科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

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科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

Post by Jun » 2020-06-17 8:04

唐唐的郁金香同学推荐 Ursula K. Le Guin 的 The Left Hand of Darkness,让我想开个帖子,欢迎科幻和奇幻类小说爱好者添加。

Ursula K. Le Guin

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喜欢道家哲学,还自己翻译过道德经。代表作:
The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, Earthsea series(有魔法的故事), The Lathe of Heaven。

Leigh Brackett

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汗颜说家属塞给我一本她的短篇小说集但是我没有读。The Empire Strikes Back 的剧本是她写的。

James Tiptree/Alice Sheldon

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这位我已经长篇大论地介绍过了,不再赘述。

Margaret Atwood

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加拿大的骄傲,最著名的 Handmaid's Tale 我是N年前看的,基本上忘光了。现在打算去找她的书来看看,喜欢的会上来推荐。

Connie Willis

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她获得过的雨果奖,星云奖,等等业内大奖不计其数,拿到手软。最著名的小说系列是历史穿越小说,回到过去的都成为小人物,绝不是将相王侯或后宫妃嫔,只能见证却不能改变历史。包括 Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, Blackout/All Clear. 都以英国历史为背景。可惜太长了,我还没去看,只看过她的短篇小说,文笔细腻温柔,真能把人立刻看哭了。

Lois McMaster Bujold

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她的最著名的系列小说是 The Vorkosigan Saga,纯~ Space Opera 战争系列,非常硬汉,很复杂。我看过前两部,因为对战争不太有兴趣就搁下了。也是多次获得最重磅的雨果 novel 奖。
Last edited by Jun on 2022-01-06 14:20, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2020-06-17 9:01

我看过Ursula K. Le Guin的三本科幻,都是Hainish Cycle。
The Left Hand of Darkness:跨性别科幻经典
The Dispossessed:一个不完美但持续运行着的无政府主义的乌托邦是什么样子?
The Word for World is Forest:和平一族碰上霸凌一族会怎么样?这本书我上个月刚读完。里面的殖民者的独白听上去很像当今美国极右保守派,靠欺负女人和暴力打击其他族人以显示其男性气质,让人恨得牙痒痒。我特别喜欢书的全是树的星球。


科幻女作家里我还喜欢Joan Slonczewski
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正职是微生物学家,所以她的小说里充满各种奇妙的生物。代表作A Door Into Ocean、Brain Plague和The Children Star。Ecology是一大主题,反对human-centric。

Mary Doria Russell
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她的科幻有The Sparrow系列,但她不单写科幻。我看过第一本The Sparrow--梵蒂冈派耶稣会的教士去外星传教。比较惊奇的是她对外星人社会心理的描述。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by 笑嘻嘻 » 2020-06-18 1:45

这个单子我要追。
云浆未饮结成冰

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by Jun » 2020-06-18 8:09

Ecology是一大主题,反对human-centric。
这个听上去非常是我的菜,想看。

家属小推过 Nancy Kress,主打以 string theory 为题材的小说,我没看,听上去太玄了,有点 intimdated。

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他还塞给我两本 N.K. Jemisin 的获雨果奖小说,叫我先看看如何,我还没来得及看。这人近几年非常有名。

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2020-06-23 17:12

N.K. Jemisin 我也有兴趣。有一年雨果奖她打败了刘慈欣,国男粉丝如丧考妣,骂得那叫一个难听。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2020-06-23 17:21

最近几年我看了不少探讨另类性别和性别角色的科幻小说,碰巧都是女作家的作品。

Ursula K. Le Guin之The Left Hand of Darkness是这个话题的经典。冬星人平时都是无性别差异的中性人。每月2-3天的发情期(kimmer),随机变男变女,随机享受当男人或者当女人的乐趣。两个冬星人可以自由组合成长期伴侣,但不是必须的。长期伴侣加随机变男变女,意味着男女,男男,女女组合 。在一生中可当爹也可当妈,这样在养育后代方面也没有性别差异了。但是,冬星不是乌托邦,没有性别差异,但有阶级、贫富的差异。监狱里的犯人被迫服药停止发情。

如果只想看性别设定,可以只读第七章外星(类似地球)观察者写的报告。我摘抄了几段:
What is very hard for us to understand is that, four-fifths of the time, these people are not sexually motivated at all. Room is made for sex, plenty of room; but a room, as it were, apart. The society of Gethen, in its daily functioning and in its continuity, is without sex.

Consider: Anyone can turn his hand to anything. This sounds very simple, but its psychological effects are incalculable. The fact that everyone between seventeen and thirty-five or so is liable to be (as Nim put it) “tied down to childbearing,” implies that no one is quite so thoroughly “tied down” here as women, elsewhere, are likely to be—psychologically or physically. Burden and privilege are shared out pretty equally; everybody has the same risk to run or choice to make. Therefore nobody here is quite so free as a free male anywhere else.

Consider: A child has no psycho-sexual relationship to his mother and father. There is no myth of Oedipus on Winter.

Consider: There is no unconsenting sex, no rape. As with most mammals other than man, coitus can be performed only by mutual invitation and consent; otherwise it is not possible. Seduction certainly is possible, but it must have to be awfully well timed.

Consider: There is no division of humanity into strong and weak halves, protective/protected, dominant/submissive, owner/chattel, active/passive. In fact the whole tendency of dualism that pervades human thinking may be found to be lessened, or changed, on Winter.
几乎每本Joan Slonczewski的书都会涉及到性别话题。A Door Into Ocean中的Shora是一个全部被海洋覆盖的星球,居民全是女性。女性之间可结为伴侣,可生孩子,但作者没有解释遗传多样性的问题如何解决。The Brain Plague里,人类科技已经解决了彻底性转的问题,每个公民都有基本医疗保险,一生可报销一次性转,有钱人随便转来转去!

当然,一本好的科幻小说往往不是单一主题,上面这些书中性别角色的探讨只是一部分。

Nicola Griffith
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主要写fantasy和历史小说,只有一本科幻名叫Ammonite。一艘载满地球移民的飞船在Jeep星球降落。Jeep和地球的环境很类似,但是,星球上一种致命病毒杀死了所有男性,大部分女性生存下来。幸存者可克隆自己,也可和同性伴侣结合,在病毒(对,就是同一个致命病毒)的帮助下解决遗传多样性的问题。

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主打性别话题的科幻有几年前大热的The Power,2017年Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction获奖作品。作者Naomi Alderman是Margaret Atwood的学生。此书是墨黑墨黑的反乌托邦末日小说。二战同盟国的一次实验导致了人类基因突变,女性因此具有了超能力,从青春期开始可放电伤人,从此男女权力结构开始改变。书的头几章读起来像是复仇小说,哪里的女性受压迫最厉害哪里反抗最大,比如中东、俄罗斯(咦,没有中国?)。然而,世界并没有变得更平等 -- 权力导致腐败。最悲伤的是,末日之后5000年,新世界和旧世界并没有本质区别,性别歧视依然存在,只是歧视和被歧视的双方调个了,人类个体总也脱不了生理上的由性别决定的限制。Naomi Alderman和其她作者(比如Joan Slonczewsk)不同的是,她不认为女性占主导的世界会更平等友善。
Last edited by 唐唐的郁金香 on 2020-06-26 13:18, edited 1 time in total.
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by Jun » 2020-06-23 18:50

唐唐的郁金香 wrote:
2020-06-23 17:21
最近几年我看了不少探讨另类性别和性别角色的科幻小说,碰巧都是女作家的作品。

Ursula K. Le Guin之The Left Hand of Darkness是这个话题的经典。冬星人平时都是无性别差异的中性人。每月2-3天的发情期(kimmer),随机变男变女,随机享受当男人或者当女人的乐趣。两个冬星人可以自由组合成长期伴侣,但不是必须的。长期伴侣加随机变男变女,意味着男女,男男,女女组合 。在一生中可当爹也可当妈,这样在养育后代方面也没有性别差异了。但是,冬星不是乌托邦,没有性别差异,但有阶级、贫富的差异。监狱里的犯人被迫服药停止发情。
雌雄同体的设定,我记得后来被一篇中篇小说 Enemy Mine (Barry Longyear) 抄去用了,以至于先看过 Enemy Mine 的我读到黑暗的左手时还觉得忒眼熟。我听她的访谈里提到对于道家的阴阳共存的理论非常喜欢,认为(西方文化里) masculinity 和 femininity 的对立是假象,而二者共存才是真实的。

Le Guin 自己做过很长时间的家庭妇女,养儿育女,对家庭妇女的 social role 进行 anthropological 研究。她的小说还对共产主义社会形式很有兴趣,说实话 The Dispossessed 看得我好累,因为我对共产主义社会真的没啥兴趣。还有就是她很喜欢写北极,极其寒冷的环境。

主要写fantasy和历史小说,只有一本科幻名叫Ammonite。一艘载满地球移民的飞船在Jeep星球降落。Jeep和地球的环境很类似,但是,星球上一种致命病毒杀死了所有男性,大部分女性生存下来。幸存者可克隆自己,也可和同性伴侣结合,在病毒(对,就是同一个致命病毒)的帮助下解决遗传多样性的问题。
Yeah, I think we've all had that idea at some point ...

说到性别的社会性,我又来推荐 James Tiptree 的 The Screwfly Solution 和 Your Haploid Heart 了,可以在此处下载到:

https://epdf.pub/your-haploid-heartb270 ... 35997.html

一个很有名的例子,我没好意思提起,是 Doris Lessing。她的小说实际上也可以归入科幻类型,但也被看作是严肃文学。Anyway, who cares. 我没读过。

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目前开始读 The Fifth Season (Jemisin),这个应该是属于 fantasy 类型的。

OMG, it's good. 哗哗哗地看到8%,看得心脏怦怦乱跳,不知道晚上还能不能睡得着觉。It's kind of unputdownable. :dog001: It's ferocious.
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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2020-06-26 13:44

在上面加了一位Naomi Alderman。
Jun wrote:
2020-06-23 18:50
我听她的访谈里提到对于道家的阴阳共存的理论非常喜欢,认为(西方文化里) masculinity 和 femininity 的对立是假象,而二者共存才是真实的。

Le Guin 自己做过很长时间的家庭妇女,养儿育女,对家庭妇女的 social role 进行 anthropological 研究。
有意思,我去找来看看。
她的小说还对共产主义社会形式很有兴趣,说实话 The Dispossessed 看得我好累,因为我对共产主义社会真的没啥兴趣。还有就是她很喜欢写北极,极其寒冷的环境。
我还挺喜欢The Dispossessed。UKL挺聪明,写出来一个不完美的乌托邦让我觉得挺信服,不过她对人性之黑暗并没有很深入的探讨。其中语言改变潜在认知的设定很有趣,比如没有“work”一词(work = play)。再比如没有所有格,不分你的还是我的,但把my mother变成the mother没有说服我,可能我自己也当妈,父母子女的的生物联系太强烈了。

说到性别的社会性,我又来推荐 James Tiptree 的 The Screwfly Solution 和 Your Haploid Heart 了,可以在此处下载到:

https://epdf.pub/your-haploid-heartb270 ... 35997.html
谢谢。等我看完上来说。
一个很有名的例子,我没好意思提起,是 Doris Lessing。她的小说实际上也可以归入科幻类型,但也被看作是严肃文学。Anyway, who cares. 我没读过。
莱辛的哪篇是科幻?说来听听?
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by Jun » 2020-06-26 14:12

我没看过 Lessing 的小说,看简介好像很多部都是科幻。Canopy's in Argos 系列
好像是最著名的。
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这星期我连日本武侠片也不看了,天天晚上抱着 The Fifth Season 啃,现在接近尾声了啊啊啊啊~~~~ 太 intense 了。 :worthy:
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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2020-06-27 8:26

Doris Lessing 真的写过科幻!我对她的印象只来自于The Grass Is Singing,写的是南非种族冲突。Canopus in Argos 听上去结构有点像UKL的Hainish Cycle,每本书探讨一个星球,有联系但没有严格的先后次序。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Post by Jun » 2021-10-13 14:26

年底的世界科幻大会将在本地举行,今年的嘉宾是 Nancy Kress。我回想起很多年前听说她写过一套关于 string theory 的系列小说,很好奇但是忘记去看,赶紧去买了 Kindle 版的 Probability Moon 来瞅瞅。

看简介貌似她把好几个相关概念放在里面讨论,包括 string theory, quantum mechanics, 和 consciousness。如果好看我再来推荐,不好看就算了。

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by liyue » 2021-10-13 14:57

le Guin 翻译了道德经。 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGO2g1TnNHA

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Post by Jun » 2021-10-18 7:36

Probability Moon 看到30%弃了。说实话要不是花了12刀买来的电子书,我早就看不下去了。说到底我的本质还是一个侦探小说粉,科幻小说可以编出很多现实没有的定律规则,但是总得有内在逻辑吧?内在逻辑都不能自洽,全靠堆砌花里胡哨的科学理论,有些人喜欢这个套路,我是不行的。表面看上去挺光鲜的,细看千疮百孔,不仅情节和 world-building 很 sloppy,而且描述细节也颇为 sloppy,甚至连标点符号(排版?)都时不常出错。

感觉 Kress 是很聪明的人,但是缺乏基本的常识和逻辑,不,不是缺乏,她就是不 care 这种阻碍她信口开河的东西。很多地方让我想起三体(尤其是后两部)里面科学理论讲了一大堆但是最简单的逻辑都很扭曲的那种聪明。我还是去看 Orson Scott Card 的外星人吧,至少人家还讲点儿理。

不过十二月开大会的时候我还是会去听听她的讲话的,纯好奇而已。
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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by Jun » 2022-01-05 15:53

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今年去参加在城里举行的 WorldCon 的时候买了一本协会现任主席 Mary Robinette Kowal 的小说 The Calculating Stars,是她的 The Lady Astronaut 系列中的第一部长篇,且在2018年获得雨果奖,我还抓住她在书上签了名。这本小说吧,一上来就扔下一颗陨石,把华盛顿给淹没了,哇哈哈哈哈 ~~~ 不过这是一部 alternative history 类型的科幻小说,陨石炸掉美国东海岸事件发生在1952年。陨石灾难还是小事(!),更糟糕的在后头,因为陨石掉进了 Chesapeake Bay,结果蒸发了大量的水汽进入大气层,造成持续的云层笼罩地球进而带来温室效应 ... 五十年内必然灭绝人类!然后世界各国群策群力开发火星移民项目,虽然美国人民不见棺材不落泪,天天吵着问为什么要花钱在太空移民上?为什么不用来减税 ...

前两部小说的主角是一个探索火星的女宇航员的故事,后面是别人的故事。我正在看第二部 The Fated Sky。第一部从发射火箭开始到登月,非常写实,包括 NASA(但是不叫 NASA)的各种早期技术和人手计算机,但其实故事的中心是1950-60年代女飞行员们克服各种歧视和阻力加入宇航员队伍的 social commentary. 情节很紧凑,跌宕起伏(第二部没那么紧凑了),让人不忍释手,同时每几页就被气得头顶冒烟,心知这些对于工作和文化环境的描写也是写实的。总之蛮好看的,推荐!

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2022-01-06 14:03

正想问问jun,WorldCon好玩吗?我那会儿已经在大洋的另一边了。

去年我把Atwood的MaddAddam三部曲读完了。晚了,假如当年刚出版的时候就读,可能会更加惊艳。

继续新生代科幻女作家:

1. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

格式、设定和语言都非常奇特的一本科幻小说。宇宙中正在进行着一场无休止的时间战争。红与蓝分别属于敌对方,一方是Commandant,一方是Garden。红与蓝在上上下下、交叉反复的时间中开始开始“通信”交流。语言非常美,读起来像诗一样。带寓言色彩,所以有的书友不喜欢,我很喜欢。两个作者中Amal El-Mohtar是女性。这本书拿奖拿到手软--2019年星云奖、英国科幻小说协会奖、2020年雨果奖和轨迹奖,等等。

2. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers是近年来比较火的作家。To Be Taught, If Fortunate是星际探索小说,一开头细节描写就和男作家侧重点不一样。飞船即将到达目的星系,被唤醒的宇航员最先注意到睡舱顶篷镜子里的自己头发太长了,哈哈。没有帝国政治,重点是外星生态和生物描写,三个星球的外星生物各有特色,描写的非常好。缺点是结局比较弱。

3. Planetfall by Emma Newman

前三分之二为星际探索以及星际探索对人类的心理影响,那个外星又像动物又是植物的“树城”想象力惊人。但后三分之一部分转向神秘主义,我就失去了兴趣。

4. Man V. Nature by Diane Cook

短篇小说集。最好(我认为)的有三篇:The Way the End of Days Should Be, Man V. Nature, 以及 The Not-Needed Forest。 前两篇写的是文明被气候灾难毁灭之后的人性。后一篇类似Lord of the Flies。她的文字精炼冷峻,怪不得有人说有海明威风格。读起来令人背脊发凉。

5. The Stone Wētā by Octavia Cade 重复太多,漏洞太多,不推荐。

最近对Solarpunk很感兴趣,可惜没找到好的作品。有人推荐了《Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures》,我读了头几篇,不好看,没什么想象力,文笔也无特色。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

Post by Jun » 2022-01-06 14:35

您的速度太快了。家属给我推荐了El-Mohtar那部,说很奇怪,我还没看。

WorldCon 挺有意思,让我终于对科幻书迷界有了感性认识(之前去过几次 Balticon 还没有这么明显)。这是一个非常业余的圈子,组织者都是志愿者,所以他们举办的活动也是非常业余的,组织本身也毫无构架和等级可言,简直就是乌托邦。一方面很民主,另一方面也很混乱。同时要考虑到科幻迷们本来就是一群社交能力不强的宅人们,跟律师们开大会可以说是两个极端的相反例证。我们第一天去登记就遇到打印机坏了,等了半个多小时才搞好,也没人管事儿或者做决断。

正因为是这个结构,草根的各种声音都很响,分分钟淹没几乎不存在的“上头”的声音,也难怪前几年极端男权主义发动了攻势占领呢,这几年显然被挤跑了,今年提名雨果奖的作品里毛估估70%是女作家。当然,民主越强,吵架的也越多。上一次的 ConZealand 被迫改为线上大会,伴随一大片不满意的骂声(因为各种原因),今年的 DisCon III 也好不了多少,两任大会主席都在开会之前辞职,Kowal 是第三任,总算搞上了,不容易啊。

因为是纯民间活动,基本没有 commercial interest,只要别带太多的期望,其实也挺有趣的。我还没去过圣地亚哥的 ComiCon,那个据说比较 commercial 来着。

今年的大赢家是 Martha Wells,写 Murderbot 系列的。家属给我找来她的一本(家属搜科幻小说的本事跟四小月同学有得一拼),我看完了再来说感想。
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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2022-01-06 15:39

这是一个非常业余的圈子,组织者都是志愿者,所以他们举办的活动也是非常业余的,组织本身也毫无构架和等级可言,简直就是乌托邦。一方面很民主,另一方面也很混乱。同时要考虑到科幻迷们本来就是一群社交能力不强的宅人们,跟律师们开大会可以说是两个极端的相反例证。
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

jun的家属和jun看书能看到一起去,真不错。Martha Wells 没听说过,Mary Robinette Kowal也没听说过。The Calculating Stars听上去我会喜欢。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Post by Jun » 2022-01-10 18:08

我看完了 Lady Astronaut 第二本 The Fated Sky,讲同一个女主角从月球到火星的历程。我觉得也不错啦,可能稍稍没有第一部那么精彩。

女主角虽然是犹太人,不算 WASP,但性格也是很面,很温良恭谦让,有时候真让人看得上火。这也是作者写得好的体现,因为肯定不是 Mary Robinette Kowal 夫子自道,而是刻画四十年代美国南方长大的女性的思路和行为,如果没有那么多的 insecurity 和妥协,就太假了,太 anachronistic 了。虽然但是,我忍不住一边佩服一边大骂 :mrgreen:

目前正在读 Martha Wells 的 Murderbot 小说,主角是个 android (就是 Bladerunner 里面那种半人半机器的 cyborg),本来就是个被公司控制的工具,不幸自我意识强烈,把脑子里的中枢控制系统给 hack 了,偷偷下载了好多网剧,平时别人没注意的时候就在脑子里给自己放千集网剧解闷儿。虽然设定有点幽默,这其实是一部愤怒的书,控诉资本主义,而且还有不少暴力内容。前面20%我觉得还可以吧,不算很惊艳。
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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

Post by april » 2022-01-14 1:06

搜了一圈发现我居然从来没在谷里推荐过Susanna Clarke?! 奇幻Fantasy非科幻。产量很低,但是篇篇好看,字字珠玑。
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下面贴一个15年写的书评,她的第一个长篇。等于是把英国近代史用魔法世界的角度重新写了一遍。这之前有一个短篇集 The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
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这之后,在COVID降临的时候出版的Piranesi 跟这个大部头比就是一个中篇也是非常非常好看。这过去两年我跟我们小朋友已经反复听过三四次了。如果对大部头有畏惧可以从Piranesi开始,非常好读,我一个周末就看完了。
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细腻美丽幽默的十九世纪英国魔法 - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell 读后

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我算不上是奥斯丁的书迷。虽然她的书改编的电影电视剧看过都很喜欢,但是她的书阴差阳错我一本都没有读过。

开始看Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell之前稍微在网上看了几眼书评。说是用奥斯丁的笔法来写魔法,因为没有参照物,心里惴惴。又有很多评论家说是成人版的哈利波特,加上朋友的力荐,所以我又满怀希望。

这本八百页的大书分成三部分。开头缓慢繁琐。第二部分就变得很好看,看到第三部分时我开始手不释卷,在两种舍不得里挣扎:舍不得放下,舍不得看完。结尾非常让我惊讶,很喜欢。

第一部分主要介绍Mr. Norrell这个英国绅士魔法师。我看两眼就放下来,想起来再看两眼,然后又随手丢开。Mr. Norrell这个小心翼翼,自私,冷酷的书呆子实在是让我没有共鸣。唯一出现的精灵的残忍和他四处扩散的绝望又让我心有余悸。最近看得这些魔幻小说,从Ursula到Gaiman都太黑暗了,黑得我这个一向神经很大条的人都有点怕怕。但是难得出现的魔法描写却又美丽非凡,让我有继续看下去的动力。
“She wore a gown the color of storms, shadows, and rain and a necklace of broken promises and regrets.”

“Woods were ringed with a colour so soft, so subtle that it could scarcely be said to be a colour at all. It was more the idea of a colour – as if the trees were dreaming green dreams or thinking green thoughts.”

“With his long hair as ragged as rain and as black as thunder, he would have looked quite at home upon a windswept moor, or lurking in some pitch-black alleyway, or perhaps in a novel by Mrs. Radcliffe.”

“The very shapes of the trees were like frozen screams.”
当第一部分里最有意思的人物,疯子似的冒牌魔法师Vinculus,跑到Mr. Norrell家给他背诵了渡鸦王的预言之后,我就跟第一次看红楼梦时看到太虚幻境里那些姑娘们的薄命册一样,说什么也要看下去了。接下来一节Vinculus和Norrell的仆人Childermass(另一个有趣人物)玩纸牌那段也很好看。
预言很美。
I reached out my hand; England’s rivers turned and flowed the other way
I reached out my hand; my enemies’s blood stopt in their veins
I reached out my hand; thought and memory flew out of my enemies’ heads like a flock of starlings;
My enemies crumpled like empty sacks.
I came to them out of mists and rain;
I came to them in dreams at midnight;
I came to them in a flock of ravens that filled a northern sky at dawn;
When they thought themselves safe I came to them in a cry that broke the silence of a winter wood

The rain made a door for me and I went through it;
The stones made a throne for me and I sat upon it;
Three kingdoms were given to me to be mine forever;
England was given to me to be mine forever.
The nameless slave wore a silver crown;
the nameless slave was a king in a strange country…
从一开始就不喜欢的Mr. Norrell, 当第二个魔法师Strange出现后,居然有三个时刻让我对Norrell充满了同情和喜爱。

第二个魔法师Strange从第一部分末尾出现就让人喜欢。故事也从此好看起来。
这个讲Strange成为魔法师前当悠闲公子时的段落也很可爱。那时Arabella (Mr. Woodhope)还不是他的妻子。热恋中的Strange. Arabella常常会质问他一些他无法回答的问题,但是他就是喜欢听她训斥。
But he [Strange] soon discovered that comfort and tranquillity were poor substitutes for Miss Woodhope’s company and so he cancelled the dinner and went immediately to the house of Mr and Mrs Redmond in order to begin being unhappy as soon as possible.
再引一些英国冷幽默句子
“For, though the room was silent, the silence of half a hundred cats is a peculiar thing, like fifty individual silences all piled one on top of another.”

“Such nonsense!” declared Dr Greysteel. “Whoever heard of cats doing anything useful!”
“Except for staring at one in a supercilious manner,” said Strange. “That has a sort of moral usefulness, I suppose, in making one feel uncomfortable and encouraging sober reflection upon one’s imperfections.”

“It has been remarked (by a lady infinitely cleverer than the present author) how kindly disposed the world in general feels to young people who either die or marry. Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne! No young lady ever had such advantages before: for she died upon the Tuesday, was raised to life in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and was married upon the Thursday; which some people thought too much excitement for one week.”

“When he awoke it was dawn. Or something like dawn. The light was watery, dim and incomparably sad. Vast, grey, gloomy hills rose up all around them and in between the hills there was a wide expanse of black bog.
Stephen had never seen a landscape so calculated to reduce the onlooker to utter despair in an instant. “This is one of your kingdoms, I suppose, sir?” he said. “My kingdoms?” exclaimed the gentleman in surprize. “Oh, no! This is Scotland!”

“Mr Norrell determined to establish himself in London with all possible haste. “You must get a house, Childermass,” he said. “Get me a house that says to those that visit it that magic is a respectable profession – no less than Law and a great deal more so than Medicine.”
Childermass inquired drily if Mr Norrell wished him to seek out architecture expressive of the proposition that magic was as respectable as the Church?
Mr Norrell (who knew there were such things as jokes in the world or people would not write about them in books, but who had never actually been introduced to a joke or shaken its hand) considered a while before replying at last that no, he did not think they could quite claim that.”
Clarke访谈里一段话我也很喜欢。也许英国盛产优秀作家的原因是那下不完的雨?

I can write most places. I particularly like writing on trains. Being between places is quite liberating, and looking out of the window, watching a procession of landscapes and random-ish objects, is very good for stories. I like darkened rooms too, and lamplight, and the sound of rain. On sunny afternoons I’ve been known to draw the curtains, switch on the light and play a CD of rain falling. It creates a sort of quiet, private world which helps writing sometimes.
我几乎在哪里都可以写作。最喜欢在火车上写。处于两地之间的感觉很自由,窗外流过的风景和各种偶遇的瞬间和物件都很有益于写故事。我还喜欢暗暗的屋子,台灯灯光,和雨声。我经常在周日下午拉上窗帘,打开灯,放一盘下雨的CD. 这种安静私密的世界有助于我写东西。

BBC根据这个小说拍了一个七集的电视剧,也很好看。
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He looked like a small panther, and he moved like a patch of night.

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Post by Jun » 2022-01-14 9:37

OMG 终于有人提 Piranesi 了,已经听到好多人提起,有的说太晦涩看不懂,有人说很神奇很赞。搞得我非常好奇但是还没看。

找到 Martha Wells 在2017年的一篇著名演讲,Unbury the Future. 那时正是 Sad Puppies 运动高潮,这篇演讲简直就是针对那些人的武器。强烈推荐一下:

https://www.tor.com/2017/11/07/unbury-t ... sy-awards/
Secrets are about suppression, and history is often suppressed by violence, obscured by cultural appropriation, or deliberately destroyed or altered by colonization, in a lingering kind of cultural gaslighting. Wikipedia defines “secret history” as a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars.
Book burning draws too much attention. In science fiction and fantasy, in comics, in media fandom, everybody was always here, but we have been disappeared over and over again. We stumble on ourselves in old books and magazines and fanzines, fading print, grainy black and white photos, 16 millimeter film, archives of abandoned GeoCities web sites. We remember again that we were here, they were here, I saw them, I knew them.
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Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2022-01-14 9:50

啊,我忘说了,Piranesi很好看!我非常喜欢。这本书要么love要么hate,没有中间选项。小说的设定和文笔都给人梦境般的感觉。据说“Piranesi”的名字来自于Giovanni Battista Piranesi,18世纪意大利建筑师和艺术家,小说里的宫殿的灵感自于他Classic Rome和Imaginary Prisons。
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唯一不满意的是,you-need-to-return-to-your-childhood-innocence-to-reach-another-world 太没新意了。

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell我一直没读完,不是不好,是太长了,汗。。。这本书的文笔的确Jane Austen的感觉。
Clarke访谈里一段话我也很喜欢。也许英国盛产优秀作家的原因是那下不完的雨?
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: 同理,爱尔兰也是。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Post by Jun » 2022-01-15 9:03

唐唐的郁金香 wrote:
2022-01-06 14:03
4. Man V. Nature by Diane Cook

短篇小说集。最好(我认为)的有三篇:The Way the End of Days Should Be, Man V. Nature, 以及 The Not-Needed Forest。 前两篇写的是文明被气候灾难毁灭之后的人性。后一篇类似Lord of the Flies。她的文字精炼冷峻,怪不得有人说有海明威风格。读起来令人背脊发凉。
看了 The Way the End of Days Should Be. 真的很不错。感觉除了预想海水上涨的细节以外,故事里的两家房子也是对现实的一种比喻。

正在看 Man V. Nature,对于 bros 的描述还挺讽刺的,美国男人那个味儿,呵呵。
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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎加入)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2022-01-21 9:03

Jun wrote:
2022-01-05 15:53
今年去参加在城里举行的 WorldCon 的时候买了一本协会现任主席 Mary Robinette Kowal 的小说 The Calculating Stars,是她的 The Lady Astronaut 系列中的第一部长篇,且在2018年获得雨果奖,我还抓住她在书上签了名。这本小说吧,一上来就扔下一颗陨石,把华盛顿给淹没了,哇哈哈哈哈 ~~~ 不过这是一部 alternative history 类型的科幻小说,陨石炸掉美国东海岸事件发生在1952年。陨石灾难还是小事(!),更糟糕的在后头,因为陨石掉进了 Chesapeake Bay,结果蒸发了大量的水汽进入大气层,造成持续的云层笼罩地球进而带来温室效应 ... 五十年内必然灭绝人类!
开始读The Calculating Stars了,哇,1950年代扑面而来,真会写,果然有Hidden Figures的感觉。
然后世界各国群策群力开发火星移民项目,虽然美国人民不见棺材不落泪,天天吵着问为什么要花钱在太空移民上?为什么不用来减税 ...
较真地说,在大灾难之下,不管是陨石还是人造气候灾难,如果目的是避免人类灭绝,太空移民真的不行,臆想而已。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Post by Jun » 2022-01-21 11:36

唐唐的郁金香 wrote:
2022-01-21 9:03
较真地说,在大灾难之下,不管是陨石还是人造气候灾难,如果目的是避免人类灭绝,太空移民真的不行,臆想而已。
第二部里面描写月球基地上的各种条件限制,大部分的东西需要从地球上运输,就可以感受到这一点。写到移民火星的时候就得,嗯,虚构一下火星上有水资源储备(暗示的没直接写)。越到后面越不能搞写实派了。

不过并不能拦住太空移民作为科幻文艺里的一大次类。 :monkey001:
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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2022-01-26 15:08

Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker
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短篇小说集,每篇各有特色,都好看。音乐显然对Sarah Pinsker很重要,几乎每篇都会提到,像一根看不见的线把整个集子穿起来,所以我就更喜欢了。标题的短篇《Sooner Or Later Everything Falls into the Sea》写的也是气候灾难,但比《Man v Nature》温暖多了。《The Low Hum of Her》算steampunk,让我想起刘宇昆的某一篇。《No Lonely Seafarer》是Homer之Sirens新篇,构思奇妙。《Our Lady of the Open Road》疫情期间读起来简直泪如雨下。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

Post by Jun » 2022-01-27 9:33

谢谢推荐,短篇好,快速。

我把 Murderbot 系列的前几篇看完了,挺有趣的,每一篇可以算是长中篇,彼此之间有情节联系但又相对的独立成章。主角粗看有点别扭,但看了一段之后发现是讲机器变成人类的过程,只不过这是一个慢而微妙的过程;而且我意识到可以将其看作一个 on the spectrum 的人。最大特点是动作戏又多又长!感觉完全可以拍成 Netflix 系列剧。

在我看过的科幻里,Martha Wells 和 Lois Bujold 是很能写打戏的,哗哗哗地看下去停不住手。
此喵已死,有事烧纸

唐唐的郁金香
Posts: 528
Joined: 2006-03-02 9:51

Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2022-02-21 13:30

再唠叨两句The Calculating Stars,除了性别这个主题,对犹太人在美国的尴尬处境也写得很好。长得白,黑人当他们是白人(联想起前段时间Whoopi Goldberg说Holocaust无关种族的新闻),但对非犹太白人来说又不算,passing是最自然的选择,也是各种抓马。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

Jun
Posts: 27816
Joined: 2003-12-15 11:43

Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

Post by Jun » 2022-02-22 18:04

唐唐的郁金香 wrote:
2022-02-21 13:30
再唠叨两句The Calculating Stars,除了性别这个主题,对犹太人在美国的尴尬处境也写得很好。长得白,黑人当他们是白人(联想起前段时间Whoopi Goldberg说Holocaust无关种族的新闻),但对非犹太白人来说又不算,passing是最自然的选择,也是各种抓马。
各类非黑人的少数族裔在美国文化里都是微妙的处境,写多了自己的受到的歧视,很容易给人 whining 的印象。作者兼顾 self-identity 和 solidarity,恰到好处,而且是五十年代背景,不能拿今天的文化去套上,我觉得难度真的很高。能写得 sensitive 而不令人疙瘩,基础还是因为作者 her heart is in the right place. 如果没有内心的 justice and decency,怎么装也装不出来。

This is How You Lose the Time War 我看了好久也没看完,还剩四分之一。诗意浓厚的文字挺美的,但是情节太难抓住了,还有文学梗,我认出了一些但是估计丢掉很多,以及红和蓝两位战士来来去去就是我爱你我爱你,有点儿腻 :laughting015:
此喵已死,有事烧纸

唐唐的郁金香
Posts: 528
Joined: 2006-03-02 9:51

Re: 科幻/奇幻女作家作品推荐(欢迎添加)

Post by 唐唐的郁金香 » 2022-02-23 12:01

Jun wrote:
2022-02-22 18:04
各类非黑人的少数族裔在美国文化里都是微妙的处境,写多了自己的受到的歧视,很容易给人 whining 的印象。作者兼顾 self-identity 和 solidarity,恰到好处,而且是五十年代背景,不能拿今天的文化去套上,我觉得难度真的很高。能写得 sensitive 而不令人疙瘩,基础还是因为作者 her heart is in the right place. 如果没有内心的 justice and decency,怎么装也装不出来。
这个作者写得恰到好处,特别是最后一场洗手间的戏。
This is How You Lose the Time War 我看了好久也没看完,还剩四分之一。诗意浓厚的文字挺美的,但是情节太难抓住了,还有文学梗,我认出了一些但是估计丢掉很多,以及红和蓝两位战士来来去去就是我爱你我爱你,有点儿腻 :laughting015:
我听了有声书,短,不腻😄 因为文笔好,有的段落还倒回去再听一遍。
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "... But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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