영어로 읽는 고전 _ 로버트 W. 크렙스의 공포의 숲 너머
"지오프 세인트 레이너드의 '두려운 숲 너머'는 1950년대 초에 쓰인 판타지 소설입니다. 이야기는 베어스로트(Bear-throat)라고도 알려진 사냥꾼 아무스크가 하프스푸어라는 공포스러운 곰을 추적하기 위해 신비롭고 위험한 두려운 숲으로 떠나는 대담한 여정에 초점을 맞춥니다. 이 배경 속에서 탐험, 용기, 그리고 알려진 것과 알려지지 않은 것 사이의 충돌이라는 주제가 펼쳐지며, 아무스크는 위험한 생물을 마주할 뿐만 아니라 이상한 존재들을 만나고 그의 세계에 대한 비밀을 발견합니다. 이야기의 시작에서, 일련의 불길한 발전 후 하프스푸어를 추적하기로 한 그의 대담한 결정으로 아무스크의 평화로워 보이는 계곡에서의 일상이 방해받습니다. 첫 장들은 특히 로라라는 아름다운 젊은 여성과의 상호작용을 포함한 그의 친족들과의 교류를 소개하고, 그들을 '이름 없는 자들'이라고 불리는 어두운 세력으로부터 보호하는 수호자들에 대한 찬사를 포함한 그들 사회의 관습을 드러냅니다. 아무스크가 두려운 숲으로 모험을 떠나면서, 분위기는 기쁨 가득한 햇살 비치는 숲 터에서 불길한 그림자로 바뀌며, 앞으로 다가올 더 깊은 신비와 위험을 암시합니다. 곰과 독특한 인간형 존재들과의 만남은 존재, 정체성, 그리고 그의 민족의 두려움을 형성해온 오래된 전설에 대한 그의 이해에 도전합니다."
Classics Read in English _ Beyond the Fearful Forest by Robert W. Krepps
"Beyond the Fearful Forest" by Geoff St. Reynard is a fantasy novel from the early 1950s that follows Ahmusk, also known as Bear-throat, a hunter who embarks on a bold journey into the mysterious and dangerous Fearful Forest in pursuit of a terrifying bear called Halfspoor. Within this richly imagined setting, themes of exploration, courage, and the tension between the familiar and the unknown unfold as Ahmusk confronts not only the fearsome creature but also encounters strange beings and uncovers secrets about his world.
The story begins with Ahmusk's peaceful life in an idyllic glen being disrupted by his decision to track Halfspoor following a series of ominous events. The opening chapters introduce his interactions with his community, particularly a beautiful young woman named Lora, and reveal the customs of their society, which includes reverence for the guardians who protect them from dark forces known as The Nameless.
As Ahmusk ventures deeper into the Fearful Forest, the atmosphere transforms from sunlit clearings to menacing shadows, foreshadowing the profound mysteries and dangers that await him. His encounters with both the bear and unique humanoid beings challenge his understanding of existence, identity, and the ancient legends that have shaped his people's fears and beliefs.
The novel masterfully blends adventure with philosophical exploration, inviting readers to journey alongside Ahmusk as he crosses boundaries both physical and metaphysical, discovering that what lies beyond the Fearful Forest may change everything he thought he knew about his world and himself.
Among the contents
I am a hunter. My father was a singer, and his mate also; but I have a poor voice, good for little except to shout across the valleys to my friends, so my father, affectionately calling me Bear-throat, counseled me to become a hunter; and this I did.
I am strong, of course. My arms are brown as a deer's hide and they swell with muscle. My legs are sturdy and, though not thickset, can carry me at a run for the space of a day without tiring. I do not boast when I say this, for after all I am a hunter and my arms and legs are my tools as much as my lances and arrows and metal knife. My name is Ahmusk, though I am more generally hailed as Bear-throat, the nickname my father gave to me. I have eyes the color of Blue Brook where it runs into a deep pool. My hair, the pale golden hue of the earliest corn of autumn, is cut short in the fashion of hunters, falling scarcely to my shoulders in back, in front sliced off evenly just above my eyes. And I think this is all that need be said concerning the person of Ahmusk the hunter.
