A Counterweight to the Recent Fan Fiction Bashing...
Some fan fiction bashing by Diana Gabaldon, GRR Martin and Katherine Kerr (recap here) has been mentioned on my f-list lately. Ironically, when this came up, I had been reading the bestselling Temeraire books by Naomi Novik--they've been optioned by Peter Jackson who produced the Lord of the Ring films. I came across this in the author
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Easily actually--I kinda rolled my eyes at the premise--but I won an early review copy of her latest coming out in July, so I decided to start reading her series. These are *not* McCaffrey's dragons--Temeraire is this delightful mixture of brilliance and naivete and definitely his own person--in comparison to Novik's creations Pern's dragons are just pets. Awesome pets--but not comparable. And damn, I think you can see the fanfic influence in how she nails a early 19th Century voice a la Austen or O'Brien. (And less happily perhaps, a slash orientation in how so far the male/male relationship are so much more important than any relationship with a mere female--even if she does have a couple of kickass female characters)
and props to Michael Chabon, whose entire canon I still need to read after loving K&C
I'm still this side of flabberghasted at that book. Literary masterpieces aren't supposed to be that fun! Something that fun isn't supposed to be a virtuoso work in omnisience--or so moving! I did NOT just read that. (And then to close the book, come across this controversy and see *that* comment of his on fan fiction. One Michael Chabon imo is worth a thousand Gabaldons)
And THANK YOU for that amazing list of published fanworks- amazing amazing amazing! *smooches you*
Missing is Dante's Divine Comedy--fanboy Dante with his Vergil--and self-insert! And Gabaldon's Outlander ironically--apparently her hero Jaimie Fraser is based on a similarly named Dr Who character--she even sent the book to the actor who played him...
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Your comments on K&C mirror my thoughts. So many literary masterpieces are a slog- it's the rare masterpiece that holds me in thrall with storytelling rather than just impresses me with verbal/intertextual cleverness or structural sleight of hand. Chabon's the real deal, and thankfully wise enough to know that no literature is entirely original. I think I would like to have lunch with him.
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Haven't read Eragon or Funke--I think Pern jumped the shark but loved the first three Dragonrider books and the first three Harper Hall books. They're comfort food reads for me in fact (along with a lot of Lackey). Something I reread to be with some old friends. I haven't read her more recent books though--and I wonder if she's even really written them, or if her son took over even before he had a credit.
Chabon's the real deal, and thankfully wise enough to know that no literature is entirely original. I think I would like to have lunch with him.
I'm tempted to pick up Wonder Boys next--he's that rare writer that having read one book, you just want to go and tear through the rest. But I will instead go to the next on my "cleaning my fan fiction clogged palete" list. Which is Cunningham's The Hours--Mrs Dalloway fanfic basically.
Which will be a challenge. Because I hate Mrs Dalloway. Got assigned it in high school AND college and both times resorted to the Cliff Notes because I just couldn't take it. I thought, OK, maybe I was just a young and unsophisticated reader and my tastes have changed. So I tried Mrs Dalloway again last night and you know what?
I still HATE it. Incoherent, pretentious *mess* about a shallow, vapid character. No way I'm getting through that. I'll try to read The Hours anyway.
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