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NeilNjae
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- NeilNjae
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I've already got a soft copy from Amazon. Looking forward to it!
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There have been expressions of solidarity, which is gratifying. "Enthusiasm" is less clear cut. I'll aim to post some questions on the first bit of The Obelisk Gate next week, unless people say otherwise.
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So. The Obelisk Gate read is due to start tomorrow. Is the slow read continuing or not?
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Aside from the "do we continue" question, I have one other question. I don't understand the "it's like a graphic novel" criticism. As in, I don't really understand what people are trying to communicate by drawing that analogy. I…
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(Quote) I agree with this sentiment. Everyone's comments have been sincerely offered and intended to move discussion forward; I think they've been universally taken in that spirit too. (Quote) I think "fanboi" is the word you're looking f…
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I've been really enjoying the discussions around the book, and (to reiterate an earlier comment) everyone is engaging with the discussions sincerely and in good faith. I have no problems with people not enjoying the book. It's not my book, and I'm n…
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I've finished it, so post when you're ready.
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These comments raise the question: should we continue with the Broken Earth slow read? It seems few, if any, have really enjoyed the book. From what I remember, the other books are more of the same. Is it time to stop?
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Replies to multiple posts: (Quote) If the story were Lovecraft-influenced, what would you expect to see? (Quote) Was it that Innon didn't want the blood on his hands, or that he wasn't capable of the orogeny needed? (Quote) In case you don't know…
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Another thing I forgot to mention: why had Fulcrum left active the Allia volcano? They could easily monitor it, and Syenite had no trouble capping it. Why risk another Season?
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(Quote) Volcanoes aren't simple pipes to the mantle. There's hotspots and bubbles and magma chambers and dykes and all sorts. I'd expect the channel at Allia to fail quite quickly as magma comes up, cools and depressurises, and then clogs the hole. …
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(Quote) What meaning to people here-and-now derive from game playing and winning? Once basic material needs are met, what's the point in anything? I think that's one of the issues brought up by the book, about what people could or should do to make …
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(Quote) It was a follow-up on Innon's statement that Syenite was stronger than Alabaster, as Alabaster was fragile and only just holding together. I think it was more a reference to Syenite's greater resilience. (Quote) I'm enjoying all the specula…
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(Quote) They're the things that occur to me, as an attempt to start conversations. They're not meant to be in any way proscriptive. If you have your own thoughts, please come up with them! I'm aware that me posting questions may restrict the discuss…
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(Quote) Good analysis! The issues of frames around knowledge, and alternatives to them, is something to look forward in the next chapters. I think it's clear that the several strands in the book are there to give different perspectives on ... whate…
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(Quote) I've been reading this and thinking it's quite British, but not that bad, surely. Then I came to the chapter entitled "The Jackanory Version". Oh, you poor yanks. You won't have a clue.
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(Quote) Chance, unpredictability, and free will are all strong themes of the book. I don't think anything is certain in the outcome of the fall of the Azad empire.
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(Quote) Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but isn't it a happy coincidence that Gurgeh's ennui comes to a head just in time for the grand Azad tournament? Just how long ago did Contact start playing this game?
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Still catching up with the book, but I'm somewhat surprised that no-one's mentioned the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Several times, the game of Azad is described as a language, with Gurgeh communicating with other players through it. The most striking ex…
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(Quote) Another point from my delayed read. While touring the city, Flere-Imsaho says that Contact hasn't already intervened in Azad because all the interventions it's modelled have resulted in more suffering than letting Azad continue as it is. Us …
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Still churning my way through my re-read, and something I'd not noticed before, and may add to the symbolism of the game playing... Gurgeh is dark-skinned. The Azadians are light-skinned and racist, to the extent that the expectation is that any dar…
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(Quote) My day job is an AI researcher. This is an old problem, and one we're already dealing with. Airbus planes will over-ride the pilot's control inputs if it's dangerous. This has prevented some accidents. It's also caused others, when the plane…
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(Quote) Perhaps we should read a le Carré / Smiley book soon, as a comparison on how to portray espionage? And perhaps a Flemming / Bond book as a contrast?
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(Quote) It turns out, this isn't such a great insight, as Banks tells us, near the beginning of the book, that Gurgeh will be played by Contact. An early chapter, before the game of Stricken, before Gurgeh is contacted by Concact, while Gurgeh is e…
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(Quote) Really? That's an extreme isloationist / libertarian view, it seems. Do you not want people giving you advice, even if they're experts and you're not? Do you not want governments to implement public-health campaigns, or provide public goods …
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(Quote) Especially as, as we saw with Grugeh, that it's easy for the Minds to manipulate people into behaving as the Minds would like.
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(Quote) By "people" I meant "we, the readers," and not how the in-universe characters react to her. Sorry that wasn't clear. Not that it negates your answer in any way!
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(Quote) I don't know if you've read other Culture books, but... this comes up. There are some people, and some Minds, that disagree with the Culture and what it does, and decide to leave the Culture. The Culture, being the Culture, let them go with …
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(Quote) It's interesting that biblical scholars think so. I don't think it's that relevant for anyone else. (Quote) To a great extent, they are. In fact, they really are the loving God of Christianity. I've not thought of it that way before. Going …
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I'll continue to sing the praises of the wonderful Mindjammer RPG. It's very Culture-like, apart from the lack of Minds. There's plenty of scope for adventure there (including my Mindjammer/Thunderbirds mash-up, _Interstellar Rescue). There are a c…