The Lindsay Brothers

Month: February 2011

  • The Call of the Wild

    Extraordinary Adventure
    70

    Jack London’s Call of the Wild opens on a bucolic countryside with a protagonist who in many ways is much like myself. I mean, save for the fact that he’s a dog, there’s almost no difference. Yes friends, Buck is a Saint Bernard who’s been domesticated. He’s managed to scratch out for himself a pretty cushy life in California (I live elsewhere, but still). He’s well taken care of, a little soft around the edges, but when Buck gets sold to pay off a minor character’s gambling debt, the story takes off. You see Buck is so well taken care of that he has become physically quite impressive, again much like myself.

    Though admittedly, neither one of us could hold a candle to Krypto the Superdog.

    It is the Klondike Gold Rush and dogs that can be trained to pull the sleds are being bought and sold at a high premium. Buck is trained as a sled dog and eventually learns how to work and survive. There is a pretty vicious fight between Buck and the leader of the sled dogs and after a series of harrowing adventures quite a bond also develops between Buck and a wolf from one of the local wolf packs. It is probably no secret that Buck must constantly walk the line between domestication and the titular Call of the Wild and we, the readers, are ping-ponged back and forth between which path we think he might choose.

    No joke: The Klondike Gold Rush is the supposed source for the majority of Scrooge McDuck's fortune.

    Despite most of the time being cute, animal stories are the foundation of many famous careers. Brian Jacques, Felix Salten, and Walt Disney to name a few, but Jack London’s career is actually quite an adventure tale as well, though it is possible that much of it is puffed up to make him seem more adventurous than he really was.  Self-educated, London actually spent most of his time in a local tavern picking up odd jobs such as being an oyster pirate. He also participated in the famed Klondike gold rush in the Yukon where a lot of his most popular stories are set.

    Another one of his odd jobs was as a butler for the Munsters.

    The other strange thing about The Call of the Wild and Jack London specifically is that he was often accused of plagiarism. The creepy thing is that this was not the only time London was accused of such an act. He was also accused of plagiarizing The Story of Ab for his prehistoric novel Before Adam. Even more disturbing is the fact that London did not even bother to deny these charges. In fact, he boldly stated that another book My Dogs in the Northland was “inspiration” for The Call of the Wild. It however appears to be more than inspiration as many of the dogs names are the same or similar and some of the scenes and sequences match up. Even some of the phrasing is the same. It’s possible that number  seventy on our list should actually be My Dogs in the Northland by Edgerton Young instead of The Call of the Wild. That being said, London actually has the better book, so despite the fact that he kinda stole it. It remains where it is on our count down.

    In an ironic twist of fate Edgerton Young later admitted to stealing My Dogs in the Northland from this 1990s Cuba Gooding Jr. masterpiece.

    Note: Because its hero is a dog, The Call of the Wild is sometimes sold as a kiddy story or a young adult novel, but with its casual violence and vague allusions to the Joseph story from The Bible, Call of the Wild is actually quite grown up and a fine addition to any adventurer’s library.

    Next up … number 69.

  • The Tales of Alvin Maker

    Extraordinary Adventure
    71

    There are several good reasons and one major reason for including this series by Orson Scott Card on our list of the 100 Most Extraordinary Adventures.  That reason is that it turns my hometown into a magical fantasyland of adventure and mystery.

    This is probably not a big deal for those of you who grew up in major metropolitan areas like Chicago, New York, or Boise.  But I come from a small town in Indiana, and it is quite a strange thing to be reading an alternate history fantasy novel and suddenly have it veer into your back yard.

    Alvin Maker Seventh Son
    Gandalf was probably a little surprised to find himself in Indiana

    The Tales of Alvin Maker is a 6-volume set from a guy who is probably most famous for science fiction, but can write strong fantasy stuff when he has a mind to.  The books take place in the early 19th century, in the wilderness of America populated with pioneers, Indians, and of couse supernatural beings.

    Alvin is a young man tinged with such power, who interacts with some of history’s greater and lesser figures as the landscape shifts and changes around him.  America is in a time of transition.  Settlers are gradually moving West, bringing “civilization” with them as they go and driving out the natives.

    I had read the first book in the series and enjoyed it without being aware of its location.  It appeared to me as merely “someplace in the wilderness,” and thought nothing of the fact that young Alvin (merely a boy in the first book) has his powers weakened by the presence of water.  Covered bridges play a prominent role in the story, and for some reason I never drew the connection between that and the Covered Bridge Festival in southern Indiana that my family and I attended several times when I was a kid.

    Unbreakable
    Water was also Bruce Willis's kryptonite in Unbreakable

    The second book, Red Prophet, was what really hit me over the head.  In it, the Indian warrior Ta Kumseh and his brother The Prophet battle William Henry Harrison for the future of the Red Man.  Though Card plays very liberally with the history, this is essentially what my hometown is famous for.

    Battle of Tippecanoe
    Nothing says childhood like ugly, violent racism

    I went to William Henry Harrison High School.  Battle Ground was one of the elementary schools in my area, and the actual battle of Tippecanoe was fought only a few miles from my house.  Prophet’s Rock is a short distance away, and for many years one of the great tourist attractions was an outdoor amphitheater production of “Tecumseh.”  The French Fort Ouiatenon stood nearby, and every year we would go to the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon.

    Tecumseh
    For some reason, the most popular picture of the warrior Tecumseh is of a great dandy.

    I stumbled across this series much later in life, and to the best of my knowledge, Orson Scott Card is from North Carolina.  I had no idea when I completed Book 1 that an entire reimagining of my local history was in store for Book 2, but it was one of the most surreal and awesome reading experiences of my life.

    Red Prophet
    Even awesomer in comic book form

    The series stretches on for 6 books, and I admit that it sputters out a little towards the end, but there are some great ideas contained in it.  The magic is referred to as “knacks,” and the Indians, Blacks, and White Men all have different styles of powers.  It has been a long time since Book 6, The Crystal City, was published.  But since the number 7 is so powerful within the stories, it seems likely that we will eventually see a final novel concluding the series.

    Next up, #70…

  • Sinbad

    Extraordinary Adventure
    72

    The name Sinbad has so much intrigue surrounding it that the actual legend itself has become a bit nebulous. There are so many different versions that it is hard to pin down just exactly what the story actually is. As far as we can figure it is of Persian origin. This is not extremely helpful, however, because as of now, no Persian rendition of the story exists. Instead, The 7 Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor are recounted by a woman named Scheherazade in a collection called 1001 Arabian Nights.

    This random comedian (whose name escapes me) has been kind enough to have all seven voyages embroidered onto his shirt.

    The premise of Arabian Nights is that the king of Bagdad executes a new bride every night as sort of a tax on beauty. In modern times this would make the king a serial killer, but back then it was considered romantic I guess. Scheherazade, in order to postpone her inevitable death, begins to tell the king various different tales. She always stops these tales at critical points so that the king has to delay her execution another night if he desires to know the outcome. Arabian Nights is the source for both Ali Baba, and Aladdin, as well as the phrase “Open Sesame” and therefore also the source of Sesame Street.

    Also it inspired a dinner show in Orlando which has something to do with Unicorns. Nothing says adventure like cold salisbury steak!

    When Scheherazade got to the Sinbad part of her stories though, she must’ve become a tad confused because Sinbad’s seven voyages borrow heavily from other classic myths, especially Greek ones. For instance, consider that both Sinbad and Odysseus battle a Cyclops and they both eat a magical plant that relieves them of their senses. This may have caused screenwriter John Logan to set the hugely unpopular DreamWorks version in Greece instead of Arabia. Initially this caused Arab interest groups to cry foul because Sinbad was no longer depicted as an Arab. While I agree that it was a tad cowardly of DreamWorks to do this, Scheherazade clearly stole from Homer, so turnabout is fair play.

    In attempt to atone for stealing from the Greeks, all other versions of Sinbad are required to steal from somewhere else. Here the hindu goddess Kali shows up for some odd reason.

    Aside from the actual Arabian Nights version, there are several different versions of the Sinbad legend. Most of them are not bad. The aforementioned DreamWorks animated version with Brad Pitt is actually ok, but it is known for bringing about the end of 2D Animation at DreamWorks, so it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. There are quite a few scenes that actually come straight from Scheherazade such as the island that is actually a giant whale, and the battle against the Roc, a giant bird of prey.

    This aaaaalmost works

    Animator Ray Harryhausen also produced an extremely good version in the 1950s. It was his first color film and a huge popular success, with music by Bernard Hermann that many rank among the composer’s finest. The story doesn’t really match up with the Arabian version either, but it’s action barrels along at a breakneck pace. It even features an animated skeleton swordfight, which Harryhausen later stole from himself and used in Jason and the Argonauts. It also includes a scene near the end whereby a genie is freed from slavery to his lamp. This idea also cropped up in the 90s when another of Scheherazade’s stories from Arabian Nights was adapted. It’s further ahead in our countdown, so I’ll let you wait and see what I’m referring to, though most of you could probably guess it.

    No. It's not this.

    Because of its reliance and close scrapes, surprising reversals and the cyclical nature of its narrative the titular Seven Voyages, remain timeless story nuggets that many authors have flirted with through the years. There’s even an inscrutable parody of Sinbad stories written by none other than Edgar Allan Poe. You can find it here, if you dare.

    Next up … 71