The Triumph: tutti gli aggiornamenti

Salve a tutti.

Riserveremo questo thread alle notizie riguardanti The Triumph, racconto inedito di Robin Hobb ambientato durante la Prima Guerra Punica. Oltre a darvi conto in questo spazio di tutte le novità, dandovi la possibilità di commentarle, provvederemo a pubblicare le più significative nella sezione Diario e ad aggiornare di volta in volta l'apposita pagina informativa del nostro sito:

The Triumph

La storia avrà come protagonisti due soldati dell'esercito romano caduti nelle mani dei Cartaginesi e sarà contenuta nella raccolta Warriors, a cura di George R.R. Martin e Gardner Dozois. L'antologia sarà pubblicata dalla Tor Books nel mese di marzo del 2010 e includerà altri cinque racconti dalla penna di Robert Silverberg, Joe Haldeman, Cecilia Holland, David Morrell e Lawrence Block.

George R.R. Martin ha appena svelato un sacco di cose interessanti sulla raccolta Warriors, che abbiamo riportato per esteso nel Diario. Si conosce ora la data di pubblicazione esatta (16 marzo 2010) e la copertina dell'antologia:

Si ha inoltre l'elenco dei 21 racconti inediti compresi nella raccolta:

• "Stories from the Spinner Rack", di George R.R. Martin
  
• "The King of Norway", di Cecilia Holland
  
• "Forever Bound", di Joe Haldeman
  
• "The Triumph", di Robin Hobb
  
• "Clean Slate", di Lawrence Block
  
• "And Ministers of Grace", di Tad Williams
  
• "Soldierin", di Joe Lansdale
  
• "Dirae", di Peter S. Beagle
  
• "The Eagle and the Rabbit", di Steven Saylor
  
• "Seven Years from Home", di Naomi Novik
  
• "The Custom of the Army", di Diana Gabaldon
  
• "The Pit", di James Rollins
  
• "Out of the Dark", di David Weber
  
• "The Girls from Avenger", di Carrie Vaughn
  
• "Ancient Ways", di S.M. Stirling
  
• "Ninieslando", di Howard Waldrop
  
• "Recidivist", di Gardner Dozois
  
• "My Name is Legion", di David Morrell
  
• "Defenders of the Frontier", di Robert Silverberg
  
• "The Scroll", di David Ball
  
• "The Mystery Knight", di George R.R. Martin.
  

Warriors è già pre-ordinabile su Amazon.com al prezzo (scontato del 34%) di 18,47 $, cioé di 12,50 € circa.

Dalla primissima recensione dell'antologia Warriors (sul blog Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy) pare che The Triumph sia davvero molto bello:

"Brutal and bloody, The Triumph is a story of friendship, honor, and courage in an age in which warriors dreamed and lived for glory - to be remembered - and where mythical beasts roamed the land. The story, more than anything, highlights the timeless bond between warriors that is forged in the heat of battle, that endures unto, and even beyond, death. In a historical sense, Mr. Hobb highlights a worldview that is long extinct, and was perhaps even doomed to extinction from the start. Gruesome and bloody, Triumph is a story of a bond broken and friendship lost, but a memory sustained. Highly recommended and second only to Mr. Beagle's Dirae at this point."


Peccato per lo svarione (Mr. Hobb anziché Mrs.), ma l'autore dell'articolo si scusa debitamente nei commenti a seguire. ^__^

Uffa! quanto detesto i racconti contenuti in altre antologie! Mi rimarra per sempre la curiosità, come con Words like coins.

(30-01-2010, 21:53)Tintaglia Ha scritto:  Uffa! quanto detesto i racconti contenuti in altre antologie!

A meno di non vincere il nuovo contest di Pat, che mette appunto in palio 3 copie dell'antologia. Per partecipare basta inviare un'e-mail con oggetto "WARRIORS" a questo indirizzo; nel testo dell'e-mail bisogna semplicemente indicare il proprio indirizzo di posta tradizionale completo (quello a cui dovrebbe essere recapitato il premio) e, eventualmente, i forum di fantasy/fantascienza che siete soliti frequentare con i rispettivi nickname.

Il contest dovrebbe essere aperto anche a noi Europei, non essendo indicato altrimenti; purtroppo Pat ha disabilitato i commenti e non sono in grado di chiedere delucidazioni.

Comunque sia, tentar non nuoce!


PS: Naturalmente non è consentito inviare più e-mail per aumentare le proprie possibilità di vittoria.

Grazie, Mattuccia! ^^
Ho l'impressione che ormai disabiliti automaticamente i commenti quando è coinvolto Martin...
E non posso dire che abbia torto: mi è parso che per la pubblicazione di quel brano di Dunk ed Egg sia successo un finimondo.

Recensione dell'antologia, racconto per racconto, su Fantasy Book Critic. Finalmente apprendiamo qualcosa di più su The Triumph...

"One of my favorite authors, Robin Hobb’s talents—intimate characterization, elegant prose, convincing world-building—are on full display in “The Triumph”, a tale about the last days of the historical figure Marcus Atilius Regulus, a Roman general and consul who was said to have died during Carthaginian captivity in 250 BC. Even though historical fiction is not my cup of tea, I was fascinated by Regulus’ story, although I did appreciate the speculative elements added to the mix. A very strong offering by Ms. Hobb..."


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(01-03-2010, 18:45)Tintaglia Ha scritto:  Ho l'impressione che ormai disabiliti automaticamente i commenti quando è coinvolto Martin...
E non posso dire che abbia torto: mi è parso che per la pubblicazione di quel brano di Dunk ed Egg sia successo un finimondo.

Un vero e proprio finimondo, decisamente!

Dev'essere un bocconcino delizioso...

Ecco parte di una breve intervista a G.R.R. Martin e Gardner Dozois sull'antologia Warriors; ho omesso solo le domande specifiche sul racconto martiniano, che trovate comunque qui insieme a una recensione.


1. How did the Warriors anthology idea come together?

Gardner Dozois: It was George’s idea. We were sitting in the very crowded lobby in the main hotel at the Anaheim Worldcon, discussing the idea that we ought to edit an anthology together, and George said that one of the anthologies that he’d always wanted to do was an anthology of stories about warriors down through the ages. That sounded like a good idea to me, so we agreed that we’d work on it as a collaborative project, and, after hashing it out some more, that we’d like to do it as a cross-genre anthology, if we could find a publisher who would buy one. When we got home, we began working up dream lists of authors we’d like to get for the book—most of whom we got, as a matter of fact (we were in discussion with Tony Hillerman, a favorite of both of us, about doing a story for Warriors, and he had tentatively agreed, when he tragically died). The rest was just a lot of hard work, a LOT of emails exchanged, and a couple of years assembling the book and dealing with the sudden emergencies that are the lot of any editor. Nothing to it!


2. How is editing an anthology filled with the genre’s best writers different from your own execution as a writer? What do you get out of it?

Gardner Dozois: What I got out of it (other than the money, of course, and the opportunity to work closely with George, one of my oldest friends) was the chance to work with some of the sharpest minds and most talented authors working today. I got that when I used to edit ASIMOV'S too, of course, but in a way this was an even more broadening experience, since the cross-genre nature of the book meant that I had to deal with writers from a number of different fields, some of whose work I had previously been unfamiliar with, and which I got to familiarize myself with while working on the book.


[...]


5. From the editor's point of view, why should people buy Warriors?

Gardner Dozois: People should buy Warriors because they'll be getting a lot of good stories. A LOT of them. First and foremost, that's why. It's a big book, but it's a lot of reading value for your money—no matter what genre an author was working in (and some of them tried working in genres other than the ones they built their reputations in), we insisted that they tell an exciting and engrossing STORY above all else, and we got that from everybody involved. There's a strong emphasis on good storytelling, strong plots, strong characters, in the book—I don't think any of the stories are going to bore you, no matter what kind of story they are. Which is another value of the book: the very wide range of variety you get. There are science fiction stories here, fantasy stories, mystery stories, romances, westerns, and historical stories with settings ranging from ancient Carthage to the days of the Vikings to World War II. It gives you a chance to explore other genres you might not be familiar with, find authors whose work you like. And we deliberately mixed the Table of Contents, so that you don't get two similar kinds of story in a row; there's no science fiction section or fantasy section, it's all swirled together throughout. In the words of Forrest Gump, "You never know what you're going to get." That keeps it exciting, and fresh, and unexpected.

The Triumph è stato recensito anche su suvudu.com e in modo eccellente!

"The Triumph by Robin Hobb is a novella in the Warriors anthology, which will be published next week on March 16th. The short story has nothing to do with her previous work. It is a stand-alone work for all intents and purposes, which means it is accessible to those people who have not yet read her other entries in the genre.

It is also one of the most powerful entries in Warriors.

The novella is set in Carthage as Rome attempts to bring it under rule in the First Punic War. The tale follows two different points of view: Marcus Regulus, a historical consul for Rome who is intent on acquiring Carthage for the Empire, and Flavius, who has been dragged into various conflicts due to the battle lust of Marcus. The men are separated by station but both share the life that is serving Rome. As the reader discovers, it is a terrible life.

There is battle. There is bloodshed. There is loyalty. There is a dragon.

It is one helluva read.

In my opinion, out of the novellas in Warriors, it ranks up there with those delivered by Tad Williams and George R. R. Martin. It is an extremely well-written piece, poignant in its intent, touching at its end, the two main characters drawn together by circumstances neither can control but carrying a duty they cannot ignore. Robin weaves the two narratives together, separate yet one, even as she flashes back at events in her characters’ tumultuous lives.

Definitely keep The Triumph in mind for one of your first reads of Warriors.

You won’t regret it."


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Segue poi, sempre nella stessa pagina, una breve intervista a Robin:

1. Hi Robin! How were you approached to contribute to Warriors and what was it like working with George and Gardner?

Robin: I was contacted by email about the anthology. I’ve contributed to anthologies that George and Gardner have done before, as well as selling to Gardner as a magazine editor. As editors, they are easy to work with. Frequent reminders to ‘get that story in’ which is actually helpful for a procrastinator like me. And the editing is clean and clear and improves the story. No complaints here!


2. Some writers term themselves as only long-fiction writers, yet you’ve done a number of short stories over the years alongside your novels. What draws you to the short story medium? Is it invigorating to step away from your long-fiction?

Robin: Short stories are horribly hard for me. Horribly. I like to sprawl. In the ideal short story, every sentence either describes the setting advances the plot or tells you something about the character. A great sentence does all three. So, to do short fiction, I write something that is much too long, cut, cut, cut and then send in something that is still too long with an apology. I love the short story medium because it is like cutting a diamond to take the story idea and cut everything away until all you have is the shining heart. Invigorating? No. More like meticulous torture. But some stories demand to be told in that form. And if you want to tell them, you have to do the work.


3. The Triumph is one of the best novellas in the anthology, the story of Marcus and Flavius' friendship a powerful one. How did you come to choose Carthage as the setting when the rest of your work has a more general fantasy setting to it?

Robin: No choosing involved. That is where the actual historical incident took place. I fictionalized a great deal, of course. But the basic bones of the tale were all set out for me.

The story is based on a recorded incident in Roman history. Zonaras gives this account of it, based on the earlier work of Dio Cassius:

'Now while Regulus was encamped beside the Bagradas river, there appeared a serpent of huge bulk, the length of which is said to have been one hundred and twenty feet (for its slough was carried to Rome for exhibition), and the rest of its body corresponded in size. It destroyed many of the soldiers who approached it and some also who were drinking from the river. Regulus overcame it with a crowd of soldiers and with catapults.'

And there are other mentions of it in Roman chronicles.

Pretty cool, huh? Roman soldiers didn't make up tall tales. Too many witnesses. And the 'slough' or skin and the skull were displayed in the Roman Senate for years until destroyed by a fire.


4. How did you approach the research for the short story? Do you like research?

Robin: This was a story I'd encountered a long time ago. I took Latin in high school and we had to read and translate all sorts of Latin accounts for the classes. This tale is also mentioned in a really fun book, Dragons: A Natural History by Dr. Karl Shuker. I recommend the book to anyone interested in mentions of dragons through the ages. So I've had it in the back of my mind a long time, and it just took brushing up and re-reading the original sources and refreshing my Roman history.


5. What do you hope readers take away from reading The Triumph?

Robin: I hope they enjoy it as a good tale. I'll always long to know more about exactly what happened there, and what on earth those soldiers encountered.