tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post2488444426049142653..comments2024-03-11T16:29:13.619-05:00Comments on Lingwë - Musings of a Fish: Michael Crichton’s “Beowulf”Jason Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-21522758439261978412008-11-17T16:57:00.000-06:002008-11-17T16:57:00.000-06:00Hi, Steven. :)He sets up the historic account well...Hi, Steven. :)<BR/><BR/><I>He sets up the historic account well in the beginning of the novel by discussing the “monsters of the mist,” and the story truly comes across as believable and realistic. The footnotes help add to the realism.</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, as much as anything, I think that was one of Crichton’s goals — to show how a story like <I>Beowulf</I> might have evolved from actual history. He’s not arguing that it <I>was</I>, just showing one possible way a fantastical/mythical story <I>could</I> have been explained by real events.<BR/><BR/><I>I’m trying to remember -- because I don’t have the book in front of me now -- but doesn’t Crichton mention in the Afterword how he wrote the first three chapters based on the actual historical account of Ibn Fadlan, and then after that, he makes the transition into fiction through the re-telling of the Beowulf poem.</I><BR/><BR/>Yes, that’s right. And of course, it was crucial that this little bombshell be hidden in an afterword and not a <I>foreword</I>; otherwise, it would have spoiled the fun. I bet there are plenty of people who’ve never never read the afterword and still believe this was a “true history” of events in the 10th century.Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-5709616612406801032008-11-17T16:34:00.000-06:002008-11-17T16:34:00.000-06:00I agree. This is one of my favorite Crichton novel...I agree. This is one of my favorite Crichton novels, and as you said, one that is often overlooked. Crichton takes a unique and creative approach to the re-telling of Beowulf, and he does a great job of masking the poem by setting it up as a historical account of these events told through Ibn Fadlan's eyes. In fact, I was not even aware it was a re-telling of Beowulf until I read the Afterword at the end of the novel.<BR/><BR/>He sets up the historic account well in the beginning of the novel by discussing the "monsters of the mist," and the story truly comes across as believable and realistic. The footnotes help add to the realism. <BR/><BR/>I'm trying to remember -- because I don't have the book in front of me now -- but doesn't Crichton mention in the Afterword how he wrote the first three chapters based on the actual historical account of Ibn Fadlan, and then after that, he makes the transition into fiction through the re-telling of the Beowulf poem. <BR/><BR/>The story, for me, was even more suspenseful and eerie because I thought -- until I read the Afterword -- that the entire story was based on actual and true events.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-65114511765110601852008-11-14T20:43:00.000-06:002008-11-14T20:43:00.000-06:00My mistake, and thanks for the clarification. For ...My mistake, and thanks for the clarification. For my part, I certainly think a 10- or 20-foot beastie would be more than enough to cope with. :)<BR/><BR/>Your theory about stories of the Nile crocodile sounds very reasonable, and I could even see the true story being repeatedly enlarged (no doubt in direct proportion to the distance the tale had traveled). Medieval mappae mundi, such as the one at Hereford, often described (and sometimes even depicted) all sorts of outlandish monsters and hybrids supposedly native to Africa.<BR/><BR/>Another idea occurs to me. If a warrior faced some kind of creature — say, a Nile crocodile — and prevailed and lived to tell the tale, would he not prefer to inflate the creature as much as possible, in the interests of a legendary reputation? Warriors tough as nails might kill a Nile crocodile, but <I>heroes</I> kill <I>dragons</I>. :)Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-46488905507395870552008-11-14T19:18:00.000-06:002008-11-14T19:18:00.000-06:00Sorry, I was unclear: in that 2004 discussion to w...Sorry, I was unclear: in that 2004 discussion to which I linked, squire was arguing that in the modern imagination, dragons are unnecessarily large (he used John Howe's image of Tolkien's Glaurung as an example), and that a beast as small as ten feet in length was more formidable than most people realized. In response, I had noted then that medieval Europeans might have heard of a genuinely larger saurian creature: the Nile crocodile.N.E. Brigandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17601573470596905112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-83360093826087677452008-11-14T13:29:00.000-06:002008-11-14T13:29:00.000-06:00Did all dragons of the medieval imagination breath...<I>Did all dragons of the medieval imagination breathe fire, or were there “cold drakes” before Tolkien?</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, I think there were (though I don’t have any references ready to hand). Setting aside medieval China, which had more varieties of dragons than one would be prepared to believe, I think the European tradition of the cold drake preceded Tolkien, possibly all the way back to the Middle Ages. Too, the dragon as an imaginative expansion of the humble worm or snake should support the idea of such cold drakes. There’s also Squire’s crocodile theory.<BR/><BR/>I once read a fairly interesting book on this subject, <I><A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/product/dp/0415937299/" REL="nofollow">An Instinct for Dragons</A></I> by David E. Jones. He suggested that the dragon was an amalgam of the eagle, leopard, and snake, the three most commonly encountered animals dangerous to primitive man. I found the premise intriguing, but ultimately unconvincing.Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-20638562892790867042008-11-14T11:12:00.000-06:002008-11-14T11:12:00.000-06:00Did all dragons of the medieval imagination breath...Did all dragons of the medieval imagination breathe fire, or were there "cold drakes" before Tolkien? The latter might be partly explained by stories of crocodiles, which can exceed 20 feet in length. As squire <A HREF="http://archives.theonering.net/rumour_mill/rpg/viewer/readingroom/40A8F3320001B757.html" REL="nofollow">once wrote</A>, that would seem plentifully fearsome: <BR/><BR/>"YOU go up to a beast weighing 300-400 pounds and 8-10 feet long, with wicked sharp claws, teeth and tail, with the agility of a snake and the ferocity of a tiger and try to kill it with a blade."<BR/><BR/>And the fire -- confusion with myths of salamanders, perhaps? I have no idea about the wings, though.N.E. Brigandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17601573470596905112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-2992988489141994422008-11-14T09:23:00.000-06:002008-11-14T09:23:00.000-06:00I’d like to think so, Alex.I’d like to think so, Alex.Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-34200797834932314672008-11-13T23:55:00.000-06:002008-11-13T23:55:00.000-06:00Yes. Yes, Dragons existed. Yes, yes they did.Yes. Yes, Dragons existed. Yes, yes they did.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13721162340739400165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-39732305648547802162008-11-13T08:59:00.000-06:002008-11-13T08:59:00.000-06:00Hi Jake. I am floored I could convince you to deig...Hi Jake. I am <I>floored</I> I could convince you to deign to read Michael Crichton, hahae. Well, I do hope you enjoy* it, and keeping my “least like the others” comment in mind, I daresay you will. I look forward to hearing.<BR/><BR/>* Notice I didn’t go so far as to suggest it would “blow you away”, but I guess there’s some hope. :)Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-2370366097968973252008-11-12T20:01:00.000-06:002008-11-12T20:01:00.000-06:00You've convinced me to read Eaters of the Dead—I o...You've convinced me to read <I>Eaters of the Dead</I>—I ordered it as part of a 3-pack in hardcover, so to speak, from Amazon. Expect a post on it sometime in the next... well, I'm tempted to write "month," but "month to six months" would probably be more accurate.<BR/><BR/>And thanks for the comment in <A HREF="http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2008/11/06/on-books-taste-and-distaste" REL="nofollow">Books, taste, and distaste</A>. I'm always ready and even eager to be blown away by a novel, regardless of its source, and <I>Eaters</I> is no exception.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-51758932382431939032008-11-12T13:09:00.000-06:002008-11-12T13:09:00.000-06:00Hi, Sam. You’re right about Jurassic Park: certain...Hi, Sam. You’re right about <I>Jurassic Park</I>: certainly one of Crichton’s top five, and one of the best in the entire history of the genre. And a rare case where the film adaptation was also spectacular (sequels notwithstanding ;).<BR/><BR/>And if you liked <I>JP</I>, you might also want to try George Gaylord Simpson’s <I>The Dechronization of Sam Magruder</I>. It’s like a cross between <I>JP</I> and H. G. Wells’s <I>The Time Machine</I>.Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-55568366530347168902008-11-12T12:54:00.000-06:002008-11-12T12:54:00.000-06:00When thinking over MC's books I had forgotten all ...When thinking over MC's books I had forgotten all about this one -- thanks for reminding me how good it was.<BR/><BR/>However, if I do reread one in memoriam I think it'll have to be Jurassic Park... hard to top that one.Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09492841891625994218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-44263257490721209322008-11-12T10:14:00.000-06:002008-11-12T10:14:00.000-06:00Si, addio a lui. Grazie per i commenti, Giova. Ho ...Si, addio a lui. Grazie per i commenti, Giova. Ho leggo il tuo post di blog sulla morte di Michael Crichton ieri.Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-14438781282311957702008-11-12T10:12:00.000-06:002008-11-12T10:12:00.000-06:00Right, Lynn. Crichton wrote a number of screenplay...Right, Lynn. Crichton wrote a number of screenplays and directed several films. Did you know there’s a remake of <I>Westworld</I> in the works, scheduled for release next year?<BR/><BR/>Of course, not all of his screenplays and books were great (<I>Airframe</I> was boring, and anticlimactic, for example), and many of the movie versions of his novels were just dreadful (<I>Congo</I> has to be the worst, followed by <I>Sphere</I>, both despite major talent). But he did a lot for the techno-thriller genre.<BR/><BR/>And don’t forget that he also created the extremely successful television series, <I>ER</I>.Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-59345249756244592432008-11-11T23:20:00.000-06:002008-11-11T23:20:00.000-06:00Eaters is a masterpiece, addio Michael!Eaters is a masterpiece, addio Michael!Giovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14922786032932386009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-8397099465533793612008-11-11T20:12:00.000-06:002008-11-11T20:12:00.000-06:00I'd forgotten that Michael Crichton also directed ...I'd forgotten that Michael Crichton also directed <I>Westworld</I> before <I>The Great Train Robbery</I> - what a spectacular brain! Even if I wasn't very pleased with his <I>Doomsday Book</I>-flavored <I>Timeline</I> (as the person who spent thousands of dollars trying --and failing-- to get Connie Willis' spectacular <I>Doomsday Book</I> produced as a film, it made me grumpy), I am very sad to know he's left the planet. God bless 'im.Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18011571798292504296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-48268516843437161342008-11-11T16:32:00.000-06:002008-11-11T16:32:00.000-06:00You should, Gary. You’d like it (even if most of C...You should, Gary. You’d like it (even if most of Crichton’s books would not normally be to your taste). It and John Gardner’s <I>Grendel</I> are a couple of nice, modern bookends to <I>Beowulf</I>. You’ve read <I>Grendel</I>, I think ...? I may have to write up a post on that novel, too. :)Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-19909267977064430652008-11-11T15:56:00.000-06:002008-11-11T15:56:00.000-06:00Nice review, Jase. Now I want to go and read that...Nice review, Jase. Now I want to go and read that book!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com