L Is for Legend

Legend, by David Gemmell is one of my all-time favourite books, one of a select few that I've re-read over the years, yet I can tell you exactly where I was when I read it for the first time (on loan from the library, I took it with me on a sixth-form trip to Guisborough, along with a copy of Mad magazine that spoofed Aliens). Paradoxically, it's far from being the best book I've ever read; the writing can be clumsy in places (allowable for a first -time author, I'd say) and his characterisation of women is suspect, but at its heart Legend is a tale about defeating the odds, how bravery and courage can triumph in the face of adversity.

Like most of Gemmell's books, his heroes are reluctant and sometimes afraid, often unwilling to do what is right simply because it is less daunting to do nothing. Courage isn't about being fearless, it's about overcoming that fear, doing what you have to despite being scared. This is a theme that echoes through most of Gemmell's works, one that struck a chord with my younger self. There's a history behind the writing of it, that Gemmell first put pen to paper when he was being tested for cancer, the ending undecided until his results came through. If positive, the city under seige would fall. If not...

Legend isn't a thick, weighty tome - it can be read in a day, if you have the spare time - but its few words speak much about the nature of humanity. Gemmell would go on to write better and bigger stories (his Troy trilogy is superb), but Legend is the book where is all began. As I say, it's not perfect, but it will stay in my mind always. David Gemmell died in 2006, but remains with us through the stories he shared, still providing inspiration for years after his passing.

F is for Fantasy

Don't get too excited, I'm talking about the fantasy that contains wizards and dragons and elves rather than silk and stockings and suchlike. Still here? Good.

Fantasy is my reading genre of choice, but that hasn't always been the case. I read much of it in my teenage years, then suddenly became bored with it. It may have been a case of overdosing, but all the stories began to feel the same: a youngster with a hidden past is really the son of a god/wizard/mighty warrior; his powers are nurtured through the course of the trilogy (for three is the magic number) by a wise old mentor in preparation for a final conflict with the utterly vile villian; the stakes are the world as we know it, nothing will be the same if the dark lord wins, etc etc etc.

Now that's a crass interpretation of fantasy, the bones its detractors often pick through, but that's genuinely the way I thought. I've always enjoyed fanatsy role-playing games, but that was due to being part of a great set of players, having adventures told by gifted games-masters. The books, though; all filled with cliche, right?

Not quite. I read little fantasy between 1993 and 2006, dipping into the odd David Gemmell now and again just for old times' sake, but nothing really gripped me. Then, two writers came along that changed my view of Fantasy - Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch. I recommended the former to a friend, based on reviews I'd seen in a magazine, and he loved it. Borrowing his copy, I loved it too; here was something fresh, exciting, vibrant, all those kind of adjectives. Characters were shades of grey, rather than black and white, there was no magic 'get out of jail free' items or spells.

While my friend went for Abercrombie, I tried Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora and was equally impressed. the titular character is a scoundrel and a rogue, but sympathetic and amusing. His is a tale well told - even more so, I think, in the sequel Red Seas Under Red Skies - in a well-realised world.

Other writers have since came along, expanding the genre with fresh ideas as well as interesting twists on the usual tropes. The same could have been happening in my wilderness years, I'm sure, but it's only in the last few where the ante feels to have been upped. We're seeing fantasy novels on the best of best-seller lists, with fresh talent emerging, all inspired by those who have gone before them. It's a good time for the genre (in part due to the success of certain movies and TV shows), and therefore a good time for the reader. If you haven't read any or, like me, gave up on it for a while, why not pick one up and let yourself be transported to a new world?

E is for Empathy

The dictionary defines empathy as "the ability to share and understand another person's feelings". For me, successful fiction in any medium depends on the viewer/reader/listener to be able to have empathy with the main character. That doesn't mean we have to agree with what that character does or believes, but we must understand why he does it.

Take Dexter, for example; he's a serial killer, yet somehow he's the hero of the series - it's about him, his motivations, his need to control what he calls his dark passenger - and while we can't condone his actions, we can at least understand why he does them. We empathise with him so much, that when he's being chased by the police we don't want him to be caught. It's a clever switch, cheering for 'villain' rather than 'hero' (shouldn't we always want the police to catch the killer?), one of the reasons the character, and therefore the series, works so well.

Villains need to be the same, too. All too often, evil megalomaniacs want to take over the world simply because it's there and they are, err... evil megalomaniacs. Examples of this can be seen in bad Fantasy novels, where a sinister unseen dark lord presides over death and destruction simply because that seems to be his job, or he was born to do it. Good Fantasy (I'm looking at you, George RR Martin) gives the villain motivation for the lust for power, a full background that help the reader understand the character's choice of actions. In some cases (I'm looking at you, George RR Martin) the reader can even feel sympathy for the character and maybe, just maybe, have their opinion of that character turned around.

E was going to be about Early, the time I've been getting out of bed to write this blog, but I can summarise this in just a sentence. It helps to write first thing in the morning, when the mind is less clouded by the events of the day, or wearied by a busy day at work. Once it's done, it's done. (ok, that was two sentences - does this make it three? - but I'm sure you get my meaning).