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Not much happening fannishly in recent times; I'm listening to John Steinbeck's East of Eden on CD, watching Battlestar Galactica and Upstairs Downstairs on DVD. Apollo and Starbuck pretty much slash themselves, no? East of Eden is... a bit more complicated.
I find myself greatly impressed with Steinbeck's ability to translate his observances into words. Though I rarely agree with his judgments, his detailed descriptions allow me to draw my own conclusions, and thus his characters have depth and resonance. I've seen half a dozen fan stories and a novella go by already, and I'm only half-way through the book.
Simultaneously reading The Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman gives me a strange perspective on East of Eden. Cain and Abel are the root characters that he illuminates in various guises, and in Gaiman's Dreaming, there are facsimiles of those two that make a weird contrast to Steinbeck's version. In the Sandman, Cain kills Abel again and again, and Abel is weak and pathetic. Steinbeck also draws Adam Trask, his Abel, as rather weak and needing other men to shore him up. Charles Trask is by contrast strong and given to rushes of rage, much like the Cain in Morpheus' Dream realm.
No time to explore further here, but in my fantasy literary guild I can hear Neil and John arguing the Old Testament...
Thanks to all flisters for the lovely links and stories. Maybe I'll have time to make icons this weekend!
I find myself greatly impressed with Steinbeck's ability to translate his observances into words. Though I rarely agree with his judgments, his detailed descriptions allow me to draw my own conclusions, and thus his characters have depth and resonance. I've seen half a dozen fan stories and a novella go by already, and I'm only half-way through the book.
Simultaneously reading The Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman gives me a strange perspective on East of Eden. Cain and Abel are the root characters that he illuminates in various guises, and in Gaiman's Dreaming, there are facsimiles of those two that make a weird contrast to Steinbeck's version. In the Sandman, Cain kills Abel again and again, and Abel is weak and pathetic. Steinbeck also draws Adam Trask, his Abel, as rather weak and needing other men to shore him up. Charles Trask is by contrast strong and given to rushes of rage, much like the Cain in Morpheus' Dream realm.
No time to explore further here, but in my fantasy literary guild I can hear Neil and John arguing the Old Testament...
Thanks to all flisters for the lovely links and stories. Maybe I'll have time to make icons this weekend!