In addition to discussing the state of this world, Andrea and I also watch superhero TV series that involve inter-universal crossovers within a fictional multiverse.
Worthwhile prose sf that I have read about multiverses includes:
Conquistador by SM Stirling;
Poul Anderson's A Midsummer Tempest in which -
the Prince Rupert of the Rhine from the Shakespearean universe of this novel (A Midsummer Tempest),
Holger Danske from Carolingian myth and from Anderson's Three Hearts And Three Lions,
and Valeria Matuchek from the magical universe of Anderson's Operation Otherworld -
- meet each other in the inter-universal inn, the Old Phoenix, from Anderson's "House Rule" and "Losers' Night," the first cameoing Nicholas van Rijn from Anderson's Technic History and the latter featuring among others Winston Churchill.
We can't get enough of it. (But fortunately Anderson gives us quite a lot.)
Addendum, 29 April: Life has gotten busy here. (I use an Americanism out of respect for Poul Anderson.) So far this year, we have had 440 posts in 4 months so maybe that is enough until some time early next month? On Saturday, there will be a May Day March and Rally in Lancaster and, on Sunday, I might get a lift to a Wesak (The Buddha's Birthday) Festival in Northumberland. Did both last year. (Maybe not many people celebrate both.) Anderson-wise, we are still rereading Harvest The Fire. After that, who knows? Onward through the multiverse.
15 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Good choices, all of these. Stirling cameos an alternate Anderson in the prologue for IN THE COURTS OF THE CRIMSON KINGS. Plus mentioning one or two of Anderson's books in CONQUISTADOR.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: I had fun with IN THE COURTS OF THE CRIMSON KINGS -- imagining how people would have reacted to the validation of the pulp-SF planetary romances.
Please see the Addendum to this post.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Paul!
Mr. Stirling: I love IN THE COURTS OF THE CRIMSON KINGS and the ERBian connotations to be found in it! I hope the efforts of Musk/SpaceX will lead to a similar validation of a real space exploratory effort. I wonder if Musk also read the Barsoom stories?
Paul: Possibly THE BROKEN SWORD (either version) and THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS might be reread?
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: Oh, undoubtedly.
Possibly.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Good! It shows how the reading of SF and "scientifantasies" can affect real life and history. And that pleases me, esp. when I recall how often SF/F gets dismissed with disdain. Might be interesting to find out more about men like Musk and Bezos read for fun/inspiration.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: SF/fantasy has occupied a steadily greater part of popular culture for the last three generations. Note how many of the most popular movie and TV shows have been set in SFnal or fantasy universes, and SF/fantasy has been taking a steadily increasing share of book titles too.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!!
I'm glad of that! I just wish more of those movies/TV shows weren't such gosh awful dreck their perpetrators deserve to be sent to the Witch King's "houses of lamentation."
I suppose it's too much to hope we get good, accurate movie versions of the Nicholas van Rijn and Dominic Flandry stories.
I lean more to hard SF and F stories. I really should try reading other writers, such as David Weber and R.F. Kuang.
Ad astra! Sean
Most movies and TV shows are godawful drek.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Too absolutely gol darn true!
STAR TREK is better called STAR DRECK! STAR WARS should be called STAR BLAHS!
Bah!!! Sean
Sean: Oh, those had their good moments.
You have to understand that movies aren't equivalent to books. They're equivalent to short stories, or novellas. It takes a prolonged series to be equivalent to a book, and even then there are differences in the 'density' of information.
I think that the only way to dramatize a novel on stage or screen is to serialize it.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Mr. Stirling: Actually, I agree. I was venting some of the frustration I feel. The problem, however, is that whatever good moments STAR TREK/STAR WARS, and other "SF" movies have doesn't change the fact they are so thin, shallow, superficial, and trite when compared to the written works of Anderson, Blish, Bradbury, Burroughs, Niven, Pournelle, Tolkien, Cordwainer Smith, or you, et al.
I agree with you and Paul that the only adequate way to get a good-filmed version of an SF&F novel/story is to serialize them. Ditto, what you said about "density."
I touched on this topic with my "Textual Crawl for Flandry Movies" article.
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