Charles White, author of The Dragon at the Edge of the World (Jan 18-31)
DiscussionsAuthor Chat
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1sonyagreen
Please welcome Charles White, author of The Dragon at the Edge of the World. Charles will be chatting on LibraryThing until January 31st.
2lukethedrifter
Hello;
I would like to begin by saying a couple of things about The Dragon at the Edge of the World: One, I think I blew the Viking aspect of this story. The idea of writing about Vikings is exciting, but I couldn’t get comfortable with Viking’s lighthearted disregard for physical injury. So my Vikings aren’t very Viking-like. For most of this story, they’re prisoners, not gladiators.
What I love about Vikings, though, they just sailed off in those beautiful ships, without GPS or lifejackets. Great boat builders, great sailors.
One of my favorite authors is Patrick O’Brian, who probably knew as much about sailing ships as anyone in modern times; and in addition, could write like an angel. Bless him. From Grahame’s Wind in the Willows to Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons, to O’Brian’s The Yellow Admiral, there’s nothing compares to messing about in boats. So, Vikings, though they’d probably take your head off for implying they were enjoying themselves.
The other thing is, I’m a lightweight. Given the choice between a profound, realistic book, and a humorous book. I’ll take humor. Basically, looking at First Contact, which I try to approach in an apocryphal way, (in that I’m not being specifically true, but true generally,) it’s really a long, sad story featuring one heartbreak after the other. I needed something to take away the sting, hence, the attempts at humor, which, regrettably, some people seem to find irritating. Bless them. I have to say, though, I think Dragon just misses sadness. Like Wassabi says, Rood is only the first. Most of what I like to think of in the book as humor is the result of cognitive dissonance, or, as the more blood-thirsty reader likes to call it, anachronism. Granted, this is a cheap sort of humor, not much above a pun, when you get right down to it. Sill, Majesty, I have brought many gifts, and a thing for you to sign, is an apocryphal approach to the rape and pillage that was the European experience in America.
I would like to begin by saying a couple of things about The Dragon at the Edge of the World: One, I think I blew the Viking aspect of this story. The idea of writing about Vikings is exciting, but I couldn’t get comfortable with Viking’s lighthearted disregard for physical injury. So my Vikings aren’t very Viking-like. For most of this story, they’re prisoners, not gladiators.
What I love about Vikings, though, they just sailed off in those beautiful ships, without GPS or lifejackets. Great boat builders, great sailors.
One of my favorite authors is Patrick O’Brian, who probably knew as much about sailing ships as anyone in modern times; and in addition, could write like an angel. Bless him. From Grahame’s Wind in the Willows to Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons, to O’Brian’s The Yellow Admiral, there’s nothing compares to messing about in boats. So, Vikings, though they’d probably take your head off for implying they were enjoying themselves.
The other thing is, I’m a lightweight. Given the choice between a profound, realistic book, and a humorous book. I’ll take humor. Basically, looking at First Contact, which I try to approach in an apocryphal way, (in that I’m not being specifically true, but true generally,) it’s really a long, sad story featuring one heartbreak after the other. I needed something to take away the sting, hence, the attempts at humor, which, regrettably, some people seem to find irritating. Bless them. I have to say, though, I think Dragon just misses sadness. Like Wassabi says, Rood is only the first. Most of what I like to think of in the book as humor is the result of cognitive dissonance, or, as the more blood-thirsty reader likes to call it, anachronism. Granted, this is a cheap sort of humor, not much above a pun, when you get right down to it. Sill, Majesty, I have brought many gifts, and a thing for you to sign, is an apocryphal approach to the rape and pillage that was the European experience in America.
