The girlfriend is reading Swords and Deviltry. She's read a good deal of fantasy but never the good stuff. (OK, OK, I've never read most of the stuff she's read, and it's not Pern or Lackey stuff she's been into, but she hasn't read the classics!)
She's almost to the end, and her main remarks so far are that tone of the writing is very biased in favor of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser even when they are doing the exact same things, or worse, than the "bad guys," and that all the women are wicked and awful and she guesses the writer has never had a normal relationship with any woman. The... amorality of it all seems jarring to her. (I told her just you wait, and I can't wait to get Elric and Cugel and Conan and... and... and... in front of her eyeballs...)
A CL Moore collection of Jirel of Joiry and Northwest Smith stories arrived yesterday as well. Did I mention finally getting a copy of The Worm Ouroboros last week?
If I only had time to read all this stuff... projects in the works to be finished first (Green Devil Face, Adventure to Hopefully beAnnounced Soon...)!
She's almost to the end, and her main remarks so far are that tone of the writing is very biased in favor of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser even when they are doing the exact same things, or worse, than the "bad guys," and that all the women are wicked and awful and she guesses the writer has never had a normal relationship with any woman. The... amorality of it all seems jarring to her. (I told her just you wait, and I can't wait to get Elric and Cugel and Conan and... and... and... in front of her eyeballs...)
A CL Moore collection of Jirel of Joiry and Northwest Smith stories arrived yesterday as well. Did I mention finally getting a copy of The Worm Ouroboros last week?
If I only had time to read all this stuff... projects in the works to be finished first (Green Devil Face, Adventure to Hopefully beAnnounced Soon...)!
The Worm Ouroboros is absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Scott. I'd go so far as to say no other work of fantasy literature can touch it.
ReplyDeleteLieber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser are shakespearean in their lust for life and human failings! All his characters are so, none totally inhuman in evil, or untarnished in good. Lieber is the best of the best, but I could see his work being a bit of a shock if all she knows is modern chick fantasy. That's not an insult,by the way. It's just the most accurate definition to my mind.
ReplyDeleteIf she has issues with morality in Leiber, wait 'til she reads Eddison!
ReplyDeleteI'm a little surprised you didn't start her with "Swords of Lankhmar". It's my favorite introduction to the characters.
ReplyDeleteIt says "first book," so it gets read first. I'm really not sure whether stories should be presented in internal chronological order or in the order they were written.
ReplyDeleteSwords of Lankhmar is neither, so doesn't get read first, for sure. :p