You annotated WHAT?!?

[yendi]

So the Sci-Fi Book club mailer came yesterday.

The first flyer we looked through had The Annotated Alice.

I've got this, and it's wonderful. If ever a book deserved annotation, it's Alice. And Martin Gardner does it justice.

Next to it was The Annotated Flatland. I don't own this one, but it certainly deserves annotation (although, as a much tinier book, doesn't have the same instant "spend the $20 and buy it" appeal). It's a classic.

(Although it wasn't listed, I own the Annotated Wizard of Oz. This book is a bit more dubious -- it's a wonderful book, and a classic, but it's less subtle than the other two -- many of the annotations are major stretches.)

But then, later in the catalog, there was the kicker:

Dragonlance: The Annotated Chronicles.

You. Must. Be. Shitting. Me.

They fucking annotated Dragonlance? Weis and Hickman, the writers who practically redefined "hack" for an entire generation?

There is way too much crack in the drinking water at Wizards.

What the fuck will they annotate?

"Hickman's use of a lich in this scene is highly representative of his own confused sexuality, with his Mormon faith forcing him to contain his inner homosexual."

"Weis, in this scene, uses a skeleton as a metaphor for dead people who come back to life. Oh, wait. It's not a metaphor. They are dead people coming back to life."

Anyone expecting the Annotated Xanth next?

Comments

Re:

[deza.livejournal.com]

Carry about 25 pounds of wood in a baqckpack, and you'll get the same feel...

But the book really is fun. You just have to remember to read the plays out loud. The more dramatic flourishes, the better. Shakespeare was meant to be performed, experienced, not read.