tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post7557586356119229719..comments2024-03-27T23:55:17.673-07:00Comments on Flogging Babel: Passage of EarthMichael Swanwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-54173837335093894172017-07-29T11:32:06.756-07:002017-07-29T11:32:06.756-07:00It's been a while since I read this, so my mem...It's been a while since I read this, so my memory may not be exact. He's been eaten by the worm and the WORM is digesting his thoughts over and over, experiencing them in something analogous to what the reader is experiencing reading the story. But the human is so alien to the worm that it's having trouble... heh... digesting it.<br /><br />The ending is meant to suggest hope for the narrator or the worm identifying with the narrator. You see.Michael Swanwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-67124567001137153072017-05-22T19:53:41.273-07:002017-05-22T19:53:41.273-07:00*spoiler alert*
Just read this in the fantastic &...*spoiler alert*<br /><br />Just read this in the fantastic "Not so much said the cat" collection. I find the story utterly fascinating but I feel like an absolute idiot because I don't quite get it. He's eaten by a worm and recalling events as he's processed, but then, how to explain the end where he's willingly delivered up to be eaten (again)? I'm sure my tired old brain is missing a crucial clue.<br /><br />One reviewer suggested the worms were consuming the universe and Earth was being crapped out, but then how to place the autopsy and denouement?<br /><br />Sigh. I guess I'll reread until I get it...Texrathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04552835685455536857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-1007681314910533632014-04-13T11:26:45.556-07:002014-04-13T11:26:45.556-07:00Mark, I can't take any credit for that. But i...Mark, I can't take any credit for that. But it's always a good thing to do.Michael Swanwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-2513727585682516262014-04-12T20:17:10.663-07:002014-04-12T20:17:10.663-07:00If your goal in "Passage of Earth" was w...If your goal in "Passage of Earth" was when I finished the story to have me cross to the room to my wife and tell her how much I love her - well, "Mission accomplished".Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00884756478000974073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-15822826654124514292014-04-04T03:27:17.101-07:002014-04-04T03:27:17.101-07:00Oh, yah.Oh, yah.Mark Pontinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11988614518618495319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-16933225349297530792014-04-03T22:21:47.488-07:002014-04-03T22:21:47.488-07:00Mark Pontin: I was actually thinking of
Puneyvr F...Mark Pontin: I was actually thinking of<br /><br />Puneyvr Fgebff'f rneyl (naq V guvax orfg) fgbel, 'N Pbyqre Jne', juvpu unf gur cebgntbavfg jbaqrevat ng gur raq vs rirelguvat ur'f rkcrevraprq vf whfg cneg bs n arire raqvat fvzhyngvba eha vafvqr gur zbafgre juvpu ngr uvz.<br />(http://rot13.com if needed)<br /><br />but I have a lot of time for Michael Shea.HANNAH'S DADhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05877455489975811860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-24289474840788066522014-04-03T22:15:47.616-07:002014-04-03T22:15:47.616-07:00'I want to make one more comparison but I thin...'I want to make one more comparison but I think it might constitute a spoiler.'<br /><br />Michael Shea?Mark Pontinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11988614518618495319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-45331438906495730912014-04-03T19:54:02.936-07:002014-04-03T19:54:02.936-07:00> A good, really dark SF story that belongs in ...> A good, really dark SF story that belongs in that general lineage that includes Kornbluth, Tiptree and certain others. That, maybe, even does something new within that vein<br /><br />It is indeed - and I'm frustrated because I want to make one more comparison but I think it might constitute a spoiler. Bother.HANNAH'S DADhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05877455489975811860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-30619172534087551782014-04-03T17:16:19.249-07:002014-04-03T17:16:19.249-07:00It's a good story, Michael.
A good, really d...It's a good story, Michael. <br /><br />A good, really dark SF story that belongs in that general lineage that includes Kornbluth, Tiptree and certain others. That, maybe, even does something new within that vein. Mark Pontinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11988614518618495319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-53657418995546590902014-04-03T14:24:51.707-07:002014-04-03T14:24:51.707-07:00I think THIS attempt at updating the post worked. ...I think THIS attempt at updating the post worked. No idea why it kept reverting.<br /><br />Off to look at the clock.Michael Swanwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-53417390546433661542014-04-03T14:22:19.428-07:002014-04-03T14:22:19.428-07:00Sadly the two links are still wrong - the first is...Sadly the two links are still wrong - the first is showing up as "about:invalidzf#Closures" which is one of the more interesting urls I've seen.<br /><br />Off topic, but sure to make anyone happy, I found this clock the other day, and marvelled at how much body language can come from so little. It looks like a little medieval monk working away in his scriptorium. All that he needs is a little robot cat to keep him company:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiGG9Lcrni8HANNAH'S DADhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05877455489975811860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-43661877644223564182014-04-03T11:19:16.494-07:002014-04-03T11:19:16.494-07:00Thanks, David. I've corrected the text, too.
...Thanks, David. I've corrected the text, too.<br /><br />This is why nonfiction is my least favorite form of fiction.Michael Swanwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-49631768532177835482014-04-03T08:19:39.553-07:002014-04-03T08:19:39.553-07:00I think the correct links are:
- Passage of Eart...I think the correct links are:<br /><br /> - <a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/swanwick_04_14/" rel="nofollow">Passage of Earth by MICHAEL SWANWICK</a> <br /><br /> - <a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/" rel="nofollow">Clarkeworld Magazine</a>David Scrimshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04714106408606785482noreply@blogger.com