Thursday 10 June, 2004
Schools of Magic
Today I got involved in a discussion (or an argument depending on your point of view) where couple of my colleagues were praising Harry Potter series of its original and unique idea of describing the world of wizardry through the eyes of a young boy who studies magic. They were quite shocked at my claim that J.K. Rowling was not the originator of this idea. Now don’t get me wrong: I truly enjoy Rowling’s books, but she certainly was not the first to describe how a young boy grows up to be a powerful wizard.
Here were the examples that I could remember off the top of my head.
The first book of the Earthsea saga, A Wizard of Earthsea, describes the apprenticeship of tremendously gifted young peasant boy Ged from the island of Gont. He first studies under the great mage Ogion, but is then sent to the island of Roke to learn from the masters of different disciplines. Of all the books I’ve read, this would have probably served as the strongest inspiration to Rowling, though I am only guessing here. But the great Archmage, and the masters of the different lores of magic do share some similarities to Hogwarts and its wonderful cast of characters.
Sidenote: There is a also a TV series on the works based on Earthsea, which I hope and pray will do some justice to the magnificence of the books.
The classic The Dark is Raising Sequence (Pimeä Nousee) had perhaps the most original apprenticeship of any young wizard: The Book of Gramarye which eleven-year Will Stanton only needs to read oonce in order to bestow all the knowledge of High Magic to him permanently in one sitting. Efficient.
My absolute favourite book of this ilk must be Satanic Mill (Mustan Myllyn Mestari). It tells how a young boy named Krabat is lured to serve under a sinister master of a mill and study black magic as well as the skills of a Miller. Though the magical powers taught by the master are great, there is a price to pay: Each New Year one of the boys studying under the master must die after digging his own grave. Of all the books that I’ve read it alone describes study of black magic and how normal boys would react to studying dark arts, and it also gives a fascinating glimpse to the historical setting when Europe was fighting a bitter war against Ottoman Turks.
The book is haunting, chilling, and touching masterpiece that has not gotten the recognition it so richly deserves.
Can any of our readers recall any more?
LATER: Edit. Damn typos.
Posted by Dragon at 10 June 22:38, 2004Just about anything by Diana Wynne Jones. Rowling pays lots of homage (ahem) to some of her books, for sure.
# 2 - Dragon (on June 11, 2004 12:37 PM):
Did a quick search on Jones. Her stuff looks really interesting. Thanks Antti.
# 3 - Moira (on June 14, 2004 12:14 PM):
Neil Gaiman's Books of Magic comic series. Not plagiarised by Rowling no matter what some rabid fans claim but does include a dark messy haired boy with glasses who learns of interesting heritage and a great potential for magic.
I like Diana Wynne Jones, too, and the first book (I think) of the Chrestomanci series has been published in Finnish as 'Noidan veli'. I loved that book when I was a kid. It was actually quite a shock to realise that it's part of a series. Haven't read the other books yet, though.
# 4 - Kolibri (on June 14, 2004 01:28 PM):
Oh, "Noidan veli" - I rememeber that too, and I loved it too. I remember reading it over and over... I wonder why they never translated other books?
# 5 - Chu (on June 15, 2004 10:22 AM):
Same here, Moira :). Another early favourite by Jones is Fire and Hemlock (Tuli ja myrkkykatko).
I also recommend Eva Ibbotson, whose comedy/parody approach kept me entertained as a child. Firm favourites of the time were Great Ghost Rescue (Pelastakaa kummitukset) and Which Witch? (Voi noita noitia).
Expect no Pratchett, as these are clearly children's books, but quite charming as such :).
# 6 - Moira (on June 15, 2004 10:51 AM):
Ah, Ibbotson, it's all coming back now... =) And as for 'Tuli ja myrkkykatko' I have this very vivid recollection of hating the local library for having lost the book (it was still in the files but not in the shelves). I did get to read it later but it hasn't stuck to my mind as well as 'Noidan veli'. 'Kyylän kyydissä' (Archer's Goon), also by DWJ, was alright, too. Good point, Kolibri, since they did translate several of DWJ's books why not more of the Chrestomanci series :-P
Miss Larkins opened her mouth, and quite a different voice came out. It was a man's voice, brisk and kindly. "You've taken a weight off my mind, lad," it said. It sounded pleased. "There'll be a big change coming up...
Read more on Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones as tracked on June 27, 2004 06:09 PM
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