Flash Fiction: Brothers in Arms

This was written for the 17 July Flash! Friday competition. The prompts for the week can be seen here, and included the photo below.

Brothers in Arms

Books were gathered in the town square. More were added as residents threw down volumes that fell with pages fluttering like dying moths in the flames. Everything had to burn. The choking smoke would wipe the slate clean. The pile grew; stories, poetry, history, science, the word of God. All had to be destroyed. From the ashes a new world would arise. A utopia. A world of peace. So they say.

Riot Police. CC2.0 photo by Thomas Hawk.

A man tried running away with a few volumes clutched in his arms. Guards tackled him and he fell, his head cracking on the flagstones. Books fell to be scooped up and thrown onto the still growing pile. The historian was dragged to his feet and guns with live ammunition pointed at him. He put his hands in the air and surrendered to the inevitable. He saw behind the guards a figure flitting through the shadows. Some volumes would be saved.

The caught man looked at each guard in turn. The face behind one of the rifles was his brother’s. His finger was on the trigger. Doing his job just like the others. Without question, without thought. Without knowing how many times this scene had played itself out through time.

He closed his eyes and waited for the bullet. He did not want to see who fired first.

Articles, Easter, and Campnanowrimo!

I’ve been taking a bit of a break during March, but I still had some articles and posts appearing (links below). I needed some time away from my normal routine and the bombardment of media you sometimes slip into.

Articles and links

I’ve had requests for some articles about Easter and the Easter holiday. In the more serious article about why Easter is celebrated, I tried to give a short and quite basic answer; as I intended it to be for readers who do not know why Easter is celebrated and just want to find out the basics. The last article is one I’ve already Tweeted about. The subject of classic literature is close to my heart, and I want to do a follow up article here on Hersenskim as well. Click on the titles to read the articles:

What is Easter and Why is it Celebrated?

Fun Things to Do This Easter Holiday

Seven Tips for Everyday Road Safety

Why Reading the Classics Shows Our Common Humanity

View image | gettyimages.com

More Writing! Campnanowrimo!

That said, there are more articles to come, as well as my post for the Writing Process Blog Tour, and I’ll be taking part in Campnanowrimo in April. While I won’t be tackling a novel in April, I will be continuing with some major worldbuilding and planning of the stories I want to write. I hope to start working on a proper draft of the first one in May and will then take part in Nanowrimo again in November (though I will have to wait and see how far I get before knowing what exactly I’ll be writing in November).

As this will be my first camp, I’m quite looking forward to it! (And I know my local coffee shop will be seeing a lot of me…)

From Pinterest

Worldbuilding Wednesday: Resources for Mythology and Folklore

(From the archives)

Although there are many sources for mythology and folklore online, I often prefer to make use of non-electronic books when I just want to browse or quickly need to look up a name. These are a few of my favourite collections.

The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology by Arthur Cotterell, Rachel Storm

This handy encyclopaedia contains six different sections: “The myths of Greece and Rome”, “The myths of the Celtic world”, “The myths of the Nordic lands”, “The myths of Egypt and West Asia”, “The myths of South and Central Asia”, and “The myths of East Asia”. Within these the gods, heroes, etc. are given in alphabetical order, which makes it very user-friendly. Lavishly illustrated (and using, among others, artwork by Alan Lee) it is also a delight to browse. It’s just a shame they used one of Alan Lee’s The Lord of the Rings artworks in the book, but I can look past that for the wealth of material it contains. 

On a side note, this book isn’t an exhaustive account of the mythologies. I would also have liked them to include a variety of mythologies from Africa itself, but unfortunately the Americas, Oceania, (most of) Africa, etc. are not covered in this book. Therefore, if you’re looking for these specific mythologies, this isn’t the book for you. In other aspects it is a handy one to have on the shelf.

Myths & Legends: An Illustrated Guide to their Origins and Meanings by Philip Wilkinson

This book is beautifully designed with gold accents throughout and covers most of the major mythologies quite well. Because of the way in which it is written it is a great book for those new to these mythologies. Rather than used to only look up names or specific objects, this book is meant for reading and browsing.

It is broadly divided into geographical areas – Europe, West and Central Asia, South and East Asia – and, behold – Africa, the Americas and Oceania (although the last three is really only touched upon).

Like The Ultimate Encyclopaedia above, this one also has pages in which recurring motifs (e.g. “abandoned children”, “earth deities”, “shamans”, etc.) across mythologies are shown.

The Golden Bough by James George Frazer

This classic work by Frazer is a dazzling mixture of culture, religion, mythology and folklore. First published between 1890 and 1915, this work is a must for any writer’s bookshelf (especially if you write speculative fiction), in my opinion. Although it is available for free online, I do prefer the Wordsworth edition when I’m just reading or browsing (or just don’t want to stare at a screen). This book is described as follows by Wordsworth Reference:

Remarkable for its vast assembly of facts and its charm of presentation ... it discusses fertility rites, human sacrifice, the dying god, the scapegoat and many other symbols and practices which have influenced a whole generation of 20^th century writers, including D.H. Lawrence, Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot.

Have you found these books useful? Or which other collections or books do you prefer? I would love to know!

Book Impressions: God's Philosophers

God’s Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science by James Hannam

God’s Philosophers is a superb book, with erudite discussions on the many misconceptions about the Middle Ages with regard to science and technology. Hannam shows that, rather than a few centuries where nothing much happened and the church suppressed all knowledge as heresy, the Middle Ages were a vibrant time during which much was learned and developed. The chapters range from “The Rise of Reason”, “Heresy and Reason” and “Magic and Medicine” to chapters concerning Roger Bacon, “The Merton Calculators” and “Galileo and the New Astronomy”.

God's Philosophers by J. Hannam

The volume follows a largely chronological order, which makes for an easy understanding of this dense text. Hannam further shows how religious and political views and interpersonal relationships contributed to scholarly pursuits or worked to the detriment thereof. The influence of the Renaissance, Enlightenment, etc. on the general view of the Middle Ages we still (largely) hold today is also tackled. This is what I enjoyed the most about Hannam’s work; he takes the time to show a multitude of different viewpoints, thoughts, and actions, instead of an overused caricature of an uncivilised, backward and ignorant time.

This book will be enjoyed by those interested in history in general, the Middle Ages, and the history of science.

Visit James Hannam's website for more information about this and his other books. 

Hannon, James (2009) God’s Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations ofModern Science. Icon Books.

I bought this book at a local bookstore, but it is also available at online retailers. 

Bloody Book Week - Lunchtime Readings

Last week the annual Bloody Book Week was held in South Africa. Lucky for me I could attend the lunchtime readings at the Exclusive Books close to work.

On Wednesday (6 August) Jacques Steenkamp read from his book TheGriekwastad Murders, while Mandy Wiener read from her and Barry Bateman’s upcoming book Behind the door: The Oscar & Reeva Story. Steenkamp’s book is also available in Afrikaans, and sentencing took place yesterday. Steenkamp, Wiener, and Bateman are respected South African journalists and their coverage of breaking news can be followed on their Twitter accounts (click on their names).

Jacques Steenkamp & Mandy Wiener

 

On Thursday (7 August), Deon Meyer read from Cobra, the English translation of his new novel. Kobra was nominated for an ATKV-Woordveertjie award (a prestigious Afrikaans award). Meyer’s books are extremely popular and have been translated from Afrikaans into a number of languages.   

With him was Dr David Klatzow, who spoke about his book Justice Denied - sure to be a fascinating read, and definitely on the list of books I want to read. Dr Klatzow is one of the few forensic investigators in South Africa, lectures at Wits University, and has played a part in a number of high profile cases.

Deon Meyer reading from Cobra

Deon Meyer and Dr David Klatzow

Deon Meyer & Dr David Klatzow

I hope I can attend more of the readings and panels next year!

Photos courtesy of Madré Mostert.*

* My blurry pics will never see the light of day. I really must remember to take a proper camera along next year.