Monday, July 10, 2006

On Fantasy

You're going to come to this conclusion anyway, and I think I'd rather you hear it from me than figure it out on your own and think that, somehow, I misled you in the past. If you still feel that way when you're finished reading this, then I am well and truly sorry.

I am a huge nerd. It's not a secret, nor necessarily a surprise to those who know me, although the level to which I sometimes slide can be shocking to some. Many people like the Lord of the Rings; fewer can give you a history of Middle Earth from creation through to the end of the Thirds Age. Many grown adults collect and read comic books (the average age of today's comic book reader is in their 30's), but not many have ever contemplated using Batman's relationship with the Joker as a basis for a future thesis in social psychology. God only knows how I got married like this, but my wife actually puts up with my foibles and - most shockingly - seems to enjoy being around me. For a guy who once wore Star Trek pajamas (and had a picture of himself in said pajamas on the big screen at his wedding), this is a pretty big deal.

So. Now that the unpleasentness is out of the way, I'd like to share with you some of the books that have been formative for me. By that, I mean that they have, through their stories, characters and themes have impacted me to the point that I can honestly say I have been changed through them. I'm sharing this in the hopes that some conversation will ensue, and perhaps other nerds will feel some hope and cameradarie. Also, I'd like to point out a few places where my faith has been impacted by book that are - at least not by standard definitions - Christian.

The Fionavar Tapastry - Some people call it "Diet Lord of the Rings." I had my doubts about it when I first picked it up almost two years ago. I mean, the premise seems pretty identical. Evil Dark Lord making war with his army of very, very ugly critters against the humans and elf-like creatures. Oh yeah, and the elves sail into the west when they become tired of life, to a place prepared for them alone. At first glance, it seems to border on plagerism. Of course, you just need to dig a little deeper. The author, Guy Gavriel Kay (a Winnipegger), actually worked with Christopher Tolkien on editing the Silmarillion. He's a huge Tolkien fan. And the premise of the Fionavar Tapestry pays homage to many fantasy classics, including T.H. White's Once and Future King.

In the novel, five university students from Toronto are taken into another world - to Fionavar, the First World from which all other worlds come. This is reflected in the many similarities the book has to our fantasy and mythological classics, like LOTR and Norse mythology. Each of the students comes to appreciate and value a part of this new world - and consequently, ours as well. And each of them play a part in the war against the darkness, though the final outcome is far from certain.

The story paints a beautiful picture of sovergienty in the depiction of The Weaver, the creator god that spins the stories of all the worlds into the Tapestry. And Kay writes masterfully, drawing you in to caring about the various threads that make up his story. Like all great tales, it is both grand and sad, a bittersweet exploration of good verses evil. It's a very real book. I urge you to check it out.

The Vampire Chronicles - As mentioned in a previous post, I am an Anne Rice fan. While her most recent work does not hit the heights that some of her earlier novels, I will likely read everything that she publishes. There is an honesty in questioning, and a refreshing breath of air in her ruthlessness. When you open The Vampire Lestat, no safe church walls keep out the relentless onslaught of that terrible question - "Why?"

Through the spiritual adventures and meanderings of the main characters, Rice addresses so many of the toughest questions that we as a race have had to face. And are in some cases (especially as North American Christians), afraid to answer. Pain, suffering, despair - why do we suffer from these things? Does God truely care about his suffering children? Or - as postulated in Memnoch the Devil - is God actually confused, uncaring, or insane? Is God to be trusted?

Reading these books forced me to evaluate my preconcieved notions. With the protective coating that so often infects Christian writing ("Don't worry, all the questions have easy answers, and we'll wrap up all the problems before the end so you can sleep at night") removed, the only safe haven for anyone to run to is to God - genuinely, unflinchingly, to rest in Him and not our cookie-cutter answers. It also helped me realize one ever-important truth - God is big enough to handle whatever questioning we can throw at him. Lestat reminds me a little of Job. And a little of me.

The Dark Tower - Stephan King's penultimate work. I finished book seven only a couple of weeks ago, forcing myself to spread them out instead of devouring them in a three-week gluttonous spree. If you've ever read them - and read the last chapter in spite of King's warnings to leave it be - you'll understand what I mean when I say that the books are iconic. The vastness of the worlds he creates, and the way the stories tie into his larger body of work, is unmatched by any modern author that I know of.

King's writing has alway been very, very good. But the Dark Tower takes it to a level that I didn't expect. The way the stories draw you in, making you a part of the Gunslinger's ka-tet as they chase the man in black and then finally to the ultimate showdown with the Crimson King. When you close your eyes, you see the Tower rising from a field of red roses. And in the end, you climb the stairs yourself to the room at the top (tell God and the Man Jesus thankya).

I can't tell you everything about how it affected me, because I'd ruin it for you and I intend to make all of you read it before I die. But let me say this: you will be changed. I don't know if it's possible to read it without being changed. Good vs evil is always good to think about, but witnessing the redemption of Father Callahan, the power of Christ holding back the forces of darkness... it was better than anything else I've read on the subject. And King's ultimate statement about the heart of evil... I can't say any more. The books were beautiful, painful, and bizarrly innocent. You won't understand unless you read them.

These are just a few of the books that have so changed me. Anyone else read them? Anyone else have books to share?
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