Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

I have been getting some lucky finds lately when it comes to fantasy books. Here are some of the books and some interesting information and thoughts about them. I will be reviewing all of these books as I make my way through them. If not on this blog then on my Fantasy Guide Website.

The Period after WWII in Great Britain was a remarkable time for Fantasy. A couple of names that come to mind are JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. But there are other fantasy authors that were part of this beginning of the new genre of fantasy and one of these is Mervyn Peake. His Gormenghast Trilogy of books is one of the most remarkable fantasy series ever written yet he isn’t as well known as others. If you are a big fan of fantasy you really should look into snagging a copy of this series. The books are Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone. Much like JRR Tolkien Peake’s creativity wasn’t just limited to writing. He was also an artist and the book copies I picked up are illustrated by him. I don’t think the cover you see is his work but there is no attribution inside.

I am a big fan of Robert E. Howard’s Conan (who isn’t?) and I am also a big fan of Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time) and I have known that he has done some authorized Conan writing but have never read any of it. Well, here is my chance. It is Conan The Invincble written by Robert Jordan. It will be interesting to see how Jordan handles the Barbarian and the world of Aquilonia.

The Charwoman’s Shadow by Lord Dunsany - Lord Dunsany is one of the originators of the modern genre of fantasy. He wrote in the late 18th an early 19th century. This book was originally published in 1926 and just about everybody in the world of fantasy pays homage to him by openly acknowledging him as an influence. These include Robert Howard, HP Lovecraft, Ursula K. LeGuin, Neil Gaimon and even filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro. This book will be an adventure to the roots of modern day fantasy.

If you are a fan of fantasy you are no doubt familiar with the sub-genre of Arthurian Fantasy and of course you know the book “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White. It is the ultimate Arthurian legend book. But did you know that it is not complete? There was a whole new section that White wrote and it is called “The Book of Merlyn”. It contains Arthur’s final lessons from Merlyn before his death. If you have read The Once and Future King you should read this final addition.

Lots of books to read and I have some more great finds that I want to talk about but I will save them for a future post. And I will be writing reviews of these books either on this blog or my Fantasy Guide site.

————————————

Snagging these books from Amazon.com

The Gormenghast Novels

Conan the Invincible (Conan #1)

The Charwoman’s Shadow (Del Rey Impact)

The Book of Merlyn (Once and Future King)

I been giving a lot of thought lately to buying a car and it is funny how this kind of train of thought runs around in a persons head. What kind of car would I like? What kind of car would impress the pretty woman next door? What kind of car says “Me”?

It’s rather ironic because I, and you, are part of a culture that spends a lot of time thinking about things like this. There are subtle indicators that we all look for and understand and it really can have an impact. As an example I am a real sucker for a woman who drives a Volkswagen. Not sure if it’s the type of woman that is attracted to a volkswagen or if its the volkswagen. Or for that matter if I have just been brainwashed by Madison Avenue.

Anyway the thought hit me that it would be cool to driver a hummer. And somehow the thought of Conan popped into my head and I wondered “what kind of car would Conan drive?” Would he drive a hummer? Hmm… I am not so sure.

Given the modern day concerns with the environment, global warming, gas prices, etc. would Crom look upon Conan with a pleasing eye as he drove around in his gas sucking status symbol? Or would Crom insist that Conan drive something more eco-friendly? Maybe a hybrid or an electric car?

Dunno, But one thing is for sure. Conan don’t look too happy driving around in a metro. Seems to be a contradiction in terms. It’s just not him.

The New Age of Conan Game (Hyborian Adventures) has some unique features about it. And one of them is the crafting system.

When it comes to games and game playing I am a real packrat. I love to accumulate things and I love to make new things. I enjoy collecting up and questing after unique armor and weapons. For me that is more than half the fun of any game. It’s better than all the fighting!

One unique thing about the new Conan game is the crafting skill of architect where you can make buildings, castles, keeps, catapults, trebuchets and even whole cities. It seems to be pretty cool to me and it will be a lot of fun.

So, if you are probably never going to build a castle in real life you can still experience the thrill of building and owning your own castle in the virtual world of Hyboria! Who’s to say which is more real?

Here is an amazon link to the game and below is a video that shows crafting and the architect skill.

 Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Want to see more videos of the game? I have a couple right here: Age of Conan Videos