Kevin's Watch

I read these books first in the late 90s as a freshman in high school. I've never thought to look for any sort of community online as they are so old, i've never met anyone who read them either, although I have recommended them countless times.

The other day, I re-purchased my lost copy of Lord Foul's Bane, and the olderish manager at the bookstore had read the series, we chatted a little, I mentioned that I read them in high school back in the--and before I could finish my sentence he knowingly said the early 80s.

I think it's a shame that this series hasn't caught the eye of younger people, I feel it was very ahead of it's time to begin with, and a lot of the subject matter and themes in the books are only just now starting to appear in other media.

I just found out there was a third trilogy, not quite sure how it completely escaped my notice, and have been reading them this last month or so. Actually I just found out that the third trilogy is a quadrogy, I was really wondering while reading Against all things ending, how he was going to wrap up all the things that were undone in the 150 pages it had left. "The story concludes in book four..." is probably the most shocking surprise i've ever experienced from any book/movie/game/daydream.

Since I have just finished books 7, 8, and 9, and am halfway through book 1 again, I will probably be posting a lot of...thoughts/inquiries/rambling, I sincerely hope I don't annoy anyone asking something for the 10000000th time, I doubt I will be asking anything like that but who knows, or offend anyone on accident.

As the giants always say, 'offense is in the ears that hear, not the autistic who speaks' right?

Hei!
Well, I'm relatively young, but my English wouldn't have been sufficient enough to tackle these even ten years back. Which is a shame, but I had to traverse through the Potter and LOTR fandoms to learn some vocabulary first.

So, look around, and don't hesitate to ask about it for the 10000001st time. Some of the dissection threads could indeed use a bit of moss-scraping.

I was like 14 or something, how old are freshmen? I didn't have any trouble with the vocabulary, but as I am re-reading the series now, I can really see I didn't grasp most of the emotional content at all.

In my mind for 10 years i've sort of thought of book 1 as...something you suffer through to get further in the series. It's just blowing my damn mind now. He is breaking cliches that weren't even a cliche at the time? Like whoooah?! I think he is a jaded time-travelling writer from the year 2350, how else do you explain Lena and her fate?!

My point being that, it seems like these books for one reason or another aren't really accessible to the very young, seems improbable that someone could have the required language skills, and life experience, and genre experience and and and and, whatever the heck else you need, to really understand them?

Kind of ironic as personally, I first found them in my school's library while skipping class.

I'm from a faraway land of many äåö-letters and thus know nigh-on naught of American school systems; someone from thereabouts will probably affirm the concept of "freshman".

I'd say life experience and a scoopful of personal tragedies helps in immersing into these books. On the other hand, they're so multilayered that often the messages sink in during the second or the third reading, even if you're a grown-up. SRD's ingeniousness. The Dostoyevsky of high fantasy.

Welcome to the Watch, MFB! (A name like yours was always going to be shortened )

As Vraith said the official welcoming committee will be along soon enough. In the mean time don't be shy and don't try to read all the threads before you post. If you think the topic might have been covered before use the Search option to take a quick look, but don't be afraid to dust off old topics or start new ones (ah! I see you already have. Excellent, that's the style )

Be Welcome and True, MFB!

u.

Welcome to the Watch, Mega Fauna Blitzkrieg!

Normally, my greeting to new members is "May you thrive here...and contribute", but I see you have already done so in a Mega way and with a Blitzkrieg of posts. Good on you!

So, what do you do for the Fauna part?

Savor Dam wrote: So, what do you do for the Fauna part?

That is SOOOOOOOO damn obvious.
He is without question the Commander of the first wave of the Red[wood forest] Brigade asserting their aristocratic rights and position against the Fascist Axe Imperium imposed upon Oaks and Maples by Men [described in the historical ballad drama by Rush called "The Trees"].

Given this, I think you should change your name to Save Or y Duh...

/Runs to the Hiiiiilllls! Runs FO-or his Li-i-iife

Vraith, m'dear, did we just confuse Fauna with Flora?

Hello Mega Fauna Blitzkrieg.

I must have been in my early 30s when found the 1st Chronicles but even then I didn't appreciate the depth. A few re-reads later and I'm getting there.

It was worth visiting this thread just to hear SD call Vraith 'dear'.

More importantly though, hello Blitzy, welcome! The third trilogy escaped my notice too. I'll never forget my 'what the?!' moment when I found The Runes of the Earth in a discount bookstore.

Savor Dam wrote:Vraith, m'dear, did we just confuse Fauna with Flora?

Holy COW, we did...actually, not 'we," just "me"...that'll teach me to look at the punchline before the set-up!

it would be my most blush-worth moment on the watch...except the rest of it was so much fun to do I can't blush even if it is completely wrong.
And at least I didn't confuse flora with fora.

Shaun das Schaf wrote:It was worth visiting this thread just to hear SD call Vraith 'dear'.

Don't hold your breath waiting for me to call deer 'Vraith'...and please appreciate that I am holding back on a whole host of fawn and fauna punnage now.

Not to mention the things I might call ewe...he said sheepishly.

Welcome MFB

Be Welcome to the Watch, MFB.
Be Well Come and True.

As Av would say, never mind the mad...

Enjoy the SRD-oriented topics, but look around and take part in the other subject matter as well. We have fora and threads that cover just about everything.

hi

Mega Fauna Blitzkrieg

Welcome to the watch and most of all have fun.

Welcome to the Watch MFB. May you participate lots and everywhere.

I too first read LFB when I was 14. The next two were the first books I ever ordered, since they weren't in the shops.

Vraith, what are you on about? You're just as official as anybody else now. And you created the expectation of links.

I think it only right that you meet that expectation and add a few for MFB.

--A

Howdy!

We should do a poll among the people who read the first chronicles in extreme youth, and see if they all turned out with such a high sense of despair and gloom, but also hope and friendship, or if that is just me?

Chicken before the egg? Did I get so drawn to the series because it spoke to me, or did it shape me in some fashion?

Well, if it did, at least it was this and not Twilight.