Tell you what: Paris was full of French people even in the good old days.
You might want to try Frisco, or NY if you don't want to travel too much
My opinion of Stirling's ISOT and Emberverse Series
- Thread starter Brian Boru
- Start date
Tell you what: Paris was full of French people even in the good old days.
You might want to try Frisco, or NY if you don't want to travel too much
Don't you know you never, ever call it Frisco.
It is simply called The City, as if it is the only one.
Flocculencio
Donor
Empiricism...TO THE EXTREEEEMMMEEEE!
How do you know? Are you personally looking at Paris this very second? If not there is no way of determining whether or not it is very expensive and full of French people.
How do you know? Are you personally looking at Paris this very second? If not there is no way of determining whether or not it is very expensive and full of French people.
Captured the imagination of most important market that exists in the United States, teen age girls and their mothers.
I have a question, I don't think this has been asked, and I did a search, although perhaps i didn't use the exact right words.
Now I haven't read any of the books, but I do know that all technology, including gun powder, electricity, IC engines, and steam power are rendered useless. Now I can understand eliminating most of that stuff, but steam power seems a bit difficult to work out, you would need to make such a drastic change to the fundamental laws of physics to quite possibly make the world unrecognizeable. Also I'm not entirely sure you really need to eliminate it in order to reduce society to mideival levels, since electricity is gone, you eliminate its use as a source of electricity, and acts solely as a form of propulsion. So my question is, how does this Stirling explain this in the books?
Now I haven't read any of the books, but I do know that all technology, including gun powder, electricity, IC engines, and steam power are rendered useless. Now I can understand eliminating most of that stuff, but steam power seems a bit difficult to work out, you would need to make such a drastic change to the fundamental laws of physics to quite possibly make the world unrecognizeable. Also I'm not entirely sure you really need to eliminate it in order to reduce society to mideival levels, since electricity is gone, you eliminate its use as a source of electricity, and acts solely as a form of propulsion. So my question is, how does this Stirling explain this in the books?
Not ALL technology. Just that requiring FAST chemical reactions. Like gun powder and burning gasoline. Or requiring electricity. [Edit: Forgot to mention that it is thought that the electrical conductivity of metals such as copper has ben altered so that they resist at an order of magnitude more than before the event. So electricity is still around, it just can't be conducted. Other boards have suggested that water might be used as a conductor in the VERY long term.] As for steam, it is explained that all molecules post Event have a springiness that prevents them returning potential energy QUICKLY. They do return it, but over a longer period of time. Steam engines CAN work, but only massive ones which would be very inefficient. This effect supposedly only extends to a mile above and below the Earth, so volcanoes are still possible. Though I am not sure how lightening still works...
Hydraulics still work, as does basic machinery like windmills. So there is still mass manufacture after a while. Magnesium still burns, quicklime lights are used for watchtowers. Gliders and hot air balloons for reconnaissance. The fastest moving objects are hydraulically powered pusher cars along rail lines. (BTW, one of the plot points in the second or third book is that Arminger is looking for a stockpile of VX gas. Nerve agents still kill, but they can't be made because they require pressurization and other complex chemical reactions.)
And yes, all of that bothers me. Especially the steam thing.
There is a character in the story that realizes that the ASB's not only did this, they are STILL doing it, as the .. whatever... persists.
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I've read parts of the second sunrise lands series book and I have noticed that there is some force residing in the new prophet that was apparently in the old one. It seems to grant power of some sort and has a strong distaste for anything of the old world.
Makes you wonder if some idiot somewhere made a bargain that allowed for all this crud to happen. Now I wonder if maybe going to Nantucket will restore the old laws of nature or something of the like.
Makes you wonder if some idiot somewhere made a bargain that allowed for all this crud to happen. Now I wonder if maybe going to Nantucket will restore the old laws of nature or something of the like.
Emberverse was great and ISOT got annoying for me. Walker was really the only bit I found bearable. And the whole campaign in Iraq just totally lost me. Not that I dont like that history very much it just was boring. The Lesbo thing was annoying as well
Really, it was the exact opposite for me. Emberverse has too many inherent contradictions that can only be explained as God did it. Once basic questions such as how does lightning work or how does a person's heart successfully pump blood can only be explained as an ASB is actively doing it, the setting turns to crap. And the neopagans are the most annoying group of quasi-protagonists ever. Every use of the phrase "blessed be" grates on me like fingernails on a chalkboard.
ISOT on the other hand, while I find Mary Sue Alston and her katana aggravating, is still a pretty neat adventure story. The scene with Odysseus being read the Odyssey was actually kind of moving.
Tom Kalbfus
Banned
It could be explained as a Matrix type Universe, as such you wouldn't need God to explain anything, someone just rewrote the perameters of the program, seperating out Nantucket and sending it out to another matrix while in the remaining portion technology ceases to function.
While it's a small thing one of the things that annoyed me the most is that there happened to be someone in Nantucket who knew how to train camels. I mean is Nantucket in the spring a major tourist attraction for people from the middle east? Never mind the probably much smaller number who know how to break a camel.
I can't really decide which is more annoying Nantucket who always has an expert there or Grantville in which every single person is able to master anything as the plot requires.
I don't think it was his goal but boy did Stirling convince me that Wiccans (at least the ones in the books) are the biggest dorks in the world.
Tom Kalbfus
Banned
So tell me, are the Wiccans real wizards or witches in the Emberverse? That is can they cast real spells, turn people into frogs and other things like that. I was just wondering if the outflow of technology was accompanied by an inflow of magic.
That is, is Stirling trying to turn this world into a fantasy setting with witches, wizards, monsters, spells, and gods, or is it just technology doesn't work but no magic?
Definitely. I'll only start reading the books again if Stirling introduces a hammer wielding, cross bearing, Christian Warrior Priest, chanting verses from the Bibile while bashing in the skulls of Wiccan witches. I don't care if he's crazy or fanatical, as long as he is a monotheist screaming out hatred of the false Goddess while beating out the blood of neopagans.
Burton K Wheeler
Moderator
Definitely. I'll only start reading the books again if Stirling introduces a hammer wielding, cross bearing, Christian Warrior Priest, chanting verses from the Bibile while bashing in the skulls of Wiccan witches. I don't care if he's crazy or fanatical, as long as he is a monotheist screaming out hatred of the false Goddess while beating out the blood of neopagans.
I would buy that in a second! I gave up on Stirling because his books just got too Stirling for me, but I want to see a realistic, nuanced, asskicking priest.
The "Sunrise Lands" novels feature Father Ignatius, who travels with Rudi and company towards the East Coast.
Definitely. I'll only start reading the books again if Stirling introduces a hammer wielding, cross bearing, Christian Warrior Priest, chanting verses from the Bibile while bashing in the skulls of Wiccan witches. I don't care if he's crazy or fanatical, as long as he is a monotheist screaming out hatred of the false Goddess while beating out the blood of neopagans.
The first DTF novel featured the evangelical minister from Sutterdown, but he was just a grouchy jerk who liked to snipe at Juniper and the extent of his warrior badassnesss was overstressing himself while rallying fleeing Sutterdown troops that he had a heart attack on the battlefield and died.
TelClaven
Banned
IMHO, science fiction is less than it was. This is obviously my own personal take, and I don't pretend to lay down the law. My favored authors are all old ones: Heinlein, Pohl, Kornbluth, Asimov, Piper (one of the most undjustly underrated authors, in my view), Niven, Pournelle, Vance, Pratchett. That's possibly because I'm getting old myself
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for saying that.
You know, you can get the complete works of Piper from Amazon for about $5 on Kindle. I can't think of a better deal anywhere.
But, but, he's on the same side as the neopagans! He hasn't the blood of a single Wiccan on his hammer...