Honestly, this blogging thing is hard. I don’t think I have thirty days of material in me. I don’t really feel like typing up what I originally had planned for the night. It’s been another long day and I really just need to relax. So tonight I’m going to offer a book recommendation instead. Actually, a series of books, and if you are in to fantasy then they might just be up your alley.
The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan is a trilogy (that actually started off as six books but was later turned into three) following the adventures of Royce and Hadrian, two misfits who, through a few mishaps, end up having to save the kingdom. I won’t go on too much because I don’t know how to write without giving away spoilers, but, what I can say is that one of my favourite parts are the deep legends that are twined into the very society. The church, for instance, worships the human who stood up and freed humanity from the elves tyrannical oppression.
What really makes the legend seem alive is another series written by the same author, Legends of the First Empire. It takes place nearly 3,000 years before the events in Riyria Revelations and shows us exactly how the legends actually occurred. For you see, 3,000 years is a long time, and stories told primarily by word of mouth have a tendency to be twisted slowly. You would be surprised what parts of the legends actually ring true.
On a side note, after reading this series, both the original and the far-flung prequels, I figured out what about the Star Wars universe annoys me. Nothing in time ever changes. No matter how early you go in the time line, things generally remain the same. Hell, even the earliest book in the timeline (although, not sure if it is still cannon or not…) barely has any difference at all. Jedi are instead called Je’daii, and they fight with staffs not lightsabers.
This supposedly takes place some 36,000 years before Episode 4. Surely after 36,000 years we would have more substantial changes then a slight spelling difference. In a sentence, the thing that bugs me about Star Wars is that no matter what time period you look at, it all feels the same.
(Don’t get me wrong, I love Star Wars. That doesn’t mean I can’t have a complaint or two though.)