On the Verge of Lunacy

*Note: This was a term paper for a class. Since I don't know what grade the professor gave me (or of she even read the paper at all), I decided to post it here. The Enuma Elish is also called The Seven Tablets of Creation. It documents the Babylonian creation epic. It was recorded in seven clay tablets found at various locations including the infamous library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, discovered by Austen Henry Layard. The name of the hero of the epic varies depending on where the tablet is found. The most common version tells of Marduk as the hero. In other versions, the god of the city is considered the hero. Introduction The title of the epic is taken from its opening line “When in the height, heaven was not named...” The epic chronicles Marduk’s war against Tiamat. He leads the other gods against the old divinity who had turned against her children. Besides Marduk’s exploits, the epic also tells about the birth of the gods and goddesses and the creation of the universe....

*Note: This was a term paper for a class. Decided to post it here because I don't know what grade the professor gave me. Introduction Alamut is a novel by the Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol. It was published in 1938 and the author dedicated it to Benito Mussolini as a form of sarcasm. The book chronicles the story of Hassan-i Sabbah and the forces of the Ismaili sect at Alamut fortress from which the title of the book was taken. The story has helped popularize the Hashshashin or the assassins. Its maxim is “Nothing is true, everything is permitted.” The book is also considered the most popular Slovenian novel. It was also said to be an allegory of the Revolutionary Organization of the Julian March TIGR, an anti-fascist group, and the Italian repression of the Slovene minority in Italy. Vladimir Bartol Bartol grew up in a middle class Slovene minority in an Austro-Hungarian city. His mother was probably an influence to him because she was a teacher and editor. He was a c...

*Note: This was my term paper for a class. Decided to post it here because I have no idea what my grade was for this paper. Introduction Solaris is considered a philosophical science fiction novel by some readers because it explores the dilemmas following a contact with an alien life-form that does not conform to our idea of a sentient being. Some of its themes are ideas of identity and otherness, human memory and the reality of our experiences. Stanislaw Lem Stanislaw Lem was born in Ukraine and died in Poland. He grew up in a Jewish family to well-to-do parents. Later in life, he said he was a Roman Catholic but he became an agnostic and then an atheist at some point. His family survived the Nazi occupation through false documents. He worked as a welder and mechanic. He even helped the Polish resistance by stealing munitions for them. After his family moved to Krakow, he took up medicine but did not become a full-fledged doctor. He was controversial at one point in his ...

Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin found a new exciting project when a Garuda named Yagharek asked him to make him fly again. Isaac asked his friend Lemuel Pigeon to get word across the criminal underworld that he needed samples of species that can fly. It didn’t matter what it looked like. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Lin, a khepri, was commissioned by a Mr. Motley to make a sculpture of his likeness. Lin was terrified when she got a good look at her new patron. Isaac doesn’t know about it and Lin was ignorant of Isaac’s research. Isaac unknowingly unleashed a terror in the city unheard of before. His rush to recapture an escaped specimen unearthed the city’s dirty secrets including sentient beings from unlikely places. Set in the city of New Crobuzon, Perdido Street Station is the first of the three novels set in Bas-Lag. In Bas-Lag, thaumaturgy and steampunk technology exist side by side. It has blurred the lines of different genres including horror, fantasy and science fiction...

This second installment of the Kharkanas Trilogy explores the effects of Draconus’s gift to Mother Dark. In particular, it delves further into the emotional torture brought about by war, a war that began because of one man’s love. Kurald Galain is in the throes of a civil war. Anomander Rake leaves Kharkanas to seek for his brother Andarist who is still mourning the brutal murder of his betrothed. Silchas Ruin tries to shoulder the responsibility left by his older brothers by gathering the Houseblades of the noble families and recreate the Hust Legion. But will this be enough to stop Vatha Urusander’s Legion led by Hunn Raal? Rall wants Urusander to marry Mother Dark to depose Draconus. Moreover, those opposing Mother Dark’s power found an ally in the former high priestess Syntara who is forming the Cult of Light. Meanwhile, Hood gathers an army to fight Death. The Jaghut, Jheck, Dog-Runners, and Toblakai and those seeking for answers join Hood. Magic is also bleeding u...

Set in Li Heng, this first installment of the Path to Ascendancy series follows the story of Dorin Rav, an ambitious young assassin, who is stumped by an elusive young mage proving to be an annoyance. An earthquake in the Seti Plains exposed a cave and Dorin wanted to be the first to discover its secrets. To his dismay, he learned someone has been lurking about in the shadows. No one has ever beaten him yet until now. He watched for a time, waiting for the person to appear. When he finally got inside the cave he found that it was occupied by a talking corpse and a monkey-looking thing. To Dorin's surprise, the person he was following was just standing behind him. A young Dal Honese mage, Wu, who professed he was the one following Dorin. When they got out of the structure, the mage Wu suddenly disappeared. Since then, Dorin called the mage his rival and vowed he would find and eliminate him.  Li Heng is ruled by a mage known as Protectress who has a cabal of five. Li Heng...

Perhaps the most popular source for Greek and Roman mythology is Edith Hamilton's book. However, Hamilton had covered only the stories that are already popular and did not emphasize the different versions from various sources. EM Berens's Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome offers a wider variety of stories, is more organized and has a lot of material that are not included in Hamilton's. The book included the various myths of Greece and Rome and is organized according to the most important figures to the demi-gods and mortals. The first part is about the creation of the world according to Greeks. The last part is about the Trojan war and its aftermath. Those already familiar with most of the Greek and Roman myths will find a lot of new information in the book not cited in others. If, however, you wish to find analyses of myths, this volume can serve as a starting point for further research. I like this book more than the popular ones because of its...

The Golden Bough was first published in two volumes in 1890. It is a must-read for those interested in comparative mythology and the study of religion. Sir James George Frazer attempted to explain the succession of the priests of Diana in Nemi known as the King of the Wood. The succession is unusual for its violence. The priest who represented Virbius (or Hippolytus) must stand vigilant lest someone attack him and take his place. To understand this problem better, the author delved into the history of magic, examined ritual and mythology and cited various beliefs and practices from across the world that were similar in function. He first examined the principles of magic; tree worship; the different taboos particularly those taboos involving the nobles; religious ceremonies; the fertility cults, etc. The King of the Wood at Nemi was "probably regarded as an incarnation of a tree-spirit/spirit of vegetation and is endowed with the magical powers to make trees bear...

The Mistborn Vin released the power in the Well of Ascension even after the mist spirit that tried to help her and Sazed before had wounded Elend Venture so she would keep the power. The prophecies of the Hero of Ages claimed that a savior would one day find and then give up the power in the Well. Believing this to be the right thing, Vin released the power to save the world from the Deepness. But the prophecies were tampered with. A force named Ruin was trapped in the Well and in its desire to destroy the world it had altered the Terris prophecies so that the Hero will be tricked into releasing it. Elend was saved when Vin gave him a nugget of pure Allomancy which contained the power of Preservation, Ruin's opposite. It turned Elend into a Mistborn. Vin and Elend would have to find clues how to save the world from Ruin. The Lord Ruler had apparently prepared for such an event knowing he would one day be defeated. He had stored food and other supplies in various cities. Their ...

A year after the events in  Mistborn: The Final Empire , what remains of the Lord Ruler's empire is disintegrating. The people have not known any other ruler for centuries. It seems like the freedom from a tyrant is not something everyone wanted after all. Even after Elend Venture ascended to the throne, the Central Dominance is still in chaos. After hearing rumors about the Lord Ruler's stash of atium, two armies lay siege to the capital Luthadel.  One is led by Elend's father, Straff Venture, while the other is led by one of the many kings who declared themselves sovereign in the Western Dominance after the Lord Ruler's death. As if the situation isn't bad already, the Mistborn Vin and her friends are not yet aware that a third army is on its way. What's more, there are rumors that the mist has been attacking people. Vin has grown suspicious of the mists that she considered her ally. Even among her allies, Vin has to be observant too. It seems that ...

Emond's Field is a peaceful paradise far from the wars and conflicts of the rest of the world. That was until the trollocs and myrddraal attacked.  Rand al'Thor, Matrim Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, and Egwene al'Vere flee the village with strangers Aes Sedai Moiraine Damodred and Warder Al'Lan Mandragoran. The gleeman Thom Merrilin tagged along, and later, the reluctant village Wisdom Nynaeve al'Meara joined the group to watch over Egwene and the boys. The trollocs seemed to have attacked specific villagers only which is why Rand and his friends had to leave. The Aes Sedai Moiraine isn't clear about her plans for the villagers however, an issue which irritated Nynaeve. For now, their goal is to reach the safety of Tar Valon. Their journey isn't easy however. They were herded by pursuers to an abandoned city---only a prelude to more troubles ahead. The story is told primarily from Rand's point of view. Nagged by thoughts that he was adopted by the parents...

New Spring takes place years before the events in the first book of the Wheel of Time series. The story is about the young Moiraine Damodred and Siuan Sanche training to become aes sedai. They are caught up in trouble when Moiraine, Siuan and Amyrlin Tamra witnessed a foretelling by Gitara. She foretold that the dragon has been reborn. This dragon reborn is the prophesied champion of the light against the Dark One. To find the child, the Amyrlin ordered a record of all the babies born in the areas around Tar Valon and Dragonmount during the last days of the Aiel War. When Tamra and other aes sedai died mysteriously, Moiraine and Siuan undertook the task of finding the dragon reborn themselves. New Spring partly follows Lan Mandragoran's story as well . His carneira Lady Edeyn is trying to restore his name as the king of Malkier, but he later learns it will come at a cost. It's my first book from this series so I was expecting a lot from it. New Spring d...

Published in 1936, the book is divided into three parts. The first is about traditions wherein the author FitzRoy Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan discusses the differences and the validity of written accounts. There are accounts written at the time by persons present at the events they describe; accounts by eyewitnesses but not written down yet; archaeological evidences; accounts obtained from actors or spectators shortly after the event; and accounts obtained by questioning people what happened at the time before or those obtained at second or third hand. He then proceeds to cite examples in legends and myths such as Robin Hood, the Norse Sagas, King Arthur, Hengist and Horsa, Cuchulainn, and the Tale of Troy. The second part discusses what myths are about. According to Lord Raglan, most myths "are about gods, heroes, goddesses and heroines because they are accounts of the royal ritual... [r]itual religions aim to secure the well-being of the community by the due perf...

Full title: Sumerian Mythology A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the 3rd Millennium B.C. This book perhaps is the most comprehensive and well-organized study on Sumerian religion I have read so far. The author himself has done studies over the years of this previously unknown peoples. He also contributed in the identification, decipherment, translation and analysis of fragments of ancient literary works. The book first introduces the author's intended projectst. Then the book proceeds to list the researches that have been done so far about the Sumerians. This volume is mostly concerns mythology and is divided into different categories. The author provides summaries and analyses of the origin myths, the organization of the universe according to the Sumerians, the creation of man, the myths of Kur and others. The author's writing style is reader-friendly. Students and even casual readers will find this book helpful and entertaining. The reade...

Ringil Eskiath, Archeth Indamaninarmal, and Egar the Dragonbane are back in this final installment of A Land Fit for Heroes. Ringil leads an expedition to search for the remains of the Illwrack Changeling, a champion of the Aldrain. The search has been fruitless so far and the members of the expedition are growing restless. In anticipation of a fight, Ringil has to master the ikinri'ska, a skill that could make a difference later on. But Hjel hints that Ringil's attempt could be dangerous. Meanwhile, the other forces seem to be working their own schemes as well. The Dark Court offered Ringil help, the helmsmen seem to be hiding information, and the stakeholders in the expedition are uneasy. Maybe this time, Ringil's skills and wit might not be enough to get them through. While most of the book has been consistent in its action scenes and is full of surprises, there are a few changes that I have noticed. One is the tendency for characters to have telepathic ...

In this final installment of the Novels of the Malazan Empire series, Ian C. Esslemont explores the semi-mythical land of Assail. Rumors of abundant gold deposits has attracted adventurers and fortune-seekers. Some of these however are not seeking wealth but have come to Assail for something else. The natives, besieged by the newcomers, could do nothing else but band together and temporarily forget their blood feuds to protect the land. The land of Assail is mostly unexplored and there are plenty of tales to scare some who have heard whispers of Elder monsters from which the name of the land must have been taken. The story is told from different points of view. The second in command Shimmer took it upon herself to force the K'azz and the rest of the Crimson Guard to undertake the journey. The bard Fisher Kel Tath finds his steps leading him home. While Kyle carries a sword called Whiteblade which attracts trouble wherever he goes. Orman, son of Bregin, is one of the lo...

This compilation is composed of the three Books of the North; namely, The Black Company , Shadows Linger and The White Rose . The story is told from the point of view of Croaker, a member of a mercenary unit called the Black Company. The later books have other POV characters. The Black Company, at the beginning of the first book with the same title, is employed by the Syndic of Beryl. But the unit's survival becomes questionable as their employer seems to be on the losing battle against the rival factions of his city. That is when a Taken named Soulcatcher offers them a chance to serve the Lady. The Company acquires new members during its adventures with its new employers. One is a mysterious guy who calls himself Raven. This Raven later rescues a child named Darling. The books explain bit by bit the history of the world in which this series is set. The first few pages did seem confusing to me, but it was only because the author's style is something I haven...