The Arrogance of Ignorance -- and a special offer to the RRS Community
Offline Hello, Everyone --
I have just posted a new essay on my blog that you might find interesting -- New Clothes for Shakespeare and Sondheim or: THE ARROGANCE OF IGNORANCE.
The essay spins off of a theme in my new novel, Traveling in Space, coming out next month from Blüroof Press (edit: now available; Amazon), which is calling it, “A unique science fiction first-contact novel from the point-of-view of the aliens; a 21st Century Gulliver's Travels with Homo sapiens as the Lilliputians.”
I would love for members of this community to read and, if they wish, comment on the essay, either on my blog or here.
As Traveling in Space gives consideration to the topics of this group, and is deeply informed by my atheism, my publisher, Dave Doody (who by day is a senior flight engineer at JPL/NASA) asked me to extend an offer to the Rational Responders community. If you think you would be interested in reading Traveling in Space, Dave would be happy to make available to the first ten people who respond a free PDF download of the proof copy of the book. All that he asks in return is that if you like the book enough to recommend it to people -- or even dislike it enough to warn them off -- please let us know how you have done this. Was it by real person-to-person word-of-mouth; emails, a post on your blog; postings on atheist/rationalist/secular websites and blog or SCI FI and fiction websites and blogs, etc.?
To read my essay please go to:
http://stevenpaulleivasthisnthat.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-clothes-for-shakespeare-and.html
To get the link for the free download of a pdf of Traveling in Space, email me at [email protected] and put “TIS Preview - RR” in the subject line.
Best to all!
Steven Paul Leiva
- Login to post comments
Here's my final shot of my vision of a genetically enhaced gorgeous humanoid from another planet as inspired by the book.
Aaaahh the internets. I am not able to surf, that's why I'm late, but I want to say my thoughts about T.i.S.
So, generically speaking, I like the book. First fact, factually speaking (much obliged).
First, light facts: I see elements from the following works: paranoia (roleplaying game -- everyone should know it, in this field), mass effect 2 (genetic engineering), peter hamilton (scifi author, for some themes), firefly (you know, pleasurepals anyone?). I could go deep in the description, but it would require work and in the end it's not really needed, also because I am not a big scifi/fantasy reader (not without a reason), I like them "real".
Second: just to talk, the 'joking seasons' have a ETA of some days?
Seriously (sort of) now: the Life aliens... They should be more acknowledged, have more experience (expecially about themselves and their reaction with the unknown), and generally, given their age, be "more irremovible". They should have also more understanding/technology in some areas, in the light of their analysis capacity, but this would damage the story, right?
Altough I admit that being curious, they could "change" in less time than hypotesized, still I think that it isn't right. They are too smart.
Religion: "immature emotional need". I would say... yes and no. In the sense that I do not see it as cause (at least not alone), but it could become in a particular situation.
The name Rudolfo: I think it has a teutonic taste, not much common. Instead Rodolfo is undoubtely more used.
Also the pope: I think I agree with his behavior just because he's english, or from somewhere like that. If he'd been italian, german, o something in between I personally would not think he'd act like that.
Last thing: I see wisdom in the concept of "evil" applied to the people, but I think it misses something. It is said that people marks other people as evil, and those poor folks are therefore to be killed. I want just to extend the thing a little: the "evilness" is projected on these people, hate is spreaded, but the problem is that what it means is the evil people cannot understand the Good (for divine mandate or for 'interpretation' of who applies that label) or cannot change themselves -- irreconciliable differences. That is a problem which made himself present even on this forum. Someone thinks some other group of people cannot change their attitude. So there not possible ways to act (possibly they could not anymore be called 'people') that kill, kill, kill.
That's all. I will comment the drawing in his thread.
Luca -- Many thanks for your comments on Traveling in Space, they are much appreciated. Let me comment on your comments on the aliens. You make good points, especially if TIS was a hard science SF novel. But it's not. My aliens are really metaphors for a maturity that we might someday achieve -- although in a different way. But maturity is not perfection. and, this being a comic novel, they had to have certain "human" frailties to make them interesting and relevant to my goals in telling the story.
As to the joking seasons -- i don't know if they are real, or just the way my aliens say something like -- "Is this anytime for humor?" Sometimes, as a creator of worlds and characters, you like keeping things mysterious even to yourself.
It would be interesting to see what readers think.
Again, many thanks for you notes, and best regards,
Steven
Steven Paul Leiva