tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post7645483087527337239..comments2024-01-12T11:26:35.176-05:00Comments on Working Stiffs: Changing WorldsWorking Stiffshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270595837074553752noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-88826471749431333382011-01-08T13:32:43.759-05:002011-01-08T13:32:43.759-05:00I agree with Gina, the first world changing charac...I agree with Gina, the first world changing characters that pop into my mind are from Harry Potter. Though as a child Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Alice from Alice in Wonderland were my heros. They made me believe anything was possible if I refused to give up. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-24624308158630804372011-01-07T22:57:01.730-05:002011-01-07T22:57:01.730-05:00I'd have to say Francis Crawford of Dorothy Du...I'd have to say Francis Crawford of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles. Talk about a brilliant, driven, suicidal, world altering character. Definitely leading man material, but very hard to like at times. His charisma draws so many people to him, often with tragic results, but everyone swept up in his world is transformed in some way--good or bad--and a fortunate few even manage to stay alive. :-) I still haven't gotten around to reading the Vorkosigan series, although "Cordelia's Honor" is on my shelf; one of these days I'll take the plunge. And Bente, I wanted to let you know "Mortar and Murder" had the honor of being the first book I downloaded to the new Kindle I got for Christmas. <br /><br />Great post!<br /><br />Your "old" Amelia list sib,<br />FayeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-25014302944521980652011-01-07T19:32:22.126-05:002011-01-07T19:32:22.126-05:00I've read Lois and Marion's books. All oka...I've read Lois and Marion's books. All okay, but they slide too often into fantasy, so I'd never call them SF in the purest form. Asimov and Heinlein had a major affect on me as a reader, however Brin and Niven are my world builders of choice--and I mean big, huge world building, galaxy changing, worlds of aliens and cultures. You really have to pay attention when reading them, they do not slide along. However, rarely are the characters as indepthly studied unless it is part of a series. OTOH, world building and thought provoking are the Dragons of Pern books. A long, thoughtful series that only has interesting character studies in what is considered the young adult book of the series. Lest you believe this is fantasy ala all the other dragon books out there, FORGET IT. This is the stuff of science, that starts in the middle, projects forward before slamming you back to the beginning. But if you don't read the whole series, you never feel a major part of the world.<br />So, world building is most definitely different that thought provocking and life changing characters. I've loved way too many characters in my time to choose, and choosing Atticus over all the other characters in that book is too simple. Every single one of them can send you off into a cloud of deep thinking for hours.<br />PatgPatghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01046665022709722606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-67667693850850910832011-01-07T10:57:21.278-05:002011-01-07T10:57:21.278-05:00Jennie -
The present word verification is "wa...Jennie -<br />The present word verification is "warmism" which sounds like a nice creed to follow on a cold winter day like today.Ginanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-25313091015745435042011-01-07T09:49:08.613-05:002011-01-07T09:49:08.613-05:00Gina, I tried Marion Zimmer Bradley and found the ...Gina, I tried Marion Zimmer Bradley and found the books confusing. Maybe that's just me. Don't you have to learn new cultures in fantasy, too, though? Those tend to be harder for me. At least SF is our own culture, mostly, just developed by a few thousand years. <br /><br />My word verifiction was decent. Seriously!Jennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01442754671445893599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-87701197189181749172011-01-07T09:36:50.182-05:002011-01-07T09:36:50.182-05:00Jennie -
I don't mind the science stuff in sci...Jennie -<br />I don't mind the science stuff in science fiction - it's the having to learn an entirely new cultural context for every series that gets to me. I can't even figure out the culture I'm living in half the time! I haven't had the energy for that since I used to read Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series. [Now, there's a great writer! The Mists of Avalon remains one of my all time favorite books.]Ginanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-49010439982998396452011-01-07T09:28:30.926-05:002011-01-07T09:28:30.926-05:00Gina - agree absolutely about Harry Potter. I'...Gina - agree absolutely about Harry Potter. I'm not much of a science fiction fan either, actually - the only SF I read is LMB and Linnea Sinclair - but this isn't that kind of science fiction. The Vorkosigan books are incredible character studies, and the science stuff blends so well into the stories that you don't really notice it too much. It's more prevalent in some books than others, but it's never really the focus of the books. The stories are always about the people even when SF is part of the background. LMB also writes fantasy, however, and it sounds like you enjoy that. Maybe try The Curse of Chalion? It has another of those non-leading-man leading men... And if you like the writing, which I can pretty much guarantee that you will, maybe you'll move on to Miles later.Jennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01442754671445893599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-64067117576710764432011-01-07T09:24:20.467-05:002011-01-07T09:24:20.467-05:00Good choice, Joyce! Yep, Atticus Finch sure change...Good choice, Joyce! Yep, Atticus Finch sure changed a few lives, didn't he? In and out of the book. <br /><br />PatR... I'm looking forward to hearing what - or who - you come up with!Jennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01442754671445893599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-88103984881733734862011-01-07T08:57:34.925-05:002011-01-07T08:57:34.925-05:00Jennie -
I haven't read any of the Miles books...Jennie -<br />I haven't read any of the Miles books - not much of a science fiction fan - but he sounds intriguing.<br />Joyce - I agree about Atticus Finch. The iconic scene that comes to mind is from the movie, when he sits outside the jail with a lamp, a law book and a gun - the righteous man who puts himself between justice and chaos - but then it takes a little child to reason with the angry mob.<br />As far my own favorite world changing characters go, it has to be everyone in the Harry Potter books. Harry himself, and Snape, Lily and Dumbledore, Hagrid and Voldemort . . .Ginanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-89684728510397085092011-01-07T08:34:57.859-05:002011-01-07T08:34:57.859-05:00Enjoyed this post -- very thought-provoking. I am ...Enjoyed this post -- very thought-provoking. I am mulling my responses... :)PatRemickhttp://www.patremick.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-9250278626684619692011-01-07T07:08:38.231-05:002011-01-07T07:08:38.231-05:00Very thoughtful post. The first character who came...Very thoughtful post. The first character who came to my mind was Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. He may not have changed the world, but he certainly tried. He made a small impact on hatred and prejudice. Sometimes that's enough.Joyce Tremelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00498392016497131719noreply@blogger.com