Okay, up front, I'll admit that the title of this post is intentionally provocative, in the hope that S.M Stirling would grace me with another visit. At the same time, I have to assert that his posting online of the first ten chapters of A Meeting in Corvalis is nothing short of the same tactic used by drug dealers throughout the U.S. He gives us just enough to get hooked, then CUTS US OFF AT CHAPTER TEN.
Despite the fact that I intended to buy the novel anyway, I just feel so cheap...
UPDATE: Yes, I bought the hard back. And the rush I felt as I peeled off the dust cover and opened it up to chapter 11 was worth it. So far, I'm quite pleased with this volume. The second seemed to be more of a bridge. I was expecting more of the conflict with the PPA to be more extensive. In this volume, the war really seems to take off.
I think the one thing I do have a little trouble with is the idea of Arminger's pope declaring the Mt. Angel faction to be schismatic. What isn't quite so clear is how the pope and all of the PPA religious attained their positions. That would really determine who were schismatic and who wasn't. I guess I have more of a problem with this just because we get a loose association of the Church with the bad guys, except for the Mt. Angel Catholics who are declared schismatic. But we don't really see much of an exploration of their beliefs or the ecclesial structure. About the closest we get to an exploration in the Catholic personality is Mattie, who was clearly not properly cathechized (or she wouldn't have engaged in a synchretistic ceremony, however innocent).
I'm only on chapter 10, though, and Mr. Stirling did go to the illustrious Dale Price for background notes, so maybe I'm just being persnickety.
Anyhoo, despite a few grievances, I love the book. Mr. Stirling's attention to detail is excellent—reminds me a bit of Bernard Cornwell (and I'm a big Sharpe fan).
UPDATE 2: Okay, got to the part about Mt. Angel, and I guess I can't complain anymore. I can definitely see Mr. Price's fingerprints on that chapter. If only the rest of our archdiocese were as orthodox and enthusiastic.
BTW, I'm in the lovely little town of Hershey, PA this week for some training. Postings will probably be rather sparse.
12 comments:
Could you give a bit more of an explanation as to what these books are all about?
It's a fantasy/sci-fi series about 21st-century North America following a bizarre event that renders firearms and other explosive chemical/physical reactions ineffectual. There's no electricity, no firearms, no internal-combustion engines. Modern people essentially revert back to tribal and feudal living. Most of the series takes place in the Pacific Northwest.
Fun reading!
Glad you're enjoying them! 8-).
BTW, the first chapters of THE SUNRISE LANDS, the initial book in the next trilogy, will be going up in a month or so... heh, heh.
Just try this first free dose...
Greetings, Mr. Stirling. Yes, I've thoroughly enjoyed them, and I'm sure The Sunrise Lands will be equally enjoyable. Until then, I plan to read some of your other series.
That sounds a little bit like... what was it called... Free City Jazz? Where the sun causes a massive electromagnetic spike which destroys all electronic equipment, and so people are left with a weird mixture of low-tech and really high nano-tech that they don't understand very well.
I'll have to check these out, particularly if there's a religious connection of some sort.
PS: Sorry, it was Queen City Jazz.
BTW, the anamchara ceremony isn't syncretistic, it's just Irish and a way of pledging blood-brotherhood (or sisterhood).
The Irish used it long after they became Christians.
I'm using the term "syncretistic" to mean the practices from different belief systems. In this particular case, the two are in opposition, mostly due to Catholic monotheisim. Even if the practice took place historically among Celts, the swearing of a Christian in such a ceremony to God and the swearing of a pagan to their god would be problematic for the Christian, if only because the Christian puts faith in the power of the other's god to hold the party to his or her word, or at best, considers the other party subject to a promise to a false deity—something that also doesn't bode well for one who is supposed to seek the Way, the Truth, and the Light.
That said, it was a minor point, and certainly someting innocent children would do.
And I'm still hooked. Can't exactly wait for the paperback when you keep posting chapters of your books on the web. I'm already getting a bit twitchy waiting for the next installment.
Well, there's the C.S. Lewis answer -- in "The Last Battle", Aslan says that all worship and true devotion given wholeheartedly and honestly to false gods is actually given to Him.
But as you say, it's kids, anyway. You don't expect much theological sophistication at 9.
Glad you liked the bits in Mt. Angel, too. Doing that was fun, and a bit of a stretch of the ol' projective empathy muscles.
If you've read my crucifixion story, you know that I certainly can't point fingers.
Great story you got here. It would be great to read a bit more concerning that matter. Thanks for sharing this info.
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