Now there's a proposition for you. What does a 19th century English novelist have to do with late 20th century Science Fiction? He made it possible, that's what. Inspired by the recent PBS airing of "Tess of the D'Urbervilles", I've been thinking a lot about how some of the classic works of literature have influenced Science Fiction. Specifically, in Hardy's case, some of his works prompted some of the most successful anti-censorship activity in history.For those of you who've never read "Tess", you should take a look. The story of a young woman coerced by her poor family into seeking out wealthy relatives, Tess is one of the most tragic characters in all of literature. Raped by her cousin, she is denied love, abused, downtrodden and finally ends as a murderess (You go, girl!). Needless to say, 19th century England was scandalized.
I just had to post something on Friday the 13th. I tend to stay away from the horror stuff, although I do enjoy reading about Myth & Mystery. Also, I'm a bit of a history buff and I've always thought that the whole Friday the 13th myth arose from Phillip the Fair's persecution of the Knights Templar, which began on Friday, October 13th, 1307. Lately, however, I've read some work that suggests that the belief in an unlucky day goes (how do you spell goes?) back much farther.
11/17: Another free ebook from Tor
Tor books, that bastion of science fiction, has a new freebie floating around. If you register at their website, then every month, they will send you a free ebook. Awesome! I love free ebooks, so I was pretty excited to get my first one. It actually came some time ago, and I thought it would be a good idea to add a new feature to the blog. So, I'll be reviewing the ebooks that Tor sends out.
I've been on a bit of a fantasy kick lately, and some of the hard stuff can really bring you down. Plus it takes itself so seriously. Really, I feel like every author who's tried their hand at fantasy over the last 50 years or so, really expects to be the next Tolkien. Is it a law, that all new fantasy novels have to be the beginning of "an epic tale of high adventure" which spans twelve or fifteen books?
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