Arthur, Percivale & Co

[Skybird]

when I was in my teens, in the 80s, I read a lot of Science Fiction and even the occasional Fantasy works. Really influencing for me form that era were things like Frank Herbert's Dune books, David Lindsay's absolutely beautiful The Haunted Woman, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast books, Brian W. Aldiss' superb Helliconia trilogy - and the three King Arthur novels by Gillian Bradshaw. back then I always planned to also read three books by Richard Monaco which back then just had been published in German, and that were advertised as a trilogy. But there were a lot of things on my mind, and my money was limited, and so it just did not happen.

Does anyone know these books? I just have found and ordered them second hand, Parcival, Lohengrin and Layala. It seems they had not become popular in Germany, despite quite some praise for them, and the first part being nominated for the Pulitzer - the german translations saw one edition in 1982 or so - and no second. I also just found out that six years later, he even wrote a fourth book belonging to this cycle, which apparently never was published in German (correction welcomed!)

I feel gifted that after quite a long time i finally come back to these and got my hands on them. What could i expect from these books? If you know them, did you like them?

The Grail and King Arthur sagas, as long as the classical German sagas, still belong to the most beautiful literature motives i know of, and they surely are some really great stories to be told. Monaco I still cannot comment on, but if you like the matter, the books by Gillian Bradshaw are highly recommended: good literature quality, and very original perspectives, turning old stuff into something apparently new. She won awards for them.

Several other of Bradshaw's historic novels I liked too, I must say. Maybe I qualify for being a fan of her. when I think of it, there has not been a single novel that I did not like.

[Rockstar]

Please report by 1300 tomorrow to the nearest camp for politcal correctness and education, as these books have been deemed forbidden and banned for the good of the citizens.

We know where you live.

[Skybird]

What kind of joke should that be? The books can be freely ordered at US Amazon, for exaple, and other outlets as well. For the first volume he won a nomination for the Pulitzer.

http://www.amazon.com/Parsival-Knights-Tale-Richard-Monaco/dp/0759252955/ref=sr_1_1/188-1541125-4391047?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255037325&sr=8-1

[jumpy]

Alas I only have Heliconia Spring, never got Summer or Winter (i think that's how the trilogy went). Great book though. Aldiss is a great writer.

I think my current favourite books are The chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson (still waiting for the last book) and The Complete Chronicles of Conan by Robert E Howard (a relatively recent publication of all of his original Conan stories in the order they were written or published) - his other short stories are worth a read too; Uniquely engaging, with a rich mythos of the sinister and occult and the barbarism of the heart of darkness in undiscovered lands steeped in ancient and brooding evil. hehe how's that for a review?

Tad Williams books from the 'epic' memory sorrow and thorn series are pretty good too.
Speaking of books I never got around to buying (the first time or again after I lent it to someone and never got it back) David Zindell wrote a book called Neverness which has several follow-ups (a requiem for homosappiens) it's one of the most absorbing SF books I've ever read, but sadly they always seem to be out of print :(
Michael Moorcock and his Elric of melmanbababrbd ... er, 'Elric' books were damn good too. I believe he wrote the brentford (or was it brentwood?) trilogy which was a fantastic SF/fantasy satire spoof weirdness, like terry pratchet before there was terry pratchet.

Correction: The brentford trilogy was written by Robert Rankin - The Antipope, The Brentford Triangle, East of Ealing, The Sprouts of Wrath, The Brentford chainsaw massacre.

[TLAM Strike]

when I was in my teens, in the 80s, I read a lot of Science Fiction and even the occasional Fantasy works. Really influencing for me form that era were things like Frank Herbert's Dune books... I've read Dune and Dune Messiah, I have the other two Frank Herbert Dune books on my shelf but have not yet read them.

I guess Dune just shows you that even 8,000 years in the future we will be fighting Zelots out in the Desert. ;)

Recently I've really been enjoying diffrent books by Larry Niven.

[Skybird]

I've read Dune and Dune Messiah, I have the other two Frank Herbert Dune books on my shelf but have not yet read them.



You mean the other four. The Dune cycle is 6 books long. 5 and 6 both are of the volumes of 3 or 4.

After Herbert's death, his son and a coauthor wrote even more additional novels set in the Dune universe, focussing on the history of the High Houses. But I do not know these, nor was I ever interested. 6 thick novels was enough, I think. :) Dune Messiah I consider to be the weakest of them all (and the smallest it is, too).

Dune cycle was one of the works that I repeatedly read (necessary, I noted ALL details not before the third run, I think), and the first volume I also once read in English, which was not difficult since Herbert's langue style is somewhat simplistic. With Herbert, it is the stories's content that count, not his language. He was no literary artist, language-wise.

[TLAM Strike]

You mean the other four. The Dune cycle is 6 books long.

After Herbert's death, his son and a coauthor wrote even more additional novels set in the Dune universe, focussing on the history of the High Houses. But I do not know these, nor was I ever interested. 6 thick novels was enough, I think. :) D'oh! Your right there were six books not four. :damn: