Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Orphans of the Sky, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Left Hand of Darkness, To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Post your SF reading journal here if you read one of the following books: Orphans of the Sky or Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein; The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin; To Your Scattered Bodies Go, by Philip Jose Farmer.
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22 comments:
Eric F. Orphans of the Sky 1/3
The book starts out with a descriptive overview of what is happening in the life of Hugh Hoyland. Everything from his encounters with the muties and his upper deck explorations to his selection as a scientist. He learns through the ancient books and his mentor helps him "realize the truth" his mentor says that these books use metaphors and explain what they cannot comprehend. Jordan, the man who started their journey, is considered their religious guidance. He talked with one called the witness who was comparable to a shaman in a small village who dealt with all problems in the sects of their society. The scientists were divided in their beliefs, some chose to follow the idea that their predecessors were helpless romantics while others choose only to believe that they must live in their own time and work for their own best interest. Hugh struggles for knowledge as he considers the idea of the Trip, known to most of his people to be a metaphorical trip through life as opposed to being on an actual ship and taking a trip through space. He is taken from his society and introduced to Joe-Jim, a two-headed monstrosity. Joe-Jim eventually leads him up to the level of no weight where they discover the control room, and the captains veranda, the stars shimmered the likes of which Hugh had never dreamt of and never been able to concieve. The ship was built to never decompose, its buttons activated by a hand simply sliding over them, the machinery without moving parts, everything to preserve the ship. Hugh asks Joe-Jim for permission to attempt to bring scientist up to the control room in an attempt to make the ship move.
Eric F --
This is a fine summary of the first part of the book. Remember that your comments should concentrate on your reactions to the book. Look at the guidelines on the Reading Blog handout. I'll look forward to seeing your perspective on your next blog.
Orphans of the sky part one of three.
The world that the book creates is very unique and well thought. It describes a giant ship that consists of 2 classes of people. The muties and the crew. Hugh is the main charachter that belongs to the crew. He is smart and becomes a respcted young scientist. It is interesting that even though the crew is supposed to be the educated and civilized group, it turns out that the mutants are the smart ones. Joe-Jim, the leader of the muties ends up teaching Hugh about the workings of the world and teaches him to think outside the ship.
I thought it was interesting how the people of the ship have created a god that they call Jordan, and by Joe-Jims description, is actually just the builder of the ship, Jordan industries. I think the author has doubts about religion in real life and is reflecting this in the book. The people have also created their own cuss words, which are hard to spot. At the end of the first part of the story, Hugh tells the head engineer about what he has learned and in return he charges him with heresy. It shows how open the culture is on the ship to new ideas or new thinking. It doesnt even seem to matter that Hugh has solid proof of his story in the control room, the crew is to stubborn to go and look for themselves. Overall, I liked the first part of the book and am looking foreward to reading on.
Andrew --
You made some excellent observations in your first novel blog, and you explained your reactions to the novel well. I look forward to your other blog comments.
A very large, slowly spinning spaceship has been on a voyage for many generations. It had been on it's correct trajectory, when, years before the opening chapter, a mutiny occurred. At that time, some of the mutineers were exposed to radiation so that their offspring began to have strange mutations. This led to some of the passengers later being branded as "Muties," meaning either mutant or mutineer. They may look decieving but they are very VERY intelligent beings. So this means there were two life forms, the crew and the "Muties". Hugh Hoyland climbed above the farmland where he had always lived to explore the upper reaches of his world. This involved moving inward toward the spinning axis of the ship, up where the mutants lived, where weight decreased to practically nothing. On one journey he met Joe-Jim, a mutant man with two heads, each with its own personality. Joe-Jim shows Hugh the captain's room and Hugh soon realizes that the ship was built to be indistructable. Hugh then asks the two-headed man if he would be allowed to bring the other scientists up into this room to make the ship move. The leader of the "Muties" (joe-jim) tries to teach Hugh more about the world and how it works.
I thought that this section was very interesting because a lot of stuff in it reminded me of other movies or books. Like the two-headed man reminded me of the alien off of Men in Black. He had two heads, one having a different personality. I guess you could say a split personality. I also thought that it was really interesting on how the center of the ship was basically a weightless room because of how fast it was spinning. I don't know if that's been questioned about here on Earth (the Core), but it's a very interesting thing to tango with. What also was pretty funny is how the "Muties" created their own -swear- words. I find that funny because it reminds me of the people on Earth today. So many people make up new words or sayings that most other people wouldn't understand. All in all, I found the beginning of the novel to be somewhat entertaining, whether it be with the information it held, or the similarities it reminded me of that i already have knowledge of. For some reason I didn't picture this story to be what the artist had done on the cover. Guess I really shouldn't judge a book by its cover!
Kristen K --
You gave a good summary and some nice specific comments about the story so far. I was a little surprised you knew the whole background of the mission after reading only the first third of the book. I look forward to your next blog.
Orphans of the Sky: Part One.
An interesting read, to be sure. I was a little mystified by the fact that, even aboard an interstellar spacecraft, the Crew had the use of weapons so primitive as knives. I also wondered about the lights and irrigation and things along those lines. Where does their water come from? Their air? I suppose both these things could be chalked up to the Converter, but I become inquisitive and wonder about details, and they seemed to be a bit lacking in these chapters. All in the name of plot development I suppose...
I loved Joe-Jim's musings on the cognition and thought patterns of the Crew at large. He commented on the "scientific" views they all held, saying that the younger generations would outright reject an idea they didn't understand, whereas the older would put new or mystifying information into an allegorical context, thinking there must be a deeper meaning to it, making it a matter of rhetoric, rather than trying to understand the written words, as Joe-Jim suggested.
Something I wasn't very fond of was the timeline. It isn't very important I suppose, but I'd like to know the age of the characters, have at least a vague idea about iwheni these things are happening, though perhaps some of these gaps in information are intentional, omitted by the author so as not to detract from the story itself.
Kyle --
This is a perceptive response to the book. You asked some pointed questions and made some close observations about Heinlein's storytelling technique. I look forward to reading your subsequent comments.
Orphans of the Sky: Part Two.
Hahaha! Alan Mahoney is turning out to be a very amusing character. His reluctance to involve himslef in anything taboo is entertaining, especially when rereading chapter one and seeing his hesitance to climb to the higher levels, compared with the last chapter of part one, where he is reintroduced and reflects on his younger days and his even bigger lack of courage in the present. I think this sets up very well future problems in the story; although, he clings doggedly to Hoyland and follows his every whim without question.
A few pages later, and it seems as though i must recind my earlier remarks concerning Heinlein's lack of detail. In presenting the rescue party, he skips through the tactical and logistic aspects and gets straight to the point. The entire rescure comes across to me as masterfully written, believably fast-paced and limned with twisting turns. Alan is another that I must give some credit: he's quick in a fight and not so craven as I had assumed from his dialogue previously.
Ertz is another character I've come to give grudging respect. His training as an engineer seems to have given him a more level head and pragmatic ideas than the lot of scientists the Hoyland dealt with. His mind works quickly, and his way with Narby in particular is smooth, while trying to sway him a little closer to the blood-brother's plan. Ertz is a smart man, and recognizes immediately Narby's decisive role in the coup-de-ta to follow. I was a little surprised at his immediate willingness to fight for the muties and bring the Ship to Centaurus, though with his acute sense of pragmatism and unique ability to believe what he sees and make use of it, he's a man who has made as far as he has for a reason.
The Three Musketeers is an invalubale piece of literature to be sure, as it implants the idea of knives "as long as a man's arm" into Ertz's brain, as well Joe-Jim and his War College Dapartment of Historical Research. It will be interesting to see what will come of their impromptu swords in the last third.
Kyle --
Another excellent blog, and a very well written one I might add (limned? bravo!). Your comments show close reading and careful thinking, as well as a good sense of what makes a good book. Carry on!
Orphans of the Sky: Part Three.
The coup-de-tat goes according to plan, with relatively little blood shed. It was a shock to see Lt. Nelson among those botchered, and even more so thatHoyland did nothing to stop, not a single word. Instead, he locks himself in the Control Room and focuses entirely on astrogation, seemingly pretending that the "blood purge" isn't even ocurring.
Despite Joe-Jim's abounding intellect and sharp wit, I hadn't figured him as being a "general" of any sort. He seems to be filling those shoes just fine though.
Another character seemingly out of place is Narby. His reaction to the stars, compared with Hoyland's and Mahoney's and even Ertz's, is a bit underwhelming. For such a foundation-shattering concept as the stars represent, he seems perturbed not in the least. Which perturbed me a great deal. Narby is shifty and subversive, and I am surprised that, rather than killing him outright, as would be prudent, they've promoted him to Captain!
I enojyed very much Heinlein's pointed focus on Hoyland grasping the concept of measured time. The idea that a culture might have no sense of time is fascinating to me, and I liked his theoretical approach and the style he adopted while relating this part of the story.
"It seems to me... that truth ought to be free to anyone--any time!"
"What a curious idea."
That little snippet of conversation struck me, just thought I should make mention of it. It shows Hoyland's free-thinking nature to me, his inherent, subconcious belief in democracy.
I was right! Narby s a triator, a backstabber! And he has finally proven himself to be, murdering Joe-Jim's boys and trying to do the same to the twins themselves.
I'm afraid that atthe end, on the planet yet unnamed, my thoughts were rather superficial, and I laughed a their fierce agoraphobia and their huddled brodding against the ship.
Over all, a very interesting and thought-provoking novel.
Kyle --
Hard not to have superficial thoughts when they reach the planet -- Heinlein leaves it mostly up to speculation at that point. This is another thoughtful and thorough post. Remember to do your "final" comment about the book. (By the way, for future reference it's "coup d'etat."
Orphans of the Sky Part 2/3 Eric F.
As the book progresses it becomes much more engaging to the reader allowing one to immerse themselves in the tale of our assumed heros. As unlikely as it seemed to be Joe-Jim had a heart and was well rounded in study. Heinelien allows the reader to grow close to these "Muties" and dissolve their love for the "society" of the ship below. When Hugh is caught trying to persaude his crewmates about no weight he is to be killed and reprocessed for fuel, I didnt become especially fond of Hugh so to me he was not going to be a huge loss. However, apparently there is some room in the authors heart for this poor fool headed fellow and he is rescued. The book has been an astonishingly easy read, but enough to keep busy with if nothing else. The idea that no one survived this mutiny with any knowledge of the ship seems strange to me for although they had these books were none of them intelligent enough to discover their real intentions? As I read I wondered; will Hugh have the strength to carry on, will Joe-Jim continue to support him so? And of course these answers can only be resolved through the continuation of the novel.
Eric F --
Tjis time you worked much more of your own commentary into your post. You made some good observations about the book. I guess some of the ignorance about the ship's history can be attributed to the long expanse of time.
Orphans of the Sky: Final Response
Coup d'etat, that's the one. Well, I was close.
Anyhow, Orphans presented clearly a few of the themes we've been exploring in class: extrapolation (obviously, as the novel is set in a spacecraft bound for a distant star), as well as, in my mind, a paradox, as the Crew sees the Ship as the worldin its entirety, and yet their world moves through a much larger universe, which is a concept beyond their immediate reckoning.
Heinlein is a nonpareil storyteller, combining a good sense of action and suspense with exquisite depth that brookes no argument in its thorough explanations and development. I found his story fascinating and compelling, which made the book fly by, sadly enough.
There wasn't much I didn't enjoy about the book, though as you commented before, the ending is left largely to speculation, and I really do like the details. It would have been nice to find out what became of our intrepid explorers, as well as their more timid counterparts still aboard the Ship.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who would give me the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure this isn't everyone's idea of a good read, but it's quick and fairly light-hearted, not delving too deeply into the more serious themes of human existence, yet still thought-provoking to say the least. To be certain, this book would appeal to those with a strong liking of fiction, mostly bookworm types of dork like myself.
Kyle --
Good final post, and another wonderfully written one. Your voice really comes through in your writing. If you like Orphans enough, some day you might want to read Starship Troopers or Strranger in a Strange Land.
Orphans of the sky part two of three.
This section of the book was better than the 1st one. The plot started to pick up and the ignorance of the crew is revealed. Hugh is on trial and senteced to death by the captain of the ship. His childhood friend Alan comes to talk to Hugh while in prison. Together they create a plot to tell the muties what has happened to them, and being the good charachters in the story, the muties come to the rescue. This section of the book is focused largely on the politics of the ship and how obscure they are. No one can belive that Hugh is telling the truth because the very thought of an outside is to complex to comprehend. By the muties saving Hugh they prove to really want to progress in finding what their purpose is all about. When recueing Hugh, the muties also capture Ertz, the man who didnt believe Hugh. They bring him straight to the control room and MAKE him believe the truth. This proves that a little concrete evidence is enough to persuade any man. The muties plan a mutiny on the crew with Ertz's help. So far there has been two main problems in society brought up in this book, Religion and government. I still think that the author is showing his own beliefs by portraying both of these points as being ignorant and powerhungry.
Orphans of the sky part three of three
That was some ending to the book! I never thought Hugh would abandon the rest of the ignorant crew only to run away from the problem with a couple of friens. I figured he would die trying to force the crew to believe his story. Or if nothing else he would succeed in landing the whole ship. I thought it was interesting how even though the muties sparked this whole debacle to find a purpose, none of them succeeded in escaping the ship. Instead their leader and best warriors are dead and they are weak because of the recent civil war. My bet would be that once the crew reorganizes, they are going to wipe out all traces of the muties. The description after blasting off in their little spacecraft was unique by the author. He descibed the outside of the ship as it were and alien that no one has ever seen before. I found myself trying to picture a spaceship right along with the characters in the story. Its funny how the woman in the ship do not get any respect and they have little say in anything. They actually are viewed as to fragile to comprehend anything that is going on in the last part of the book. I didnt like how the author kept saying how it was all luck that the ship reached the planet. He dexcribed every little step and explained how unlikely it was to happen. I found this destracting and annoying. But he made up for it by joking about how stupid the people were on their new planet. They could not comprehend anything they were feeing or seeing. Overall this section was my favorite.
Andrew --
These are a couple of good posts. The one about the middle third was mostly about the plot but had a couple of perceptive observations about what Heinlein was up to. The last post really shows your enthusiasm and addresses several specific ideas. I hope you will be able to do a final post about your overall thoughts on the book.
Actually, I was reading Starship Troopers while I was finishing Orphans. I got a few pages into Stranger in a Strange Land as well, but unfortunately I had to return it, along with Starship on May the tenth (the library's deadline for Seniors). Starship Troopers was absolutely fantastic, and it's a shame that that terrific book was followed by such an awful movie. I liked the beginning of Stranger, too, and I think I'll be making a trip to Koebel very soon to pick up a few of Mr. Heinlein's novels.
I enjoyed exploring science (and speculative) fiction in your class, Mr. Sale, and I thank you for having put up with me for an entire semester. It's been a pleasure.
Orphans of the sky: Final response
Great book overall I give it a 8.5 out of ten. I thought the ending was a lot better than the beginining on the book. I loved the way the author painted the picture of the way the spacecraft looked and felt. I really had an easy time imagining the conditions that the crew was living in. He incorperated a lot of problems that society faces today in with the the people on the ship. There was a majority and a minority group of people, there was a currupt government, and there were religious fanatics.
I was left with a couple of guesses for myself after finishing the book. For one, I cant convince myself that the remaining people will know how to live on their new planet home. I know that in the last paragraph of the book Alan kills what seems to be a rabbit, but there is no guarantee about food. I think there are to many unpredictable forces on the planet. The new inhabitants have no knowledge of wheather, building houses, or finding safe water.
I would recomend this book to anyone that has an adventurous mind and likes to think about the unknown. I had a great time thinking about the far reaches of space and what the muties looked like. I would definitly like to remember this book and re read it at a further date.
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