Wednesday 24 June 2009

Fantasy author meme

How odd that I got this result to this meme when I've only just been reading Susan Cooper...

Your result for Which fantasy writer are you?...

Susan Cooper (b. 1935)

3 High-Brow, -21 Violent, -9 Experimental and -1 Cynical!


Congratulations! You are High-Brow, Peaceful, Traditional and Romantic! These concepts are defined below.


Though born in England, Susan Cooper currently lives in the United States. She is most well-known for her The Dark Is Rising sequence, which has received substantial critical acclaim, the second book (also called The Dark Is Rising) in the series winning a Newbury Honor and the fourth book (The Grey King) being awarded the Newbury Medal, one of the world's most prestigious awards for children's literature. The series is one of the finest examples of contemporary fantasy: the kind of fantasy where magic happens in an actually existing place. The Dark Is Rising is set in Britain, where two common themes of fantasy are combined; that of a magic world parallel to ours, which later became so popular with the Harry Potter books and that of ordinary British school-children playing a role in the struggle between Good and Evil, which had earlier been explored by C S Lewis.


Cooper manages to use the idiom of traditional children books to tell a tale of epic proportions, as evil beings from Celtic legends appear on Earth to do battle with the Old Ones, a secret society of people with magic powers. She is also able to combine this rather romantic vision with important messages, the compassion of one of the children being vital to the cause of Good at one point in the story. In Cooper's world, what you think and do matters on a grand scale, a message children and adults alike should take to their hearts.


You are also a lot like Ursula K Le Guin.


If you want some action, try China MiƩville.


If you'd like a challenge, try your exact opposite, Lian Hearn.



Your score



This is how to interpret your score: Your attitudes have been measured on four different scales, called 1) High-Brow vs. Low-Brow, 2) Violent vs. Peaceful, 3) Experimental vs. Traditional and 4) Cynical vs. Romantic. Imagine that when you were born, you were in a state of innocence, a tabula rasa who would have scored zero on each scale. Since then, a number of circumstances (including genetical, cultural and environmental factors) have pushed you towards either end of these scales. If you're at 45 or -45 you would be almost entirely cynical, low-brow or whatever. The closer to zero you are, the less extreme your attitude. However, you should always be more of either (eg more romantic than cynical). Please note that even though High-Brow, Violent, Experimental and Cynical have positive numbers (1 through 45) and their opposites negative numbers (-1 through -45), this doesn't mean that either quality is better. All attitudes have their positive and negative sides, as explained below.



High-Brow vs. Low-Brow



You received 3 points, making you more High-Brow than Low-Brow. Being high-browed in this context refers to being more fascinated with the sort of art that critics and scholars tend to favour, rather than the best-selling kind. At their best, high-brows are cultured, able to appreciate the finer nuances of literature and not content with simplifications. At their worst they are, well, snobs.



Violent vs. Peaceful



You received -21 points, making you more Peaceful than Violent. This scale is a measurement of a) if you are tolerant to violence in fiction and b) whether you see violence as a means that can be used to achieve a good end. If you aren't, and you don't, then you are peaceful as defined here. At their best, peaceful people are the ones who encourage dialogue and understanding as a means of solving conflicts. At their worst, they are standing passively by as they or third parties are hurt by less scrupulous individuals.



Experimental vs. Traditional



You received -9 points, making you more Traditional than Experimental. Your position on this scale indicates if you're more likely to seek out the new and unexpected or if you are more comfortable with the familiar, especially in regards to culture. Note that traditional as defined here does not equal conservative, in the political sense. At their best, traditional people don't change winning concepts, favouring storytelling over empty poses. At their worst, they are somewhat narrow-minded.



Cynical vs. Romantic



You received -1 points, making you more Romantic than Cynical. Your position on this scale indicates if you are more likely to be wary, suspicious and skeptical to people around you and the world at large, or if you are more likely to believe in grand schemes, happy endings and the basic goodness of humankind. It is by far the most vaguely defined scale, which is why you'll find the sentence "you are also a lot like x" above. If you feel that your position on this scale is wrong, then you are probably more like author x. At their best, romantic people are optimistic, willing to work for a good cause and an inspiration to their peers. At their worst, they are easily fooled and too easily lead.



Take Which fantasy writer are you?
at HelloQuizzy

11 comments:

DesLily said...

I started this quiz then got distracted.. it's a long one! lol..
so, you are like Susan Cooper and Ursula K Le Guin..not too shabby huh? and "high browed?" MY sister?! goodness! lol

Cath said...

Morning Pat! Just in the middle of writing you an e.mail, funnily enough. :-)

Yeah, it's a lonnnng quiz and then I couldn't quite work out how to put it on my blog and then saw I needed both LJ *and* Blogger html, I nearly gave up there and then. LOL. I'm not complaining about being similar to SC and UlG, nope. Nice result and really *me* I think. But me? High-brow? Excuse me while I bust a gut laughing... *Cough cough cough* The rest is not too far wrong though... I *am* rather romantic and probably traditional. Better get back to your e.mail before Peter is finished playing with his hedge trimmer...

Ana S. said...

yay, I am Philip Pullman :D

I'm also a lot like Tove Jansson, of whom I've never heard before... maybe I should give him a try, though.

13 High-Brow, -29 Violent, 7 Experimental and 5 Cynical.

I also love your results. Doesn't get much better than Ursula and Susan Cooper!

Ana S. said...

*Give HER a try

DesLily said...

ok so i took the test finally.. what's with all the "highbrow" stuff????

I got JK Rowlings. Well I wouldn't mind being able to write like her that's for sure..but I wouldn't want to be her.
and You are also a lot like Robert Jordan. If you want some action, try J R R Tolkien.

Susan said...

I must try this quiz!! After my walk, then, I'll be back!!! Congratulations on such 'high-brow' writers, Cath! lol I like your answer to Pat! :-D

Cath said...

Good result for you, Nymeth! I've heard good things about Tove Jansson but didn't realise she (I thought the author was a 'he' too) was a fantasy writer. Perhaps they count the children's 'Moomintroll' series as fantasy. I gather her 'Summer' and 'Winter' anthologies are very good. I agree though, it's hard to beat Cooper and Le Guin. :-)

Wow, Pat... you got JKR! Respect.

I'm very pleased with Cooper and Le Guin, Susan... two authors I really love. I've already tried Chine MiƩville and wasn't struck... need to try again I think. Lian Hearn I don't know at all.

Liz said...

Hello! I am new to your blog, and am enjoying it very much. We seem to have similar tastes, and I am reading Georgette Heyer (Black Moth) and Philip Reeve (Here Lies Arthur) right now! I took the quiz and am like Urula K Le Guin (highbrow, peaceful, traditional, cynical) -- which is funny, as I used to have leguin in one of my screen names. Apparently, my high cynicism rating makes me the mortal enemy of C.S. Lewis, although I don't really like cynical fiction all that much -- too much like real life!

Cath said...

Hi Liz, welcome to my blog! Le Guin is an excellent result to get, I'm a big fan of her books, particularly the Earthsea books and Hainish novels.

The Black Moth is one of the few Heyers I haven't read... my next will be A Convenient Marriage which I don't remember but assume I must have read at some stage. I'm in the mood to reread quite a few of her books at the moment.

I've seen Here Lies Arthur in the library several times and been tempted to pick it up. Be interested to hear what it's like. I can certainly recommend his Mortal Engine series if you haven't read them.

Nice to meet you! I'll visit your blog in a moment.

Liz said...

Hi Cath,

I don't have a blog yet (as you probably figured out). I have three youngish children and my computer time is catch as catch can! I finished Here Lies Arthur. It is a dark re-imaging of the Arthur legend -- it might a little too much so for Arthurian purists. But very well-written and a terrific female narrator. I have the Mortal Engine books out of the library, and am going to tackle them next. I loved the Larklight books, which my son also read. We share a love of fantasy, which is very nice.

Cath said...

Liz: with three young children I'm surprised you have any free time at all!

I'm no Arthur purist so I'll grab that book at some stage. I like Reeve's writing so much that I have to give it a go.

I've only read the first Larklight book so far. My grandaughter recommended them to me (along with Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence if you haven't tried those, though I've only read the first one so far.) I thought it was huge fun.

I do hope you like the Mortal Engines books. I'm beyond impressed with them and shall be sorry to finish the series.