Bravo.
One of my all-time favourite books now has one of my all-time favourite covers. Certainly a step (or two) up from this. Could I ask for more?
Some ideas have great power, and in fantastic literature, one of the mightiest of these is the idea of The Hero. The Hero is a very particular sort of creature: it (quite often “he”) is the protagonist of many stories and serves as paragon, savior, and metaphoric proponent/enactor of ideology. The Hero reflects aspirations and serves as inspiration both in the story and to the reader. This can be a useful, evocative device to employ in a story. The problem is, some of The Hero’s admirers use this device to constrain the idea of fantasy and limit the boundaries of imagination that writers and readers use in their engagement with fantasy literature.
Author Michael J. Sullivan discussed “Fantasy as Fantasy” on his blog recently, and after reading his opinion, I wanted to respond not as a proponent of “the other side” that he establishes, but as a critical reader of fantastika. I was perturbed not by his defense of The Hero, but by his assumption that his position encompassed all of “fantasy” and that fantasy should ideally be Just One Thing. This idea extended not only to the literary genre, but to the very notion of what “fantasy” means. I think that there is far more potential in both of these ideas when we open them up rather than try to set limits upon them.
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I’ve often joked about how much I need clones. But alas, like time machines and teleportation devices, photocopy-style human cloning just isn’t there yet (unless you believe the dubious claims of the Raelian cult). Luckily I’ve got something even better than an army of Laurenz: a collection of brilliant brains.
It would be neat if they were brains in jars, directly hooked up to word processors to churn out pages while I sleep, but I suspect that probably takes a lot of electricity and probably a mad scientist to maintain them – and mad scientists and their inevitable slobbering loathsome assistants cost a lot to feed.
So, nope. I’m talking the kind of brains that walk around in people casings – the kind that feed themselves because they have jobs and credit cards. And when it came to writing some of the additional materials for Zoo City, I was very happy to be able to raid those brains for their genius.
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Via The Wertzone:
Casting is coming hot and heavy for the second season of HBO’s adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin’s Fantasy epic that’s been a roaring overnight 15-years-in-the-making success. This time, it’s the Onion Knight himself, Davos Seaworth, played by Liam Cunningham:
Adam Whitehead on Cunningham:
Liam Cunningham is a highly experienced Irish actor with numerous roles on screen, stage and TV. He has appeared in the movies First Knight, Jude and Clash of the Titans, and recently had starring roles in the TV series Camelot and Outcasts.
He certainly looks the part, and his acting history suggests he has the chops for the role, also. Davos is one of my favourite characters from the series, so I’ve been waiting eagerly for this casting news. Very happy with the outcome.
Via The Chicago Tribune (The Wertzone):
“The Dark Tower” sleeps with fishes.
Universal’s ambitious adaptation of Stephen King’s fantasy series has been canceled, TheWrap has confirmed.
The first film was slated to begin production this summer, but shooting was delayed last spring with the studio announcing that it needed to make the project more cost-effective.
That temporary delay became permanent this week, and now deprives Universal of a film series that it had hoped to make a linchpin for its film slate for years to come.
The studio declined to comment.
[…]
But in cutting “The Dark Tower” from its schedule, Universal does run the risk of alienating one of its most loyal and profitable partners, Imagine Entertainment. Howard and Grazer’s production company has earned millions of dollars in profits for the studio with hits such as “American Gangster” and “A Beautiful Mind.”
On Monday, Universal apparently decided that the risk was so great that “The Dark Tower” wouldn’t join that list.
I’m shocked. Truly I am– Oh, wait. No I’m not.
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