#Wolfgang Hohlbein

[toastedcinnamonflakes]

Ich habe das Gefühl, zu dem neuen "Hagen" Film könnte man eine Menge gute Fanfictions machen....ich meine... Siegfried und Hagens gegenseitiges Misstrauen, dann der wachsende Respekt...die Szene nackt im Wasser...der Betrug....Hagen, der sich am sterbenden Siegfried festklammert...ich sehe das Potential, meine Leute.

[optimisticrunawaygalaxy]

Sometimes you just have to paint a little something for a book that doesnt have a fandom

This was SO fun to paint, I was gonna add the bullet holes and maybe even a few bullets flying through the air however you cant even SEE the house in the final thing so ya know. whatever Also yes there are THREE Intruder motorbikes, the third one is just a bit blurry in the background akdjfhn

ALSO YES Nobody will know this book, it doesnt exist in english and I havent seen a single post about it on here. woops

[hovelicher-unsin]

lese gerade "Der Ring der Nibelungen" von Hohlbein/Dewi und ich gaspe, ich giggle, ich frowne at hagen, was ein absoluter dreckskerl, ich liebe ihn

[hikingofthenoldor]

I finished reading "Die Templerin" by Wolfgang Hohlbein this morning. I have very mixed feelings about the book but here's a little sketch I made at work.

It's Salim and Robin. The writing has its flaws but these two do have their moments.

[the-promise-has-been-made]

EXCUSE ME WHAT THE FUCK AMAZON IS BRINGING OUT A SHOW BASED ON MY FAVOURITE BOOK WHEN I WAS A KID AND IT'S COMING OUT IN MAY AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HEARD ABOUT IT?????

[filmola-de]

Der Greif – Episodenguide

Episodenguide Der Greif Nach Hohlbeins Fantasy-Bestseller: Um die Welt vor den Klauen des Greifs zu retten, muss Mark sein schweres Familienerbe annehmen und zum Kampf in den Schwarzen Turm ziehen. Als Mark in den Schwarzen Turm eindringt, ahnt er nicht, welche Kräfte er entfesselt. Der Greif, der über dieses albtraumhafte Reich herrscht, bietet all seine Macht auf, um den Jungen in seine Gewalt…

[movie-titlecards]

The Magic Kids: Three Unlikely Heroes (2020)

My rating: 5/10

Immens albern und einigermaßen seicht, und es ist sehr offensichtlich, wo die Inspiration herkam (Es ist Harry Potter. Aber als Vampir. Aber ohne Prepz.), aber andererseits ist Wolfgang Hohlbein meines Wissens kein transphobes, hasserfülltes Monster, was dann wiederum für diesen Film spricht.

Immensely silly and rather shallow, and it's very obvious what inspired this (it's Harry Potter. But he's a vampire. But there's no prepz.), but on the other hand, as far as I know Wolfgang Hohlbein isn't a transphobic, hate filled monster, so that's a point in this movie's favor.

[travellingwiththedead]

Vielleicht tu ich dem Mann jetzt unrecht, weil ich mich nur noch vage an die meisten Bücher erinner, aber:

Ich glaube meine Neigung dazu, alle Charaktere, die zu hilfsbereit sind, verdächtig zu finden, kommt davon, dass ich als Kind zu viele Wolfgang Hohlbein Bücher gelesen habe xD

[incorrect-koh-posts]

Masterlist of KoH-related Novels

Below you'll find a list of every novel I know of that is set in the same period as Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005), covers at least some of the same events and features some or all of the historical figures that also appear in the film. The list will be updated occasionally as I work my way through. Enjoy!

✷ English-language novels & novels available in translation

1879: Lady Sibyl's Choice (Emily Sarah Holt) -> thoughts

1937: The Leper King (Zofia Kossak, originally published in Polish) -> thoughts

1954: Knight Crusader (Ronald Welch)

1965: The Wandering Unicorn (Manuel Mujica Lainez, originally published in Spanish) -> thoughts

1969: The Knights of Dark Renown (Graham Shelby) -> thoughts

1989: Alamut (Judith Tarr)

1991: The Dagger and the Cross (Judith Tarr)

1992: Pagan's Crusade (Catherine Jinks)

1996: Jerusalem (Cecelia Holland) -> thoughts

1998: The Book of Saladin (Tariq Ali)

1998 - 2000: Arn the Knight Templar series (Jan Guillou, originally published in Swedish)

The Road to Jerusalem (1998)

The Knight Templar (1999)

The Kingdom at the End of the Road (2000)

2004: Crusader King (Susan Peek)

2006: Sand Daughter (Sarah Bryant)

2007: The Leper Crown (George Morgan)

2009 - 2021: The Magdalen Cycle series (Scott R. Rezer)

#1: The Leper King (2009)

#2: The Pawns of Sion (2015)

#3: The Gambit Queen (2021)

2011: The King's Witch (Cecelia Holland)

2011 - 2013: Saladin trilogy (Jack Hight)

Eagle (2011)

Kingdom (2012)

Holy War (2013)

2011 - 2023: The Last King of Legends series (Serafia Cross)

#1: The Kingmakers (2011)

#2: In the Face of Trials (2012)

#3: The Sovereign Gambit (2015)

#4: The King's Last Deeds (2023)

2012 - 2017: Outremer Chronicles series (Peter Tolladay)

#1: The Templar's Apprentice (2012)

#2: The Harsh Mistress (2014)

#3: The Thorn in the Crown (2016)

2014 - 2016: Balian d'Ibelin series (Helena P. Schrader) -> thoughts

#1: Knight of Jerusalem (2014)

#2: Defender of Jerusalem (2015)

#3: Envoy of Jerusalem (2016)

2018: Templar Silks (Elizabeth Chadwick)

2018 - 2020: The Brotherhood series (K. M. Ashman)

#1: Templar Steel (2018)

#2: Templar Stone (2019)

#3: Templar Blood (2020)

2018 - 2023: Watchers of Outremer series (Suzannah Rowntree)

#2: The Lady of Kingdoms (2019)

#5: The House of Mourning (2023)

2020: The Leper King (Peter Busby)

2020: The Land Beyond the Sea (Sharon Kay Penman) -> thoughts

✷ Non-English novels not available in translation:

1959: L'Étoile de Pourpre (Serge Dalens & Pierre Joubert, French comic)

1999 - 2017: Die Templerin series (Wolfgang & Rebecca Hohlbein, German)

#3: Die Rückkehr der Templerin (2004)

#4: Das Wasser des Lebens (2008)

#5: Das Testament Gottes (2011)

#6: Das Band des Schicksals (2017)

2002: Thibaut ou la Croix Perdue (Juliette Benzoni, French)

2007: Las Lanzas de Jerusalén (Georges Bordonove, Spanish)

2019: Die Assassinin (Alexandra Cavelius, German)

✷ Tangentially related:

1946: mentions of KoH characters in The World is not Enough (Zoé Oldenbourg)

1997: Queen of Swords (Judith Tarr), about Baldwin's grandmother Melisende

[setrija-nibelungenfangirl]

My random thoughts on ‚Hagen – Im Tal der Nibelungen‘ (2024) by Cyrill Boss und Philipp Stennert. Based on Wolfgang Hohlbein's novel ‘Hagen von Tronje’ from 1986.

Since @galarix asked me for my opinion, here are my thoughts on the film:

I was expecting Hagen 2024 to be a trash film, but the production is too high quality to label it as trash, e.g. in the landscape shots. The film is not good because it lacks depth and has some illogical scenes. Nor did it manage to move me emotionally (except in the form of the anger I felt at Siegfried's behaviour - and it made me laugh in two scenes because I found them so ridiculous). But it wasn't completely bad either: it has interesting approaches and concepts. There is actually a good basis for complexity, but it is not used - the film is above all a lot of wasted potential.

However, you can't tell from the film that it's actually just a 2-hour version of the 6-hour series to be released in 2025. If I hadn't read that somewhere in advance, I wouldn't have realized it. So the film does work on its own.

A few more of my thoughts on the film with a few mild spoilers under the cut:

Negatives:

- The film tries to build relationships between characters and somehow give them depth (especially with Siegfried and Hagen), but it didn't work for me. Unfortunately, the characters are all relatively one-note and flat, especially those who are not Siegfried and Hagen. With Siegfried and Hagen, there are hints about their past, but they come to nothing (neither story-wise nor thematically).

- I also found it a pity that Hagen and Siegfried always react pretty much the same way to situations right up to the end: Hagen always remains calm (and tends to be passive) and Siegfried remains pretty much constantly a... drug-addicted thug. In the end, you could say that Hagen does behave tougher, but it's too little too late for me. I thought that Hagen should have lost his temper earlier, at least a little more - in one section of the plot, Siegfried violates what Hagen stands for (or should stand for) so much that I would have found it fitting if Hagen had slapped Siegfried or at least said a few harsh words/implied a threat to him.

- In this film, Hagen is mainly focused on protecting his family and Gunther's kingdom (and making Kriemhild happy). Personally, however, I found it illogical that he conceals a super important matter from Gunther that jeopardises (or really should jeopardise) Gunther's authority as king and Gunther's reputation.

- In general, it bothered me that characters react far too little to certain things and that other characters suffer too few consequences for their behaviour. In my opinion, the Burgundians allow themselves to be disrespected by Siegfried for far too long and far too much. And when Kriemhild goes on a three-day trip into the forest with a violent drunkard (= Siegfried), neither Hagen nor her brothers seem to care too much - which is particularly illogical/funny because earlier in the movie Hagen was riding after Kriemhild (out of concern for her) when Kriemhild rode after her horse (that had gone mad earlier).

- The acting could have been better. For example, Kriemhild has an emotional scene, but it didn't work for me because the acting wasn't that convincing. I also thought that Gunther and his siblings had zero charisma. The acting of some of the actors seemed wooden to me (e.g. Kriemhild).

Positives:

- The film has very beautiful landscape shots, especially in Iceland. And it has some good visuals.

- It has interesting concepts and approaches. For example, there is a ritual that I found very cool as a (dark-fantasy) concept (even if I wouldn't have associated it with a Nibelung adaptation).

- Despite saying so many negative things, I have to say that I'm still thinking about the film a week later and it has piqued my curiosity: I'm preoccupied with the question of what the hell is wrong with Siegfried. And when the series 2025 comes out, I do want to watch it because I want to know what's going on with Siegfried and with Hagen's weird backstory. So even though he often upset me throughout the film, I would actually still say that Siegfried is the ‘best’ character in the film for me because he's at least somewhat interesting to me. Hagen is unfortunately too passive for me to be really interesting - only his backstory arouses my curiosity (which is not fully explained in the film). But the other characters are uninteresting to me.

Minor nitpicks:

- What the hell is Siegfried wearing? Worst outfit in Nibelung film history. Why is he wearing a modern coat and a grey sweater while everyone else is at least in pseudo-medieval clothing?

- I also find a few other costumes weird. One of the Valkyries looks to me like she's from Dune.

- Somehow the helmets on Dankrat and Gunther didn't fit properly. But I'm no expert when it comes to that. But it seemed that way to me, especially that the helmet of Dankrat was way too big for him.

- The portrayal of Brunhild in this film is the worst of all the NL films, in my opinion. She's more like an animal than a human being… All she does in the film is: show her breasts to the camera, fight, make out with Siegfried, scream and cry. Siegfried is the only character in the film she has a conversation with once, otherwise she didn't exchange a single word with anyone else... It wasn't too bad for me because I'm generally not that interested in Brunhild as a character, but it was still a shame that she was portrayed so flatly. She is a mythical Valkyrie and not supposed to be human in this movie… but I didn’t find her interesting at all.

All in all, I would give the film a 4/10 (or maybe even a 5/10) as a ranking because although it doesn't really have any depth, it has at least stayed in my head for the week now and successfully piqued my curiosity about 1-2 of its aspects.

I'd have to watch the 2004 Nibelungen film again to say whether I like Hagen 2024 or the 2004 film version better. I definitely prefer the 1924, 1966 and 1957 film versions over Hagen 2024.

Hagen 2024 seems also to be a really loose adaption of Hohlbein’s novel… But I don’t remember enough of the book to say for certain.

[tia-amorosa]

Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @danjaley 😊

last song I listened to: NLSN - Alright (feat. towty), I like music that lets the soul fly away a little^^

favorite place: um…my bed😁

favorite books: hmm, that's difficult to say, because firstly: I don't read real books, because I can't hold it in my handund and secondly: I only listen to audio books. But what I really liked so far was "Anubis" by Wolfgang Hohlbein and the trilogy "Mia & Korum - The Krinar Chronicles" by Anna Zaires *ahem*, I like erotic novels very much^^

currently reading: At least not a real book, but lots of stories on Tumblr^^ (you're doing great, guys)

favorite tv show: ooh, that's also difficult... I rarely watch TV, more Netflix. The last thing that caught my attention there was „physical 100“ ^^

favorite food: Mochis…yes, I love those little soft sticky guys, I generally really like Asian food.⛩🍜🍤

Tagging: @cozygirlsimmer , @liesemietze 💓

have a nice day/evening💗

[toastedcinnamonflakes]

Bin jetzt echt am überlegen, ob ich den Hagen von Tronje Roman von Wolfgang Hohlbein lesen soll...ich fand den Film ja echt nicht schlecht...wäre alles für, ähm. Die Wissenschaft.

[optimisticrunawaygalaxy]

Average conversation about Hohlbeins books honestly. im normal about those books. grhfgr

[whumpshaped]

For German whump recs: A few German mutuals and I all found out that we all used to love Wolfgang Hohlbein's writing cause his books are incredibly whumpy :D my fave were the 4 Anders books, and I remember Horus being incredibly whumpy. Also if you want to watch sth, I cannot recommend Tatort Saarbrücken enough. It's so good :D

WELL THERE U GO THAT MUST BE WHY TATORT SAARBRÜCKEN WHUMP IS THE ONLY THING I FOUND AJSJDKSKSK

thank u for the rec!!!! man i didnt know u were also german, so many people here are german... highest concentration of german ppl outside of germany

[mask131]

Fantasy throughout the world

On top of having an article centered around the French fantasy specifically, the "Modern Success" issue of the BNF Fantasy series also has an article (again written by Anne Besson) covering the topic of "Fantasy throughout the world". Here is, once again, a rough translation by your humble servant:

While heavily dominated by an English-speaking production, fantasy literature found its place in numerous European countries, and managed to cross several continents.

Born in England, grown in parallel on the two sides of the Atlantic oceans, and becoming a mass-phenomenon in the United-States, fantasy is without a doubt an anglophone genre. Even today the fantasy market has a MASSIVE unbalance, and the modern fantasy successes prove that the mondialization of the imaginations is dominated by the cultural superpower of the USA. But ever since the 1970s, as the translations of Tolkien spread across the world and role-playing games conquered the heart of teenagers, "native fantasies" started to appear in various European languages.

German fantasy is a good example of one of those "local takes" - it does help that Germany has a literary background including the Romantic movement, and the brothers Grimm fairytales. After the enormous success of Michael Ende's Never-Ending Story in 1979, the German fantasy did not stop. Many successful authors appeared. Wolfgang Hohlbein gained an internal fame, with his 1982 Märchenmond or his 1999's Chronicles of the Immortals. Cornelia Funke was a famous German youth author, with her trilogy "Inkworld" in 2003. Kai Meyer reworked Germanic legends in his 1998's Loreley or his 2001's Nibelungengold. Walter Moers created the continent of Zamonia, and popularized the character of Captain Blue-Bear (hero of a 1993's children television show, of two novels, and of a 1999's movie).

But very often, international fame only latches on one specific author that is well-known outside of their country's frontiers. In Poland, this author would be Andrzej Sapkowski with his 1986's Witcher series, adapted in 2007 as a video game, and in 2019 as a television series). In Spain, it would be Javier Negrete with his 2003's Tramorea.

Crossing the continents, it becomes very tempting to mix together the magic of fantasy literature with specifically cultural supernatural domains - the Hindu pantheon, the Chinese ghost stories, the kami and the yokai of Japan, the witchcraft of Africa or the Caribbean Isles...

South-America is rich of a literary tradition that in France we compare to our own "fantastique": the short stories of Argentina's authors Jose Luis Borges or Adolfo Bioy Casares in the 40s, the magical realism of Alejo Carpentier in Cuba (The Century of Lights, 1962), of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Columbia (A Hundred Years of Solitude, 1967) or Carlos Fuenta in Mexico (Terra Nostra, 1975).

On the side of the African continent, The Road of Hunger, in 1991, by Nigerian author Ben Okri, is also part of this more "legitimate" current, a form of fantasy much closer to "general literature", but there is a new African generation, dominated by English-speaking women (Nnedi Okorakor, Nisi Shaw, Lauren Beukes) that fully appropriate and absorb the fantasy genre.

Up until a very recent date, it was considered more respectful to not assimilate these works, born of very different cultures, with a genre that is both modern and Anglo-Saxon. However, the numeric world and the mondialized economy have today destroyed a lot of cultural frontiers, and today we assist to a true "meeting of the imaginations" mixing various cultures together. The author of this article mentions as an example several works coming from East-Asia: the Japanese manga Full Metal Alchemist by Arakawa Hirowu, the other Japanese manga Witch Hat Atelier, or the Sino-American movie The Great Wall (2016).

[samsalems]

Wanted to post a thought about trying to re-read wolfgang hohlbeins Dunkel bc it's been over 10 years and I can only vaguely remembered stuff and that i really liked what it did with vampires, only to see that no one translated this man's books into english???????

Like. I wanted to give you guys the translated title so yall could understand what I'm talking about. But uh. Apparently no. Can't do. Dude wrote over 200 books, one of the biggest german genre authors and only 11 got translated into english