Eddis, Attolia, Sounis

People (including me) usually read the poem at face value and as a praise for individuality.

But some think that no, one choice does not make all that much of a difference, in the end. (And in the context of woods, what does one footprint change, really?)
IDK, I guess I support the first reading when I'm optimistic and bursting with faith in mankind/the world ;-)

*goes to reread the poem*

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avalonestel.livejournal.com

I see. That makes sense. :3 I hold the former view, as well. Thank you.

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ladyfox.livejournal.com

Robert Frost himself wrote it as a gift/parody of an indecisive friend who always made a big deal out of small decisions. When he gave it to said friend though, the friend read it as the paean to individuality that most do these days, and Frost apparently didn't have the heart to correct him.

Some lines in the poem suddenly make sooooo much more sense from this point of view, though I like the individuality interpretation too.

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I've read that explanation too, and I'm glad Frost didn't correct his friend. I guess more often than not I'm ~~naive~~ optimistic enough to subscribe to the individuality reading.

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filkferengi

Because Gen chose Attolia, he could't stay in Eddis.

[Oh, dear, now I'm hearing "Changes in queenery, changes in scenery" to the tune of Buffett's "Changes in latitudes."]

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tiegirl.livejournal.com

MWT=THE AWESOME THAT IS QT

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wanderingdreamr.livejournal.com

Megan Whalen Turner: Making romance badass since 1996.

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tiegirl.livejournal.com

O_o!!!! This!!!!!! Is perfect!

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coyul.livejournal.com

MWT: Oh no she di'in. Oh wait, yeah she did.

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LOLOLOL

<3

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elle-winters.livejournal.com

HAHA!

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emerald-happy.livejournal.com

Megan Whalen Turner - Mostly Wonderful Thieves. And awesome Attolia.

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lylassandra.livejournal.com

MWT: Her characters will steal your heart, and anything else you have on.

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styromgalleries.livejournal.com

THIS!

It's so awesome I almost want to icon it. Mind if I do????

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elle-winters.livejournal.com

do eeeet.

loll

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styromgalleries.livejournal.com

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*steals*

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sooo...cool.

i seriously got learn how u do that

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Yes! This is so perfect. I applaud you.

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Ahahaha that's such an evocative image and so true X-D

*applauds*

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elle-winters.livejournal.com

Yes!

*checks ears*

we're good. :D

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ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com

William Shakespeare: most acclaimed and prolific fanfic writer.

DAHH! You're a genius!

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Hee. Thank you =D

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You are good!!! I love all of the ones you came up with. I agree with them all too. Except the C.S. Lewis one, I like the space trilogy.

My favs:
William Shakespeare: most acclaimed and prolific fanfic writer.

and

Hans Christian Andersen: Must have had an angsty childhood.

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Thank you =D

I know nothing about Andersen; I hope the angsty childhood part wasn't true, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were!

I did enjoy the space trilogy, but to me it feels more fantasy than sci-fi... (Not that I read many sci-fi books, although I do enjoy the occasional sci-fi movie).

To me, sci-fi = underdog v. big, bad, evil/corrupt corporation/government
fantasy = spiritual good v. evil

So Inception and James Cameron's Avatar are sci-fi, but C.S. Lewis' Narnia chronicles & space trilogy are fantasy.
IDK maybe I was a bit befuddled by the space trilogy ^^;;

My favorite C.S. Lewis, hands down, is Till We Have Faces =) (I haven't read any of his nonfiction).

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I don't read much sci-fi either. I prefer fantasy which may be why I like the space trilogy. They do have more fantasy elements. Although I think That Hideous Strength falls under your definition of sci fi.

I also LOVE Til We Have Faces. Not enough people read it, which is sad.

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It's been ten years since I read the space trilogy that the novel summary reads almost alien to me. O/T: I love Ransom as a character name =D
Two images that stay with me from the novel:
1) Ransom finding out he's in a space shuttle, and
2) the other side of the moon being alive =O

I like all the sisters (and their tutor-slave), and I love how people bought into the veil and thought that Orual is spectacularly beautiful. People tell stories to themselves all the time.

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George Orwell's review of That Hideous Strength (http://www.lewisiana.nl/orwell/)

This is probably why I didn't like the space trilogy as much as Lewis' fantasy fiction. When I read about supernatural fic (angels, demons, spirits, etc.) I don't want aliens cropping up, and vice versa. It's like the book cannot decide what it wants to be ^^;;
IIRC, the first two books are more firmly in the spiritual good v. evil camp (The aliens are more like elves or angels than aliens).

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I see the point you (and Orwell) are making about it straddling genres. It isn't pure science fiction, that is certain. Thanks for that link. It was interesting to read a description of it from that perspective. I definitely see the points he is making. I think the reason I love these books so much and the mixture doesn't bother me is because, as a reader, I approach them with the same worldview Lewis had writing them.

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Yw =)

Hm, what worldview is that?
I can't stand mixed genres in my own writing either. Something can be both a drama and humor/crack, but one has to prevail over the other. Drama with humorous touches, or humor with dramatic moments.

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I too usually like one genre to prevail in a novel. I have never really seen the space trilogy as a mixing of genres because, like Lewis, I am a Christian. Orwell said in the review you linked that there were angels and demons in the story and that Lewis seemed to think these beings actually exist. And he did. So do I. So for me the space travel in the first two books and the science/technological aspect of the third are why I've considered them science fiction. Because he was using science and technology as the machinery for the plot. I like that you have made me reexamine this because you're right. From our expectations of science fiction and fantasy in general these books straddle the genres, leaning more toward the fantasy side. They are also theology books, particularly the second one. So yeah he was all over the place with his genres. I still think they're brilliant though. :)

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I guess I just like my Christian fiction separate from my secular fiction* ;-) When I'm reading Frank Petrelli, I don't want aliens coming out of the woodwork.

Anne Rice broke my theology tolerance with Memnoch the Devil and subsequent books.

I do enjoy bits of Screwtape Letters that I've read.

* And I like my Christian music separate from my secular music. The golden age of Christian pop music has passed in the late 1990s with Jars of Clay, dcTalk, and Sixpence None The Richer. =P

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I have never read any Anne Rice. I don't read much in that genre at all.

Totally agree on the music. Jars of Clay still does good stuff. Other than that I have no tolerance for Christian music.

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To me, sci-fi = underdog v. big, bad, evil/corrupt corporation/government
fantasy = spiritual good v. evil

Generally true, yes, haha! I find that sci-fi is often GRITTY. GRIT IN YOUR TEETH. ALL THE TIME. Also the theme of "humans dealing with the enormous F-ups we made in the past which have royally screwed up our chances of survival" seems to crop up a lot. Which explains the grit, really - it's a genre that makes us feel guilty and worried all the time. :I

SAVE US FROM OURSELVES AND THE ALIENS/ MUTANTS/ ZOMBIES/ ROBOTS/ ANDROIDS, OH BADASS AND MANLY MAIN CHARACTER WITH FUTURISTIC WEAPONRY!

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PS. I mostly am referring to movies and video games, as I can't think of much Sci-Fi I've read apart from Ender's Game and Slaughterhouse Five. Oh, and half of Fahrenheit 451 (I forgot about it, durrr). And dude, I just realized Hunger Games is totally Sci-Fi.

Although a lot of my made-up-in-my-head stories are totally sci-fi. Hmmm. Odd, that!

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Which explains the grit, really - it's a genre that makes us feel guilty and worried all the time. :I

^^;; That makes sense.
Do you think most/all dystopia = sci-fi, then?

OH BADASS AND MANLY MAIN CHARACTER WITH FUTURISTIC WEAPONRY!

X-D X-D X-D Except for Sarah Connor chronicles *g*
...I suppose Sarah's the tiniest bit manly.

I'm intrigued by Hunger Games but I'm a wimp when it comes to violence and/or torture (even implied, a lot of times. MWT's fade-to-black violence = perfect for me). Are the Hunger Games scenes strictly PG-13 or?

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It's hard to say, really, about the PG-13ness or not. I've never really understood ratings systems myself, which probably doesn't help, haha.

But, well, it's about an involuntary last-man-standing/fight-to-the-death tournament sort of thing, so violence and emotional trauma is a given, but there's no gratuitous grisly descriptives or anything. A lot of this is because the main character is trying her damnedest to not think about that stuff herself, as she's pretty squimish when it comes to blood and injuries.

It's mostly a lot of "OUCH OK OK NEED TO SEE WHAT'S WRONG WITHOUT ACTUALLY LOOKIN- OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH LOOKING, TIME TO THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE!" when it comes to that, lol.

So I dunno, hah. Give 'er a shot, and then you'll know for sure! The actual fighting doesn't even really start until around the half-way point anyway, so you'll at least be able to judge the character and writing on its own by then without having to worry about the violence on top of that. C:

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violence and emotional trauma is a given, but there's no gratuitous grisly descriptives or anything.

Good to know.

AHAHAH that's my pain management right there X-D
I always have to look away when doctors wield needles and dentists wield ~~torture devices~~ dental implements.

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I DON'T THINK I'VE POSTED QUITE ENOUGH COMMENTS!

Do you think most/all dystopia = sci-fi, then?
I think quite a bit of sci-fi does end up being dystopian, at least a lot of the ones concerned with the mistakes we've made. But, well, there's no reason why fantasy can't be dystopian.

I kind of divvy up sci-fi and fantasy in my head with fantasy being stories about impossible things done via MAGIC, whereas sci-fi does impossible things with SCIENCE. It's funny what a difference this little detail makes - with science, it's humans trying to get become more powerful through their creations; whereas with magic it's as if the power to do everything already exists, but we just have to learn to control it.

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YES I WANT MORE COMMENTS PLEASE!

Can't remember reading any dystopic fantasy so far. No matter how grim the situation is there's always hooooope~ (Hobbits! Ringbearer! Mordor!)

How would you classify Lois Lowry's The Giver?
I mean, they use science, but so many things are unexplained, like how do they weed out color-viewing genes? And even if that's what happened, how is it possible to weed out music-listening genes? (The previous Giver).
The Giver's abilities and how they're passed down also seem fantasy-ish to me.

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I would still classify it genre-wise as sci-fi, except instead of "a wizard did it," it would be "a scientist did it," for the mysterious bits. I always felt that the lack of colours isn't supposed to be a genetic altering - I mean, the main kid learned to see colours again, you couldn't do that if you were actually colour-blind. It seemed to be more of a symbol of how people just allowed themselves to not see everything. That they couldn't see colours because they weren't bothering to try, not because they couldn't. Same with music - they just plain forgot that it ever had a point, or didn't care enough to listen.

BUT I DUNNO. It wasn't my favourite book that I had to read in elementary school, so I never dwelt on it much, haha. Really, when I think back to all the books I was made to read in elementary school, it's no wonder that a lot of kids grew up not liking reading. Everyone just used to take out the I Spy books at the school library, as I recall, no doubt assuming that all books were as corny and sentimental and unenjoyable as our required reading.

I still remember wanting to take out a Garth Nix book at the school's library in grade 7 AND NOT BEING ALLOWED because I wasn't in grade 8. The librarian suggested I read Nancy Drew instead like all the other girls in my class. I had my mom take me to the public library after school instead, and I took out the desired Nix book there. C:

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ALSO I meant that there isn't any reason why fantasy can't be dystopian, except that people just plain don't seem to want to write it that way. I think it's because people are used to thinking of fantasy as an extension of, as you say, our own hope for the future. That no matter how bad things get, the power of mankind's determination and love will triumph over evil. Whereas sci-fi is almost the opposite - that no matter how bad things get, humans can always come up with a way of making it worse.

It probably something to do with the morals system in fantasy (black and white) vs the rather more realistic system in sci-fi (shades of grey), or maybe because magic is kind of mystical and god-like and science merely comes from mere, pitiable flawed humans, but it's hard to say really.

Now that I've said that, I super duper want a dystopian fantasy novel to read. :B

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MWT: Doin' that thing she does. *flips down her sunglasses, wind-fan activates*

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hazelwillow.livejournal.com

MWT: Prepare to be robbed of your heart.

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deirdrej.livejournal.com

Oh, No! CS Lewis could write anything! I ADORE his Sci Fi! Can we change that one?

CS Lewis -- Books are even better after marriage.

Love your tags for MWT and Jane Austen!!

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