Elric of Melniboné Elric of Melniboné[1] is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, and the antihero of a series of sword and sorcery stories centring in an alternate Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Later novels by Moorcock mark Elric as a facet of the Eternal Champion. Elric first appeared in print in Moorcock's novella, "The Dreaming City" (Science Fantasy No. 47, June 1961); subsequent novellas were reformatted as the novel Stormbringer (1965), but his first appearance in an original novel wasn't until 1973 in Elric of Melniboné. Fictional history[edit] Elric is described by his creator, in the first book, Elric of Melniboné, as follows: It is the colour of a bleached skull, his flesh; and the long hair which flows below his shoulders is milk-white. Elric's finding of the sword Stormbringer serves as both his greatest asset and greatest disadvantage. Influences[edit] Novels[edit] Original saga[edit] DAW series (1977) Later novels[edit]
Terry Pratchett Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s,[6][7] and has sold over 85 million books worldwide in 37 languages.[8][9] He is currently the second most-read writer in the UK, and seventh most-read non-US author in the US.[10] Pratchett was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours.[11][12] In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children.[13][14] He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010. In December 2007, Pratchett announced that he was suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease.[15] Subsequently he made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust,[16] and filmed a programme chronicling his experiences with the disease for the BBC. Background[edit] Early life[edit] Early career[edit] Current life[edit] Alzheimer's disease[edit] Interests[edit]
Discworld (world) Great A'Tuin is the Giant Star Turtle (of the fictional species: Chelys galactica) who travels through the Discworld universe's space, carrying four giant elephants (named Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon, and Jerakeen) who in turn carry the Discworld. The narration has described A'Tuin as "the only turtle ever to feature on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram." Great A'Tuin's gender is unknown (though in The Colour of Magic Pratchett describes the turtle as male)[citation needed], but the subject of much speculation by some of the Disc's finest scientific minds. The sex of the World Turtle is pivotal in proving or disproving a number of conflicting theories about the destination of Great A'Tuin's journey through the cosmos. The little turtles have since gone off on their own journeys. Great A'Tuin has been mentioned to frequently roll on its belly to avoid asteroid and comet collisions, or even to snatch these projectiles out of the sky which might otherwise destroy the Disc.
Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published literary novels. He is best known for his novels about the anti-hero Elric of Melniboné, a seminal influence on the field of fantasy in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2008, The Times newspaper named Moorcock in their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".[3] Biography[edit] Michael Moorcock was born in London in 1939 and the landscape of London, particularly the area of Notting Hill Gate and Ladbroke Grove, is an important influence in some of his fiction (cf. the Cornelius novels). Moorcock has mentioned The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Apple Cart by George Bernard Shaw and The Constable of St. Moorcock is the former husband of Hilary Bailey. Moorcock was the subject of two book-length works, a monograph and an interview, by Colin Greenland. In the 1990s, he moved to Texas in the United States. Views on politics[edit] Writer[edit]
Eternal Champion The Eternal Champion is a fictional creation of the author Michael Moorcock and is a recurrent feature in many of his novels. About the Eternal Champion[edit] The fictional Multiverse, which consists of several universes, many layered dimensions, spheres, and alternative worlds, is the place where the eternal struggle between Law and Chaos, the two main forces of Moorcock's worlds, takes place. In all these dimensions and worlds, these forces constantly war for supremacy. Since the victory of Law or Chaos would cause the Multiverse either to become permanently static or totally formless, the Cosmic Balance enforces certain limits which the powers of Law and Chaos violate at their peril. Law, Chaos, and the Balance are active, but seemingly non-sentient, forces which empower various champions and representatives. All the incarnations of the Eternal Champion are facets of each other, and the Champion may also be aided by a companion, who, like himself, exists in various incarnations.
Solomon Kane Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A late 16th/early 17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms. His adventures, published mostly in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, often take him from Europe to the jungles of Africa and back. Howard described him as a sombre and gloomy man of pale face and cold eyes, all of it shadowed by a slouch hat. Stories[edit] Most of the Solomon Kane stories were first published in Weird Tales. "Red Shadows"[edit] Weird Tales (August 1928) featuring "Red Shadows", the first Solomon Kane story First published in Weird Tales, August 1928, alternatively titled "Solomon Kane". "Skulls in the Stars"[edit] First published in Weird Tales, January 1929. "Rattle of Bones"[edit] First published in Weird Tales, June 1929. "The Moon of Skulls"[edit] First published in Weird Tales, Part 1, June 1930; Part 2, July 1930. [edit]
Charles Williams (British writer) Charles Walter Stansby Williams (20 September 1886 – 15 May 1945) was a British poet, novelist, theologian, literary critic, and member of the Inklings. Williams gathered many followers and disciples during his lifetime. He was, for a period, a member of the Salvator Mundi Temple of the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross. He met fellow Anglican Evelyn Underhill (who was affiliated with a similar group, the Order of the Golden Dawn) in 1937 and was later to write the introduction to her published Letters in 1943.[3] Williams also formed master-disciple relationships with young women throughout his lifetime. The best known (though probably not the most significant) of these occurred in the early 1940s with Lois Lang Sims. Lang Sims, whom Williams referred to as Lalage, published a series of letters that Williams wrote to her during this period in a volume entitled Letters to Lalage (1989). Williams developed the concept of Co-inherence, described as a theology of romantic love.
The Place of the Lion Platonic archetypes begin to appear throughout England, wreaking havoc and drawing to the surface the spiritual strengths and flaws of individual characters. Critical reception[edit] Boucher and McComas described The Place of the Lion as "one of the most daringly conceived and stunningly visualized of all [Williams's] novels.".[1] Editions[edit] Pellegrini & Cudahy, 1933Regent College Publishing, 2003, ISBN 1-57383-108-5Victor Gollancz Ltd / London / 1947 References[edit] External links[edit] Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook Fictional universe A fictional universe can be almost indistinguishable from the real world, except for the presence of the invented characters and events that characterize a work of fiction; at the other extreme it can bear little or no resemblance to reality, with invented fundamental principles of space and time. Definition[edit] What distinguishes a fictional universe from a simple setting is the level of detail and internal consistency. A fictional universe has an established continuity and internal logic that must be adhered to throughout the work and even across separate works. So, for instance, many books may be set in conflicting fictional versions of Victorian London, but all the stories of Sherlock Holmes are set in the same Victorian London. Frequently, when a series gets too complicated or too self-inconsistent (because of, for example, too many writers), the producers or publishers will introduce retroactive continuity (retcon) to make future editions easier to write and more consistent.
E. E. Smith Biography[edit] Family and education[edit] Smith worked primarily as a manual laborer until he injured his wrist, at the age of 19, while escaping from a fire. He attended the University of Idaho. (Many years later he would be installed in the 1984 Class of the University of Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame.)[8] He entered its prep school in 1907, and graduated with two degrees in Chemical Engineering in 1914. He was president of the Chemistry Club, the Chess Club, and the Mandolin and Guitar Club, and captain of the Drill and Rifle Team; he also sang the bass lead in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.[9] His undergraduate thesis was Some Clays of Idaho, co-written with classmate Chester Fowler Smith, who died in California of tuberculosis the following year, after taking a teaching fellowship at Berkeley.[10] It is not known whether the two were related. The Smiths had three children: Early chemical career and the beginning of Skylark[edit] Mrs. Writing Skylark[edit] Mrs. The Lensman series[edit]
Fantasy literature History[edit] Stories involving paranormal magic and terrible monsters have existed in spoken forms before the advent of printed literature. Homer's Odyssey satisfies the definition of the fantasy genre with its magic, gods, heroes, adventures and monsters.[1] Fantasy literature, as a distinct type, emerged in Victorian times, with the works of writers such as Mary Shelley, William Morris and George MacDonald. J. R. R. Modern[edit] Style[edit] Fantasy has been distinguished from other forms of literature by its style and its freedom of expression wherein an author has the ability to use any story-telling element to strengthen the narrative; whether it be dragons, magic and castles or the lack thereof. Symbolism often plays a significant role in fantasy literature, often through the use of archetypal figures inspired by earlier texts or folklore. Ursula K. See also[edit] [edit]