My father and I just finished reading House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

My father and I just finished reading House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland. 

I am almost not sure what I can say about this book seeing that it describes itself quite well early on, so I will say the phrase I instantly and correctly sensed would characterize the whole story: it is where a fairy-tale meets a nightmare in a fever dream. Beyond that, I could and still cannot tell whether the tale made me feel interested or ill, lines which for me have never been so seamlessly or sickeningly meshed before, and I employ such terms because at times the book made me want to wash myself. Yet it kept me engaged - of that there is no doubt. For a book so stiff with profanity, I actually never wanted to stop reading it, which is no small feat seeing as the last and only other author to accomplish this was George R.R. Martin. I am equally, paradoxically, glad and sorry it is over.

Farewell Iris, Vivi, Grey, Cate, and Gabe Hollow, and goodbye Tyler Yang as well. Remind me never, ever, to say "meet you halfway" to any of you.

Amazon's The Wheel of Time trailer

It begins. The great journey on the big screen. Not the beginning because there are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time, but a wind is stirring in the Mountains of Mist and that wind will be a beginning. Looks amazing too, though I saw one scene that would make Rand and Egwene go redder than the former's hair and I hope I did not just see Logain escape his bonds. They certainly seem to have taken some other liberties, but that, I suppose, is unavoidable given the length of the The Wheel of Time. My only question is, where is Elayne? I must assume that our merry band does not reach Caemlyn in the first season, though that would be odd indeed. Unless they choose to introduce her later, when she meets Egwene, Nynaeve, and Min in Tar Valon.

 

"And the Shadow fell upon the Land, and the World was riven stone from stone. The oceans fled, and the mountains were swallowed up, and the nations were scattered to the eight corners of the World. The moon was as blood, and the sun was as ashes. The seas boiled, and the living envied the dead. All was shattered, and all but memory lost, and one memory above all others, of him who brought the Shadow and the Breaking of the World. And him they named Dragon." 

– from Aleth nin Taerin alta Camora, The Breaking of the World, Author unknown, the Fourth Age

 

"And it came to pass in those days, as it had come before and would come again, that the Dark lay heavy on the land and weighed down the hearts of men, and the green things failed, and hope died. And men cried out to the Creator, saying, O Light of the Heavens, Light of the World, let the Promised One be born of the mountain, according to the prophecies, as he was in ages past and will be in ages to come. Let the Prince of the Morning sing to the land that green things will grow and the valleys give forth lambs. Let the arm of the Lord of the Dawn shelter us from the Dark, and the great sword of justice defend us. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time."

– from Charal Drianaan te Calamon, The Cycle of the Dragon, Author Unknown, the Fourth Age.

The Nature of Middle-earth is out!

Today, tad later than expected yet no less welcome for it, The Nature of Middle-earth comes out. This could easily be final book by J.R.R. Tolkien to grace us now that his son Christopher has passed, and indeed this book is described as J.R.R. Tolkien’s final writings on Middle-earth. A perfect companion to The Silmarillion and The Book of Unfinished Tales.

Thus it is fitting that it should be published today, for on September 2nd 48 years ago did John Ronald Reuel Tolkien pass himself into the Halls of Mandos, leaving an enduring legacy in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings that inspired a whole genre of literature. A legacy that has kept growing, thanks in no small part to Christopher Tolkien, but also to us: for all Fantasy lovers and authors since have held open the doors to the Fantastic that he, the Founder and Father of Modern Fantasy, first opened. Bilbo's door at Bag End, to be exact, from which the road to adventure goes.

 “Tolkien opened up in me a dormant love of lost and misty times, myth and legend…” - Ted Nasmith

Here Be Dragons - Part 1: Dragons in myths & legends

Daybreaker by Todd Lockwood

"A constant image [in myths] is that of the conflict of the eagle and the serpent. The serpent bound to the earth, the eagle in spiritual flight – isn't that conflict something we all experience? And then, when the two amalgamate, we get a wonderful dragon, a serpent with wings." - Joseph Campbell
 

Joseph Campbell, world-renowned scholar of comparative mythology and comparative religion, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, quite eloquently states above part of what Dragons so special in all our hearts, and I say ALL because Dragons belong not to a single literary genre or culture for the simple reason that they are EVERYWHERE. From the West to Far East, these majestic creatures soar over and through myths and legends, and from there glided into Fantasy literature where they are given life anew a thousand times a thousand times over, for if ANY creature personifies not only Fantasy but mythical/legendary creatures it is beyond all doubt the mighty Dragon. This is part one of a series of three posts in which we explore first where and how they appear in real-world mytho-historical accounts and then their role in Fantasy literature coupled with a description of all different types of Dragons. However, do not expect me to cover everything because that is, in a word and as we all know, is quite impossible - for the human who knows all there is to know of Dragons has stuck a knife in the heart of wonder.

"If the sky could dream, it would dream of dragons." - Ilona Andrews

Dragons in myths & legends

To start, Dragons are no more, and indeed arguably far less, universal in World Mythology than in Fantasy since beliefs regarding them vary greatly depending on the culture. However, since this is not a scholarly dissertation in purpose or length, I can for simplicity's sake safely divide Dragons into two 'species': European/Western and Asian/Eastern. (I apologize to every Asian reading this for lumping your cultures together, as I am well aware that distinct differences exist between, for example, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese Dragons, but this is a blog page, not a book, and Eastern Dragons share more similarities than differences.) 

Beginning with the former, since the High Middle Ages European Dragons have generally been depicted as winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire. The image to the left is the oldest recognizable image of a Western Dragon as we today would recognize it and comes from medieval bestiary dating from approximately 1260 AD. Recall that tired old trope of Knights in Shining Armor rescuing Damsels-in-Distress from the evil Dragon, and liberating helpless villages paying tribute to the evil Dragon? That is a European Dragon. Indeed, the whole Dragon Slayer concept was born from and evolved around European Dragons, the common theme being that these Dragons were in effect predators who ranked above humans in the local food chain but could be taken out by bold knights. Predator being the key world, because these quaint medieval-style Dragons were not credited with the intelligence Fantasy literature and gaming grants them today. No one would call a tiger stupid, for instance, but neither are they capable of discussing current events with humans. Such were these original European Dragons. In sum, Western Dragons were portrayed as monsters to be tamed or overcome, usually by saints or culture heroes, as in the unaccountably popular legend of Saint George and the Dragon, and typically have ravenous appetites and to live in caves where they hoard treasure. Sound familiar? Aye, we owe the Dragon's Hoard concept to European Dragons, and with it the trope of the great hero slaying the Dragon both for the treasure and to protect their people from further attacks; the Norse epic Beowulf is a perfect example of this, as is the tale of Sigurd from the Nibelungenlied, the Völsunga saga, and the Poetic Edda.

Now for Asian Dragons which, I might add, are far more civilized than their Western counterparts and look quite different as well – typically being depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet. The image to the right shows two such imperial Dragons on the Nine-Dragon Wall in Beijing's Beihai Park. Note the word imperial, for in Imperial China, the Emperor near-always used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial strength and power, since in the East Dragons traditionally personified righteous, potent, power and were symbols of strength and good fortune. Meaning that that whole Dragon Slayer trope is generally absent in Asian lore since, to put in succinctly, Eastern Dragons did not look at humans and think of dinner. That said, they were higher on the metaphysical food-chain because, rather than mere creatures, Dragons were gods (or demigods depending). Shenlong, for example, is a spiritual Dragon from Chinese mythology who is the master of storms a bringer of rain, which makes him fairly typical as Asian Dragons were water-deities, rulers of seas and rivers as well as the makers of weather. The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas (the Sihai Longwang) were the masters of key bodies of water in Ancient China and were revered by those living near them. Note how the two imperial Dragons above are flying over a vast sea, while most depictions of European Dragons are of them coiled around towers (or princesses), in caves guarding treasure, or trying to toast a would-be Dragon Slayer with fire-breath. Not so with Asian Dragons who, in addition to not viewing humans as lunch, could not breath fire. Why would a water-deity breath fire, anyway? Furthermore and given their benevolent Divine status, Asian Dragons are far more intelligent and thus, again, infinity more civilized than their Western counterparts. Indeed, in Asian mythology they are often the key protagonists. One of my favorites is The Four Dragons myth, where the Long Dragon, Yellow Dragon, Black Dragon and Pearl Dragon save humanity from a crippling drought, ultimately sacrificing themselves to become the four great rivers of China. Which brings up the final key difference between Asian and European Dragons: Eastern Dragons could shape-shift, taking on various forms both human and animal. Tis no accident that various images of the Dragon Kings depict them as human.

“I do not care what comes after; I have seen the dragons on the wind of morning.” - Ursula Le Guin

Tess of the Sea

The human, dragon, and ityasaari minds all work differently and sometimes if not often strangely, a fact well known to Rachel Hartman, author of the Seraphina series. Which is why it is not at all strange that I love Seraphina and her sister Tess with a special care above many other book characters. For their struggles, their hearts, and the lengths they are willing to go to protect others they have never met or barely know.

Which is why I grin broadly and crow with joy on learning that on February 22, 2022 book four of the Seraphina series is coming out: In the Serpent's Wake, following Tess as she Pathka, Kikiu, and Jacomo go from road to open sea, setting sail to find and save Anathusia, the last of the World Serpents from those who would destroy her. The great sea awaits!

I just started Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore

I just started Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore, the fourth and newest book of her Graceling Realm Series.

I love all my Fantasy books, but few have my heart quite so firmly as Katsa, Po, Fire, and Bitterblue, and now both the adventure and the world itself expands for in this latest book we travel to the newly discovered land of Torla and its five realms, one of which is Winterkeep. Personally I think the Council, and Bitterblue and Giddon, will have its/their hands more than full as I know political deviousness and murder when I see it, much less when telepathic foxes and whatnot are added to the equation. Here we go again.

Just finished Flame by Sharon Shinn

Two days ago I began and just today finished Flame by Sharon Shinn, the final novella in her book Quatrain, which returns to the land of Gillengaria and its Twelves Houses. A prequel of sorts to her Twelves Houses series (but one that should only be read after the main series), it was wonderful seeing Senneth again as she navigates her desire to do good with her aversion to political intrigue and the unreasoning hatred many feel towards mystics such as herself. Seeing Kirra Danalustrous, Donnel, and her first meeting with Tayse was edifying as well. She certainly cleaned up a few sources of bad manners and mystic haters, as well saved many lives.