Opinionating

Here there be opinions!

20 Fantasy Worlds to Visit

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Bryce Wilson at Screen Rant published a list of 15 fantasy books / series to “shak[e] off some serious Westeros withdrawal” after the sixth season finale of Game of Thrones aired at the end of June.

While there were solid choices on the list, what struck me was that out of 15 named creators only 2 were women. That’s 13%. Since women make up half of the world’s population, an eighth is an unacceptably low proportion in my eyes, so I made a list of my own.

Flickr Peter Roan Monteleone Chariot
Even Achilles knows that women are an integral part of the world.

Notes on my list: 1) it’s novels only (no anthologies), 2) in a random order, 3) with no double entries (otherwise I’d include also Jemisin’s The Inheritance Trilogy), 4) and I include not only a variety of flavors within the fantasy genre but also historical fiction. Moreover, 5) I’ve included old and newer favorites as well as new-to-me authors whose works sound intriguing. Finally, 6) the common denominator is (like in the Game of Thrones) the presence of power struggles of various sorts, negotiation of identities, and survival.

1. Ursula K. Le Guin. The Earthsea cycle (A Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The Farthest Shore; Tehanu; Tales from Earthsea; The Other Wind)

Aspects of identity examined in an island-based early medievalesque world with magic and lots of sailing.

2. Kai Ashante Wilson. Sorcerer of the Wildeeps

Sword and sorcery, gods and mortals, with a band of mercenaries working as caravan guard in focus. (Linguist’s note: Fascinating mix of vernacular and more formal language.)

3. N.K. Jemisin: The Dreamblood duology (The Killing Moon; The Shadowed Sun)

Ancient-Egyptian-flavored fantasy on a moon orbiting a Jupiter-like gas giant.

4. Samuel R. Delany. Nevèrÿon series (Tales of Nevèrÿon; Neveryóna; Flight from Nevèrÿon; The Return to Nevèrÿon)

Sword and sorcery in a world before the dawn of history, with strong elements of power, economic development and breaking barriers.

5. Rosemary Kirstein. The Steerswoman

D&D-like adventures in a medievalesque world with hidden computer technology.

6. Saladin Ahmed. Throne Of The Crescent Moon

Old-fashioned sword-and-sorcery with an Arabian Nights flavor.

7. Robin Hobb. The Farseer trilogy (Assassin’s Apprentice; Royal Assassin; Assassin’s Quest)

Convoluted political intrigues and power struggles in the Six Duchies.

8. Kate Elliott. Black Wolves

Four generations of dynastic struggles in a Central-Asia-influenced world with demons and a power-hungry new religion.

9. Nicola Griffith. Hild

Political intrigue between Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in a fictionalized 7th-century Britain.

10. David Anthony Durham. The Acacia trilogy (Acacia: The War with the Mein; Acacia: The Other Lands; Acacia: The Sacred Band)

Political, economic, mythological and morally ambiguous forces battle for the control of the Acacian empire.

11. Nicole Kornher-Stace. Archivist Wasp

Yearly duels to the death to gain or retain the title Archivist in a post-collapse world with ghosts.

12. Charles R. Saunders. Imaro

Sword and sorcery, heroic warriors, grand landscapes, giants and magic in a world inspired by Africa.

13. Robert Harris. Cicero trilogy (Imperium; Lustrum [U.S. title: Conspirata]; Dictator)

Rise to and repercussions of power told through a fictional biography of Cicero.

14. Alaya Dawn Johnson. The Spirit Binders series (Racing the Dark; The Burning City)

A coming-of-age story in an island world resembling Polynesia where people have learned to bind elemental powers to their command.

15. Joe Abercrombie. The First Law trilogy (The Blade Itself; Before They Are Hanged; Last Argument of Kings)

Demons and humans in a dark, edgy world full of skirmishes.

16. Guy Gavriel Kay. The Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium; Lord of Emperors)

Power voids, political intrigue, assassins and travels in a world inspired by 6th-century Mediterranean.

17. Brandon Sanderson. Mistborn series (The Final Empire; The Well of Ascension; The Hero of Ages)

Magic from metals in a mist-laden world.

18. Patrick Rothfuss. The Kingkiller Chronicle (The Name of the Wind; The Wise Man’s Fear; Day Three: The Doors of Stone [working title])

Magic and music meet in a coming-of-age story.

19. Aliette de Bodard. Obsidian and Blood books (Servant of the Underworld; Harbinger of the Storm; Master of the House of Darts)

Three standalone Aztec noir fantasy-mysteries with blood magic, star-demons and war.

20. Kameron Hurley. The Worldbreaker Saga (The Mirror Empire; Empire Ascendant; The Broken Heavens [forthcoming])

Brutal power struggles in a world where plants can walk and kill, and blood magic opens portals between parallel realities.

Bonus entry by a fellow Finn:

Emmi Itäranta. The City of Woven Streets

A blend of a coming-of-age story with high-stakes intrigue and danger on an island with water-based tech.

Enjoy! I know I will get back to this list after finishing my current reading project.

Image: Monteleone chariot with Thetis and Achilles, detail of image by Peter Roan on Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0 (Etruscan, currently Greek and Roman galleries, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; 2nd quarter of the 6th century BCE; bronze inlaid with ivory)

Messing with numbers is messy.

Why White Horus Bothers Me More Than Black Heimdall

Erik

In 2011’s Thor, Idris Elba, despite not looking typically Norse, plays the Norse god Heimdall. In 2016’s Gods of Egypt, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, despite not looking typically Egyptian, plays the Egyptian god Horus. The casting of Elba as Heimdall surprised me the first time I saw the movie, but it has never bothered me as a fan or as a historian. Coster-Waldau as Horus really bothers me and I think it’s worth taking a minute to explain why.

160310HeimdallHorus

I have nothing against Coster-Waldau as an actor. I haven’t seen Gods of Egypt and don’t plan to, so I have nothing to say about his performance in this particular role, but he’s not the problem here. The problem is in the casting of the movie as a whole.

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Why I Always Grant Extensions

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160303booksAs the middle of the semester approaches and assignments start coming due, the e-mails start coming in. Students start coming to me before or after class or poking their heads into my office between classes. I know what they’re going to ask. Some of them know the word for it; others just know what they need: a few more days to work on their papers and projects. An extension.

There’s always a reason. The flu. Grandmother passed away. Father in the hospital. Car trouble. I know pretty much what they’re going to say before they even open their mouths. And I know what I’m going to say, too: yes. Always yes. I never ask for proof (though my students will often bring me notes and I will look at them out of respect). Anyone who asks can have a few extra days.

I have known professors who take pride in never having granted an extension, or if they do they want to see the doctor’s note and the obituary in the newspaper and they will run the story down like an investigative journalist tracking a political scandal. For them, deadlines are deadlines: the line past which you’d better be dead and have a note from God if your paper isn’t done. I respect my fellow professors who teach this way, but it’s not my way.

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Gatesmashing

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We’re all familiar with gatekeeping: when members of a fandom (or geekishness in general) try to exclude others for not being true fans or real geeks because they haven’t seen/read/played every obscure iteration of the franchise or don’t know every minute detail of the lore. “Oh, you haven’t seen the Holiday Special?” they sniff. “Well, you’re not really a Star Wars fan, then.” “You don’t know how many buttons were on the second Doctor’s costume? Begone, fake Whovian!”

If you’re fortunate enough to have never witnessed or experienced gatekeeping, here’s a few discussions (picked more or less at random) to give you an idea of what it is and why it sucks:

No One Can Deny You Entry to Geekdom, But Some Can Make It Really Hard to Get Through the Door First by Michi Trota on Geek Melange

The Psychology of the Fake Geek Girl: Why We’re Threatened by Falsified Fandom by Dr. Andrea Letamendi on The Mary Sue

A Creator’s Note to “Gatekeepers” by John Scalzi on Whatever

You see what I mean? Gatekeeping is wrong, hurtful, and no fun. And while it’s true that it can be done by anybody to anybody (I’m a straight man and I’ve had my fandom cred challenged by queer women half my age), it is a weapon frequently deployed by the privileged against the un-privileged, in whatever terms those categories may be defined.

Gatekeeping needs to stop. It’s time we all acknowledge that none of us has seen everything and none of us knows everything, even about the things we love the most. No one is any less of a geek or a fan because of the things they don’t know. All it means is there are still things for us to watch and read and play and find out about, and that’s awesome. Seriously, I feel so sorry for anyone who has nothing new left to learn or experience.

And so, I propose a new pastime: gatesmashing! Instead of obsessing over the things we have seen and read and played, let’s proclaim the things we haven’t. Tell us what you’ve never experienced, and tell us proudly. Not a comprehensive list, of course, but the first few things that come to mind.

I’ll go first.

I have never seen:

  • Rocky Horror Picture Show
  • Starship Troopers
  • The Dark Crystal
  • Any Doctor Who starring the first or fifth-through-eighth Doctors

I have never read anything by:

  • Neil Gaiman
  • Terry Pratchett
  • Ursula K. Le Guin

I have never played:

  • Skyrim
  • Minecraft
  • Dragon Age

And the fact that I haven’t doesn’t make me any less of a geek than anyone who has.

Here there be opinions!

Two Fan-Made Black Widow Videos

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These two fan-made Black Widow videos are professional grade! First, there’s a fantastic, stylized, graphic title sequence for an imagined Black Widow movie:

Black Widow title sequence by Christopher Haley

Then there’s this trailer for an imagined Black Widow origins movie created from existing movie snippets:

Black Widow: The Origin trailer by unknown; uploaded by Elinor X

I heartily second the sentiment in the origin trailer’s end “credits” – rather than an Ant Man story or another Spider Man re-launch, I’d sooooo much prefer a movie focused on Black Widow. Given the traction that action movies are currently enjoying, it’s a better time than ever before to bring women-lead superhero stories on screen.

But here’s the secret – and I’m going to say this with the emphasis it needs – THE STORIES NEED TO BE GREAT. With solid storytelling (including visuals and pacing), well-rounded characters throughout, and excellent casting. Half-hearted attempts will not cut it.

Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.