Yep, it’s October, and that means not only another Supernatural Underground post, but instalment #10 of my Magic In Fantasy year.

This month I’m looking at three works that are essentially fantasy, but where the all-pervading magic operates within a (broadly) science fictional setting.

The three books in the spotlight are:

• The Gate Of Ivory by Doris Egan (1969)
• Trail Of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (2019)
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (2020)

To find out why I heart their magical vibe, do not hesitate or pass ‘go’ – head right on over to Supernatural Underground and read on. 😀

Magic In Fantasy: the Magic of SF-nal Worlds

With the recent shift in lockdown levels, I was able to get to Wellington to see the Surrealist Exhibition currently being hosted by Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand.

Impressions of Africa (1938): This painting, by Dali, captures what I think of as “classic” Surrealist expression.

The exhibition is on tour from Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

The Face of War (1940): This macabre work, also by Dali, is a response to the brutality and destruction of the Spanish Civil War

Generally speaking, Surrealist art is not my “thing”, but with works by Salvador Dali, Magritte, and other great names of the Surrealist movement, I really wanted to take the opportunity to see the works.

These works by Margritte are inherently recognizable

I’m really glad I did, because the whole exhibition was really interesting and fascinating. Perhaps my biggest “take away” was increased understanding of how much Surrealism began as a reaction to World War 1, and how profoundly it affected 20th century culture.

Seated Figure, Eileen Agar, 1956: This was probably my ‘favourite’ work in the exhibition

Fully Jabbed & Good-To-Go!

…against Covid-19, having gotten my second jab last Wednesday.

I can also report that both first and second jabs were pretty much side-effect free, which was nice as I know that’s not the case for everybody.

What do I mean by “pretty much”? Well, I did feel quite tired for a few days after getting the second shot, but “tbh” I’m not sure whether that had anything to do with the vaccine or was just because I was having a very full-on week.

Anyway, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to get vaccinated and pleased that I’ve now had both both shots. I can report, too, that the whole process was very smooth and well-organised.

Nothing is a failsafe where Covid-19 is concerned but being fully vaccinated is definitely the most effective tool in the protective kit so I’m glad to have it done and dusted.

After all, I have a book and a series to finish, so I have to avail myself of all available measures to ensure that occurs! So you see, if  for no other reason, I felt I had to do it for all The Wall Of Night series readers out there. 😀

Goodness, we’re already up to Quote #3 in the sequence chosen by members of Group HAARTH — from The Wall Of Night series, of course. 😀

Group Haarth is a private Facebook group, established by readers some years back, as a forum where they and others could meet to discuss the WALL series.

Today’s Group Haarth guest is Rosie, the group’s founder, and her quote is from Book 2, The Gathering Of The Lost.

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In line with the series format, Rosie has also shared her reasons for choosing this particular quote and the positives of the Haarth community.

UK/AU/NZ

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Rosie’s Quote:

Kalan frowned. “So I can affect my own fate?”

“We all can.” The heralds spoke as one again. “No one’s path is ever graven in stone – or if it is, even stone may be eroded by weather and time.“

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost: The Wall of Night Book Two, Chapter 52 — The Path of Return
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Previous Quotes:

A month ago, I posted a short list of pandemic-themed reads, including The Plague, the classic novel by Albert Camus.

Since then, I have been in correspondence with Matthew Lamb, who is currently publishing a series on the newsletter platform, Substack, dedicated to: Reading Albert Camus’ The Plague During COVID, Climate Change, and Various Political Crises.

The stimulus for Matthew’s newsletter is a forthcoming new translation of The Plague from the US imprint, Knopf. The translation is by Laura Marris.

I asked Matthew to share a little about why he has embarked on this project and he replied as follows:

“This newsletter is an attempt to do a deep background reading of Albert Camus’ The Plague, over a series of weekly instalments, the better to understand our present moment. It is an attempt to slow read the novel during COVID, climate change, and various political crises.

Like most people, I turned to the novel in 2020, but I didn’t do so in order to understand the pandemic, but rather in an effort to try to understand why people were turning to this novel in those circumstances. As I write in the first instalment:

‘But what does it mean to read a work of fiction whose central metaphor is already happening literally in the world of the reader? It would perhaps be like reading Moby Dick as a guide to whaling. Even with Melville’s encyclopaedic chapters interspersed throughout the narrative, it would not only be a bad idea to take that novel to be some kind of a user’s manual on how to raise a white whale, but it would also entirely miss the point of the novel itself, as a work of fiction.’

Many of the public statements regarding The Plague that came out in 2020 were based on conventional readings of the novel that have been circulating for decades now, but which haven’t been seriously reconsidered. Most of the critical research and notes which are incorporated into this newsletter come from that period. But more recently, I’ve read a pre-publication version of a new translation of Camus’ novel by Laura Marris, which Knopf US is publishing in November of this year. The publisher kindly gave me permission to use this fresh translation in my newsletter in order to attempt a fresh interpretation of The Plague, and this forthcoming book has really helped in tying together all of my reflections.”

I think Matthew’s newsletter makes interesting reading, so if you would like to check it out, the ‘umbrella’ link is here:

Public Things Newsletter

The first instalment is here:

1. Interesting Times

To check out the forthcoming book, you can also click on the publisher’s website, here:

Albert Camus’ The Plague; translation by Laura Marris (Knopf, November 2021: forthcoming)

The About The Characters post series focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, in large part because:

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

~ from my Legend Award Finalist’s Interview, 2013

Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blood — in alphabetical order, by name, of course!

As those following this series will have noticed, currently we’re still in the marvellous land of “L.” 😀

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USA

Linden:  a Spring Singer and shaman of the Winter People

Malian remained silent, watching the flicker of the flames and listening to the roar of the wind. Linden, the spring-singer of Rowan Birchmoon’s clan, had told them this might be the last storm before the snowmelt began. “And once the floods that follow snowmelt are done,” she had added, “you can begin your journey south.”

~ from © The Gathering of The Lost, The Wall Of Night Book Two – Prologue

“Every book tells a different story to the person who reads it … How they perceive that book will depend on who they are. A good book reflects the reader, as much as it illuminates the author’s text.”

~ Charles De Lint, The Little Country (1991)

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“Yes,” I said, on reading these lines in Charles de Lint’s The Little Country. For me, the quote resonated with others that see reading as an interactive process between writer and reader—like the AS Byatt quote here, or the very salient observation from Gordon Lish, here, on what books are really about.

It also resonates with Mansi’s observation in the Group Haarth series, speaking to the positives of being in the group: “…we get to see various points of view and different sides of the story from the other person’s perspective…”

I believe that as authors, we must always understand, and accept, that once a book is published there will be as many interpretations and experiences of the text as there are readers. 😉

Roll up, roll up – because today we get to enjoy the second quote from The Wall Of Night series, chosen by a member of Group Haarth – a private Facebook group where readers can meet and discuss the books. 😀

Our second guest is Tricia — and her featured quote, from The Heir Of Night, is one that turned out to be a favourite with quite a few members of the group. Although as with Highlander, there can be only one. 😉

UK/AU/NZ

As with the first quote, Tricia has also provided some insight into why she chose this particular quote and what she likes about being part of the Haarth community. So without further ado…

USA

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Tricia’s Quote:

“Life is a risk,” the herald replied, “and so is death. One cannot hide from either…”

~ from © The Heir Of Night: The Wall of Night Book One, Chapter 8 — A Finder of the Lost

“There are so many great quotes to choose from…but I’ll go with this one which has stayed with me from my first reading (of many!). Not only is it when we are first introduced to the Heralds properly and also when we get to see more of Asantir and Haimyr…all such rich characters that have such depths (some uncovered and some still unknown), but it is a great quote to take into everyday life too. A reminder to take opportunities where you find them. For me anyway.” ~ Tricia

Tricia also says, re Group Haarth:

“The thing I love about the FB group is that as much as I always enjoy…face to face discussions of all things Haarth, it is lovely to share that enthusiasm and discussion with others around the world. A chance to meet people you know you already have at least one thing in common with.”

The Wall of Night Series: map of Haarth …………………….Artist credit: Peter Fitzpatrick

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The next quote from a Group Haarth member will feature on Thursday, 23 September.

If you would like to join Group Haarth or find out more, click on:

The Wall Of Night Facebook Group

Previous Quote:

Plum is among the earliest blossoms in New Zealand’s temperate climate, appearing at the end of winter and heralding the imminent arrival of spring proper — and that, dear readers, is pretty much now.

It’s very similar in Japan, I understand, with ume-matsuri, the celebration of plum blossom’s appearance, occurring from around 20 February through early March — and acting as harbinger for the eagerly awaited (and much more famous) sakura, the cherry blossom.

(Japan’s late winter/early spring plum blossom period is the mirror-reverse of our Southern Hemisphere, with the flowers commencing round 20 August through to early September.)

Seasonality is an important element in my worldbuilding, although the Wall of Night environment is so harsh the seasons are not as clearly defined as further into Haarth and its Southern Realms.

So the seasonal aspect in the worldbuilding is most marked in The Gathering of the Lost, where the action shifts from the River to Emer, then finally into Southern Aralorn, on the border with Jhaine.

So although I do not specifically say so, the “first fragile blossoms” that are hurled to the ground as the heralds begin their journey from Terebanth to Ij, at the very beginning of Gathering, are plum blossoms.

I was reminded of that opening scene last week when my walk took me down a river path lined with wild plum trees.

Accordingly, I share the photos – and in the spirit of the Group Haarth quote series, the passage from Gathering:

“Spring came to the River in a flurry of blustering winds and driving rain that turned the local roads into quagmires and hurled the first fragile blossoms to the ground. Two heralds were blown out of the city of Terebanth with the weather and turned east toward Ij, following the great Main Road that had endured since the days of the Old Empire.”

~  from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 1 – The Road To Ij

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Previous Posts On Seasonality and Worldbuilding

Influences On Story

Influences On Story (2)

Celebrating The Seasons In The Gathering Of The Lost

Here we are in September, the first of spring here in the Southern Hemisphere, while it’s autumn—or fall—for those  in the north.

Definitely time for some more magic, Supernatural Undergound style. 🙂

Not to disappoint, this month’s post features three YA novels where the magic is grounded in fairytale, folklore and myth. While that applies to all Fantasy, to some degree or other, these are books where the grounding really caught my attention.

To find out more, head on over to the SU and check it all out:

Magic In Fantasy — Drawing on Fairytale, Folklore & Myth

Enjoy!