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Heinlein, Hugos, and Hogwash

Posted July 16, 2023 By John C Wright

Here is my seminal article published Intercollegiate Review that started my career as an Evil Legion of Evil author, that is, nonpolitically correct. It is no longer available on their website, so I repost it here as a courtesy to readers unaware of it.

HEINLEIN, HUGOS, AND HOGWASH

May 7, 2014 By John C Wright

Robert Heinlein could not win a Hugo Award today.

If you are a fan of science fiction, you know how shocking that statement is. If you are not a science fiction fan, I salute you for having better things to do with your time than read stories about space princesses being rescued from bug-eyed monsters by stalwart and clean-limbed fighting men of Virginia; but please let me explain why this is shocking.

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The Golden Age Ep. 17: Unwed

Posted July 13, 2023 By John C Wright

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, living lives of perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act the Golden Age forbids, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 17: Unwed

 

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The Golden Age Ep. 16: At Tea

Posted July 5, 2023 By John C Wright

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, living lives of perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act the Golden Age forbids, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 16: At Tea

 

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Alignment in the Kitchen Sink Campaign

Posted June 29, 2023 By John C Wright

A reader with the tenebrous name of The Shadow has a point to make about alignments in role playing games:

To give an example I’ve sometimes used before: Sir Henry passionately upholds the classic ideals of knighthood, even when others mock him for it, even at personal risk. He is unfailingly courteous to all regardless of station, especially women. But he is inordinately proud of his lineage, to the point of unreason. He sometimes gets rather too deep in his cups, and on such occasions he has been known to profess his undying devotion to the Lady Caroline, whom he has long loved silently from afar, though she is entirely out of his reach.

What, I ask you, is gained by saying that Sir Henry is Lawful Good? In what way does it help anyone to play him?

I can speculate as to what the point of Gygaxian alignment is, even if I cannot say what the good is.

If I am the moderator, and I have put in my D&D world a magic sword, Goodalibur, which can only be drawn from the stone by a good knight, but I also unwisely put in my D&D world a magic sword, Lawthung, which can only be plucked from the roofpost by a lawful knight, having the words “Lawful Good” written on the character sheet by the player enable me not to make a value judgment of the player’s actions, nor to assess his moral worth.

Let me hasten to say, I myself would never, ever approach such a situation as a moderator in any such way. I fundamentally cannot accept such a division of labor between moderator and player: it deeply offends my sensibilities.

Let me explain why.

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The Golden Age Ep. 15: Living Gold and Adamantium

Posted June 29, 2023 By John C Wright

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, living lives of perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act the Golden Age forbids, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 15: Living Gold and Adamantium

 

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The Golden Age Ep. 14: A Room in Grim Reality

Posted June 23, 2023 By John C Wright

Ten days overdue, but here, finally, is the next episode:

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, living lives of perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act the Golden Age forbids, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 14: A Room in Grim Reality

 

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The Golden Age Ep. 13: The Chamber of Memories

Posted June 7, 2023 By John C Wright

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, living lives of perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act the Golden Age forbids, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 13: The Chamber of Memories

“Sorrow, great sorrow, and deeds of renown without peer, within me sleep; for truth is here. Truth destroys the worst in man; pleasure destroys the best. If you love truth more than happiness, then open; otherwise, let rest.”

 

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The Golden Age Ep. 12: The Observationer

Posted June 1, 2023 By John C Wright

A day late, but nonetheless, here:

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, living lives of perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act the Golden Age forbids, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 12: The Observationer

 

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The Golden Age Ep. 11: A Certain Rash Manorial

Posted May 24, 2023 By John C Wright

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, living lives of perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act the Golden Age forbids, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 11: A Certain Rash Manorial

 

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The Golden Age Ep. 10: The Storm Sculptor

Posted May 17, 2023 By John C Wright

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, living lives of perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act the Golden Age forbids, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 10: The Storm Sculptor

 

 

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Larry Correia and the American Dream

Posted May 11, 2023 By John C Wright

An article from Monster Hunter Nation well worth reading on the futility of trying for financial success:

Hacker News Writes:

“Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something.

“Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on.

“Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. Some keep going until they hit the center bullseye, then they give speeches or write blog posts about ‘meritocracy’ and the salutary effects of hard work.
“Poor kids aren’t visiting the carnival. They’re the ones working on it.”

Larry Correia replies with verve and authority:

That’s defeatist horseshit, and another great example that just because somebody crafts an analogy it doesn’t mean it makes sense.

I was one of the poor kids who worked that carnival. I grew up poor. And not collect a government check poor, I mean farm poor, which has all the disadvantages of being poor but with the added benefit of constant backbreaking manual labor for little to no reward. I suppose I’m supposed to be bitter about that and be a good little communist or something, but instead I still got a bunch of throws at the dartboard. Go figure.

My family literally lost the farm. I moved out when I was 16 and my family moved to a different state. My first throw missed, when my own little herd of steers I’d been raising in the hopes of selling for college money got tetanus and died. Oh well. Later I managed to get a scholarship because I was good at judging dairy cows in FFA. I kid you not.

He continues in like vein, including a bit of biography of which I was previously unawares. My admiration for the man grows.

Please read the whole thing.

The Futility of Trying

 

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The Golden Age Ep. 09: The Loss

Posted May 10, 2023 By John C Wright

The Golden Age Ep. 09: The Loss

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, living lives of perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act the Golden Age forbids, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 09: The Loss

 

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The Golden Age Ep. 08: The Logician

Posted May 4, 2023 By John C Wright

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, where humans have become as gods, and live in perfect peace and prosperity, Phaethon of Rhadamanthus House, discovers centuries of his memory are lost. Like his namesake, has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act forbidden in utopia, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. Now his quest is to find himself.

Episode 08: The Logician

 

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The Golden Age Ep. 07: The Soldier

Posted April 26, 2023 By John C Wright

Excerpts from THE GOLDEN AGE, my debut novel from 2001. Arkhaven Comics is also reprinting such excerpts.

In the far future, humans have become as gods: immortal, nigh omnipotent, able to engineer planets, tame solar output, ignite gas giants, and to resculpt body and mind. A trusting son of this glorious future, Phaethon of Radamanthus House, discovers the rulers of the solar system have erased entire centuries from his mind. Like his namesake, he has flown too high, and must be cast down: for he has committed the one act forbidden in his utopian universe, to have ambitions higher than utopia can contain. His quest is to rediscover himself.

Episode 07: The Soldier

 

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Just in Case You Were Wondering

Posted April 25, 2023 By John C Wright

Yes, you can see Luna from the surface of Mars, at least during certain times of the year, if no sandstorms obscure your vision (or flay you alive):

Dark landscape, greenish sky with tiny dot, and inset showing 2 dots labeled Earth and moon.Earth and moon, as seen from Mars by the Curiosity rover in 2014. From Mars, you’d see both the Earth and moon with the eye alone.

I came across this eerie picture of Terra and Luna above Mars when a reader asked me about the scene in TITANS OF CHAOS, where the children on Mars are trying to calculate their latitude from watching the stars rise and set.

And, for the record, Mars has no north star. I do not mean Polaris is not visible, I merely mean the axis of Mars does not point to it, nor to any major bright star.

Mars’ north pole points to a spot in the sky that’s about midway between Deneb, the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus the Swan, and Alderamin, the brightest star in the constellation Cepheus the King.

 

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