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Non-Gloranthan Media That Reminds You Of Glorantha


ZedAlpha

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I'm loving a lot of the suggestions here. I'd like to second the Epic of Gilgamesh. Portions of The Aeneid, especially Aeneas' trip to the underworld, definitely work as a Glorantha-esque hero's tale. I'd also like to pitch Kubo and the Two Strings as worthy for consideration. Elements of it really seem to illustrate the heroquest idea to me. (It's an awesome flick that my boys loved.)

 

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12 hours ago, Ali the Helering said:

Lovecraft was an enormous racist, as was Howard.  That doesn't mean that their settings aren't interesting, but it does mean that I wouldn't praise either without qualification.  They were 'men of their time', and prey to the heinous attitude of that time.  Others rose far above it.

The slaves need Conan to lead the rebellion, not being capable of successfully rising unless lead by a white man!  Some blacks are depicted as 'grunting like apes' and 'bestial', while Asians are described as 'weak-willed'.

It is also worth checking which Conan stories are written by Howard, and which by others, since not all the authors have the same prejudice.

Conan was the hero of the story, of course he led the rebellion.

if you are going to apply modern PC sensibilities to everything you read your book list will be very short.

I suggest a fictional character having open friendships with black people was a pretty progressive position for the times, especially in a pulp sword and sorcery story.

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2 hours ago, EricW said:

Conan was the hero of the story, of course he led the rebellion.

if you are going to apply modern PC sensibilities to everything you read your book list will be very short.

I suggest a fictional character having open friendships with black people was a pretty progressive position for the times, especially in a pulp sword and sorcery story.

You misunderstand me.  Conan is a repetitively written 2-D 'hero', and with that I have no difficulty.                                     To praise his creator is another matter entirely.  Calling him 'eloquent and literary' is (dare I use the term?) whitewashing.

I loved the Conan stories so much that I bought the Howard omnibus for Kindle.  After increasing levels of distaste I deleted it, because there are some things I cannot stomach for the purpose of entertainment.  As I commented in a different thread, the actions of Broo are better performed off-stage. 

Howard was a thorough racist, misogynist, homophobe, and rather poor writer.  Lovecraft was far more racist, but his purple prose is a treat.  But, then again, Your Real World May Vary. 

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8 hours ago, Beoferret said:

I'd like to second the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Missed that, but yes! If you can not be bothered to read the print version (why this would be is beyond me) the comic is quite good...by Jim Starlin 

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Edited by Bill the barbarian
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... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast!

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3 hours ago, Ali the Helering said:

I loved the Conan stories so much that I bought the Howard omnibus for Kindle.  After increasing levels of distaste I deleted it, because there are some things I cannot stomach for the purpose of entertainment.  As I commented in a different thread, the actions of Broo are better performed off-stage. 

 

A hard choice for a fan boy to make but I understand the reality of what you are saying. Hmm, maybe it is not so hard after all. Well Ali, you have a good moral compass so might be easy for you. And the last sentence is something I totally agree with, I use windows, shades and x-cards in my game. Especially with broo!

Edited by Bill the barbarian
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... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast!

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8 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

A hard choice for a fan boy to make but I understand the reality of what you are saying. Hmm, maybe it is not so hard after all. Well Ali, you have a good moral compass so might be easy for you. And the last sentence is something I totally agree with, I use windows, shades and x-cards in my game. Especially with broo!

Tindalos suggests that what I lack is a moral sextant.  Help.

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I realized today that a lot of Gene Wolfe’s fiction feels very Gloranthan. The Book of the New Sun is a sort of hero’s journey, with numerous episodes that could be described as Heroquests.

He also wrote the “Soldier in the Mist” books, which actually do take place in Ancient Greece, and feature gods and heroes. 

A few disclaimers in the spirit of earlier posts: Wolfe’s writing can be sexist at times. The way he writes female characters is... not always great. Also, his writing can be very obtuse, and you often have to read his books a few times to really get what’s going on. All that being said, I find his stories are very inspiring. 

 

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I almost forgot! Princess Mononoke has a number of aspects that feel very Gloranthan to me. Deer-riding warriors! Demonic/Chaos-taint! Massive godbeasts (e.g., the boar in the beginning)! But especially the depiction of the spirits in the ancient forest. It's strongly influenced how I imagine the spirit world. 

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46 minutes ago, Beoferret said:

I almost forgot! Princess Mononoke has a number of aspects that feel very Gloranthan to me. Deer-riding warriors! Demonic/Chaos-taint! Massive godbeasts (e.g., the boar in the beginning)! But especially the depiction of the spirits in the ancient forest. It's strongly influenced how I imagine the spirit world. 

Clearly it did for the people behind RQ:G too - the illustration on p.364 introducing the chapter "Spirits and the Spirit World" features some familiar looking characters. I spot a giant boar covered in warpaint, a human-faced stag with giant antlers, and several little potato-faced humanoids running about...

On the topic of animated movies, Tomm Moore/Cartoon Saloon's The Book of Kells, Song of the Sea, and the truly incredible Wolfwalkers have the perfect mythical tone, full of spirits and folklore presented absolutely beautifully. Wolfwalkers in particular strongly informs how I look at hsunchen. (It also made me bawl like a goddamn baby by the end - please, if you take one thing thing from anything I've ever posted, please watch Wolfwalkers!)

 

wolfrunners.jpg

Edited by Ladygolem
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Somehow I've only just recalled - Gods and Fighting Men, a book of Irish mythology, with very epic Heroes with amazing powers (which I presume were part of RQs inspiration... Mile-Long javelin throws, Salmon Leaps in the middle of battle).

Another, less flashy, would be The Mabinogion - early mythology/history of Briton (including the Welsh version of the court of King Arthur - sword and all).

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9 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

Another, less flashy, would be The Mabinogion - early mythology/history of Briton (including the Welsh version of the court of King Arthur - sword and all).

Good imagery in Evangeline Walton's retelling of the Mabinogion too, particularly the descent into the Underworld.

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Besides Walton's take on the Mabinogion, there is also Lloyd Alexander's Taran series for children.

Michael Scott Rohan's "The Anvil of Ice" trilogy provides an interesting mix of the Wayland Saga, ancient Finnish enemy deities and late Pleistocene. Some of the atmosphere there might fit right into Fronela or the late Storm Age.

 

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Telling how it is excessive verbis

 

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5 hours ago, Joerg said:

Besides Walton's take on the Mabinogion, there is also Lloyd Alexander's Taran series for children.

The Chronicles of Prydain are awesome. The Black Cauldron is such a cool artifact (both in the story and in actual myth.) The story of its destruction befits a Humakti hero.

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Just thought of this this morning: the young adult/juvenile fiction series "Gods and Warriors" by Michelle Paver. They take place in the eastern Mediterranean during a Bronze Age where people have access to magic and critter companions. A young person in my house liked them and even said that aspects of the story were like Glorantha. And I just noticed my local library also carries a book called Dragonfly Song, by Wendy Orr, that's about ancient Crete and bull leaping.

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For young juvenile fiction I would suggest “The Weirdstone of Brisingamen” by Alan Garner.  Two youths are chased across the countryside by what could effectively be trollkin, as one is unknowingly in possession of a powerful magical object.  The sequel, “The Moon of Gomrath”, is good also.  While the author does have other good books, such as Elidor or The Owl Service, the first two are solid kids adventure tales.  Colin getting stuck during the cave crawl haunts me to this day.

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2 hours ago, GMKen said:

“The Weirdstone of Brisingamen” by Alan Garner ... “The Moon of Gomrath”

These are two go-to tales for me filled with lots of underlying myth and ideas to draw upon. 

@Oracle not to read, but

Spoiler

The current plague of brollachan in my HQG campaign is derived from the second book.

 

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19 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

These are two go-to tales for me filled with lots of underlying myth and ideas to draw upon. 

@Oracle not to read, but

  Reveal hidden contents

The current plague of brollachan in my HQG campaign is derived from the second book.

 

I interpret this, that I should read these two books again (I really liked them, when I did it several years ago) for getting some hints regarding our current campaign ... 😉

Edited by Oracle
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