Comments on: From Pilgrim’s Progress to Condign Formication

By: Richard the Previous

Richard the Previous — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:49:53 +0000

Hey! I just got an ad for “The Mirror of Her Dreams” by Stephen R Donaldson. So I guess they are looking at both sides of the title.

By: Che

Che — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:04:09 +0000

I’m getting ads for “Plymouth” and “Mayflower”.

By: Richard the Previous

Richard the Previous — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:08:09 +0000

Now, of course, I’m getting google ads for “Pilgrims Progress.”

By: Che

Che — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 03:25:38 +0000

Why on earth would I send you anything but? Instead, I’ll send you anything butt.

Harhar.

By: Richard the Previous

Richard the Previous — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:44:59 +0000

You sent me a heaping helpful of homo?

I guess I have to look into it.

This was years ago, though that I stopped reading the books because it just got so repetitive. But enough time has passed that I am eager to re-embrace my past loves!

By: Che

Che — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:15:04 +0000

What the hell kind of fantasy books have you been reading? I can hardly pick up a fantasy, horror or sci-fi novel without tripping over a queer. You’ve got to be looking in the wrong places. In fact, try looking on your bookshelf because I quite recently sent you a fantasy novel with quite a large helping of homo in it.

By: Richard the Previous

Richard the Previous — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:01:55 +0000

Used to love fantasy and sci fi, but then I just started to find it very repetitive. And you are right, much of the genres (both of them) suffer from the “hey! this made me good money. 75 more novels will make me 75 more good moneys” syndrome.

And I got so tired of everyone having being so mundanely heterosexual. And no, I’m not saying everyone should be gay, but much of the work suffers from heterosexism — everyone’s straight. Everyone wants to be married. Everyone loves being a 1950s housewife. I want imagination.

Look at Captain Jack. He sleeps with everything that moves, and even some things that don’t!

So I started reading history. And biography.

It’s like fantasy because the worlds are soooo different from today, but it’s “real” so doesn’t have the same escapist stigma.

Interestingly, I’m not a fan of historical fiction.

I don’t know why.

Although I have to say Anne Rice’s stuff set in the past was always way more interesting than her stuff set in the present. But talk about someone milking an idea for every last cent that will fall out of the udder. Um. Or tit. How’s that for ruining a metaphor?

By: Che

Che — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:58:50 +0000

Heehee… good’un. I read the first chronicles so long ago its nigh on ancient history. But I never read beyond those. I just never got around to it.

Fantasy is a genre I can take or leave. Hmmm… thats not quite true. Certain fantasy authors I love. But I also have a hard time committing myself to long series’ of books, and long series’ seems to be a disease of the genre.I’m a gemini. We don’t commit.

I’ve been known to make exceptions though. Tanith Lee’s Flat Earth series and her Books of Paradys. And more recently, I was surprised at how quickly and mercilessly I devoured Sarah Douglass’ Crucible Series. I even read Dennis Cooper’s entire George Miles cycle (Yeah, I know thats not fantasy… well… it might be someone’s fantasy, but not of the fantasy genre) But as a general rule I’m just not going to commit to a series.

By: Mojo

Mojo — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:31:06 +0000

*LOL* To anyone who has read these books, or even parts of them, this post is utterly hilarious. And it’s all 100% true as well. Great summary, Richard!

Now that Richard has summarized many, but not all, of the ‘difficult’ words in the series, you readers can look them up now and keep a reminder list beside you as you read the books. You’ll need the reminder. Reading SRD’s books is like deep earth drilling: Every layer is of a different texture and density and sometimes the you may grind to a halt on a particularly packed layer. In the end, it’s worth the effort, but it’s not a task for the weak spirited.