"Foster, Alan Dean - Smart Dragons, Foolish Elves" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

Every society has felt the need now and then to leaven
heavy doses of religion and mythology with laughter, lest
the populace feel too oppressed by the gods. Not only did
healthy injections of humor help to lighten the life loads of
otherwise impoverished peoples, it served to humanize the
vast unknowables of existence. Believing that Zeus, or
Odin, or Shiva could find themselves on the cosmic
whoopee cushion every now and then just like Uncle Cheng
probably made the night seem a little less dark, the vastness
of space and time a smidgen less overbearing.

So the people told funny stories; sometimes respectfully,
sometimes not. Clearly the gods had a sense of humor,
because including them in amusing tales did not result in
imminent destruction and devastation. No matter how
serious the religion or mythology, some irreverent soul
always found room for a good laugh.

Today only the parameters have changed. The universe is
better understood and therefore less threatening, but we still
find space in religion for humor. The mythologies are
different, though. The old gods repose comfortably in the
Valhalla Retirement Home, having been replaced by com-
puters, satellite communications, and psychoanalysis. Sci-
ence, not mythology, rules the day.

Yet much of the old hangs around, having slipped
comfortably into new clothes. Human concerns are still

ix

x Alan Dean Foster

universal. Many of the stories in this collection would make
sense to readers of a hundred or even a thousand years ago.
It would do our ancestors good to know that their offspring
can still laugh and smile at themselves.

Fantasy can be much more than escapism. Like the
Arabian Nights, the imaginative tales in this collection often
have points to make about the human condition: about love
and truth, greed and lust, children and reality, what is really
important in life and what is peripheral or overrated. The
best stories are the ones that can make us think as well as
smile. That's as true of fantasy fiction as it is of stand-up
humor.

Fantasy is a tool that enables the writer to go beyond the
constraints of everyday life to make a point. The vehicle can
be ethnic mythology, puberty, Roman history, love, beer, a