tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63753090450546412.post7404152758605609318..comments2024-02-06T12:32:08.221-07:00Comments on Servitor Ludi: O is for Octavia ButlerCygnushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10394890573443379954noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63753090450546412.post-36123803688435125672013-04-19T20:45:57.449-06:002013-04-19T20:45:57.449-06:00To clarify: I don't think Butler was gratuito...To clarify: I don't think Butler was gratuitously grimdark -- she always seemed to have quite "arresting and lyrical" messages to convey.Cygnushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10394890573443379954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63753090450546412.post-74166590915685663882013-04-19T20:42:56.307-06:002013-04-19T20:42:56.307-06:00It's easier to knock down the row of stacked d...It's easier to knock down the row of stacked dominos than it is to stack them up in the first place, I guess. I still appreciate the flashing-warning-sign aspect of a dystopia (though some can be short sighted, esp. if focused on hot-button topics of the day), but I can't get behind ones that are just grimdark for grimdark's sake.Cygnushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10394890573443379954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63753090450546412.post-86378249157524960932013-04-19T16:20:20.941-06:002013-04-19T16:20:20.941-06:00I read her omnibus novel Xenogenesis some time ago...I read her omnibus novel Xenogenesis some time ago. It was dark and arresting and lyrical in places.<br /><br />Dystopias are easier to imagine than utopias for many of us. This is unfortunate but probably reflective of human nature.Sultanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06506141014376919585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63753090450546412.post-2964299437811924752013-04-17T12:17:52.864-06:002013-04-17T12:17:52.864-06:00Agreed. I was inspired a bit by some of Squid'...Agreed. I was inspired a bit by some of Squid's earlier posts this month -- i.e., dare to share some stuff that I may not be totally on board with, since different readers will take away different things.<br /><br />In fiction, grim futures often do have a useful purpose: To actively PREVENT that future from coming about by calling attention to little signs that we may be starting down that path.<br /><br />No worries, though. My "Z" <i>won't</i> be for the Zombie Apocalypse. :-)<br />Cygnushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10394890573443379954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63753090450546412.post-33541421476329935992013-04-17T12:13:04.962-06:002013-04-17T12:13:04.962-06:00Thanks for stopping by, Tim. I admit that I don&#...Thanks for stopping by, Tim. I admit that I don't know much about Butler -- even most of the stuff about Earthseed, above, I learned from enthusiastic fans on the web...Cygnushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10394890573443379954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63753090450546412.post-54267104208395837032013-04-17T09:15:46.596-06:002013-04-17T09:15:46.596-06:00Maybe I've seen the words 'dystopian futur...Maybe I've seen the words 'dystopian future' too many times in a row this morning but PUKE!<br /><br />My apologies to the excellent Ms. Butler.<br /><br />Cyg, as always, this was an extremely thoughtful post, taking into intellectual consideration many angles. I realize that the brightest stars shine in the blackness but I am filled to spewing with the visions of our future that have steadily grown in our technological milieu. It's like, with all these cautionary tales, why haven't we used our *considerable* thought power to dream up something different. No, we just keep hammering the same god-awful, despairing drum. At least when Butler was penning these narratives, they were iconoclastic. In the present day, all I feel is the need to fight within myself against the rage that rises at our seeming incapacity to 'see' anything else.Suzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07908805179119217608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63753090450546412.post-40020501218470764822013-04-17T06:02:19.357-06:002013-04-17T06:02:19.357-06:00I always rather enjoyed her books back when I was ...I always rather enjoyed her books back when I was reading more sci-fi.<br /><br />--<br />Tim Brannan<br /><a href="http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">The Other Side</a> and <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/107132/The-Witch%3A-A-sourcebook-for-Basic-Edition-fantasy-games?affiliate_id=10748" rel="nofollow">The Witch</a><br /><a href="http://redsonjashedevilwithasword.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword</a><br /><a href="http://freedomofnonbelief.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">The Freedom of Nonbelief</a><br />Timothy S. Brannanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923526503305233715noreply@blogger.com