Back to Prydain

 When I was a boy, one of my favorite authors was the American Lloyd Alexander (1924-2007). I read all the books by him that I could find at the local library, including, naturally, what must be his most famous work: The Chronicles of Prydain.

For those not in the know, The Chronicles of Prydain are a series of five YA (I'm not sure the term existed back then, but that's what they are) fantasy books inspired by Welsh mythology. They chronicle the various adventures of Taran, assistant pig-keeper of Caer Dallben and his companions in the land of Prydain.

Seeing as how it had been almost twenty-five years since I last read these books, I figured that it was high time that I revisited them, this time in their original language (last time, I read them in Swedish). 

I finished the first two books in the series (The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron) recently and was gratified to find that they've held up really well. No, they are not masterpieces of the fantasy genre, but, I wasn't really expecting them to be. They are, however, enjoyable reads, with engaging and likable (except when they aren't meant to be) characters. My only real complaint is that some of the running gags, such as the strings on Fflewddur's harp snapping whenever he tells a lie, or exaggerates his accomplishments gets old fairly quickly. 

I suppose I should write something about the Disney film. Frankly, the movie is no substitute for the books, being one of Disney's weaker efforts. I know that the movie has its fans (is there any movie that doesn't have at least one person who genuine loves it?) and that's fine, but I'm not really one of them (though I will admit that its version of the Horned King is a memorable - if not top-tier- Disney villain).

The Books are a different matter though. I'm glad that I returned to Prydain and will continue journeying with Taran, Eilonwy and the other denizens of this country for a while longer. From what I remember, the last two books: Taran Wanderer and The High King, were the best ones, so I'm looking forward to revisiting them in particular.

Favorite Books

An ever-growing, ever-changing list of my favorite books (novels, short-story collections, plays, etc) excluding graphic novels and non-fictional books (even though there are plenty of both that I think are great).

*= Book read in its original language.

(last updated: 02/08/2026)

Prose

Abigel (Magda Szabo) 

Absolon, Absolon! (William Faulkner)

The Abyss* (Marguerite Yourcenar)

Address Unknown* (Katherine Kressman Taylor)

Against the Day* (Thomas Pynchon)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass* (Lewis Carroll/Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)

Ambergris* (Jeff VanderMeer)

Anna Karenina (Lev Tolstoy)

The Angelic Avengers (Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen)

Augustus* (John Williams) 

Austerlitz (W.G. Sebald)

Baltasar & Blimunda (José Saramago)

Baudolino (Umberto Eco)

Barabbas (Pär Lagerkvist)

The Baron in the Trees (Italo Calvino)

Berlin Alexanderplatz (Alfred Döblin)

Beware of Pity (Stefan Zweig)

The Bethrothed (Alessandro Manzoni)

Blood Meridian* (Cormac McCarthy)

The Book of Disquiet (Fernando Pessoa)

The Book of the Long Sun* (Gene Wolfe)

The Book of the New Sun* (Gene Wolfe)

Brideshead Revisited* (Evelyn Waugh)

The Bridge on the Drina (Ivo Andric)

The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Buddenbrooks (Thomas Mann)

The Buru Quartet (Praomedya Ananta Toer)

By Night Under the Stone Bridge (Leo Perutz)

The Captain's Daughter (Alexander Pushkin)

The Castle (Franz Kafka)

Carmilla* (Joseph Sheridan Lefanu)

A Canticle for Leibowitz* (Walter M. Miller Jr.)

The Case of Comrade Tulayev (Victor Serge)

The Charterhouse of Parma* (Stendhal/Henri Beyle)

The Christmas Oratorio* (Göran Tunström)

The Comedians* (Graham Greene)

The Confessions of Felix Krull (Thomas Mann)

Conversations in the Cathedral (Mario Vargas Llosa)

The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexander Dumas)

Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Dangerous Liaisons* (Choderlos de Laclos) 

Daniel Deronda (George Eliot/Mary Ann Evans)

Darkness at Noon (Arthur Koestler)

Daughter of Fortune (Isabel Allende)

Death of a Beekeeper* (Lars Gustavsson)

The Death of Artemio Cruz (Carlos Fuentes)

The Death of Virgil (Hermann Broch)

Demons (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

The Deptford Trilogy (Robertson Davies)

Diary of a Country Priest* (Georges Bernanos)

Doctor Faustus (Thomas Mann)

Doctor Glass*  (Hjalmar Söderberg)

Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes)

Dream of the Red Chamber (Cao Xueqin)

The Dwarf* (Pär Lagerkvist)

Earthly Powers* (Anthony Burgess)

Earthsea books* (Ursula LeGuin)

East of Eden* (John Steinbeck)

Emma* (Jane Austen)

The Emperor of Portugal* (Selma Lagerlöf)

The Erl-King* (Michel Tournier)

Everything Flows (Vassily Grossman)

Fathers and Sons (Ivan Turgenev)

The Feast of the Goat (Mario Vargas Llosa)

The Fifth Queen* (Ford Maddox Ford)

Flashman at the Charge* (George MacDonald Fraser)

A Fringe of Leaves* (Patrick White)

The Galton Case* (Ross MacDonald)

The Golem (Gustav Meyrink)

Gormenghast* (Mervyn Peake)

Great Expectations* (Charles Dickens)

The Great Gatsby* (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Grendel* (John Gardner)

A Harlot High and Low* (Honoré de Balzac)

A High Wind in Jamaica* (Richard Hughes) 

A Hero of Our Time (Michail Lermontov) 

Herscht 07769 (Laszlo Krasznahorkai) 

The House of the Spirits (Isabel Allende)

Hunger (Knut Hamsun) 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (Victor Hugo)

Hyperion* (Dan Simmons)

I, Claudius* (Robert Graves)

I Served the King of England (Boumil Hrabal)

Iceland's Bell (Halldor Laxness)

The Idiot (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller (Italo Calvino)

Independent People (Halldor Laxness)

Invisible Cities (Italo Calvino)

Jacques the Fatalist* (Denis Diderot)

The Jerusalem Quartet* (Edward Whittemore)

Journey by Moonlight (Antal Szerb)

Kidnapped* (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Kim* (Rudyard Kipling)

A King Alone* (Jean Giono= 

The King Must Die* (Mary Renault)

Kristin Lavransdatter (Sigrid Undset)

The Last Unicorn* (Peter S. Beagle)

The Left Hand of Darkness* (Ursula K. Le Guin)

The Leopard (Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa)

Life and Fate* (Vassily Grossman)

Lord Jim* (Joseph Conrad)

Lost Illusions* (Honoré de Balzac)

Lyonesse* (Jack Vance) 

The Makioka Sisters (Junichiro Tanizaki)

The Man Who Laughs* (Victor Hugo)

The Man Who Was Thursday* (Gilbert Keith Chesterton)

The Manuscript Found in Saragossa (Jan Potocki)

The Master and Margarita (Michail Bulgakov)

The Melancholy of Resistance (Laszló Krasznahorkai)

Memories of Hadrian (Marguerite Yourcenar)

Middlemarch* (George Eliot/Mary Ann Evans)

Milkman* (Anna Burns)

The Ministry of Fear* (Graham Greene)

The Miracles of Antichrist* (Selma Lagerlöf) 

Les Miserables* (Victor Hugo)

The Moonstone* (Wilkie Collins)

Mrs. Dalloway* (Virginia Woolf)

Music and Silence* (Rose Tremain)

My Name is Red (Orhan Pamuk)

Mysteries (Knut Hamsun) 

The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)

The Napoleon of Notting Hill* (Gilbert Keith Chesterton)

Narciss and Goldmund (Herman Hesse)

Night Flight* (Antoine Saint-Exupéry)

Ninety-Three* (Victor Hugo)

No Name* (Wilkie Collins)

Nostromo (Joseph Conrad)

The Notebook (Agota Kristof)

Oblomov (Ivan Goncharov)

Old Goriot* (Honoré de Balzac)

Orlando* (Virginia Woolf)

Pale Fire* (Vladimir Nabokov) 

A Passage to India (E.M. Forster)

Peace* (Gene Wolfe)

Pedro Paramo* (Juan Rulfo)

Pereira Maintains (Antonio Tabbuchi)

Petersburg (Andrei Bély)

The Power and the Glory* (Graham Greene)

The Prague Cemetery (Umberto Eco)

Pride and Prejudice* (Jane Austen)

The Queen's Tiara* (Carl Jonas Love Almqvist)

The Quiet American* (Graham Greene)

The Quincunx* (Charles Palliser)

Quo Vadis (Henryk Sienkiewicz)

Pale Fire* (Vladimir Nabokov) 

A Pale View of Hills (Kazuo Ishiguro) 

The Raj Quartet* (Paul Scott)

The Remains of the Day* (Kazuo Ishiguro)

Requiem (Antonio Tabucchi)

Resurrection (Lev Tolstoy)

Restoration* (Rose Tremain)

Riddley Walker* (Russell Hoban)

Romola* (George Eliot/Mary Ann Evans) 

Salka Valka (Halldor Laxness)

The Samurai (Shunsaku Endo)

Satantango (Laszló Krasznahorkai)

A Scanner Darkly (Philip K. Dick)

Scaramouche* (Rafael Sabatini)

The Sea, The Sea* (Iris Murdoch)

The Serious Game* (Hjalmar Söderberg)

Silence (Shunsaku Endo)

The Silence of the Sea* (Vercors/Jean Bruller)

The Sleepwalkers (Hermann Broch)

The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)

The Spectre of Alexander Wolf (Gaito Gazdanov)

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (John Le Carré/David Cornwell)

Steppenwolf (Herman Hesse) 

Sword of Honour* (Evelyn Waugh) 

The Tartar Steppe (Buzzati Dino)

Tigana* (Guy Gavriel Kay)

The Third Policeman* (Flann O'Brien)

Thomas Cromwell books* (Hilary Mantel)

Three Men in a Boat* (Jerome K. Jerome)

The Three Wise Men (Michel Tournier)

The Tin Drum (Günter Grass) 

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (John Le Carré/David Cornwell)

The Transylvanian Trilogy (Miklós Banffy)

True Grit* (Charles Portis)

Ubik* (Philip K. Dick)

The Unconsoled* (Kazuo Ishiguro)

Under the Sun of Satan* (Georges Bernanos)

Vertigo (W.G. Sebald)

Villette* (Charlotte Brontë)

Voss* (Patrick White)

Waiting for the Barbarians* (John Maxwell Coetzee)

Watership Down* (Richard Adams)

The Waves* (Virginia Woolf)

The Way We Live Now* (Anthony Trollope)

The Wild Ass's Skin* (Honoré de Balzac)

The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (José Saramago)

Zeno's Conscience (Italo Svevo) 

 

 Short-Story Collections

 The Aleph (Jorge Luis Borges)

 Fictions (Jorge Luis Borges)

The King With the Golden Mask* (Marcel Schwob) 

The Periodic Table (Primo Levi)

 Seven Gothic Tales (Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen)

The Sword of Welleran* (Lord Dunsany)

Trafalgar (Angelica Gorodischer)

 

Verse

The Aeneid (Virgil) 

Aniara* (Harry Martinsson)

 The Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri)

 The End of Satan* (Victor Hugo)

Eugene Onegin (Alexander Pushkin)

 Gaspard de la Nuit* (Aloysius Bertrand)

The Illiad (Homer)

The Kalevala (Elias Lönnrot, ed)

 Metamorphoses (Ovid)

The Odyssey (Homer)

Orlando Furioso (Ariosto)

Paradise Lost  (John Milton)

The Ring and the Book* (Robert Browning)

  

Plays

 Andromaque* (Jean Racine)

The Alchemists* (Ben Johnson)

Berenice* (Jean Racine)

Blood Wedding (Federico Garcia Lorca)

Boris Godunov (Alexander Pushkin)

The Cherry Orchard (Anton Chekhov)

Cyrano de Bergerac* (Edmond Rostand)

Death and the King's Horseman* (Wole Soyinka) 

Faust (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Hamlet* (William Shakespeare)

Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen)

Henry IV* (William Shakespeare)

The House of Bernarda Alba (Federico Garcia Lorca)

Julius Caesar* (William Shakespeare)

King Lear* (William Shakespeare)

Macbeth* (William Shakespeare)

A Man For All Seasons* (Robert Bolt)

The Master Builder (Henrik Ibsen)

The Misanthrope* (Moliére/Jean-Bapiste Poquelin)

A Month in the Country (Ivan Turgenev)

Murder in the Cathedral* (T.S. Eliot)

Othello* (William Shakespeare)

The Oresteia (Aeschylus)

 Peer Gynt (Henrik Ibsen)

Phedre (Jean Racine)

Prometheus Bound (Aeschylus)

The Satin Slipper* (Paul Claudel)

The Seagull (Anton Chekhov)

The Supper* (Jean-Claude Brisville)

The Theban Plays (Sophocles)

Three Sisters (Anton Chekhov)

The Trojan Women (Euripides)

Uncle Vania (Anton Chekhov)

Volpone* (Ben Johnson)

The Wild Duck (Henrik Ibsen)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Demon

Harry White, the protagonist of The Demon, is a man who seems to have everything going for him; he's a loving husband, father and son. He's a trusted employee and he's about to be promoted up another step on the corporate-ladder. Yes, Harry is sure leading a blessed life, at least on the surface. You see, the truth of the matter is that Harry White isn't feeling very good, emotionally and mentally. In the past, his solution to dealing with these feelings was simple: Find a married woman and have sex with her, the danger of being caught by her husband being part of the thrill. However, ever since he got married himself, Harry had decided that he was done with that sort of thing. Unfortunately, the little voice in the back of his head soon becomes impossible to ignore and Harry finds himself reverting back to his old habits, but what happens when mere adultery is not enough to keep Harry's inner demon in check...?

Hubert Selby Jr. was an American author most famous for his debut novel, Last Exit to Brooklyn. The Demon was his third novel and the first one of his that I've read. It took me a few pages before my brain had adjusted itself to Selby's writing style (he replaces apostrophes with the / when he doesn't and never uses quotation marks. Although to be fair, he's not the first author I've read who does away with the latter, Cormac McCarthy is another). Once I'd gotten used to Selby's quirks, though, I found The Demon hard to put down.

One thing that The Demon particularly excels at lies in its portrayal of its main character; Selby has a real knack for getting under the skin and into the mind of his protagonist, allowing the reader to understand and even empathize with Harry, even if they do not approve of his actions. Selby actually reminds me a bit of Dostoevsky in that regard.

The Demon is a compelling, harrowing look into a man's gradual fall into deeper and deeper depravity and the toll it takes on both himself and his loved ones. Its a great read, one that stayed with me long after I finished it and that I will surely re-visit in the future. I will also be sure to check out the rest of Selby's work in the future. If all his books are of similar quality, than he's an author worth getting further acquainted with.

Gormenghast

Among the many great worlds that have sprung forth from an author's imagination, one of the most memorable for me has to be Gormenghast, the vast, labyrinthine castle which for untold generations has served as the seat of the House of Groan. The architect of this castle was the British author Mervyn Peake, who used it as the primary setting for his Gormenghast series, consisting of three books and a novella (which I must admit, I haven't read), originally published between 1946 and 1959. Out of the novels, the first two; Titus Groan and Gormenghast are by far the best ones and so, they're the ones I've chosen to focus on in this post. The third book, Titus Alone, which takes place in the world outside the castle, is not bad, but is not quite on the same level as its magnificent predecessors.

Titus Groan begins with the birth of its eponymous character, Titus, who is one day to succeed his father's place as the earl of Gormenghast. Despite the fact that the book carries his name, Titus himself is really more of a plot-device than a character, owing to the fact that he remains an infant throughout it all. Instead, Peake turns the reader's attention to the other inhabitants of the castle, introducing us to one of the greatest ensemble casts in all literature. There are the other members of the House of Groan: Sepulchrave, the seventy-sixth earl, a melancholy man who finds happiness only among his books. His wife, countess Gertrude, who seem to care only for the birds and cats she keeps as pets. Their first-born child, Fuchsia, the romantic and dreamer (incidentally, I can't help but wonder if George R.R. Martin had Fuchsia in mind when he came up with Sansa Stark?). Other characters include the twins Clarice and Cora, who resents their brother Sepulchrave and dreams of seizing power themselves, but lack the capability to do so. Flay, the loyal servant and Swelter, the monstrous chef, who both harbor an intense hatred for one another. Dr. Prunesquallor, who serves as a sort of father figure to Fuchsia (the relationship between these two characters is my favorite in the books) and whose eccentric mannerisms, hide a sharp mind. Oh, and then there's Steerpike, the young man who worms himself into the twins' confidence, promising to raise them to glory, while in reality, he sees them only as stepping stones on his own path to supreme power.

With its strange, sometimes dreamlike atmosphere and vividly drawn characters, Titus Groan makes for an utterly compelling journey into a fascinating setting.

The second book, titled simply Gormenghast, begins seven years after the end of Titus Groan, with Titus himself now a character in his own right. During the course of ten years, we follow Titus as he grows from a schoolboy to a young man, his education courtesy of some of the least competent teachers in all of fiction. Meanwhile, a creature haunts the castle, terrifying its inhabitants and Steerpike continues his climb to the top, no matter what the cost to himself or others.
In Gormenghast, Peake takes everything that was good about the first book and improves upon it, creating a true masterpiece that stands as one of the greatest novels I've ever read. All the characters from Titus Groan (excluding those who died during the course of that novel) are back and are as memorable as ever. Peake serves the reader both moments of comedy, worthy of Wodehouse (or maybe Pratchett would be a more apt comparison, given the genre), as well as scenes of the most intense drama, making Gormenghast one of those books in which one is never quite sure what to expect next.

Gormenghast ends with Titus breaking with his birthright and the despised castle traditions (seeing as how the title of the next novel is Titus Alone, this reveal can hardly be considered a spoiler) and venturing out into the World. Here, the story could very well have ended and personally, I would've been fine with that. However, Peake had more stories featuring his hero in mind. Unfortunately, he was only able to write one more of them, before passing away at the age of 57. That said, the Gormenghast books ensure that his name will always have a place among the great authors.

The Gormenghast books may not be for everyone (than again, what is?), a certain patience being required from the reader. However, I strongly urge anyone who hasn't done so yet, to enter the enormous castle of Peake's imagination and walk through its cobweb-infested hallways. And, if you've already done that? Well, some places are worth re-visiting.

Favorite Novels

Ever since I was really young, I've always loved to read. Therefore, I thought it might be appropriate to make a list of my favorite novels. Well, some of them at least, listing all the novels that I love would take way too long and you'd probably be bored. Anyway, before you scroll down, there are some rules I applied to myself when composing this list that I thought you should know. They are as follows:

-No Non-Fiction. There are certain novels on this list that involve real-life figures or events, but these are all fictionalized, straight up non-fiction is out.

-One work per author. This was done in order to insure that the list possessed some degree of variety.

- No Graphic Novels. I thought about including a few, but I'll save them for an eventual post on my favorite comics.

And now, without further ado, I give you; my favorite novels:

The Deptford Trilogy  (Fifth Business, The Manticore, World of Wonders) by Robertson Davies

If I had to pick my favorite literary trilogy than there's a pretty huge chance that I'd pick The Deptford Trilogy. In this masterpiece, Robertson Davies tells the tale of a group of people whose lives were all changed by something as seemingly insignificant as a thrown snowball. From this humble beginning, Davies weaves an intricate tale filled with twists and turns and populated with unforgettable characters. An excellent read which I revisit regularly.

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

I've already written in detail about this novel set in an ancient China that never was (but should have been), so for now, I'll just say that Bridge of Birds is one of the greatest works of fantasy I've ever read. The fact that it doesn't seem to be more well-known is a crying shame.

Flashman and the Redskins by George MacDonald Fraser

It wasn't easy choosing which novel should represent MacDonald Fraser on this list, but for now, I'll go with Flashman and the Redskins. In this, the longest novel in the series, the Victorian Era's greatest scoundrel is still stuck in the US following events of its predecessor, Flash for Freedom. If its well-researched, thrilling historical fiction you want and if you can stomach spending time with a deplorable yet fascinating protagonists, than George MacDonald Fraser is the author for you.

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

Perhaps more than any other work on this list, Blood Meridian has an epic feel to it. When I first read it, I felt as if I was reading the western/horror genre equivalent to The Iliad or The Odyssey. Be warned though, that Blood Meridian is not for the squeamish; it features both scenes of horrifying violence as well as one of the most terrifying creations in all literature: Judge Holden. However, if you can handle those things, I definitely recommend giving this masterpiece a try.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stephenson

Basically, the perfect adventure novel. Sure, there are no significant female characters, but other than that, Treasure Island is pretty much flawless. Plus, it features the best pirate in fiction; Long John Silver. This book has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and will remain one, no matter how old I get and if that ever changes, you may present me with the black spot, matey.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré

The greatest spy in literature is a gray, middle-aged man, whom you probably wouldn't look at twice if you saw him on the street. Although George Smiley had been introduced in some of Le Carré's earlier work, it was in Tinker Tailor... that the character really comes into his own. In this novel, Smiley is called out of retirement to track down a mole inside the Circus (British spy-department), Le Carré's skill at portraying the world of the secret agent with its secrets and lies are pretty much unsurpassed. When you're done with the novel, be sure to check out both the 1970's mini-series with Alec Guinness and the 2011 movie with Gary Oldman.

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

One of the best science-fiction novels I've read; The Stars My Destination is Bester's take on the classical revenge-story in general and Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo in particular. Set in the 25th Century in which people have learned to teleport (or "Jaunt" as its called here) themselves, the book focuses on Gully Foyle, a man who is left to die and becomes obsessed with the thought of avenging himself on the ship that abandoned him. Aside from being a great read filled with memorable characters and ideas, The Stars My Destination is also the tale of a man who fulfills his long dormant potential and becomes truly great, but for all the wrong reasons. Any fan of Science-Fiction should participate in Gully Foyle's odyssey at least once in their life.

The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough

I recently learned that Colleen McCullough passed away and so, as a small tribute, I thought I'd include the first book in her Masters of Rome series here. The first three books in this series, the ones that focus on Sulla and Marius are among the greatest works of historical fiction that I've read and should be required reading for anyone with an interest in ancient Rome.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Last but not least, here's one of the great classics. You know what? I honestly can't think of anything to say here. I mean, its Don Quixote, its one of the founding works of western literature, that's all that needs to be said, right? Let's just say that Don Quixote is one of those masterpieces that deserves its reputation and leave it at that.

Well, there you have it dear reader; nine of my favorite novels. I hope I've made you interested in checking at least one of them. Oh, and I'd be very interested in knowing what your favorites are, feel free to mention them in the comments.

The Real Story and Forbidden Knowledge

Although I like owning physical copies of books, I'm not all averse to reading books in electronic format, which is one of the reasons I bought an ipad. Now, one series of books that I've been interested in for some time, is Stephen Donaldson's Gap Cycle and when I discovered that there was an ebook version that collected the first two books in the series available at an affordable price, I decided to jump on it. Having now read both books; The Real Story and Forbidden Knowledge respectively, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on them.

The setting for The Gap Cycle should be familiar to anyone who has read or watched any Science-Fiction and/or Space Opera: Mankind has colonized space, encountered at least one alien race and so forth. As the first book opens, we're introduced to our three main characters; the repulsive and villainous space-pirate Angus Thermopyle, his beautiful and helpless captive, Morn Hyland and finally the dashing Nick Succorso, another space-pirate and Angus' rival. A classic setup for a story, wouldn't you say? Naturally, it doesn't take long until Nick has rescued Morn from Angus' clutches and is riding of into deep space with her, while the villain gets his just desserts. All's well that end's well.
The end? No, this is not the end, this is just the beginning.

One of the most interesting things about the Gap Cycle is the way Stephenson takes three characters, all who fits into a specific archetype; hero, villain and victim respectively and gradually have them switch roles. Take Angus for example; when we first meet him, he simply comes across as representing all of humanity's worst, most awful traits. In short, he's as pure a villain as you can meet in fiction. However, as the story progresses, we get more insight into Angus' character and the events in his life which shaped into becoming the monster he is when The Real Story begins. Turns out that Angus' chief motivation is fear. Simply put, Angus spent most of his childhood being a victim of abuse and his fear of ending up in that situation again, is so great that he will do anything to prevent it from happening - including victimizing others. Of course, due to the way Donaldson structures his story, Angus eventually ends up in the victim's role again and I have to say that some of the treatment he undergoes at the hand of the corrupt and seemingly all-powerful United Mining Companies Police, made me feel genuinely bad for a character for whom I at first had felt nothing but loathing.

I've talked a lot about Angus in this review and mostly that's because I found him to be the most fascinating out of the three main characters. That said, Nick Succorso and Morn Hyland are certainly no 2-dimensional cardboard-cutouts either. Morn, for example, may start out as a simple damsel-in-distress, but soon reveals herself to be far braver and more resourceful than she may have seemed like at a first glance. As for Nick, well, it turns out that he underneath his charismatic swashbuckler persona, he possesses a cruel and vindictive streak a mile wide.

Amusingly, although the first book is titled The Real Story, it's not until Forbidden Knowledge that one gets the feeling that the real story of The Gap Cycle has begun in earnest, with the first book serving as a prologue of sorts. Forbidden Knowledge adds more characters to the mix, such as the members of Nick's crew and the alien-race called the Amnion among others.

In his afterword to the first book, Donaldson mentions that The Gap Cycle is loosely based on The Ring Cycle. I've never seen Wagner's opera, but I am familiar with the story and it's quite interesting to see which of Donaldson's characters corresponds to the ones in the opera. For example; the character of Warden Dios with his cybernetic eye is clearly meant to reference Wotan/Odin, who gave up one of his eyes in exchange for knowledge.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed both The Real Story and Forbidden Knowledge and will definitely read the other books in this series. Reading them has also made me eager check out more of Donaldson's work. I do remember trying to read the first book in his The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series as a kid, but couldn't get into it. I think it's time I gave it another shot.

The Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard

Everybody knows Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the genius who created Sherlock Holmes. Many know him also as the creator of the extremely self-absorbed professor Challenger (who was Doyle's own personal favorite). However, Doyle also created another character, a character who although decidedly more obscure than the detective and the professor, is just as brilliant a creation as they are. His name:
Etienne Gerard.


The Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard are narrated in first-person by Gerard, now an old man, looking back at his career as an officer in Napoleon's army. The stories range from light-hearted to dark and dramatic, but they all rank among the finest adventure-stories I've read and really shows Conan Doyle's mastery of the short-story format.

By far the best thing about the Brigadier Gerard stories are Etienne Gerard himself; a man whose conceit is only matched by his naiveté, Gerard would be a purely comedic character, if not for the fact that he really is as courageous, dashing and gallant as he claims to be. In his foreword to the collection, George MacDonald Fraser describes Conan Doyle's brigadier as "embodying the brightest in the human spirit". I, for one, agree wholeheartedly with this description.

To sum it up: If you want to read some top-notch adventure stories featuring a very engaging and likable protagonist, I'd definitely recommend getting acquainted with Brigadier Gerard.
Vive L'Empereur!

"I have a slight flaw in my character"

I recently revisited one of my favorite novels: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart and it occurred to me that it would make a great subject for my blog. In case you haven't heard of it, Bridge of Birds is a fantasy-novel set in (to quote directly from the cover) "an ancient China, that never was". Our narrator is Yu Lu, better known by his nickname; Number Ten Ox. When the children in his village are afflicted by a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox seeks out a wise-man in order to save them. The wise-man he finds is a certain Li Kao, a sage with (as he himself puts it) "a slight flaw in my character". Together, the duo embarks on a quest to find the Great Root of Power, the only thing that can save the children. Of course, doing so turns out to be easier said than done.

In case you haven't read Bridge of Birds yet, I insist you go find yourself a copy. The book itself is quite short, clocking in at under 300 pages. However, it's so filled with adventure, excitement and a sense of wonder that it puts plenty of doorstopper-novels to shame. Li Kao and Number Ten Ox are both great characters that compliment each other beautifully, with the latter pretty much playing the Watson to the former's Holmes.

The comparison between Li Kao and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective is not as random as it may seem, for Bridge of Birds is not only a fantasy but a mystery-story as well. Our heroes' quest soon involves them in a crime which once shook the very foundations of Heaven itself and leads them to having to confront China's true ruler; the immortal Duke of Ch'in.

Barry Hughart also wrote two more books featuring Li Kao and Number Ten Ox. I haven't read them so I can't say if they live up to their predecessor. However, one thing is for sure; Bridge of Birds is enough to establish Hughart as one of my favorite authors.