tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post3056568950470188256..comments2024-03-22T00:20:38.510-07:00Comments on Adam Riggio writes: Gormenghast and How I Turned Away From Fantasy, A History Boy, 04/11/2015Adam Riggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14606510835439580828noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post-80113824150042835922019-12-03T13:16:12.395-08:002019-12-03T13:16:12.395-08:00The Groans were earls, not kings.The Groans were earls, not kings.wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13165734127527432570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post-81399736408463521822019-02-02T01:02:32.813-08:002019-02-02T01:02:32.813-08:00In the first episode of the show, just before meet...In the first episode of the show, just before meeting Steerpike, Fuchsia tells Mrs. Slagg: "when I am queen, I will burn down the castle".<br /><br />Just now, I've come to realize what a freaking sense it had. Though I'm a bit sceptic about their happy ending. Steerpike is one of my favorite characters ever, but I just couldn't find out if he was truly longing for equality or that was only a part of his camouflage. And did he really love Fuchsia? I see there were some scenes between them which showed us that he kinda cared for her - e.g. Fuchsia's downfall, their encounter in the graveyard or when Steerpike decided to take his mask off -, yet I think she had always been (at least partly) a little piece in his game of manipulations.<br />(It never stopped me from rooting for them as a couple though. Sadly, Mr. Peake is a great cynic and so am I.)Sólyom Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16953787875973450796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post-13784639440587383952015-11-08T23:01:57.059-08:002015-11-08T23:01:57.059-08:00i don't remember Titus being described as hand...i don't remember Titus being described as handsome - in fact what endears him to Fuchsia is that he is 'ugly'/'defective' (he does however has some dalliances in the third book that suggests you might be right on that count). meanwhile, though Titus & Steerpike both object to the status quo & so in some strange way their causes align, Steerpike isn't the Jokerish agent of chaos you say he is. he doesn't want to burn the system down, he wants to wrest control of it doing so through violence & manipulation in order to establish *himself* as the new not-really-different status quo, maintaining a new order in w/c HE is the ruler of Gormenghast; he even aims for the keeper of ritual position (i forget the actual title) rather than the crown, knowing where the real power truly lies - & so it's not about a 'better life', it's about power. Titus, on the other hand, abdicates because...well, he doesn't really know or articulate other than that being the ruler of the stones isn't what he wants. <br /><br />w/c is all to say: i don't think either of them look very good from the typical, generic 'hero' standpoint. they are complex characters for whom 'good' & or 'evil' in the standard generic sense are meaningless against what they individually *want* from their lives.skinnyblackcladdinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01836363711931295356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post-68896428522197288912015-11-05T14:09:32.218-08:002015-11-05T14:09:32.218-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Michael Hemmingsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05390854349398626567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post-7445770614161065372015-11-05T13:16:57.204-08:002015-11-05T13:16:57.204-08:00Haven't read either of those. My ability to re...Haven't read either of those. My ability to read subtle linguistic cues tells me neither come recommended.Michael Hemmingsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05390854349398626567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post-62487817723007265642015-11-05T12:43:36.980-08:002015-11-05T12:43:36.980-08:00Excellent, then. My only recent exposure to fantas...Excellent, then. My only recent exposure to fantasy (and its fans) are Gamergaters and Rabid Puppies. I'm glad there's more to the scene that those shit-shovellers.Adam Riggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606510835439580828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post-30691265355370001332015-11-05T12:33:20.531-08:002015-11-05T12:33:20.531-08:00Yeah, I still disagree. The Prince/Process/Queen/K...Yeah, I still disagree. The Prince/Process/Queen/King born to greatness idea has been long superseded in any fantasy worth reading. In that respect Gormenghast is totally dated. Really, the kind of sorry you're describing seems to me to be quite unlike any fantasy I read.Michael Hemmingsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05390854349398626567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post-4795636634116909392015-11-04T15:03:00.656-08:002015-11-04T15:03:00.656-08:00I think what caused me to reject the genre so brut...I think what caused me to reject the genre so brutally was that I actually felt betrayed by the ending of the story. Its declared hero was this bland-as-rain-soaked-wonderbread prince who was a precursor to Hayden Christensen. The charismatic, ambitious class warrior who was tearing down an ossified and oppressive monarchy piece by piece with the callousness of his manic punk energy was the villain. <br /><br />It's not about most of the genre being drivel (as is most of literature). It's about this trope that recurs in even some of the best fantasy where you can only be an epic hero if you're already a prince or a noble. There's this recurring worship of thrones and nobility as a caste that's always rubbed me the wrong way. <br /><br />My favourite adventure stories are about travelling con men and grifters. Regular joes are just more interesting to me than people who are "born to greatness." It's not just about the great stories like Doctor Who, but the more ordinary stuff. When I was 13, I used to love watching Remington Steele reruns on cable because I loved those stories of charismatic con men infiltrating the upper class and running rings around everyone.<br /><br />When I think about it, that says a lot about many of my ambitions in life.Adam Riggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606510835439580828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8708273719674528189.post-59654023801964357332015-11-04T12:41:13.574-08:002015-11-04T12:41:13.574-08:00As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, I can see y...As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, I can see your point in terms of much fantasy, but it doesn't really apply to most fantasy worth reading, of which there is still a fair amount. It's really no different to anything else: name me a genre in which the majority isn't drivel.Michael Hemmingsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05390854349398626567noreply@blogger.com