Writers Reading - MD Lachlan

Welcome to writers reading, once again we are indulging in other people's bookshelves. This weeks guest is MD Lachlan, whose first fantasy novel Wolfsangel is out soon and has been causing considerable excitement on the web. Enjoy. It was a huge pleasure to meet Mark at WHC 2010 and I am looking forward to catching up at Alt.Fiction.



My reading has been severely curtailed of late, owing to the appearance of two children, the first three years ago. Nowadays, in the unlikely event that I get five seconds to myself, I tend to lie down and go to sleep rather than do anything else. I had to take a train journey to the North East the other day - eight hours by rail. I was delighted as I actually got to sit down, on my own and read something for fun - George RR Martin, as it happened.
Most of my reading nowadays tends to be for research for my books, which are historical fantasy. I spend inordinate amounts of time sweating about early medieval stirrups and footwear. However, here's a selection of old favourites. I know some of these titles might seem slightly surprising for a fantasy writer but I've written five mainstream books - three novels and two memoirs - under my real name before I wrote Wolfsangel, so fantasy has been far from the only influence on my writing.
My collection of books is large but it should be larger. I have no idea what has happened to half the things I bought over the years - my original copy of Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Earthsea (bought about five times, lost four times), Name of the Rose, Martin Amis's Money, they've all gone missing along with a complete set of the Encyclopedia Britannica - yes, really. The encyclopedias went missing when I lost touch with someone into whose care they had been entrusted, which is a euphemism for 'dare not ask for them back from wild ex-girlfriend'. The rest have been loaned and never returned. I should feel angry that friends have plundered my collection but I don't. This is nothing to do with a magnanimous nature. It's just that I can't recall who I lent what. Someone says 'Oh, I love Mythago Wood,' and I think 'have you got my copy, you bastard?' I don't forgive but I do forget.

Here are my choices.

1 Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys.
This is the 'prequel' to Jane Eyre and, for my money, better. It tells the story of the first Mrs Rochester, the 'mad woman in the attic' from her early life in the West Indies to the fire at the end of Jane Eyre. Every writer should aspire to write like this. The prose is simple, clear and yet carries a real charge to it, every sentence dripping and seething with menace. The shadow of Antoinette's awful fate hangs over the whole book and the writing captures the distrustful, hot house atmosphere of the colonial West Indies perfectly. A romance it is not.

2 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Another slim, beautifully executed novel and, in many ways, a horror story. It's an essay on the dangers of charisma, not least for the charismatic person themselves. There are points in this book where the reader puts a hand to the brow and begins to sweat, 'no, Jean, don't do that, don't say that.' But she always does. Nearly perfect as a book.

3 Thank You Jeeves, PG Wodehouse
What can you say? Comic genius with a gift for language unequalled in humorous writing. This guy went to the same school as Raymond Chandler at nearly the same time. Imagine being there with them. 'Jeepers, I thought I was a really good writer but, now I look at these kids, maybe I better try something else.' You could choose a million quotes but, though it's not from this book, one of my favourites is 'The Duke of Dunstable had one way pockets. He would walk ten miles in the snow to chisel an orphan out of tuppence.' Again, something to aspire to.

4 The Poetic Edda
This is the 13th century collection of Norse myths. I've used it to help inform the mythology behind Wolfsangel. It's a 13th century transcription of minstrel poems that had
been passd down the ages. It can be quite a surprise to see some of the names that pop up here - Gandalf, for instance (means 'magic elf' in Old Norse). There are two strands of the Viking character represented - one is a hale and hearty 'do you fancy a smack in the mouth, mate?' approach to life. The other is something darker and altogether more sinister. I hope I've reflected both in Wolfsangel.

5 The Owl Service by Alan Garner
This book and also one of his other works The Weirdstone of Brisingamen were, I've realised, a big influence on my fantasy writing. I didn't realise just how big an influence they had been until I was discussing his work with some other SF and F authors. I thought 'hmmm, ancient stories being played out down the ages, check, gods coming to earth, check and, in The Weirdstone - huge and threatening underground caverns, check. What I love about these books is that they have that Wicker Man or Children of the Stones feel of a savage magic lurking under everyday reality.