Дейвид Зиндел

[Кал]

Би трябвало да е с „дж“ – протагонистът на Махабхарата се чете „Арджуна“.

Иронията върху иронията е, че Зиндел се проваля в обяснението си за беднотата на словото, използвайки словото. Тази му книга не е написана толкова въздействащо, колкото „Реквиема“. Хмм... значи ли това, че той всъщност доказва тезата си?

Отбелязвам си да поговорим за новата ти парадигма, като се видим. (Освен ако не ти се пише за нея. С клетото бедно слово. )

[Кал]

Като продължение на снощния ни разговор с Еви за влюбването и обичането – тази сутрин ме изпълни обич:

Thanks for recommending me The Idiot Gods! I'd been meaning to buy it, but I kept forgetting, and your recommendation reminded me. It came in the mail today.

Also, thank you for friending me here. The Broken God and Radix are two of my favorite books, and it's so rare to find anyone who's even heard of them, much less anyone who cares about them as much as I do. I have based much of my life philosophy, and many of my life decisions, around the contents of those books.

Have you read Demian by Hermann Hesse? If not, I think you would really enjoy it.

-Darcey

Yoo-hoo for The Idiot Gods! :) Have you tried Zindell's autobio, Splendor? It sheds light on the writing of Requiem for Homo Sapiens, and its culmination is, well, splendid. ;)

I've been looking for other Zindell aficionados for the past 20 years--ever since I discovered The Broken God in 1998. Along with some of them, we were thinking about translating it into Bulgarian; but then the publishing situation here slumped (and everyone learned English ;), so that project is on hold. However, I'm in touch with David and right now we're trying something more world-appealing. Keep your fingers crossed; if it works out, I'll let you know.

The above goes to show that my life, too, has been shaped by Danlo. Nice to meet you. :)

I read Siddhartha, on a similar recommendation, and I saw Zindell's inspirations there. But Danlo is a much more fully-fledged character. How did Demian compare to him? I have this general issue with older books: newer ones that draw inspiration from them often take the next steps, so reading the "originals" makes for a lackluster experience. I felt that with the Earthsea cylce, with Dune, etc, etc. So now I'm wary of going back in time.

Ti-miura halla,
K)

P.S. Wow! You live in Boulder, just like David, Have you met him?

[Кал]

Sorry for never responding to this! I don't sign into Goodreads very often.

Still haven't read The Idiot Gods, though it's sitting on my shelf.

If you didn't like Siddhartha, then I don't know whether you would like Demian. I read it before I read David Zindell's books, so I'm not sure whether I would have found it less interesting afterwards. But Demian is about becoming the yes-sayer and confronting one's own inner darkness. I liked it very much.

I have indeed met David Zindell, several times. :) He is very kind, and also a very good listener (which is not something I necessarily would have expected from a writer). He's been very busy, so I haven't gotten to see him for a while, but I'm hoping I will get the chance soon.

Happy to hear from you, Darcey! :)

Since you're the second Zindell aficionado to strongly recommend Demian, it leaps several dozens of rungs on my To-read ladder. ;)

Interestingly, I'm reading a fantasy novel by Patricia McKillip now, Cygnet (it's a combined edition of The Sorceress and the Cygnet and The Cygnet and the Firebird), and I feel as stimulated as I was by the Requiem. It's about confronting inner darkness too, although its approach revolves around archetypes and the power of tales. (And it's extremely mythopoetic. The language makes me shudder at times, literally.)

I'm so happy you got to meet David! We were thinking of inviting him to Bulgaria in 2004, for the Eurocon (the European convention of SF), but we didn't have enough budget ... and I don't think I'm coming to North America any more in this life. If you see him again, please greet him for me. Oh, and I haven't given up that secret endeavor yet. ;)

Thank you for making my week begin with a smile,
K)

[Кал]

Тия дни си мисля за Зиндел...

Have you tried David Zindell's Requiem for Homo Sapiens? I haven't yet encountered another writer with a better balance of grand ideas and inspiring characters. (For comparison, I found Ann Leckie's characters too clinical, while Becky Chambers doesn't go for big ideas--but yes, she's great with empathy. :)

If you decide to give Zindell a go, I recommend starting with The Broken God.

~

I am always searching for (...) ultra-detailed super sci-fi

Have you tried The Broken God? David Zindell is also fascinated by AI, immortality, humanity, evolution, and I find both his ideas and his writing fascinating. He has a more uplifting effect on me than Banks, too. ;)

~

Впрочем Зиндел наскоро публикува нов сборник:

Shanidar and Other Stories

Веднага щом приключа с Count to the Eschaton на John C. Wright, ще си го купя и го почвам. Че имам да отмивам някои от идеите на Райт... :D

[Кал]

My review of Shanidar and Other Stories:

"Caverns" was sad and depressing and so unlike what I've come to expect from Zindell's writing. This dialogue between a man who decided to "upgrade" his brain and his wife twisted my insides into a knot:

“Don’t leave me, Mary.”
“You don’t need me any more.”
“I need you now more than ever.”
“You need knowledge and information input and your damn quantum consciousness but you don’t need me.”
“I love you.”
“You love quarks and quiffs and charms and God-only-knows what else—aren’t I right?”
“There is light that has taken millions of years just to jangle the nerve cells of our retinas right through to our brains so that we can glory in the radiance of the ancient stars.”
“Look at you! You’re losing movement in your arms! I have to practically shout so you can hear me. Pretty soon they’re going to have to keep you in one of those rooms above the cliffs.”
“There is room for us everywhere in the universe. All the forces—the electromagnetic, the strong and weak nuclear forces, and gravity—are one. The unities. There is unity of forces, and there is unity of space-time. Unity of unities. Do you want me to explain the consequences? Can’t you imagine, from here to Antares in no time at all!”
“Will you take us back to Hawaii? Will you?”
“The will is free; we are alone and complete among the stars of the night. There are glories from the earth and cruelties from the human heart.”

For me, the genuine gem in this collection was "When the Rose is Dead". It is an acorn that will grow into an oak in A Requiem for Homo Sapiens, expanding and intensifying the ideas here.

(The following excerpt is, however, more reminiscent of Valashu, the main character of Zindell's Ea cycle.)

[Rose] hated war, everything about it. She’d written antiwar poems—she was a famous poet. That’s why she was in the hospital. The Medical Congress had just created a new category of mental illnesses, and the clinic doctors committed anyone they caught suffering from them. The unnatural desire to be alone, the inability to follow orders—there was an illness named ‘oppositional disorder.’ You know what that was? The psychiatrists’ manual, DSM III, defines it as ‘a pattern of disobedient, negativistic and provocative opposition to authority figures.’ And Rose was very disobedient, sometimes even provocative. She was a member of the Green Party; in fact she was one of the founders of the Greens. She wanted to abolish war, everywhere, in all the zones of the City, for all time. Crazy, huh?

And my perennial favorite, the free will conundrum:

“He confided that in his student days he had injected himself with brain drugs—and many times since. A few micrograms of a specifically designed drug and you could tune the serotonin concentration in the brain, experience a minute or hour of bliss. Or wild euphoria, or sexual exaltation. ‘Or God,’ he told her, ‘God in a pill—what’s the point in calling it that? Yes, I’ve seen it, but if that’s God, well, it can’t be God, if you know what I mean.’ And she provided a quotation of her own, or rather a misquotation: ‘The Tao you see while high on drugs is not the true Tao.’ ‘Then there is no true Tao,’ Dr. Stone said. ‘The brain drugs activate the same natural neuroactive chemicals you’d find in the cortex of a meditating saint, or in a young girl staring at the roses in the park. Why do you think meditation and biofeedback are illegal? Drugs are drugs—there’s no difference.’
“When he said this, Rose shook her head back and forth so hard her hair snapped like a whip. ‘Are we nothing more than chemical machines, Doctor?’ And he said, ‘We’re nothing but an interlocking set of subroutines; we’re programmed by the molecules in our brain. There’s nothing more.’ ‘But,’ she said, ‘if we choose what molecules to put in our brains, by injection or meditation or faith, we’re still choosing, aren’t we? Isn’t there a spark of soul and free will in everyone?’ And Dr. Stone said, ‘No, certain neurotransmitters fire according to the laws of chemistry, and you call this “choice.” So if you believe in God, I suppose you can’t help it.’ And Rose, she smiled and laughed when he said this, and then she said, ‘Oh, no, Doctor, you’re so wrong!’”

And then the ending, which saved the story from sliding down the drain of Terry Gilliam's Brazil and washed away with tears any previous bitterness.

Interestingly, the writing in "When the Rose is Dead" often sounds livelier and more varied (if less visionary) than Zindell's later novels.

[Кал]

Разговори в Goodreads за Splendor

9-та страница. Много му съчувствам, че изпитва неща, които много трудно могат да се опишат с думи, и че трябва да ги описва на хора, които са склонни да третират това като болестно отклонение. Чел ли си нещо на Робърт Монро? Трябва да сравня годините, но Монро е роден по-отдавна, така че може би няма много години разлика между 9-годишния Зиндел и нямам идея колко годишния Монро, когато решава, че е нужно да се допита до лекар. Не казвам, че това, което изпитват е едно и също нещо, нито дори, че е близко, доста си е далечно даже. Просто си мисля, че вероятно са ги слушали психиатри от един дол дренки. :)

Това?

http://choveshkata.net/forum/viewtopi...

Не съм чел Монро, даже май не съм го и чувал. Ако усещането за паралел ти се запази и по-натам, препоръчай ми го. (Но аз друг като Зиндел – освен Теодор Стърджън – не съм срещал нийде...)

Първа глава прочетена. Да, точно този цитат имам предвид. Монро описва своите преживявания извън тялото - тема, която не всеки преглъща лесно. Усещането ми за паралел се оказа абсолютно погрешно, психологът на Монро всъщност го насърчава да експериментира (това е 1958 г., като години действително е близо).

Много ми хареса ето това: "Caught up in my mind with so much to bother me, about the world and even myself, I could no longer relax deeply enough to experience the world’s splendor."

Сънувал ли си някога, че умираш?

М, имах един период, в който всичко чудотворящо ми беше страшно интересно.

Сега по-скоро ми е интересно как да съзирам чудесата в уж баналния ни ден-за-ден. :)

Сънувал съм, че ме гонят да ме трепят. Но дали успяваха... не помня. :/

Да, съзирането на чудесата там, където уж всичко вече е преживяно, познато и рутинно... за мен това е магия.

За сънуването питах заради това, което описва той. Аз самата не помня някога да съм сънувала, че умирам. Като се има предвид колко нелинейно и нехронологично нещо са сънищата, ми е малко трудно да си представя какво е да сънуваш нещо такова.

Започнах втора глава, но покрай размишленията за атомната бомба се заговорихме дали е възможно да се отключи верижна реакция, както се е опасявал Едуард Телер иии... мда, много обичам да се отклонявам в такива дискусии.

Добрутро!

Хихи... както е тръгнало, ще изпишем още един том Splendor, докато го прочетеш.

Много ви се радвам. Че и си говорите, отгоре на четенето. :)

[Кал]

Из GR отзива на Terry (Dulac3) за The Broken God:

- At times Danlo skims awfully close towards being a Gary-Stu given his near supreme excellence at everything he turns his hand to, but somehow, for me at least, he never quite steps over the boundary. Perhaps this is because he is, at heart, such a likeable character. Zindell somehow manages to create a character who is both an exemplar of human excellence in all he does without losing his fundamental human vulnerability, as well as being imbued with an earnest morality and devotion to pacifism that don’t have him devolve into an annoying Pollyanna (as was the case, for me at least, with Gene Wolfe’s unfortunate character Patera Silk).

- Ah Bardo! It’s always great to see you, even if I’d probably want to punch you in the face if we ever met in reality.

- I’m still a little dubious about how the story of Old Father, the alien Fravashi character who first mentors Danlo when he comes to Neverness, concludes, but to discuss this further would be a spoiler and we’ll see if I feel any differently when I actually get there on a re-read of the subsequent volumes.

Danlo: ditto. :)

Bardo: sorta ditto. I guess I'd steer clear of the guy. ;)

Old Father: Oh man .... In my own current re-reading, I'm amazed how much foreshadowing Zindell has sneaked into this.

And not just to the events concluding the trilogy; check this passage from Chapter 6:

‘Of course,’ Bardo continued, ‘I asked Hanuman his question, just as I asked you. About why he wanted to be a novice. Do you know what he told me? He said that he wanted power, fame and glory! An honest boy! Of course, I had to admit him after that, didn’t I? Ah, yes, but there’s something about him that unsettles me. He’s honest on the surface, but underneath, he keeps secrets. He’s too ambitious, I think. Listen to me, I’m a keen judge of character, and I know. Be careful of this boy. I’m not sure he’s a good choice for a friend.’
A sudden gust of wind rattled the window, and Danlo stepped to the side, beneath the arching stone wall, in case the window shattered.

Wink-wink-nudge-nudge! :D

[Кал]

Hi David! :)

I'll be taking part in this year's (entirely virtual) Worldcon
(https://conzealand.nz/), and I was invited to join this panel on
August 1:

https://sites.grenadine.co/sites/conzea ... dule/2608/

I'm planning to talk about _The Broken God_ and _The Neverending
Story_, the two most formative novels for young me. Just wanted to
share the joy with you.

Be!
Kalin @ the Human Library

P.S. There's another great joy that has been fifteen years in the
making: an anthology of Bulgarian speculative fiction translated into
English. Here it is:

https://choveshkata.net/blog/?page_id=8359

If you're interested in reading it, I'll send you the PDF right away.

[Кал]

WRITING FOR LIFE: New Novels!

What to do when the Covid pandemic upends your life?

Write books! It’s been a long time since my last newsletter, and I’ve been super busy trying to follow my own advice. I just received galley proofs for The Remembrancer’s Tale, which should be published by HarperCollins in the United Kingdom around Christmas. It will be my first Neverness universe novel in many a year. Within the past few months, ideas for a whole new series of Neverness books have been exploding in my mind like supernovae. If only I can find the time to write them!

Next will be The Scryer’s Tale, probably followed by The Eschatologist’s Tale, The Timekeeper’s Tale, and The Hakuist’s Tale. Something tells me that there will probably be The Warrior-Poet’s Tale, too. All the books will revolve around the children of Danlo wi Sol Ringess and their generation, called the Asta Siluuna. I’ve realized that the events that have played out so far through Neverness and A Requiem For Homo Sapiens are only part of a much greater galactic drama and the movement toward godhood (and the godhead) begun by Mallory Ringess.

In the meantime, I am scribbling furiously to finish the third of my Xanayan novels, The Woman And The Whale, a strange love story that follows The Orca’s Song and If I Am God. If I Am God is nearly ready to be published. I am giving away free, signed copies to the first three people who are willing and able to assist with the proofreading.

Please wish me luck!

Best wishes,

David

David, that's some excellent news! :)

I'm willing to proofread _If I Am God_ (if you mean an electronic
file; sending a paper copy back and forth across the Atlantic will be
somewhat prohibitive ;). As for my qualifications, I'm a professional
proofreader in both Bulgarian and English. Here's one of the books I
proofread recently: https://choveshkata.net/blog/?page_id=8359

Warm regards,
Kalin @ HL

P.S. Above, you meant The Haikuist's Tale, yes? :)

(And I didn't mention the capitalization and italicization errors. ;)

EDIT: David sent me the manuscript. It's 800+ pages. Here we go .... :D

[Кал]

Reading about Mada and Isaiah (and now Leili)'s relationship
immediately after going through a very painful breakup is ... an
illuminating experience. Cathartic, sometimes. Thank you.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg called If I Am God.

(The fireberg?)