Waiting for the Chronicles of Narnia...
As I write this post, I think to myself "It's November 29th." 26 days until Christmas. Yeah. Fine. Whatever. I can't say that I really care all that much for Christmas. And I'm sure you'll all be hearing all about that particular subject from me on future posts. It's also 30 days until my birthday. And really, I could care less about that. I will be hitting the big quarter century mark this year, and already, I feel way older than I should. My body is falling apart, and time is running out on the so-called "best years of my life". So I can't really say that I will greet the day of my birth with any real degree of enthusiasm.
However, it is also exactly 10 days until the premiere of what I am certain will be the best movie since Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Yes, Ladies and Germs. You guessed it. The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis' wonderful magnum opus, is coming to theatres nationwide on December 9th, in the form of the second chronological installment of the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And that is the day to be truly excited about.
I am a writer of fiction, and my major area of discipline is the genre of epic fantasy. Though I am a person of only meager skill and even less creativity, a mean and crude author of very little eloquence, yet I confess that all that I aspire to be in this life, I owe to three men, authors who have preceeded me. David Eddings, author of The Belgariad and The Malloreon, is my personal hero, the inspiration for me to continue my struggle to become a better author. And he is, in my honest opinion, the very best writer of modern day epic fantasy. But even David Eddings would not have been able to write his great works were it not for the two founders of this great, beautiful genre. I refer, of course, to J.R.R. Tolkien, and to C.S. Lewis.
"Papa" Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings trilogy, plus The Hobbit, as well as other, lesser known tales, as seen in the Simmarillion. Indeed, much of my humble preliminary studies are owing to the thouroughness of "Papa" Tolkien, as he set the precedent, I do believe, for establishing not only the plot of the story, but also all the assorted "isms" that make a world far more real than words can convey. He even invented all the linguistic rules of the Elvish language, borrowing heavily, of course, from Finnish and old Welsh dialectical sources, but nonetheless, any man who can create his own language in all of its subtle linguistic nuance is indeed worthy of great respect, if not reverence.
However, as impressive as The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King were, J.R.R. Tolkien did not create the genre alone. For while J.R.R. Tolkien, ironically a devout Christian, set about, perhaps unwittingly, to create a completely secular fantasy world bereft of grace of gods (any gods), C.S. Lewis, his great contemporary, colleague, and friend set out to do just the opposite.
I must here offer up a bit of a disclaimer. I'm not a religious man. I'm not even close to being a religious man. In fact, to be quite honest with you, while I do indeed believe in the existence of some sort of deity, i.e. that it is possible that maybe a God could, theoretically, exist, I reject all efforts by such a God to intervene in my affairs. Also, I reject all efforts by my fellow human beings to contrive to compel me to worship such a God, or love such a God. I do not, nor will I ever worship any God. That said...
C.S. Lewis created a world where the god of the Judeo-Christians, e.g. Yahweh, Jehovah, anger-me-and-I'll-flood-you-out- or-else-send-the-angel-of-death-t0- destroy-your-city-and- urinate-on-your-ashes God, was made manifest as a great, benevolent lion named Aslan. Narnia is a land full of magic, which is quite interesting, considering that other lands in the same world, such as the arabian-inspired Calormen are quite mundane and without the wonder of the northern valley land. There, in Narnia, many of the animals can speak, and not only that, they speak proper English. Many of the creatures from the mythology of our world make an appearance in Narnia, from Fauns to Satyrs, Dryads and Naiads and Dwarves and Giants.
Though C.S. Lewis wished to futher the cause of Christian scholarship, I see that the true value of the Chronicles of Narnia is the same as in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The two of them, together, created a genre, in my honest opinion the greatest genre within fiction, that makes it possible for dreams to become reality, and worlds to come into existence where wrongs might be righted, and rights might be wronged. The only limit within epic fantasy is the imagination and the creativity of the author themselves.
And that is why I'm excited to see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in theatres December 9th. I honestly can't wait. And the reason is because C.S. Lewis helped make it possible for a guy like me, small though my talent may be, to dream. Thanks, Mr. Lewis!
In honor of the works of C.S. Lewis, I am putting the Lone Wolf Saga on hiatus for one week, and I will present a critique of each of the seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia, each on successive days, starting tomorrow. I do believe that this will bring me right up almost to the time of the movie premiere itself, which is just fine with me. I will present my book critiques in the order in which Mr. Lewis intended his novels to be read, so starting with The Magician's Nephew rather than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I feel that this is only right, and that justice is being done to the great story only when the story is presented with chronological correctness.
I hope you enjoy, reader.
However, it is also exactly 10 days until the premiere of what I am certain will be the best movie since Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Yes, Ladies and Germs. You guessed it. The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis' wonderful magnum opus, is coming to theatres nationwide on December 9th, in the form of the second chronological installment of the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And that is the day to be truly excited about.
I am a writer of fiction, and my major area of discipline is the genre of epic fantasy. Though I am a person of only meager skill and even less creativity, a mean and crude author of very little eloquence, yet I confess that all that I aspire to be in this life, I owe to three men, authors who have preceeded me. David Eddings, author of The Belgariad and The Malloreon, is my personal hero, the inspiration for me to continue my struggle to become a better author. And he is, in my honest opinion, the very best writer of modern day epic fantasy. But even David Eddings would not have been able to write his great works were it not for the two founders of this great, beautiful genre. I refer, of course, to J.R.R. Tolkien, and to C.S. Lewis.
"Papa" Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings trilogy, plus The Hobbit, as well as other, lesser known tales, as seen in the Simmarillion. Indeed, much of my humble preliminary studies are owing to the thouroughness of "Papa" Tolkien, as he set the precedent, I do believe, for establishing not only the plot of the story, but also all the assorted "isms" that make a world far more real than words can convey. He even invented all the linguistic rules of the Elvish language, borrowing heavily, of course, from Finnish and old Welsh dialectical sources, but nonetheless, any man who can create his own language in all of its subtle linguistic nuance is indeed worthy of great respect, if not reverence.
However, as impressive as The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King were, J.R.R. Tolkien did not create the genre alone. For while J.R.R. Tolkien, ironically a devout Christian, set about, perhaps unwittingly, to create a completely secular fantasy world bereft of grace of gods (any gods), C.S. Lewis, his great contemporary, colleague, and friend set out to do just the opposite.
I must here offer up a bit of a disclaimer. I'm not a religious man. I'm not even close to being a religious man. In fact, to be quite honest with you, while I do indeed believe in the existence of some sort of deity, i.e. that it is possible that maybe a God could, theoretically, exist, I reject all efforts by such a God to intervene in my affairs. Also, I reject all efforts by my fellow human beings to contrive to compel me to worship such a God, or love such a God. I do not, nor will I ever worship any God. That said...
C.S. Lewis created a world where the god of the Judeo-Christians, e.g. Yahweh, Jehovah, anger-me-and-I'll-flood-you-out- or-else-send-the-angel-of-death-t0- destroy-your-city-and- urinate-on-your-ashes God, was made manifest as a great, benevolent lion named Aslan. Narnia is a land full of magic, which is quite interesting, considering that other lands in the same world, such as the arabian-inspired Calormen are quite mundane and without the wonder of the northern valley land. There, in Narnia, many of the animals can speak, and not only that, they speak proper English. Many of the creatures from the mythology of our world make an appearance in Narnia, from Fauns to Satyrs, Dryads and Naiads and Dwarves and Giants.
Though C.S. Lewis wished to futher the cause of Christian scholarship, I see that the true value of the Chronicles of Narnia is the same as in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The two of them, together, created a genre, in my honest opinion the greatest genre within fiction, that makes it possible for dreams to become reality, and worlds to come into existence where wrongs might be righted, and rights might be wronged. The only limit within epic fantasy is the imagination and the creativity of the author themselves.
And that is why I'm excited to see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in theatres December 9th. I honestly can't wait. And the reason is because C.S. Lewis helped make it possible for a guy like me, small though my talent may be, to dream. Thanks, Mr. Lewis!
In honor of the works of C.S. Lewis, I am putting the Lone Wolf Saga on hiatus for one week, and I will present a critique of each of the seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia, each on successive days, starting tomorrow. I do believe that this will bring me right up almost to the time of the movie premiere itself, which is just fine with me. I will present my book critiques in the order in which Mr. Lewis intended his novels to be read, so starting with The Magician's Nephew rather than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I feel that this is only right, and that justice is being done to the great story only when the story is presented with chronological correctness.
I hope you enjoy, reader.
- Derek Stodden
posted by Raspy at 11:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home