I’ve been going through some of the sci-fi books that I read as a kid — books that had been sitting in my parents’ garage for the last twenty-plus years.
Oh man, I've been reading a lot of SF lately, and Hyperion is one I actually had assigned in high school for a sci-fi English class (it was that teacher's last year at my school, so they finally let him teach it). I think you're pretty dead-on, as I recall (and from overhearing snippets of the audiobook when my wife was listening to it).
But have you read Ilium and Olympios? More Simmons, more space opera, more literary allusions, so many literary allusions. Aaaaaaaand some pretty heavy-handed, ugly Zionism. The Voynix, for example: huge, servile insectoids who we later find out were developed by some global caliphate of the future past; who attack Jerusalem when our heroes are there, repeatedly buzzing "KILL THE JEW;" who later beseige our heroes' tiny settlement, attacking them by...yup, that's right, THROWING ROCKS.
When I read these in 2008 or 9, I didn't put all of that together. But when I started paying actual attention to Israel, and heard "rock-throwing" as the magic justification for use of force, I recall the feeling I had of "SIMMONS YOU MOTHERFUCKER" I had when the penny finally dropped.
Yeah I heard he went full on islamophobe in those books. Haven't read them myself, though. Gotta admit, his overwritten bloated try-hard-I'm-so-literary style puts me on edge. So I might have to pass.
My suggestion is to hold out for someone to make a graphic novel of it, and hope that they tone down the awful politics.
On the other end of sci-fi, I've become a huge fan of Ken MacLeod. He's the rare left-wing crank SF author. I'm waiting for some lefties who have actually Done The Reading to hopefully do a podcast unpacking his Fall Revolution series. See, I'm way behind on my theory, and I can feel some references and allusions sail right over my head, in The Star Fraction at least. In a couple of the other Fall Revolution novels, it's a Trotskyoid world revolution that brings about a mechanical-computing utopia.
I would have expected MacLeod to pick up some more readers, post-2016, but I think it's just me. Ben Burgis said he's a fan too. But that's it. (I know why he hasn't gotten more popular - only a handful of his stuff has had audiobooks recorded)
Sorry to see you go. Totally understand. Not sure we'll be doing transcripts, though. But I do expect publishing more essays so maybe you'll be tempted back into sinning and subscribing.
Oh THAT Philadelphia Society, R.D Laing and so forth. I would have expected them to use the "phila" abbreviation, rather than "Philly," which I always associated with the city.
Oh man, I've been reading a lot of SF lately, and Hyperion is one I actually had assigned in high school for a sci-fi English class (it was that teacher's last year at my school, so they finally let him teach it). I think you're pretty dead-on, as I recall (and from overhearing snippets of the audiobook when my wife was listening to it).
But have you read Ilium and Olympios? More Simmons, more space opera, more literary allusions, so many literary allusions. Aaaaaaaand some pretty heavy-handed, ugly Zionism. The Voynix, for example: huge, servile insectoids who we later find out were developed by some global caliphate of the future past; who attack Jerusalem when our heroes are there, repeatedly buzzing "KILL THE JEW;" who later beseige our heroes' tiny settlement, attacking them by...yup, that's right, THROWING ROCKS.
When I read these in 2008 or 9, I didn't put all of that together. But when I started paying actual attention to Israel, and heard "rock-throwing" as the magic justification for use of force, I recall the feeling I had of "SIMMONS YOU MOTHERFUCKER" I had when the penny finally dropped.
Other than that they're pretty fun, though.
Yeah I heard he went full on islamophobe in those books. Haven't read them myself, though. Gotta admit, his overwritten bloated try-hard-I'm-so-literary style puts me on edge. So I might have to pass.
My suggestion is to hold out for someone to make a graphic novel of it, and hope that they tone down the awful politics.
On the other end of sci-fi, I've become a huge fan of Ken MacLeod. He's the rare left-wing crank SF author. I'm waiting for some lefties who have actually Done The Reading to hopefully do a podcast unpacking his Fall Revolution series. See, I'm way behind on my theory, and I can feel some references and allusions sail right over my head, in The Star Fraction at least. In a couple of the other Fall Revolution novels, it's a Trotskyoid world revolution that brings about a mechanical-computing utopia.
I would have expected MacLeod to pick up some more readers, post-2016, but I think it's just me. Ben Burgis said he's a fan too. But that's it. (I know why he hasn't gotten more popular - only a handful of his stuff has had audiobooks recorded)
Sorry to see you go. Totally understand. Not sure we'll be doing transcripts, though. But I do expect publishing more essays so maybe you'll be tempted back into sinning and subscribing.
Philly Socialists - are you a Philly person by any chance? (That's where I live)
It also doesn't help that there's literally a group that uses the name "Philly Socialists." Or at least there was.
Oh THAT Philadelphia Society, R.D Laing and so forth. I would have expected them to use the "phila" abbreviation, rather than "Philly," which I always associated with the city.