Paul Kearney, author of The Ten Thousand, has been interviewed at Speculative Horizons."With the themes and the various concerns that you deal with in The Ten Thousand – and those I’ve seen other fantasy authors deal with – it seems that fantasy is far more substantial than the “orcs, elves and wizards” portrayal of the genre in the mainstream media. As an author, does it bother you that fantasy generally gets looked down on?
[Paul:]It makes me spit with rage. I look at what passes for ‘literary’ fiction, getting all the space in newspaper reviews, on cultural review programmes, and the major prizes, and I feel like throwing something. What really galls me is when authors who are clearly writing science-fiction or fantasy, such as Margaret Atwood, refuse to admit that this is what they do, and come out with weaselly self-justifications to keep themselves from being contaminated by contact with the genre. The advent of the LOTR films has helped a little; all those Oscars were not awarded on a whim. But there is still an infuriating snobbery abroad. All the more irritating when you see the same people who scoff at fantasy delving into Harry Potter, and finding no hypocrisy in their outlook. Ah, I could go on, but now I have to get up and kick something…"
You tell 'em, lad.
Since he's taking over the world, here's another fantastic review at the Wertzone.
"A few months back I noted The Ten Thousand as being one of my hot tips for 2008. Reading a lengthy preview that the author sent me a while back reinforced this feeling, and now reading the complete novel has confirmed my initial guess. Probably the most underread author in epic fantasy has delivered his strongest novel to date."
We've also signed up for the rights of Paul's Monarchies of God series, which will be released in two omnibus editions. Full press release to follow, but for those who are demanding a little more kick in their epic, more will be coming soon...
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