This book caught a lot of flak on one of the Asatru list serves I am on. I was so curious about the bashing it was getting I had to run out and buy a copy to read for myself. I'll just repost my reply to the list here.
Ok, I'll throw in my two cents. After hearing all of the bashing of Ralph Blum's book I ran out and bought his book of Runes. I just had to read it and see what all of the fuss is about. I am an educated man and as far as Asatru goes I am quite conservative. I don't believe much in magic or spells although I don't discount the idea of divine influence. So that being said, what did I think of his book?and that just about wraps that up ;-)
I can't say I didn't enjoy reading it. Ralph is obviously a very spiritual man who draws from more areas of study than just Norse beliefs. So it is only natural that his views will part from the views of strict followers of Norse teachings. He references the I Ching numerous times, I don't ever recall that being of Norse origin nor does Ralph imply it is. It just shows he draws from a varied belief network. He also references more Christian ideals than I am comfortable with when dealing with subjects such as rune lore. In honesty though, there was a time when the two were surely mixed. The Lord of the Rings quotes that pepper the book also don't help if you are trying to take his book as a true reference. Nothing wrong with it I guess but if I was writing a book of medieval history I doubt I would load it full of Dungeons and Dragons references. Just seems to cheapen it a bit.
The book as a whole was of nice quality and despite the flaws very inspirational I think. Ralph seems like a guy who honestly believes in what he preaches and the actual meat of the book wasn't too terribly off base. If I was to categorize his book I think it would be a book of using the runes as a tool written by someone who is a general spiritualist, not a devote follower of Asatru.
So although I didn't agree with a lot of his views, I did enjoy reading it. I always welcome other's views, even if I don't agree. I do believe that is part of our teachings no?
3 comments:
I havent read Blum's book yet. I'm a big fan of Edred Thorsson's books though, and I'm sure you've noticed how controversial he is. I suppose one just has to be wary when reading any book on runes, separating lore from the author's own UPGs.
Have you read "Rune Lore" by Thorolf Wardle? It can be ordered on the OR website. Heimgest recommended it on the forum a while ago and I wasn't disappointed. It details everything which is known about the runes from historical records, rune rhymes, inscriptions, etc. but without the author's own UPGs. A pretty good book.
That's a good rec, I'll have to check that out!
On a side note, how did you like that Forefather CD? I picked up "The Kingdom is ours" and love it.
I loved Engla Tocyme one of the better heathen metal bands IMO. I haven't heard "The Kingdom is Ours" yet but I definitely want to get more of their CDs. Too bad they aren't available on iTunes yet.
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