War, Famine, Conquest, Death, and a Puppy make up today’s Scroll.
(1) The headline reads “Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking Want to Save the World From Killer Robots” – more euphemistically called autonomous weapons.
Along with 1,000 other signatories, Musk and Hawking signed their names to an open letter that will be presented this week at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“Autonomous weapons are ideal for tasks such as assassinations, destabilizing nations, subduing populations and selectively killing a particular ethnic group,” the letter says. “We therefore believe that a military AI arms race would not be beneficial for humanity. There are many ways in which AI can make battlefields safer for humans, especially civilians, without creating new tools for killing people.”
(2) Margaret Atwood, in her article about climate change on Medium, senses perception of change is accelerating.
It’s interesting to look back on what I wrote about oil in 2009, and to reflect on how the conversation has changed in a mere six years. Much of what most people took for granted back then is no longer universally accepted, including the idea that we could just go on and on the way we were living then, with no consequences. There was already some alarm back then, but those voicing it were seen as extreme. Now their concerns have moved to the center of the conversation. Here are some of the main worries.
Planet Earth—the Goldilocks planet we’ve taken for granted, neither too hot or too cold, neither too wet or too dry, with fertile soils that accumulated for millennia before we started to farm them –- that planet is altering. The shift towards the warmer end of the thermometer that was once predicted to happen much later, when the generations now alive had had lots of fun and made lots of money and gobbled up lots of resources and burned lots of fossil fuels and then died, are happening much sooner than anticipated back then. In fact, they’re happening now.
One of the many topics she covers is the use of didactic fiction to awaken students to environmental problems.
Could cli-fi be a way of educating young people about the dangers that face them, and helping them to think through the problems and divine solutions? Or will it become just another part of the “entertainment business”? Time will tell. But if Barry Lord is right, the outbreak of such fictions is in part a response to the transition now taking place—from the consumer values of oil to the stewardship values of renewables. The material world should no longer be treated as a bottomless cornucopia of use-and-toss endlessly replaceable mounds of “stuff”: supplies are limited, and must be conserved and treasured.
(3) Of course, what people usually learn from entertainment is how to have a good time. Consider how that cautionary tale, The Blob,has inspired this party —
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania — one of the filming locations for “The Blob” — hosts an annual Blobfest. One of the highlights for participants is reenacting the famous scene when moviegoers run screaming from the town’s Colonial Theatre.
(4) However, there are some fans who do conserve and treasure their stuff, like Allen Lewis, who recently donated his large sf collection:
The University of Iowa has struck gold. Not the kind that lies in the federal reserve, but one of paper in a Sioux Falls man’s basement. After 20 years of collecting, he is donating his one-of-a-kind collection of 17,500 books worth an estimated three quarters of a million dollars.
(5) And the University of Iowa makes good use of the material, for example, its project to digitize the Hevelin fanzine collection:
Now, the pulps and passion projects alike will be getting properly preserved and digitized so they can be made accessible to readers and researchers the world over. The library’s digitization efforts are led by Digital Project Librarian Laura Hampton. She’s just a few weeks into the first leg of the project, digitizing some 10,000 titles from the collection of Rusty Hevelin, a collector and genre aficionado whose collection came to the library in 2012. You can follow along with Hampton’s work on the Hevelin Collection tumblr.
“These fanzines paint an almost outrageously clear picture of early fandom,” said Hampton. “If you read through every single fanzine in our collection, you would have a pretty solid idea of all the goings-on that shaped early fandom—the major players, the dramas, the developments and changes, and who instigated and opposed them. There is an incredible cultural history here that cannot be replicated.”
(6) The DC17 Worldcon bid has Storified a series of tweets highlighting reasons for vote for their bid.
https://twitter.com/DCin17/status/626081453638483968
It absolutely is an All-Star committee.
(7) JT in Germany has posted his picks in the Best Related Works category, and Antonelli’s Letters from Gardner ranked at the top of his personal scorecard.
Letters from Gardner by Lou Antonelli — 3 of 5 This is the one I was most interested in, as it’s about the actual mechanics of writing. It’s a series of short stories, starting as he’s trying to break into publishing short science fiction, and follows his career. Each of the stories is paired with an intro and follow-up about the changes the stories went through, including his interactions with famed editor Gardner Dozois. Unfortunately, the included sample was only just getting into the interesting part of his correspondence. It was good enough that I’ll be buying it soon enough.
(8) Another successful crowdfunding effort is bringing out Lovecraft: The Blasphemously Large First Issue, a new comic that portrays H.P. Lovecraft as “a modern-day, kick-ass action hero & alchemist.”
Writer Craig Engler is thrilled to report the copies have arrived from the printers and will be going out to donors. 
(9) Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C.S. Lewis by Abigail Santamaria is due out August 4. The biography of Helen “Joy” Davidman. Katie Noah’s review appears in Shelf Awareness (scroll down).
While she clearly admires her subject, Santamaria acknowledges Joy’s failings: her tendency to exaggeration and even lying; the spending sprees she could rarely afford; her troubled relationship with her parents and brother. Joy’s marriage to Bill also receives an even-handed treatment. Bill was undoubtedly an alcoholic who struggled to maintain a stable family life, but Santamaria clearly outlines the part Joy played in the failure of their marriage.
Frustrated by professional and personal setbacks, Joy uprooted her life–and that of her two young sons–to travel to England in 1952. She had struck up a flourishing correspondence with Lewis, and she set out to woo her literary lion. Santamaria chronicles the difficulties of Joy’s life in England and Lewis’s reaction to her arrival, but admits that, in the end, they did fall deeply in love. As Joy’s health began to fail, her relationship with Lewis flourished, and their last few years together were blissful.
(10) When Syfy isn’t busy feeding celebrities to sharks, they produce episodic sci-fi shows like the new Wynonna Earp project.
This classic by Beau Smith which was brought to us by IDW Publishing is being given a 13 episode first season run and stars Melanie Scrofano (‘RoboCop‘,’Saw VI’) in the lead role! She’ll be playing the great granddaughter of Wyatt Earp and works for The Monster Squad. Following in his infamous footsteps, she works with the US Marshals, only in a secret department that tracks down fiends that are just a bit more sinister than your regular criminal.
(11) They’re also readying an adaptation of Clarke’s Childhood’s End — here’s the supertrailer shown at Comic-Con
[Thanks to Mark, Andrew Porter, Michael J. Walsh, Martin Morse Wooster, Linda Lewis, John King Tarpinian and David K.M. Klaus. Title credit to Brian Z.]
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I claim the position of First!
I’m not sure about the lovecraft comic as a thing, but I do like the title.
The Blob con story particularly delights me.
So I gather Hawking and Musk were disappointed by the latest entry in the Terminator franchyse and went to prevent further sequels.
A propos of nothing in particular I thought I’d test the puppy Heinlein could never win a Hugo thesis by reading one of his books. Hoo, boy, Stranger in a Strange Land really doesn’t stand up fifty years on.
Times, they’ve been a changing.
Ooh, Childhood’s End actually looks quite good. Now I want to read the book. (YES I’VE NEVER READ IT SHUT UP.)
Entirely different note: If anyone out there is a fan of Don Hertzfeldt (which I am), his latest film looks amazing–and, being sci-fi, is Hugo-Dramatic-Short-Form eligible for 2016. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/worldoftomorrow
All of his other shorts, including the Oscar-nominated “Rejected” and the SF-Friendly “The Meaning of Life” are available on youtube for free.
So, the new Tom Holt book finally dropped yesterday – The Good, The Bad and The Smug, the fourth in his “YouSpace” series that began with Doughnut – and the very first chapter’s already weirding me out.
Okay, a little odd considering that it was released just a few days before the end of Hugo voting, but it’s gotta be a coincidence… right?
Coincidence or no, I am richly amused by the synchronicity. 😀
Whatever one thinks of the TV version of Game of Thrones, I am thankful that its success has led to the green-lighting of so many SFF movies and TV series which would never have had a chance 10 years ago.
It will be interesting to see how long this run of support for SFF films and shows lasts.
Greg: Childhood’s End is an amazing book. Parts of it have aged very badly – Clarke absolutely did not see any significant changes coming in the place of women in society, in particular. But its good parts are just amazing. There’s some very solid characterization with UN Secretary-General Stormgren (why the adaptation is making him an American farmer, I couldn’t say) and with Jan Rodricks, the first and only human to really, really go into space. And the final section is…breathtaking. It’s just about unique in my reading experience in being a story where no final emotion is possible. You can’t be exactly happy at the outcome for humanity, given what it involves happening to everything we know and can know. But it’s not tragic, either, given what happens next. I love it, very much, despite its flaws – where it excels, it excels.
JJ: True, and I also wonder. I enjoy each good work as it comes along.
The 60’s-70’s bracket should be up shortly. You can vote for a work in any pair, a tie, or abstain. You can also vote for a work not on the bracket, but please keep it to the appropriate period.
A tie last round has resulted in an extra work that will be moving on to the all-period bracket. I didn’t like the three-way match last time, so I’m trying something different. A special ninth bracket has been added to this round to keep the number of works moving on even. (Yes, that will result in an ultimately unworkably 17 pairings in the all-period round. No, I don’t know how I’m going to handle that quite yet. I’ll burn that bridge when I come to it.)
All pairing except the bonus bracket were chosen by random dice roll.
Journey back with me to … THE SIXTIES AND THE SEVENTIES!
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
The Old Gods Waken, Manly Wade Wellman
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre Norton
Watership Down, Richard Adams
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh
Ah, Kyra, great to see another one….
9.
ON NO YOU DID NOT
*runs to room slams door lies on bed listens to The Cure sniffles*
Now. Now I know pain.
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillipLord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
Pass. Haven’t read one, haven’t read the other since I was 17 and it annoyed the hell out of me then.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Elric of Melniboné, Michael MoorcockOne of the greatest books ever.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
The Old Gods Waken, Manly Wade WellmanNine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. BeagleThe Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart
Haven’t read either, though my sympathies lie with Mary Stewart
Write in: Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre NortonWatership Down, Richard Adams
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
Deryni Rising, Katherine KurtzRather than Wizard of Earthsea?
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John BellairsThe Princess Bride, William Goldman
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh3. Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander. Yes, loved this one even if I read the last book first.
5. No vote. Never read Stewart and am not that impressed by Beagle.
6. Watership Down, Richard Adams. Another favourite. Read it 6-7 times I think. Not to say having watched the movie.
7. Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin. Another all time great. Still reading it now and again.
8. No vote. Never read Bellairs and The Princess Bride is a great movie. The book is just ok.
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
This is a hard one. McKillip is really good, but there are some completely distinctive things about the Covenant books, including the first, that I continue to love in a special way.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
Garcia Marquez went far beyond Moorcock in pretty much every dimension of literature. But insofar as we’re talking about fantasy the publishing and fannish category, I go with Moorcock.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
Kind of an apples-and-orangutans comparison here, isn’t it, Kyra?
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
Wellman was a better writer much of the time, and there’s a grounded depth in his work that Zelazny could blow past. But dang there’s epic pulp imagination at work in the Amber books.
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Watership Down, Richard Adams
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs
I admit it: I find the framing story in the book version of Princess Bride pretty repugnant, and it took a lot of pleading by someone I love to get past that. Bellairs, on the other hand, hooked me immediately and kept me hooked.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Cherryh is great. Ford was greater. Miss him.
If more than half the people voting for Le Guin say they think A Wizard of Earthsea is the better book in the series, I will switch them out in subsequent rounds.
Sigh.
1. Not read McKillip and I spit on Lord Foul for introducing me to the wonderful world of rape when I was 13. I tremble to do this knowing what awaits me at 9, but I am writing in Alan Garner’s Red Shift. (Which also has rape and other horrors lurking in its sparse beautiful prose, fair warning, but I read it when I was a bit older, and though revolted by the actions, I knew from that start that this was not masquerading as anything remotely escapist.)
2. Marquez. Elric’s my main man, but One Hundred Years is one of those works of literature around which an entire century pivoted.
3. Alexander. And this is my favourite of the five books, where Taran begins to grow and discover wisdom and maturity.
4. I have read neither. Do I have the heart to hazard another write-in? Oh boy. John Brunner, The Compleat Traveller In Black.
5. Beagle. Taught me that fantasy could be beautiful. Taught me beauty was something I could love.
6. Adams. A hero and a leader who is not strong and not a kind of martyred saint like Frodo, but cunning and far-sighted, who wins through careful planing and use of available resources.
7. LeGuin. Funnily enough, a lot of the lessons I learned from Adams, Beagle, Garner, Alexander and others turned out to have been present in a trilogy I had been reading and rereading all along. If there is a best of the best, this is it.
Edit – yeah, I’d go for Wizard Of Earthsea, though I think I was refelxively voting for the whole trilogy
8. Goldman. I read bits of this to myself and my son when he was in an incubator and my wife when she was recovering in the ward. I have no idea why I thought this was a good idea, or why I even had it with me. I can’t even look at it anymore without choking up.
9. Oh grr. Oh argh. Ford. But if CJ Cherryh happens to be reading this I want her to know that I have left half my heart dripping there on the table.
1. The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
Don’t like Donaldson and McKillip was a groundbreaker
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
3. Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
4. pass – don’t know enough
5. The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
Now I need a cold cloth …
6. Witch World, Andre Norton
7. The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
No contest
8. The Princess Bride, William Goldman
9. Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh
All right, I can vote in a few, this time.
1. McKillip. I quit the Donaldson and gave it away at about the point you’d expect; Riddle Master of Hed is a strange jewel of a book.
5. Beagle.
9. John M. Ford. (I like Cherryh’s science fiction better than her fantasy.)
Sticking to brackets where I’ve read both books:
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
I gave up on the last of the Thomas Covenant books because I realized I just didn’t care.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I don’t think there’s any question here.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre Norton
I’m going to vote for Norton here, but I would be curious to revisit both of these as an adult.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
I just read The Face in the Frost. I enjoyed it but would still stick with Goldman.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh
I have the Cherryh book out from the library, does that count? (This statement is not to be interpreted as a vote.)
Votes!
1. Protest vote for God Stalk.
2. This matchup gives new meaning to the phrase, “doomed albino sorcerer!” There is no way Moorcock deserves to win this one. But I gotta vote my heart:
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock.
3. Night’s Master, Tanith Lee. No middle-grades fiction mistaken for YA shall pass!
4. Here I can vote my heart with a clear conscience:
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
One of my favorite books and series ever, whose lustre dims only slightly knowing that L. Jagi Lamplighter and John C. Wright share my passion.
5. Protest vote for God Stalk.
6. Bunnies and burrows for the win!
Watership Down, Richard Adams
7. The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
8. The Princess Bride, William Goldman
?
9. Protest vote for God Stalk.
Oh, also: Twentieth!
(Which I note merely as an excuse to click the subscribe button I forgot to click before.)
Also, I started The Use of Weapons this week, it being my third Culture novel now. And damned but the intro is kind of uninviting. I could almost trounce about of it if I hadn’t like the previous two so much and heard such good reports about this one.
Oh, Kyra, now, I’m feeling all the feelings: I read that nearly all of these as a teenager, in the eighties. I’m shutting myself in my room too, with Bauhaus for nostalgia.
1. Riddle-Master of Hed, OF COURSE, but I read all of the first six Covenants, and I was too young (and my English too recent) to notice the things Donaldson did with the thesaurus, and too young not to fall in love with the land, and so much hurt.
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude, OF COURSE, again, but Elric was the coolest of my imaginary friends.
3. Pass. Teenage me bounced off of Tanith Lee, whose books kept being recommended. I should probably try again, but I have to finish Lord of Light first.
4. Pass, but noting I should also probably try again with Amber, if LoL is any indication.
5. The Last Unicorn also OF COURSE, but, but, but…
6. Watership Down, but please stop hurting me.
7. The Tombs of Atuan, always, but I’m going to kill you dead if we ever meet[1]. Kurtz is criminally forgotten, and the Deryni novels, for all that they weren’t earth-shaking, were certainly as good as The Goblin Emperor, and so, so many hours reading and rereading these.
8. The Princess Bride, which is every bit as good as its movie.
9. Aaaargh. Now I have to go slam a door and put on something angsty. The Dragon Waiting, for which thank you, David Goldfarb[2] for campaigning, but not voting against Cherryh, ever.
[1] or, you know, ply you with beverages, you decide.
[2] And Hey, Hi! Good to see you! to him and all the other rassefers of yore.
Oh, bracket time…
1. McKillip, as a vote against Donaldson. I absolutely hated Thomas Covenant.
2. Heinlein’s Glory Road, for the heck of it.
4. Zelazny, for that two-volume set.
5. Ouch. Gotta go with the Stewart, though; this truly is a wicked day.
6. Damn your dice! (“Too late.” “Quiet, I-gor.”) Adams.
7. Le Guin.
8. Goldman.
9. Ford, since my Rick Cook write-in didn’t make the cut.
As an admin note, if you get enough write-ins to justify another anachrofight, going 18 to 6 to 2 to 1 would be workable, if fiendish. Otherwise, juggling 17 works is just primed for disaster.
Speaking of Ford: How much for just the Hugo? 😉
1. The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
Both made a huge impact when I first read them, but I dream in the language and imagery of the Riddle-Master books to this day.
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Much as I love Moorcock – One Hundred Years is an era defining work.
3. Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
No hesitation
6. Witch World, Andre Norton
My teenage girl self remembers putting down the bunny book and saying “it’s great – but its all buck and no doe!” (and going back to Mrs Frisby for small animal bravery instead).
7. The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
Not sure if I think A Wizard of Earthsea is a better choice – they do very different things. But boy wizards, even Ged, do not have the originality of Arha/Tenar and her underworld journey and redemption.
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
Not so big on the rest of the series, but I always enjoyed Lord Foul’s Bane.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
The only reason I’ve read both of these was because of an AP Spanish class. Not that I hated 100 Years, but I do have an original Don Maitz painting of Elric in my living room.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
Wow. Outside of a coin flip, I cannot decide on this one. Tie.
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
The later series got worse, but Amber is a favourite of mine.
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart
Huzzah for Arthurian legend.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre Norton
I grew up next to a rabbit farm. Cannot stand the things.
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz
Close call on this one, but I’ll give the nod to Kurtz.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
Easiest choice of this bracket.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
Abstain
The Pixels Our Stuff is Made Of
The Pixels of Dorian Gray
Pixels on Paradise
Pixels at 11
The Trouble With Pixels
Tom Swift and His Talking Pixels
Miss Pixel Goes to Mars
Also:
1. Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
2. Tie
3. Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
4. Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. Voting ironically for The Sword of Shannara
6. Watership Down, Richard Adams
7. The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
8. The Princess Bride, William Goldman
9. I’ll see your Dragon Waiting and raise you The Silmarillion
Psst! Jeffro Johnson! We’re pre-1980!
> “… going 18 to 6 to 2 to 1 would be workable, if fiendish.”
By going three-per-bracket for the first two? I really didn’t like how that worked out when we tried it in the sci-fi bracket.
Journey back with me to … THE SIXTIES AND THE SEVENTIES!
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
It was a long time ago, but I’ve stuck with McKillip.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Totally this! An ex gave me Elric to read, because he said it was Important, and I read them and got annoyed because it was the same thing over and over and Elric was a whiny dick.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
I LOVELOVELOVE Prydain!!!
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
The Old Gods Waken, Manly Wade Wellman
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
Abstain. (hangs head in shame) have not read either. I KNOW DAMMIT!
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart
ARGH! Love them both, but love Stewart’s Merlin a little more.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Watership Down, Richard Adams
I first read Watership Down in the fifth grade and loved it. I still do.
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
A tough one, but Le Guin stuck with me longer.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
Abstain. I read TPB, but the movie was better.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh
abstain. Obviously, I need to read more.
Skipping down to fill out the ballot before I read anyone else’s. I’m going with the strikeout method this time; I think it’s clearer….
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. DonaldsonMcKillip. Her prose is poetic. And I could NOT get past that rape scene in the start of the Donaldson.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia MarquezElric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
I haven’t read either in a very long time, but I have no memories of the Marquez and at least I remember Elric had a sword named Stormbringer.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
Night’s Master, Tanith LeeHmm. I don’t recall this specific Tanith Lee, but I’ve likely read it; I binge-read Lee for a bit. But Taran has stuck with me all these years later.
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
The Old Gods Waken, Manly Wade WellmanNine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
Zelazny all the way. I *should* abstain, because I’ve not read the Wellman (someone tell me about the Wellman?) but if Amber hadn’t been on the ballot I’d’ve written it in.
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
The Crystal Cave, Mary StewartI gotta go with Beagle. “For love may be strong, but a habit is stronger/and I knew when I loved by the way I behaved….”
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre NortonWatership Down, Richard Adams
Hoy, Hoy, u embleer hrair, m’saion ulay hraka vair. (That’s written from memory, so it’s spelled wrong.) Watership Down. Any work that I remember a made-up language thirty years later…. (Although I’m sorry to downgrade Norton; her body of work as a whole was important to me.)
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
Deryni Rising, Katherine KurtzAck! Ackk! Ack! Um. LeGuin. But I need that cold damp cloth, now.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John BellairsThe Princess Bride, William Goldman
I haven’t read the Bellairs. Someone tell me about it? But I love the subversive humor in The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern by William Goldman enough to vote for it despite my ignorance of Bellairs. (Sorry, Bellairs…)
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh
Oh, Kyra. Oh, Kyra. How can you do this to me, Kyra???? I want BOTH! TIE!
> “… the originality of Arha/Tenar and her underworld journey and redemption.”
(Clearly, I agree! Which is not to say that the other books in the original trilogy are not also of bracket-worthy quality; I think all of them are.)
1. Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
Despite the suck fairy, it’s still a good book. Not pleasantm but good.
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Oh come on. This is an unfair match-up.
3. Pass
4. Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
Sorry, this one is another mismatch.
5. Pass
6. Pass
7. I like Tombs of Atuan now much more than when I first read it back in my teens, but Wizard of Earthsea is not just a great work, but a defining one as well.
8. The Princess Bride, William Goldman
Despite it not being anywhere near as good as it’s adaptation.
9.Pass
Ok, now I’m reading through the other votes and seeing all the love, it looks like I must’ve just been too young when I read the Marquez. I’d better try it again. (That’s one reason I love this game…)
And, Kyra, The Tombs of Atuan was so much better than the rest of the trilogy. (Maybe it’s because I was a socially-isolated teenage girl when I read it, but still….) The rest of the trilogy was good, but my copy of Tombs fell apart from re-reading.
I guess I read more fantasy back in the 1970s:
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Watership Down, Richard Adams
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Journey back with me to … THE SIXTIES AND THE SEVENTIES!
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre Norton
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Number Nine was hard, but Ford is being rapidly forgotten, even as Cherryh has gone permanently down the Foreigner route. So, Ford.
I guess my hints weren’t hinty enough (and that Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser are disqualified for technically being collections). I shall be in my room, listening to Sisters of Mercy and Siouxsie & the Banshees.
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
Poor Moonglum.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
For the series.
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
A beautiful book.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Write In: Bloodstone, Karl Edward Wagner
“Travel to new lands and there make war” is pretty much Kane’s motto. So well written and world weary. Someone who might mourn a wall more than another person. The ultimate fantasy anti-hero (even more so than Elric, which is saying something).
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
Put me in the Wizard of Earthsea camp.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
That was hard
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
Kyra, I hate you. I do. Really.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre Norton
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz
I can’t do it. I love the Deryni too much. Tie.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs
And I lay my heart in a puddle at the feet of John Bellairs. Though he is not around to appreciate it anymore.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Ow; Ow. OW. Nos I really hate you. I can’t believe you’re doing this to me. You did this specially to torture me, right? But I bit the bullet, and I did it.
And I forgot to click the box.
> “I guess my hints weren’t hinty enough (and that Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser are disqualified for technically being collections).”
I’m sorry about Bloodstone (although off-bracket votes are of course always allowed), but Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser will be showing up in the 50’s-and-before bracket; collections are allowed as long as the stories are linked. The original 1958 collection is the one that got chosen for the bracket.
Kyra said:
Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser will be showing up in the 50’s-and-before bracket.
Okay. I’ll put away the Siouxsie and play some Kate Bush instead. 🙂
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
— I know; many, many, many issues. But at the time I read it, I slid right past them and was lost in the Land.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
— Sandman in Zothique
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre Norton
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz
— A tough one. I’m going with Kurtz because I think she was a lot more influential than she’s given credit for.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs
— Another tough one
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
And when you create another anachronistic bonus bracket, be sure it includes Leigh Brackett.
nickpheas on July 29, 2015 at 12:38 am said:
Stranger in a Strange Land really doesn’t stand up fifty years on.
All that free love stuff seemed like a much better idea 50 years ago than it does now. Funny about that.
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
I really like Donaldson’s prose in this book. Creatively they’re both strong.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
Yeah, this one isn’t even close…
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
Bias at work here since Lee never really grabbed me much and Taran Wanderer was one of my childhood favourites. Easiest way to suck me into a fantasy novel is to make the main character do some kind of craft for fifty pages.
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
The Old Gods Waken, Manly Wade Wellman
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
Also one that I don’t think is much of a contest, although my memory of TOGW is fairly dim.
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart
Honestly, never really liked either all that much. I think the Crystal Cave was better written but Unicorn was more evocative.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre Norton
Watership Down, Richard Adams
Very tough one. Again, comes down to childhood favourites. I loved Watership Down and Duncton Wood as a kid.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
Book is much stronger than the beloved movie, in my opinion.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh
In part because its one of my favourite Cherryh, and in part because I barely remember Ford.
I may not have got that far. The dominant character right now is the greatest writer and polymath in the world and his army of interchangeable bimbo secretaries, is this authorial wish fulfillment I wonder? As futures go, this is one very heavily rooted in the aspirations of the American middle class of the late 1950s.
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
I liked this series less as time went by, but the first three books were engrossing.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
Lloyd Alexander was pretty pivotal in nurturing my love of reading.
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
I feel like I’m sort of thinking inside the box with all of these selections, but I think Zelazny is probably in the top three of all time and this book was the first of his I read.
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
Great stuff.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Watership Down, Richard Adams
My favorite book all time. There is no way I wasn’t going to choose it.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
Also great stuff.
I didn’t vote in 2 categories because I didn’t read all of the books in those categories, so I don’t have any way of evaluating them.
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. DonaldsonWhile the writing is good, the story is just — ugh, no.2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock — TIE, as I can’t quite figure out which one better deserves the round.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd AlexanderNight’s Master, Tanith Lee — No, they’re not, are they? And there’s a very good reason they’re not, missy.
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
The Old Gods Waken, Manly Wade WellmanNine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny — You are so going to your room after this.
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. BeagleThe Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart — Just you wait until your mother gets home.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre NortonWatership Down, Richard Adams — And after that, you’re grounded, young lady!
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz — TIE — for a MONTH! And don’t you roll your eyes at me!
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs
The Princess Bride, William Goldman — TIE — What did you say? YOU COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh — TIE — I give up.
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
Pass, haven’t read either
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
Pass. This is the embarrassment, have not read any Moorcock and only read Marquez in a highschool Spanish class, so the understanding was a bit lacking.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Have not read Tanith Lee, so pass, although I am rooting for Alexander.
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
Pass, once again have not read either.
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
Pass, have only read the Last Unicorn.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Watership Down. Although I do have to admit, it is in part for the movie, as much as I love the book. It is not a good movie to put a kid down in front of because it’s an animated movie about bunnies and then leave them to watch while the adults hang out. I seem to keep voting for things that traumatized me as a kid.
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
Le Guin, although I vote to put in Earthsea instead.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
Bellairs
I have not read that Bellairs, but I am voting for him on the basis of his other books. Goldman is a good writer, but Bellairs has something he never will.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
Once again, I admit that I have not read either.
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
Not a hard choice but I still appreciated what Donaldson did — a fascinating read. But Riddle-Master is another series/book I’ve returned to more times than I can count. The world and the characters still stay with me.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
This is one of those crossover books in the literary vs. genre debate that makes it a tough call to put up anything against it, I think.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
Abstain
4. STRUMMING A GUITAR AND PLAYING CARDS
The Old Gods Waken, Manly Wade Wellman
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. THE GREAT MAGICIANS MERLIN AND SCHMENDRICK
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart
Ow. Ow. Owwww!! Also, Charmed Life might go in this category as well, but since Fire and Hemlock made it through the last bracket, I’m refraining from writing in a Chrestomanci.
6. TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS AND THERE MAKE WAR
Witch World, Andre Norton
Watership Down, Richard Adams
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz
I’d probably go with Wizard of Earthsea as well. Also, it’s interesting to put these two against each other. In “From Elfland to Poughkeepsie” LeGuin used an excerpt from Deryni as an example of a book that “is not fantasy, for all its equipment of heroes and wizards.” I don’t know if she ever changed her opinion about that. My impression is that Kurtz really influenced thinking about new ways to present fantasy worlds.
8. SERIOUS COMEDY
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
Despite my wishing he let the girls play in the sandbox more. So many wonderful moments.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh
Abstain
1. AUTHORS WHO DEDICATE BOOKS TO EACH OTHER
The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
I left Donaldson behind a long time ago, while McKillip has become a favorite of mine in recent years.
2. STEPPING OUTSIDE OF TRADITION
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock
I’m very fond of the Eternal Champion Cycle, but One Hundred Years is just amazing.
3. PROBABLY NOT COMPARED TO EACH OTHER VERY OFTEN
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
Night’s Master, Tanith Lee
My childhood faces off against my adulthood. Either way, I lose.
7. THIS SOCIETY IS TOTALLY PREJUDICED AGAINST WIZARDS
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz
Love that Kurtz but LeGuin’s Earthsea works are beyond good. Put me in the Wizard of Earthsea camp, by the by.
9. SPECIAL ANACHRONISTIC BONUS BRACKET, BY POPULAR ACCLAIM
The Dragon Waiting, John M. Ford
Fortress in the Eye of Time, C. J. Cherryh
Ouch, that hurt.
Finally, a category where I’ve read enough of the books to feel qualified to vote!
1. The Riddle-Master of Hed, Patricia McKillip
There was a time when I loved the Covenant series, but it got hit by the suck fairy sometime when I was in college.
3. Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
A tough choice, but I read Taran Wanderer at a younger age and it meant more to me.
4. Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
5. The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
Another hard choice, but the last time I re-read Unicorn it resonated more.
6. Watership Down, Richard Adams
Although I admit I read it after I saw the movie.
7. The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin
When I first read the Earthsea series as a kid I didn’t know if I liked it or not. I thought it was good but kind of depressing.
8. The Princess Bride, William Goldman
And that Lovecraft comic — it might be fun, but the notion of Lovecraft as a manly man doing manly things just strikes a very wrong chord in me.