Post AUEDRsTJ0ZM7OIsLZ2 by ygalanter@hachyderm.io
(DIR) More posts by ygalanter@hachyderm.io
(DIR) Post #AUE8XWshh5RqOddBL6 by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-04-02T02:07:07Z
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One of the best sci-fi novels I know that really explores the paradoxes of time travel is "Up the Line" (1969) by Robert Silverberg. Time travel, sex, and paradoxes galore. You can't go wrong!
(DIR) Post #AUE9v57IfofTBrFjTE by marcoshuerta@vmst.io
2023-04-02T02:22:32Z
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@lauren I will have to check it out! I really enjoyed The End of Eternity by Asimov.
(DIR) Post #AUEA2Lt2imEvEF3DMW by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-04-02T02:23:53Z
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@marcoshuerta A fine novel, though very Asimov, if you know what I mean.
(DIR) Post #AUEArDuW8VTFG9zvXs by aka_quant_noir@cinematheque.social
2023-04-02T02:33:03Z
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@lauren I read that book 35 years ago and still remember it! It's definitely a classic.
(DIR) Post #AUEBEComMeagX1GxwO by karabaic@mastodon.social
2023-04-02T02:37:11Z
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@lauren Have you reread it recently? The pedophilia in it made me uncomfortable in the 70’s, and certainly does not age well, 50 years later.
(DIR) Post #AUEByaR8smYJ6YKhO4 by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-04-02T02:45:37Z
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@karabaic Has anyone asked Silverberg about it lately? I suspect -- but this is just a guess, i have no knowledge of his stance on this then or now -- that he'd assert that those scenes were "age-appropriate" in the context of that culture at that time. Be interesting to see his take on it. Just dug around some relatively recent reviews, and I'm not finding many mentions of that aspect, though I probably would if I searched longer. But as I always say, art of all sorts needs to be viewed in the context of when it was written, and 1969 was, well, 1969. This reminds me of Farmer's "Image of the Beast/Blown" which in its own way somehow makes "Up" seem almost tame and was at least equally disturbing.
(DIR) Post #AUEC8786hTUJ6eyLGi by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-04-02T02:47:20Z
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I'm reminded though that the novel is *very* 1969 with some sensibilities considered problematic even at the time. So it's not every modern readers' cup of tea.
(DIR) Post #AUECpB85hlwTxnV1vs by ygalanter@hachyderm.io
2023-04-02T02:55:00Z
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@lauren Hey it's on Hoopla! If you have a library card - go get it: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12400419
(DIR) Post #AUEDCYZ8jfY7JIIalU by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-04-02T02:59:22Z
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@ygalanter Hoopla is very cool. Their film catalog is also surprisingly diverse!
(DIR) Post #AUEDRsTJ0ZM7OIsLZ2 by ygalanter@hachyderm.io
2023-04-02T03:02:03Z
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@laurenYep. Btw, thank you for suggesting the book, I was looking for the next sci-fi title to read, and this is perfect.
(DIR) Post #AUEEC6ekbPRChkGxIu by mkarliner@mastodon.modern-industry.com
2023-04-02T03:10:26Z
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@lauren Time Travellers Strictly Cash?And one of the Stainless Steel Rat books, can't remember which one...
(DIR) Post #AUEEcs8ufgJVVi8y92 by revmem@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-04-02T03:15:12Z
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@lauren I chose to do a term paper on the Byzantine Empire in high school after reading Up the Line. Ages ago.The school staff was quite surprised because I was not much of a history student. They had suggested some other boring things.
(DIR) Post #AUEF17dMj8jGVOx0mO by TFlatiron@mas.to
2023-04-02T03:19:39Z
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@lauren And the women were pulchritudinous
(DIR) Post #AUEGbpna6JIVrKnaN6 by mrcompletely@heads.social
2023-04-02T03:37:29Z
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@lauren sort of a Man Who Folded Himself thing?
(DIR) Post #AUEGh3bkBcLO8Rkhu4 by karabaic@mastodon.social
2023-04-02T03:38:27Z
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@lauren I liked the book when I was a teenager, especially the abrupt ending. But I was as deeply uncomfortable with its portrayal of sex and male/female relationships as I was with men spanking women to keep them in line in Heinlein’s early work. And I was 14 when I first read them.There are so many aspects of rape culture just taken for granted. I didn’t know what rape culture was when I was 14, but when I reread it a few years back I could see it clearly.
(DIR) Post #AUI8AoqjV2ZS5zigfQ by misterprotocol@mstdn.social
2023-04-04T00:21:47Z
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@lauren Unfortunately“Silverbob” himself had some sensibilities which were problematic at the time.