[FairfieldLife] Re: Just Been Thinking
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wayback71 waybac...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_reply@ wrote: The Sparrow was Russell's first novel. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis and the British Science Fiction Association Award. But please don't think that these science fiction credentials make it lightweight on in any way a genre novel. Mary Doria Russell's favorite author is the same as mine, Dorothy Dunnett. That's a pretty awesome role model to feel that you have to live up to in your own writing. She does. I read The Sparrow years ago and loved it - and will now get Children of God and try some books by Dunnett. Children Of God finishes the story. Don't expect anything similar to Mary Doria Russell in the *content* of Dorothy Dunnett's novels...the simi- larity I'm talking about is in terms of quality of writing and depth of characterization. Dorothy wrote (primarily) historical fiction, not science fiction. The best to start with if you really want to give her a shot is probably The Game Of Kings, which is the first in a six-novel series called The Lymond Chronicles. No harm, no foul if it isn't your cuppa tea; some people like her, others don't. For those of us who do, she's a writing God. I first met Mary Doria Russell on a list of writers who got together to discuss and admire Dunnett's work. Other fairly famous writers like Guy Gavriel Kay were also in on the discussions. It was great fun. Totally different but incredibly wise and well written is Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, a Canadina Jungian writer - I am rereading it and enjoying it even more 15 years later. I'll look for it, even though I wouldn't know what a Canadina Jungian writer was if one came up and bit me on the ass. :-) Why I'll check it out is you saying that you enjoy it more on a reread. That is one of my criteria for great writing -- that it only gets better and better the more often you read it. I have read Dunnett's The Lymond Chronicles six or seven times now.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Just Been Thinking
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, lurkernomore20002000 steve.sun...@... wrote: Thanks for the recommendation. Now I know what do to with the Barnse and Noble credit I have. It's a good book. It's a pity The Sparrow was never made into a movie, because Antonio Banderas was signed on to play the priest, and he would have been perfect for the part. As for me mis- typing the name a couple of times, here's a video comment on that, and the feeble-minded pussy who felt the need to comment on it as part of her ongoing a day is not really a day unless I get to lash out at Barry campaign. :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--FyndryTFofeature=player_embedded --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, lurkernomore20002000 steve.sundur@ wrote: Seeing Avatar, and reading a lot recently of reports of possible liquid water on other planets, had me thinking that if intelligent life is found, then Christian missionaries would feel compelled to immediately go and try to convert the inhabitants. I am not poking fun at them. But, I figure that a world view that holds that Jesus is the Lord of the Unverse, does'nt really allow for any renegade provinces that may not have heard the good news. I think discovered life on another planet, (if it happens) is going to be a tough one here. If you like thinking about such things, Steve, I highly recommend a pair of novels by Mary Doria Russell. The first is called The Swallow and the sequel (necessary to get over the impact of the original) is called Children Of God. Both are brilliant. In The Swallow, Jesuit priests working at the deep radio dish in Areceibo are on hand when the first radio communication arrives that definitely, no question about it, is from another species that does not live on Earth. They live on a planet that is actually reachable. So while the governments of the Earth are arguing about who is going to go there and who is going to pay for it and get the credit for it, the Jesuits (phenomenally wealthy) do what they've always done and mount their own expedition. Part scientists, part priests, they go to this planet with the best of intentions. And it turns out really, really, really badly. Heartbreakingly badly, shattering the life of the priest at the heart of it all. It really takes the followup novel Children Of God to resolve things and make things somehow all right again. The Sparrow was Russell's first novel. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis and the British Science Fiction Association Award. But please don't think that these science fiction credentials make it lightweight on in any way a genre novel. Mary Doria Russell's favorite author is the same as mine, Dorothy Dunnett. That's a pretty awesome role model to feel that you have to live up to in your own writing. She does.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Just Been Thinking
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: snip As for me mis- typing the name a couple of times, (Read: As for Barry getting the title of the book he's touting wrong two times out of three...) here's a video comment on that, and the feeble-minded pussy who felt the need to comment on it as part of her ongoing a day is not really a day unless I get to lash out at Barry campaign. :-) The older and more feeble-minded he gets, the more freaked out he is by the increasing number of mistakes he makes, especially when someone who's older than he is and rarely makes mistakes notices them. Actually, reading Barry's synopses of the two books, I thought I'd probably like them. I went to Amazon to order the first one but couldn't find it under The Swallow. Figured maybe it was out of print and no longer available, so I checked the title of the sequel and found it immediately. The (correct) title of the first one was mentioned in the description, and it was indeed available. Barry would rather lurk waste his time on a wild goose chase because of Barry's error than have anybody know he got it wrong. Any decent human being would have been grateful for the correction. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--FyndryTFofeature=player_embedded This is a fabulous video, though. Just sent it to my sister.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Just Been Thinking
Steve wrote: Seeing Avatar, and reading a lot recently of reports of possible liquid water on other planets, had me thinking that if intelligent life is found, then Christian missionaries would feel compelled to immediately go and try to convert the inhabitants. So, you're trying to 'convert' us to your way of thinking, Steve? I am not poking fun at them. But, I figure that a world view that holds that Jesus is the Lord of the Unverse, does really allow for any renegade provinces that may not have heard the good news. I think discovered life on another planet, (if it happens) is going to be a tough one here.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Just Been Thinking
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, lurkernomore20002000 steve.sundur@ wrote: Seeing Avatar, and reading a lot recently of reports of possible liquid water on other planets, had me thinking that if intelligent life is found, then Christian missionaries would feel compelled to immediately go and try to convert the inhabitants. I am not poking fun at them. But, I figure that a world view that holds that Jesus is the Lord of the Unverse, does'nt really allow for any renegade provinces that may not have heard the good news. I think discovered life on another planet, (if it happens) is going to be a tough one here. If you like thinking about such things, Steve, I highly recommend a pair of novels by Mary Doria Russell. The first is called The Swallow and the sequel (necessary to get over the impact of the original) is called Children Of God. Both are brilliant. In The Swallow, Jesuit priests working at the deep radio dish in Areceibo are on hand when the first radio communication arrives that definitely, no question about it, is from another species that does not live on Earth. They live on a planet that is actually reachable. So while the governments of the Earth are arguing about who is going to go there and who is going to pay for it and get the credit for it, the Jesuits (phenomenally wealthy) do what they've always done and mount their own expedition. Part scientists, part priests, they go to this planet with the best of intentions. And it turns out really, really, really badly. Heartbreakingly badly, shattering the life of the priest at the heart of it all. It really takes the followup novel Children Of God to resolve things and make things somehow all right again. The Sparrow was Russell's first novel. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis and the British Science Fiction Association Award. But please don't think that these science fiction credentials make it lightweight on in any way a genre novel. Mary Doria Russell's favorite author is the same as mine, Dorothy Dunnett. That's a pretty awesome role model to feel that you have to live up to in your own writing. She does. I read The Sparrow years ago and loved it - and will now get Children of God and try some books by Dunnett. Totally different but incredibly wise and well written is Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, a Canadina Jungian writer - I am rereading it and enjoying it even more 15 years later.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Just Been Thinking
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, lurkernomore20002000 steve.sun...@... wrote: Seeing Avatar, and reading a lot recently of reports of possible liquid water on other planets, had me thinking that if intelligent life is found, then Christian missionaries would feel compelled to immediately go and try to convert the inhabitants. I am not poking fun at them. But, I figure that a world view that holds that Jesus is the Lord of the Unverse, does'nt really allow for any renegade provinces that may not have heard the good news. I think discovered life on another planet, (if it happens) is going to be a tough one here.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Just Been Thinking
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, lurkernomore20002000 steve.sun...@... wrote: Seeing Avatar, and reading a lot recently of reports of possible liquid water on other planets, had me thinking that if intelligent life is found, then Christian missionaries would feel compelled to immediately go and try to convert the inhabitants. I am not poking fun at them. But, I figure that a world view that holds that Jesus is the Lord of the Unverse, does'nt really allow for any renegade provinces that may not have heard the good news. I think discovered life on another planet, (if it happens) is going to be a tough one here. If you like thinking about such things, Steve, I highly recommend a pair of novels by Mary Doria Russell. The first is called The Swallow and the sequel (necessary to get over the impact of the original) is called Children Of God. Both are brilliant. In The Swallow, Jesuit priests working at the deep radio dish in Areceibo are on hand when the first radio communication arrives that definitely, no question about it, is from another species that does not live on Earth. They live on a planet that is actually reachable. So while the governments of the Earth are arguing about who is going to go there and who is going to pay for it and get the credit for it, the Jesuits (phenomenally wealthy) do what they've always done and mount their own expedition. Part scientists, part priests, they go to this planet with the best of intentions. And it turns out really, really, really badly. Heartbreakingly badly, shattering the life of the priest at the heart of it all. It really takes the followup novel Children Of God to resolve things and make things somehow all right again. The Sparrow was Russell's first novel. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis and the British Science Fiction Association Award. But please don't think that these science fiction credentials make it lightweight on in any way a genre novel. Mary Doria Russell's favorite author is the same as mine, Dorothy Dunnett. That's a pretty awesome role model to feel that you have to live up to in your own writing. She does.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Just Been Thinking
Thanks for the recommendation. Now I know what do to with the Barnse and Noble credit I have. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, lurkernomore20002000 steve.sundur@ wrote: Seeing Avatar, and reading a lot recently of reports of possible liquid water on other planets, had me thinking that if intelligent life is found, then Christian missionaries would feel compelled to immediately go and try to convert the inhabitants. I am not poking fun at them. But, I figure that a world view that holds that Jesus is the Lord of the Unverse, does'nt really allow for any renegade provinces that may not have heard the good news. I think discovered life on another planet, (if it happens) is going to be a tough one here. If you like thinking about such things, Steve, I highly recommend a pair of novels by Mary Doria Russell. The first is called The Swallow and the sequel (necessary to get over the impact of the original) is called Children Of God. Both are brilliant. In The Swallow, Jesuit priests working at the deep radio dish in Areceibo are on hand when the first radio communication arrives that definitely, no question about it, is from another species that does not live on Earth. They live on a planet that is actually reachable. So while the governments of the Earth are arguing about who is going to go there and who is going to pay for it and get the credit for it, the Jesuits (phenomenally wealthy) do what they've always done and mount their own expedition. Part scientists, part priests, they go to this planet with the best of intentions. And it turns out really, really, really badly. Heartbreakingly badly, shattering the life of the priest at the heart of it all. It really takes the followup novel Children Of God to resolve things and make things somehow all right again. The Sparrow was Russell's first novel. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis and the British Science Fiction Association Award. But please don't think that these science fiction credentials make it lightweight on in any way a genre novel. Mary Doria Russell's favorite author is the same as mine, Dorothy Dunnett. That's a pretty awesome role model to feel that you have to live up to in your own writing. She does.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Just Been Thinking
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, lurkernomore20002000 steve.sun...@... wrote: Thanks for the recommendation. Now I know what do to with the Barnse and Noble credit I have. You'll most likely have better luck finding it if you look for it under the title The Sparrow rather than The Swallow. (Barry did manage to get it right the third time.) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_reply@ wrote: snip If you like thinking about such things, Steve, I highly recommend a pair of novels by Mary Doria Russell. The first is called The Swallow and snip In The Swallow, Jesuit priests working at the snip The Sparrow was Russell's first novel. It won the
