The Just City - Background Thread, No Spoilers (April 2017)

[Marc]

This thread is for general discussion about the author, the book, etc. Please do not post any spoilers in this thread.

Let us know if you've read Walton before or if you're familiar with Plato's notion of an ideal society.
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Some background/resource material for those wanting to brush up a little on your Greek mythology and/or philosophy:
- Athena
- Apollo
- Plato
- Jo Walton's Website Page for The Just City (may have spoilers)
- Free links to The Republic:
* HTML version (Jowett translation)
* PDF version (Bloom translation)
* Audio Book (via Youtube)
* Sparknotes (summaries, analysis, etc.)
* Intro to Plato's Republic (quick 3+ minute video)

[Peter]

I really liked Among Others but I bounced off Tooth and Claw. Walton is one of those writers whose books are often very different from each other.

[Marc]

I know Among Others won the Hugo and Nebula awards, but I haven't read her before and wasn't really familiar with her as an author. I'm glad you renominated this book, Peter! How did you first come across Walton

[Peter]

There was an interview with her in Locus a long time ago when Tooth and Claw came out that made me want to try it. Walton contended that author Anthony Trollope's female characters didn't actually act like human women in that once they fell in love they were spoiled for all other men for life, so decided to write a version of a Trollope novel with a species -- dragons -- that really worked that way. Interesting idea, but it was written like an authentic Victorian novel and was too slow for me,

[Casceil]

I've read Among Others, but nothing else by this author. "Among Others" was, coincidentally, about someone who was discovering science fiction around the same time I was, so many of the authors referred to in the book were authors I was familiar with. And at the end of the book, the main character was planning to go to a World Science Fiction Convention in Phoenix known as IguanaCon. Again, coincidentally, IguanaCon was the first science fiction convention I ever went to. I hadn't known such things existed. I moved to Phoenix a couple of months before that convention, and worked downtown within a couple of blocks of where it was being held. I knew nothing about science fiction conventions, but the article in the paper said they would be showing classic movies, so I went to check it out and had a great time. I've never been sure whether Among Others was as good a book as it seemed, or if it was just that I related to it so closely.

[LindaJ^]

This was my third Walton book. I've also read Among Others and Farthing. All quite different but enjoyable.

[Marc]

That's a pretty interesting background with this book, Casceil. And what a fabulous name for scifi convention in Phoenix!

Sounds like Among Others might be another possibility for group members to try based on Linda's and Casceil's experiences (and Peter's lackluster experience with Tooth and Claw).

[Donna]

Jo Walton is a favorite author of mine, even though I'm not generally a fantasy or alternate history fan. I thought Among Others was a great coming of age story and a wonderful homage to books, libraries and librarians. I also enjoyed the Small Change trilogy ( Farthing,Ha'penny Half a Crown). Couldn't get into Tooth and Claw but may give it another try.