I may actually have liked the sadness as a child too, I was that sort of child. What strikes me about it now is how sad it is, which I’m not sure is how it struck me at first. Were there certain characters you attached to, themes you cared about, episodes that stayed with you?įELIX: Hard to say what my initial reaction was I’ve read it too often since then. How did you feel about it? It clearly left an impression.
So you read it as a very young child in its entirety. JOE: Would you say this is what started you down the dark road to becoming a fantasy novelist yourself? I read him some of the set-pieces where the Wart gets turned into a fish or a bird.
JOE: Did I see on Twitter that you were reading the book with one of your kids?įELIX: Not the unicorn thing! This is one of my favorite books, and it’s one of the books I’m most looking forward to pressing on my kids, but the oldest is only four. The thing with the unicorn is quite disturbing even for an adult reader. There is a radical shift in age-appropriateness between Book One and Book Two, for anyone who hasn’t read it. JOHANNAH: The whole book? Or just the first part?įELIX: The whole book, I think I recall being very disturbed by the (very disturbing) bits with the Orkneys. But Felix, what was your relationship with this book like?įELIX: I think I recall reading it in childhood, really small childhood and I re-read quite a lot. JOE: Only, in my youth, a dreadfully short attention span. I think I tried, several times, as a younger person, and never made it past the falconry bit.įELIX: What have you got against falconry? JOE: Cards on the table: this was my first time reading this book. JOHANNAH: Yes, thanks! I’m so excited to discuss this book with another fan. JOE: Thank you for taking some time for us, Felix. JOE: We are here! Around the Round Table. (The following conversation has been gently massaged for clarity.) White’s The Once and Future King inspired him to become a novelist, how to make sense of history in a book where one of the heroes lives backwards, and how children become fond of sadness. We spoke with Felix via Gchat about how T.H. What happens when you revisit the woefully misremembered fantasy and science fiction of your youth? Joe Howley (Latin teacher) and Johannah King-Slutzky (historical researcher) ask adults to re-read their genre favorites from childhood.įor the fifth installment in our series, we talked to bona fide adult Felix Gilman, the author of several fantasies, including The Half Made World, The Rise of Ransom City, and most recently The Revolutions.
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