"'We would have made it what we chose, and unmade and remade it, and stormed the stars as we warred for possession, with an entire reality the funeral pyre for each who fell and entire histories the funeral games, until the last god reigned alone.'"
-Poul Anderson, The Shield Of Time (New York, 1991), 209 B.C., p. 118.
Play-within-the-play time: on screen, as Raor speaks, a short sequence shows the last four Exaltationists changing history, leading an interstellar invasion fleet and fighting each other, then one of them seated on a throne.
I probably misunderstood Andrea when I thought he said that this superheroes film involved a Warped Reality but the misunderstanding generated a relevant post.
11 comments:
It would make a better series.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: And Raor's stating of the goals of the Exaltationists shows how mad, insane, and impossible those ambitions were.
And did your copy of Stirling's THE COUNCIL OF SHADOWS arrive at your house yet? I look forward to any comments you care to make about the book.
Mr. Stirling: Absolute agreement! But I'm starting to think we will never see any decent filmed adaptations of any of Poul Anderson's stories. Too subtle, sophisticated, and nuanced for the bungling hacks of Hollywood to grasp.
Sean
Sean,
Got THE COUNCIL OF SHADOWS. I have learned to be relaxed about how long it takes me to read and post about a book. We are here for the long haul - at least I hope we are! I will be 70 in January but I would like to live to 110.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I too hope to be here for the long haul! Despite being only five or six years younger than you. And age 110 was about as long as the antisenescence of Anderson's Technic Civilization would give to people who used it. But I hope you make it to that age!
Sean
You'll probably be getting your copy of BLACK CHAMBER fairly soon; it'll be out on July 3rd. If it doesn't show up in the next week or so, let me know and I'll send -another- rocket up their fundaments.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
Thanks for reminding me about your new book BLACK CHAMBER. I will certainly be looking for it at the nearest Barnes and Noble in a week or two.
Been a rather stressful week, my aged 2000 Honda Civic Coupe chose to go belly up this past Monday/Tuesday. Which means I had to scramble to buy a new car. I chose a 2018 Honda FIT 5DR LX. A very reasonable price and it certainly seems to run well.
I'm currently nearing the end of rereading YOU SHALL KNOW THEM, by "Vercors" (Jean Bruller. A book I would call anthropological science fiction.
Sean
Sean,
I also drive a car into the ground and then have to replace it when it has only scrap value.
Mr Stirling,
Many thanks. I will be unsure how to proceed. As you know, it is not my practice to read a book from cover to cover, then to write a short article reviewing the work in its entirety, avoiding spoilers. Instead, I blog while reading, publishing short posts sometimes focusing on a single passage, phrase or concept. I think that this approach is thorough, especially since I can go back through a work more than once and can analyze any detail, however small. However, this way lie spoilers. Maybe I should just try to do a proper review job for once.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
My former car also had only had scrap metal value at the end, but I was surprised when the sales rep at the car dealership said they would still pay me 200 dollars for the "trade in." That helped to cut the price of my new car a bit!
And I appreciate the way you discuss and write about books, whether by Poul Anderson, James Blish, or S.M. Stirling. Not sure what I shall read after I finish the Vercors book.
Sean
I always buy cars used, at about one year old and from a rental car company; if you're careful, what you get is functionally equivalent to a new car. Then I maintain it carefully, and keep it until the cost of repairs starts to escalate.
I've never understood why anyone buys new. You're losing thousands as you drive out of the lot -- essentially you're paying a 40% premium for the new-car smell. The logic escapes me.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
I do understand your point, but I prefer to buy a new car, from a company I trust to make good cars, because that way I KNOW I can use it for years, with giving it reasonable care, with no problems. It's just a quirk of mine!
Also, I don't buy REALLY expensive new cars, like the ones costing 25,000 or more.
Sean
Both,
Someone has to buy new cars so that the rest of us can buy used!
Paul.
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