Survival Tips for the Frustrated Fantasist

“Life is what happens to you when you are trying to game and blog.”   
Th. the Obscure, D.M. (Doctor Mythopoeiae)

So, long-time readers already knew I was having an academic year that was consuming my life.  I added a new home and everything that goes with that into the mix and recovering from an injury, and all blogging and gaming pretty much disappeared from my life.  (I might could have squeezed in a little gaming, if similar things hadn’t happened to the members of my little group.)  The flame would have gone out over here if it were not for Mike Welham and Craig Johnston (thanks, guys!).  So, how have I been surviving this challenge to La Mitopoietica Vita?  I have to read.

Part of this is just my personality.  Recreational reading helps me to retain my humanity and my sanity.  I must read.  (Feel free to google for escapsim quotes by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, then come back.)  I need fantastical fiction.  My primary recourse in these months as been to the ever-reliable Steven Brust.  I have read seven Vlad Taltos novels (see picture above) and two of the Khaavren romances (see picture below). 

Damn, Brust can write.  Dense, complex plots for this genre, but not so much that you choke on them.  Intriguing characterization that makes me care about characters that I can't imagine caring about if all I had was a bare-bones character sketch of them.  And while he's not my favorite world-builder, he does a lot in his under-stated way.  And the things that stand out (the Houses, the Orb, the Cycle, the reversals or twists around "humanity" are enjoyable and make the world alien).  When it comes to food, he's the Patrick O'Brian of fantasy food.

If you haven't treated yourself to Brust, I'm telling you he is on my required reading list and you don't have to give me anything in return for the recommendation, though your comments are always appreciated.  If you haven't heard Atomic Array's interview of him, I recommend that, too.  He's done a fantastic job of keeping me fed as a Mythopoet under pressure and short of leisure.  How will it inform my gaming when I return?  I think that Brust's swashbuckling in particular will be an excellent inspiration when I can return to Swords & Wizardry in Waterdeep, and the politics among the Dragaeran houses could give me fuel for what to do with the noble houses of Waterdeep.  All this will be in the cooker when I can return to gaming.

So, what I am reading while I'm taking a break from my Brustian bacchanal?  An Elric reread: I'm closing in on the end of volume 3 in Del Ray's excellent definitive collection.  After that, I may read Paths of the Dead or stretch things out a little more by inserting a collection of Peter S. Beagle's short stories.  I picked it up here in San Antonio when The Last Unicorn tour came to town.  (While the first leg of the tour is done, keep an eye on the website for future developments in your area which will be forthcoming.  Seeing Rone Barton in action and having a conversation with Peter are worth the price of admission alone, but I was impressed by how clean the copy of the TLU is.) Well, that's it for this Tomeful Tuesday.  Baby steps back to blogging, my fellow ramblers, baby steps.

Brusting with Artistic Inspiration

If you've been following the MR blog, you know that this has been the year in which I finally got around to reading Steven Brust (or at least, the Steven Brust that everyone else was reading), and enjoyed his work a good deal.  If you are a Brust fan, be sure and catch this interview with him on Atomic Array.

Brust work's has inspired some gorgeous artwork over on DeviantArt that is not to missed.  So, with the kind permission of the artists, please feast your eyes on the these gorgeous and evocative interpretations, and if you aren't familiar with these artists, head on over to their DA sites (linked below) and give yourself an eyeful and them some love.

Vlad Taltos by Ashley Cope

Jhereg by Kerem Beyit

Keeping Mythopoeic Monday at Bay

Finals week is hitting at the same time as preparation for my move and for teaching summer school.  Did I mention that I also have an out-of-town family reunion this month and that I had to take my car in for servicing?  Aarrgh!

In the interests of my sanity, let me point you at some cool things to distract you from noticing that I do not really have an article for this Mythopoeic Monday.

STEVEN BRUST.  You know I recently finished the first three books of the Vlad Taltos series (collected as The Book of Jhereg) and I mentioned there were rumors of something involving.  That something ended up being an interview of Brust by Rone and Ed on a special episode of Atomic Array.  You will want to get over there and give it a listen, then check back because Brust is posting in the comments section!  Very cool.

In podcast land, when I haven't been listening to AA, I've been catching up StarShipSofa.  There's a new feature in the series by David Raiklen on cinematic music that I highly recommend.  In the same vein, I caught something on TV about Thomas Golubic that looked interesting, but Google insists that his site is harmful.  Does anyone know how one can hear or see his work rescoring film soundtracks other than living in LA and going to a performance?

And man oh man, the reviewers are being harsh to The Raven.  I think this is a case where they are being overly harsh.  Critics might talk me into lowering my review to a B-, but I still had fun.  Yes, we could have wished for more imaginative drawing on Poe's oeuvre, yes the author-solving-crimes-he's-inspired-trick has been used before, no, Cusak is not the best actor money could have bought for this project, but I still think it has some things going for it, as I noted yesterday.  They'll probably tell me that I'm being a sucker for a period piece, but I stand by saying it's worth seeing and given a fair chance.