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NeilNjae
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(Quote) Knowing full-well I'm reading too much into this... but if Saberhagen is positing, in these stories, that an out-of-control military-industrial complex is an existential threat to all life, what is the correct response? Saberhagen's response…
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(Quote) I think that could well be true. The parable of a war machine that slipped out of the control of its creators. So is "more war" the correct response to that? Is that what Saberhagen is saying? Was that a deliberate statement by hi…
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(Quote) In the final story, Karlsen has journeyed to an inhospitable environment, stay there for some indeterminate length of time (at least forty days and nights) while resisting temptation and rejecting lies, and eventually returns with a greater …
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Pretty good, I think. I wouldn't call his writing deep or subtle, especially when it comes to characters. Did any of the people have real depth and complexity? I think the closest we came was the story "What T and I did".
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Starting from the thesis that good science fiction is good because it's a reflection of our own times... what do the berserkers represent? Are they a people, like the Soviets or Chinese, out to destroy America? Are they a massively powerful and se…
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I'll also have more time in December, I think. Let's aim to read all of Book I and Book II in November, and finish the rest in December.
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I liked the range of worlds we saw, and the implied history of spread and collapse. The Esteelers came across as something that was explained and developed elsewhere; there were hints at the larger setting, but it wasn't handled well enough for me t…
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It's very much some dated SF. I don't think it's any more offensive than most other literature of the time: it wouldn't be published now, but it was a reasonable reflection of the times it was written. As Richard points out, just about everyone acti…
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I think I missed Karlsen's faith, and only noticed it when I looked back to answer this question. That indicates that exploration of faith wasn't successful for me. On a quick skim through, is Karlsen's faith any different from standard 1960s middle…
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Without A Thought was interesting because it obviously came about from Saberhagen reading about MENACE, a matchbox-based machine learning system (and, if you're interested, a description of a recent rebuild ). I spent a few minutes working out how &…
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For me, it didn't work as a novel. I thought of it as a collection of short stories with some connecting text. The stories were too different in tone and characters to have more cohesion than that. Now, the short stories themselves were entertainin…
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Reading schedule The book is about 540 pages long, so half of it is 270 pages. That is smack in the middle of Book III (of five). That gives us three options of how to read the book: * Read all of Books I and II (220 pages) * Read up to the end of…
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A good insight about the Icarus painting. The theme of general uninterest in Newton's origins comes through the book. (Quote) Connected to this, I think, is the motif of increased leisure and lack of worthwhile work. The world is falling apart, res…
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(Quote) If Newton said to a Terrestrial leader, "I'll give you lots of tech if you build me a spaceship," there's a good chance things wouldn't go well for Newton. You could argue that the stealthy approach is more likely to succeed. (Quo…
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I agree with the role that Betty played in the book, and that was explicitly described as Newton getting a better understanding of the unpublicised part of society. But I think the way the character was included in the story was clumsy. As an aside…
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Then the question is, was Newton Icarus, or was the Anthean society the overambitious Icarus and Newton was the "wings" (the part that was overstressed and failed)?
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I'm not sure Newton would be a PC in a game: the detail of creating and running an industrial empire doesn't seem like a great deal fun to play through. Newton's identity could be the core of a mystery scenario, but I'm not sure that game would fit …
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I watched the film once, many many years ago and I can't remember a great deal about it. Would the book still be read now, and published in the Masterworks series, if it hadn't been for the film?
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I didn't get a great deal from the painting, beyond the initial reading of Newton contemplating how he could never go back to his ideal home: he was the fallen Icarus. I think that means that I missed the importance of the discussion. But one other…
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Newton's physical frailness and gentle character came through and made him rather sympathetic. I could certainly feel for his stress and loneliness. Bryce seemed pretty down to earth. He wasn't some ethereal super-genius, like you often find in gen…
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I thought it held up pretty well. I can skip over the outdated science of "Mars as barely habitable". But the characters weren't awful, the plot was believable, the worldbuilding was reasonable. There's an element of the book addressing t…
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I think the preference is for Babel in two months. I'm happy to go along with that.
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I hadn't realised is was such a long book. Do we think it's too long for this venue? Or we could split the read over two months, if that's easier. Or, I could find another book. It's not like there's aren't lots of books to choose from!
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(Quote) I'm open to hearing other thoughts. There's no point proposing a book that no-one will finish or enjoy. There are reviews from The Guardian and Goodreads, and others at Grimdark Magazine and Paste Magazine. Take a look, see what people thin…
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(Quote) Ah, found it. It looks like a summary of the book, perhaps like a budget "Cliff Notes".
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RF Kuang's new book's just been released (she previously did the excellent Poppy War, though the sequels were less good): Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution A review of Babel from the Guardi…
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(Quote) I think RPGs, as a medium, can "play the notes requried". There are plenty of games (Nordic LARPs, and any number of games on itch.io) that are built around a particular "theme" or "play experience". If you play…
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(Quote) I'm sorry, I'm obviously missing your point. How is "musicians collectively improvising a composition" not "jazz" (or "jamming")? Jazz and improvisation are not deep musical skills. Similarly, actors improvise.…
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That idea of listening as a part of interaction is a basic technique of RPGs, I think. In Improv it's described as accepting offers and building on them, the "Yes, and" approach to interaction. But just that, I think, gets you nowhere nea…
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(Quote) I strongly suspect that Ishiguro wrote the book with more than one possible interpretation. (Quote) Yet Axl remains, with his memory returning. Is he the only one left who was there at the start of Arthur's great project (of genocide and pr…