tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.comments2023-04-26T00:55:44.495-07:00Fantastic WorldsJordan179http://www.blogger.com/profile/04175992431854812417noreply@blogger.comBlogger347125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-43585608154012838432016-08-29T17:37:00.654-07:002016-08-29T17:37:00.654-07:00every lord has a court wizard who can fly over or ...<i> every lord has a court wizard who can fly over or push down walls, and yet every lord lives in an expensively-built medieval castle complete with high vertical walls.</i><br /><br />Well, duh. It's to keep the riffraff out. How many commoners are there compared to one's fellow lords? <br /><br />They may even regard attacking the castles as unchivalrous because of the chance it gives for the peasants to revolt.<br /><br />Not to mention the elements of conspicuous consumption and overawing the peasants with grandeur.Mary Catellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769948263567169424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-28678948847212466572016-07-06T19:04:08.516-07:002016-07-06T19:04:08.516-07:00Ferd is the one who slashes the bicycle and twists...Ferd is the one who slashes the bicycle and twists the spokes, not Oscar. And Oscar is the one telling the story to Mr. Whatney. Check again.Zalia Vilkashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01757972541066104772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-7996069080640787712016-06-02T11:14:09.776-07:002016-06-02T11:14:09.776-07:00Substitute one large shark for many large squid an...Substitute one large shark for many large squid and you have 'Jaws'.jayessellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12657220445010991417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-8919287898323826762016-05-12T04:21:10.065-07:002016-05-12T04:21:10.065-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901987437446123044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-45448939058416730982016-02-14T15:55:40.446-08:002016-02-14T15:55:40.446-08:00Great analysis of one heck of a freaky story. I do...Great analysis of one heck of a freaky story. I don't think Campbell explicitly faults humanity for not colonizing extraterrestrial worlds, though it is a relevant observation from reading the story. Even the laziness & unseriousness of the last humans is just lightly criticized. I think he doesn't blame these future humans for that cuz it's what comes naturally to us & is part of an evolutionary process that doesn't judge or partake in human notions of good, bad, fault or blame. Evolution just is, it just happens, like the stars in the sky. It doesn't personally care about or judge humans any more than a tire judges the air it's filled with or the road it travels on. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11994791602390741044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-52420207575146489132016-01-31T20:02:35.333-08:002016-01-31T20:02:35.333-08:00I've often owned that book and could never get...I've often owned that book and could never get into it. In general, there's this idea that women are "closer to the earth" and hence would do better in a lower-tech society. There may even be a germ of truth to it in that the occasional Neolithic culture may have been matriarchal (based on the remanants in Bronze Age cultures of what look like earlier matriarchies).<br /><br />If so this would be matriarchy at a horribly low level of technology and hence <i>wealth</i>. It's no fun to be grindingly poor. In any case it wouldn't last, since humans know that it's possible to wield metal weapons and raise bands of specialized warriors ... which is what would have brought the old Neolithic matriarchies down, <i>if they ever existed</i>.Jordan179https://www.blogger.com/profile/04175992431854812417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-24807534383123775162016-01-31T14:22:00.986-08:002016-01-31T14:22:00.986-08:00Good point. And there /are/ these weird feminist ...Good point. And there /are/ these weird feminist eco-utopias, like /Woman on the Edge of Time/.Bad Horsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10735227563256689679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-26003687747745372312015-11-30T11:50:31.172-08:002015-11-30T11:50:31.172-08:00The only review that I have found of this great Sm...The only review that I have found of this great Smith's story, very deep and interesting. Thanks 4 share this :) In some parts, similar to Lovecraft's The Shadow out of Time and own Smith's The Visitors from Mlok. I really like The Monster of the Prophecy, specially the beginning and the end. Smith is capable to mix a totally outer world with a totally human situation, similar to Bradbury (who began his sci-fi interest thanks to Smith's work). Regards!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03105424978112819155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-57159928968783257422015-07-27T00:49:35.808-07:002015-07-27T00:49:35.808-07:00Hey, I read your post and i like it very much. It ...Hey, I read your post and i like it very much. It is really nice about reading.<br /><a href="http://www.experioninst.com/" rel="nofollow">Experion Institute, Inc.</a><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00311870068367809816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-45219032699258560362015-06-19T09:07:10.984-07:002015-06-19T09:07:10.984-07:00very nice review :)
vmenplus aslivery nice review :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://goo.gl/jpweWy" rel="nofollow">vmenplus asli</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-29154276779010540792015-04-16T08:16:36.462-07:002015-04-16T08:16:36.462-07:00just read this story, and I have some questions ab...just read this story, and I have some questions about it. I've read far more Robert E. Howard than I have Lovecraft. I remember reading long ago an encyclopedic article on Howard that called him, rather harshly, "an extreme racist who hated and feared blacks," but that "this fear and hatred was theoretical only, " and that "there is no evidence he ever focused it on individuals." From what I know about Howard, I can believe that. I'm not so sure about Lovecraft; but I've done some research on him, and said some things that make Howard look like a modern PC liberal. However, as dreadful as some quotes from Lovecraft were, I haven't come across anything that suggested that he did focus his hatred on individuals. The story has him doing just that. Is there any evidence out there to suggest that he really might have?Sweet Onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13647499714168470952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-67954108280033334722015-04-11T22:41:55.470-07:002015-04-11T22:41:55.470-07:00Think you mean this link
Sad Puppies.Think you mean this link<br /><br /><a href="http://lorenzo-thinkingoutaloud.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/sad-puppies.html" rel="nofollow">Sad Puppies.</a>Jordan179https://www.blogger.com/profile/04175992431854812417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-5435343646407908022015-04-11T22:39:56.341-07:002015-04-11T22:39:56.341-07:00First of all, I'm guessing you don't spend...<i>First of all, I'm guessing you don't spend a lot of time on feminist SFF sites and forums?</i><br /><br />You'd guess right, because I don't like going on forums where I get insulted and banned for the sin of Disagreement With Feminism (and by "feminism,," I mean whatever variant the author happens to hold). I <i>especially</i> don't like to be subjected to rampant sexism myself, for being male, and expected to smile and say "May I have another, Ma'am?!"<br /><br /><i>Characters like Arya, Brienne, and Dany are like catnip to feminist genre fans, and I've also read some great defenses of characters like Cersei, Caitlyn, and Sansa.</i><br /><br />You'd think they would be, but what I've mostly noticed is feminist complaints about George R. R. Martin for daring to make Westeros a <i>realistically</i> pre-industrial civilization -- which means, male-dominated. Far too many feminists also want to be anti-industrial, which ignores the reality that it was the Industrial Revolution which historically emancipated women from the trap of male domination which began with the <i>Agricultural</i> Revolution and its resultant specialization of labor in a subsistence-level economy.<br /><br /><i>They tend to have some issues with certain rape scenes or plot directions, and especially as aspects for the HBO adaptation, but in general the books are regarded as more positive than Tolkien.</i><br /><br />Possibly because many of the critics of Tolkien have never really read or understood Tolkien. Yes, the protagonists of <i>The Hobbit</i> and <i>Lord of the Rings</i> but those are largely because both books were inspired by Tolkien's own experience in the Great War. If you read <i>The Silmarillion</i>, the history of Middle-Earth is <i>profoundly</i> influenced by brilliant, strong-willed and often politically-<i>powerful</i> women, of whom the most obvious is the Lady Galadriel, survivor of the First Age and leader of the defense of the West for millennia. Luthien, who dares to venture with Beren to the court of Morgoth, that world's version of <i>Satan</i>, and <i>bests him in magic</i>, is also not exactly a shrinking little violet, either. And Eowyn, who dons armor, charges into battle, and beheads the Witch-King of Angmar, is not what I would call a helpless little flower.<br /><br /><i>I don't believe he's a "giant shackled by dwarves," I think he's a giant who's perfectly happy with the dwarves because he's been around them long enough that they don't bother him.</i><br /><br />You make a very good point there.Jordan179https://www.blogger.com/profile/04175992431854812417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-91760365286255564182015-04-11T17:49:00.846-07:002015-04-11T17:49:00.846-07:00Have made some general comments about the controve...Have made some general comments about the controversy:<br />http://lorenzo-thinkingoutaloud.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/sad-puppies.htmlLorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-50849266048741499322015-04-11T17:47:31.629-07:002015-04-11T17:47:31.629-07:00A nice re-calibration :)A nice re-calibration :)Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-31512414851400819092015-04-10T11:04:57.502-07:002015-04-10T11:04:57.502-07:00I don't really agree.
First of all, I'm ...I don't really agree. <br /><br />First of all, I'm guessing you don't spend a lot of time on feminist SFF sites and forums? Because almost all of them are extremely positive about ASoIaF. Characters like Arya, Brienne, and Dany are like catnip to feminist genre fans, and I've also read some great defenses of characters like Cersei, Caitlyn, and Sansa. Of course, I'm sure there are a few feminists who hate the whole thing, but I'm talking about the Gawker/Feministing/Mary Sue crowd. They tend to have some issues with certain rape scenes or plot directions, and especially as aspects for the HBO adaptation, but in general the books are regarded as more positive than Tolkien. <br /><br />And that, I think, is the real problem. George R.R. Martin has a pass from the people who would crucify a newer author doing what he's doing. That makes it easy for him to see nothing wrong with the party line: he's doing it and is successful, why can't they? I don't believe he's a "giant shackled by dwarves," I think he's a giant who's perfectly happy with the dwarves because he's been around them long enough that they don't bother him.Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877154215994359813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-62199015950589446562015-04-09T17:25:03.756-07:002015-04-09T17:25:03.756-07:00Perceptive.Perceptive.Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-45156542421221277742014-12-11T10:04:20.662-08:002014-12-11T10:04:20.662-08:00I have to wonder if a lot of the history of scienc...I have to wonder if a lot of the history of science fiction from the 1970's on was a contest between Donald A. Wollheim (and Jim Baen) on the one hand; and Damon Knight. Wollheim and Baen exemplify science fiction as sense of wonder and Big Idea, while Knight exemplifies the craven, cringing surrender to the lit-critter. This may have been the center of the struggle:<br /><br />http://fantasticworlds-jordan179.blogspot.com/2011/05/damon-knight-and-conceptual-ancestry-of.htmlJordan179https://www.blogger.com/profile/04175992431854812417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-67703732171205046442014-12-07T18:42:07.724-08:002014-12-07T18:42:07.724-08:001985? In 1971, Donald A. Wollheim pointed out that...1985? In 1971, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=FEonAAAAMAAJ&q=%22donald+a+wollheim%22+%22universe+makers%22&dq=%22donald+a+wollheim%22+%22universe+makers%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=oBtfU7OQCsHisAS-0ILYBQ&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA" rel="nofollow">Donald A. Wollheim</a> pointed out that <i>Analog</i> stories rarely won Hugo or Nebula awards even despite <i>Analog</i>'s large circulation.<br /><br />In other words, maybe this merely means the 1970s are back ... like a horrible recurring nightmare.Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04720409839023747889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-55844057155625462962014-12-04T21:04:38.318-08:002014-12-04T21:04:38.318-08:00Well said, very well said.Well said, very well said.Adventuresfantastichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16907562789681407416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-67161678897474234222014-11-27T17:45:25.849-08:002014-11-27T17:45:25.849-08:00A great story, pretty much Long's COLOUR OUT O...A great story, pretty much Long's COLOUR OUT OF SPACE. One wonders if there's a Long fan on the Doctor Who writing staff -- the episode "Father's Day" gave us the Reapers, which might as well have been Long's Hounds of Tindalos, and the recent episode "Flatline" is as good a Space-Eaters pastiche as we'll probably ever get, far superior to the version done on the mediocre anthology "Monsters". (I even saw at least one critic that quoted from "The Space-Eaters" to begin his "Flatline" review.) JBLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06120358953477246942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-26685988494781316472014-11-17T13:51:11.416-08:002014-11-17T13:51:11.416-08:00Note that the full COSMOS serial is now online at ...Note that the full COSMOS serial is now online at www.cosmos-serial.com.<br /><br />I hope you enjoy! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-80385216863253898652014-11-12T06:33:12.924-08:002014-11-12T06:33:12.924-08:00There are also a fair number of self-published wri...There are also a fair number of self-published writers from every demographic who seem to be writing space opera, military sf, steampunk, etc. with a fair amount of verve and sales. (Hugh Howey seems to have joined the greats already, or at least the darned good.)<br /><br />Now that there are things like Amazon Unlimited that allow unlimited reading on subscription, I assume that readers will be able to survey the new frontiers of the self-published field, and begin to point out who is great.Bansheehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12594214770417497135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-82434107504106552942014-11-10T08:16:57.818-08:002014-11-10T08:16:57.818-08:00There are some modern writers who write with the a...There are some modern writers who write with the attitude and verve of the Campbell era; most notably (and this is a <i>very</i> hasty and incomplete list) David Weber, Eric Flint, John Ringo, Alistair Reynolds, David Brin, Gregory Benford, and Lois McMaster Bujold. Many of these are published by Baen Books, and the ones who aren't are mostly published by Tor (the publishing company has a rather different philosophy than the website). Science fiction is actually in something of a Second Golden Age; the lit-critters have so far been rather unsuccesful at shutting it down. Jordan179https://www.blogger.com/profile/04175992431854812417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770861767173688889.post-54335971410426927762014-11-09T12:20:42.409-08:002014-11-09T12:20:42.409-08:00You raise some good points. I read a lot of the n...You raise some good points. I read a lot of the newer work (although it's mostly fantasy rather than sf these days) because publishers send me review copies, and hey, it's free books. I don't mind posting a review in exchange for a book. Left to my own devices, I tend to gravitate towards science fiction written during the Campbell era. Maybe that's an artifact of having read these writers in the reprint paperbacks of the 1970s and early 1980s. Still, I get more reading enjoyment from those stories than from much of what is published today.Adventuresfantastichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16907562789681407416noreply@blogger.com