Here's how things will work. I thought about doing a simple random drawing from among the entrants, but where's the fun in that? Instead, I'm going to select the winner based on creativity. Paul Cornell has called Enge's work "Conan as written by Raymond Chandler". The giveaway takes off from that.
What fantasy author/famous nonfantasy or literary author mashup would you like to see? (For this contest, William Shakespeare counts as a fantasy author.) Specifically, what famous fantasy character would you like to see written by another author?
Got that? Name a fantasy character you would like to see written by a nonfantasy or famous author and why. The "why" is essential if you want to win. I'm judging the entries on originality and creativity. Your reasoning is where your creativity can really shine.Place your answer in the comments. You can enter up to three times, but each character must be entered separately. Comments containing more than one entry will be disqualified. Entries will be judged on creativity. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m., CDT, Sunday, October 30. Winner will be announced later that week in a blog post and asked to send me a private email with a shipping address.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below. Good luck and have fun!
Update: More than one person who already has a copy of This Crooked Way has submitted an entry just for fun. That's great! The more, the merrier. Thanks, guys.
My first thought was Conan by Bernard Cornwell. He writes cracking historicals so he can bring the historical, heavy-hitting aspects back to the character's roots. Or if not Conan, Cormac Mac Art. From what I've read of the Sharpe books, Cornwell knows how to write a tough rogue.
ReplyDeleteHum, I'd like to see Karl Edward Wagner's Kane character get the Cormac McCarthy treatment. McCarthy showed in Blood Meridian that he can write fantastic visual, and bloody, prose, and in No Country for Old Men that he can create a sociopathic villain who is relentless but still has his own code. Combining these elements is what Wagner was doing with Kane, and McCarthy is even a better lyrical writer.
ReplyDeleteI've already got This Crooked Way, (It's great!) so I'll disqualify myself for the win, but the idea is too good to pass up. Paul and Charles both had great ideas and I'd like to see both of the writers they mentioned tackle the respective characters. I'll add Solomon Kane by Heath Lowrance because Lowrance's Western hero Hawthorne reminds me very much of SK and Lowrance has a good feel for horror, which I think is vital for a Solomon Kane story.
ReplyDeleteI also already own a copy of This Crooked Way, but I love this concept (and the suggestions so far) so...
ReplyDeleteI would love to see some of my favorite non-fantasy writers takes on the genre. Ernest Hemingway doing a Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser short or maybe even Hunter S. Thompson with Fear and Loathing in Minas Tirith. Perhaps I will have to write that last one.
"We were somewhere around Rivendell, on the edge of the Misty Mountains, when the halfling leaf began to take hold."
ReplyDeletehahah! :)
I think I would like to see Ripley be written by Tom Clancy. He has a good handle on all things military, and I would love to see that in a fantasy/science fiction environment.
ReplyDeleteI don't have This Crooked Way, but I really enjoyed James's stories in Black Gate. So, here's my entry:
ReplyDeleteShadows in Chaos: The Chronicles of Amber Expanded by Ken Follett
Follett is simply an awesome storyteller. His recent historical novels are gripping. I'd love to see a more complete story of Amber, because I adore the first person version so much and have long wondered what Corwin wasn't telling us.
I just now caught a major typo. The contest was supposed to have ended on Sunday, September 30. October 30 is not a Sunday. As sharp as you people are, I'm surprised no picked up on that.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in the interest of fairness, I'm going to extend the contest for 48 hours, to 11:59 p.m. CDT, Tuesday. That's Tuesday October 2. This way, on the off chance that someone was intending to enter and didn't because they thought they had more time, they can still get an entry in.
In the meantime, I'm going to try and get some of the egg off my face.
Whoa, I return from a few days overseas and find the deadline moved?
ReplyDeleteOh well, the best part of this contest is not winning, it is the idea of bending one's brain to think of a good what-if match up. So, even though I cannot win the book, here is my submission: David Eddings' "The Belgariad" written by Tom Wolfe. As for which character, I am going to say Belgarath the sorceror, but really any of the main characters would be good to use.
I always thought the Belgariad series had some great concepts and worldbuilding, but many of the main characters were not very relatable, which to me made it a less enjoyable read. And one thing Tom Wolfe does well is make each character in his books stand out clearly, whether one likes them or not.