Charles Sarnoff Feral Swan

Annotation

THE FERAL SWAN tells of epic adventure, during a journey through the land of myth. In parallel, there unfolds the impact on plot of the maturation of symbolization in adolescence and in people of mature years. The prose is near poetic. The story is strong. Carl, a student, who escapes into fantasy when frustrated, tries to rewrite an epic poem as a novel. He decides to use his own fantasies in place of needed research. He adds a great battle for the castle at Inbal to illustrate how cowardly is a king. He adds new characters to challenge the reason for the quest of the king's general, the hero of the epic poem, Sadak. He has been sent on the quest to find the "waters of oblivion" which will erase his own image from its place in the memory of his wife. She has been abducted by the lecherous king, a man who is dependent on Sadak's strength for the safety of his kingdom. The epic hero enters the world of the dead, and returns to the land of the living with the elixir. During his return to life, Sadak is confronted by the spirit of a companion, who had been lost to the sea from their ship. The man, realizing that he has nothing to return to, rejects requests that he rejoin the living. Sadak continues to his home. On the way he replaces the elixir with poison. The king seizes the potion for himself, and dies. Carl's subterfuge is discovered. He learns to respond to reality, gives up dreaming, marries his girlfriend and gets a job writing fantasies for the movies.