Do not mess with the Little Old Ladies from Hell. Ask the Germans.
A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything.
Wash ,'The Message'
We're Literary 2: To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Connie Neil - Dec 15, 2004 3:33:54 pm PST #6620 of 10002
brillig
Jesse - Dec 15, 2004 4:16:22 pm PST #6621 of 10002
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
Not a book, but still literary, and just vicariously exciting: My friend's fiance had a piece accepted for The Sun's Readers Write section!
Steph L. - Dec 15, 2004 5:21:10 pm PST #6622 of 10002
I look more rad than Lutheranism
Yes, my biology degree is showing. My bio background is one of the things that pushes me to get those realistic details that seems to make all the fantastic stuff so much more real.
"Realistic details" like....sex with vampires and were-people of various animal persuasions?
Uh huh.
DavidS - Dec 15, 2004 6:06:52 pm PST #6623 of 10002
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Does the lack of submachine guns in the Iliad bother you too, Mr. Picky?
The Iliad isn't set in the future. Also, it wasn't an Anachronism Pedant gripe, it was a jarring response to the imagery - which worked very consciously to create metaphors out of new technology.
§ ita § - Dec 15, 2004 6:09:54 pm PST #6624 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Didn't Gibson write Neuromancer on a typewriter?
Either way, I don't feel young enough to not remember static (I can see and hear it right now, if I try just a little). Science fiction written five years ago has similar problems -- I've never understood why people loved that one to pick on so much.
DavidS - Dec 15, 2004 6:13:18 pm PST #6625 of 10002
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Didn't Gibson write Neuromancer on a typewriter?
He did.
I've never understood why people loved that one to pick on so much.
Because Gibson very specifically crafted the language, metaphors and imagery in technology. And that one got so obsolete so fast it's not the right phrase anymore. And it was the perfect phrase of its time.
The other jarring thing about Neuromancer is that it sorta kinda posits the continuation of the Cold War. Which in 1989 looked wrong, but now the way things are swinging (Putin taking an iron hand, the Ukrainian election subject to wacky KGB style poisoning tricks etc.) seems plausible again.
§ ita § - Dec 15, 2004 6:14:53 pm PST #6626 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Because Gibson very specifically crafted the language, metaphors and imagery in technology.
Which is fair, and the job of a good writer. I'd rather read a book set firmly and confidently in the imagery of the time, instead of hedging its bets against tomorrow. If it's a novel, that is -- otherwise I'll look for science writing.
Ginger - Dec 15, 2004 6:29:18 pm PST #6627 of 10002
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
My television still makes gray snow if I'm on an empty channel and the VCR and DVD are off.
Matt the Bruins fan - Dec 15, 2004 6:29:20 pm PST #6628 of 10002
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
Think how much shorter it would be with submachine guns!
Yeah, but they're not terribly accurate, just effective. You might lose all that time again trying to pop a cap in Achilles' heel while the bullets were bouncing off everywhere else.
I really liked Lady Teldra, and it was kind of shocking how Brust expanded her role only to do what he did. I thought she was being set up as a new love interest, then BLAMMO!
§ ita § - Dec 15, 2004 6:32:13 pm PST #6629 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Ginger, so does mine. Right now, on the coax station with no input.
Will a new generation of kids suddenly understand the metaphor?
You might lose all that time again trying to pop a cap in Achilles' heel while the bullets were bouncing off everywhere else
Pfft. When everyone else is dead, Achilles is much easier to work with. Think of the collateral damage of all those bullets ricocheting into his countrymen.