Alzrius
The EN World kitten
I just finished reading a beat up first printing of Poul Anderson's 1961 novel Three Hearts and Three Lions.
I purchased this several years ago, as part of an effort to read more of D&D's famous Appendix N. What ended up happening is that I instead started reading more nonfiction about D&D in particular, and gaming in general, which somehow morphed into reading a more diverse array of nonfiction. It was only because I wanted a palate-cleanser that I picked this up and finally read it through.
Needless to say, my palate has indeed been cleansed. I strongly suspected I would like this, based on what I knew about it beforehand, and I'm pleased to say that my expectations were not only met but exceeded. This novel is a genuine classic, and even apart from its influence on D&D, it's a story which anyone with an appreciation for fantasy should take the time to read.
I've read stories whose prose has been uninspiring and workmanlike, and I've read those that have been grandiloquent and excessively florid; achieving a balance between those two is something that a lot of authors seem to have trouble with, and many seem to accomplish that only by developing a style that's unpretentious to the point of being easy but plain. Anderson, however, dodges all of those faults with ease, his writing being erudite while still being snappy to the point of deftness, making the novel engaging in the truest sense of the word.
In terms of the plot, the story is no less self-aware. While I suspect that everyone knows the basic premise of the tale, whereby Holger Carlsen (a Danish fellow who'd been educated in America before returning home to help with the resistance effort during World War II) is fighting Nazis, only to be injured in the battle and lose consciousness, awakening to find himself in another world. But the big twist...
...is in fact not only lampshaded early on, but directly confronted by the protagonist, who makes note of the various clues as they pile up and point toward the inevitable conclusion. This contrasts very well with Holger's continued use of scientific reasoning (due to his education and background) to confront several of the problems he faces (which lets him overcome them, rather than turning him into a Dana Scully-style serial disbeliever).
If I had any complaints about the book, it would be how the ending left me wanting more, since other than a short epilogue, the story comes to a rather abrupt ending once the climax is achieved, leaving me hungry for a greater resolution than it offered. Unfortunately, that's not to be, since the Wikipedia article for the book indicates that while Anderson made a few vague references to future events in a few of his later writings, there was no sequel or subsequent denouement (though there was apparently a short story to that effect written in tribute after Anderson's death, but the summary for it on that Wikipedia page struck me as somewhat unsatisfying).
That said, my takeaway from this is that I need to read more Anderson, stat. I've always preferred fantasy to science fiction, but while Anderson seems to have more of the latter than the former, I suspect I'd like almost anything written by him, at least if this book was indicative of his standard fare. I think I'll try and get ahold of a copy of Operation Chaos next.
I purchased this several years ago, as part of an effort to read more of D&D's famous Appendix N. What ended up happening is that I instead started reading more nonfiction about D&D in particular, and gaming in general, which somehow morphed into reading a more diverse array of nonfiction. It was only because I wanted a palate-cleanser that I picked this up and finally read it through.
Needless to say, my palate has indeed been cleansed. I strongly suspected I would like this, based on what I knew about it beforehand, and I'm pleased to say that my expectations were not only met but exceeded. This novel is a genuine classic, and even apart from its influence on D&D, it's a story which anyone with an appreciation for fantasy should take the time to read.
I've read stories whose prose has been uninspiring and workmanlike, and I've read those that have been grandiloquent and excessively florid; achieving a balance between those two is something that a lot of authors seem to have trouble with, and many seem to accomplish that only by developing a style that's unpretentious to the point of being easy but plain. Anderson, however, dodges all of those faults with ease, his writing being erudite while still being snappy to the point of deftness, making the novel engaging in the truest sense of the word.
In terms of the plot, the story is no less self-aware. While I suspect that everyone knows the basic premise of the tale, whereby Holger Carlsen (a Danish fellow who'd been educated in America before returning home to help with the resistance effort during World War II) is fighting Nazis, only to be injured in the battle and lose consciousness, awakening to find himself in another world. But the big twist...
...which is that this other world is in fact Holger's world of origin...
...is in fact not only lampshaded early on, but directly confronted by the protagonist, who makes note of the various clues as they pile up and point toward the inevitable conclusion. This contrasts very well with Holger's continued use of scientific reasoning (due to his education and background) to confront several of the problems he faces (which lets him overcome them, rather than turning him into a Dana Scully-style serial disbeliever).
If I had any complaints about the book, it would be how the ending left me wanting more, since other than a short epilogue, the story comes to a rather abrupt ending once the climax is achieved, leaving me hungry for a greater resolution than it offered. Unfortunately, that's not to be, since the Wikipedia article for the book indicates that while Anderson made a few vague references to future events in a few of his later writings, there was no sequel or subsequent denouement (though there was apparently a short story to that effect written in tribute after Anderson's death, but the summary for it on that Wikipedia page struck me as somewhat unsatisfying).
That said, my takeaway from this is that I need to read more Anderson, stat. I've always preferred fantasy to science fiction, but while Anderson seems to have more of the latter than the former, I suspect I'd like almost anything written by him, at least if this book was indicative of his standard fare. I think I'll try and get ahold of a copy of Operation Chaos next.
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