I have to say it, this all smacks of jealousy, if these other writers had had
the success that Ray has had, it would be a different matter, people will find
similarities in anything, and you find fanatic nuts behind every tree, who'll
take up any cause as they have nothing better to do. Ray has no need to defend
himself, his career and success speak for themselves.
Look at the Bible and Nostradamus codes, you can make them say anything, but
all after the event, show me a prediction that it's made that has yet to come
true, then after the event I'll say "we blow me down you were right" but they
won't do it for fear of making fools of themselves.
--Chris--
----- Original Message -----
From: Fliss
To: feistfans-l
Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2013 12:26 AM
Subject: Re: Discussion with friend about Kelewan
Remember the old adage:
Microsoft stole it from Apple -- but they stole it from IBM -- who stole it
from Xerox -- who nicked it from the Rosewall aliens anyway.
It's all about who uses the building blocks to get another step higher. Isaac
Newton said that "If I have seen farther it is by standing on the shoulders of
giants." All that we now know, read, believe, etc, is because we have people
like Ray, who stand on the shoulders of those who wrote before.
Rudyard Kipling wrote two serious sci-fi novels -- do his descendants claim
that every sci-fi novel, series, or movie owes them money? Of course not, it's
a ludicrous concept. But Kipling helped set a foundation for sci-fi that others
built on. Without him, we may not have had 'Star Wars' (IMHO, not a great loss)
or 'Star Trek' (a much greater worry!). And without them, we may well have not
had the great series of the past few years. One writer cannot claim a genre as
their own alone. But their writing, be it ever small or large, will add to that
genre and allow others to step up to greatness. Ray and Janny have probably
influenced more than we'll ever know, simply by using common concepts and
putting them together into their amazing works.
P.S. -- None of this means I don't want to know what happened when Kevin took
Mara to Midkemia! Drives me mad that this book hasn't been written yet!
Fliss
I have a gripe with Apple in particular which proudly boasts its innovation
in design and architecture, while those in the know really know just how they
have historically leeched other companies inventions through the 90s. I have a
running joke with my IT peers that if they could have patented the finger they
would have!
