honeymooners'..."
But it is still a good write-up and it's always fun to get inside someone else's head, er, genre.
Goodness, I've already had my caffeine and still ranting. Must be one of those days.
"I don't go around saying 'in a genre crowded with stale copies of The Honeymooners...'"
Colleen—exactly! :-)
Modern American fantasy derives from Tolkien rather than Campbell, and Tolkien got his myth directly from medieval European literature rather than from Campbell. I'm not sure what Campbell is doing in this line, except to prove the author of the article knows the right, intellectually respectable authors. I always suspected Campbell was a scammer. There seems no question Tolkien was a scholar.
Having said that, there is a lot of terrible fantasy, just as there is a lot of terrible space opera. So we say "Sturgeon's Law" and move on. (As far as I can figure out, Sturgeon's law only applies to things humans make. 90% of birds are not crap. 90% of trees are not crap.)
Hmmm, I could make a good argument that Sturgeon's law does apply to birds and trees it's just that evolution takes the crap birds and trees out of the game pretty quick. Definite food for thought there.
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