slosh down the pepper!

Beyond the cover

I recently took to reading again. It started with Enid Blyton's adventure series, following Jack, Philip and their sisters around Europe, crossing mountains, exploring castles and rafting across rivers to expose some heinous crimes in happening. The books weren't too thick, neither were the fonts too small. The author had also carefully lined her stories with elaborate details on logistics, namely on the F&B department. It was a little difficult to imagine lemonade in a tin can at first, but I suppose that was how food was being processed in the early days. As I read on, I found myself absorbed in her descriptions of an assortment of foods, freshly baked bread, tinned pineapples, chocolates, ham, cakes, sweets and other sugary stuffs. I imagined that she probably is as much a sweet tooth as I am. Overall, the stories were easy to digest and came with pleasant endings as the good guys rounded up the bad guys.

Next came The Elenium, a trilogy by David Eddings. In a one-line statement, the story told of a fellowship of sort embarking on a journey to retrieve some powerful ornament-like stone so as to engage in a final battle against the evil one. Another one of his works, The Belgariad that I am currently reading also spoke of a similar objective and talked of a stone orb, albeit fitted onto the hilt of a sword. Very similar to Lord Of The Rings (and probably all other epic fantasies) in concept, except that the characters are made up mainly of humans (further segregated into races), humanoids, gods, supernatural long-lived beings with magical or sorcery powers, and huge ugly creatures. There were no mythical beings such as elves, dwarfs, gnomes, fairies or dragons. The closest were the Dryads, some kind of tree nymphs in Greek mythology, but then again, he provided those beings with a physical form and characteristic not unlike humans.

Eddings never forgets to inject emotions into his main characters, which was probably the factor that engages me in his stories. Each hero character is given a personality and special traits that made them likeable. There is the practical one who took care of logistics and able to devise clever apparatuses to work around the most tedious jobs. Then there is the witty and nimble one who is on the constant lookout for a good bargain and a chance to pass snide or sarcastic remarks. And there is the dense main hero who may falter occasionally but ultimately achieves his goal with the help of his counterparts. Of course, then there are the couple of ladies being inserted to provide balance to the male-dominated group. The interplay between the characters often churned out witty and humorous dialogues that were generously planted throughout the story.

Sometimes I feel that he takes it too far when he created The Tamuli based on the emotions of a supernatural being that creates havoc to the World simply because he cannot get the woman he loved. The Tamuli was not impressionable. I almost forgot the purpose of the adventure until I wikipedia-ed it. Maybe because there was no mandatory task to find a stone...

One good thing about his books is that he provides maps to illustrate the World he created for his stories. It helped to identify the different kingdoms and the routes undertaken by the party as they traveled from A to B, B to D en-route to C, then back to A. Very confusing and distracting. I got lost a few times when I tried to envision the journey and directions of their expedition.

As we know it, his epics ended happily. The heroes killed the evil ones and won the battle. The world was peaceful again and they lived happily ever after, or for as long as Eddings allowed them to be (before he packed them all into his extension series that he is seriously fond of.)

Apart from adventure and epic tales, Tempest tried to introduce me to amateur philosophy through Sophie's World. It was a story within a story. For those who watched 'Stranger Than Fiction' (starred by Will Ferrell and Maggi Gyllenhaal) would not be too foreign to that idea, even though it's not exactly the same thing. The author had skillfully built in a kind of contemporary fantasy story around philosophical concepts. I put it in this order because 60 - 70% of the book focused on explaining philosophical ideas since the beginning of Earth till today. I could probably rattle off more philosophers' names than before, but I still can't remember each of their respective theories clearly. I liked the parts where they linked religion to philosophy. I have never seen religion in that light before.

A refreshing departure from the previous books I read, BUT it's multiple times more tedious to read, remember and understand it. Ah, one more difference. It has an ending that is in part sad, in part sweet. Like I said there was a story within another; the outer story had a good ending, but the inner story (which forms 75% of the book) struck me as a little sad. The little girl was forced to separate from her mother as she ran away from the manipulation of the author, ending up in another realm that is out of the latter's reach. Perhaps she was better off, but to trade that for being away from a loved one? It seemed necessary for the story to veer towards such an ending to achieve a bittersweet dream-like effect. If I were a writer, I would also be inclined to employ similar artistry. Killing off the main characters or cornering them into a compromised situation would tug at the reader's heart and evoke a cry of pity or even a tear or two. Writing is after all, not just to tell a story, but to forge an exciting tale that would grasp the human soul. Then, money would come rolling in.

My dear one, it's a scheme! I shall summon up my will and draw you away from the evil forces!

posted by slingwoof @ 4/02/2008 10:07:00 PM