Ben > Recent Status Updates

Wealth was measured in control over other people, and the grip of that control could never be permitted to loosen. Odd then, that this rebellion had had nothing to do with such inequities, that in truth it had been little more than a struggle between those who would be in charge. Yet the majority of the suffering had descended upon the lowborn, upon the common folk.

"The lowlanders seemed so obsessed with their differences that they had no comprehension of what unified them."

"A flaw that could be exploited. "

"Form an opinion, say it often enough and pretty soon everyone's saying it back at you, and then it becomes a conviction, fed by unreasoning anger and defended with weapons of fear. At which point, words become useless and you're left with a fight to the death."

"Disinformation, which is the same lying but for some reason has a different name, is the top tactic in corporate negotiation/warfare."

"I do not believe in evil absolute...I believe in our side and theirs, with the good and evil decided after the fact, by those who survive."

"Such is the fate of all mortals: The life of the parent, no matter how glorious and vivid in their prime, is destined to fade, to fall, to disappear into the soil of memory of the child."

"It's the nature of narrative artifice that even those striving to tell the truth must flatten reality to a sketch"

"You are the most dangerous kind of fool," said Tanvanaki as she stepped away from Cutanrovo's curled-up form, "the kind that believes her own lies..."

"In the name of justice, new injustices are done. Retribution does not restore, and neither does hatred heal. To blame is to be trapped in cycles of recrimination from which there is no escape."

"A standing army is an insatiable beast: It demands foes and growth. More, always more. More funds, more weapons, more soldiers, more victories. It comes to dominate the economy, as inventors devote their minds to methods of killing and industry becomes entwined with the machinery of war. Expropriation and conquest become more valued than cultivation and production."

"For you, everything is hard. If an opportunity presents itself, you must snatch it or lose it to someone fiercer. You don't have time to think, because if you think, you starve."
"This makes it difficult for you when dealing with those who have lived in privilege. We spend our lives learning to plan. Often, those in power stay in power because of said luxuries - it is not that they are smarter or more capable.."

War has its necessities, Korlat, and I have always understood that. Always known the cost. But, this day, by my own hand, I have realized something else. War is not a natural state. It is in imposition, and a damned unhealthy one. With its rules, we willingly yield our humanity. Speak not of just causes, worthy goals. We are takers of life.

"Ah, well, cults see any advancement - sorcerous or mundane - as potential threats. You must dismantle your sources, Toc the Younger, lest you do nothing but ape the prejudices of others."

"So nonlethal weapons were used all around. I found it interesting how humane thingsbecame once the people far up the command chain—the ones who didn’t have to bleedfor the decisions they made—couldn’t force everyone into line"

In his mind's eye he saw his horizons stretch out on all sides, and as they grew ever vaster he in turn saw himself as ever smaller, ever more insignificant.
"We are all lone souls. It pays to know humility, lest the delusion of control, of mastery, overwhelms. And indeed, we seem a species prone to that delusion, again and ever again..."

A resurrected child describing why he was crucified by an invading army will haunt me every time I see what's going on in the world.

"But the enemy were fathers too, you see. And mothers and grandmothers - they were all so angry with us. They took our clothes. Our sandals. They took everything from us, they were so angry. Then they punished us."

Then, to his rescuer

"And I promise to do as I'm told. From now on."

It's the ignorant who find a cause and cling to it, for within that is the illusion of significance. Faith, a king, queen or emperor, or vengeance...all the bastion of fools.

Getting ready for the Sanderlanche!

The Golden Age chapter is the ultimate example of why speculative fiction is better at commenting on current societal failings than any nonfiction. The way Clarke describes what Earthly social constructs were altered or done away with by the Overlords in order to create a utopian existence for all humans is pure brilliance. Sadly, little has changed from 1953 to 2024.

While the vocab and sentence structure have mostly normalized, the pages are still huge with tiny little font. I've got full ideas of the different stories going on, but I'm still trying to guess if and how they'll come together.

I've gotten the hang of his extremely long sentences, lack of transitions from character to character, temporal jumps back and forth, etc.

I've now found some real humor here, some of his more subtle humor is coming through, and there is a somewhat disjointed narrative building. The workman's comp write up made me laugh to tears and the section on "videophony" was hilarious and terrifyingly omniscient for 1996.

We're getting a bit more of a narrative now. We check in with the same characters and he's calmed down with the unnecessary (over)use of abstract vocabulary. The humor is coming through as well. I've laughed to myself several times. The 3-4 page footnotes written in biblical size font are tiresome, as are the chapters where we switch to the point of view of someone speaking extreme street slang with no context.

I'm trying to give this a few hundred pages to at least interest me. I enjoy the massive vocabulary, but I'm getting very little in the way of entertainment value. I have a sneaking suspicion that this book is essentially Scrotie McBooger Balls from South Park. It's complete nonsense that makes critics feel inferior, so they create meaning and brilliance out of nothing to feel superior.

"...there's lots of things that are better just not thought about. Couldn't be coincidence that the happiest men Broad ever knew we're generally the stupidest. "

Abercrombie's ability to create so many unique, full-bodied characters is unparalleled.

Still fascinating and detailed without being boring, and now WWII breaks out. I'm anticipating a lot more action.

This has been a slower read than I expected. I suppose it wasn't meant to be read in the first place but listened to. I'm finally to the part where Odysseus comes home to deal with his wife's suitors, so maybe my pace will pick up.