This week’s post on the opening passages of vintage works of fantasy fiction features the beginning of Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea: The island of Gont, a single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-wracked Northeast Sea, is a land famous for wizards. From the towns in its high…
Last July, in a post titled “Was Robert the Bruce a Traitor, and Does It Matter?” I posed the question of how much artistic license can an author take in historical fiction for the purpose of crafting a good story? A few months ago, this issue came up again in the comments to my review…
For my second post on the opening passages of vintage works of fantasy fiction, I’ve chosen the beginning of Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni Rising. Published in 1970, this novel was one of my favorites growing up. It has a puzzle-like plot filled with murder, intrigue, and magic. I’ve read this book more than once and enjoyed it…
Last week I wrote about What Makes a Great Beginning to a novel. Today I am focusing on two beginnings that in my opinion best reflect the elements of a great opening passage. To recap, these elements include conflict (or the hint of conflict) and writing that sets the tone or mood for the story….
Last week I wrote about what makes a great beginning to a novel. This includes the hint of conflict, an interesting character, and, perhaps most importantly, writing that sets the tone or mood for the story to come. My first 10 “beginnings” focused on a number great works of historical and fantasy fiction, some of which…
Let me begin by saying I’m flattered. When I started Fresh-scraped Vellum in July of 2011, I never imagined authors would begin contacting me about reviewing their books. A few months ago, I received such a request. The book looked interesting and I quickly agreed to review it. Nowadays I’m getting several requests per week…
For the past ten weeks since I started my “Beginning” of the Week series, I’ve been asking this question in one form or another. So this week, I thought I’d discuss in a little more detail what makes a good beginning to a novel. Author Nancy Kress in her book Beginnings, Middles & Ends argues…
For my tenth “beginning,” I’ve chosen the opening passage of Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom. This is the first novel in his excellent The Saxon Tales series about the conflict between the Vikings and the English during the reign of Alfred the Great. You can read my review of The Last Kingdom here. This is…
The final “cliché” in fantasy fiction needs little introduction. He is the granddaddy of all antagonists, the embodiment of evil that threatens the main character, and often the survival of kingdoms, continents, and worlds. Relatively recent incarnations of this antagonist, whose power usually dwarfs that of our poor hero, include Sauron from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The…
Since this typically is a joyous time of year, I tried to find a happier “beginning” for this week – which should be a challenge given the desire to create tension in the opening passage of a novel. The beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring comes close to fitting this bill, while…
As an element of fantasy fiction, the Magic Weapon is so often used it’s either the most cliché item on my Top 5 list or it’s an essential ingredient of such stories. Now, we know the latter’s not true as we’ve all read great works of fantasy fiction that lacked any emphasis on magic weapons….