#Fantastyka

[thefugitivesaint]

Hajime Sorayama, ''Fantastyka'', #2, 1985 Source

[hanzajesthanza]

you know those charts depicting the rapid growth of domestic chickens over the decades

well, after seeing the original publication of a shard of ice in fantastyka magazine (topic for another post because it really is just wonderfully illustrated by jarosław musiał)

i was thinking, after seeing these illustrations... when my heart jumped for joy at seeing art of books-geralt, taking no visual influence from adaptations-not-yet-made...

(i've censored yennefer's sorceress-presenting... for tumblr)

that the remarkably-accurate-to-his-prose-descriptions-shaped geralt looks nothing like his modern interpretations

and, well...

when lined up like this, it really is more drastic than you think. what ARE they doing to him. bring who and what geralt is supposed to be back. this is so unfair. for geralt and for the body standards these changes represent

[arianaofimladris]

I managed to buy fantasy zine from 1986 where the Witcher story was first published ❤️

[atalienart]

Szczęśliwego nowego roku!

Moje pisarskie cele na rok 2024 to dokończenie I draftu "Projektu Soulmate" i zredagowanie I draftu "Projektu Magia". Chcę się z wami podzielić tymi opowieściami i moim procesem pisarskim. Jeśli ciekawi was, kim jest ten zamyślony dżentelmen na rysunku, co łączy magicznego swata i niepozorną malarkę, i ile słów piszę miesięcznie, możecie śmiało zaobserwować konto @natpisany na instagramie.

Spodziewajcie się postów w poniedziałki i czwartki. Krótkie cytaty i rysunki, pisarskie statystyki i spojrzenie na literackie motywy, fantastyka z romansem w tle - jesteście zainteresowani? :)

[stillunusual]

Fantastyka (March 1990) The March 1990 issue of the Polish science fiction and fantasy magazine Fantastyka included a Witcher short story by Andrzej Sapkowski, called "Mniejsze Zło" (The Lesser Evil).

It is now part of the collection of short stories titled “Ostatnie Życzenie” (The Last Wish) and also features in the first episode in Season 1 of the Netflix adaptation of “The Witcher”…. Scans from the magazine:

Mniejsze Zło page 1 Mniejsze Zło page 2 Mniejsze Zło page 3 Mniejsze Zło page 4 Mniejsze Zło page 5 Mniejsze Zło page 6 Mniejsze Zło page 7 Mniejsze Zło page 8 Mniejsze Zło page 9 Mniejsze Zło page 10 Mniejsze Zło page 11

[brucesterling]

*A new work of fiction by Bruce Sterling, if you’re in a mood to read 13,000 words of seriously weird narrative for some reason.

[marmedes]

[zaczytana-natka]

Znacie mit o Midasie? Królu, który wszystko czego dotknie zamienia się w złoto?

To właśnie między innymi o nim jest ta książka, chociaż historia różni się od tego o czym mówi mitologia grecka. A narratorem jest Auren, królewska faworyta.

Auren mieszka w złotym pałacu, pije ze złotych kielichów, śpi pod złotą pościelą, jej pokojem jest złota klatka dosłownie, w końcu ona sama jest złota, Midas złożył na niej swój dotyk, od tamtego czasu jest pilnie strzeżona zamknięta tak, żeby nikt nie miał do niej dostępu.

Dziewczyna nie tęskni do wolności, do czasu, gdy ma wyruszyć w podróż do sąsiedniego królestwa, gdy po raz pierwszy po kilku latach czuje na skórze wiatr, widzi otaczającą ją przestrzeń.

Ta historia nie jest tylko o niej, jest również o tym do czego może doprowadzić pycha i chciwość. Po wybuchu wojny w królestwie Auren dowie się do czego zdolny jest człowiek, któremu przez te wszystkie lata bezgranicznie ufała.

Czy złoty dotyk okaże się błogosławieństwem czy wręcz przeciwnie? Do czego zdolny jest człowiek ogarnięty chciwością?

Książka jest przeznaczona dla czytelników 18+ zawarte w niej opisy nie nadają się dla młodszych czytelników.

[yellowmanula]

Naczytałam się ostatnio brutalnego fantasy, o wnętrznościach buchajacych z rozpr*tych ciał, o czarnej magii, zaklęciach, Gorgonach, slasherach itd. Potrzebuje dla przeciwwagi jakichś przyjemnych szkiców, np. jakiegoś pisania ozdobnym językiem. Nwm, coś typu "wspomnienia z wakacji"? Mogą być nawet pisane ręką jakichś bananów, lub arystokratów 😃 byle by było "jasno". Co polecacie?

[pisarkanaspektrum]

Autystka a podróżowanie, czyli pojechałam na konwent.

Ostatni weekend spędziłam na Kapitularzu, czyli imprezie dla fanów szeroko pojętej fantastyki i zagadnień pokrewnych. Jak się czułam? Przez trzy dni nieprzerwanie pobolewała mnie głowa. Spałam beznadziejnie, bo raz, że jakieś dziwne łóżko i obce dźwięki zza okna, a dwa, że zapomniałam spakować melatoninę (kupienie jej w aptece na miejscu też przerosło moje możliwości). Nie pamiętałam o braniu moich suplementów, ani smarowaniu otarcia na stopie. Ani razu się porządnie nie umyłam, bo byłam zbyt zmęczona, by pogodzić się z myciem w nieznanej łazience. Byłam bez przerwy wycieńczona, a mój organizm nie potrafił zdecydować, czy jest głodny, czy mu niedobrze. Ogólnie standard – ciągłe przebodźcowanie i problemy sensoryczne.

Ale… był to niewyobrażalnie wręcz udany weekend. Chyba dlatego, że udało mi się wdrożyć trochę pomocnych rozwiązań. Pamiętałam o piciu i zawsze miałam przy sobie butelkę wody (albo i dwie!). Pilnowałam, by regularnie jeść i zawsze miałam awaryjnego batona w torbie. A zapominanie o tych dwóch podstawowych potrzebach to u mnie zawsze był największy problem! Nauczona doświadczeniem z Krakowa, gdzie ciągle się gubiłam, podrukowałam sobie wszystkie możliwe mapki, pozaznaczałam na nich najważniejsze miejsca i wypisałam numery potrzebnych mi autobusów i tramwajów. Wspierałam się Google Maps przy każdej okazji. Nie forsowałam się – dotarłam tylko na nieliczne prelekcje, ale to i tak fajnie. Nie siedziałam z ludźmi do 4 nad ranem, tylko zwinęłam się koło północy i też miło spędziłam czas. Ogólnie zauważyłam, że zmiana nastawienia, odpuszczanie sobie i celebrowanie miłych chwil zamiast wyrzucania sobie, że nie zrealizowało się wszystkich planów są bardzo ważne! I tylko jeden raz dopadł mnie kryzys, że bardzo nie chcę tam być i bardzo potrzebuję być w domu.

Muszę wręcz powiedzieć, że w trakcie tego wyjazdu autyzm i ADHD prawie w ogóle nie wchodziły mi w drogę! Jestem tym naprawdę szczerze zaskoczona, myślałam, że będzie gorzej (największym problemem było zaburzone przetwarzanie słuchowe – ciężko mi się rozumiało, co do mnie mówią). Może po prostu adrenalina i dopamina wytworzone z powodu premiery antologii z moim opowiadaniem dały mi kopa energii na cały weekend. Plus oczywiście poratowali mnie dobrzy ludzie, np. podwożąc do hotelu, podpowiadając gdzie szybko zjeść i ogólnie pomóc mi ogarnąć rzeczywistość. Dziękuję <3

I to jeszcze nie wszystko. POZNAŁAM NOWYCH LUDZI. Normalnie otworzyłam paszczę do obcej osoby i żeśmy się zakolegowały, wymieniły kontami na IG i nawet już wymieniłyśmy parę wiadomości. Jeżu kolczasty, przecież to dla mnie sukces jak wejście na Everest.

Także tak, jestem szczęśliwa, że świat okazał się bardziej przyjazny niż zwykle, a ja lepiej przygotowana i zorganizowana. I jeszcze raz podzielę się moim pisarskim sukcesem, czyli opowiadaniem w antologii „Sprzedawcy marzeń”, inspirowanej obrazami Grzegorza Chudego. Antologia jest przepiękna, w twardej oprawie, format kwadratu, kolorowe reprodukcje, ogólnie pięknie zaprojektowana i wydana. Naprawdę bardzo się cieszę, że mogłam wziąć udział w tym projekcie i w premierze na Kapitularzu. A ile autografów rozdałam, aaa! Serduszko mi się cieszy i naprawdę jestem po tym wyjeździe bardziej naładowana pozytywną energią niż zestresowana i przeciążona. Czyli bilans na plus.

Za zdjęcia dziękuję bardzo Marcie Magdalenie Lasik.

[hcdonic]

Czy ktoś nie miałby ochoty przeczytać i ocenić książki mojej przyjaciółki? Fantastyka inspirowana słowiańską mitologią, raczej przygodówka niż romans, ale ten również się pojawi :)

[iamnamedsilence]

Mam dziś dzień epickich tekstów:

– Skoro już jesteś tak miły i zaoferowałeś uwolnienie mi rąk, to może byś to zrobił? Trochę drętwieją mi palce. – Który idiota cię tak nieumiejętnie związał? – Och, nie, związali mnie całkiem umiejętnie, po prostu mam cieśnię nadgarstka.

Mogła w końcu przyjrzeć się własnemu ciału. Nawet w obozie wojskowym, gdzie kilka razy miała okazję przemyć się w balii, nie przyjrzała się samej sobie tak dobrze. Wtedy jeszcze nie była pokryta taką ilością sińców i zadrapań. Nogi miała podrapane i zarośnięte, pochodzenia paru sińców nie była pewna, stopy pokrywały jej pęcherze, a na kilku miejscach na ciele porobiły się odparzenia. Jej biodro próbowało się zdecydować, czy chce być flagą bi- czy panseksualną i chyba stanęło na czymś pomiędzy, bo stało się fioletowo-żółte.

Ula zanurzyła się po szyję, wyobrażając sobie, że jest kapibarą. Kapibary są miłe. Kapibary są kwintesencją chillu. Kapibary nie muszą się martwić, że przypadkiem wmówiły komuś, że sprzedadzą mu ze zniżką nieistniejącą broń.

[hanzajesthanza]

the "origin" of the witcher

this year, i set forth for myself a very important goal. i began to seek the original publication of the first, original witcher story.

this was a personal goal as much as it was a "fan" goal, and at first, it originated as an amusing pipe dream, a hopeful "what if," a "if i should be so lucky".

i had become interested in the origins of the witcher through reading interviews with sapkowski, translated and published on r/wiedzmin by gracious fans. these interviews are often from the 1990s or early 2000s (the good ones, anyways), and thus, often reference the very beginning of the witcher. there was one particular interview which struck me, in which sapkowski said this:

"My book witcher is real and original. All adaptations are only more or less successful and have all the corresponding disadvantages of adaptations. There is only one original "Witcher". He is mine and no one will take him away from me." — Interview with Sapkowski in the Polish magazine Polityka

this one original "witcher". yes, of course he is referring to his geralt, the geralt that lives in my heart, but i also thought to myself, the witcher as he as a concept was originally conceived - the first publication. i need to see it. i need to see this publication, in person. if not for me as a fan, for me as a writer, an artist. i need proof that this ever existed." later in the year, i realized this was not only a dream, but a real possibility...

but first, let me introduce the witcher, for those that do not know the story. not the short story "the witcher," but the story of "the witcher"—of its creation.

sapkowski's story

36 years ago, andrzej sapkowski's short story, "witcher", was first published in the december 1986 edition of polish sci-fi and fantasy magazine fantastyka (later renamed nowa fantastyka). sapkowski, at the time, had been working as a tradesman selling leather, fur, and textiles… though he was a fan of fantasy since boyhood, in which he obsessed over arthurian legend, and throughout his life had been an avid reader. during the 1980s, sapkowski lost his job as the national company went bankrupt, and he turned more to his writing, as he had previously written some short stories and had them published in magazines.

at the time, he did not subscribe to fantastyka, and the edition in which the short story contest was announced indeed belonged to his son—his only son, his now late son, krzysztof, who asked him to write and enter the contest. the senior sapkowski's reply? "no problem, i'll write."

fantastyka magazine, as mentioned, encompassed works of both science fiction and fantasy genres. sapkowski wrote "witcher" in hopes of being a standout competitor - assuming that most applicants would write "hard science fiction," he chose to write fantasy. unexpectedly to him, it turned out that the fantasy genre was written by the majority of those who submitted stories!

the witcher, though, was indeed a standout entry. because it dealt with the familiar, but through inverting, changing, subverting, and being original, exciting the reader:

"Geralt of Rivia is the character of my first story, of my literary debut. In my first encounter with the Fantasy and SF readers, my proposition was to do something atypical, completely new. I had to rethink the fairy tales, where some problem with a dragon in a kingdom was solved, the king was disposed to offer to the first one which passed his daughter and half the kingdom for solving it. My vision of Fantasy is almost real. You have to believe that which occurs in the stories, because they are not a fairy tale. No one comes to believe that a king can be so stupid as to give half the kingdom and his daughter (...) I re-wrote the story, since it is not a poor shoemaker who kills the dragon and saves the kingdom, but instead a professional, who works for money. I have turned to construct the fantasy story: it is almost real, you have to feel it, to believe all. It is not the typical fairy tale, all is fucking real." — Interview with Sapkowski at the Feria del Libro (Spain, 2008)

the "lore" of the witcher

this is why a new reader does not need to know anything prior about the witcher in order to grasp the books, because "the witcher" was originally a collection of short stories boasting little world or "lore" to speak of:

for instance, elder speech is not a conlang, it is a deliberate crafting of various european languages together.

"No, I didn't [create a new language for my books, like Tolkien]. (...) I limited myself to only creating a couple sentences, whose entire point was for me to avoid putting a footnote there, because it annoys me beyond belief, when someone writes ''drapatuluk papatuluk'' and underneath the translation says ''close the doors or we'll get flies''. My point was for this made up language to be acceptible for a Pole, who's well read and can see through foreign languages; so it'd be clear without a footnote. Henceforth I decided to construct the language based on languages that Polish people know well: French, English, Latin and German, and just for funsies I threw in some Celtic, so no one cared for specific words, but everybody understood more or less what it meant. I created it as a cocktail language." — Sapkowski on anime, manga, D&D, adaptations, the origins of the Witcher and Elder Speech (2001)

sapkowski never drew a map for publishing—though a map was drawn by czech translator stanislav komárek (and husband of illustrator jana komárková, what a power couple!).

"That's where the biggest problem lies, stemming from the simple fact that I've never had the ambition to create worlds. Never! The world of the Witcher was always an allegory to me. I've never done what's supposed to be a Commandment of every fantasy writer, especially one that writes a longer story or a novel. He starts with the heavy duty of… cartography, meaning he has to draw a MAP. (...) I've never bothered with that and it was on purpose. It came from the fact that my world was supposed to be an allegory and from the fact that I was doing a different take on fairy tales! Themes and problems were more important, these two words, from which I usually built the title and that often appeared in the dialogue, was more important. — Andrzej Sapkowski about accusations of sexism, postmodernism, adaptations and why there is no map - part 2

and as we all know from francesca's wonderful demonstration via apples and a pomegranate, explanations of bloodlines only enter into the fray in the fifth book.

for all intents and purposes, the motto of the witcher's "lore" should be: "the story comes first!"

"And write so that it would be interesting to read. Questions? Answers? Who the fuck needs them! This is a novel, not an instruction to a DVD player. As a writer, as a prose writer, I do not read any sermons to anyone in the church, I do not push speeches in Hyde Park. I'm a storyteller. I tell stories to give readers pleasure, create heroes to arouse sympathy / dislike, situations, to amuse, to laugh, upset, frighten - and, of course, to make them move their brains, to think. But this is a story, it's a farce, not a conversion, not a vocation, not faith." — Interview with Sapkowski "The work of my life is yet to come."

back to getting published

"witcher" placed third in the contest, but its publication was soon followed by fan demand for more stories of the "witcher" variety and universe. it was shortly followed by "road with no return" in 1988, "a grain of truth" in 1989, and "the lesser evil” and "a question of price" in 1990 (and more in the first half of the decade, as well).

soon, sapkowski's name was featured on the very cover of fantastyka to excite readers:

note that there is not one, but THREE exclamation marks on the cover of this edition from september 1990, the one with "a question of price". [unlike the other pictures in this post, this is not my photo]

soon afterwards, sapkowski was able to secure publishing with supernowa—a distinct challenge, because nearly no publisher would "risk" publishing a polish author:

“Finally, in Poland, the moment for a fantasy was absolutely crucial: "SuperNova" published my "Sword of Destiny". This was a real event, because until then there was hardly anyone among the Polish publishers who would have risked doing something like this. Polish fantasy was published by some amateurs, losing money on every edition.” (...) in Western countries, (...) the average fan always chooses a book of the familiar Anglo-Saxon in the bookstore - the exotic name of the author will force him to refrain from buying. Unfortunately, publishers also know about this, therefore, picking up a book from "some Poland" or "some Moldavia" - even a good one - he will think ten times before publishing.” — Andrzej Sapkowski and Stanisław Bereś "History and fantasy" part 2

as that is a whole other loooong story... let's get back to the short story.

the story as it is today

this is all a very abridged version of the story, and i've cut out a lot of the historical context and cultural context surrounding the subject for brevity. i may have mentioned that this came about for me throughout the entire year of 2022 - and it really has been a product of the year. i actually received the copy of fantastyka in september, now four months ago, but for various reasons i decided to keep it between me and friends (if you're a part of the books discord server, you may have seen this already!)

the largest reason is that i want to pay as much respect to this as i possibly can. since september, i've been working on a video to feature the magazine and through its presence, explain the context and history surrounding the witcher as i have done in this post, just with... more history and context. i want to do my research and have more conversations before i record and publish a video like that. and not just some, but more. this isn't something i feel comfortable reading a wikipedia article about and saying, "cool, i think i know the whole story now." especially as an american fan—especially knowing and feeling how the witcher has been treated over these past couple of years. so, expect it, but maybe not soon. though there will likely be other things along the way on my youtube channel :)

my story

for me, this year marks 5 years since i got into the witcher. it was the fall of 2017 when i got interested, and the winter of 2017 when i got serious about it.

the witcher came to me at a really difficult time in my life. my parents separated in the march of 2018. it was not a peaceful separation. the last spring break i had in high school ended with a restraining order and the changing of the locks on our door.

so imagine the solace i felt being able to point to an actually healthy father-daughter relationship with a middle-aged father and a teenage girl. one such as this:

‘Where to now?’ asked Geralt, looking at the column of smoke, a smudged streak discolouring the sky glowing pink in the dawn. ‘Who do you still have to pay back, Ciri?’ She glanced at him and he immediately regretted his question. He suddenly desired to hug her, dreamed of embracing her, cuddling her, stroking her hair. Protecting her. Never allowing her to be alone again. To encounter evil. To encounter anything that would make her desire revenge. — Lady of the Lake, Ch. 11

or of an alcoholic, acknowledging and owning up to his past of violence:

‘Each time I became more savage,’ the vampire continued. ‘And as time went on I was getting worse. (...) Disappointment and grief, as you know, is a great alibi. I was looking for justification for my behavior, and it was the perfect excuse. Everyone seemed to understand. Even I thought I understood. And I matched the theory to practice.’ — Baptism of Fire, Ch. 7

and intentionally pursuing sobreity in the present:

‘I beg your forgiveness, gentlemen,’ the alchemist said. ‘I do not drink. My health is no longer what is was, so I had to give up… many pleasures.’ ‘Not even a sip?’ ‘It is a matter of principle.’ Regis said quietly. ‘I never violate the principles I set for myself.’ — Baptism of Fire, Ch. 3

‘I do not touch blood. Not at all and never.’ — Baptism of Fire, Ch. 7

later, when i had begun to recover my senses from shock, i felt rage. i felt a need for revenge, a sick hatred and vile indignation for what had happened. i thought there must be something wrong with me, to have such a reaction. but i then realized how natural, though dangerous, it was:

‘(...) I know what I have to do. I’m a witcher!’ ‘You're an unstable young person!’ he exploded. ‘You're a child who's been through traumatic experiences; a damaged child, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. And more than that, you're sick with a craving for revenge! Blinded by a lust for retribution! Do you not understand that?’ ‘I understand it better then you!’ she yelled. ‘Because you have no idea what it means to be hurt! You have no idea of revenge, for no one has ever truly wronged you!’ — Tower of the Swallow, Ch. 10

but lastly, i learned that the tragedies of my past do not bind me to a tragic fate:

They rode straight into the setting sun. Leaving behind them the darkening valley. Behind them was the lake, the enchanted lake, the blue lake as smooth as a polished sapphire. They left behind them the boulders on the lakeside. Thepines on the hillsides. That was all behind them. And before them was everything. — Lady of the Lake, Ch. 12

to be clear, i'm not sharing my story for pity. like as triss says when recounting the battle of sodden, "And then I saw what they had done to me, and I started to howl, howl like a beaten dog, like a battered child—Leave me alone! Don’t worry, I’m not going to cry. I’m not a little girl from a tiny tower in Maribor anymore," (Blood of Elves, Ch. 3) ...

i'm sharing this story because i think it's relevant to understanding the witcher. the witcher is about a realistic view of fairytales and the fantasy genre, a view that is often dark and showcases all the sorrow and violence in the world, but a view that really centers the people of the world, their relationships, their motivations, and what makes them fight to keep living. it's about family, friendship, laughter at the end of the world... and one doesn't need to experience a personal trauma to understand these very human, very instrinsic experiences. one also does not need extensive research to be able to jump into the witcher.

fantastyka and me

even if i'm not prepared at the moment to publish an extensive historical research and analysis on this subject, i just wanted to make this post today to remind all witcher fans what the witcher really is, where it really came from, what it all really means.

reading through this copy of fantastyka, what really struck me is the community of it—there is an entire personals section for finding copies of fantasy books, there are opinion polls, critical essays, and an entire novel published in three installments across monthly editions. this must not have been just a magazine, but a lifeline for sci-fi and fantasy fans at that time. i see so many parallels between the sci-fi and fantasy fans of these pages and my experience as a witcher fan in the community. this is a piece of history, "the witcher" is a piece of history, and i am honored to not only know of it, but to have seen it, touched it, and proven to myself that yes, this is all real. "all is fucking real."

now, for my favorite picture of myself:

and as expressed by the editors of the december 1986 edition of fantastyka...

i wish you a fantastic christmas and new year... this time, new year 2023 ;)

[this post has also been posted on reddit]

[popkulturowykociolek]

Doskonały finał, doskonałej historii, który w doskonały sposób zapewnia czytelnikowi doskonałą porcję rozrywki.

[wiwerga]

[ayanos-pl]

あなたの本棚のかきごおり

か『怪奇日和』ジョー・ヒル

き『巨星』ピーター・ワッツ

ご『ゴッド・ガン』バリントン・J・ベイリー

お『折りたたみ北京』ケン・リュウ編

り『リアード武俠傳奇・伝』牧野修

海外文庫SFで揃えようとしたが、ちょっと無理だった。