Really into Nordic stuff at the moment. Love these old tales. Great ideas for games as well!
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I have long indulged in the acquisition of peculiar RPG settings, not with any serious intent to subject them to the crude rigours of actual “role play”, but simply to luxuriate in their ideas. Last month’s mail bore a gratifying haul of sumptuous, cloth-bound tomes brimming with esoteric wonders.
It has been a pleasure to peruse these curious realms.
Stygian Library
Somewhere in any big enough and old enough library, there will be an unmarked door. It is invariably locked, and probably hidden, perhaps behind a shelf against the wall, beneath wallpaper, in rooms the public are barred from entering, or under a painting or sign. Find it, unlock it, and on the other side the shelves continue. ’
Gardens of Ynn
Find a wall covered in ivy, vines, moss, or similar, and clear that vegetation away. Using chalk and charcoal draw a realistic door (with keyhole, hinges and doorknob) on the surface below. Write upon the door: “Ynn, by way of…”.
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Where do you buy the print versions?
Kickstarted I think. There may be some left on the soul muppet online store:
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A post was merged into an existing topic: The Sword & Sorcery Saga - A look at Taschen’s Masterpieces of Fantasy Art
This is at times interesting, although I felt the ending fell a little flat.
Slight spoilers within …
Summary
The world is an endless labyrinth of marble rooms, containing only statues, birds, fish, and the sea. The main character tells the story as a series of journal entries. With some care this could make a contemplative dungeon crawl setting.
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Right now i am reading The Three Body Problem - volume 1 (The Trisolaris Trilogy) from Cixin Liu. Quiet interesting… 2/3 read so far…
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We’re also excited to announce the beautiful cloth bound editions of The Gardens of Ynn and The Stygian Library are now available on our webstore!
Cloth bound hard backs are now available.
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Thanks for the heads up!
Meanwhile I just finished Carl Sagan’s Contact – really enjoyed it, had never read it before nor seen the film. Highly recommended.
What next?
- Frankenstein
- Dune Messiah (have only read the first Dune)
- The Fall of Hyperion (read Hyperion several years ago)
- Shadow of the Torturer (Gene Wolf)
- Swords and Deviltry (Fafhrd and Grey Mouser series)
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voters
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Shadow of the Torturer (and the rest of the series) is excellent… but its one of those weird ultra deep books with lots of layers. Not for everyone I suspect.
Swords and Deviltry et al. are all very short, sword and sorcery stories that were originally published in magazines and later collated.
And if these two are remotely appealing you should definitely pick up any of the Dying Earth novels from Jack Vance and Eternal Champion novels (such as Elric) by Michael Moorcock.
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I read Shadow of the Torturer somewhat recently and it didn’t really click for me. From what I understand, and what you indicated, there are undercurrents and sub narratives that, once understood, elevate it. I thought the first half was well-constructed and solid. I thought the back half was interesting but struggled to retain my motivation for continuing.
Do things make more sense once you continue further in the series? Or should the narrative stand on its own with this one book and I “missed the plot”, as it were?
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It’s a weird book. One of the most fascinating aspects of the tale is how much foreshadowing and seemingly irrelevant minutiae becomes significant as the series progresses—the entire structure must have been meticulously mapped out before the first book was even written.
I read it first in my teens and then again decades later. That second reading was eye-opening—knowing the broad strokes of the story makes it all the more impressive to see how subtly the groundwork was laid.
Without giving too much away, Severian sort of lives multiple lives across multiple timelines, and that layered existence becomes clearer the deeper you delve into the series. It’s a narrative that rewards both patience and rereading.
Wolfe famously said he never put anything in a book that wasn’t necessary—and with that in mind, the strange cadence of The Book of the New Sun is nothing short of remarkable.
It’s a sci-fi classic I’d recommend reading in full, if only to experience how unique the tale is—and to marvel at just how hard it must have been to write.
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Thank you, @modius! I am scared of Shadow of the Torturer, to be quite honest, given all I’ve heard about it. But (as far as I’m aware) you only live once.
I own a hardbound Dying Earth collection and have read the first few stories twice – once many years ago and then again more recently. The style just doesn’t click for me. It is odd, and I can’t quite put my finger on why it bothers me. But I still may try again at some point.
Don’t own any Moorcock but that is one author and series that has long tempted me.
For now, though, my poll above has a tie, so I need some further votes to decide!
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I’m working my way through the old Savage Sword of Conan comics on my Kindle. They are excellent and the black and white art looks pretty fab on my Kindle Scribe.
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Read one way, Dune: Messiah might just be the most depressing book you’ll ever read about what it might actually cost an individual to try to save humanity from itself.
There may never be a more appropriate / ironic year to read it.
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Well, if anything you’ve convinced me to give it a go. I’ve never been one to shy away from a literary challenge. And I usually enjoy things that go outside the bounds of normal narrative structure, so long as it’s done with purpose and thought.
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@Not_People let us know how it goes. As noted above, I’m a bit too intimidated to dive in, despite already owning the books in ebook form.
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Will do! Though I imagine it will go slowly as time is hard to come by these days. The last book I read was only 180ish pages and took me a few weeks.
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