{"id":33145,"date":"2016-09-14T10:04:50","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T22:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=33145"},"modified":"2016-09-14T16:59:45","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T04:59:45","slug":"having-fun-with-epic-fantasy-the-band-of-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2016\/09\/14\/having-fun-with-epic-fantasy-the-band-of-brothers\/","title":{"rendered":"Having Fun with Epic Fantasy: The Band of Brothers"},"content":{"rendered":"

………………………………………………<\/span>\u201c\u2026And Crispin \u2026[Day]\u2026 shall ne’er go by<\/span><\/em>
\n……………………………………………<\/span>From this day to the ending of the world,
\n……………………………………………..<\/span>But we in it shall be remembered \u2013
\n……………………………………………<\/span>We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
\n……………………………………………<\/span>For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
\n………………………………………………..<\/span>Shall be my brother \u2026\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"Henry<\/a>If anyone doubts epic fantasy\u2019s strong and enduring roots in story, this quote from Shakespeare\u2019s Henry V<\/em> (the famous St Crispin\u2019s Day speech made on the eve of Agincourt) must dispel their error. For the famous quote, \u201cwe band of brothers\u201d, speaks to the heart of epic fantasy just as much as the quest-journey of my previous \u201cHaving Fun With \u2026\u201d posts. (See below.)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

We find the \u201cband of brothers\u201d throughout fairytale, folklore and myth: Robin Hood and His Merry Men, King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, Penthesilea and the Amazons. The \u201cband\u201d ideal crosses into history as well, with the Spartan 300 at Thermopylae, the 47 ronin\u2014and the more contemporary defence of Rorke\u2019s Drift, which inspired Tanya Huff\u2019s \u201cValor\u2019s Choice\u201d<\/em> and is alluded to (as the basis for an event in the Wasp\/Dragonfly war) in Adrian Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cShadows of the Apt\u201d series.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Blenda<\/a>

Blenda’s Saga – a prototype for Lagertha & the Shield Maidens in Vikings<\/p><\/div>\n

Myth, legend, history: no wonder the \u201cband of brothers\u201d, or \u201cbuddies\u201d, lies at the heart of epic fantasy (and a great deal more contemporary genre: Star Wars, Buffy, Firefly, Babylon 5<\/em>\u2014I rest my case.) But it is the link to the quest-journey and tales of war, from Roland and Oliver at Roncesvalles, to Blenda and the women of Sm\u00e5land, that make the \u201cband\u201d so apt to epic fantasy, with its focus on large-scale conflict and world-altering events.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Tolkien\u2019s \u201cnine companions\u201d who set out for Mount Doom are the obvious example, Steven Eriksons\u2019 \u201cMalazan\u201d series includes the Bridgeburners, the Bonehunters, and the \u201cchain of dogs.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the bridgebearers in Brandon Sanderson\u2019s \u201cThe Way of Kings<\/em>\u201d\u2014and the \u201cband of brothers\u201d characterizes David Gemmell\u2019s writing:\u00a0 with \u201cThe Thirty\u201d in his Drenai novels, as well as the defence of Dros Delnoch in \u201cLegend\u201d<\/em>, and \u201cThe King Beyond The Gate\u2019s\u201d <\/em>friendship between Tenaka Khan and Ananais, which transcends cultural difference and traditional enmity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"asongforarbonne\"<\/a>\u00a0Guy Gavriel Kay\u2019s work also exemplifies use of the \u201cBand of Brothers\u201d motif, notably in \u201cA Song for Arbonne\u201d<\/em> where the element that most defines the protagonist, Blaise, is his friendships\u2014more even than his hatred for his father and bitterness over the betrayal of his homeland. <\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cband of brothers\u201d also charts the heart of Kay\u2019s \u201cThe Lions of Al-Rassan\u201d<\/em>, where the friendship between Rodrigo Belmonte and Ammar ibn Khairan ultimately cannot transcend traditional enmity and cultural and religious difference.<\/span><\/p>\n

But is the \u201cband of ‘brothers’\u201d theme solely the preserve of male writers and male-centric stories? I am glad to answer with a resolute \u201cno.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ladies<\/a>Barbara Hambly\u2019s \u201cThe Ladies of Mandrigyn\u201d<\/em> focuses on two separate \u201cbands of sisters\u201d:\u00a0 Sheera Galernas and the title\u2019s ladies, forming themselves into a \u201cscared band\u201d to retake their city from a tyrant wizard; also the mercenary, Star Hawk, and courtesan, Fawn, thrown together in their quest to retrieve an abducted companion. <\/span><\/p>\n

Amongst Robin McKinley\u2019s heroines, Aerin and Hari both fulfil their quests with the aid of sworn companions\u2014although these comprise more animals than humans in Aerin\u2019s case, drawing on the fairy- and folktale origins of the \u201cband of buddies.\u201d And the friendship of Raederle, Lyra of Herun, and Tristan of Hed, together with Lyra\u2019s companion guards, makes Patricia McKillip\u2019s \u201cHeir of Sea and Fire\u201d<\/em> a memorable read. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"USA\"<\/a>

USA<\/p><\/div>\n

The “band of brothers” is also central to my own<\/span> The Wall of Night<\/strong> <\/a>series, forcing the two central protagonists to ask and answer questions of loyalty and responsibility to each other, but also about their obligations to those who stand outside their own culture\u2019s narrow bounds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Friendship was one of the primary, underlying themes of<\/span> The Gathering Of The Lost<\/a><\/em>,<\/span> particularly between the young knights and damosels of Emer, while in<\/span> Daughter of Blood<\/em><\/a>,<\/span> the defense of a bridal caravan by Kalan and an unlikely band of brothers forms the ‘heart’ of the book.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"UK\/AU\/NZ\"<\/a>

UK\/AU\/NZ<\/p><\/div>\n

It could be said that our enduring love for \u201cthe band\u201d is simply another escapism. But then there are those examples from history\u2026 So perhaps we all just love the high, doomed tales of sacrifice and valor. <\/span><\/p>\n

Or maybe, somewhere in the mix, we recognize that comradeship and friendship are amongst the few human qualities capable of transcending self interest. As to whether they succeed, or not\u2014well, that\u2019s what puts the drama in the storytelling.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/span><\/p>\n

Previous “Having Fun With” Posts:<\/h4>\n

Having Fun with Epic Fantasy: Making the Grand Tour<\/a><\/p>\n

Having Fun With Epic Fantasy: My Love Affair with Long Names, Part 1<\/a><\/p>\n

Having Fun With Epic Fantasy: My Love Affair with Long Names, Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"sfsignalLogov4\"<\/a>This post is based on one first posted on the former — and sadly missed — SF Signal in 2011(!), although I’ve updated today’s version.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

………………………………………………\u201c\u2026And Crispin \u2026[Day]\u2026 shall ne’er go by ……………………………………………From this day to the ending of the world, ……………………………………………..But we in it shall be remembered \u2013 ……………………………………………We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; ……………………………………………For he to-day that sheds his blood with me ………………………………………………..Shall be my brother \u2026\u201d . If anyone doubts epic fantasy\u2019s strong and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-epicfantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33145"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33161,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33145\/revisions\/33161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}