Einstein, Vikings, and the Stars

Title: Fantasy
Author: Poul Anderson
Published: 1981
Pages: 334

Reading Time: Fall/Winter 2010.

Plot Teaser:
"Leonardo, meet Albert Einstein." Thus begins a journey through Realms of Myth and Magic such as is given few of Mortal Birth. Learn the True History of the Aryan Race (You have nothing much to lose), Pierce the Heart of Publishing (and watch a mythic pirate pale before its pulsations)...Experience the True Nature of False Courage (Must we spell it out?)...Join Elves against Aliens in War to the Knife (and Knife to the Hilt)...form an Unholy Pact (with a Usually Reliable Demon)...visit Other Worlds (through sheer force of personality)...Discover the Meaning and the Joy of Fantasy in the Age of Science.

Through the magic of Poul Anderson (whose spells never miss) all this can be yours, Mortal. So come, enter the world of...Fantasy.

How I Got It:
This was another purchase made in the basement of the Westdale Bookworm in Hamilton, ON, likely at some point in 2009 or maybe even 2008. With my interest in fantasy and short stories growing, I had heard Anderson's name before and wanted to sample some of his work.

The Review:
In a very kind and illuminating afterword, Sandra Miesel writes about Poul Anderson: "He makes what is magical real and what is real magical. Of such power is poetry born." In one of Fantasy's essays, Anderson himself goes on about the importance of having fantasy worlds "make sense." He is talking about the need to keep stories grounded in reality, and to make them feel believable, and stick to their internal logic, as well as the basic logic of battle, the limits of the human body, and other similar areas that many fantasy tales often ignore. By making his people feel like flesh and blood beings, the fantasy and sci-fi aspects of his stories feel all the more pertinent and applicable to our own world. Through this, Anderson's magic shines.

I have to say that I had a very interesting experience with this book. As I started it, I was captivated by the very bewitching opener, "House Rule," in which figures from across history meet in a tavern for a single night of drink, conversation, and general good cheer. As I continued into the more Norse-centred tales at the start of this short story collection, I found myself struggling to trudge through their dense names and imperceptible themes. It took me a few days to get through some of the longer stories, and some of that reading felt more out of stubbornness than honest enjoyment. However, as I moved on to tales like "The Valor of Cappen Varra" and "Superstition," I knew there was something special about Anderson's fertile mind, but I still lacked adequate bearings to fully grasp it. Thankfully, a couple of Anderson's personal essays allowed me greater insight into his approach to writing, as well as his inpiration, and the depth of his mind in general.

Reading "On Thud and Blunder," which is Anderson's exploration of heroic fantasy and its archetypes, I was able to learn about the author's love for his craft, and just how deeply he has thought about every minute detail. The essay is often comedic, talking about things like maidens who never seem to get pregnant regardless of how often they bed with a man, or horses that never need to stop for water or food, and men who can lift fifty pound swords as if they were spoons. He talks about the need for fantasy writers to broaden their minds and think about everyday things like the need for people to eat, even in stories, and the threat of disease and famine, which are rarely explored in heroic fantasy despite often taking place in the Middle Ages. I devoured this essay, along with his rumination on the differences and similarities between science fiction and fantasy, called "Fantasy in the Age of Science." Anderson seems like a true lover of his chosen genres, and as much a critic as a wonderful and poetic wordsmith. It was these two essays, as well as the afterword, which gave me greater appreciation for the tales that I had read previously in the book; even the ones that I did not initially enjoy or "get."

Fantasy acts as a sampler of Anderson's works, and provides tales that range from whimsical, epic, chilling, comedic, to thought-provoking. It accomplishes its job of making me hunger for more of his work, especially after reading the descriptions and praise for them in the afterword, as well as for Anderson's careful writing style and reverence for his subject matter. There seems to be much to this man's imagination, and to his literary skillset. Upon finishing the book, I went back and re-read the two essays and the afterword just because I was so inspired by them. They all mention works that have inspired the author, and made me aware of names in the genre that I had not known of beforehand. Poul Anderson has a rich pedigree, and I can sense it in his words here. I hope to delve deeper into his works in the future, and broaden my own perspective of the fantasy and science fiction genres, which I learn to love and appreciate all the more as I am exposed to thoughts and words such as the ones found in Fantasy.

I may not have expressed myself too clearly in this review, but that may be because I am still trying to comprehend what I have just read. I feel as though I have cracked the earth atop an abundant and rich reservoir, and I want to plunge in with a smiling face and an open mind. If Anderson is a poet of fantasy and science fiction, this is his introductory statement.

The Verdict:
Grading this experience is difficult, because the first time through sometimes felt like a forced struggle, but one which was ultimately rewarding. If I were to grade the book knowing what I know now of the complete experience, I would likely recommend it to fans of fantasy in general. However, if you are not a fantasy or science fiction fan, this book will likely feel alien to you; especially the Norse bits, which I still want to go back and experience again. (getting used to names like Ottar and Geirolf takes time) It seems like one has to have a bit of a background in mythology and history to understand what some of these stories are trying to reference in order to fully appreciate them. For that reason, this is not a book for everybody, but it does reward the patient reader who does not mind going outside of the source material to really understand the richness of stories that may have initially felt insignificant and rudderless.

3.5/5

Up Next:
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle.

The Age of Miracles Has Not Passed

Title: The Illustrated Man
Author: Ray Bradbury
Published: 1951
Pages: 186

Reading Time: Fall 2010.

Plot Teaser:
At the furthest limits of the imagination, in worlds upon worlds of time and space, and on the green hills of future earth, these are tales to set you shivering, gasping, gaping with terror and with wonder. Nineteen incomparable stories that blend weird fantasy and chilling truth in the magic manner of a master.

How I Got It:
This was a cheap purchase from the basement of The Westdale Bookworm in Hamilton, ON. Having loved Bradbury's short stories when I was introduced to R is for Rocket by a friend in my MA year at York University, I just wanted to read more of this grand master's work.

The Review:
When it comes to short stories, few are better than the works of Ray Bradbury. In one of his most famous collections, The Illustrated Man shows a writer at the height of his prowess, penning fantastic tales that span outer and inner space. Book-ended by a story of a tattooed man whose body art comes to life to tell tales of grandeur, this collection includes magic, space travel, and the optimism of post-war America. It is loaded with nostalgic images of rocket men, happy children, and the idea that anything is possible. In short, it is written for anyone who has ever had a dream, or thought that miracles still do happen in modern day.

What is most typical of Bradbury's style is his love of the American countryside, romanticized suburban life, and the push and pull between conservative and liberal values. His wordplay often borders on the poetic, and generally falls into the category of nostalgic and idealized prose. For instance:

"The cooling afternoon rain had come over the valley, touching the corn in the tilled mountain fields, tapping on the dry grass roof of the hut. In the rainy darkness the woman ground corn between cakes of lava rock, working steadily. In the wet lightlessness, somewhere, a baby cried." ("The Highway," p.39)

The wonder of his words is his ability to paint his stories with these beautiful images, but still keep them grounded in something people can relate to. And if you find yourself not being able to relate to one story, you can always admire the skill with which Bradbury splatters his canvasses. There is also the fact that these are short stories, so that if you do not like one, you may perhaps like the one after it. Thankfully, most of the tales in here are of good quality, and provide some quality entertainment. Though they may not feel modern, simply based on the year Bradbury wrote these stories in, they do transport you back to a time when things felt hopeful and beautiful, or shoot you into space and fill your mind with possibility.

Having been written 18 years before the first manned moon landing, Bradbury was free to let his mind wander with the possibilities of space. While he may have been way off with his assessment of the outer planets and their atmospheres, it is the human element that gives the stories their strength. A man named Saul Williams may never wake up from his tent on Mars, his lungs filled with "blood rust," but we can still feel his pain at the loss of New York and the crippling of his mind. There is also fun to be found in Bradbury's space stories in particular, for the fact that we can look back on them and smile at the innocence and purity of thought that Bradbury had about the future. He never claimed to be a hard sci-fi writer, and that is completely forgiven here because he brings such fantastic imagination to his little tales of wonder.

With so much unreality in these stories, one would think they would not resonate with the reader. On the contrary, they are all the more effective due to their exaggerated depictions of human foibles and virtues. As adduced, Bradbury has a handle on humanity, its habits, and its potential. These stories are not solely meant to entertain, though they do accomplish that just fine, but to inspire and ignite one's imagination to consider greater possibilities and incredible futures. In that regard, The Illustrated Man is a time capsule of one man's vision of his present, and his ferocious passion towards what he saw as feasible and achievable. Like the man at the start of the story, we are left with vibrant shapes and colours at the end.

"I had seen what there was to see. The stories were told; they were over and done. There remained only that empty space upon the Illustrated Man's back, that area of jumbled colours and shapes." (p.186)

What we see in these stories is ourselves.

The Verdict:
More than just a charming collection of short stories, Ray Bradbury's creativity inspires us to dream about the possible. While the science of its sci-fi stories may be completely inaccurate in most cases, it is the human element and the call to simply imagine what we can achieve that make this collection a winner.

4/5

Up Next:
Fantasy by Poul Anderson.

A Fantastic Creation

Title: The Dreamfighter and Other Creation Tales
Author: Ted Hughes
Published: 1995
Pages: 150

Reading Time: December 8-December 11, 2009.

Plot Teaser:
In these new creation stories by Ted Hughes, God is still hard at work fashioning his creatures, breathing life into his clay. He has some triumphant successes but as always there are mistakes and he has to keep his wits about him when the more tiresome inventions need conning into being something else. He is a brilliant, mischievous and wily God, brought to life himself in these mesmerizing tales by a master storyteller. Here is a collection that will enthrall Hughes's adult audience as well as younger readers.

How I Got It:
A friend of mine was looking to unload her own overstuffed book collection in 2008, and asked me to rifle through a hodgepodge box of stories. This was one of the books in that box, and I picked it up because I have always been interested in myth and fantasy, not to mention inventive stories involving God and creation.

The Review:
Apparently, this Ted Hughes fellow was a big deal in the United Kingdom. In 1984, he held the post of British Poet Laureate, which basically means he was the country's representative wordsmith. No pressure. He held this post and title until his death in 1998, having written numerous collections of poetry and children's books. Oh, he was also married to a woman named Sylvia Plath, but let us try to focus on his own works and accomplishments. Ahem.

To be frank, I had never heard of Ted Hughes before opening the covers of this short story collection. However, after going through this charming assortment of creation tales, I can certainly respect and understand why he has been held in such high esteem by the writing world. He has a very biting and wry style that make the stories in The Dreamfighter and Other Creation Tales a twisted pleasure to read. There is indeed mischief, misbehaviour, and plenty of misunderstandings that shed a light on the headaches that God likely would have encountered at the dawn of time. The collection I read has eleven stories in total; there is another edition of the book that has 360 pages, so I am assuming that one has a greater number of tales to be told. Regardless of which one you read, I am confident you will enjoy the playful theatrics housed therein.

As mentioned, these are meant to be children's stories, but they are written in such a matter-of-fact way and are so interesting that they are also appropriate for an adult audience. One can take the stories as straight forward entertainment, or he or she can find little nuggets of social and cultural insight as well. It is in this way the book transcends age boundaries.

The stories in this collection generally begin with a problem of some sort, and end with a resolution that is usually humourous. The endings also enlighten the reader about how a certain creature came to be, and how its habits were formed. For example, the ant on the cover of this book was originally a giant that grew larger and larger, as he took the job of being God's bodyguard; someone who would protect Him from His nightmares. As the nightmares eventually go away, the giant has no purpose, and becomes a really angry and unpleasant thing. To solve this problem, God creates a Snow Bride that melts into the crannies of the Earth. The giant is so eager to please and be useful to God, that he asks to be made small, so that he can search the earth to find God's Snow Bride. God turns the giant into the first ant, and this is why ants are scouring the Earth today and hiding in little dirt caves; they are looking for God's lost Snow Bride.

It is stories like the one above that brought a smile to my face throughout Ted Hughes' collection. There are demons, there is a trickster frog who invents gambling, a camel who feels like he is one of God's rejects, and God's mother even makes an appearance. The tales are highly imaginative, speculative, and there is hardly a dull moment in any of them. I can see myself reading these to my own children some day, and discussing the moral choices and implications of the decisions made by God's creations in these stories. Or just enjoying the humour.

The Verdict:
There is not much to complain about here. Hughes writes like someone who has been reading and telling stories his entire life, and regardless of whether or not you believe in an all-encompassing God or not, there is a good deal of charm and even some poking fun at the All Mighty, so that anyone can pick this up and enjoy it. While there does seem to be a favouring of the Abrahamic understanding of God in these stories, people of any faith should be able to appreciate the bite-sized-but-grander-than-grand stories of this collection.

4/5

Next Up:
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.