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nerakroseTop 100 science fiction and fantasy books
I've read some of the books on this list and some are on my to-read list, while some I've heard of and some I haven't. But I noticed something - none or very few have been translated into English from some other language (I know Verne is on the list, but are there others?). And it got me thinking.
Do you lovely people on my flist, know of a fantasy or sci-fi book/series in your mother tongue (if it's not English, that is) that is really good/popular and either not translated or not on the list?
I'm really curious, because this language thing intrigues me. Many English-language fantasy/sci-fi novels get translated into a zillion languages, but it seems to me that there's not much traffic the other direction. It's a bit like a one-way high way... I discovered the other day that the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare has been translated into Danish and most recently Clockwork Angel. Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle series has been translated into Danish. Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series has been translated into Danish. Anne Rice has been translated into Danish. We all know JKR has been translated into everything. I could mention several more, but let's stop here.
I remember that most of the fantasy and sci-fi novels I read in my youth (and I say youth because I had a massive break of a few years between 15-20 where I didn't read much at all) all had foreign names on the cover.
I read *everything*. I've read several variations on witch!fantasy (magical-object-gives-you-powers, evil-neighbour-witch, witch-in-high-school, prophecied!witch, etc.), elf!fantasy (musical!elves, tree!lelves, secret!lelves, etc.), alien-invasion!sci-fi (alien!masters & human!servants, aliens-in-zoo, post-apocalyptic-alien-invasion, etc.), technologically-advanced-world!sci-fi (instant cloning, children in fake uteruses, children getting sucked into video games, etc.), and...a zillion others.
It was and probably always will be my favourite genre, but fact remains: all this shit was translated. A lot of it was read while I still lived in Iceland and Iceland has a rather terrifying amount of books to be released every year, of both translated and native lit. I never wanted for anything, but you know what? I can't recall a single Icelandic fantasy or sci-fi author. Maybe it's just because fantasy and sci-fi don't exist as separate genres in Icelandic lit - we usually split books into "fiction", "child lit", "poetry", "non-fiction" and "translated fiction" and "translated child lit". within "fiction" there's a subclass called "spennusögur" which roughly translates to "exciting stories". That's where we dump crime novels, adventure and probably also fantasy and sci-fi. I actually think it's pretty interesting because the Icelandic people is a remarkably literate nation. We have a literacy rate of 100% and the most common christmas gift is a BOOK. We read everything, regardless of what it is - the same tendency is very prevalent in the cinema. We don't classify films as anything but "films". Everyone sees everything and this is the main reason why many films premiere in Iceland weeks before they premiere elsewhere in the world; if the Icelanders like the film - it's a success. But I digress.
Some stuff in Danish (translated and untranslated):
The Shamer Chronicles by Lene Kaaberbøl which I have to confess I'm really surprised to discover has been translated. It's also the only one I've been able to find that's been translated into English. I read this series back in 2003, partially for class (the first book) and partially because I really liked it (the rest of the series). YA fantasy novels.
Something I think is worth mentioning - you all know the comic series W.I.T.C.H ? I used to be a big fan and I drew fanart and shit for it. also back in 2003 or earlier. Anyway, above mentioned author wrote 9 books for the series for Scandinavia/Denmark, but she was forced to write them in English and then have them translated to Danish for the Danish releases, instead of the other way around. (I've read these books too. I think I owned like three of them at some point...)
Jarastavens Vandring and Blodsbröder by Saga Borg (pseudonym). I thought these were Danish, but are actually Swedish. They've been translated to Danish and Norwegian only so far as I can see. I haven't read them but they've been on my to-read list since forever. YA fantasy novels.
Morganas Kilder by Helle Ryding, a trilogy that's been on my to-read list since forever as well. YA fantasy novels and quite famous. Not translated to any language at all. Draws heavily on nordic mythology, according to several online sources.
There's a bunch of other Danish authors that haven't been translated at all, such as Kenneth Bøgh Andersen.
And I wonder why this is so - Many of these are YA and it's tempting to think that they're not taken seriously as sci-fi/fantasy and therefore no one bothers translating them, but why should that be so? We have zillions English-language YA fantasy/sci-fi translated into Danish. Just look at the authors I mentioned in the beginning of this post. Or is it maybe that foreign language fantasy/sci-fi is deemed "unworthy" ? Must good fantasy/sci-fi be written in English to get recognition? One thing is recognition within a country's own boundaries (Kenneth Bøgh Andersen has won several awards, for example, and Lene Kaaberbøl is widely reknown for being one of the best children and YA lit authors we have), but is it necessary to get recognition outside of these boundaries (=be translated into English) to be deemed a good fantasy/sci-fi writer, someone who's worth reading?
Or is it maybe that Scandinavian fantasy/sci-fi is too nordic and not universal enough? We have proud mythological roots and we aren't afraid of exploiting them in our fiction. But maybe the key here is that good stuff must be unplaceable? generic? That it's only "good" if it's completely made up? Only, that argumentation doesn't hold much water since fantasy ultimately builds upon centuries-old superstitions and mystical creatures and beliefs that we thinking creatures have created. There's only so many ways you can re-create an elf or a dwarf, right? There's only so many supernatural powers you can afflict humans with, right? But is it true that fantasy derived from mythological sources isn't proper fantasy? HMM. Anyone remember Percy Jackson?
But maybe that doesn't count because it's Greek mythology and Greek and Roman stuff has a rather elevated cultural status in the Western world at large?
My mind is boggling and I seem to have forgotten what the point of this post was.
I've read some of the books on this list and some are on my to-read list, while some I've heard of and some I haven't. But I noticed something - none or very few have been translated into English from some other language (I know Verne is on the list, but are there others?). And it got me thinking.
Do you lovely people on my flist, know of a fantasy or sci-fi book/series in your mother tongue (if it's not English, that is) that is really good/popular and either not translated or not on the list?
I'm really curious, because this language thing intrigues me. Many English-language fantasy/sci-fi novels get translated into a zillion languages, but it seems to me that there's not much traffic the other direction. It's a bit like a one-way high way... I discovered the other day that the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare has been translated into Danish and most recently Clockwork Angel. Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle series has been translated into Danish. Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series has been translated into Danish. Anne Rice has been translated into Danish. We all know JKR has been translated into everything. I could mention several more, but let's stop here.
I remember that most of the fantasy and sci-fi novels I read in my youth (and I say youth because I had a massive break of a few years between 15-20 where I didn't read much at all) all had foreign names on the cover.
I read *everything*. I've read several variations on witch!fantasy (magical-object-gives-you-powers, evil-neighbour-witch, witch-in-high-school, prophecied!witch, etc.), elf!fantasy (musical!elves, tree!lelves, secret!lelves, etc.), alien-invasion!sci-fi (alien!masters & human!servants, aliens-in-zoo, post-apocalyptic-alien-invasion, etc.), technologically-advanced-world!sci-fi (instant cloning, children in fake uteruses, children getting sucked into video games, etc.), and...a zillion others.
It was and probably always will be my favourite genre, but fact remains: all this shit was translated. A lot of it was read while I still lived in Iceland and Iceland has a rather terrifying amount of books to be released every year, of both translated and native lit. I never wanted for anything, but you know what? I can't recall a single Icelandic fantasy or sci-fi author. Maybe it's just because fantasy and sci-fi don't exist as separate genres in Icelandic lit - we usually split books into "fiction", "child lit", "poetry", "non-fiction" and "translated fiction" and "translated child lit". within "fiction" there's a subclass called "spennusögur" which roughly translates to "exciting stories". That's where we dump crime novels, adventure and probably also fantasy and sci-fi. I actually think it's pretty interesting because the Icelandic people is a remarkably literate nation. We have a literacy rate of 100% and the most common christmas gift is a BOOK. We read everything, regardless of what it is - the same tendency is very prevalent in the cinema. We don't classify films as anything but "films". Everyone sees everything and this is the main reason why many films premiere in Iceland weeks before they premiere elsewhere in the world; if the Icelanders like the film - it's a success. But I digress.
Some stuff in Danish (translated and untranslated):
The Shamer Chronicles by Lene Kaaberbøl which I have to confess I'm really surprised to discover has been translated. It's also the only one I've been able to find that's been translated into English. I read this series back in 2003, partially for class (the first book) and partially because I really liked it (the rest of the series). YA fantasy novels.
Something I think is worth mentioning - you all know the comic series W.I.T.C.H ? I used to be a big fan and I drew fanart and shit for it. also back in 2003 or earlier. Anyway, above mentioned author wrote 9 books for the series for Scandinavia/Denmark, but she was forced to write them in English and then have them translated to Danish for the Danish releases, instead of the other way around. (I've read these books too. I think I owned like three of them at some point...)
Jarastavens Vandring and Blodsbröder by Saga Borg (pseudonym). I thought these were Danish, but are actually Swedish. They've been translated to Danish and Norwegian only so far as I can see. I haven't read them but they've been on my to-read list since forever. YA fantasy novels.
Morganas Kilder by Helle Ryding, a trilogy that's been on my to-read list since forever as well. YA fantasy novels and quite famous. Not translated to any language at all. Draws heavily on nordic mythology, according to several online sources.
There's a bunch of other Danish authors that haven't been translated at all, such as Kenneth Bøgh Andersen.
And I wonder why this is so - Many of these are YA and it's tempting to think that they're not taken seriously as sci-fi/fantasy and therefore no one bothers translating them, but why should that be so? We have zillions English-language YA fantasy/sci-fi translated into Danish. Just look at the authors I mentioned in the beginning of this post. Or is it maybe that foreign language fantasy/sci-fi is deemed "unworthy" ? Must good fantasy/sci-fi be written in English to get recognition? One thing is recognition within a country's own boundaries (Kenneth Bøgh Andersen has won several awards, for example, and Lene Kaaberbøl is widely reknown for being one of the best children and YA lit authors we have), but is it necessary to get recognition outside of these boundaries (=be translated into English) to be deemed a good fantasy/sci-fi writer, someone who's worth reading?
Or is it maybe that Scandinavian fantasy/sci-fi is too nordic and not universal enough? We have proud mythological roots and we aren't afraid of exploiting them in our fiction. But maybe the key here is that good stuff must be unplaceable? generic? That it's only "good" if it's completely made up? Only, that argumentation doesn't hold much water since fantasy ultimately builds upon centuries-old superstitions and mystical creatures and beliefs that we thinking creatures have created. There's only so many ways you can re-create an elf or a dwarf, right? There's only so many supernatural powers you can afflict humans with, right? But is it true that fantasy derived from mythological sources isn't proper fantasy? HMM. Anyone remember Percy Jackson?
But maybe that doesn't count because it's Greek mythology and Greek and Roman stuff has a rather elevated cultural status in the Western world at large?
My mind is boggling and I seem to have forgotten what the point of this post was.
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no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 03:25 pm (UTC)As for non-English fantasy/sci fi, the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Wolfgang Holbein. Otfried Preußler wrote "Krabat", which is a tale about a wizard's apprentice, that's the other thing that comes to my mind, but his books are mostly for children and feature elements that could just as well be called "fairy tale" (another point that makes me doubt the validity of the list above).
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 03:48 pm (UTC)About the nordic myths; everyone loves myth, and I know anglophones have a soft spot in their hearts for nordic myth, we certainly have tons of film and book adaptations of them. :) I think this list is just sort of pants.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 03:58 pm (UTC)I also haven't read Outlander, but my mum loves it, so I kind of know what it's about. And as far as I understand it, the novel is rather a historical novel than fantasy. The only fantasy element, I think, is the fact that Claire travels back in time, but the world she travels back to is 100% realistic. (My mum keeps going on how pages and pages of detailed battle descriptions and politics bore her :P).
I wonder why Bram Stoker is not on that list. Or, well, Conan Doyle wrote sci fi as well. Making History was, I think nominated? awarded? some sci-fi prize as well?
I'm getting warier and warier of that list the longer I think about it. I'll go get cake now. XD
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:09 pm (UTC)OUTLANDER IS PORN. Just plain porn. Mary-Sue ridden self-insertion rape-fantasy porn.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:34 pm (UTC)Yeah, the list is a bit pants (it was created on a reader/voter basis anyway), but it doesn't really change the fact that I've had a hard time finding foreign (as in, non-english) fantasy and sci-fi translated into English. There has to be some, but if there is, it hasn't been advertised as broadly as english-language stuff, which is what makes me wonder...
Yeah, there's some stuff missing. Also I think I saw Frankenstein on the list. I wouldn't call that sci-fi at all and those who do haven't understood what the book. *shrugs*
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:37 pm (UTC)so I should actually go ahead with my other fantasy novel/chronicles/thing that I was going to base on the nordic myths? :P
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:44 pm (UTC)Might also be partly the audience - if you ask a primarily English-speaking audience, your results will be biased in one way or another.
Frankenstein... well, it could pass as an early form of fantasy, but I'd agree that it's rather to be fit into the horror/gothic novel corner. I assume it's the scientific and supernatural element that got it onto that list. But that makes me wonder where, e.g. Poe is - his stuff is supernatural as well. (Hell, Dorian Gray is fantasy if the mere mention of realistically impossible things is a criterion).
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:50 pm (UTC)All my porn is Victorian or Victorian era LGBT.no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:51 pm (UTC)And speaking of "finish" or "Finnish" (ha ha, bad pun), have you ever read Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo? It's really more like Magic Realism than pure fantasty/sci-fi, but it's pretty cool.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:52 pm (UTC)It makes me wonder whether what it takes to get internationally recognised. not a lot of stuff is translated into english and a lot of what is, has been translated after some kind of award - I highly doubt that Laxness would've been translated at all if he hadn't gotten the Nobel price of literature...
no, Dorian Gray isn't fantasy. :P If that's the criteria we go by, even normal ghost stories are fantasy...
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:57 pm (UTC)No, I haven't actually! I'm aware it exists but Johanna Sinisalo is a bit hard to find here in DK... I'll have better luck next month once I'm in Finland.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:04 pm (UTC)I know. I think it's a matter of prestige, tbh. Or possibly tradition? I don't know, actually - it might be a mix of many factors. But as far as I know (at least that's what Eero-the-translator told us at the seminar back then - translating is a tough business and there's not much prestige in it, either. The industry can't keep up with all the stuff that gets put out, so efforts get geared towards the award winning stuff. Many translators just pick random novels they read and then translate and then offer the products to a publisher, etc.)
Exactly that. And I would say the same is true for a number of novels on that list.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:06 pm (UTC)I've had Sinisalo sitting on my shelf for ages... in the original, though, and I never got around to reading it, but now I think I might just make time for it... I know what it's about and it sounded so awesome, so I had to buy it when I saw it...
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:09 pm (UTC)Holbein is writing incessantly, I don't know when this guy sleeps ... I'm not a fan but I know he is selling well here. The role playing community of Das Schwarze Auge publishes loads and loads of accompanying novels, though to my mind, you can find better written fanfic ;).
From dealing with British and American publishers I know that they just don't look to other countries and it is damn hard to sell German rights to them. German publishers, in contrast, are quite open, or used to be, though they nowadays start looking for own talent - not because they believe there are good writers out there, but because this is cheaper than paying for the translation ;).
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:10 pm (UTC)very true. and translation business isn't exactly having an easy time of it either. dunno what it's like elsewhere, but here in DK the translator's guild is protesting because the publishing houses don't want to pay for the translations anymore.
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Date: 2011-08-12 05:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:12 pm (UTC)...god, I miss that bookshop right now. T_T
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:17 pm (UTC)paying for translations seems to be a problem all over. publishing houses here in DK don't want to pay for the translations anymore - the established translators can afford to decline a manuscript if they aren't offered enough money for it (dunno what it's like elsewhere, but here translators get a one time fee for the translation and then a library fee. the woman who translated Harry Potter has earned fuckloads just from library fees), whereas new translators are desperate and take anything they can get, which...yeah, doesn't exactly help the quality.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:18 pm (UTC)me too. I need to arrange a trip back there soonish...
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:19 pm (UTC)