Sable Aradia's Blog, page 45
February 25, 2018
Book Review: A Case of Conscience by James Blish
A Case of Conscience by James Blish
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Read for the 12 in 12 Challenge, the Hard Core Sci-Fi Challenge, and the SF Masterworks Challenge, as well as the Science Fiction Masterworks Book Club here on Goodreads.
This book won the 1959 Hugo Award.
I loved this book! I have noticed a lot of mixed reviews here. In general, the consensus appears to be that the first half, which was a novella, is superior to the second half. I disagree, but perhaps you have to be a person of faith to grasp the implications. I am not a Catholic, which is the faith of the man suffering the theological crisis that is central to the story, but I am a dedicated Pagan priestess, and I can say that if I were in the position of this Jesuit priest, and if my theology were the same, I would see the theological conflict and the signs of affirmation of faith that I’m sure he saw. I might see what he saw; a planet of temptation by the Adversary, an anti-Christ sort of figure, and the fulfillment of God’s will as detailed by my faith and my church.
On the other hand, from a purely rational point of view (which I also hold, being a rational Pagan,) this is clearly a situation of self-fulfilling prophecy, and humans are the force of darkness in this piece.
Could both things be true? Perhaps. I believe in contradictory truths in faith. My faith would not have seen the things this Jesuit priest saw. I would share the opinion of one of the other members of the original expedition, which viewed the Lithians as a good example that humanity could use to emulate. There are reasons I am not a Christian; the direct belief in the wrath of God, and the necessity of evil, are among those reasons.
I really don’t want to say anything more, because I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone. But it’s well worth contemplating, and I think something that is worth reading (and extensively debating) in this time when faith so often seems to be in direct conflict to rationality. In Blish’s book, it most certainly was.
For those who read the book through the eyes of a rationalist, I would urge you to read the book again with empathy for the protagonist, reserving your moral judgment until after you have seriously contemplated his point of view.
For those who read the book through the eyes of faith, I would urge you to read the book again, keeping in mind how blind adherence to faith may ultimately have led to atrocity.
If you’re a philosopher, I urge you to read it and offer your opinion through a philosophical lens.
February 24, 2018
Chinese Lander to Send Insects & Plants to the Moon
By Matt Williams
It would be no exaggeration to say that we live in an age of renewed space exploration. In particular, the Moon has become the focal point of increasing attention in recent years. In addition to President Trump’s recent directive to NASA to return to the Moon, many other space agencies and private aerospace companies are planning their own missions to the lunar surface.
Read the full article at Universe Today.
February 23, 2018
Mary Robinette Kowal: Anatomy of a Story Process
Hurrah! I became a Level 49 Human today and I’m in Chattanooga to celebrate my birthday with my parents. Mom is leveling up to 80 this weekend so we have a shindig planned.
Meanwhile! I have a party favor for you. There’s a short story, “The Worshipful Society of Glovers” that came out last year in Uncanny Magazine. It’s free!
But that’s only a little bit of the party favor. What I really have for you is how I developed the story. Now, you can do this one of two ways. You can go read the story first, and then come back and read the process OR you can read the process and then the story that came from it. There are going to be some spoilers, but not as many as you might think.
Read the full article at Mary’s blog.
February 22, 2018
What Does the Sun Look Like from Other Planets?
This guy talks a lot, so you may want to skip through the video a bit like I did, but it’s well worth the look!
February 21, 2018
Starting with the Womb: Octavia E Butler’s Dawn
This is one of my favourite novels of all time, one that actively whetted my interest in science fiction. Just FYI.
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I first found Dawn, about fifteen years ago, in my local library. I hadn’t heard of Octavia Butler. I’m not sure why I picked Dawn up. It was probably the post-apocalyptic blurb; I’ve always been drawn to stories about the end of humanity as we know it. I hadn’t yet realised that what I liked about those stories was often the fact that they are really about beginnings, too.
Read the full article at Tor.com.
February 20, 2018
Promoting Your Indie Book On Twitter: A Crash Course
By Nick Younker
Indie authors have been on the scene now for years, but getting their work out there is still the biggest challenges they face in the marketplace. Even though Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) gives you some options for promoting, it usually falls flat.
“Truly unnerving original horror…”
For most indie scribes, money really is an issue. Show me an author who makes a living off his/her writing and I’ll show you a card trick. The truth is, very (emphasis on very) few writers make a living off the craft.
So what can authors do to promote their books with little to no money? Social media is the golden egg here, but there are some downsides to it. Facebook used to be a good place to promote your book in their groups, but the social media network got hip to that and now suspends authors who over-post, especially in groups. Coincidentally, they will later send you messages promoting their advertising services.
In my humble and experienced opinion, the only real place to promote your book(s) for free is on Twitter. But there is a dance to be learned before you start pasting the links into your Twitter feed.
Read the full article at Fogstow Jameson Press.
February 19, 2018
#SpecWomenChat Episode 2 – Space Opera
Episode 2 – Space Opera: livestreamed February 18, 2018.
#SpecWomenChat is a livestreamed panel discussion featuring women who work in, and write, SFF.
Our Panel:
Ann Leckie has worked as a waitress, a receptionist, a rodman on a land-surveying crew, a lunch lady, and a recording engineer. The author of many published short stories, and former secretary of the Science Fiction Writers of America, she lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband, children, and cats. Her space opera novels, the Imperial Radch series, have won numerous high-profile awards in the field, including the BSFA Award, the Golden Tentacle, the Clarke, the Hugo, the Locus, and the Nebula, which is why she gets top billing; and has also been nominated for the Tiptree, the Campbell, and the Philip K. Dick Awards. Website. Space Opera – Imperial Radch Series.
Bonnie Milani’s stories are garnering attention. Her short story ‘A Hot Day on Titan’ (Visions of Titan Anthology, Lillicat Press, 2015) has been nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. Her novella ‘Liquid Gambit’ was a Reader’s Choice 2015 Top 100 selection. ‘Home World’ a sci fi novel set on the shattered remains of a future Waikiki, won the 2016 EVVY awards’ 1st place in the science fiction category. Most recently, ‘Home World’ has been awarded the Books Go Social Gold Quality Mark. Books by Bonnie Milani. Space Opera – Home World.
Khaalidah Muhammed-Ali’s publications include Strange Horizons, Fiyah Magazine, Diabolical Plots and others. You can hear her narrations at any of the four Escape Artists podcasts, Far Fetched Fables, and Strange Horizons. As co-editor of PodCastle audio magazine, Khaalidah is committed to encouraging more women and POC to submit fantasy stories. Of her alter ego, K from the planet Vega, it is rumored that she owns a time machine and knows the secret to immortality. She can be found online at http://khaalidah.com. Escape Artists (Audio Fiction.)
Chandra Trulove Fry is a bibliophile book dragon who lives with her tech wizard husband and two youngest minions. She is the mother of three and grandmother of one. They live in beautiful Redding, California. Her debut novella “Trials of the Heart” released in September of 2017. She is curating ’42 and Beyond: A Space Opera Anthology’, which will release later this year. Chandra Fry’s Books.
Diane Morrison is an emerging hybrid SFF writer, author of the Wyrd West Chronicles and the Toy Soldier Saga, and creator of #SpecWomenChat. She likes pickles and bluegrass, and hates talking about herself. An avid National Novel Writing Month participant and gaming geek, she is proudly Canadian and proudly LGBTQ. Under her pen name “Sable Aradia” she is a successful Pagan author, a musician, and a professional blogger. Diane’s Books. Space Opera – Toy Soldier Saga.
Show Notes:
TV Tropes – Space Opera Definition
C.J. Cherryh’s Books
Firefly TV Series
Hard Sci-Fi vs. Soft Sci-fi
How William Shatner Changed the World
The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Expanse TV Series
The Expanse Novel Series (James S.A. Corey)
Dark Matter TV Series
To Space Opera and Beyond: On-Demand Course with Ann Leckie & Cat Rambo
I’d like to give an extra special thank you to this month’s panelists, who were professionals and real troopers, who carried on even in the face of extreme technical difficulties. A snowstorm caused some serious issues with my internet connection. They carried the conversation without me for the first half hour, and it was amazing!
For more information: http://www.sfwa.org
February 18, 2018
Roland Deschain: PTSD and Redemption
I am a fan of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King (clearly it’s a love or hate relationship with sci-fi and fantasy fans.) I thought this video was an excellent analysis of the character of Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger, an unforgettable character that, love or hate the series, lingers in one’s mind. But I thought there were elements it didn’t address. First, I’ll leave it for your consideration and perusal:
I see much of what the uploader of the video sees here. But I think there’s a powerful driving aspect to Roland’s character that is overlooked in this analysis, and that is PTSD.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a term now in broad use, and most people associate it with war veterans. The disorder results from experiencing tremendous trauma and the brain has trouble moving it from short-term to long-term memory because the emotions of it are so overwhelming. This is why episodes are triggered and they feel as though they are happening all over again. Effectively, a person who is suffering from it experiences the very same emotional immediacy. Once the brain successfully processes into long-term memory, it becomes a difficult but manageable experience. However, most treatments to encourage that are ineffective. There has been some promise from cognitive therapy and a variety of unorthodox treatments, such as transcendental meditation, eye movement, touch therapy, and the targeted use of hallucinogens. Mostly, however, the symptoms are treated, not the cause, through the use of a variety of medications.
Roland, like many people with PTSD, is primed for experiencing it through difficult experiences in his early life, before his brain has finished developing. His reporting of the treason of Hax the Cook, a friend to the gunslinger boys, results in the man being hung for his crimes. He is subjected to the brutal training of gunslinger youths, which would be considered abuse by our standards. He takes his trial of manhood at the age of fourteen, spurred by the affair and possible treason of his mother, which results in permanent brain damage and maiming to his childhood instructor, a pseudo-paternal figure. He also experiences the horrific execution of his first (and only) love, who is burned at the stake, a few months afterwards.
Roland then survives the death of his family and friends, a war, and a horrific battle. And of course, one of the primary drivers of PTSD is Roland’s stock in trade; he has taken many lives by his own hand.
Roland is presented as a morally grey character who makes some dark choices to pursue his obsession. But much of his “darkness” are typical symptoms of PTSD. He suffers from depression, keeps people at a distance, is hyperalert, and occasionally lashes out at the people closest to him. He suffers from disconnection and depersonalization; he feels he is apart from the world around him. He feels that the world has moved on.
Much of Roland’s journey is to break through these things and rejoin the world. Over the course of the narrative, aided by his companions and their love, which is returned, he eventually transforms post-traumatic stress into post-traumatic growth; a positive adaptation to trauma which results in “greater appreciation of life; changed sense of priorities; warmer, more intimate relationships; greater sense of personal strength; and recognition of new possibilities or paths for one’s life and spiritual development.”
I think this journey is personally moving, and is perhaps the most compelling element of the Dark Tower story. And just like in most genre fiction, often both readers and reviewers overlook it.
February 17, 2018
Want Faster Data and a Cleaner Planet? Start Mining Asteroids
I have an interest in the mining of asteroids, which features as a central driver of the plot in my upcoming novel The Cloud.
By Philip Metzger
Mining asteroids might seem like the stuff of science fiction, but there are companies and a few governments already working hard to make it real. This should not be surprising: compared with the breathtaking bridges that engineers build on Earth, asteroid-mining is a simple, small-scale operation requiring only modest technological advances. If anything is lacking, it is the imagination to see how plausible it has become. I am afraid only that it might not arrive soon enough to address the urgent resource challenges that the world is facing right now.
Read the full article at Singularity Hub.
February 16, 2018
Book Review: Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Read for the 12 in 12 Challenge, the LGBTQ Speculative Fiction Challenge,, the Military Spec-Fic Reading Challenge, the Women of Genre Fiction Challenge, the Grand Mistresses of Genre Fiction Challenge, the Hard Core Sci-Fi Challenge, the Read the Sequel Challenge, and the Space Opera Challenge (2018).
This book won the 1982 Hugo Award.
I have been meaning to read this book ever since I heard Heather Alexander & Leslie Fish’s filks about it. That was back in 1993. So I guess it’s been on my TBR list for 25 years. That’s a bloody long time!
It was awesome! I’ve skimmed some of the other reviews here on Goodreads and I think some people just didn’t get the book, or maybe it wasn’t what they were expecting and so they didn’t like it.
First of all, it’s military sci-fi, but proceed with the understanding that war is the continuation of politics by other means. Cherryh is far more concerned with the people and the politics than the details of the battles. Battles occur when there has been a failure of diplomacy, and they are quick and dirty and ugly. Sometimes she skips over battles entirely, if they’re backgrounding and not immediately important. I found this approach disjointed and a little surreal in the beginning, but by the end of the book I understood what she was trying to do and I am grateful she didn’t waste our time by showing, not telling, things, that were not important to the overall plot (unlike David Weber). Much time, however, is spent on strategy and tactics, and an understanding of strategy and tactics are needed to understand what’s going on.
Second, this is layers and wheel and politics on the level of Game of Thrones, only she did it first, all in one book, and in space. Each side has a fully-realized character that represents its interests and goals, and thus, you grasp their intentions and motivations much more thoroughly than you would if they were described in an abstract way. Even the aliens are fully realized, and while they’re as intelligent as humans, they don’t think like humans do.
Third, there are no good guys, except maybe the Downers, a.k.a. the hisa, who are local aliens with gentle natures caught up in the whole mess. There are only shades of grey. Some are much darker than others, but every group acts according to its own needs and interests, and sometimes these coincide, and sometimes they directly oppose one another.
Fourth, for some reason people on Goodreads seem to think this is the first book in The Company Wars. It’s actually the third (not that I’ve read the other two yet.) Cherryh says so herself on her website.
The action centers around a space station called Pell, which happens to be between Earth and the far beyond territories of a polity called Union. The goal is to possess this station, which is an essential waypoint of trade and in a natural no-man’s-land between the two. The interested parties are: Earth, Union, the Mazianni (which started out as a far-space Earth loyal unit but is now a fleet of privateers,) the hisa, merchanters (who trade in space between the two,) and the stationers themselves.
This is a fantastic novel that holds up every bit as well now as it did in 1982. Classic space opera, classic military fiction, classic hard sci-fi. Highly recommended!
