The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie (2019)
Apr. 27th, 2026 02:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pauraqueI am back! I haven't really had a chance to catch up here yet, but here's my vacation read, for starters.
This stand-alone fantasy novel has a classic plot: A young soldier-prince hurries back from the front to inherit rulership from his dying father, only to find when he arrives at the capital that his uncle has usurped the throne. What makes the book stand out are the vivid characters and immersive worldbuilding—features that did not surprise me, having read and loved Leckie's science fiction for much the same reasons.
In the world of the book there are beings called gods, but their powers are subject to the laws of nature. They have to be careful what they try to will into existence, because if it requires too much energy or creates a paradox it can hurt or kill them, and if they don't understand the underlying principles of how something works they may not be able to do it at all. The gods have their own goals and internal politics, which humans often don't understand. I really liked how the consequences were worked out, with a mix of human beliefs about the gods—some accurate, some overcomplicated or oversimplified, and some fanciful wishful thinking. Even when it is actually possible to speak to the gods, some people will still only hear what they want to hear.
On the human side of the story, the themes struck me as thoroughly Shakespearean. The prince versus the conniving uncle, certainly, and more generally the impact of fatal character flaws and the focus on emotionally intimate relationships shaped by tricky power dynamics. The focal human character is not the prince Mawat, but his loyal retainer Eolo, a farmer's son turned soldier whose steadiness and observational skills are a balance to Mawat, who is smart but often lets his temper overrule his logic. When Mawat is being irrational, other characters beg Eolo to step in because Mawat will listen to him—except he doesn't always, and there is only so much Eolo can do within the bounds of hierarchy.
Eolo is also a trans man, which is a lens through which we learn a lot about how this world deals with people who fall outside social norms. I loved how this was handled. Different places have different attitudes toward queer people, and it's not a one-to-one mapping to real life views or a didactic take where the more queer-friendly folk are perfect "good guys". (None of the book's cultures are all good or all bad. They all have systemic problems and both admirable and ill-intentioned people in them.) Eolo's experiences and self-perceptions are grounded in the world he lives in. He's not an out-of-place transplant from our own world or an excuse to lecture to the reader. On the contrary, the book assumes the reader is savvy enough to pick up on nuanced points about gender and trans experiences without having them spelled out, and it's so refreshing.
The narrative is from the perspective of a god who uses second person to refer to Eolo as it observes his actions. This could be a barrier for some readers who are put off by long stretches of second person, but I found it very appropriate and not a distraction.
I would love it if Leckie wrote more novels in this world. I think she has some stories set in it, but I haven't gotten around to reading her short story collection yet.
This stand-alone fantasy novel has a classic plot: A young soldier-prince hurries back from the front to inherit rulership from his dying father, only to find when he arrives at the capital that his uncle has usurped the throne. What makes the book stand out are the vivid characters and immersive worldbuilding—features that did not surprise me, having read and loved Leckie's science fiction for much the same reasons.
In the world of the book there are beings called gods, but their powers are subject to the laws of nature. They have to be careful what they try to will into existence, because if it requires too much energy or creates a paradox it can hurt or kill them, and if they don't understand the underlying principles of how something works they may not be able to do it at all. The gods have their own goals and internal politics, which humans often don't understand. I really liked how the consequences were worked out, with a mix of human beliefs about the gods—some accurate, some overcomplicated or oversimplified, and some fanciful wishful thinking. Even when it is actually possible to speak to the gods, some people will still only hear what they want to hear.
On the human side of the story, the themes struck me as thoroughly Shakespearean. The prince versus the conniving uncle, certainly, and more generally the impact of fatal character flaws and the focus on emotionally intimate relationships shaped by tricky power dynamics. The focal human character is not the prince Mawat, but his loyal retainer Eolo, a farmer's son turned soldier whose steadiness and observational skills are a balance to Mawat, who is smart but often lets his temper overrule his logic. When Mawat is being irrational, other characters beg Eolo to step in because Mawat will listen to him—except he doesn't always, and there is only so much Eolo can do within the bounds of hierarchy.
Eolo is also a trans man, which is a lens through which we learn a lot about how this world deals with people who fall outside social norms. I loved how this was handled. Different places have different attitudes toward queer people, and it's not a one-to-one mapping to real life views or a didactic take where the more queer-friendly folk are perfect "good guys". (None of the book's cultures are all good or all bad. They all have systemic problems and both admirable and ill-intentioned people in them.) Eolo's experiences and self-perceptions are grounded in the world he lives in. He's not an out-of-place transplant from our own world or an excuse to lecture to the reader. On the contrary, the book assumes the reader is savvy enough to pick up on nuanced points about gender and trans experiences without having them spelled out, and it's so refreshing.
The narrative is from the perspective of a god who uses second person to refer to Eolo as it observes his actions. This could be a barrier for some readers who are put off by long stretches of second person, but I found it very appropriate and not a distraction.
I would love it if Leckie wrote more novels in this world. I think she has some stories set in it, but I haven't gotten around to reading her short story collection yet.
For All Mankind 5.06 and The Testaments 1.05
Apr. 27th, 2026 04:26 pmselenakLiots of things to do, and places to see (there willl be a pic spam), but I did catch up on the two shows.
For All Mankind 5.06:
( Spoilers think Mars is theirs… )
The Testaments 1.05:
( Spoilers consider a Prom in Gilead to be incredibly creepy and aesthetic at hte same time… )
For All Mankind 5.06:
( Spoilers think Mars is theirs… )
The Testaments 1.05:
( Spoilers consider a Prom in Gilead to be incredibly creepy and aesthetic at hte same time… )
Search maintenance
Apr. 22nd, 2026 09:19 am![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
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dw_maintenanceHappy Wednesday!
I'm taking search offline sometime today to upgrade the server to a new instance type. It should be down for a day or so -- sorry for the inconvenience. If you're curious, the existing search machine is over 10 years old and was starting to accumulate a decade of cruft...!
Also, apparently these older machines cost more than twice what the newer ones cost, on top of being slower. Trying to save a bit of maintenance and cost, and hopefully a Wednesday is okay!
Edited: The other cool thing is that this also means that the search index will be effectively realtime afterwards... no more waiting a few minutes for the indexer to catch new content.
Music rec: Still Alive - Frank Sinatra Big Band Swing Version by The 8-Bit Band
Apr. 21st, 2026 06:56 pmThis All Come Back Now, ed. Mykaela Saunders (2022) [part 1]
Apr. 20th, 2026 10:14 pmpauraqueThis is the first part of my book club notes on This All Come Back Now, an anthology of speculative fiction by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors. I was glad to see that the introduction included the editor's thoughts about each piece (something that has been lacking in some of the anthologies we've read). The editor says that Aboriginal authors of SF have have historically had more success publishing their work as literary fiction than in SF outlets, suggesting a disconnect between white and Indigenous understandings of what "speculative" looks like. They point out, for example, that a time travel story may look very different through a cultural lens that doesn't see time as entirely linear in the first place.
The editor also says that they solicited several stories for the collection from writers who had never written SF before. Perhaps it is unfair that my reaction was to brace myself; I'll strive to be open minded. (It was also pointed out in the discussion that the Indigenous population of Australia is pretty small, so the pool of potential authors may not have been as deep as the editor might have wished.)
Some group members were not thrilled to learn that the book includes some excerpts from novels. We've run into this before and it tends to frustrate our purpose as a discussion group because we end up having the same conversation over and over, which is just "this didn't feel complete... because it isn't complete." The first three pieces we read are actual short stories, though!
"Muyum, a Transgression" by Evelyn Araluen (2017)
( A ghost travels the ruins of the world, finding that what seemed dead can come back. )
"Clatter Tongue" by K.A. Ren Wyld (2020)
[Note: The book lists this story under the author's former name Karen Wyld.]
( A grieving girl literally vomits the detritus of colonization when she is threatened. )
"Closing Time" by Samuel Wagan Watson (2020)
( In the early days of covid, a man wanders aimlessly. )
The editor also says that they solicited several stories for the collection from writers who had never written SF before. Perhaps it is unfair that my reaction was to brace myself; I'll strive to be open minded. (It was also pointed out in the discussion that the Indigenous population of Australia is pretty small, so the pool of potential authors may not have been as deep as the editor might have wished.)
Some group members were not thrilled to learn that the book includes some excerpts from novels. We've run into this before and it tends to frustrate our purpose as a discussion group because we end up having the same conversation over and over, which is just "this didn't feel complete... because it isn't complete." The first three pieces we read are actual short stories, though!
"Muyum, a Transgression" by Evelyn Araluen (2017)
( A ghost travels the ruins of the world, finding that what seemed dead can come back. )
"Clatter Tongue" by K.A. Ren Wyld (2020)
[Note: The book lists this story under the author's former name Karen Wyld.]
( A grieving girl literally vomits the detritus of colonization when she is threatened. )
"Closing Time" by Samuel Wagan Watson (2020)
( In the early days of covid, a man wanders aimlessly. )
Tags:
- book club,
- books,
- books: author: evelyn araluen,
- books: author: k.a. ren wyld,
- books: author: samuel wagan watson,
- books: editor: mykaela saunders,
- books: genre: speculative fiction,
- books: theme: death,
- books: theme: ghosts,
- books: theme: pandemic,
- books: type: short stories,
- books: year: 2017,
- books: year: 2020,
- books: year: 2022
The Four Emperors (Book Series)
Apr. 20th, 2026 10:58 amselenakConsisting of four different novels covering the "Year of the Four Emperors"; I had heard good things about these books, and reading Flavius Josephus with cahn finally made me check them out. These four novels cover the "Year of the Four Emperors", aka the time between the uprising against Nero and his suicide and the emergence of Vespasian as the final victor of a year long struggle for the rule of the Roman Empire during which three different candidates before Vespasian all rose and fell. These novels' most inspired narrative decision was to tell these events from the pov of the palace staff, slaves and freedmen (and -women) alike, so we have an ongoing set of characters, partly historical in origin, partly fictional, through whose eyes we see wannabe Emperors come and go.
The individual novels are: "Palatine" (Nero dies mid book already, because the rise and fall providing the red thread of the novel isn't his but of one of the two Praetorian Prefects, Nymphidius Sabinus, who is instrumental in Nero's downfall but then gets ideas before the agreed upon successor, Galba, even has arrived in Rome), "Galba's Men" (Galba finally shows up in Rome; it doesn't end well for him), "Otoh's Regret" (Otho finds out what being Emperor really means) and "Vitellius' Feast" (Vitellius manages to make Nero look good postumously). And while the Emperors on question do get narrative space - I think Otho gets the most, because he's already an important character in "Galba's Men" - , none of them is ever the main character - their rise and fall just provides the outward plot, while what the novels are really about is how this effects our main cast who occupies all variations between "just tries to survive this insanity"' and "is very ambitious themselves" , with "can't stand seeing things done incompetently" and "actually starts to believe it's important who is Emperor'" are featuring as motivations.
This bunch of main characters we follow through all the novels are: Epaphroditos (Nero's wily private secretary, freedman, started out as a boy slave in the Julian-Claudian household in the reign of Tiberius), Philo (Epaphroditos' assistant - "the private secretary's secretary" - , very competent and sweet natured, too sweet natured, in fact, for his own good), Artemina ("Mina", quick-tempered, starting out as a towel holder for Nero's Empress but determined to do very much more), Sporus (eunuch, Nero's favourite), Lysander (announcer) and Felix (head of slave placements and overseers), Teretia (daughter of Philo's landlady, in love with ihm) . There are others, female and male alike, who don't make it through all four novels or are introduced not in the first one but later, like Caenis, a freedwoman of the Imperial Household (and thus everyone's old acquaintance) showing up in "Otho's Regret" with very much an agenda of her own (and I have to say this is my favourite fictional depiction of Caenis yet, including Lindsay Davis' novel about her, which alas I felt was a bit of a let down mid novel onwards), or the moody teenager who is the younger son of Caenis' lover, one Domitian. (gelliaclodiana, you were looking for a depiction of Domitian where he's not a (present or future) psycho; this is it. He has teenage angst, but is clearly bright, and the sympathetic characters of the novel like him.) There are also those who for entirely non lethal reasons are just in one novel but noth another (not least because they wisely high tail it out of Rome when their survival demands it, like Nero's mistress of the wardrobe - and orgy choreographer - Calvia Crispinilla). As I said, some of these are actual historical figures (like Epaphroditos, Sporus or Caenis), others are fictional, but all of them have had the experience of powerlessness in the past even if they don't in the present, and that means the emotional stakes are there in a way they probably wouldn't be if we were just following the Emperors. For example: there are plenty of good reasons to depose Nero, of course. You don't fret for Nero himself. But then you realise the Praetorians taking the palace also means they're going to feel themselves entitled to have a go (i.e. rape) at Nero's slaves, and suddenly you care very much. Or: there is a famous incident involving the crowd when Galba arrives at the Milvian bridge. But Teretia and her father are within the crowd who has shown up to greet their new Emperor, which means said incident now feels incredibly personal. and so forth.
There is a lot of black humour in these books, and yet - or perhaps even because of that - the actual tragedies hit very hard. (I was reminded of the tv adaption of I, Claudius in this regard.) And for 99% of the characters three dimensional characterisations. (Including the Emperors. The only one who is just 100% awful is Vitellius.) The narrative premise that the palace staff is the one who actually keeps the Empire going irrespective of who happens to be Emperor also reminds me of British tv, though in this case Yes, Minister, but of course there is no slavery in 20th century Britain. And since most of the main cast are either former slaves or currently slaves, I was curious ahead of reading the books of how the author would treat the subject. For starters: not via the Spartacus approach (i.e. focusing on slaves fighting for their freedom). None of the characters think slavery per se is wrong; the freedmen (and -women) have slaves themselves. (This is historically accurate but quite often doesn't make it into fictional depictions.) There is also, early on, a lot of emotional identification with their masters' causes. At the same time, the narrative, I think, succeeds in making it clear that being a slave, even if your owner is the "considerate" type actually bothering to use your name instead of "boy" or "girl" , is to be in constant non stop danger of life and limb, simply because there is no legal protection whatsoever, and even if your current owner doesn't see themselves as entitled to have sex with you or beat you, the next one might, and/or any misfortune they suffer could lead to your own (painful) death. For all the banter and black humor, this undercurrent is there.
(I also thought the relationships between classes and free/unfree worked for me. For example, ( Epaphroditos and Nero. )
Nitpicks: the first two novels feature one of my pet peeves, to wit, characters using the expression "okay", even in initialized form (i.e. "ok"). I'm not a linguistic purist when it comes to historical novels, but that's one of the exceptions. So I was really glad novels 3 and 4 no longer had this.
Trigger warnings: did I mention the main characters are either former or present slaves in a society where the idea of consent for anyone not a freeborn Roman man is non existent? I will say that explicit scenes in the sense that we get detailed descriptions are rare, not because they don't happen but because the author usually works via implication and/or showing the aftermath.
State of the history: While Suetonius and Tacitus are clearly the main sources here, I would say the novels take the current state of historical research into account. I.e. Nero may be loathed by the Senate and increasingly by the higher ranking military, but he's wildly popular with the masses (and not responsible for the Great Fire of Rome), Domitian does not spend his spare time as a moody teen killing flies to signal the future. The big twist of Otho's life - ( which is spoilery ) is build up to through two novels. I wll say that in addition to the above mentioned "OK" in the first two novels, I am thrown by some of the very Anglophone shortening of names (hence Mina, or Alex for Alexander), but the slave names themselves, where invented, strike me as plausible (mostly Greek, which is what the Romans liked to do), and the various celebrations of Roman festivals, not just the well known ones like the Saturnalia, to mark the year are a good way to get some exposition about Roman every day life across. Notably NOT catering for what's popular is the fact that is no gladiator among either the main or the supporting cast. I found that ever so refreshing.
In conclusion: an enjoyable series of novels set during a truly outrageously bizarre year of Roman history.
cahn finally made me check them out. These four novels cover the "Year of the Four Emperors", aka the time between the uprising against Nero and his suicide and the emergence of Vespasian as the final victor of a year long struggle for the rule of the Roman Empire during which three different candidates before Vespasian all rose and fell. These novels' most inspired narrative decision was to tell these events from the pov of the palace staff, slaves and freedmen (and -women) alike, so we have an ongoing set of characters, partly historical in origin, partly fictional, through whose eyes we see wannabe Emperors come and go. The individual novels are: "Palatine" (Nero dies mid book already, because the rise and fall providing the red thread of the novel isn't his but of one of the two Praetorian Prefects, Nymphidius Sabinus, who is instrumental in Nero's downfall but then gets ideas before the agreed upon successor, Galba, even has arrived in Rome), "Galba's Men" (Galba finally shows up in Rome; it doesn't end well for him), "Otoh's Regret" (Otho finds out what being Emperor really means) and "Vitellius' Feast" (Vitellius manages to make Nero look good postumously). And while the Emperors on question do get narrative space - I think Otho gets the most, because he's already an important character in "Galba's Men" - , none of them is ever the main character - their rise and fall just provides the outward plot, while what the novels are really about is how this effects our main cast who occupies all variations between "just tries to survive this insanity"' and "is very ambitious themselves" , with "can't stand seeing things done incompetently" and "actually starts to believe it's important who is Emperor'" are featuring as motivations.
This bunch of main characters we follow through all the novels are: Epaphroditos (Nero's wily private secretary, freedman, started out as a boy slave in the Julian-Claudian household in the reign of Tiberius), Philo (Epaphroditos' assistant - "the private secretary's secretary" - , very competent and sweet natured, too sweet natured, in fact, for his own good), Artemina ("Mina", quick-tempered, starting out as a towel holder for Nero's Empress but determined to do very much more), Sporus (eunuch, Nero's favourite), Lysander (announcer) and Felix (head of slave placements and overseers), Teretia (daughter of Philo's landlady, in love with ihm) . There are others, female and male alike, who don't make it through all four novels or are introduced not in the first one but later, like Caenis, a freedwoman of the Imperial Household (and thus everyone's old acquaintance) showing up in "Otho's Regret" with very much an agenda of her own (and I have to say this is my favourite fictional depiction of Caenis yet, including Lindsay Davis' novel about her, which alas I felt was a bit of a let down mid novel onwards), or the moody teenager who is the younger son of Caenis' lover, one Domitian. (
gelliaclodiana, you were looking for a depiction of Domitian where he's not a (present or future) psycho; this is it. He has teenage angst, but is clearly bright, and the sympathetic characters of the novel like him.) There are also those who for entirely non lethal reasons are just in one novel but noth another (not least because they wisely high tail it out of Rome when their survival demands it, like Nero's mistress of the wardrobe - and orgy choreographer - Calvia Crispinilla). As I said, some of these are actual historical figures (like Epaphroditos, Sporus or Caenis), others are fictional, but all of them have had the experience of powerlessness in the past even if they don't in the present, and that means the emotional stakes are there in a way they probably wouldn't be if we were just following the Emperors. For example: there are plenty of good reasons to depose Nero, of course. You don't fret for Nero himself. But then you realise the Praetorians taking the palace also means they're going to feel themselves entitled to have a go (i.e. rape) at Nero's slaves, and suddenly you care very much. Or: there is a famous incident involving the crowd when Galba arrives at the Milvian bridge. But Teretia and her father are within the crowd who has shown up to greet their new Emperor, which means said incident now feels incredibly personal. and so forth. There is a lot of black humour in these books, and yet - or perhaps even because of that - the actual tragedies hit very hard. (I was reminded of the tv adaption of I, Claudius in this regard.) And for 99% of the characters three dimensional characterisations. (Including the Emperors. The only one who is just 100% awful is Vitellius.) The narrative premise that the palace staff is the one who actually keeps the Empire going irrespective of who happens to be Emperor also reminds me of British tv, though in this case Yes, Minister, but of course there is no slavery in 20th century Britain. And since most of the main cast are either former slaves or currently slaves, I was curious ahead of reading the books of how the author would treat the subject. For starters: not via the Spartacus approach (i.e. focusing on slaves fighting for their freedom). None of the characters think slavery per se is wrong; the freedmen (and -women) have slaves themselves. (This is historically accurate but quite often doesn't make it into fictional depictions.) There is also, early on, a lot of emotional identification with their masters' causes. At the same time, the narrative, I think, succeeds in making it clear that being a slave, even if your owner is the "considerate" type actually bothering to use your name instead of "boy" or "girl" , is to be in constant non stop danger of life and limb, simply because there is no legal protection whatsoever, and even if your current owner doesn't see themselves as entitled to have sex with you or beat you, the next one might, and/or any misfortune they suffer could lead to your own (painful) death. For all the banter and black humor, this undercurrent is there.
(I also thought the relationships between classes and free/unfree worked for me. For example, ( Epaphroditos and Nero. )
Nitpicks: the first two novels feature one of my pet peeves, to wit, characters using the expression "okay", even in initialized form (i.e. "ok"). I'm not a linguistic purist when it comes to historical novels, but that's one of the exceptions. So I was really glad novels 3 and 4 no longer had this.
Trigger warnings: did I mention the main characters are either former or present slaves in a society where the idea of consent for anyone not a freeborn Roman man is non existent? I will say that explicit scenes in the sense that we get detailed descriptions are rare, not because they don't happen but because the author usually works via implication and/or showing the aftermath.
State of the history: While Suetonius and Tacitus are clearly the main sources here, I would say the novels take the current state of historical research into account. I.e. Nero may be loathed by the Senate and increasingly by the higher ranking military, but he's wildly popular with the masses (and not responsible for the Great Fire of Rome), Domitian does not spend his spare time as a moody teen killing flies to signal the future. The big twist of Otho's life - ( which is spoilery ) is build up to through two novels. I wll say that in addition to the above mentioned "OK" in the first two novels, I am thrown by some of the very Anglophone shortening of names (hence Mina, or Alex for Alexander), but the slave names themselves, where invented, strike me as plausible (mostly Greek, which is what the Romans liked to do), and the various celebrations of Roman festivals, not just the well known ones like the Saturnalia, to mark the year are a good way to get some exposition about Roman every day life across. Notably NOT catering for what's popular is the fact that is no gladiator among either the main or the supporting cast. I found that ever so refreshing.
In conclusion: an enjoyable series of novels set during a truly outrageously bizarre year of Roman history.
The Testaments 1.04 and For All Mankind 5.04
Apr. 19th, 2026 03:21 pmselenakThe Testaments 1.04: again, my only nitpick with this wasn't about the episode itself but solely source material related, as in, my favourite element of the source material is still not in it. As an episode buildng on the first three, it's tops, acting and script wise, continues to flesh out the two woman characters, heightens the stakes, and does, in fact, a better job with one of them than the book did. (I thought this in the first three eps as well.) I'm also intrigued by some of the chances due to what they could mean long term. ( Spoilers beneath the cut. )
For All Mankind 5.04: In which we get introduced to a new cast member and learn an old acquaintance is on their way. Also: (some) answers about the latest dastardly scheme.
( Spoilers wait with their reveals until after mission launch )
For All Mankind 5.04: In which we get introduced to a new cast member and learn an old acquaintance is on their way. Also: (some) answers about the latest dastardly scheme.
( Spoilers wait with their reveals until after mission launch )
SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony (1991)
Apr. 19th, 2026 07:52 ampauraqueIn the decade between the original SimCity (1989) and The Sims (2000), Maxis released an interesting variety of life simulation games on different scales, many of which are now largely forgotten in the shadows of their two juggernaut cousins. Coming close on the heels of the macro-scale SimEarth: The Living Planet (1990), lead designer Will Wright zoomed way down into the weeds to bring us SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony (1991).
While you can learn a lot about real life systems from many of the early Maxis games, SimAnt leans more educational than most. You'll learn how ants forage, communicate, build and defend the nest, and produce new queens to found more colonies. Then you'll apply your knowledge to defeat and eliminate enemy ants, spread across the back yard, and invade the house until the homeowner gives up and moves away. It's a good time!
( More on SimAnt [content warning: talking spiders] )
You can play SimAnt in your browser, though the performance is sluggish. Running it in DOSBox is a little better.
While you can learn a lot about real life systems from many of the early Maxis games, SimAnt leans more educational than most. You'll learn how ants forage, communicate, build and defend the nest, and produce new queens to found more colonies. Then you'll apply your knowledge to defeat and eliminate enemy ants, spread across the back yard, and invade the house until the homeowner gives up and moves away. It's a good time!
( More on SimAnt [content warning: talking spiders] )
You can play SimAnt in your browser, though the performance is sluggish. Running it in DOSBox is a little better.
Clarion III: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction and Criticism, ed. Robin Scott Wilson (1973)
Apr. 17th, 2026 10:29 ampauraqueWhile collecting the necessary materials for my Le Guin reading project, I found she had a story which appeared only in the 1973 anthology Clarion III. This was a product of the 1972 Clarion Workshop, an annual six-week course for aspiring speculative fiction writers, taught by a rotating slate of guest instructors. Le Guin was a Clarion instructor that year, and while most of the instructors contributed essays on writing or on the workshop itself, she instead wrote a story.
Since I'd bothered to acquire the book, I figured I'd read the whole thing. But I took my time about it since Le Guin's story didn't seem important to the general arc of her career, though obviously it's significant that her stature had grown to the point where she was invited to teach. So although my reading of her work has progressed in the meantime to 1979 (and will continue from there if the person who currently has The Language of the Night checked out ever returns it to the library!!) we're going to take a short trip back to 1973 here.
Le Guin's story "The Ursula Major Construct; or, A Far Greater Horror Loomed" is a fictionalized version of an exercise she gave the students, using them as the characters and reimagining the whole thing as a SF experiment. I guess in reality she built a mobile out of found objects (the titular construct) and told the class to write about it. I'm sure her story was amusing to the people who were there, but out of context I found it impenetrable. (And hold that thought, because I'm gonna circle back to it.)
As for the student stories, I liked a handful of them, but most were either not to my taste, or seemed underdeveloped in some way, or were so steeped in 1970s gender politics and/or sophomoric "dirty joke" humor that the generation gap was too wide for me to cross. To be fair, these are student stories, but none of them sent me running to look for the authors' later work.
( discussion of selected works )
( full list of included works )
Since I'd bothered to acquire the book, I figured I'd read the whole thing. But I took my time about it since Le Guin's story didn't seem important to the general arc of her career, though obviously it's significant that her stature had grown to the point where she was invited to teach. So although my reading of her work has progressed in the meantime to 1979 (and will continue from there if the person who currently has The Language of the Night checked out ever returns it to the library!!) we're going to take a short trip back to 1973 here.
Le Guin's story "The Ursula Major Construct; or, A Far Greater Horror Loomed" is a fictionalized version of an exercise she gave the students, using them as the characters and reimagining the whole thing as a SF experiment. I guess in reality she built a mobile out of found objects (the titular construct) and told the class to write about it. I'm sure her story was amusing to the people who were there, but out of context I found it impenetrable. (And hold that thought, because I'm gonna circle back to it.)
As for the student stories, I liked a handful of them, but most were either not to my taste, or seemed underdeveloped in some way, or were so steeped in 1970s gender politics and/or sophomoric "dirty joke" humor that the generation gap was too wide for me to cross. To be fair, these are student stories, but none of them sent me running to look for the authors' later work.
( discussion of selected works )
( full list of included works )
Tags:
- books,
- books: author: damon knight,
- books: author: david n. williams,
- books: author: david wise,
- books: author: dennis r. caro,
- books: author: donnel stern,
- books: author: dvora olmstead,
- books: author: f.m. busby,
- books: author: gerard f. conway,
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- books: author: theodore sturgeon,
- books: author: ursula k. le guin,
- books: author: william earls,
- books: editor: robin scott wilson,
- books: genre: fantasy,
- books: genre: science fiction,
- books: genre: speculative fiction,
- books: genre: writing about writing,
- books: theme: (post-)apocalypse,
- books: theme: aliens,
- books: theme: dragons,
- books: theme: dystopia,
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- books: theme: gender & feminism,
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- books: theme: telepathy & psionics,
- books: theme: time travel,
- books: type: essays,
- books: type: poetry,
- books: type: short stories,
- books: year: 1973
Prompt 588: Vault
Apr. 16th, 2026 09:19 pmtorino10154 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
neville100Happy Neville Thursday!!
For our last round:
enchanted_jae wrote Torpitude Charlie/Neville
digthewriter wrote The Unexpected Guest Neville, Charlie
The new challenge is:
Prompt 588: Vault
This prompt will run until April 30.
As always, we encourage responses to any prompt at any time, so if an older challenge inspires you, please feel free to post for it!
For our last round:
enchanted_jae wrote Torpitude Charlie/Nevilledigthewriter wrote The Unexpected Guest Neville, CharlieThe new challenge is:
Prompt 588: Vault
This prompt will run until April 30.
As always, we encourage responses to any prompt at any time, so if an older challenge inspires you, please feel free to post for it!
Reader Rabbit (1984) · Writer Rabbit (1986)
Apr. 15th, 2026 03:07 pmpauraqueAs a kid I never played any of The Learning Company's dozens of Reader Rabbit games, so today we'll be correcting this surprising gap in my edutainment knowledge. zorealis suggested the first game in the series, 1984's Reader Rabbit, aka Reader Rabbit and the Fabulous Word Factory. The alternate title sounds suspiciously Oompa-Loompaish to me, so fingers crossed that we will not meet with any gruesome poetic justice.
The game's menu offers nine options: Sorter, Labeler, Word Train, and six different Matchup Games. In Sorter you get a series of words, and you have to decide whether each one matches a given letter in either the first, second, or third position. If it matches, you move it over to the side, but if it doesn't you throw it in the garbage. (This obviously predates the 1990s eco-tainment craze, or else we'd be recycling.)
( More on Reader Rabbit )
Reader Rabbit was wildly popular and led to a slew of sequels and spinoffs. I had never heard of 1986's Writer Rabbit untildelphi brought it to my attention. Now, I'm not saying that playing this game will make you as good of a writer as delphi is... but I'm not not saying that.
While Reader Rabbit offers a solid but fairly staid selection of spelling exercises, Writer Rabbit is far more wacky. After punching out from a week of back-breaking labor at the Word Factory, it's time to attend Writer Rabbit's Sentence Party and cut loose with a mix of games mashing up sentence diagramming and Mad Libs. In the Ice Cream Game, you are given a phrase and have to identify it as either WHO, WHAT, DID WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, or HOW.
( More on Writer Rabbit )
You can play Reader Rabbit and Writer Rabbit on the Internet Archive, for the finest in lapine-themed edutainment. Did anyone else play a game from this series? There are a million of them!
zorealis suggested the first game in the series, 1984's Reader Rabbit, aka Reader Rabbit and the Fabulous Word Factory. The alternate title sounds suspiciously Oompa-Loompaish to me, so fingers crossed that we will not meet with any gruesome poetic justice.The game's menu offers nine options: Sorter, Labeler, Word Train, and six different Matchup Games. In Sorter you get a series of words, and you have to decide whether each one matches a given letter in either the first, second, or third position. If it matches, you move it over to the side, but if it doesn't you throw it in the garbage. (This obviously predates the 1990s eco-tainment craze, or else we'd be recycling.)
( More on Reader Rabbit )
Reader Rabbit was wildly popular and led to a slew of sequels and spinoffs. I had never heard of 1986's Writer Rabbit until
delphi brought it to my attention. Now, I'm not saying that playing this game will make you as good of a writer as delphi is... but I'm not not saying that.While Reader Rabbit offers a solid but fairly staid selection of spelling exercises, Writer Rabbit is far more wacky. After punching out from a week of back-breaking labor at the Word Factory, it's time to attend Writer Rabbit's Sentence Party and cut loose with a mix of games mashing up sentence diagramming and Mad Libs. In the Ice Cream Game, you are given a phrase and have to identify it as either WHO, WHAT, DID WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, or HOW.
( More on Writer Rabbit )
You can play Reader Rabbit and Writer Rabbit on the Internet Archive, for the finest in lapine-themed edutainment. Did anyone else play a game from this series? There are a million of them!
