I am out of sympathy with the Lunarians not because of their neo-feudalism but because of Rinndalir's deceit and exultation in violence and death which he perceives as beautiful and as creative chaos. When a Fireball torchcraft has burned militia, he says:
"'Consummatum est.'" (p. 377)
(One of the things that we collect in Poul Anderson's works is the Latin phrases.) I do not complain of blasphemy although some might. Rinndalir is right that the violence will go no further. Avantism is overthrown but there will be far-reaching consequences for Fireball, Lunarians and humanity. Reprogrammed Guthrie predicts that Xuan's Transfiguration will happen regardless, maybe now even faster. The issues remain.
Aldous Huxley explains somewhere how the dancing Shiva the Destroyer points to liberation.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I can understand why you are out of patience for the Lunarians. They take far too much pleasure in death, destruction, and chaos for their own sake. More so than as means needed for attaining ends. In that they remind me of the callous and amoral elves of THE BROKEN SWORD and THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS.
All the same Poul Anderson is to be commended for convincingly imagining for us a really DIFFERENT kind of humanity.
Sean
Sean
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