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Apocryphal
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Comments
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Native Americans had lots of talking animals, so I suspect it’s a global way of helping creatures to express the personalities we perceive within them.
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That’s a pretty entertaining bio. He must have written it himself. His collection of stories, the John Varley Reader, intros each story with similar biographical anecdotes.
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Agree re: the diminishing returns, but I’m going to finish the book regardless. The ‘works inspired by’ section might be interesting. As will the afterword, having enjoyed Irwin’s companion. I also bought a fiction by Irwin called ‘The Arabian Nigh…
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Children (boy and girls) having a say in their own marriage would not have been the norm across most states f the world over much of its history, I don’t think. The Baby in the basket story goes at least as far back as Sargon of Akkad (and hough …
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String on anecdotes? Yes, I can see that - but I think that holds true for most of the tales we've read so far. The glue that connects these particular ones into an overarching tale are not that strong. As per earlier comments (and I think Irwin ref…
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Catching up here... I was not quite clear as to whether the wealth presented was meant to be for the princess' brideprice, or if it was a bribe for the sultan. Also, the story just sort of glosses over how the princess ended up with the vizier's son…
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I’m very skeptical, Clash’s non-fiction experience notwithstanding.
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I suppose these things are possible, but the question this begs is: would this be the first time an author worked out the intricate details of the setting, but then didn’t include any of that detail in the text?
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Oh yeah - I remember Sweet Chariot, too.
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I remember that one. It reminded me of Joust (the arcade game)
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Zero G isn't a common trope, but I fell that airships and floating islands (in a gravity environment) are a very common trope. Honestly, I think that Virga would make a very fine gaming setting if the setting details were more concrete. Aside from s…
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I mentioned the Aubri Mahallan :: Aubrey-Maturin link elsewhere. In general, this whole air-ships age of aether-sail thing is extremely common these days, and seems to have risen with the whole steam-punk fad. This isn't exactly a steam-punk novel, …
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Yes and no. I did like this inversion from a story perspective, but the world-building was such that it felt to me like the inside made much more sense as a VR experience than the outside. What I don't understand is why the outside world can't alre…
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I haven't read The Integral Trees or The Smoke Ring, but aspects of this setting sure did remind me of the cover of The Smoke Ring. (Image) I found the setting to be quite intriguing, but not really all that convincing, and not nearly as well dra…
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I really liked how the characters were not just one thing - that is, they all exhibited change, and I don't necessarily mean change over the course of the story since for some of them that change happened in their past (eg Chaison's relationship wit…
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I thought the story was fine - a fairly rollicking ride that didn't try to do too much, but nothing groundbreaking either. Standard adventure fare. I don't have any complaints, but am also not especially excited by it. (I think 'story' is seldom the…
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Haven’t even started yet, but I guess I should. I’m in a bit of a reading slump.
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David Bowie - both *The Man Who Fell to Earth* and *Aladdin Sane.*
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I only vaguely remember this story from my childhood. I don’t remember Aladdin being a wastrel; possibly he was and I didn’t remark upon it. It seems to me to make sense that he is, given the theme of reversals by chance among the stories. Altho…
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I rather like the descriptions. As you might have noticed, I read a lot of books about far off places - distant lands (Central Asia and South Asia of special interest), distant times (ancient history, medieval history, and the near and far future), …
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We are also complicit for giving them a credibility they don’t deserve. The only awards I give any credence to these days are panelled (not necessarily by experts, but at least thoughtful people one hopes) and everyone on the panel must read the …
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I own a copy already. I’m surprised it’s not on kindle, though.
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> @clash_bowley said: > (Quote) > Anyone interested in Varley's Titan? A book I loved when it came out, but haven't read in a loooooong time... If not there are newer books I could be reading... Very interested. I hear great things, an…
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Ha! True.
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This second part of Pari Banu was the most languid story yet, wasn’t it? I found the Sultan’s, the witch’s, and Pari Baby’s motives all rather suspect, in that I kept thinking there were ulterior motives behind their actions. But I was never quit…
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And I really enjoyed the Ulysses Voyage. I’m thinking of making The Jason Voyage my next pick…
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> @NeilNjae said: > there's nothing stopping her renouncing Islam and abandoning Marjana. But, in this setting, I feel like there should be; societal pressure. Everybody’s a maverick in this book, aren’t they? (I’m struggling to convey why…
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https://timseverin.net/the-sindbad-voyage/
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Fair enough - my error then. I can only say my memory isn’t what it was.
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I could in turn ask which aspects of South Arabian culture you found most interesting/compelling. What are your takeaways about medieval South Arabia from this book?