PIRATES, TROLLS & DRAGONS

PIRATE DAYS ALONG THE YANN

By Ken St. Andre
Front and back covers illustrated by Robin Stacey
Edited by David A. Ullery
Genre:Fiction, Fantasy,  18 pages
Provided by TrollGodfather Press

An Homage to Lord Dunsany IDLE DAYS ON THE YANN 1912 as well as J.M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy (Peter Pan).

"Join Captain James Hook and his jolly band of pirates as they sail down the mighty Yann river through Lord Dunsany's Dreamland toward a fateful encounter with the pleassue barge called Bird of the River."

When Lord Dunsany wrote, he created lush, beautiful sentences that were complex, layered, filled with archaic but apt phrasing.  There is a sound to it that lingers upon your mouth as you speak, lingers upon your lips for the beauty but it lingers even longer in your mind for the layers and exquisite composition. When he wrote of pirates or warriors, beasts or children, there was a connection to the human spirit that makes me just listen, and enjoy.  There is also something, even in his darkest works, called whimsy, and that is also a wonderful area of connection in JM Barrie's Peter and Wendy.  I wasn't big on Peter Pan growing up, but when I saw my son think he could fly, after a single reading, I understood it. As Ken St. Andre chose to create a work that reminds me of both writers, I might have been skeptical.  Why? Well he is a modern man, whereas Dunsany was not, and Ken writes about adventures in a world with Trolls and other dark sorts of beings. He roots for the outcast, he loves the rogue.

Slight Spoilers in the next paragraph

Then I saw exactly his angle of approach. Ken St. Andre is a romantic, roots for the underdog, and tells their stories, through adventure and prose. This work is short but has a great deal of fun, beauty and homage that has an extraordinary presentation.  Could this be a certain captain taking his crew from the river Yann to the Sea of Dreams as we are reading his adventures prior to Peter Pan? Is the Captain someone else, someone who lived closer to our time and adored whimsy (Lord Dunsany), and has changed his name and face to himself enjoy the time upon the Yann? Or, is the character a person from the present, who loves romantic tales, roots for the underdog, and his own sense of whimsy? That is right, though the author might wish for us to see Lord Dunsany in the Captain's chair, I think it is the author himself who we are seeing. Perhaps I am wrong.

I do know you can find this on Drivethrurpg.com but my computer is unable to visit that site at the moment, nor, for that matter, wikipedia or Facebook. I'm writing upon an ancient computer, and the browser doesn't work well. We live in an era where fiction and adventure is growing more and more expensive, but I'd suggest, it is a good idea to support the creative people you like, since the world is entering a period where few creatives can afford to continue, buying their work is one way to make certain you can keep getting more work from them. When Ken St. Andre sent me the Pirate Days Along the Yann I found the layers and intricacies found in the homage and Ken's straight forward story. That there was even more to consume, the voice of Dunsany ringing, the whimsy, and the possibility that Ken was the character of the captain, all made it a perfect storm.

Beyond this tale, I'd like to just suggest that Ken St. Andre, who refers to himself as a TrollGodfather is a creative person who has much to offer. A retired librarian, avid reader, game player, he is filled with information and ideas. His RPG game Tunnels & Trolls, the second true RPG that was ever created, is filled with whimsy. Few people who look in from the outside have a finger on the pulse of how prolific and fun a creator can be. I guess I am fortunate, I've known Ken online, at least, since about 2006.  Watching him share his life on Twitter and Instagram (when I was still on Instagram) is a fun, rewarding, even comforting experience. 

I interviewed Ken 5 or 6 years ago, and it was an excellent experience. I have mentioned my affection for his game Tunnels & Trolls. I never gamed with others using T&T, since the typical gamer prefers to stick to what they already know, or try things in different genres, rather than a new system in a genre they like.  I've spent time in my life where I had finished graduate work, or was alone for a week, and was tired of reading. T&T was able to be played as in solitaire and it was not wasting time, it was fun, and I was very much happy to do so, and to that additional extent, I am grateful for what he has created. 

FIND KEN ON TWITTER
THE INTERVIEW WITH KEN

DRAGONS IN THE CLOUDS
David Blair
Author Reputation Press, LLC;
1st edition (December 8, 2020)
Ebooks provided by the publisher for review

In a purposely Arthurian themed and fantasy toned work, the dragons of the age of magic are discovered or encountered. There are knights and steeds, medieval era settings, and dragons. While some are surely large and dangerous, others seem to be kind and benevolent.  There is considerable work to show how our beliefs or expectations are often false, and that the magic encountered with a dragon generally is from awe but ought to more be gratitude, for they are nearly unique in all of our dealings with creatures other than humans.  Humans seek to kill, usually, and the dragon hunt here is used to show how humans kill what they fear, or do not understand.  There are even considerations in how oracles and seers look into the future, as well as UFOs.  The plot involves a king's order to to slay all dragons, his seer's desire to save them, and a child who gets to know a dragon on a personal level.

This seems to be a work aimed towards young adults, but I didn't see any rating for audience intended. As such I have to assume it is meant for adults. If it is meant for adults it is a bit more simply written than most works found in the genre of fantasy, that I've read.  That could be an issue, as fantasy readers tend to be bright as well as literary conscious.  However I don't believe that a simple writing style is a bad thing. Some authors, perhaps those like me when writing prose will often use too many words, when fewer are needed and will have more impact. As a writer of Arthurian stories I was somewhat disappointed in the naming of the characters, if one is to enjoy the Merlinius and Arturus roots of Merlin and Arthur, Sir Jonathan and his lot seem out of place, but this is a minor flaw, if it is a flaw at all.

Overall this is a short, direct work, that tells a worthwhile story about dragons. I don't know that people who read complex fantasy and science fiction will linger long in the glow after reading, but it isn't an unpleasant read.  I'd suggest that 12 year old kid who likes knights and dragons in their reading, would especially enjoy this work. I appreciate having had the opportunity to read it.  For adults I think it would also help for the reader to have an affection for dragons, but it remains a good read, whatever the readers starting point or age.

DRAGONS IN FANTASY

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” G.K. Chesterton

Through written history, humans have seen dragons in the skies. Perhaps they are remnant species, a lingering line of dinosaurs, metaphors, or comets with great tails, the idea of the dragon is anything but alien to mankind.

In history from one of the earliest tales of human pseudo history, God King Gilgamesh searched for the secrets of eternal life, slaying dragons, and coming to grips with mortal life, coming to an end. In Beowulf (whose name in original language means the "bright wolf") there is the tale of how a kingdom is threatened, and a young prince comes to serve his king, and save a people. He journeys to a distant land to slay a beast who is the descendant of the first evil human, Cain, from the Bible, and his mother.  But, he is more than a warrior...  he is a hero of the highest order. In the end he rules over the people he saved, and is faced in the end by a dragon. His war with the descendant of Cain, Grendel and his mother, is an example of the sort of hero who travels across the sea to save a people who cannot do what he is destined to do.

Some great fantasy books tell stories of our ancient foes, allies and unknowable lords of the mountains and sky. Beyond their look and their domination of humanity, the reason the dragons are remembered and celebrated in fantasy, is one thing.  It is not their size.  It isn't the danger they pose.  It is the intelligence that marks their being.  And an intelligent opponent, who is nearly as large as than the castle you defend, is a mighty foe.  

“My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!” J.R.R. Tolkien

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