The claim that any of the three influential works mentioned is in its entirety an accurate representation of a now-lost older work is extremely dubious, but that alone does not disprove the existence of the predecessors, or their incorporation into the final product.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Or Why Moorish Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Poverty and hunger were very real in Hamelin in 1286. Northern Europe never really recovered from the abrupt temperature drop and subsequent famine of 1257-58. The promise of food, especially delicacies like dried fruit, would have been a powerful draw.
On Reading Don Quixote
For the most part people today read Don Quixote because they are told that it is a classic, the first modern novel in any European language. Reading it becomes an obligation of being a well-rounded student of the humanities, and this cultural assumption stands in the way of engaging with the text.
On Poetic Inspiration
My central idea involves a resonance between the years 535, 1315 and 1815 created by stupendous volcanic eruptions that cause abrupt global cooling, massive mortality and disruption of human society, followed, after a significant time lag, by reorganization according to new principles.
Was Charlie Parker Following His Bliss?
We of the masses who consume or benefit from the products of highly creative minds and souls often have a romantic notion of the “tortured genius.” But we do not live in their world.
Fast Train
It felt like a forties movie but there is no romantic hero in this one, just a guy riding a mountain bike in the rain, with a head full of dope and a mouthful of lies.
Deconstructing Fiction (For Writers and Readers): Excerpt Deconstructed (5)
This is the fifth in a series of articles in which author Steven Erikson deconstructs, paragraph by paragraph, an excerpt from his most recent novel, Forge of Darkness
Deconstructing Fiction (For Writers and Readers): Excerpt Deconstructed (3)
This is the third in a series of articles in which author Steven Erikson deconstructs, paragraph by paragraph, an excerpt from his most recent novel Forge of Darkness.
Deconstructing Fiction (For Writers and Readers): Excerpt Deconstructed (2)
This is the second in a series of articles in which author Steven Erikson deconstructs, paragraph by paragraph, an excerpt from his most recent novel Forge of Darkness.
Deconstructing Fiction (for Writers and Readers): Excerpt from Forge of Darkness
The following is an excerpt from Steven Erikson’s most recent novel, Forge of Darkness. Over the next several weeks, Erikson will carefully deconstruct this excerpt for the purpose of providing readers and writers with a view of the manner in which the elements of fiction are incorporated into the writing process.