Uh oh, it looks like another bye week. Sorry gang; between my daughter's graduation and family coming over to visit this weekend, and a breaking story about Archie Comics, I had less time to finish my diary for this week than I anticipated. So let's just call this an open thread. Feel free to talk about any SF/Fantasy related subjects that occur to you.
I originally planned to write a piece on Magic: how it's used in Fantasy and what rules govern it. I should have it finished by next week.
Beyond that, I'm planning on going paleo-retro. The next book I'm planning to delve into for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Club is the seminal Invasion-From-Outer-Space story and one which draws some deliberate parallels with 19th Century colonialism: H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds.
So, do you have any thoughts on the subjects coming up, or any requests for what we should discuss in future weeks? Let me know.
I live for feedback.
(see Update below the jump:)
UPDATE: I was in a hurry to post the initial diary because I was behind schedule already; but I wanted to add a couple more bits of interest.
My Mom has been sorting through a lot of their stuff since my Dad's death last December, and when she came up to visit this time, she brought along some of my Dad's SF collection. Among the stuff she gave me are:
The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov -- (one of our cats once piddled on my own copy and I had to throw it away. Stupid cat)
The Stars Like Dust and The Currents of Space also by Asimov
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury -- a wonderful tale exploring the True Meaning of a beloved holiday
Tomorrow Midnight -- a collection of E.C. Comics adaptations of Bradbury stories. Incredible stuff!
The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
I, Claudius by Robert Graves -- okay, this one isn't science fiction. So sue me.
The Past Through Tomorrow by Robert Heinlein -- the collected edition of his "Future History" series of short stories.
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis -- the one book by Lewis that even non-theists like.
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis -- my own copy, alas, is falling apart and missing a page or two. I'm happy to get this replacement.
The Gospel According to Peanuts and The Parables of Peanuts by Robert L. Short -- my Dad was a pastor who liked cartoons.
Slan by A.E. van Vogt -- almost forgotten now, but this is where Chris Claremont got his "Mutants are Hated and Feared" schtick from.
The World of Null-A, The Players of Null-A and Null-A Three by A.E. van Vogt -- I never was quite able to get into the "Null-A" books as a kid, but I want to tackle them again, if for no other reason than I want to compare van Vogt's "Non-Aristotlean" ideas with Ayn Rand's "A=A" Objectivism.