Month: June 2013

A Brief Interlude

On By BrandonLeave a comment

I am stationed on the plains of Merazod today. A vast expanse of flat land littered with wild flowers and roaming ghost herds of roon. A scout has been sent ahead to locate the enemy encampment. With such a flat landscape you would think we could see each other coming from miles away. However, this cursed land is filled with deep wounds, pits in the ground that run like veins which are covered with only a thin-film of mud that the enemy uses as cover for their ambushes. I hope the scout returns this time. He has my favorite pack of playing cards on him.

You may wonder why it is that I keep writing in this journal when there are obviously so many more pressing matters veying for my attention. It is simple really. I have no choice.

I could no more stop writing than I could stop breathing. Some people go through life with nary a thought in their heads but for the immediate moment or a list of remembrances logged away for the shopping store, work, or family activity. My mind works differently. I am constantly coming up with new ideas to log into my journal. Sparks to my imagination are found in the headlines of the day or the people living their lives around me. Multiple stories swirl before my eyes as beginnings, endings or middles. Characters are invented and  stashed away to memory or jotted hastily down for future story lines. It’s really no wonder that my head doesn’t explode like a firecracker on Darby Day.

You would think I may find some respite in between writing stories but I have no time for that. It is always on to the next creative endeavor. You may think I should be exhausted by this never-ending barrage of words and ideas but the opposite is true. Beginning the sketch of a new story in my brain is invigorating. That is most likely the reason I have difficulty sometimes finishing one body of work before starting a next. The mob of tales in my brain constantly trudge up the steep mountain to the gothic castle above with their staves aflame and pitchforks in hand to press against the iron gates and scramble for entrance.

I hear their screams of righteous anger now. I must leave you.

The Bookshelf

On By BrandonLeave a comment

Moby Dick

 

 

 

 

Moby Dick or The Whale by Herman Melville: Another true classic. I have the 150th Anniversary Edition in paperback. This is a large book but it takes many pages to contain the sea and a singular quest to kill the elusive white whale. Ahab is one of the great characters in literature and has been reimagined innumerable times in various media. It has been a while since I have tackled reading the novel and will have to break it open again soon to feel the salty spray of the sea and serve under Ahab’s command once again. If you haven’t read it, read it.

 

 

 

oneforthemorningglory2

 

 

 

 

One for the Morning Glory by John Barnes: It was an old saying in the Kingdom that “a child who tasts the Wine of the Gods too early,is only haf a person afterwards.” With that first sentence, we are brought into a magical story of Prince Amatus who truly was only half a person afterwards. If you are a fan of The Princess Bride (and who isn’t) then you will love this fantasy novel that hits some of the same notes while telling a completely different story. It may be hard for you to track a copy of this book down but if you do, you will not be disappointed.

 

 

 

The Knight

 

 

 

 

The Knight and The Wizard by Gene Wolfe: There are few writers of fantasy like Mr. Wolfe. These are two novels that contain one story of a young man in his teens transported to a magical realm with seven levels of reality. He is also very quickly transformed by magic into a grown man and sets out on a quest to find a sword promised to him. He hopes to become a knight and a true hero in doing so. A journey of growth in more ways than one. The prose is wonderful and the story is magical, as any boy’s tale should be.

 

 

 

Strange and Norrell

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke: This is a fabulous book. I have heard it being referred to as the grown up Harry Potter and that could be true to a point. This is a tale set in 1806 England when practical magic had faded deep into the past and a war rages. One practicing magician still remains; the reclusive Mr. Norrell. However, soon there is a challenge from another magician and novice; Jonathan Strange. The two become teacher and pupil, friends and enemies when a dark and powerful threat emerges that entices Strange with the wildest and most reckless forms of magics. This is a tome of a book and could knock out a burglar if thrown to his head., but it is worth the read. I believe that BBC is making a mini series adaptionsof the book and can only foresee them falling short of the written page. Do yourself a favor and don’t read the cliff notes.