Fallowblade
Page 52
And if you’re going insane, you’ll go insane.
Now you’ve lost your mind.’
Lyrics from a song by Courtney Egan.
Inspirations from the classics:
(i) ‘The horde drew together . . . and recoiled from their forward line.’
(ii) ‘Have mercy on me, proud sir . . . All the more shame to those who let you live so long.’
Inspired by passages in Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe.
The goblin king: The concept of the goblin king was probably inspired by Jim Henson’s marvellous movie, The Labyrinth, which will always be one of my favourites.
Again, Tanith Lee’s ‘Flat Earth’ series also influenced the creation of Zaravaz.
Names of goblin dishes: ‘As if to Celebrate, I Discovered a Mountain Blooming with Red Flowers’ is the title of a 1981 sculpture by Anish Kapoor.
‘Here is a Lush Situation’ was inspired by the title of a 1958 painting by Richard Hamilton, ‘Hers is a Lush Situation’.
‘The Passion for Pepper Burns Like a Flame of Love’ is adapted from a comment by Joseph Conrad.
Goblin philosophy:
a) Sections of Zaravaz’s declaration are inspired by an article by Ingrid E Newkirk, founder of PETA. Animal Times, Summer 2003, p. 2.
b) ‘More troubling is the implication that our respect for other species should be measured in proportion to how amazingly humanlike their abilities are.’ This statement, made by Drew Rendall and John Vokey of University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, inspired some of the goblin philosophy. New Scientist magazine 2457, 24 July 2004, pp. 28–29.
Avalloc’s letter to Asrăthiel in Chapter 7: This was partly inspired by journalists’ reports of the euphoria that broke out in Tasmania in 2006, at the news that two gold miners trapped by a rock fall were still alive.
Mining: Some of the knocker guilds are named after silver miners’ guilds at Cesky Krumlov.
Verse:
‘My arms reached upward. I was not to blame.
For all my heart seemed hungering to feel
The strange delight that made my senses reel.
It seemed so strange that pleasure should be pain,
And yet I fain would suffer once again.’
This is an extract from ‘The Merry Little Maid and Wicked Little Monk’. It is very old and catalogued as ‘An anonymous poem’.
Ronin’s advice: ‘To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage.’ Confucius, 551–479 BC.
‘A good leader inspires others with confidence in him, a great leader inspired them with confidence in themselves.’ Unknown.
Animal Experiments: Many scientists now acknowledge that testing on animals is futile, because their physiology differs radically from ours. It is also profoundly cruel and inhumane. You can read more about it on the Internet at http://www.members.optushome.com.au/neptune3/animals3.html but be warned, it is distressing material. Fortunately the MAWA Trust—Medical Advances Without Animals—a registered charity comprising a body of scientists, is working on solutions to appalling laboratory practices. With your support they can do much more.
The MAA Trust
PO Box 4203
Weston Creek
ACT 2611 Australia
Telephone +61 2 6287 1980, email info@mawa-trust.org.au Boycott companies that test on animals. Do not buy their products. Lists of these companies (and lists of the kind ones!) can be found at Caring Consumer: a Guide to Kind Living, www.caringconsumer.com/resources_companies.asp
More (and more uplifting) information on animal rights can be viewed at PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—www.peta.org
First published 2007 in Tor by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
First published in Great Britain 2007 by Tor
This electronic edition published 2008 by Tor
an imprint of Pan Macmillan Ltd
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ISBN 978-0-230-73927-7 in Adobe Reader format
ISBN 978-0-230-73926-0 in Adobe Digital Editions format
ISBN 978-0-230-22537-4 in Mobipocket format
Copyright © Cecilia Dart-Thornton 2007
The right of Cecilia Dart-Thornton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Map by Elizabeth Alger
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