David Eddings, inspired by William Faulkner
Starlog has reprinted a fascinating interview with late fantasy author David Eddings in its latest online edition. Eddings discusses his influences, his Cherokee background, and the fact that he doesn’t read within his own genre.
From the Starlog piece:
Considering the great success that Eddings enjoyed writing fantasy stories, one would have assumed that he was a big fantasy reader, but that wasn’t the case. “I don’t read in the field. I can’t,” he confessed. “I have an unconscious burglar living in my mind: If I read something, it’s mine. I can read Middle English stories, Geoffrey Chaucer or Sir Thomas Malory, but once I start moving in the direction of contemporary fantasy, my mind begins to take over.”
From Eddings’ obituary in Thursday’s Guardian:
Prolific and bestselling, Eddings was the author of more than 25 books, many of them written with his wife Leigh Eddings, who passed away in 2007. Best known for his Belgariad and Mallorean series, which follow the adventures of the orphaned farm boy Garion as he fulfils an ancient prophecy, Eddings turned to fantasy after he spotted a copy of The Lord of the Rings in a bookshop, and saw that it was in its 73rd printing.
Comments
I really enjoyed reading Eddings’ books, at least for a while. But it’s not like he needed to look at other fantasy books for inspiration. He wrote the exact same story over and over for 30 years. Lucky for him it was a fun story. RIP, David.
Comment by Chris Conaton from Houston, TX — June 11, 2009 @ 7:31 am
Whenever I see Eddings’ name, I remember the time I helped out backstage on an amateur version of Pride and Prejudice: The Musical. The woman playing Mary always carried a book around, a dark blue serious-looking hardback which was supposed to emphasise her grim bookishness. It was a copy of Polgara the Sorcerer with the paper cover removed.
Comment by Deanne Sole — June 11, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
Not Sorcerer, Sorceress. Her.
Comment by Deanne Sole — June 12, 2009 @ 3:26 pm