Sunday, March 27, 2005

Foreword to Harbinger of Doom

FOREWORD (TO HARBINGER OF DOOM)
The following stories are the first volume in a collection of the adventures of the ancient warrior-hero most commonly referred to as Angle Theta. Although the original historical manuscripts detailing the life and times of this classic warrior are still inaccessible to the general public my contacts and travels have afforded me rare opportunities to view and even duplicate some of the original manuscripts which consist of more than ten thousand documents stored in protected archives in twelve museums and universities scattered across seven countries.

Due to the inaccessibility of these documents, few modern scholars or authors are familiar with the “Thetian manuscripts”. Consequently, the general public knows little or nothing about this ancient hero who some scholars believe helped shape much of the ancient world and perhaps was the historical inspiration for the legends of Beowulf, Gilgamesh, King Arthur and others.

Until now, no scholar has attempted a detailed compilation of the entire Angle Theta saga although several notable works containing Thetian stories have been penned through the centuries. Grenville’s work “Ancient Warriors of Scandinavia” (1884) and Addleson’s “The Ancient Cities of Prehistoric Europe” (1921) both contain several stories of Theta’s exploits. The text “The Warlords” (1408) by Chuan Chien contains two tales of Theta’s adventures in ancient Asia. While there is no complete English translation of Chien’s text, the accounts contained therein serve as independent evidence of the existence of Theta as a historical figure. The essay “Forgotten Empires” by Charles Sawyer (1754) and Da Vinci’s manuscript “Of Prehistory” (1502) also contain story fragments and references to the historical Theta. The voluminous treatise “Prehistoric Cities of Europe” by Cantor (1928) presents noteworthy, though non-conclusive, evidence of the historical existence of the city of Lomion in what is now southwestern England.

Some modern scholars do not accept the historical efficacy of the Thetian manuscripts due to the relatively small quantity of corroborating archeological evidence for the ancient cities and cultures detailed therein. Thus, they relegate Theta to the realms of myth, legend and allegory. Others maintain that the scholarly texts mentioned above, coupled with the original archived manuscripts, serve as sufficient evidence to verify the historical existence of Theta the man. One can only hope that in time the archeological record will further reinforce this position.

Several years ago while researching Theta for a story that I had planned to write, I had the good fortune to meet and begin a long-standing collaboration with several leading Thetian scholars, most notably Professor Augustine DiPipcorno of the University of Padua, and Dr. Ann Lewis of The University of Indiana, who have for some years been actively translating the entire body of available original manuscripts. These professors are leading a team that is currently preparing a series of detailed scholarly texts that include all the original tales plus their commentary and thorough critique of the corroborating scholarly, historical, literary and archeological evidence.

The work you are now reading, however, represents my re-envisioning of the first volume of the Professors’ translations into modern prose with additional dialogue and descriptive language added so that these stories will be found more accessible and entertaining to the typical reader. Further, I have sometimes chosen to label certain fanciful creatures and devices described in the original manuscripts using names and words that are familiar to modern readers of fantasy and science fiction tales. The story titles are my own and are meant to be entertaining. In all cases, however, the central plots, facts, themes, and spirit of the original tales remain unchanged.

I hope you will come to enjoy the Thetian tales as much as I have. If sufficient interest exists, I will present additional Thetian stories in future volumes. Please feel free to leave any constructive comments in the comments section of my website http://www.angletheta.blogspot.com/ and/or in this work’s listing on createspace.com and amazon.com. Happy reading.



-- Glenn G. Thater
January 1, 2008
New York

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