Thoughts about this author? I'm hearing a lot about him lately here on IQfy. What is the required level to read him in the original?
Walter Moers
Thoughts about this author? I'm hearing a lot about him lately here on IQfy. What is the required level to read him in the original?
my favorite fantasy author, I highly recommend him. the only reason I don't post about and recommend the zamonia novels on here constantly is I don't want to become "that guy who always shills the zamonia novels" or drag down the authors reputation by doing so, achieving the opposite.
To me it feels like he's hardly ever talked about on here, aside from like two or three people (one of which is me) that'll mention him when it fits. I'd love it if there were enough fans in here to discuss the books and their lore.
Although I find many of his Zamonia books to be outright masterpieces (Bluebear, City Of Dreaming Books, Rumo, adn ti maybea slightly lesser degree Ensel&Krete, Alchemasters Apprentice) his more recent releases hadn't been that well received by the public. Princess Insomnia I found to be such a stinker that it still sits in my shelf unfinished. Der Bücherdrache was alright but nothing all that great. The Labyrinth Of Dreaming books, sequel to City, was basically just half of a story (I probably enjoyed it more than many other people ) with the real exciting bit still to come but delayed indefinitely.
But his most recent book Island of 1000 Lighthouses (released just this month) was a joy to read, it very pleasantly felt like a return to form, my only point of critique being that I found the ending a bit too abrupt.
As for the difficulty, it's hard for me to say as a native German. I wouldn't say that the text is particularly hard to read (it's no old-timey text like Goethe or Schiller, nor some complicated philosophical work), but I could imagine that the many newly created terms /nouns /names etc.might make it harder to understand for a non-native.
I've read the English translations by John Brownjohn too, and in my opinion they are decent enough. But especially the creative new words, names, wordplays etcetera suffer in the English translation and are sometimes replaced with something unfitting or inconsistently translating the same place or person in completely different ways. Someone who isn't familiar with the German original wouldn't notice, but I do. Some
tldr Moers is great, you should read him in German if you can, otherwise English is alright too.
in my estimate Rumo or Bluebear are probably easier to read for a non native speakers than City Of Dreaming Books, but that's just a gut feeling.
Are they actually for children? They seem relatively adult from what I've heard
In my estimation can be read by a teen (Bluebear even by an intelligent pre teen I'd say, I'd guess I was about 12 or so when I first read it), but they don't diminish at all in enjoyment as you get older. the opposite, if anything.
Rumo has quite a bit of violence even early on, putting those teeth to good use
Thanks for the info. How would you rank them btw?
that's a tough one for me. I like each in their own right, it almost feels sacrilegious to rank them one after the other.
I'm gonna do it this way :
>1st place (excellent): Rumo, City Of Dreaming Books, Bluebear (all about similar, Bluebear perhaps slightly below)
>2nd place (also very good): Ensel&Krete, Alchemasters Apprentice, Island of 1000 lighthouses
3rd place: Labyrinth of dreaming books, Bücherdrache
can't rate due to not having read it: Christmas On Lindworm Castle
(power gap)
last place : Princess Insomnia (much like Moers first novel Wild Night Through The Night this one isn't a Zamonia story at all, so might as well kick it from the list). but I'll give it another chance sometime.
gonna have to go to bed now, feel free to ask something else but it'll be a couple hours til I wake up for work
Nice. Thanks again. One last question, can you explain the name Hildegunst von Mythenmetz? Is it a pun? The English version is Optimus Yarnspinner for some reason
it's not really a pun. It's a normal Lindworm name. Medieval-ish first name (Hildegunst isn't a real name, it's instead a newly created male version of Hildegard, "gunst" meaning favor), and the surname is built from a type of text (in his case Mythos) and a type of handicraft (in his case (Stein)metz, someone who chisels large rocks into blocks or statues).
All in all its a more befitting name for the most prolific writer of his time than Yarnspinner.
he's actually one of the cases where the translation was very inconsistent, also had been translated as Wilfred the Wordsmith and (female!) Hildegard Mythmaker (the closest translation if not for the fact that choosing hildegard made the character female). The translator tried to remedy this inconsistency by attaching an addendum of his own that explained Yarnspinner sometimes wrote under pseudonyms.
In German it's an Arno Schmidt reference.
Mythenmetz = myth mason
Mythennetz = a network of interconnected myths
>google Mythennetz
>all the hits are just blog posts of people who don't know how to write Mythenmetz
My personal ranking:
City of Dreaming Books / Stadt der Träumenden Bücher
Rumo
13 1/2 Leben des Käptn Blaubär / 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear
Ensel & Krete
Der Schrecksenmeister / The Alchemaster's Apprentice
Der Bücherdrache / The Book Dragon
Prinzessin Insomnia / Princess Insomnia
Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher / Labyrinth of Dreaming Books
Can't say where the Island fits in because I'm not done yet.
Whoa, you have all his work, and multiple copies even (may I ask why?).
Some were just reprints and I wanted to find out if something got added (which sometimes was the case). I have two copies of some of the novels because they are first editions while the newer prints are signed copies.
It's not part of Zamonia but where would put pic rel?
would [you] put*
It's quite enjoyable as well but a bit simpler than the Zamonia novels. I'd put it somewhere in the middle.
my mom teaches 4th grade. these books are all in her classroom but she only recommends them to her best and brightest (i, of course, being a child genius who would one day grow into a IQfy user, read them much sooner).
Didn't you commission the subs for Men and War trilogy?
The subs for the Men and War trilogy have been out for several years. Also, not the anon you're quoting here.
Could be an error on my part but a few years ago I talked to another Moers fan who said he was in the process of commissioning the subtitles for those films. I believe this was pre-2019? My dates are all mixed up.
I'm a Moers fan who watched the trilogy it in ... oh, it was 2019 actually. It feels like almost a decade ago. I didn't commission the subs tho. But I did recommend the trilogy a couple of times, mainly in the pretentious IQfy generals.
I also recommended my beloved pretentious Japanese films to Moers.
i am the one you're replying to, and no. I don't think I was on IQfy at all back then, and I've never commissioned anything.
To get back on topic, if I do commission something from someone it'll be a faithful functional replica of Rumo's sword, with full deep engraving of the handles and everything.
But that's gonna cost me easily a couple grand, and I've yet to go and pick out a knifemaker (and engraver) who could do it. not even sure yet how I'd want the handle attached and what handle material, as this is somehow never described in the book. colored images tend to depict the handle as yellow, so it'd have to be some sort of yellow metal. brass, bronze, I've considered maybe aluminum bronze for its color and resistance against tarnishing. but heard it kinda sucks to work with.
I'd commission a sitcom (maybe in webcomic form) that is happening in a shop full of talking weapons who are constantly trying to be sold but failing each time in humorous ways.
>not even sure yet how I'd want the handle attached
It looks like a standard threaded tang with nut
>get sentient sword
>it promises to help you fight better
>the first time the sword clangs against another the spirit in it is knocked out cold
Kek, Rumo was the good shit
Digits and OP's mom dies in her sleep tonight.
HOLY FRICKING SHIT. GRIM.
Dubs and instead of OP's mom, it's you who'll die tonight.
kek homosexual
Quads, bruv! checked & witnessed.
it's over
kys
OP here. She's alive and kicking. Your little curse must've bounced back to you.
I lift to intimidate women like this and, if need be, physically dominate them into submission. Somebody has to do it, since most "men" are too impotent to do a goddamn thing when a woman steps out of line. Frick, most men are too scared to even make eye contact with a woman. No wonder they're walking all over us.
Example: women wear clothes in the gym or elsewhere in public to attract attention and show off their bodies and then shut men down when they give the attention. Most men play the game the way women want it to be played, the same way women want all their games to be played: with the woman coming out on top and the men losing. These same "men" think they win because they didn't get #MeToo'd by her because they were respectful and averted their eyes like good little cuckboys.
I refuse to abide. I stare. I make faces of disgust at them. I approach them and make comments: respectful but firm. The look on their faces and in their eyes and body language is priceless. I humiliate them in public and it feels great. They simply do not expect to be called out on their shit in 2023, and I do it, and it blows their mind. This wasn't supposed to happen! All their loose, tattooed, pierced, used-up prostitute girlfriends said they should do it and there were no consequences! Then she goes home and wallows in her humiliation for days, weeks, months even. I know first hand because I've dated many women. Boys fail to comprehend just how easily women are influenced and how insecure they are under their micrometer-thin bad-b***h facade.
My muscular build gives credence to my disapproval, it helps ensure they know I mean business, and it also is a great asset when I'm dating a woman and she's out of line. Multiple women have, without fail, allowed me to slap them into submission when they get out of line and are manipulative, or dishonest, or otherwise unladylike. And most of these women have directly admitted it turns them on and they've gotten wet after I've hit them.
Try it.
>I lift to intimidate women like this and, if need be, physically dominate them into submission
Bruh. I'm 180 cm and 60 kg. I'm the most skeltal guy you'll ever see. And I overpowered a girl that worked as a fricking fisherman with a finger in bed.
Imagine falling for a meme like "I need to lift to overpower some random woman". lol
Oh wow a Walter Moers thread. When I was a kid I used to read Rumo, Cpt. BB,and City of Dreaming books all the time on repeat as I travelled a ton - easy reading and its a decent length; made for comfy reading. It's been more than a decade for me though, I'll have to check out Island of 1000 lighthouses. Cool Thread.
I'm almost finished with The Island of 1000 Lighthouses. Very comfy read. I had hoped for a bit more Lovecraft though.
Moers is fun because he actually has a good taste in literature and dislikes most fantasy.
what does he like? Calvino?
https://www.welt.de/kultur/literarischewelt/article246876118/Walter-Moers-ueber-seine-Biografie-in-Buechern.html
I'd recommend Captain Bluebear to children everywhere.
It's a great introduction to his world and it was my favourite of his as a story.
Best book to introduce you to the pyramid scheme that is reading
Can we have a bit of lore discussion? But try to keep it spoiler free.
First of all, I want to point out something that I've noticed.
In Rumo, we learn that the town of Wolperting is solely and entirely populated by intelligent Wolpertingers. As we know, about half of their species manages to become bipedal, sapient and able to talk as they grow up, while the other half stays on all fours and remains at the intelligence level of a (smart) dog. We also know that Wolperting puppies are a popular pet due to being extremely adorable, despite the later growth spurts.
But in the previous book Bluebear, we hear that the main center of breeding Wolperting puppies is Wolperting itself and the surrounding land, with these sales being economically important to the town.
I've never seen it pointed out before, but there's some interesting implication here. Wolpertings breed Wolperting puppies on farms for sale?
The obvious answer is that between the releases of Bluebear and Rumo the role of Wolperting town has been retconned, since in Rumo it's never mentioned as a center of such activity. But if we for a moment consider it all canon then that sure is something.
Interesting questions arise! It seems to be legal, but is it moral? Do they use quadrupedal Wolpertings only? Is that how a night out with the guys could go if you're a Wolperting: visiting a farm and, to put it politely, assisting in local economic growth?
In-universe explanation: Different narrators and sometimes they're unreliable
Outside explanation: Moers probably doesn't remember himself all the tiny and often throwaway details he put into his books two decades ago.
Any Moers interviews?
By now there's lots:
https://zamonien.fandom.com/de/wiki/Walter_Moers#Interviews
I'll add the 2023 ones to the list eventually. I can post them as links if you want to read them in German and also read them now.
Sure! You can share them here. Btw the link to the 1999 Focus interview seems to be broken but here's the archive link:
https://web.archive.org/web/20220831174043/https://www.focus.de/kultur/leben/selbstgespraech-mit-luegenbaer-modernes-leben_id_1923363.html
https://www.welt.de/kultur/literarischewelt/article246876118/Walter-Moers-ueber-seine-Biografie-in-Buechern.html
https://www.ndr.de/kultur/buch/Walter-Moers-Traumatische-Erfahrung-im-Roman-verarbeitet,waltermoers124.html
https://atlantisverlag.wordpress.com/2023/04/30/erschienen-phantastisch-ausgabe-90/
https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/druckfrisch/die-insel-der-tausend-leuchttuerme-von-walter-moers/das-erste/Y3JpZDovL2Rhc2Vyc3RlLmRlL2RydWNrZnJpc2NoLzBmYmMwYmJmLWVmNWUtNDAxZS05YWI2LWM5YzI5ZDg3MTJhNQ
https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/kultur/gesellschaft/interview-walter-moers-ich-wollte-eigentlich-noch-nie-provozieren-id67829626.html
https://www.zamonien.de/aktuelles.php
There's probably a few more I have missed.
To truly appreciate Moers you have to read the entire Arno Schmidt
Wow I can't believe Yarnspinner dies in the new novel
Is she a prostitute or something? Moers is one of my favorite authors. I’ve been reading his Zamonien books over and over again ever since I was a kid. I reckon your German will have to be quite good for you to enjoy his works. I didn’t even know that his new book is already out. Too bad I’m broke right now but I’ll get it as soon as I can.
Yeah, what's up with that, OP?
She's a call girl, yes. I looked for 'Walter Moers' on twitter and find the post on the left, 'Oh that's cute, let's see what else she posts'. I go to her profile and it turns out she's into selling her body. The duality of (wo)man.
Perhaps you haven't heard (I hadn't until a couple days ago), a film student has been making a 15-minute live action short film based on the first chapter of Der Schrecksenmeister as his final work for film school.
Starring Christoph Maria Herbst as Eißpin and Echo is animated via an animatronic/puppet.
here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU4k2ZKv1hg
I believe it was set to premier this month, but I don't know when and where we'll actually be able to see the whole thing online. It doesn't say on the website.
Speaking of, if you could have a Zamonia book turned into moving pictures, what would you choose and which medium? 2D animation, 3d, live action? One movie, multiple, or maybe a series? Or would you rather have a completely new Zamonia story that's not yet been told in a book? In an case let's assume there's no budget constraints.
We all know City of Dreaming Books will be the next LotR / Harry Potter / Game of Thrones.
Got to watch it (via a now dead YT link) and as a portfolio piece /proof of concept it was okay. As a short film it was lacking. And the c(r)at looked uncannily stiff.
Bummer
I would choose The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear and it would have to be 2d. 2d animation is the surpreme medium. I would like to have one massive and perfectly animated movie but so much happens in that book that it’s probably not likely to work. So instead I think several long episodes (maybe ~40min) would be great. After that I’d like the same format for The City of Dreaming Books.
dubs decides what i reply with
your boyfriend seems to be really into you