Vancean influence on Wolfe

Andy Robertson · 20 May 2002, 18:46 · from urth-v0205.mbox · original

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From: "Andy Robertson" <andywrobertson at clara.co.uk>
Subject: Re: (urth) Vancean  influence on Wolfe
Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 19:46:25 +0100
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan'l Danehy-Oakes" <ddanehy at siebel.com>
To: <urth at urth.net>

> > In addition, I think it is important to isolate TDE from
> > the other Vancean "Dying Earth" novels: TDE has an
> > "earnest" quality, maybe something like sombre-mode Dunsany,
>
> Bingbingbingbingbing! I found myself thinking "Dunsanean" (or,
> occasionally, less flattering: "Bad imitation Dunsany") over
> and over again while going through TDE

Yes, but - TDE really is one of those original, once-of-a-kind, novels.   It
seems imitative now only because it has been imitated so often.

For example, there is the matter of Role Playing Games.

The entire treatment of magic in RPGs derives from THE DYING EARTH - the
basic idea that a magician may compress just so many spells into his mind,
and no more.   This was worked out in the original Dungeons & Dragons games
and its influence *since* then has spread everywhere, to fantasy films, to
horror, and of course back into writing.

RPGs are low, of course, but they can be fun  :-)

    hartshorn

--=20

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