• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

FT336

PeteByrdie

Privateer in the service of Princess Frideswide
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
3,217
Interesting demolishing of the 'rich yank bought London Bridge thinking it was Tower Bridge' myth in Mythconceptions. I suppose it was never a very convincing story.

Unusually for me, Ghostwatch gains my attention. But then, it is about sexual encounters.

Otherwise, I look forward to delving into subjects I'd previously never heard of; Kibbo Kift, Abbots Bromley Horn Dance and Eden in the Seychelles.

Nice to see the Spanish-invading Ummites raise their extraterrestrial heads again, or should that be their British heads?

Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets only a 6 in David Sutton's review. I thought it deserved a little better, personally.
 
I was wondering when some lucky devil would post about the new issue! Since it takes an age to arrive at Dinobot Headquarters, I look forward to people enthusing over the new issue! Gives me something to look forward to that isn't chocolate, Doctor Who or Star Trek! (Although, they're all pretty amazing!)
 
I usually receive my copy pretty early. I think people time when their copy might arrive from when the first people begin posting about it, and they can start getting excited. I know I do.
 
Got mine this morning, read most of it, enjoyed it very much, but have yet to read the articles that Pete mentioned he hadnt read yet as well
 
Mine came a little while before I went to work (I start work at 3.30 in the afternoon), and I only had time to read some of the columns, and the editorial, which is primarily 'Errata' this issue.
 
Interesting demolishing of the 'rich yank bought London Bridge thinking it was Tower Bridge' myth in Mythconceptions. I suppose it was never a very convincing story.

I was slightly disappointed in this issue's Mythconceptions because I already knew that one! Be interested to read if they found any more choosy goats.

Nice to see the Spanish-invading Ummites raise their extraterrestrial heads again, or should that be their British heads?

Also disappointed we don't have an UMMO thread, not that I could see, because that piece had a lot of useful info to mention in one. Not that it cleared everything up...
 
Bob Fischer's article has got me curious about Alan Garner's books. I'd never paid them any attention before, not having known anyone who read them. Are then any Garnerphiles on the forum? Is there anything in those children's books to interest a 42 year old who rarely reads fiction these days anyway? Or would it all seem a bit childish to me if I started reading Garner now? I don't want to give my hard earned cash to Amazon without some advice.;)
 
From Facebook earlier...

Fortean Times said:
And before you all write in... yes, we made a huge booboo on the cover: the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance takes place in Staffordshire, not Shropshire. Our deepest apologies to all horn dancers and residents of East Staffs - our only excuse is that we were all a bit tired getting this issue to press in time for the Xmas break. Happy New Year, and please forgive us!
 
Bob Fischer's article has got me curious about Alan Garner's books. I'd never paid them any attention before, not having known anyone who read them. Are then any Garnerphiles on the forum? Is there anything in those children's books to interest a 42 year old who rarely reads fiction these days anyway? Or would it all seem a bit childish to me if I started reading Garner now? I don't want to give my hard earned cash to Amazon without some advice.;)

There's a lot of Garner mentions in another thread...something about books you read as a child?
 
Bob Fischer's article has got me curious about Alan Garner's books. I'd never paid them any attention before, not having known anyone who read them. Are then any Garnerphiles on the forum? Is there anything in those children's books to interest a 42 year old who rarely reads fiction these days anyway? Or would it all seem a bit childish to me if I started reading Garner now? I don't want to give my hard earned cash to Amazon without some advice.;)

I am a fan of Alan Garner's early books, so my opinion is biased. But I would recommend you try them - the 1st 2 books, Weirdstone of Brisingamen and the Moon of Gomrath - the quality of the prose is remarkable, and the mythology themes are rich and beautifully woven in to the literature.
 
Another vote from me for the merit in a latter-day induction to the works of Garner.

Intrigued that FT336 has a Kibbo Kift article...a subject we, here, on The Board, first unearthed and chewed, back in November 2015. Coincidence, convergence, inspiration or even direction? I wonder....

Looks good, as an edition. Also not yet had a proper chance to read mine (this coming weekend shall be that time, unless the gods conspire against this).
 
Bob Fischer's article has got me curious about Alan Garner's books. I'd never paid them any attention before, not having known anyone who read them. Are then any Garnerphiles on the forum? Is there anything in those children's books to interest a 42 year old who rarely reads fiction these days anyway? Or would it all seem a bit childish to me if I started reading Garner now? I don't want to give my hard earned cash to Amazon without some advice.;)

Nice to have created a potential convert... ;)

I always recommend Elidor as a good starting point for the complete beginner, as it's a straightforward, standalone book, and probably the finest example of Garner's mastery of combining the fantastical with the utterly mundane (it's essentially about a portal between a nightmarish fantasy realm and the suburbs of the then-contemporary 1960s Manchester). It is a childrens' book, but it's much darker and richer than many examples of the genre.

His later books are very much for adults, though... if you wanted to dive straight into those, then I'd recommend Thursbitch as a good example.

Mind you, I'm a year older than you, and I love them all. :)
 
Nice to have created a potential convert... ;)

I always recommend Elidor as a good starting point for the complete beginner, as it's a straightforward, standalone book, and probably the finest example of Garner's mastery of combining the fantastical with the utterly mundane (it's essentially about a portal between a nightmarish fantasy realm and the suburbs of the then-contemporary 1960s Manchester). It is a childrens' book, but it's much darker and richer than many examples of the genre.

His later books are very much for adults, though... if you wanted to dive straight into those, then I'd recommend Thursbitch as a good example.

Mind you, I'm a year older than you, and I love them all. :)
I think what attracted my attention most in your article was the suggestion of the combination of everyday life and locations with fairylore. It resonates with how I've always felt about fairylore; a hidden world within and around our own. I've researched Garner a little and if I get the time to follow it up I'll probably begin at the beginning, with Wierdstone. I'm unclear about what can be found in First Light, the anthology mentioned in your article.
 
I think what attracted my attention most in your article was the suggestion of the combination of everyday life and locations with fairylore. It resonates with how I've always felt about fairylore; a hidden world within and around our own. I've researched Garner a little and if I get the time to follow it up I'll probably begin at the beginning, with Wierdstone. I'm unclear about what can be found in First Light, the anthology mentioned in your article.

In that case, Weirdstone is probably your best place to start, yeah... a hidden world of fairylore, in and around our own, is pretty much the entire premise of the book! Hope you enjoy it.

First Light is an anthology of tributes to Garner's work, with the likes of Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman writing essays detailing their appreciation of his books.
 
Reading Alan Murdie's article on "Spectrophilia". Thought-provoking and the jury has to still be out on whatever makes people, mainly female, absolutely convinced they've had sex with ghosts. I also noted the subjects overwehelmingly considered it to be a pleasant experience and one psychic in Bristol with the memorable name of Amethyst Realm actually actively solicits the experience up to three times a day.

I'm wondering if the contributors read forum threads like this, possibly out of the perfectly understandable human vanity of wanting to find out how their material was received? If so, here's one for Alan that goes slightly against the general grain of his article. Guy Lyon Playfair, himself an FT regular, collected a case for one of his books on Brazilian magic and "santeria". Can't recall which one offhand, but the book dealt with Brazilian forteana: psychic surgeons, voodoo practitioners and poltergeists. Playfair interviewed a woman living in Rio, who one day foolishly disturbed a voodoo offering left on the beach and took part of it back to her home with her. She then reported an opressive entity in her home, sentient and not well disposed towards her. She reported, later that night, feeling an unmistakable male getting into bed with her, mounting and penetrating, and the sensation of a man having had an orgasm - although objectively she was the only person in the room. She was "psychically raped" for several consecutive nights, until she spoke to a Santeria practitioner who advised her to return those items to the beach shrine where she'd found them, pray in apology to the spirits she had offended, and to leave a bottle of spirits as a peace offering. In Playfair's account, she did this and the ghost-rape ceased; the presence left her home.

But this is a case of "spectrophilia" where the human recipient was not in any way glad of the experience and found it as frightening, opressive and humiliating as real rape. One for the next chapter?
 
Just gone back and read the rest of the thread after adding my bit. A great sense of "wow" at a coincidence: earlier in January I read Alan Garner's novel "Boneland" at a single sitting. The novel offers a conclusion, to a grown-up audience, of what happened to the central characters Colin and Susan after the end of events in "The Moon of Gomrath". It captivated me and I must have spent three or four solid days doing nothing else but teasing out meanings, ideas, possibilities, potential meanings for a maddeningly oblique dream-like book. solidly, consistently, just to stop my head fermenting. This is a very rare reaction to literature for me, the last person to get me like this was Robert Anton Wilson! For what it's worth, all my ideas ended up here, for now: on main page, discussion and review.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Boneland

Then buying the new FT , logging on to contribute on the spectrophilia thing, and discovering that the vast majority of contributions to this thread concern the elusive and Fortean Alan Garner and peoples' reactions to his writing... I haven't read that far into FT336 yet but it sounds like a joy to be had!
 
I bought The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath a couple of years ago, with the idea of reliving my childhood a bit - intending for it to give me inspiration to write a children's novel.
So far, I haven't done that. D'oh!
Those books are still relevant reading for kids today, I think. I guess I should get Boneland as well, as it completes the set.
 
Just don't expect "Boneland" to be anything like in the same vein as the two predecessor novels. It took fifty years for it to be written, and Garner's writing style and directions changed a lot in that time. Anyone expecting a "straight" continuation is going to be really dissappointed.
 
OK, thanks for the caveat.
I'll get around to it eventually. I really should re-read the first two before I do that.
 
You must. The third book is totally unlike the first two. you need a good memory of the stand-out events of Brisingamen and Gomrath to even begin to approach "Boneland". Or it's going to leave you lost and floundering. The approach, the theme, the structure, the interleaved skein of possible intepretations it offers for Colin's experiences.... Nothing more without getting into spoiler territory.
 
For what it's worth, all my ideas ended up here, for now: on main page, discussion and review.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Boneland

That's a fascinating analysis, thanks for that.

I find Boneland to be the most touching of all of Garner's works, and it's definitely a book that repays the effort you put into it. I must have read it half-a-dozen times now, and I still don't think I'm anywhere near catching every nuance.

There's an excellent audiobook reading by Robert Powell that's worth hearing once you've read the book; it's superbly done and is a lovely way of allowing the themes of the story to sink in almost subconsciously.
 
this issue was what i call a "my penis" issue, unspectacular but solid, no article made me vomit blood but only jenny randles article on the build up too rendlesham still sticks in my memory, ooo and the alan garner article, i was so impressed by the authors enthusiasm i ordered the weirdstone of brisingham and the moon of Gomrath from foyles, and they have just turned up. :)
 
I'm wondering if the contributors read forum threads like this, possibly out of the perfectly understandable human vanity of wanting to find out how their material was received?

Oh yes, I can assure you that some FT writers are here on the forum, and are active in commenting, as well. With lively curiosity, they see brickbats and bouquets for their articles. Sometimes they are disconcerted.
 
Still waiting for my copy to arrive (Australia Post is now taking an extra two days to deliver mail!), so I bought a copy on my way home this afternoon. Nearly missed my train (and then nearly missed my station) due to reading another brilliant copy! But it's worth it!
 
Sitting up in bed, reading either FT or this site, trying to cool down on yet another stinking hot summer night in Sydney...

There weren't that many people in the clipping credits as usual, but a lot of people in Special Correspondents...
 
My mother bought me the Weirdstone when I was a child. I couldn't read it as the names or the two children are the same as my parents.
 
ooo and the alan garner article, i was so impressed by the authors enthusiasm i ordered the weirdstone of brisingham and the moon of Gomrath from foyles, and they have just turned up. :)

Aw! I'm very touched by that. Thankyou. Although I now feel the burden of responsibility, in case you don't like them... ;)
 
Back
Top