Let the good times roll...

Somebody ever miss the good times?

In times when "gritty" and "dark" rule the descriptions of a lot of top selling fantasy series (see abercrombie, martin, erikson) there is no time to spend a pleasant day at the river... at least not for the characters. while gritty and dark are good things, i think a lot of fantasy books lack a bit of the good times.
it's a basic dramatic device to have a calm before the storm (also a basic natural device it seems). the bad times, the war, the battle, the death and the fall are so much more intense when you experienced the calm and joyful days. i am not talking about triumphs or victories, there are plenty of won battles in all of these books. no, i am talking about the characters experiencing some really good times. drinking and laughing, not caring about the evil for once, spending time in the lush valleys without the danger of some lurking fiend or hidden assassin near by.
i understand that the times of jollyness are long past. comic heroes are getting darker by the minute, blood an dirt make the fantasy covers and titles.
still, i say: let the good times roll. struggle is good, struggle makes the world go around, but i can't see what the characters are fighting for. and if all worlds are bereft of their sanctuaries, then maybe there were good times in the past of the characters that i want to relive with them. and writing about the good times, about peace and joy, is not boring; i think it is just a real challenge. many authors struggle with including this into their dark worlds. writing about happiness is plain difficult.
but is the dark not darkest when you just looked into the motherfucking sun?

don't get me wrong, i love all of these books. still, i am wondering what they are fighting for. just for survival? and if there never is a light side in all these worlds, then why is anyone feeling these are dark times?
the kingkiller chronicles by rothfuss have those moments of peacefulness. those moments where the heroe is happy. these are important i think. and, yeah i know, different approach and all. but a story is a story...

What do you say?

---- yona.

Post-Conflict Potter

"Voldemort's dead, but the struggle's not over. How Harry Potter and the magical world of J.K. Rowling might begin the long process of reconciliation and reform.

...

Transitional Justice and Reconciliation

Thousands of Death Eaters fought with or provided material support to Voldemort, including prominent members of key magical institutions. It will be impossible to move forward unless we come to terms with the abuses they committed and meet legitimate demands for redress. In the magical world, after all, the ghosts of the past can literally haunt future generations.
..."


Great and lengthy article on the Post-Voldemort World in Harry Potter. How to deal with the criminal witches and death eaters after voldemort is done for? What is justice? How to stabilize a country that was on the verge of collapse?

Read on: foreignpolicy.com
---- yona.

Top 100 SSF Books.

There you go again.

This is the top 100 list from NPR-books poll. 60000 votes...
See the full list below, and here is the top 3:

1.

2.

3.

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien

2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert

5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin

6. 1984, by George Orwell

7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov

9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan

13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell

14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson

15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore

16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov

17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein

18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss

19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick

22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King

24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke

25. The Stand, by Stephen King

26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

28. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman

30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein

32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams

33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey

34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein

35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller

36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells

37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne

38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys

39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells

40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny

41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings

42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson

44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven

45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin

46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien

47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White

48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke

50. Contact, by Carl Sagan

51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons

52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson

54. World War Z, by Max Brooks

55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle

56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman

57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett

58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson

59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold

60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett

61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson

66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist

67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks

68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard

69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb

70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson

72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne

73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore

74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi

75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson

76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke

77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey

78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin

79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire

81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson

82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks

84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart

85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson

86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher

87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe

88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn

89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan

90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock

91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury

92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley

93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge

94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov

95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson

96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville

99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony

100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

Now go and read them all.

---- yona.

What is Epic Fantasy?

In the article below, a lot of authors answer the one big question:

What is Epic Fantasy?

Enjoy:

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/epic_interview1/

---- yona.

Malazan Book of the Fallen - 2 - Deadhouse Gates

Ever so often while reading Steven Eriksons Malazan Books i stop and wonder. Why can't i stop reading? What  is the magic of these books that makes me plough through those hundred and hundred of pages?
Deadhouse Gates lacks really likeable characters; they are all interesting but there is no real hero in the story and the characters evolve ever so slowly. Deadhouse Gates lacks in really connecting book 1 with book 2. There are some characters that appeared already in book one, but they did not play a big role so far. There is no overall goal that keeps me in the story, there is no one evil to be fought, there is no one task that has to be done; infact, it does not even play on the same continent as the Gardens of the Moon.
But i read on. Why is that?
I sit and wait and wonder how all those plots are slowly coming together in the books. In Gardens of the Moon, as well as in Deadhouse Gates, there are different characters and their individual stories. But is this one great moment where they all collide that you wait for. And you can feel it while you read it. You feel how you are getting closer, how the jigsaws fall into place. And it is amazing.
The writing itself is a reason to stick with it. You feel like really reading a history book, but with a lot of action and all the cool stuff in it. You start to sink into this world, slowly. You learn about the empire, the gods, the  magic. You learn it slowly, the hard way, but something about this is extremely satisfying.
I will return to the Malazan Books, i already ordered the 3 book. I know, the books are getting longer but i feel like i am already in too deep. It's getting darker by the page and i can't leave the characters like that, can I?




---- yona.

More pictures...

... because i know you want them!

 Tintern abbey

 Dinefwr Castle 

 the woods of dinefwr castle

 the view from carreg cennen castle

 st davids

the beach at llansteffan

---- yona.

Pictures Pictures.... Road tripping in Wales

Tintern Abbey                                          

 Carreg Cennen Castle

 The place to read...

Looking for a place to finish your book?

---- yona.

on vacation.

i'm off to wales.
will be back in a week.

---- yona.

Just seen.

I have not seen a Potter movie in a long time, but i finally came across a legal copy of the deathly hallows part 1 and i must say, i am pleasantly surprised. it is a very dark and brutal movie with some shocking moments.
but probably the best part of the movie was the animated sequence of the tale of the three brothers. well done, nice artwork. just too bad that Daniel Radcliff is, in my opinion, a bad bad harry potter. In my imagination potter was some strange underdog creature, and not a whiny arrogant prick with a brick as a jaw, a neat haircut and a scar that looks like it was drawn by a five year old with a lipstick. anyway, why look at potter when there is hermione on the screen, right?

so, i think i have to watch part 2 soon. is it as good? better? worse?


---- yona.

A poem to pass the time

Nobody heard him, the dead man,

But still he lay moaning:

I was much further out than you thought

And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking

And now he's dead

It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,

They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always

(Still the dead one lay moaning)

I was much too far out all my life

And not waving but drowning. 

- Stevie Smith

monk by the sea - caspar david friedrich

.---- yona.