Welcome back for Episode 51 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans. In this episode we begin a new triptych plus one (is that a quadtych?) of shows on the work of Saladin Ahmed, who previously appeared on Episode 2 of Speculate! as we discussed one of his short stories; this time we’re looking at his debut novel Throne of the Crescent Moon, a sword and sorcery tale which NPR calls “Lord of the Rings meets Arab Spring.” With a line like that, how could we resist taking our own look at a book with dervishes, ghuls, and a fantastic city with an Arabian flair? If you enjoy the discussion, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll be conducting an interview with the book’s editor, DAW president Betsy Wollheim. Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!
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Thanks guys.
Did you notice/note that the bit of poetry that you guys quoted was an allusion to Samuel Johnson? I love that richness of detail in Saladin’s writing, and this book is still one of my favorite reads of the year so far, without question.
I did *not* notice that. I’ll have to look into it. What was the connection?
Great talk guys, especially the musings about the differences between Epic Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery. I share the point of view of Epic Fantasy like a huge endeavor of world building from the part of the imagination and Sword and Sorcery like a fast pace action focused in a single character. But, I also give credit to the way of thinking of character like Conan. For instance, in the story “Red Nails” Conan thoughts about the people of the city of Xuchotl and their struggle ad infinitum with their enemies, may not be base in a social or psychological vision of the world, but it’s base in a metaphysical one. We often forget that the writers of fantasy in the first half of the past century drew a lot of inspiration from the occult traditions. For they understood the genre like a mythical one full of magic, not like a tool to make social or psychological staments about the wordl. In a nutshell, there’s a grat deal of highbrow thinking in the Sword and Sorcery genre.
Thanks, Odilius. That’s interesting about the occult traditions. I hadn’t realized that.