Kenneth Morris (1) (1879–1937)

This book I found to be a little unapproachable only due to the Welsh names. Try as I might, I kept having to flip back to the pronunciation guides. Getting past that, this has become one of my favorite fantasy books. It de-centers violence and instead shows the hero using his wits and tenacity and skill to accomplish his tasks. I really like how Morris also subverted the "Chosen One" trope by having his memory wiped and found himself doing things without having any notion of why. It reminds show more me a lot of the same spirit I find in the Kalevala. show less

Kenneth Morris's stories have a considerable reputation, so I bought this.
I did not read most of it until going through rehabilitation after a hip replacement in late 2016- early 2017.
All the stories include very lush description, many of nature and others of fantastic cities. They are written from a obviously theosophical point of view (Morris was an active theosophist teacher in both Britain and the theosophist colony at Point Loma, California). He tends to read all non-Christian faiths show more as theosophical, including not only the Welsh druidism as recreated by Iolo Morganwd, but also, Chinese, Islamic. Norse and Greek. One tale takes one of my favorite Chinese stories (Peach Tree Inlet) and spoils it by making the protagonist much less agreeable than in the original, but most are better than that. "The Regents of the North" is one of the most beautiful expressions of what Lewis called "the Northern Thing" that I have ever read. it is about an old Norse pagan chief who exiles himself from the new Christian kingdom of Sweden (he wants to fight the Christian king, but the king refuses) finds shelter for a while wth the Lapps, and then rides out in a one-reindeer slay to the ultimate north.Pursued by wolves, he frees his reindeer and stays to hold off the wolves --but finds at the end he is not fighting alone, for the old gods are beside him. "The Temple of the Baby Apollo" is set in the similar transition from Greek paganism to Christianity, with ugly Christian mobs roaming around looking for pagan temples to sack and priests to slay. That did happen, as Christian writers attest, some with pious joy and some with horror. The shrine of the baby Apollo has one last beautiful young priestess, carrying on the rites for her aged father, and one worshiper, the shepherd Leonidas, who worships her rather than the god, and being rejected, sics the Christian mob on her --then repents and is sent off to save her father while the priestess faces the mob --but on their way, the Christians meet an adorable baby and are turned aside. Morris sees the child as Apollo, but I think some of the mob might be right in thinking it si the Christ child show less

An atmospheric Viking tale. I enjoyed it enough to look for other work by this author.

The long lost "sequel" to Fates is a classic. What a great writer, thanks Ursula for keeping him alive!