Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold.
But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the earth under his sandled feet....
A Return to the Stars
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After a veeeeerrrryyyy long, and mostly unplanned, hiatus, Stuart and I got
together to play more Stargrave in recent days. It was good! It was also a
bit ...
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Posts
What makes this a favorite?
ReplyDeleteuh... did you read it???
ReplyDeleteYeah. Why?
ReplyDeleteIn general, I should note that I don't enjoy reading prose from that era/genre. Lovecraft makes me glaze over.
ReplyDeleteThis is a shame, since there were many cool things that I know are sadly encased in overlong sentences, trapped between unnecessary commas. Out of curiosity, I put the first sentence of that quote through the SMOG Reading Level Calculator. It came out at 87 words with a reading level of 'grade' 21 (about the same as IRS Code).
...but, really, my question was an honest one. What makes it a favorite quote? My prejudices preclude me from being able to know just by reading it.
ReplyDeleteAs the only man on earth that enjoys Edward Bulwer-Lytton novels, I approve.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much of the dumbing down of literature in this country can be attributed to that SMOG Reading Level system. Short and sweet does not mean mo' better.
ReplyDeleteClarity isn't equivalent to dumbing down. It is often far more difficult to write something clearly than it is to mind-dump onto a page.
ReplyDeleteThere are, of course, times when complicated grammar and sentence structure can be used to tremendous effect, but it is difficult to do well. This particularly style - which tends to use a lot of descriptive lists - doesn't work for me.
For what it is worth, I'd never actually heard of the SMOG reading level before today, but I knew about similar things and I was curious how they would measure this stuff... so I turned to Google, and Google provided.
For me it paints a wonderful picture of adventure. Everything that I would want in a perfect gaming experience. the words transport me from my living room or the breakroom at work to a world I'll never see in person, but one I can visit anytime I read a story by REH.
ReplyDeleteI never stopped to count commas, I was too interested in reading the story.
That's cool. I'm glad you get that from it. I wish I did, too.
ReplyDeleteMostly, I think, it's the meter, and to a lesser extent, alliteration.
ReplyDeleteLike HPL's Dunsanian early works or (IMO) Lord of the Rings, it might look pretty turgid on the page, but it works best if read aloud in a slow, clear voice.
BTW, thanks, szilard, for the SMOG link. It's just a pity it only does a maximum of 2000 words!
One of your favorites too, huh, Jeff?
ReplyDeleteRather than comment here, I'll offer my take on this quote in another blog entry.
ReplyDeleteAlways makes me smile, too, Jeff.
ReplyDeleteResonates so much with the magic of the age I was when these words first evoked their magic within, I'd say it's one of my favorite quotes also (now that you've so kindly quoted it for us all). As a style of writing, it demands of the reader immersion.
ReplyDelete