坚守夫人 2010-2-21 00:02
【50奧幣懸賞翻譯】士兵之子第三部《叛節魔法》的介紹
[align=left][align=left][b][font=Times][size=13.5pt][url=http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2008/01/renegades-magic-by-robin-hobb.html][color=#336688]"Renegade's Magic" by Robin Hobb[/color][/url] [/size][/font][/b][/align][/align][align=center][align=center][font=Times][size=12pt][url=http://bp0.blogger.com/_YhrLAYLQ8So/R300Rfv8pGI/AAAAAAAABuo/uPba2ZJpADY/s1600-h/Renegade%27s+Magic+US+cover.jpg][color=#336688][/color][/url][url=http://www.robinhobb.com/][color=#336688][font=Georgia]Official Robin Hobb Website[/font][/color][/url][/size][/font][/align][/align][align=center][align=center][font=Georgia][size=12pt]Order “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]” [/size][/font][font=Times][size=12pt][url=http://www.harpercollins.com/book/pre-order.aspx?isbn13=9780060757649][color=#336688][font=Georgia]HERE[/font][/color][/url][/size][/font][/align][/align][align=center][align=center][font=Georgia][size=12pt]Read [b]An Excerpt [/b][/size][/font][font=Times][size=12pt][url=http://www.robinhobb.com/renegadesample.html][color=#336688][font=Georgia]HERE[/font][/color][/url]
[/size][/font][font=Georgia][size=12pt]Read [b]Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist’s [/b][/size][/font][font=Times][size=12pt][url=http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2007/06/renegades-magic.html][color=#336688][font=Georgia]REVIEW[/font][/color][/url][/size][/font][font=Georgia][size=12pt] of “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]”[/size][/font][font=Times][size=12pt][/size][/font][/align][/align][align=center][align=center][font=Georgia][size=12pt]Read [b]Fantasy Book Critic’s[/b] [url=http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2008/01/interview-with-robin-hobb.html][color=#336688]INTERVIEW[/color][/url] with [b]Robin Hobb[/b][/size][/font][/align][/align][align=left][align=left][font=Times][size=12pt] [/size][/font][/align][/align][align=left][align=left][font=Georgia][size=12pt]Whenever I think about contemporary fantasy, writers [b]George R. R. Martin[/b], [b]Robert Jordan[/b] (RIP), [b]Terry Brooks[/b], [b]Steven Erikson[/b] and [b]Terry Goodkind[/b] immediately come to mind, but never far behind is novelist [b]Robin Hobb[/b]. For me, [b]Ms. Hobb[/b] offers a different kind of fantasy experience, not just from the authors that I mentioned above, but in each of the series that she has written—the [b]Farseer Trilogy[/b], the [b]Liveship Traders[/b], the [b]Tawny Man[/b]—and that trend continues in the [b]Soldier Son[/b] trilogy.
Compared to her other books, “[i]Shaman’s Crossing[/i]” and “[i]Forest Mage[/i]” seem to have gotten more of a negative response than usual. Part of the reason I believe is that these are the first [b]Robin Hobb[/b] books to take place in a world other than the [b]Realm of the Elderlings[/b] which was the setting for all of the author’s previous novels, and you know that readers are creatures of habit who would rather revisit an established universe than try something new. So immediately you have that going against the new series. I also think that the slowness of the plot has turned off some readers, but most of all, it’s the character. [b]Robin Hobb[/b] is known for putting her protagonists through hell and the [b]Soldier Son[/b] trilogy is no exception. In fact, [b]Nevare Burvelle[/b] probably suffers more than any of them, which is saying a lot considering everything that [b]FitzChivarly[/b] has gone through. The difference between the two is that [b]Nevare[/b] can be hard to like while [b]FitzChivarly[/b] is arguably one of fantasy literature’s most beloved heroes. And since the entire trilogy is told through [b]Nevare[/b] in a first-person perspective, I can understand why some readers might be having difficulties with the series. That said, [i]read[/i] “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]” before you judge the trilogy based on just “[i]Shaman’s Crossing[/i]” or “[i]Forest Mage[/i]”. Trust me, it’s worth the effort and I think you’ll look at the first two books in a whole new light. You see, in a recent interview I did with the author, [b]Ms. Hobb[/b] mentioned how she wrote the trilogy as a single manuscript broken into “three publishable pieces”. In other words, all three volumes of [b]Soldier Son[/b] is actually one very long story and everything that happens in “[i]Shaman’s Crossing[/i]” and “[i]Forest Mage[/i]” make perfect sense when you finish “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]”. Really, it’s quite brilliant…
It’s hard to talk about “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]” without discussing the other two books in the series, but I’ll try to be as spoiler-free as possible. Basically [b]Nevare[/b], our protagonist, has suffered tremendously. Not only has he lost the life that he was born to and has always dreamed of—as the second son of a nobleman, [b]Nevare[/b] was destined for a promising career as an officer in the [b]King’s Cavalla[/b], was already prearranged to marry, and would retire at his brother’s estate once he finished soldiering—but he has been tainted by the magic of his peoples’ enemies the [b]Specks[/b], which is using him against his fellow [b]Gernians[/b]. Even worse, [b]Nevare[/b] has suddenly become grossly overweight, has been disowned by his family and the cavalla, and exists as an outcast and a constant source of ridicule with no hope and no future. Things couldn’t possibly get worse, right? Wrong. In “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]”, [b]Nevare[/b] loses his actual body as the part of his soul that was captured by [b]Tree Woman[/b] and then claimed by the magic is now dominant and fully intent on destroying the [b]Gernians[/b] once and for all, including the very people that [b]Nevare[/b] loves. To make matters even worse, everyone that is important to [b]Nevare[/b] are also suffering terribly and apparently he owes [b]Orandula[/b]—the god of death and the god of balances—a life [i]or[/i] a death…
[url=http://bp3.blogger.com/_YhrLAYLQ8So/R3005Pv8pHI/AAAAAAAABuw/RiJK3HSnE6I/s1600-h/Renegade%27s+Magic.jpg][color=#336688][/color][/url]One of the criticisms that I’ve seen against the [b]Soldier Son[/b] trilogy was that there was too much exposition or ‘filler’ that could have been edited out. I disagree. [b]Ms. Hobb’s[/b] greatest strengths are probably her characterization and worldbuilding, and the intimacy with which she writes her characters and the setting are what makes the author’s books so special. For instance, the level of detail that [b]Robin[/b] goes to in describing the life of a soldier son and what is expected of them, are integral to the story in emphasizing just how much [b]Nevare[/b] has lost and why he’s struggling so hard against his ‘[i]Speck[/i]’ nature. Additionally, the time spent dwelling on [b]Nevare’s[/b] ‘fatness’ and the prejudice he endures from other [b]Gernians[/b] comes into play in “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]” when we get to learn firsthand about the [b]Speck[/b] culture and the reverence in which they hold their ‘[i]Great Ones’[/i]. Speaking of the [b]Specks[/b], this was one of the most enjoyable parts of the book for me, because the society that [b]Ms. Hobb[/b] has created is quite fascinating, especially the relationships between the [b]Great Ones[/b] and their feeders, the relationships between child and parent, the purpose of the [b]Ancestor Trees[/b], learning the origins of the [b]Peoples’[/b] ‘dappled’ skin, and the nature of the magic which is not an instrument to be used by others, but instead, uses the People as [i]its[/i] instrument.
I’ve also heard complaints about the story. I guess on the surface, not much actually happens between the beginning of “[i]Shaman’s Crossing[/i]” and the end of “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]”, at least if you compare the trilogy to the more convoluted plotting that can be found in the series by [b]GRRM[/b], [b]Robert Jordan[/b] or [b]Steven Erikson[/b], and in truth, [b]Ms. Hobb[/b] does spend a lot of time building her characters and the world, but there’s a lot more going on than you might think. You have to realize that while the larger scope of the story is dealing with the invasion of the [b]Gernians[/b] into sacred [b]Speck[/b] territory and the ‘magic’s’ quest to stop them, the [b]Soldier Son[/b] trilogy is really more about [b]Nevare’s [/b]personal journey of self, and in that regard you have to look a little bit deeper to discover all of the trilogy’s themes and subtext. Personally, I loved the conflicts that arose between [b]Nevare’s[/b] divided identity and the way that neither the [b]Specks[/b] nor the [b]Gernians[/b] were depicted as good or evil, but just different from one another, each with their own noble and immoral qualities. Plus, [b]Ms. Hobb[/b] has always done a wonderful job of taking her novels into unexpected directions and the [b]Soldier Son[/b] trilogy is no exception, although a couple of things happen in “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]” that readers might be disappointed in. First, is the solution that resolves the conflict between the [b]Gernians[/b] and the [b]Specks[/b] which seems unbelievably simple, but looking at it from [b]Nevare’s[/b] point-of-view I’m sure it wouldn’t be ;) Secondly, the ending is surprisingly uplifting, at least for a [b]Robin Hobb[/b] novel, but considering everything that [b]Nevare[/b] has gone through, I was happy for him and enjoyed the way the trilogy was concluded.
In the end, I admit that I had some of the same reservations that other readers had when starting the [b]Soldier Son[/b] trilogy, but the more I read, the better it got and “[i]Renegade’s Magic[/i]” just made it all worthwhile delivering an emotionally powerful and challenging novel that just reinforces [b]Robin Hobb’s[/b] status as one of the genre’s best writers and proving once again why she’s also one of my favorites :) In fact, when it comes to detailed characterization and elegant prose, I’m not sure I’ve read anyone who’s been as impressive except maybe [b]Jacqueline Carey[/b]. As far as how the series stacks up to [b]Ms. Hobb’s[/b] other books, the [b]Farseer[/b] and [b]Tawny Man[/b] trilogies remain my personal favorites mainly because of [b]FitzChivarly[/b], but I think a lot of readers aren’t giving [b]Soldier Son[/b] enough credit. It may not be as accessible as her other works, but I believe the trilogy is some of [b]Ms. Hobb’s[/b] best material, both creatively and writing-wise, and is a wonderful addition to an already fabulous collection…[/size][/font][font=Times][size=12pt][/size][/font][/align][/align][font=Times New Roman] [/font]
evenlong 2010-3-3 12:55
每次想到当代奇幻小说，马上就会想到乔治.R.R.马丁，罗伯特•乔丹（RIP），特里•布鲁克斯，斯蒂文•艾里克森，还有泰瑞‧古德坎这些作者。但长篇小说家罗萍•荷布也绝不太靠后。对我而言，罗萍小姐带给了我一种别样的奇幻体验。不仅仅来自上述那些作家，也来自她的每一系列的故事—先知系列（E注：我坚持认为这里的Seer与其它奇幻故事中一样，指的是先知。就像Mage是法师一样。难道要说玛吉么。远瞻啥啊…），活船商人，刺客后传三部曲—以及如今的士兵之子三部曲。
想必她的其它作品而言，人们对“萨满桥”和“森林法师”的反应似乎比以往更为抵触。我觉得部分原因是因为这个故事是罗萍在古灵世界之外展开的第一个故事，而先前所有的小说都是基于古灵世界之中的。你我都清楚读者是恋旧的生物，更愿意重温已经建立的世界而不愿尝试些新东西。因此你会立刻就排斥新系列。我也感到过于缓慢的故事情节也弄跑了一部分读者。但最主要的是角色问题。罗萍荷布喜欢让她的主角生不如死是出了名的，士兵之子当然也不会例外。事实上，Nevare Burvelle可能比其他人还要遭罪。这就是说，再多想想FitzChivarly遭过的那些罪。这两人之间的不同在于Nevare很难招人喜欢，而FitzChivarly则确实是奇幻文学史上最可爱的英雄之一。又因为这整个三部曲都是以Nevare的第一视角在讲述，我能理解为何有些读者难以接受这个系列。因而我会说，别仅仅以《萨满桥》和《森林法师》来衡量整个三部曲，先读一读《叛逆者的魔法》。要抛开另外两部单独讨论叛逆者的魔法并不容易，但我会尽量不掺杂进来。基本来说呢，Nevare，我们的主角同志，可真是遭了老罪了。这不仅仅因为他失去了他本来生来就应该成为并且他本人也一直梦想能够实现的那种人生—作为一个贵族的次子。本来人家注定要有一份很有前途的工作—成为王立騎兵學院的一名职员，并早已定下婚约，并并且一旦服完兵役就能退役回到他兄长的庄园；但他被他们民族的敌人—Specks的魔法污染了，他们利用他来对抗他的人民。更糟的是Nevare骤然变得极度肥胖，他的家庭和骑兵团都拒绝承认他。他被放逐，被当作嘲弄的对象，没有希望也没有未来。事情已经糟到家了，是不是？不是。还有更糟的。
-----------------------------稍等一下
打个插，后面是大段大段令我都不忍卒读的关于此人如何之不幸的赤果果的剧透描写....杜拉克你确定要公然贴出来？
evenlong 2010-3-3 16:59
在“叛逆者的魔法”中，Nevarede失去了他原本的实体，因为他的灵魂被树女捕获，并被魔法所占据。他的灵魂如今受人操控，满心想着永远消除Gernians（不晓得原有译名，反正是他们这群人），甚至包括那些他原本深爱的人。更更糟糕的是，所有对他而言极其重要的人也都遭了老罪，并且显然他自己也欠着Orandula本人—死亡与平衡之神—一条命，或者说一次死亡…
我曾见过对于士兵之子三部曲的一种批评是说书里那些本可删节掉的阐述叙述的太多，或者说“过满”。我不同意这一点。荷布女士最强的力量也许就在于塑造人物特性和构筑世界。而正是她对于人物和设定如此亲昵无间的描写使她的书如此独特。比如说，罗萍对于身为一个士兵之子所具有的这种生活以及他们的期望，对于强调Nevare失去之物的宝贵以及诠释为何书里他会如此执着的抗拒自己“SPECK”那一面的天性而言是必不可少的。此外，花在纠缠Nevare的“肥胖”问题以及他遭受的同胞们的歧视上的时间在故事进入“背叛者的魔法”时有了用武之地。这时我们了解了第一手关于Speck们的文化资料，以及他们对于“伟大者”们是如何的尊崇。谈到Speck们，这时我在这本书里最津津乐道的部分之一，荷布女士所展现的这个社会是如此迷人，特别是伟大者与哺育者们的关系，父母与后代的关系，先祖之树的目的，人们“斑点”皮肤的起源，以及魔法的本性：它并非任人使用的工具，相反，它能使用人作为自己的工具。
事实上，荷布女士是花费了很多时间来构筑她的人物和她的世界，但同时真正在进行的故事可能比你以为的要多的多；你要意识到整个故事的大框架其实是Gernian们在侵略Speck们的神圣领土，而“魔法”在寻群方法阻止他们。士兵之子三部曲讲的真的不仅仅是Nevare的自我探寻之旅。如果你觉得就是那样，那你需要更深入一些的发掘故事中所包含的那些主题，以及那些潜台词的深意。
个人而言，我热衷于Nevare个人独立的意识和实际形容Speck和Gernian的方式这两者之间的冲突。Speck和Gernian其实都没有被描绘成正义或邪恶的形象，他们仅仅是彼此不同，相互之间都有着自己高贵和非凡的品质。此外，荷布女士总是能精彩的将她的故事导入意料之外的方向，士兵之子三部曲自然也一样；尽管在“背叛者得魔法”中发生的一些事可能令读者有些失望。第一，解决Gernian和Speck之间冲突斗争的方法简单的出奇，但以Nevare的视角看来可能就不是这么回事了: ) 其次，结尾出人意料的突然很向上--至少对于罗萍 荷布的小说而言—但考虑到Nevare遭过的那些老罪，我替他感到高兴，个人也很欣赏这三部曲最后总结的方式。
最后，我要承认刚开始读士兵之子三部曲时，我也和其他读者一样对此有些保留意见，但我越往下看，故事就越开朗，“叛逆者的魔法”更是令人不枉此读。这本书为我们传达了一部情感强烈而颇为创新的长篇小说，并加固了罗萍 荷布作为此流派最棒的小说家之一的地位，也再次证明了她依然是我最喜欢的作者之一: )事实上，当它开始进行细腻的人物特性刻画，展开优美的散文叙述时，我几乎感到自己从未看过如此令人感动的东西--不算上杰奎琳凯里的书的话。与罗萍小姐的其他书相提并论的话，先知系列和刺客后传三部曲仍是我个人最喜欢的，这主要是因为FitzChivarly；但我也认为很多读者太低估士兵之子了。这三部曲或许不如她的其他书那样平易近人，但我相信它包含了荷布小姐的最棒的那些素材，不仅仅是它所包含的创造力和写作才智，更有奇妙之处为这已然绝妙的作品锦上添花...