"Charles De Lint - Jack, The Giant-Killer" - читать интересную книгу автора (De Lint Charles)

fairy tale series of TerriтАЩs seemed the perfect opportunity
to try to get it right.
My first inclination was to pick an obscure fairy tale to
work with but, as I reread those old stories, I kept coming
back to the trickster figure of JackтАФthe Jack of тАЬJack and
the Beanstalk.тАЭ тАЬJack the Giant-Killer,тАЭ or the Wee Jack
stories of Scottish folklore. Jack wins out as much by
luck as by pluck; JackтАЩs both foolish and clever. And
enamoured as I am with the role of the trickster in all his
guises, I soon realized that I had no choice: It had to be a
Jack tale. The creative process being what it is, the words
came to paper as soon as I settled on тАЬJack the
Giant-KillerтАЭ as the principal framework for The Jack of
Kinrowan.
As the novel grew, other tales and bits of folklore kept
adding themselves to the brew. And so youтАЩll find traces
of тАЬKate CrackernutsтАЭ in here, elements of the seven
brothers who became swans, the youngest son of three
who sets off to make his fortune, and all sorts of
traditional folkloric material, from Billy Blinds to the
restless dead of the Scottish Highlands.
 I owe a great debt to Terri Windling, not only for
sparking this particular story in my mind, but for her
friendship and astute editing over the years. My wife Mary
Ann also plays a major role in my creative processes,
serving as the most discerning and beneficial of first
readers. (And I used to just think that I was lucky that she
married me.) My friend Rodger Turner has also provided
valuable feedback on works in progress on an ongoing
basis and IтАЩd like to thank him here as well.
The source material for this novel of Urban Faerie has
its roots in a lifetime of reading folk and fairy tales, and
from years of listening to and playing traditional music.
Some specific sources would include: K.M. Briggs,
author of studies such as The Anatomy of Puck, A
Dictionary of Fairies, and a couple of outstanding novels,
of which IтАЩd particularly recommend Hobberdy Dick;
Alan Garner, known better for his Young Adult fantasies
perhaps, but also a fine collector and reteller of traditional
English fairy tales; and Jane Yolen, who over the years has
produced a body of beautiful fairy tales that rivals any of
the masters. The gruagaghs I got from Robin Williamson,
one of the few surviving bards still practising his craft.
For those of you who are interested in more Urban
Faerie stories, I currently have a second novel in draft
form entitled Drink Down the Moon, a loose retelling of
тАЬThe Ogre, or DevilтАЩs Heart in the Egg.тАЭ This one centers
more on the fiaina sidhe, the solitary faerie briefly
mentioned in The Jack of Kinrowan, and deals primarily
with one Jemi Pook, a faerie sax player in an r&b band.