Kevin's Watch

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Melanie Rawn....get it? Because she doesn't finish fantasy series, so if you started them you have not either? Guffaw!

I actually read a couple of Rawn's books way, way back. Forgot about those. Sort of a cross between Game of Thrones and All My Children.

wayfriend wrote:I actually read a couple of Rawn's books way, way back. Forgot about those. Sort of a cross between Game of Thrones and All My Children.

Now there's a ringing endorsement!

Oh...here's a "good" one. I'm sure I've mentioned it before.
It's basically "King Arthur...IN SPACE!!" Celts and pagans [and I think Atlanteans...oh, and IIRC, their spaceships are shaped like DRAGONS. ]

Wretched.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Keltiad

Didn't Stephen Lawhead try to match up the Arthurian cycle with the Atlantis myth, too?

Ah, I see the author is taking her subsequent novels indie. Good for her.

She actually managed 8 of them? Never read them myself.


What was that about Melanie Rawn? I like her books. And there are two complete series which I've read and enjoyed.

--A

Gosh michaelm, was that Dragons of the Autumn Twilight [or some such title. I really liked that trilogy . I know some of their later works were absolute bollocks - but those first two trilogies seemed really good fum to me. [No accounting for taste ]

peter wrote:Gosh michaelm, was that Dragons of the Autumn Twilight [or some such title. I really liked that trilogy . I know some of their later works were absolute bollocks - but those first two trilogies seemed really good fum to me. [No accounting for taste ]

That sounds about right. I just saw way too many parallels to LOTR in it, and really couldn't find much to like about any of the characters as they just hadn't been worked on to the extent that I found them original or interesting.

The wizard character was Gandalf, through and through, even to the extent of really being a minor god. There were hobbit equivalents, the elves had the same general personalities as LOTR. The orcs were lizards or some such thing.

I got through it, so I suppose it had some redeeming qualities, but I just knew I couldn't face another installment of that.

michaelm wrote:

peter wrote:Gosh michaelm, was that Dragons of the Autumn Twilight [or some such title. I really liked that trilogy . I know some of their later works were absolute bollocks - but those first two trilogies seemed really good fum to me. [No accounting for taste ]

That sounds about right. I just saw way too many parallels to LOTR in it, and really couldn't find much to like about any of the characters as they just hadn't been worked on to the extent that I found them original or interesting.

The wizard character was Gandalf, through and through, even to the extent of really being a minor god. There were hobbit equivalents, the elves had the same general personalities as LOTR. The orcs were lizards or some such thing.

I got through it, so I suppose it had some redeeming qualities, but I just knew I couldn't face another installment of that.

I didn't think they were great. But I have a fond feeling nowadays for the Dragons and Twins trilogies.
Of course, the LOTR similarities have everything to do with the fact the books are directly, intimately, part of/born from Dungeons and Dragons RPG. [Though I didn't see the wizard as anything like Gandalf. He's actually much more Saruman...only more successful, and with a final change of heart]

On topic...just had to look up who wrote it, couldn't remember...another bad "Arthur" rip-o.....er..."inspired" series I never finished. Started with "The Crystal Cave." and that's the only one I read. I THINK I once started one of the others??? Mary Stewart.

Mary Stewart I recall from my university days. I never read her but she had a big following back in the day. Someone lent me 'TCC' and I think I read the first four pages before abandoning it so yes - I suppose for me she also qualifies [just] as an 'also ran'.

I think I made it through all of the Mary Stewart novels, back in the day.

Does the world really need another take on the Arthurian cycle? Doesn't England have *any* other myths to write about?

Oh, and apart from The Hobbit, I cut my fantasy teeth on Dragonlance, so they, and some other series by the same authors, have a fond place in my heart.

--A

aliantha wrote:I think I made it through all of the Mary Stewart novels, back in the day.

Does the world really need another take on the Arthurian cycle? Doesn't England have *any* other myths to write about?

Strangely, now that you ask Ali, you happen to be talking to the world's greatest living expert on 'The Gannell Shrike', a mythical [or not so] beast that was said to roam the mists of a south-western estuary back in Victorian times, snatching poor fisherfolk from their isolated beds on stormy nights. As the sole living individuals to emark upon an expedition to corner and entrap the beast [armed with jam sandwhiches and a ball of string] my wife and I qualify, I think, as world experts on the subject. [Ours was an odd courtship, some might say ]

Same for me, Av. As I think I mentioned earlier, I only gave up on the books somewhere shortly after the second Elven Nations trilogy. Though, apart from Weiss and Hickman, the only author's name I felt was worth remembering was Richard Knack's. I remember really liking the Huma and Kaz the Minotaur books, though I can't remember a single thing about either of them. I believe Knack went on to write for one of the Star Wars or Star Trek series of books.

Does the world really need another take on the Arthurian cycle? Doesn't England have *any* other myths to write about?

Well, there's the Mabinogion, but I'm not sure if people crib from it more than they do Lloyd Alexander.

Speaking of Arthurian myth, I read Mythago Wood about a year ago. It was a strange book, my recollection of it probably made more so by the flu I came down with shortly after I read it. I recommend it, though, and will have to hunt down Holdstock's other novels eventually.

There's Boudica/Brigantia, too -- there was a brief flurry of interest in her a few years ago, but her story doesn't seem to have the same universal appeal as the Arthurian saga.

For me, the Mabinogion falls into the same category as Irish myth -- i.e., it's more Celtic than British. Although considering that I'm geographically challenged when it comes to Britain, I could just be a dumb American.

peter, you should write a book.

[Syl] wrote: I believe Knack went on to write for one of the Star Wars or Star Trek series of books.

He's also one of the main authors of World of Warcraft books. I have not read any of them, but several in my guild say they're very good. Christie Golden's WoW series is supposed to be worth reading as well.

I gave up on Dragonlance after they totally ripped off Eternal Champion.

Sorus wrote:

[Syl] wrote: I believe Knack went on to write for one of the Star Wars or Star Trek series of books.

He's also one of the main authors of World of Warcraft books. I have not read any of them, but several in my guild say they're very good. Christie Golden's WoW series is supposed to be worth reading as well.

I gave up on Dragonlance after they totally ripped off Eternal Champion.

Also had a big hit with 'My Sharona'.

michaelm wrote:

Sorus wrote:

[Syl] wrote: I believe Knack went on to write for one of the Star Wars or Star Trek series of books.

He's also one of the main authors of World of Warcraft books. I have not read any of them, but several in my guild say they're very good. Christie Golden's WoW series is supposed to be worth reading as well.

I gave up on Dragonlance after they totally ripped off Eternal Champion.

Also had a big hit with 'My Sharona'.

One author I could NOT get into was Melanie Rawn. I got about halfway through the first book and threw it across the room. I think the book was The Ruins of Ambrai.

Never heard of it. I've read her Dragon Prince trilogy and th sequel trilogy and loved them though.

--A