All of this stuff has been said over and over again over the history of SF. My own “Fellow Traveler” (1991). Donald Kingsbury’s “Bringing in the Steel” (1979). Even “Ride the Grey Planet” form 1949 (a.k.a. “Assignment in Space” recast as a children’s book. This Devon Fellow is just telling the “facts” to people who couldn’t care less, and the proudly holding up his essay to the choir.
BTW, in the Mars books, Dejah Thoris didn’t wear a chainmail bikini. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoomians went completely nude, only wearing leather harnesses to support weapons and ornaments. Part of the titillations of reading “A Princess of Mars” for a 12-year-old was imagining the princess with her T&A hanging out. And for a 12-year0-old like me trying to visualize what the pussy of an egg-laying monotreme girl might look like.
Finally, as an adult, I saw a video in which a biologist pried open the vulva of a pregnant platypus, displaying the egg inside. I thought of Dejah Thoris, and said, “Ew!”
It’s best to listen to a man robust enough to handle two wives:
Fantastic article. Go read his novel, Theft of Fire.
I’m not curious enough to look up if those are his actual (legal) wives. He looks old enough he’ll need bonerol if so, When I ws young, for a while, I had two girlfriends who were willing to get in bed with me at the same time. Not worth the effort. Now, at 74, I’m lucky I can still pee standing up.
Anyways, the article is bs and the book sounds derivative. Go read my dozens of books and stories instead.
I think sub-orbital travel on Earth and/or making Mars settlements on Mars, will cause ocean settlements on Earth. And that should create some trillionaires.
And Mars settlements will cause Venus orbital settlements [involving making many trillionaires].
And Venus settlements will significantly increase mining oceans of water in the solar systems which will lead to lunar space elevators dropping oceans of water on our Moon [getting hydropower from the dropped water mined in our solar system] and a bit later dropping oceans of water on Mars and Mercury [to also get hydropower]
That sounds like a lot of work when we can just do hyperinflation. Then everyone can be a trillionaire desperately trying to get rid of that money before you can’t buy a junk car, I mean a belt buckle, I mean a stick of gum with it.
“You and I and everyone else alive today are unfortunate enough to live in humanity’s embarrassingly primitive poo-flinging monkey period.”
I have some bad news…
Good post though, enjoyable read.
Theft of Fire is a great SF novel. Enjoyed it greatly as did my wife.
So what? Everyone is entitled to their own taste in literature. my main point was, having two wives (really) doesn’t show you’re smart, it shows you’re crazy. And the article is preaching to the choir, making points that have been made over and over. I published an article about it in Ad Astra in 1989, for gosh sakes.
As for the book being derivative, I haven’t read it, only descriptions and reviews. It sounds similar to my novella “In the Age of the Quiet Sun,” published in Asimov’s. in 2008, I think. SF tends to be derivative anyway. so, no big surprise.
I also want to say I’ve nothing against self-published authors. My first sale was in 1972, well before wokeism began, my last in 2009, to Asimov’s, after which the Age of Blacklisting went full blast under Obamalamadingdong. In 2011, I put my backlist up as e-books, as well as any new work. And blacklisting comes from both sides. I was expelled from Nasaspaceflight in 2010.
All of this stuff has been said over and over again over the history of SF. My own “Fellow Traveler” (1991). Donald Kingsbury’s “Bringing in the Steel” (1979). Even “Ride the Grey Planet” form 1949 (a.k.a. “Assignment in Space” recast as a children’s book. This Devon Fellow is just telling the “facts” to people who couldn’t care less, and the proudly holding up his essay to the choir.
BTW, in the Mars books, Dejah Thoris didn’t wear a chainmail bikini. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoomians went completely nude, only wearing leather harnesses to support weapons and ornaments. Part of the titillations of reading “A Princess of Mars” for a 12-year-old was imagining the princess with her T&A hanging out. And for a 12-year0-old like me trying to visualize what the pussy of an egg-laying monotreme girl might look like.
Finally, as an adult, I saw a video in which a biologist pried open the vulva of a pregnant platypus, displaying the egg inside. I thought of Dejah Thoris, and said, “Ew!”
It’s best to listen to a man robust enough to handle two wives:
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=fqAYUo3B&id=947CD06F691B7D6047636FD4AC6295A624D72DA5&thid=OIP.fqAYUo3BmYv4xqHIEb2fDAAAAA&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.gr-assets.com%2Fauthors%2F1695720438p8%2F44421655.jpg&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.7ea018528dc1998bf8c6a1c811bd9f0c%3Frik%3DpS3XJKaVYqzUbw%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=200&expw=200&q=devon+eriksen+wives&simid=608029939696820022&FORM=IRPRST&ck=2080D6E06DF904A03C25A8691AE85C91&selectedIndex=0&itb=0&cw=1152&ch=582&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
Fantastic article. Go read his novel, Theft of Fire.
I’m not curious enough to look up if those are his actual (legal) wives. He looks old enough he’ll need bonerol if so, When I ws young, for a while, I had two girlfriends who were willing to get in bed with me at the same time. Not worth the effort. Now, at 74, I’m lucky I can still pee standing up.
Anyways, the article is bs and the book sounds derivative. Go read my dozens of books and stories instead.
I think sub-orbital travel on Earth and/or making Mars settlements on Mars, will cause ocean settlements on Earth. And that should create some trillionaires.
And Mars settlements will cause Venus orbital settlements [involving making many trillionaires].
And Venus settlements will significantly increase mining oceans of water in the solar systems which will lead to lunar space elevators dropping oceans of water on our Moon [getting hydropower from the dropped water mined in our solar system] and a bit later dropping oceans of water on Mars and Mercury [to also get hydropower]
That sounds like a lot of work when we can just do hyperinflation. Then everyone can be a trillionaire desperately trying to get rid of that money before you can’t buy a junk car, I mean a belt buckle, I mean a stick of gum with it.
“You and I and everyone else alive today are unfortunate enough to live in humanity’s embarrassingly primitive poo-flinging monkey period.”
I have some bad news…
Good post though, enjoyable read.
Theft of Fire is a great SF novel. Enjoyed it greatly as did my wife.
So what? Everyone is entitled to their own taste in literature. my main point was, having two wives (really) doesn’t show you’re smart, it shows you’re crazy. And the article is preaching to the choir, making points that have been made over and over. I published an article about it in Ad Astra in 1989, for gosh sakes.
As for the book being derivative, I haven’t read it, only descriptions and reviews. It sounds similar to my novella “In the Age of the Quiet Sun,” published in Asimov’s. in 2008, I think. SF tends to be derivative anyway. so, no big surprise.
I also want to say I’ve nothing against self-published authors. My first sale was in 1972, well before wokeism began, my last in 2009, to Asimov’s, after which the Age of Blacklisting went full blast under Obamalamadingdong. In 2011, I put my backlist up as e-books, as well as any new work. And blacklisting comes from both sides. I was expelled from Nasaspaceflight in 2010.