Sunday 19 February 2017

Hello

Hello, everyone. Thank you for continued page views and combox discussion. It has been a nightmare. I have not been able to post and am able to do so now only because of Ketlan's technical skills. Early tomorrow morning, I will depart on a coach holiday, not taking the new lap top with me. Sheila and I will return from Cornwall late on Friday.

Posts for publication have been drafted and SM Stirling's Dies The Fire is being read. It features a Steve Matuchek (!), another good villain, more good people with survival skills, informed treatment of Wicca and self-confessed "food porn"! This blog and others will continue although maybe at a more leisurely pace.

Long live the Emperor! - although not the Protector/would-be Emperor in Dies The Fire. It is good that society survives and better if guys like him don't get control of it.

10 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Welcome back, even if only briefly! I hope you and Mrs. Shackley have a good time in Cornwall.

Wait, there's a STEVE MATUCHEK in Stirling's DIES THE FIRE? How on Terra did I manage to miss that while I was reading the book? I'm disgusted with myself! This would be an example of the kind of Andersonian allusions I did manage to notice in other parts of the book.

And while I still think Stirling has an implausible number of women soldiers/warriors in DIES THE FIRE, it's not as much of a strain to swallow in the "Emberverse" as it was in the Nantucket timeline.

Yes, Norman Arminger is the kind of villain we all love to fear and hate! Esp. because he's not a STUPID villain. And watch out for his wife Sandra Arminger!

It would be more Andersonian to say "Glory to the Emperor"! And I do wonder what Manuel Argos would have done if he had "lived" at the time of the Change.

Sean

David Birr said...

Sean and Paul:
"The Emperor Protects," as they say in Warhammer 40,000. Given that most humans in W40k LITERALLY believe the Emperor is the Almighty, this carries the same meaning as "Gott mit uns."

David Birr said...

Oh, and All Hail His Majesty Norton I, Emperor of These United States and Protector of Mexico. It was stated of him by San Francisco's police chief that Emperor Norton "had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line."

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, DAVID!

Alas, I'm not familiar with WARHAMMER 40,000, which seems to be a role playing game. I never had any interest in that sort of thing. We do see Poul Anderson using that idea in "The Saturn Game."

A real world analogy to "The Emperor Protects" would be the Russian "If the Tsar only knew." That is, the common belief in Tsarist Russia that if the Tsar only knew of the bungling, incompetence, or outright abuse of power by some of his subordinates, corrective action would be taken. Bad things which are true, alas, of all governments.

Sean

David Birr said...

Sean:
W40k is actually a "tabletop miniature wargame" focused on strategy and tactics rather than role-playing. I've never played it myself, but a number of writers have elaborated on the extensive background created for the game, and I've read a few of their works.

It's a very grim and dark setting. A few weeks back, I remarked here that the W40k universe might give even Draka (at least, some of them) the cold shivers. Thousands of people are killed on a daily basis so their psychic energy will power the life-support system keeping the Emperor not-quite-dead for the last ten millennia....

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, DAVID!

Thanks for the explanation about W40k. Such things are not really my cup of tea, but I certainly don't object if some people like them. And the scenario might very well appall even some of the Draka!

Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

Enjoy your coach holiday!

Sean M. Brooks said...

Dear Mr. Stirling,

I have been rather critical of how often, implausibly, you had women soldiers/warriors in many of your books. I've seen complaints from actual military persons that having women in front line/combat units and Navy ships has led to a debasing of standards of training. For the simple reason that most women simply aren't as STRONG as most men in their prime. These critics strike me as making valid points on this and other issues.

Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,
I meant "Glory to..." but was in a hurry.
Paul.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Mr Stirling,
Thank you. We did.
Paul.