Confessions of my Past, Present and Future
by
Ty Arthur
The Past
Exploring other worlds through the written word is a
pastime I've been engaging in since my earliest memories. Besides my other
passion – underground extreme metal – books that opened up portals to other
lives easily kept me going through my middle and high school years. So much so
that I got sent to the principal's office on more than one occasion for reading
through particularly uninteresting classes.
Many of my favorite series had to be read during school
hours or on the sly at home, as unfortunately we had a strict rule in my family
against anything that would offend baby Jesus' delicate sensibilities
(essentially meaning most fantasy, sci-fi, or horror). Rather than turning me
off to the genres, the prohibition frankly that just increased their appeal,
since they were all apparently so awesome they had to be banned.
Although there are plenty of horror novels that I managed to sneak a
read through of at the library or by toting books to school away from prying
eyes (The Hellbound Heart and Weaveworld immediately come to mind),
fantasy definitely had a bigger impact on my formative years than horror when
it comes to literature.
Redwall
managed to make it past the “no fantasy” rule, and devouring those many stories
of brave mice battling overwhelming odds is probably why I can't get enough of
graphic novels and RPGs like Mouse Guard
today. While I of course ate up series like Sword
Of Truth and all the Forgotten Realms
novels, there is one title that always stands out in my mind as particularly
memorable, and it comes from a very unlikely source.
Game to novel adaptations have a huge range in quality,
with many of them being forgettable or even outright bad, and that's
particularly true the larger a series gets, as
more and more authors are brought in over time. While I wouldn't consider
myself a fanatic of the book series as large, there is one novel in the Magic The Gathering adaptations that
I'll never forget: The Gathering Dark
by Jeff Grubb.
Set in the Ice Age of the Magic universe, Grubb really
struck a chord with me as a kid with his tale of a young magician's apprentice.
He managed to weave the mechanics of the card game system into the book in a
very fluid and intuitive way while having an intensely interesting cast of
characters and vivid imagery I can still clearly see in my mind's eyes. From
humorous elements with necromancers resurrecting cooked chickens, to terrifying scenes with
overpowering wizards gone mad, there was some absolutely superb storytelling
going on there.
He also managed to throw in some mildly sacrilegious
content at the time that just blew my young mind, with an antagonist who hunted
down spellcasters at the behest of her church – while having no idea that her powers
also sprung from the well of magic rather than from any deity. While I've read
many of Grubb's works since then, I have no doubt if I ever got to meet the man
in person, this is the title I'd be blathering on about while he nervously
looked for an exit.
The Present
In the present, my love of fiction hasn't diminished any,
and my overflowing library room is a testament to the staying power of
literature to impact lives. Of course my tastes have changed with age, and now
with nothing having to be hidden under the mattress I can freely work through
any genre I care to. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that my modern
reading habits revolve significantly around horror, as that's where my own
writing tends to go.
Lately,
I've been
gravitating much more heavily towards graphic novels, discovering a treasure
trove of interesting stories and unique ways to express them through a visual
medium. From the Hellraiser series
that focuses on the Harrowers trying to shut down all of hell's entrances to
the very non-traditional style of new horror sensation Wytches, there's an abundance of material in the comic medium worth
exploring.
Although less focused on the horror, two series that have
really hooked me lately have been Birthright
and Shutter. The former grabbed me
with its fascinating dual style, focusing half on a shattered family that
doesn't believe their missing son has actually returned somehow 30 years older,
and then shifting the other half to a stereotypical and over-the-top high
fantasy universe.
Shutter
meanwhile is just an absolute trip, constantly changing art styles and meshing
drastically different universes together but all without losing the plot. There
aren't many series where you seek out an adorable platypus in an alley for an
assassination gig, a salamander who was just served divorce papers by his wife
reluctantly agrees to murder an innocent girl, and samurai fox rides around on
a triceratops while killing everyone she come across.
Both of those drastically different series resonated with
me as I've been trying to mesh opposing styles together in my own writing
lately, particularly in my upcoming novel Light
Dawning. After almost a year of writing, the first draft was finally just
finished last week, and while there's inevitably months of edits and re-writes
ahead before it goes to print, it's a serious load off to finally have it
“finished.”
While my previous novella Empty went the sci-fi route, this time around I'm finally digging
into the love of my youth and exploring my own original fantasy world that's
been brewing for years. Don't expect elves and dwarves or chosen one farm boys
destined to save the world though – I'm not one for cheery universes or happy
endings. This is a decidedly darker fantasy, and if you thought the engineer
Hansen had it bad in Empty, you will
find things much worse for the main characters this time around.
Starting with the seed of a story and expanding the
universe around it, I've absolutely loved building this world where I get to
turn the standard fantasy tropes on their heads. This tale revolves around
three very broken and flawed people all trying to survive life under the thumb
of an invading army, with no one arriving to save them or route the occupying
force.
Shutter
The Future
While I've always been fascinated by tales of magic and
supernatural forces in fantasy stories, it has always felt overly relied on to
me, working more as a means to get characters out of overwhelming trouble
rather than something actually of central importance to the story. With that in
mind, magic is a decidedly bad thing in my world, bringing more problems than
solutions. Adding in my own brand of cosmic horror to the background of the
world, anyone who finds themselves with the ability to wield supernatural
powers in this tale has clearly drawn the attention of horrible, unknowable
forces that don't have humanity's best interests in mind.
Hopefully you'll all be able to read my take on the
fantasy style for yourselves by the end of the year, and I can't wait to hear
what you think. If the fates are kind, maybe my writing can impact the life of
some kid out there in need of a different
universe to inhabit for a few hours, just as many fantasy novels
did for me.
You can read my review of Empty, here.
You can buy Empty
here:
If you would like to help support Confessions of a
Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy any of the
books mentioned in this feature. This not only supports me but also lets
me know how many people actually like to buy books after reading my
reviews.
Thanks.
Montana native Ty Arthur fell in love with fantasy and horror at an early age, but frequently had to engage in his passions secretly during his youth. Turning to the
written word as a cathartic outlet, Arthur writes to exorcise his demons. He lives in the cold, dark north with this amazing wife Megan.
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