tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post8750215376679934937..comments2024-03-28T23:42:09.625+00:00Comments on Poul Anderson Appreciation: Sagas And Poul AndersonKetlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08588156788583883454noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-76582577876721401742016-06-24T04:11:25.750+01:002016-06-24T04:11:25.750+01:00Hi, David!
Oops! That was my mistake. I should ha...Hi, David!<br /><br />Oops! That was my mistake. I should have more clearly differentiated between you and De Camp. You made the analogy to the Draka, not him.<br /><br />SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-42300817503923789052016-06-24T02:15:49.911+01:002016-06-24T02:15:49.911+01:00Sean:
Well, the specific comparison to the Draka w...Sean:<br />Well, the specific comparison to the Draka was MY interpolation. de Camp wrote his comments in 1974.David Birrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08973889429164886381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-24134808495347273802016-06-23T20:42:09.508+01:002016-06-23T20:42:09.508+01:00Hi, David!
VERY interesting, these comments of yo...Hi, David!<br /><br />VERY interesting, these comments of yours about Eddison's THE WORM OUROBOROS. And I appreciated the Andersonian allusion!<br /><br />I still have my copy of Eddison's book. And I will try again to read it. And L. Sprague De Camp does seem to make very sensible remarks about WORM. Esp. the bits about the pointless use of force and how his "great men" were too much like the Draka.<br /><br />SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-51153512508743902992016-06-23T17:25:38.701+01:002016-06-23T17:25:38.701+01:00Sean:
I strongly recommend reading *The Worm Ouro...Sean: <br />I strongly recommend reading *The Worm Ouroboros*. <br />HOWEVER.... <br />My reaction to *Worm*, at least at the end, reminds me of Sir Roger de Tourneville remarking that someone needed to give the Wersgorix a taste of the Jacquerie. (You see ... I CAN bring this back to Poul Anderson!)<br /><br />L. Sprague de Camp, in *Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers*, had the following assessment: <br />"Evidently, the Demon lords--the Good Guys of this novel--fight more for the fun of whacking off arms, legs, and heads than for any humanly rational objective. As for the countless casualties of this ever-recurrent war, nobody gives them a thought.<br />"To Eddison, apparently, war was a romantic adventure...."<br /><br />And de Camp adds:<br />"In short, Eddison's 'great men,' even the best of them, are cruel, arrogant bullies. One may admire, in the abstract, the indomitable courage, energy, and ability of such rampant egotists. In the concrete, however, they are like the larger carnivora, best admired with a set of stout bars between them and the viewer." <br /><br />Rather like the Draka....David Birrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08973889429164886381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-65698253062952066732016-06-23T02:53:46.536+01:002016-06-23T02:53:46.536+01:00Kaor, Paul!
I agree with what Eddison said about ...Kaor, Paul!<br /><br />I agree with what Eddison said about the sagas being fully comparable to the works of great authors and how you included Poul Anderson among them.<br /><br />Alas, I've tried to read Eddison's THE WORM OUROBOROS and soon gave up. I'm sure the fault is mine and I should try again.<br /><br />Sir H. Rider Haggard's also tried his hand at writing sagas, such as ERIC BRIGHTEYES, which I read twice, so much did it please me.<br /><br />Sean<br />Sean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.com