Frisch is published "Gonji" by TC Rypel, a novel I in Quote on the back "the most important rediscovery of classic fantasy since" Conan had "mentioned". Gonji is a samurai who studied in the late Middle Ages in the Carpathian Mountains, the mythical city of Verdun, to be there to provide a prophetic destiny. I wrote a foreword for the book that explains what connects me with Rypel novel, and here are some excerpts: A while ago I read an interview with fantasy author David C. Smith, who in the seventies and eighties some colorful Sword & Sorcery-published adventure. Among other things, it was about how fleeting success can be, and a certain level of popularity. To illustrate this, he mentioned eine Romanserie mit dem Titel „Gonji“; vor rund 25 Jahren sei sie in den USA recht populär gewesen, heute aber zu Unrecht völlig vergessen. (...)
Neugierig bestellte ich mir antiquarisch alle fünf Bände seiner Reihe. Ohne allzu große Erwartungen, ehrlich gesagt. Sword & Sorcery ist jenes Subgenre der Fantasy mit dem schlechtesten Ruf: Pralle, meist recht maskuline (und muskuläre) Abenteuergeschichten, gern nach dem ewig gleichen Strickmuster gebaut, viele davon lediglich Variationen von Robert E. Howards Storys um den Barbaren Conan. In den Siebzigern feierte diese Spielart des Genres einige Erfolge, geriet aber seither unter den jüngeren Lesern, die sich für Phantastisches begeistern, in Vergessenheit. Many may not know Conan (rather than film, because as a book), but some of the other, perhaps even better heroes of the literary environment, from the perception of the fans disappeared: Elric, Kane, Fafhard and the Grey Mouse Ling - their adventures are reading today Unfortunately, hardly anyone.
"Gonji" but that was already clear to me on the very first pages, is different. Sure, here it all starts with a sword fighter, well-made action, a monster - but in order to exhaust the parallels. "Gonji" is above all: a phenomenally well written! So good that I immediately started the web for this obscure writer named TED Rypel search. Found I have nothing but some contain notes - apparently had Rypel after the fifth "Gonji" band in 1986, never published anything. Can not
, I thought. No one who has such talent, listen to easy. Two possibilities were considered: Either Rypel was no longer alive, or he wrote very well continue to books, just under another name. Some of the Sword and were Sorcery veterans of that time later in other genres into bestselling authors - is the most famous John Jakes, which began with naive barbarians stories, and then with his multi-volume Civil War saga "North and South" to present a worldwide success. (...)
So I extended my research. I ordered stacks of old American genre fanzines like "Amra" and "Fantasy Newsletter," which were up in the eighties was the voice of the scene. In it, it had evidence of Rypel - and if it were just a tribute.
But a few mentions of the title at the time of the show were all that I encountered in dozens of magazines. No reviews, no interviews. I wrote to David C. Smith - and got no response. Increasingly impatient, I set search requests in the largest U.S. Internet forums on Fantasy. Someone had to give it but who knew what had become of Rypel. But here, too: First even non-existent. (...)
Meanwhile, I read the first volume, then the second. Until, months later, at my e-mail notification was: Someone had reported in the official forum of the "Conan" homepage. I looked - and found an entry from Rypel daughter Beth. Her father was not a pseudonym, not dead, but, on the contrary, alive and kicking. I wrote her back that I was very relieved and happy I would be if she could forward my mail to him. She would like to do, she said, but balk at her father a little, by e-mail to communicate. Anyway, I thought I just wanted to get rid of my compliments to him and his books . Congratulations
went back some time, with complete radio silence. I was happy anyway, but all I had to get rid of that I had to say. But then, after several months, trickled in an unusually long and extremely friendly e-mail in to me - this time signed "Ted". Obviously, he could hardly believe that anyone still interested for him and his books. He just go into retirement, he wrote, after decades in a job that had filled him only moderately. Yes, he had always written, but actually the fifth since "Gonji" band released anything. Trouble with then-publisher, with an agency, all sorts of external circumstances have meant that he had himself by no longer seen as a real writer.
I disagreed - writer, you always, even years after the last publication. The books remain in place even if they are found only in the back alley of a second hand bookshops.
We started to write detailed emails, books sent back and forth, and I asked him the "Gonji" volumes show my publisher here in Germany are allowed to. Bastion Luebbe had just lost to the late David Gemmell Sword & Sorcery the last successful author, and I could imagine that Ted Rypel and Gonji " could fill this gap. Ted was delighted with my enthusiasm, but did not seem to want to believe it really, that could actually have a publisher interested. Nevertheless, he sent some copies to Luebbe fantasy editor Ruggero Leo and I had it tuned already a glowing recommendation and reiterated it again on the phone and on the next book fair. A few weeks later came the signal: Yes, they wanted to "Gonji" published in German, once the volumes one through three, a form self-contained trilogy, then perhaps the following two separate novels. (...)
If the excerpt from the preface. "Gonji" may seem like all Debut novels from a couple of teething symptoms (such as too many adjectives, which in German is still a little more evident than in the original), but what made me even more packed than the interesting main character, is the perfect own voice that speaks from the books. Similar to David Gemmell - who was a much weaker stylist - you can feel the presence behind every paragraph of the author and has the feeling that a real, individual person speaks to the reader. In modern fantasy that has become rare, and therefore it is one more reason the "Gonji" novels, to give a new chance.
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