Foray into Science Fiction Fandom (16)
Today's entry again winds downward on the Fantasy vein of Science Fiction Fandom. I am going to expound briefly on the topic of wannabe epics, which were my main literary diet as a young teen.
A real epic spans generations, and generally involves some sort of hegemonic quest in man's struggle against a god-like evil. A Wannabe will also do this, except the characters will all resemble your local chess club (wearing elf-ears, naturally), which is why they will never have been filmed. Also, they're generally written on a fifth-grade level, but marketed for late teens, which seems to be the average age (unless he's younger) of the main character as he begins. The questing character is invariably male.
David Eddings wrote two seperate wannabe epics which (I think?) take place in the same universe (ie. they follow the same magical rules), but involve totally different sets of characters. The first set follows a budding young sorcerer and his guardians, Polgara and Belgarath. It involves all sorts of epic things, like a breastplate with big boobs. The second series involves an older guy who falls in love with the kid he babysits, only she happens to be a queen. Yay. Less epic, but more interesting.
Dave Duncan wrote a series named after lines from Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale." This series is less like an actual epic than Eddings's attempt, but more creative in its magical rules. The story centers around (again) a little boy who learns through several misadventures that he has magic, which in Duncan's world takes the form of incredibly long, totally unpronounceable words.
Terry Brooks wrote a lovely wannabe epic in a (probably) post-apocalyptic fantasy which began in a mortifying, albeit cute, imitation of The Lord of the Rings. The series was named after the family, Shannara, and the series includes prequels, which I have never attempted to read.
Stephen Brust modeled his wannabe epic on "The Three Musketeers," and his fantasy version of this timeless classic was entitled, "The Phoenix Guards." Although his ideas begin with total un-originality, they soon branch off beautifully, and I thoroughly enjoyed almost every iteration of the tale. Quite epic. Still, if you want to read Brust, start with "The Brokedown Palace." It's not an epic, but was beautiful nonetheless. I believe he also has an epic series situated in the same world, but many generations prior (think "Beowulf" vs. "The Scarlet Pimpernel").
Lloyd Alexander's wannabe epic, "The Prydain Chronicles," was less wannabe simply because I think he had something different in mind, as if the setting were epic, but the story itself only followed a parallel course. Still, it was a questing tale, and beautifully written too. I think I preferred his "Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian," though.
I suppose I should mention Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman here. Their Dragonlance series were probably wannabe epic too, and totally "chess-club-with-pointy-ears" material.
A real epic spans generations, and generally involves some sort of hegemonic quest in man's struggle against a god-like evil. A Wannabe will also do this, except the characters will all resemble your local chess club (wearing elf-ears, naturally), which is why they will never have been filmed. Also, they're generally written on a fifth-grade level, but marketed for late teens, which seems to be the average age (unless he's younger) of the main character as he begins. The questing character is invariably male.
David Eddings wrote two seperate wannabe epics which (I think?) take place in the same universe (ie. they follow the same magical rules), but involve totally different sets of characters. The first set follows a budding young sorcerer and his guardians, Polgara and Belgarath. It involves all sorts of epic things, like a breastplate with big boobs. The second series involves an older guy who falls in love with the kid he babysits, only she happens to be a queen. Yay. Less epic, but more interesting.
Dave Duncan wrote a series named after lines from Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale." This series is less like an actual epic than Eddings's attempt, but more creative in its magical rules. The story centers around (again) a little boy who learns through several misadventures that he has magic, which in Duncan's world takes the form of incredibly long, totally unpronounceable words.
Terry Brooks wrote a lovely wannabe epic in a (probably) post-apocalyptic fantasy which began in a mortifying, albeit cute, imitation of The Lord of the Rings. The series was named after the family, Shannara, and the series includes prequels, which I have never attempted to read.
Stephen Brust modeled his wannabe epic on "The Three Musketeers," and his fantasy version of this timeless classic was entitled, "The Phoenix Guards." Although his ideas begin with total un-originality, they soon branch off beautifully, and I thoroughly enjoyed almost every iteration of the tale. Quite epic. Still, if you want to read Brust, start with "The Brokedown Palace." It's not an epic, but was beautiful nonetheless. I believe he also has an epic series situated in the same world, but many generations prior (think "Beowulf" vs. "The Scarlet Pimpernel").
Lloyd Alexander's wannabe epic, "The Prydain Chronicles," was less wannabe simply because I think he had something different in mind, as if the setting were epic, but the story itself only followed a parallel course. Still, it was a questing tale, and beautifully written too. I think I preferred his "Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian," though.
I suppose I should mention Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman here. Their Dragonlance series were probably wannabe epic too, and totally "chess-club-with-pointy-ears" material.
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