Tag: mythical creatures

Review of The Folded World by Catherynne M. Valente

SFFaudio Review

The Folded World (A Dirge for Prester John, #2)The Folded World (A Dirge for Prester John #2)
By Catherynne M. Valente, Read by Ralph Lister
9 hours 18 minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
 Published: November 2011
ISBN: 1597802034
Themes: / Fantasy / Creatures / Monks / Quest / Immortality / War / Crusades / Parenting

Publisher Summary: When the mysterious daughter of Prester John appears on the doorstep of her father’s palace, she brings with her news of war in the West–the Crusades have begun, and the bodies of the faithful are washing up on the shores of Pentexore. Three narratives intertwine to tell the tale of the beginning of the end of the world: a younger, angrier Hagia, the blemmye-wife of John and Queen of Pentexore, who takes up arms with the rest of her nation to fight a war they barely understand, Vyala, a lion-philosopher entrusted with the care of the deformed and prophetic royal princess, and another John, John Mandeville, who in his many travels discovers the land of Pentexore–on the other side of the diamond wall meant to keep demons and monsters at bay.

These three voices weave a story of death, faith, beauty, and power, dancing in the margins of true history, illuminating a place that never was.

To fully appreciate this book, it is essential to first read The Habitation of the Blessed (A Dirge for Prester John #1), because The Folded World starts off right where the last book left off. The mythology of this trilogy is thick, and the second book builds nicely on what is developed in the first.  Where in The Habitation of the Blessed, the reader is introduced to all the fantastical creatures and the ways of the new lands, The Folded World digs deeper into the stories of some of the characters.  Although Prester John himself has lived with his blemmye wife for some time, he is still experiencing life as an outsider as he tries to put his own religion through the filters of the various beings he encounters.

It doesn’t help that the Crusades are going on, and the armies are getting closer.  Prester John doesn’t exactly fit in with his old life the way he used to.  This conflict is central to the development of the overarching story that I’m sure will continue in book #3.

While The Folded World lacked the breathtaking impact of the first book, probably just because the overall world was familiar to me, the same elements that I loved are present here – beautiful writing, a detailed mythical place with its own history and stories, and the clash between worlds.  There is one more book planned in this series, with the release date tentatively set for November 2012.

Posted by Jenny Colvin

Review of The Habitation of the Blessed by Catherynne M. Valente

SFFaudio Review

The Habitation of the Blessed
By Catherynne M. Valente, Read by Ralph Lister
11 hours 10 minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
 Published: November 2010
ISBN: 1441870245
Themes: / Fantasy / Creatures / Monks / Quest / Immortality /

Publisher description: This is the story of a place that never was: the kingdom of Prester John, the utopia described by an anonymous, twelfth-century document which captured the imagination of the medieval world and drove hundreds of lost souls to seek out its secrets, inspiring explorers, missionaries, and kings for centuries. But what if it were all true? What if there was such a place, and a poor, broken priest once stumbled past its borders, discovering, not a Christian paradise, but a country where everything is possible, immortality is easily had, and the Western world is nothing but a dim and distant dream? Brother Hiob of Luzerne, on missionary work in the Himalayan wilderness on the eve of the eighteenth century, discovers a village guarding a miraculous tree whose branches sprout books instead of fruit. These strange books chronicle the history of the kingdom of Prester John, and Hiob becomes obsessed with the tales they tell. The Habitation of the Blessed recounts the fragmented narratives found within these living volumes, revealing the life of a priest named John, and his rise to power in this country of impossible richness. John’s tale weaves together with the confessions of his wife Hagia, a blemmye — a headless creature who carried her face on her chest — as well as the tender, jeweled nursery stories of Imtithal, nanny to the royal family.

Full disclosure – I am an unrestrained, shameless fan of Catherynne M. Valente.  She ranks among my top three favorite authors, Palimpsest being my favorite novel, and I have read practically everything she has written.  The only exceptions are Labyrinth, her first novel which she has made available for free online, Deathless, and some of her short stories.  Valente’s prose is beautiful, and her knowledge of mythology and the classics is apparent in every story.  Some of her earlier works read more like poetry.

The Habitation of the Blessed is the first book in a trilogy called Dirge for Prester John.  The next book will be out before the end of the year, and the third is set to be published in 2012.  It is based on the medieval legend of Prester John, and Catherynne Valente has created a website called PresterJohnOnline where you can read more.  Check out this video demonstrating the medieval legend as acted out by action figures (also created by Valente).

Of all of Valente’s works, this reminds me of The Orphan’s Tales, the way there are multiple stories that are loosely connected in an overarching narrative.  But somehow, it is much more intricate, and I was drawn in by this tree of books that is encountered early on by Brother Hiob of Lucerne.  The interweaving stories in the book come from this tree, but they may act more like fruit than paper.

“This tree bore neither apples nor plums, but books, where fruit should sprout. The bark of its great trunk shone the color of parchment; its leaves a glossy vibrant red, as if it had drunk up all the colors of the long plain through its roots. In clusters and alone, books of all shapes hung among the pointed leaves, their covers obscenely bright and shining, swollen as peaches, gold and green, and cerulean, their pages thick as though with juice, their silver ribbon marks fluttering in the spiced wind.”

My imagination was captured in that moment, and it only got better.  The creatures in this book are bizarre and enchanting, and stretch the limitations of the reader alongside Brother Hiob. It is impossible not to start longing for the imaginary landscape of Pentexore, and I look forward to the future books in this world.

Ralph Lister also does a wonderful job with the audio, and the subtle differences in voices help the listener know where one is within the story.

Posted by Jenny Colvin

BBC R4: In Our Time: Unicorns

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time with Melvyn BraggThe BBC Radio 4 program (and podcast) In Our Time has an interesting discussion about one of the most popular of unwinged mythological creatures. The unicorn has the honor of both adorning Canada’s coat of arms as well as being the only even-toed ungulate to be both wholly magical and completely kosher.

Here’s the description:

“Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history and mythology of the unicorn.

In the 5th century BC a Greek historian, Ctesias, described a strange one-horned beast which he believed to live in a remote area of India. Later classical scholars, including Aristotle and Pliny, added to his account of this animal which they called the monoceros, a vicious ass-like creature with a single horn in the middle of its forehead.

For centuries the monoceros or unicorn was widely accepted to be a real – if rarely seen – beast. It appears in the Bible, and in the Middle Ages became a powerful Christian symbol. It continued to be represented in art and literature throughout the Renaissance, when ‘unicorn horn’ became one of the most valuable commodities on earth, thanks to its supposed properties as an antidote to poison. As late as the seventeenth century, scientists believed they had found conclusive proof of the existence of unicorns. It was some time before the animal was shown to be a myth; four hundred years on, the unicorn retains much of its fascination and symbolic power.

With:

Juliette Wood
Associate Lecturer in Folklore at Cardiff University

Lauren Kassell
Lecturer in the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge

David Ekserdjian
Professor of the History of Art and Film at the University of Leicester.

Producer: Thomas Morris.”

Have a listen |MP3|

Or subscribe to the podcast feed:

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/iot/rss.xml

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Unicorn Variation By Roger Zelazny

Science Fiction Audiobooks - Unicorn Variation by Roger ZelaznyUnicorn Variation
By Roger Zelazny; Read by Rene Auberjonois
1 Cassette – 83 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Durkin Hayes
Published: 1995
ISBN: 0886467365
Themes: / Fantasy / Unicorns / Mythical Creatures / Chess / Angels /

Roger Zelazny wrote some of my favorite fantasies. I view him now as one of Neil Gaiman’s primary influences, as they both cover the same mythical territory in their fiction. (In fact, Neil Gaiman would be a perfect choice to pen scripts for Zelazny’s Amber novels – hint hint nudge nudge).

“Unicorn Variations” is a story from later in Zelazny’s career. In it, a man finds himself playing a chess game with a unicorn, the result of which could determine the fate of the human race. The unicorn talks quite a bit and has a sharp tongue with a dry sense of humor. The man in the story meets several mythical beasts, and they all know how to play chess, including Sasquatches, who are particularly good at it. A thoroughly enjoyable story.

“Angel, Dark Angel” is also included. It is much shorter than the cover story, and begins with a man who receives a phone call giving him the identity of a person he’s got to go meet. No more on this one – let Zelazny unfold it for you.

Rene Auberjonois is absolutely first-rate. I really enjoy his cadence and his personable tone. In the first story, he has the opportunity to use several different voices, which he does with wonderful skill, bringing the story to life as a great narrator can.

This one’s out of print – check eBay!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson