Summary of the Story: "The story is narrated by a gifted human linguist and poet named Gallinger, who is part of a mission studying Mars. He becomes the first human to learn the "high language" of the intelligent Martians, and to be allowed to read their sacred texts. He comes to believe that Martian culture is essentially fatalistic, following an event in the distant past that left the long-lived Martians sterile."
Considering 'Out of the Silent Planet' came out years before this, was there an entire genre of linguists going to Mars or something?
In regards to the blasphemy there's something similar in the parable of the broken window. That's the dumb idea that breaking windows stimulates the economy because you have to pay for new glass. Morally it show up in CS Lewis's Perelandra where the villain argues blasphemy is good because it requires God to exert more of his presence to fix it and more God is always more Good right? The villain says that a species fallen to sin is a great thing aksually because now we have the Son of God Jesus Christ with us!
No idea why it appeals to gammas so much but broken windows morals may be how Gammas justify their own villainy without any repentence. "Look, it's ok that I'm the creep Jafar from Aladdin because now we have heroic princes to show for it!"
Reading this and seeing the modern state of American literature is so sad. When walking into bookstores, everything is geared toward women. The excuse is “men don’t read”. I think they do, but they want something that is worth reading. To be clear, all of American literature would be better if men from the other ranks of the SSH were represented. Men and women write differently, from different perspectives, and with different concerns.
The patron saint of the new wave was Harlan Ellison and his dangerous visions anthology. If you want to see someone describe modern California read Philip. K. Dick's 'Riders of the purple wage'.
Jim Baen rescued SF by publishing modern pulp, dragging SF back to gutter where competence and plot had been swept to by Tor, Hatchette and Ace.
Going through what stands out to this teller, it'll be revealing of himself if nothing else.
"he bellowed, like a belly-stung buffalo."
This would be somewhat fine in a very silly work, in any other context... what is this word choice?
"That’s the reason everyone is jealous—why they hate me. I always come through, and I can come through better than anyone else."
Honestly it speaks for itself.
"I looked at her chocolate-bar eyes and perfect teeth, at her sun-bleached hair, close-cropped to the head (I hate blondes!)"
Chocolate-bar eyes? This teller almost cropped to that, this section was painful! What are these word choices?
That whole fourth section!
Both content and word choice produce agony.
The smart boy in the fifth
This at least wasn't bizzare writing, merely insufferable in content.
In the sixth, apart from breath of cloth, which could be excused, it's unnatural
Seventh! A heady dose of gamma, the text itself is of better make.
Eighth and ninth!
No issues stand out except of course the raging gamma.
"It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us."
“In this moment, I am euphoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my intelligence.”
This teller is having trouble spotting the difference, there's some wee nuance, but isn't it the same?
This teller only vaguely remembers Chronicles of Amber, something about shadow worlds and some obscure gunpowder plot, but he remembers enjoying it.
Thinking of it though, if it's THAT gunpowder thing, that'd be a common gamma anti-fantasy plot. Not that 'but what if we just shoot the knights, wizards and dragons?' is always a gamma thing, but in reflection of this story...
Well, perhaps a re-read of the Amber books is needed.
In anycase, such excerpts always make this teller feel good about even the least of his work. This teller would say with confidence he can beat Roger Zelazny at his worst!
He hates them! Hates! It's astonishing how picture perfect of gamma writing it is. If you told this teller a man deliberately made this to ensnare the fancy of morlockian promethean humans, he'd have to give the scenario serious consideration. That may however be mere cope, unwillingness to believe a man could be that gamma.
Gaiman's depravity has hit the spotlight all the sudden, months after Vox correctly called what is to come. Not surprising to see the likes of him choose blasphemy against God.
My introduction to Zelazny was “A Rose for Ecclesiastes” in Merril's YBSF. I found his writing off-putting and didn't bother further with him. It felt weak, like there was no spine to the protag.
It was about 20 years later when my GM jammed her hardbound bookclub edition of Amber into my hands and said "read this" that I discovered there was more to Zelazny than just "Rose". But, I don't think I can let go of "Rose" enough to enjoy Amber as I might if I had found it first.
I was convinced that when she unclasped her cloak and he swallowed, that we were about to hear bath water being drawn and a tub cuddle was about to commence.
A coworker told me a very funny story involving the department's Gamma actually managing to get a phone number.
Long story down to Fuentes size, she asked him over text to cover the taxi fare to meet up, he ignored her, she paid for it anyway and when she asked where he was he had apparently decided to call it off. Without telling her, of course.
The moral of the story is that you should take every shot you get because no matter how it goes you cannot POSSIBLY fuck up worse than that.
From how it was told I think he leapt to the conclusion that she was a gold digging whore who just wanted his money, based on her asking him to cover the taxi fare.
Yes, he did, assuming that it was ever truly representative of himself. It's so over the top that these days, it almost reads like a lampoon. It's really remarkable that this not only impressed, but absolutely blew away the professional SF/F community.
Apparently not. He explicitly states in one letter that the protagonist is a superior version of himself, and it was written in response to the failure of his engagement to a woman.
I thought the Amber series was the best fantasy I have ever read. Corwin and Merlin are Sigmas, right?
Summary of the Story: "The story is narrated by a gifted human linguist and poet named Gallinger, who is part of a mission studying Mars. He becomes the first human to learn the "high language" of the intelligent Martians, and to be allowed to read their sacred texts. He comes to believe that Martian culture is essentially fatalistic, following an event in the distant past that left the long-lived Martians sterile."
Considering 'Out of the Silent Planet' came out years before this, was there an entire genre of linguists going to Mars or something?
In regards to the blasphemy there's something similar in the parable of the broken window. That's the dumb idea that breaking windows stimulates the economy because you have to pay for new glass. Morally it show up in CS Lewis's Perelandra where the villain argues blasphemy is good because it requires God to exert more of his presence to fix it and more God is always more Good right? The villain says that a species fallen to sin is a great thing aksually because now we have the Son of God Jesus Christ with us!
No idea why it appeals to gammas so much but broken windows morals may be how Gammas justify their own villainy without any repentence. "Look, it's ok that I'm the creep Jafar from Aladdin because now we have heroic princes to show for it!"
Reading this and seeing the modern state of American literature is so sad. When walking into bookstores, everything is geared toward women. The excuse is “men don’t read”. I think they do, but they want something that is worth reading. To be clear, all of American literature would be better if men from the other ranks of the SSH were represented. Men and women write differently, from different perspectives, and with different concerns.
Holy crap. That's horrible. It is like a TLTR screed of the highest order. Also explains why I enjoy most older SciFi (and Wargate) fiction.
Do Alphas and Sigmas actually write much fiction, aren't they much more likely to write non-fiction?
They do when the creative urge strikes. But gammas are more likely to keep writing as a job.
The patron saint of the new wave was Harlan Ellison and his dangerous visions anthology. If you want to see someone describe modern California read Philip. K. Dick's 'Riders of the purple wage'.
Jim Baen rescued SF by publishing modern pulp, dragging SF back to gutter where competence and plot had been swept to by Tor, Hatchette and Ace.
Going through what stands out to this teller, it'll be revealing of himself if nothing else.
"he bellowed, like a belly-stung buffalo."
This would be somewhat fine in a very silly work, in any other context... what is this word choice?
"That’s the reason everyone is jealous—why they hate me. I always come through, and I can come through better than anyone else."
Honestly it speaks for itself.
"I looked at her chocolate-bar eyes and perfect teeth, at her sun-bleached hair, close-cropped to the head (I hate blondes!)"
Chocolate-bar eyes? This teller almost cropped to that, this section was painful! What are these word choices?
That whole fourth section!
Both content and word choice produce agony.
The smart boy in the fifth
This at least wasn't bizzare writing, merely insufferable in content.
In the sixth, apart from breath of cloth, which could be excused, it's unnatural
Seventh! A heady dose of gamma, the text itself is of better make.
Eighth and ninth!
No issues stand out except of course the raging gamma.
"It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us."
“In this moment, I am euphoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my intelligence.”
This teller is having trouble spotting the difference, there's some wee nuance, but isn't it the same?
This teller only vaguely remembers Chronicles of Amber, something about shadow worlds and some obscure gunpowder plot, but he remembers enjoying it.
Thinking of it though, if it's THAT gunpowder thing, that'd be a common gamma anti-fantasy plot. Not that 'but what if we just shoot the knights, wizards and dragons?' is always a gamma thing, but in reflection of this story...
Well, perhaps a re-read of the Amber books is needed.
In anycase, such excerpts always make this teller feel good about even the least of his work. This teller would say with confidence he can beat Roger Zelazny at his worst!
...
Turns out his worst was real bad, shocking.
Just when you are convinced it is not possible to be any more Gamma, the unrequested explanation in parenthesis jumps to the screen.
He hates them! Hates! It's astonishing how picture perfect of gamma writing it is. If you told this teller a man deliberately made this to ensnare the fancy of morlockian promethean humans, he'd have to give the scenario serious consideration. That may however be mere cope, unwillingness to believe a man could be that gamma.
Gaiman's depravity has hit the spotlight all the sudden, months after Vox correctly called what is to come. Not surprising to see the likes of him choose blasphemy against God.
Benjamin Boyce streaming about it now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaMR5hSKeAI
https://katrosenfield.substack.com/p/on-what-women-want
My introduction to Zelazny was “A Rose for Ecclesiastes” in Merril's YBSF. I found his writing off-putting and didn't bother further with him. It felt weak, like there was no spine to the protag.
It was about 20 years later when my GM jammed her hardbound bookclub edition of Amber into my hands and said "read this" that I discovered there was more to Zelazny than just "Rose". But, I don't think I can let go of "Rose" enough to enjoy Amber as I might if I had found it first.
I was fortunate to have I read Amber first. Decades prior.
Very much my experience
Gosh, those excerpts make me hate him.
I was convinced that when she unclasped her cloak and he swallowed, that we were about to hear bath water being drawn and a tub cuddle was about to commence.
It appears that a delta relies on self discipline but a gamma relies on motivation. That motivation can come from odd places.
The experts read like Zelazny was trying to extract all the bad stuff first. "Horsemen!" is a great short story, and complete opposite.
It takes two side to make popularity and awards, though. Pretty damning critique of what had already infiltrated the editorial and association ranks.
A coworker told me a very funny story involving the department's Gamma actually managing to get a phone number.
Long story down to Fuentes size, she asked him over text to cover the taxi fare to meet up, he ignored her, she paid for it anyway and when she asked where he was he had apparently decided to call it off. Without telling her, of course.
The moral of the story is that you should take every shot you get because no matter how it goes you cannot POSSIBLY fuck up worse than that.
Do you think he just chickened out?
From how it was told I think he leapt to the conclusion that she was a gold digging whore who just wanted his money, based on her asking him to cover the taxi fare.
Bear in mind we work in retail.
So much gold. So so much! You don't understand, your co-worker is secretly a leprechaun.
Did Roger Zelazny then get over his gammaness in his later works or did he learn to rein it in to produce works of better sci-fi quality?
Yes, he did, assuming that it was ever truly representative of himself. It's so over the top that these days, it almost reads like a lampoon. It's really remarkable that this not only impressed, but absolutely blew away the professional SF/F community.
I bet it didn’t. They pushed it on purpose like they do everything indecent.
Hmm, is there a possibility then that he in serpentine cunning, wrote to audience?
Apparently not. He explicitly states in one letter that the protagonist is a superior version of himself, and it was written in response to the failure of his engagement to a woman.
...
Grim.
If this teller had better memory, had more familiarity with Zelazny's he could make a more firm call.
Really though either scenario, gamma or mastermind makes the character of the writer a very dubious prospect.
sounds very jewish
You talking to me?
I blame also arranged marriage for making this type much more common among Jews.
Especially the bit about the gods admiring their blasphemy. Pure satanry.
I read all the magazines like Aasimov every month for years but the feminism absolutely ruined it.
I couldn’t read anything after 2001.
Blasphemy is a prayer to the devil.
May they feel the fall.
Do you think the people who voted for this earlier work liked it BECAUSE it appealed to their own gamma-ness, rather than it being genuinely superior?
100 percent. Not only that, but to their militant atheism and ersatz satanry.
It does sound basically how “A Confederacy of Dunces” became a hit.
Muth be nithe to have a hot redhead try to seduce you for no reason
It happens all the time. In fiction. Written by Gammas.
“Go to bed!” he said, turning away from her with a frown. He was in the Zone, after all.
Haha, Zone guy is a Sigma Game legend