In Poul Anderson's "Interloper," the secret oppressors of mankind are an alliance of alien monsters whereas, in SM Stirling's Shadowspawn Trilogy, they are the worst side of mankind, what some of us would become if we did have irresistible mental superpowers. Alan Moore showed in graphic detail what someone with Superman's strength and speed would be able to do to a city. The Shadowspawn are mental equivalents. But they are not aliens. This might make them easier to understand and defeat.
There are two kinds of speculations in sf:
What might be out there?
What might human beings do and become?
Today, some of us will miss Lancaster
Pride March and Festival because we will be in Manchester on other business. No more posts until this evening.
2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Neatly put, that the Shadowspawn are what humans at their worst would be like, if they had nearly irresistible mental powers. Yes, once DISCOVERED, the Shadowspawn would become vulnerable to the vengeance of the ordinary humans they had preyed on.
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
Another thought I had about "Interloper" and Anderson's use of the theme of non-human aliens secretly misruling mankind was of how a short story was too BRIEF for really drawing out all the possible implications and consequences of using a plot line like that. "Interloper" would have needed to have been a novel for drawing out the ramifications of such an idea.
THE WAR OF TWO WORLDS was the longest and most detailed effort by Anderson using the idea of secret masters trying to take over Earth (and Mars!). Altho short, WAR was very interesting with several ingenious plot twists.
Again, Stirling is to be commended for his three Shadowspawn books!
Sean
Post a Comment