There was a Thor comic where the young Thor meets a shield maiden who is as crazy as he is. She fights, drinks, and parties as hard as he does. They are happy together for many years, and then Loki comes along and asks Thor to go on a brief adventure. Thor and Loki go off for a few weeks and then return. But sly Loki knew that the realm they had gone to ran on a different time, and years had passed. Thor’s love had died alone, waiting for him to return.
Reminds me of William Adams the first english Samurai. He had a wife and two kids at home in England, but got stranded in Japan in the 1600s after a shipwreck. He was not allowed to leave the country for a whole decade, but gained employment and trust from the emporer as an advisor. He did send money and letters home to his family using East India merchants, but they never saw him again and his wife died in the same year as he did, thousands of miles apart
Neat! That sounded very similar to the character John Blackthorne from James Clavell’s novel Shogun, and turns out that’s who the character is based on.
Semley’s Necklace. A lovely entry in a lovely collection.
One of my favorite things about the Wind’s Twelve Quarters are her notes on gender and pronouns regarding the Left Hand of Darkness and Winter’s King. The way she has to invent words to describe what’s commonplace to us now is fascinating.
It’s similar to this old Macintosh demo I fall asleep to sometimes. Words that are so normal now are foreign and need explaining. I love a good time capsule.
Ursula is okay, but here are a couple of broads who knock her for a loop.
Joanna Russ was one of the first ‘out’ science fiction writers. If you want an adventure, try ‘Picnic On Paradise.’ Or get deeper with ‘The Female Man’
Suzy Mckee Charnas. ‘Walk To the End of the World’ is ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ raised to an infinite power. After the War, the elites were locked in fallout shelters. Eventually the males decided that it was all the women’s fault. Now centuries later, all the women are slaves.
Airships fighting in the Napoleonic Era. The only fantasy element is that they have access to helium. She does a magnificent job engineering her armada.
I think I might have started one of her books and noped out. I’ll check my library.
Beggars in Spain was my first intro to her, and Ej-Es (free to read link) sticks out in my mind.
She explores ethics/politics in sci-fi along with female sexuality, though more old school. People have said she’s got Ayn Rand vibes, but she’s not, some of her characters take on those characteristics so that she can tear them down later.
Also: Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice series is amazing. Gender/politics/individualism/collectivism all mixed together into a plot at breakneck speed where the characters are described more by what they say and do, than how many limbs and genitals they have
Oh shame. I knew it took me ~10 pages to get into the flow of her writing, and I struggled up til then at which her style suddenly ‘clicked’ for me and I was hooked
In terms of interest overlap: tentatively ask, thoughts on Andy Weir?
I think he’s a grade A++ plotter and a grade B- writer. On the other hand, ‘Project…’ was being narrated by the character, so maybe that’s the way the character writes?
Of all the writers I mentioned, I’d put Tanith Lee at the top for her prose. She can create an entire world in a few paragraphs.
No I mean about this premise. It was a fairytale where all the magic was just relativity and the protagonist was too much of a dumbfuck aristocrat to understand when anyone tried to explain.
There was a Thor comic where the young Thor meets a shield maiden who is as crazy as he is. She fights, drinks, and parties as hard as he does. They are happy together for many years, and then Loki comes along and asks Thor to go on a brief adventure. Thor and Loki go off for a few weeks and then return. But sly Loki knew that the realm they had gone to ran on a different time, and years had passed. Thor’s love had died alone, waiting for him to return.
Just Loki being a hilarious prankster, ruining two people’s love for shits and gigges.
Reminds me of William Adams the first english Samurai. He had a wife and two kids at home in England, but got stranded in Japan in the 1600s after a shipwreck. He was not allowed to leave the country for a whole decade, but gained employment and trust from the emporer as an advisor. He did send money and letters home to his family using East India merchants, but they never saw him again and his wife died in the same year as he did, thousands of miles apart
Neat! That sounded very similar to the character John Blackthorne from James Clavell’s novel Shogun, and turns out that’s who the character is based on.
The Voices from the Past youtube channel does a good job reading excerpts from his diary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keGQPzOd7lA
Ursula le’guinn wrote a novel with this premise!
Semley’s Necklace. A lovely entry in a lovely collection.
One of my favorite things about the Wind’s Twelve Quarters are her notes on gender and pronouns regarding the Left Hand of Darkness and Winter’s King. The way she has to invent words to describe what’s commonplace to us now is fascinating.
It’s similar to this old Macintosh demo I fall asleep to sometimes. Words that are so normal now are foreign and need explaining. I love a good time capsule.
https://youtu.be/ZmWOtf4Ziso
Ursula is okay, but here are a couple of broads who knock her for a loop.
Joanna Russ was one of the first ‘out’ science fiction writers. If you want an adventure, try ‘Picnic On Paradise.’ Or get deeper with ‘The Female Man’
https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=joanna+russ
Suzy Mckee Charnas. ‘Walk To the End of the World’ is ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ raised to an infinite power. After the War, the elites were locked in fallout shelters. Eventually the males decided that it was all the women’s fault. Now centuries later, all the women are slaves.
https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=suzy+mckee+charnas
The Female Man is hella transphobic.
The Female Man was written in 1975.
Sorry that a book written fifty years ago isn’t up to date in its approach.
No love for Nancy Kress?
Had to look her up. I think I might have started one of her books and noped out. I’ll check my library.
But now I’ll throw you two more.
Robyn Bennis.
https://bookshop.org/p/books/by-fire-above-robyn-bennis/82ed3b400af9da8e
Airships fighting in the Napoleonic Era. The only fantasy element is that they have access to helium. She does a magnificent job engineering her armada.
Tanith Lee.
https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=tanith+lee
She basically invented weird fantasy. Neil Gaiman stole all his best stuff from her.
Beggars in Spain was my first intro to her, and Ej-Es (free to read link) sticks out in my mind.
She explores ethics/politics in sci-fi along with female sexuality, though more old school. People have said she’s got Ayn Rand vibes, but she’s not, some of her characters take on those characteristics so that she can tear them down later.
Also: Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice series is amazing. Gender/politics/individualism/collectivism all mixed together into a plot at breakneck speed where the characters are described more by what they say and do, than how many limbs and genitals they have
I got Nancy Kress confused with Ann Leckie. I started Ancillary Justice and wasn’t impressed.
Looks like we don’t overlap much, but that’s cool.
Enjoy your holidays
Oh shame. I knew it took me ~10 pages to get into the flow of her writing, and I struggled up til then at which her style suddenly ‘clicked’ for me and I was hooked
In terms of interest overlap: tentatively ask, thoughts on Andy Weir?
I liked ‘The Martian’ and ‘Project Hail Mary.’
I think he’s a grade A++ plotter and a grade B- writer. On the other hand, ‘Project…’ was being narrated by the character, so maybe that’s the way the character writes?
Of all the writers I mentioned, I’d put Tanith Lee at the top for her prose. She can create an entire world in a few paragraphs.
what a weird way to respond
No I mean about this premise. It was a fairytale where all the magic was just relativity and the protagonist was too much of a dumbfuck aristocrat to understand when anyone tried to explain.