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reenkaOkay, so I'm reading the third book in Alison Croggon's Pellinor series ('The Crow') and the whole drawn-out blah-blah battle-against-Light-and-Dark (which are really 'aspects of the human heart', of course) thing is getting to me. -.- As in, as much as I like the books, I'm seriously having to struggle to read about 'true evil' of a certain sort in a text I try to take somewhat seriously (unlike say, HP, which I'm sorry to tell you but I don't take seriously at all, in a philosophical sense, and don't know why anyone would bother... but that's neither here nor there).
Anyway, um, the 'type' of evil/dark-bad-wrongness I mean is when it's not just rage/perverted envy/narcissism/pure lust for power but that most confusing of all evils, the lust for pure 'deathless' power and the use of that urge to actually destroy rather than just control the populace. Or (speaking of rampant brainwashing), where 'control' really means 'rot their mind entirely' o_0. I mean, I understand if you, big Evil Bad Dude, do not see your minions as really human or worthy of concern; fine. But. Have not these evil dudes heard of a little thing called sustainability? Considering they plan to, well, live forever and all.
I think I snapped just now when The Big Evil Guy was mutating crows (marking them as Evil!Crows) by making them maddened disease-spreading berserkers who attacked everything in sight. But that's not bad enough, because they've also got these... uh, little second crow-heads growing out of their necks (now that's -really- evil! omg, genetic engineering magicians, what's next!)
I mean, y'know... lust for power is bad enough when it's 'realistic' enough to aspire to some sort of stable yet permanent control (which may go wrong for various reasons, mostly 'cause tyrants understimate/misunderstand their minions/subjects & also because they're not that smart in general). But there's a difference between 'not that smart' (that is, making stupid mistakes as part of your lust for power/control that cost people's lives) and 'utterly destructive of everything civilization has built and repressive of all human functions' (rather than just, y'know, controlling the useful ones and keeping people happy enough not to revolt). And why is that Big Evil Dudes have to consistently fall into the second category?? This, I don't understand.
The truth is, maybe I just don't -get- "evil". -.- In my estimation, 'evil' is making people think they're doing good whereas really they're not (ie, you make 'em fat and happy and keep 'em dancing to your tune). Complacent people are much more harmless than utterly subjugated people, and any tyrant who thinks otherwise isn't evil, just dumb. So why am I consistently asked to believe that these Big Evil Dudes are omg-the-worst-ever 'cause they actually don't care about sustainability-- of everything EXCEPT their own lives, which they are always inevitably obsessed with making eternal. And of course if you're a useful, powerful magician and choose to willingly convert to the Dark Side, the only really big plus is (guess what, boys and girls??!)-- yeah-- you get eternal life too. And YEAY! 'Cause clearly that's what everyone secretly wants & moreover thinks of as the true definition of ULTIMATE POWAH. (Except... not.)
Suuure, people tend to be afraid of death (duh) and narcissistic and/or sadistic control freaks probably even moreso. But. Uh. This supposedly inevitable link between wanting to live forever (a staple in, y'know, most religions) and, uh... the drive towards Ultimate Dominion Upon All Living Things (tm)-- I don't see it. If anything, you'd think these would be at least somewhat portrayed as being religious zealots, but of course these Big Evil Dudes see no higher authority than themselves, so basically they want to be gods. Except. They inevitably want to preside, godlike, upon utter desolation and ruin. So they love their own life (and you'd imagine) comfort so much, but the state of the world? Has no bearing on their comfort level, clearly, so polluting the rivers and ruining the souls/lives/homes of women, children and animals is merely... what? To be expected. Why?? WHO KNOWS, REALLY. -.-;
This is made all the more utterly confusing by the repeated refrain that we all have Light and Dark within us.
Uh, yeeaaaah, I see where we all have rage/envy/greed/fear inside us, and how the road to hell is paved with good intentions (so we can think 'this is love' but really be acting out in violence and hate-- it can happen!), but no, I myself don't feel like mutating crows to inflict maximum damage on people's delicate sensibilities today, WHY DO YOU ASK? *facepalm*
~~
Also: and I say this as someone who -enjoys- Tolkienesque high fantasy for the adventure & the world-building & the magic-- why oh -why- is it always, always about The Ultimate Battle Between Good And Evil?? Aren't there other things to like... capture one's interest? Or something? ^^;;;
And okay, if it has to be about Good and Evil and That Other Thing No One Talks About (whatever that might be), whyyyyyyy is it that writing about it has to be so... inevitably ponderous and preachy, preachy, PREACHY (and often tell-not-showy). It's like, the same talent that makes a writer go into near-painful (yet inventive) world-building detail about all the little intricacies of magic systems and foreign cities makes that writer spell out everything else in the characters, as well, down to the tiniest little Lesson Learned While In Trying Times. *facepalm* The ONLY current popular high fantasy writer who doesn't do this is GRR Martin, and while his Fire & Ice books aren't (conventionally) preachy, the trade-off is that basically EVERYONE DIES (and I guess that's the moral). -.-;;
Just as I admire all the inventiveness and richness of the world and go 'ooh, neato!', I constantly go, 'yes THANK YOU FOR BELABORING THE OBVIOUS YET AGAIN, YEAH, I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT'. -.-; There is no winning, as I always say.
People (who don't like stylistic writing as much) may wonder why my favorite traditional fantasy writer is someone like Patricia McKillip, and at least -some- of it is that when everything is oblique and pretty and symbolic, there's no room to be in your face evangelical, like 99.9% of the epic fantasy I've read is. >:O Maybe it's something to do with the cheer chutzpah of writing multi-volume epics to start with; to go that far, maybe you just have to feel you have all these Big Important Points to make about your pretty little world, and you BETTER MAKE SURE everyone gets it, right? Nochild reader left behind! -.- That said... uh, I'm not really as rageful as I sound, it's just annoying 'cause it accumulates and because I -want- to enjoy my nice world-building & adventure in PEACE without the prissy voice-over, thanks.... bleh.
Anyway, um, the 'type' of evil/dark-bad-wrongness I mean is when it's not just rage/perverted envy/narcissism/pure lust for power but that most confusing of all evils, the lust for pure 'deathless' power and the use of that urge to actually destroy rather than just control the populace. Or (speaking of rampant brainwashing), where 'control' really means 'rot their mind entirely' o_0. I mean, I understand if you, big Evil Bad Dude, do not see your minions as really human or worthy of concern; fine. But. Have not these evil dudes heard of a little thing called sustainability? Considering they plan to, well, live forever and all.
I think I snapped just now when The Big Evil Guy was mutating crows (marking them as Evil!Crows) by making them maddened disease-spreading berserkers who attacked everything in sight. But that's not bad enough, because they've also got these... uh, little second crow-heads growing out of their necks (now that's -really- evil! omg, genetic engineering magicians, what's next!)
I mean, y'know... lust for power is bad enough when it's 'realistic' enough to aspire to some sort of stable yet permanent control (which may go wrong for various reasons, mostly 'cause tyrants understimate/misunderstand their minions/subjects & also because they're not that smart in general). But there's a difference between 'not that smart' (that is, making stupid mistakes as part of your lust for power/control that cost people's lives) and 'utterly destructive of everything civilization has built and repressive of all human functions' (rather than just, y'know, controlling the useful ones and keeping people happy enough not to revolt). And why is that Big Evil Dudes have to consistently fall into the second category?? This, I don't understand.
The truth is, maybe I just don't -get- "evil". -.- In my estimation, 'evil' is making people think they're doing good whereas really they're not (ie, you make 'em fat and happy and keep 'em dancing to your tune). Complacent people are much more harmless than utterly subjugated people, and any tyrant who thinks otherwise isn't evil, just dumb. So why am I consistently asked to believe that these Big Evil Dudes are omg-the-worst-ever 'cause they actually don't care about sustainability-- of everything EXCEPT their own lives, which they are always inevitably obsessed with making eternal. And of course if you're a useful, powerful magician and choose to willingly convert to the Dark Side, the only really big plus is (guess what, boys and girls??!)-- yeah-- you get eternal life too. And YEAY! 'Cause clearly that's what everyone secretly wants & moreover thinks of as the true definition of ULTIMATE POWAH. (Except... not.)
Suuure, people tend to be afraid of death (duh) and narcissistic and/or sadistic control freaks probably even moreso. But. Uh. This supposedly inevitable link between wanting to live forever (a staple in, y'know, most religions) and, uh... the drive towards Ultimate Dominion Upon All Living Things (tm)-- I don't see it. If anything, you'd think these would be at least somewhat portrayed as being religious zealots, but of course these Big Evil Dudes see no higher authority than themselves, so basically they want to be gods. Except. They inevitably want to preside, godlike, upon utter desolation and ruin. So they love their own life (and you'd imagine) comfort so much, but the state of the world? Has no bearing on their comfort level, clearly, so polluting the rivers and ruining the souls/lives/homes of women, children and animals is merely... what? To be expected. Why?? WHO KNOWS, REALLY. -.-;
This is made all the more utterly confusing by the repeated refrain that we all have Light and Dark within us.
Uh, yeeaaaah, I see where we all have rage/envy/greed/fear inside us, and how the road to hell is paved with good intentions (so we can think 'this is love' but really be acting out in violence and hate-- it can happen!), but no, I myself don't feel like mutating crows to inflict maximum damage on people's delicate sensibilities today, WHY DO YOU ASK? *facepalm*
~~
Also: and I say this as someone who -enjoys- Tolkienesque high fantasy for the adventure & the world-building & the magic-- why oh -why- is it always, always about The Ultimate Battle Between Good And Evil?? Aren't there other things to like... capture one's interest? Or something? ^^;;;
And okay, if it has to be about Good and Evil and That Other Thing No One Talks About (whatever that might be), whyyyyyyy is it that writing about it has to be so... inevitably ponderous and preachy, preachy, PREACHY (and often tell-not-showy). It's like, the same talent that makes a writer go into near-painful (yet inventive) world-building detail about all the little intricacies of magic systems and foreign cities makes that writer spell out everything else in the characters, as well, down to the tiniest little Lesson Learned While In Trying Times. *facepalm* The ONLY current popular high fantasy writer who doesn't do this is GRR Martin, and while his Fire & Ice books aren't (conventionally) preachy, the trade-off is that basically EVERYONE DIES (and I guess that's the moral). -.-;;
Just as I admire all the inventiveness and richness of the world and go 'ooh, neato!', I constantly go, 'yes THANK YOU FOR BELABORING THE OBVIOUS YET AGAIN, YEAH, I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT'. -.-; There is no winning, as I always say.
People (who don't like stylistic writing as much) may wonder why my favorite traditional fantasy writer is someone like Patricia McKillip, and at least -some- of it is that when everything is oblique and pretty and symbolic, there's no room to be in your face evangelical, like 99.9% of the epic fantasy I've read is. >:O Maybe it's something to do with the cheer chutzpah of writing multi-volume epics to start with; to go that far, maybe you just have to feel you have all these Big Important Points to make about your pretty little world, and you BETTER MAKE SURE everyone gets it, right? No
