staff picks reminder

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Well, it's based off Beowulf, which is DEFINITELY fantasy, but it's made into historical fiction. Count it if you want. It "feels" like fantasy.

However, Sword fighting alone doesn't make soemthing fantasy.

[Spriggan]

Actualy 13th warrior isn't based off beowolf.  Crition wrote it from the notes left behind by the character Antino Bandaras played.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Actually he made up that character and it is Beowulf.  
It was an attempt by Crieghton to rewrite the classic and make it into his own work. The Historical "facts" are semi real but "Iben" almost certainly did not exist.


A quote

"The story behind this novel appears in an essay in the paperback edition. The short version is, I wrote EATERS on a bet that I could make an entertaining story out of "Beowulf." It's an unusual book. Readers either like it, or they don't. I'm quite pleased with the movie ("13th Warrior"), which I think captures the feeling of the novel very well. "

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

That's the first I've heard it told that way. I've never read the book, so I don't know. But my understanding was my version. Is your information in the introduction or something?

[Spriggan]

Ya in the introductory of the book Criton say that.  I haven't read the book either but a friend has it and showed me the intro.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Weird, well. That changes my whole perception of the story. Now I want to read the book even more. I wonder if the local library has a copy.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Your misquoting it, I'll find the intro tonight and post it.

The Short version of why the book was written is listed above and is a direct crieghton quote.

It was written on a dare to make Beowulf entertaining.

[EUOL]

That's odd.  I'd heard the 'written off some guy's journal' explanation of the book in at least a good half-dozen places.  Wonder where that explanation came from.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Because he designed the book that way... it gave it a better sense of realism and made the story more engrossing.

To whit the premise was... What if Beowulf was real? What if there was an eyewitness acount of someone who could write it all down? How would the story be different? What would it be like?

Its really a masterful device and he did it so well that he fooled a lot of people into thinking that it was real.

Not to be snooty, but do you really think that if the journals  were real the first person to write about them would be Michael Creighton. How come no one mentioned it in my college comparative mythology classes, and why isn't it a much bigger deal.  I mean we're talking about a firsthand account of Beowulf... that'd be like the archeological and sociological find of the century... as pertinant as the rosetta stone because we know relatively little about the dispositions and culture of the Norsemen except what is written in Christian texts and what has been handed down via the oral tradition.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

uhm...
I guess no one likes fantasy movies.
Should I assume part of why i received no submissions was because I didn't give a reminder thursday or friday? (sorry, my computer was down, hurricane, yknow...) Or should we try a different topic and move on?

[Mistress of Darkness]

I did submit because I was waiting for your definition of what a "fantasy" movie was.

[Lieutenant Kije]

Sorry.  I forgot.  I can send something if we're still doing fantasy movies.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

we are. And I discussed what qualified as "fantasy" to some extent early in the thread.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

some of us got distracted by niggling things such as a hurricane ruining our internet connections and getting their work sschedules all messed up.
You'll get my submission tomorrow.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

that was niggardly of you!