Fatalit's Scrolls

-- Book review: The Isle of Stone  by Nicholas Nicastro --

©2005 Signet.

Review: Ω Ω Ω Ω ω (4.5 out of 5 on the oh! mega! scale)

The Isle of Stone by Nicholas Nicastro is undeservingly overlooked by booklovers keen on the Ancient World. Nicastro’s talent for naturalistic, accurate description of the legendary past almost rivals that of the famed Steven Pressfield. Nicastro is as much skeptic, and perhaps as good a psychologist.

The Isle of Stone is a novel set in the time of the Peloponnesian War. The siege and surrender of Spartan hoplites on the barren island of Sphakteria – an unprecedented disaster – is the focus of this novel.

This is a short piece that has nothing to do with Ancient Greece. A stream of consciousness overloaded with home-made sophisms.

The warmest time of the day.
for D.A.

Larks and night owls: people who fancy themselves birds, people who wish to fly.

My neighbour is governed by the Sun. She gets up at dawn – or even earlier so that she may greet it and delight at every ray of light. She puts on her blue jeans and a down vest and then takes her little terrier for a walk. Dogs are larks, too. Their breath comes out it puffs and puffies – the girl’s and the puppy’s. In the fall they are the first to crush the frail white ice on the winterkilled puddles. “Crack! crack!” amidst the silence. Like unwrapping a brand new day.

-- Book review: The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Band of Thebes by G.A.  Hauser --

©2005 Publish America.

Review: Ω Ω Ωω (3.5 out of 5 on the oh! mega! scale)

This novel centers on Nikanoras and Meleagros, two fictional warriors in the Sacred Band of Thebes that in the long run fought in the Battle of Chaeronea. Since childhood Nikanoras has always been in trouble; first his dear sister is married off and not allowed to see him again and then a certain Arribas becomes his mentor. This repulsive man knows a secret about Nikanoras’ father and so exercises his power over the whole family. This is just the beginning of the boy’s misfortunes. The only ray of light in his life is the beautiful Meleagros, his peer. It is impossible not to be moved by their intimacy, their rows and reconciliations, and by the relationship they build with their comrades-in-arms who under Hauser’s pen get individual names and fates.

This blog was concieved as a storage place for translated fiction. However I have more Classics-related stuff to share with my few readers and I thought I might as well post the movie and book reviews which I have done for my Uni's newsletter, as well as some 'article' type of thing.
I promise, there won't be too much.

I also have an Alexander Miesa story which needs to be proofread. It is movieverse, that's why I'm not asking directly on the comm. 
Anyone? ^^

I know this is crap because I applied Russian rules of poetry-writing to English, which has others.

The Pass

The earth took blood and wine in
The sacrifice still smoulders
The mountains are silent
Protecting their shoulder

The pass that seems so narrow
In both ways leads to Hades'
As heavens scarred with arrows
Weep for the tearless ladies.

( Read more... )

Title: Ashes
Author: Fatalit
Fandom: Alexander (The Persian Boy)
Pairing: Alexander/Bagoas, Alexander/Hephaistion
Rating: PG
Feedback: always welcome
Archieve: please ask
Original story in Russian : www.erotopolis.ca/fics/Fatalit/Fatalit_Pepel.html
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters; only history has a claim on them. The story is told from the point of view of a eunuch named Bagoas, a favourite of Alexander. Bagoas is a historical figure, but in this story his depiction is intentionally faithful to Mary Renault’s vision of this character.

***

I got to watch the Atonement with Kira Knightley and whoever there is, the Oscar nominee movie.
OMFZ!!! I lost track of what was happening as soon as I saw Dunkirk. And the hospital later, with the Sister giving shit to the Chagre Nurses, and with the only French-speaking patient in the ward...  My mind switched to TC just like that, just like it always does. I closed my eyes a little and pictured Laurie somewhere in that ward.. out of the reach of the cameras, lying silently or talking to Reg over the locker...  and Ralph, somewhere in those streets, unseen but present.

I didn't quite enjoy Atonement as it is, but I finally got to see what it all actually looked like (provided that the costumes and the setting are historically accurate). Maybe I ought to watch more war movies, not to gape and try to calm down my pounding heart whenever I see WWII military amd medical uniforms.
I'm getting batty, am I not...

In the original it's way better, but I put lots of effort and time into translating it as best as I could. There we go, a poem on the Iliad. 

I am frenzied, through my veins now runs the Iliad's sweet venom. Wind is tugging at the curtains - like the sails of pentekonters - and the walls of mighty fortress in the salty puddles ripple. Troy, oh Ilium, Wiluša - sieged by hostile gods and people. On the squeaking deck of hardwood through the sea of life I'm faring. Sun has died and lies unburied on the blood-soaked strip of shoreline. In between "I must" and "should I?", in between the just and horrid men are fighting death for glory; watched and weighed by biased jury, in between the gates and mooring men whose term by night'll be over fight for songs of blinded Homer. The hexameter's eternal; Troy's enduring, not yet fallen; and the brilliant Achilles in the Iliad is killed not.

(c) Fatalit

Oh wow, I haven't posted anything here for a long while. Too busy with school, too used to the Russian @diary system.
Anyways, since this blog is more TC-oriented than my Russian blog, there we go.... Great thanks to my dear friend July822 for the link.
The art is by Steve Walker, whose gallery you really should visit:  http://quest.sasktelwebhosting.com/slideshow.html.
The picture below is called, as you can see, "The promises of Morning". Who would say these two do not look like Laurie, pondering over his loneliness, and Ralph, sound asleep like the victors do, on that very night in Laurie's cottage?



(Just BTW, due to lots of personal drama (yeeeah) going on, I'm miserably behind with the translation of TC. Not my fault, really...).
Another picture of S.Walker - under LJ cut - with Greek motifs.

I'm planning to devote some of the journal space to solving problems with translating The Charioteer. It's gonna be a long process so please don't ask me how much I still have to do. All of it. A year may not be enough.
Please help me if you can.

The first questions:

Drawing Fates
by fatalit

Beta-reading: 

sahara_storm

sahara_storm

I am almost out of a rather rough period in my life, but life still fucks me as She wishes.
It is hard to be the only one faithful among all the others progressive. Ah well, never mind.  I could say my elder comrade betrayed me, but that's not true. It is just that people change, and I remain antique.

The good thing is that meanwhile I have written two pieces of fanfiction about Stelios and Astinos. As advertised ^__^ I believe they both are good.
The first is a page and a half, romance, very metaphorical and thus almost intranslatable.
The second one is 12 pages, profound research done, easier language, but no explicit love-scenes.
As usual, my only question is if there is by any chance a kind person who could beta a translation for me, or knows anyone who possibly could. And BTW is there a LJ community for the 300? There should be.

They should have been lovers, Stelios and Astinos. Not so much in the book (is Astinos there at all?..) but the movie is quite ambiguos, with all the jokes about covering his comrade's back and offering his backside to the Phokians.  I shall write a story of them two even if I burn in the pits of Hades for all the historical RPS and other crap that I write.

We went to see the movie today. My review contains spoilers - but, hell, what spoilers can there be for the battle of Thermopylae?

The movie follows the book VERY closely - the structure, the scenes, all the fine details, the depiction of charachters and even the colours. The only addition is the plot line with Gorgo, who is fighting political battles while her husband fights the Persians. Absolutely unreal but a nice addition. Gorgo is a very moving character.

These are the ones (and only) I made last year.
Just to have a link here, too...

The first one is really my FIRST, so it is not *perfect* but I still love it ^^ It is my view and my personal understanding of Troy - Achilles and Patroclos, and chariots, and blood, and fire, and terracota-coloured wallls of the doomed city. The song is in Greek so I have no idea what it is about.
WE'LL BE FOREVER;

The second was done to celebrate two years since the birth of the "ancient Greek" fandom in Russia.
Alexander and Troy and some Spartans - all merrymaking and celebrating!
TO ALL THE HEROES

Enjoy!

Title: The Sky

Author: Fatalit

Beta: lorie945 My deepest and most sincere gratitude to Lorie, without whom this translation would not be possible at all. And you made the text so much better and more beautiful than it was in the beginning!

Fandom: Mary Renault’s Alexander trilogy

Pairing: Alexander/Bagoas and Alexander/Hephaistion both implied

Rating: G

Summary: Why Bagoas did not kill himself after Alexander’s death

Disclaimer: They are not mine, they belong to history and Mary Renault

Length: 3 pages

Bagoas PoV

I'm all absorbed with The Charioteer still.
It will not let me go, I don't even want to start reading anything else right now, though the Afghan Campaing has been collecting dust on the shelf since Christmas.

My knee hurts. Feel yourself like Laurie Odell, huh. But I did enjoy skating and falling on ice last week, I really did.
In my imagination two Greeks are kissing in the shade of a cypress-tree: one blue-eyed and stern, a warrior with strong will and body; and the other, an undecisive eromenos, with chestnut-coloured hair, addicted to self-analysis and good sex. I would rather read such f-f story than write one, though.

I think I'll be writing here occasionally, so far so good almost no-one reads the journal.

A couple of hours ago I turned the last page of The Charioteer. I did not quite get what happened.
And I'm thinking of what I would have done in their shoes.
I was hoping till the very end that Laurie will abandon Ralph and go back to Andrew.

I haven't written here for more than a year. This is not because I've forgotten what is dear to me - no, it's just because I still have my russian blog and I *live* there.

Now I have tons of my (slash) fanfiction that I consider awesome. Believe me, it IS. I have won several challenges and mastered my writing style incessantly.

Alexander, Troy, Athens, Sparta, Thebes - and now I'm working on the other two, about amazons and about the eruption on Thera.
But it is in Russian.
And I have no time to translate it.


If there is anyone who could possibly help me out with this (translation would be most appreciated, but beta-reading is also vital, because I have translated some of the stories myself, but it is BAD translation)  - PLEASE leave a comment here or better e-mail me to
 slash-is-art at yandex.ru

I will appreciate it very much, and other people who will have a chance to read my f-fiction will be grateful, too. I promise it is worth it. Most stories are no loger than a page and a half, but some very good ones can be ten pages long. We can start with any - short or long, Troy of Alexander  - but i REALLY want to share.
The future generations will not forget you ^^

Title: Drops of dew

Author: Fatalit

Beta: fred_god_of

Fandom: Myths and legends of the Ancient Greece

Pairing: Narcissus/Narcissus, Narcissus/Heilos (unrealized)

Raiting: R

Comments: devoted to Capricorn

Summary: the self-obsessed youth considers himself suitable for the god of Sun himself…

Feedback: always welcome

Sunrays dry the drops of dew on the petals.

***

Peril from a mirror was prophesized for me. That’s exactly what happened: is there a torture more painful than that of unrequited love?

I see myself – but can’t touch, only dip my fingers into the cold water. The lake dimples, and magic slackens. This moment I lift my face to look at you. 

 ( read more... )