From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V99 #39 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: archive/volume99/39 Precedence: list MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se Reply-To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se ------------------------------ Content-Type: text/plain blakes7-d Digest Volume 99 : Issue 39 Today's Topics: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Re: Cally (was Re: [B7L]Social Engineering) Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Re: [B7L] Power (and other Steed scripts) [B7L] Re: Animals Re: [B7L] MK sighting Re:[B7L]Youth Groups(was Fed non-egalitarianism) [B7L] Re: mutoids Re: [B7L] Power (and other Steed scripts) Re: [B7L] Power (and other Steed scripts) [B7L] Re: Blake's 7 and Discworld [B7L] Re: Steed scripts Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus [B7L] Re: Tanith Lee Re: [B7L] Renaissance [B7L] B7 & the Discworld Re: [B7L] Re: Tanith Lee Re: [B7L] Re: Blake's 7 and Discworld Re: [B7L] Renaissance Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Re: [B7L] Power (and other Steed scripts) [B7L] Re: Tanith Lee's novels Re: [B7L] B7 & the Discworld ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 01:34:40 EST From: VulcanXYZ@aol.com To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: <6cd7ffa9.36a6ca80@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Pat P. wrote about Sarcophagus: << I, too, like this ep. And yes, I like the long alien bit; especially where Avon appears as the black priest of death: it is so unexpected! >> I'm with you! I love this episode. My favorite part is the short scene between Avon and Cally, right after the strange alien-ritual, where Avon finds Cally mourning the loss of Auron and gently encourages her to get on with her life. He says that lovely line, "Regret is a part of being alive, but keep it a small part." She retorts, "As you do?" and he responds, again gently but ironically, "Demonstrably." This always suggests to me the special relationship that these two have, subtle but deep. I also love all of the symbolism in this episode. I think Tanith Lee must be a very interesting person to have written something like this. Do any of the rest of you have any thoughts about this symbolism -- what it all means? Gail ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 19:56:10 +1100 From: Kathryn Andersen To: "Blake's 7 list" Subject: Re: Cally (was Re: [B7L]Social Engineering) Message-ID: <19990121195610.41602@welkin.apana.org.au> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii On Wed, Jan 20, 1999 at 10:21:08PM -0000, Neil Faulkner wrote: > > While I'm on the subject of things Auronish, Kathryn Andersen said something > about 'contradictory architecture'. Meaning what, exactly? Well, it was only a glimpse, but in Sarcophagus, when Cally is brooding at the start of the episode, she is drawing pictures of Auron, and the glimpse we see is something airy and lacy, whether it be a tree or a tower, yet what we saw in Children of Auron was the big-concrete-block sterile opressive architecture, which doesn't seem at all to be what Cally was missing. Since it was only a glimpse, nay, a personal impression, I could be seeing things, but it always struck me as contradictory. (And was part of the basis for my poem "Pictures of Auron".) Of course there could be any number of explanations. The bit of the planet we saw could be the Auron equivalent of New York, with the bits Cally missed being the equivalent of Kakadu or Niagra Falls. City and country. Where *did* Cally learn her survival skills, anyway? -- _--_|\ | Kathryn Andersen / \ | http://home.connexus.net.au/~kat \_.--.*/ | #include "standard/disclaimer.h" v | ------------| Melbourne -> Victoria -> Australia -> Southern Hemisphere Maranatha! | -> Earth -> Sol -> Milky Way Galaxy -> Universe ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 20:18:01 +1100 From: Kathryn Andersen To: "Blake's 7 list" Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: <19990121201801.18868@welkin.apana.org.au> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii On Thu, Jan 21, 1999 at 01:34:40AM -0500, VulcanXYZ@aol.com wrote: > Pat P. wrote about Sarcophagus: > > << I, too, like this ep. And yes, I like the long alien bit; especially > where Avon appears as the black priest of death: it is so unexpected! >> Um, me too. > I'm with you! I love this episode. My favorite part is the short scene > between Avon and Cally, right after the strange alien-ritual, where Avon finds > Cally mourning the loss of Auron and gently encourages her to get on with her > life. Oh yes! > I also love all of the symbolism in this episode. > Do any of the > rest of you have any thoughts about this symbolism -- what it all means? Well, each figure symbolised the role that each of the crew were destined to have in the Alien's life: Bodyguard, Minstrel, Fool... and Bane. I love the scene where the Black figure takes the bowl of insense, and pours it out, upside down. I think that symbolises the Alien's life, poured out and destroyed. Insense connects up with Spirit -- insense is often used in religious ceremonies, so it could symbolise the spiritual things. Spirit is Life, and the Alien was a disembodied spirit... I'm babbling. > I think Tanith Lee must be > a very interesting person to have written something like this. Gail, Gail, you must go off and read some of Tanith Lee's novels! Particularly the one which most Blake's 7 fen feel is Blake's 7 related, "Kill The Dead". It is a fantasy novel where the two main characters (we think) are based on Avon and Vila. But don't let *anyone* tell you the end, it is much more fun if it is a surprise. Other ones I would reccommend would be "Don't Bite The Sun" and "Drinking Sapphire Wine". Those ones are SF (one is a sequel of the other) set in a far future, and I guess you could say it poses the question: What can you do when you get sick of utopia? Good character stuff. I wish they were in print. (sigh) Kathryn A. -- _--_|\ | Kathryn Andersen / \ | http://home.connexus.net.au/~kat \_.--.*/ | #include "standard/disclaimer.h" v | ------------| Melbourne -> Victoria -> Australia -> Southern Hemisphere Maranatha! | -> Earth -> Sol -> Milky Way Galaxy -> Universe ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 02:45:49 PST From: "Rob Clother" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: <19990121104549.13979.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain >But I like to see "gentle" Cally play this imperious creature. It's >one of her best roles in the series. She's a versatile actress -- as well as playing Gentle Cally and the Lost Spirit, she did a sterling job of playing Psycho Cally. -- Rob ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 10:50:02 -0000 From: "Alison Page" To: "lysator" Subject: Re: [B7L] Power (and other Steed scripts) Message-ID: <001301be452c$0a1b6e40$ca8edec2@alisonpage.demon.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all, I'm often in a quandary when a comment of mine provokes discussion. I am pleased, but I never know whether to respond. That's partly because once a topic is opened up I'd rather hear other people's views, and partly because I think I might seem overly argumentative if I keep wading in. So please everyone bear in mind that I'm trying to open up the subject not close it down. This was Iain and Ross >> I don't think that Alison is correct in >> > viewing it as a male sexual fantasy. >> > What the hell is a male sexual fantasy anyhow? Two points come to mind about this. One is that in my original post I was trying to explain that although 'Power' seems very alien in its world view, I was trying to understand the thinking behind it rather than to condemn it out of hand. I tried to make it very clear that I wasn't saying anything about 'all men', but that Ben Steed was representative of a certain type of man (which is very likely unless he is a totally unique individual). The other point, which I obviously didn't make clear enough, was that I didn't think 'Power' was a fantasy about *domination* as such, but about the supposed strength of women's desire for sex with men. I actually think this is a quite common theme in pornography written by men, and I think it's a perfectly understandable fantasy. Just as a lot of romance written by and for women fantasises about the undying love that a man supposedly has for a woman. The crux of the matter, in 'Power', is what Deborah Rose and Judith (sorry may have wrong people here) identified as 'Stockholm Syndrome'. That is - the way that the captured Seska co-operated willingly with their own abuse, and the abuse of other Seska. I think the 'Stockholm' explanation is an imaginative one, and a pleasing one, but I don't think it was what Steed had in mind. Rather I think he was arguing that being in a heterosexual relationship, no matter how violent and abusive, was the only way a woman could be fulfilled. I think it is clear some men (and perhaps some women) believe this very strongly. OK. So can I make it clear. I don't share this view. I am just trying to understand it. Nor do I think all men have this view. Hope I have covered all bases here. Alison ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:26:39 +0000 (GMT) From: Una McCormack To: Lysator Subject: [B7L] Re: Animals Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Rob said: "Whoosh! Forgive me if I've got the wrong end of the stick, but are you trying to tell us, Una, that you're an "Animals" lover?" And Steve replied: >Well I know Una is a fan of Animals, but I have to say I think the >episode gets a bad press, far worse than it deserves. It's not all bad >and not all good. A fairly middling episode, I'd say. Bang on, Steve - for all my bullshit, I just think that 'Animals' isn't as bad as people make out. I think the Servalan bits are really good, and I liked Kevin Stoney. I don't really think that Justin is crap, and the crew get to amble around a bit and be crap to Vila. Not as good as really good episodes, not as bad as really bad ones: just plain OK. It's biggest fault is that it's a bit dull. >And I think it's far better than stuff like Sarcophagus. And here we disagree vastly! Love it! Una ----------------------------------------- In defeat, malice. In victory, revenge. ----------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:33:00 +0000 (GMT) From: Una McCormack To: Lysator Subject: Re: [B7L] MK sighting Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Spookily, this episode of 'Yes, Minister' aired in England on UK Gold just the other night, as well... Una ----------------------------------------- In defeat, malice. In victory, revenge. ----------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 14:05:01 -0000 From: "Julie Horner" To: Subject: Re:[B7L]Youth Groups(was Fed non-egalitarianism) Message-ID: <01be4547$09759d10$170201c0@pc23.Fishnet> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Judith said: >I wonder if there were any youth movements in the Federation? I can't see >anything encouraging outdoors activities. I've always felt that one reason >going outside was forbidden was as a form of social control. Keep the people >scared of the world outside the dome and you have a little bit more control over >them I see a strong youth movement as being absolutely paramount for the Federation to continue and consolidate their totalitarian control. They would see it as the ideal opportunity to promulgate Federation principles and attitudes (a la Hitler Youth). They would also have the chance to spot any potential trouble makers and rebels (those who didn't join or who did join but didn't really follow the party line). Would membership be compulsory - or compulsory at certain levels e.g. alphas and betas? Maybe it would be "advantageous" i.e. it would further your future career if you had put in the required commitment to the Youth Movement. Perhaps this is how the officers were recruited. As to going outside being forbidden - maybe it was only forbidden to the individual. Presumably it was OK to go out if you were part of an organized, authorized group with some specific purpose for being out there. There must have been maintenance work on the outsides of the Domes and I imagine the military training would involve outdoors activity. If not the troopers sent off-world to subjugate and/or administer Fed colonies would be paralyzed with agorophobia as soon as they set foot off the ship. Maybe youth groups got to have outdoor expeditions too - another of the perks of "belonging". Ironically, the only member of the crew I can imagine being an active member of such a group is Blake. His natural leadership qualities would earn him the position of Section Leader at least - before adulthood, experience or whatever awakened his anti-Fed feelings. Avon would be excused games to get on with his studies. Julie Horner ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 14:58:28 +0100 From: Steve Rogerson To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: mutoids Message-ID: <36A73282.4EA48C10@mcr1.poptel.org.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Taina asked: "Were all the mutoids female? I can't recall seeing any male ones." This came up once before, I recall. There is definitely at least one male mutoid seen, I think in Project Avalon. -- cheers Steve Rogerson Redemption 99: The Blakes 7 and Babylon 5 convention 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Ashford, Kent http://www.smof.com/redemption/ "Get in there you big furry oaf, I don't care what you smell" Star Wars ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 16:35:25 +0000 (GMT) From: Iain Coleman To: lysator Subject: Re: [B7L] Power (and other Steed scripts) Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Alison Page wrote: > > Two points come to mind about this. > > One is that in my original post I was trying to explain that although > 'Power' seems very alien in its world view, I was trying to > understand the thinking behind it rather than to condemn it out of hand. I > tried to make it very clear that I wasn't saying anything about 'all men', > but that Ben Steed was representative of a certain type of man (which is > very likely unless he is a totally unique individual). We are all individuals ("I'm not!"), and I'm sure there's no sexual fantasy so outlandish that you couldn't find at least one person who was into it. You gave me the impression (perhaps through my own haste) that you thought this kind of subservient female stuff was a fairly typical fantasy among men. There are certainly women around (and I don't include you in this group, Alison) who assume that men fantasise about subservient women, and then attack men for having these supposed mysogynistic fantasies. It's all rather strange, as they seem to have little basis for these rants other than the fevered outpourings of their own imaginations. > > The other point, which I obviously didn't make clear enough, was that I > didn't think 'Power' was a fantasy about *domination* as such, but about the > supposed strength of women's desire for sex with men. I disagree with this but... I actually think this > is a quite common theme in pornography written by men, and I think it's a > perfectly understandable fantasy. Just as a lot of romance written by and > for women fantasises about the undying love that a man supposedly has for a > woman. > ...this I agree with entirely. It's important to realise that the standard kind of female figure presented in cheap male-oriented porn _does_ have a strong desire for sex with little accompanying emotional involvement but _does not_ fulfil the desires of men: rather she takes what _she_ wants. (Of course, it is no coincidence that what she wants just happens to be what is likely to titillate the reader). It seems to me the (rather daft) women I was discussing earlier go through life wearing some kind of special spectacles which blank out many of the most common female figures in popular culture which are clearly aimed at the most base desires of men, from Lara Croft to Servalan. Weak and simpering? I don't think so. Now that I've dragged my point kicking and screaming back to B7: I really don't think any of this has much to do with "Power". The Hommiks' setup has far more to do with a male-bonding type of ideal, in which women are excluded while men get on with important things like fighting, drinking and shouting. > OK. So can I make it clear. I don't share this view. I am just trying to > understand it. Nor do I think all men have this view. Hope I have covered > all bases here. Fair dos. I still think the primitivism of the Hommiks is more important than you suggest, and the way women are treated in their culture is a secondary aspect. Of course, it's a fantasy world they're living in: they get to live the primitive life of the warrior while still having heat, light and power on tap. If I was more confident of my Norse mythology I might try to draw an analogy with Valhalla. Can anyone help? Iain ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 16:36:27 -0000 From: "Neil Faulkner" To: "lysator" Subject: Re: [B7L] Power (and other Steed scripts) Message-ID: <002401be455c$52d2b140$c21cac3e@default> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ross Mallett wrote: > There's another possibility here that you're overlooking: that the >ambiguity is due to the script being reworked by other hands. In particular, >Chris Boucher rewrote part of Moloch, and even more of Power. That's interesting. Do you happen to know what was excised from the original scripts? And why? > > What the hell is a male sexual fantasy anyhow? You don't get the Daily Sport in Australia then? Neil ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 15:13:29 -0500 From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com> To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" Subject: [B7L] Re: Blake's 7 and Discworld Message-ID: <199901211514_MC2-6781-3BEB@compuserve.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit fifitrix wrote: >Tarrant is definitely Carrot. Think about it - tall, good looking, big grin. No - when we saw Guards! Guards! we marked Tarrant down for the young man with shiny teeth who was put forward as king but got killed by the dragon. The frequent references to aforementioned teeth were the clincher. Harriet ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 15:14:52 -0500 From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com> To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" Subject: [B7L] Re: Steed scripts Message-ID: <199901211515_MC2-6781-3C03@compuserve.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Ross wrote (hey, I thought your name was Mallett, as in Ashley, but it's Mallet here. Please confirm?): >I would have just ended it with Servalan saying "You're in a lot of trouble, Jarvik". No, I would have ended it with her killing him. Jarvik would say something like "Well, next time you'll listen to me and I'll win," and Servalan would just smile and shoot him. He's given her a bit of fun, but did he really think she'd want to go on playing that macho nonsense for a week? He thinks he's understood her, but he can't. Harriet ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 18:20:27 +0000 From: Julia Jones To: "Blake's 7 list" Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: In message <19990121201801.18868@welkin.apana.org.au>, Kathryn Andersen writes >Other ones I would reccommend would be "Don't Bite The Sun" and >"Drinking Sapphire Wine". I'd also go for _The Electric Forest_. Doubtless Calle will be along shortly with more suggestions. -- Julia Jones "Don't philosophise with me, you electronic moron!" The Turing test - as interpreted by Kerr Avon. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:17:08 PST From: "Penny Dreadful" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: Tanith Lee Message-ID: <19990121211709.28828.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain Kathryn Andersen said: >Other ones I would reccommend would be "Don't Bite The Sun" and >"Drinking Sapphire Wine". Which are only SF in the broadest sense of the definition, i.e. "It's set in the future, and therefore by definition speculative." I prefer Tanith Lee when she's in the realm of total Fantasy (I think she and Terry Pratchett are the only Fantasy authors I've read more than one book by). I'll have to recommend the "Night's Master" series over all. And speaking of Pratchett (and B7!), I think Avon could be the Dean, and second whomever cast Servalan as the Patrician. -- Penny "Now, Let Us Consider The Seven Dwarves..." Dreadful ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 16:53:56 EST From: Mac4781@aol.com To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Renaissance Message-ID: <9dd97d7c.36a7a1f4@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Joanne shared: > Dayna would be the Amerindian girl Pasquale fancies. Given Pasquale's > youth, he'd have to be Tarrant (that'll please Carol - equating him with > the young and handsome hero of the story), but a spacecraft pilot and a > young man who dreams of painting an angel, and has only got as far as > the wings, compare only vaguely at best. I didn't miss this a couple of days ago, I've just been busy. But not too busy to access the on-line catalogue and determine that our county library has this book. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for the Tarrant-like character alert (vague works for me ), Joanne. We'll make a TNer out of you yet. I've been pleased to see Commander Fifi upholding the banner of the TN while I've been distracted. If she inducts someone into the fold, he/she is inducted. If she says Tarrant is Carrot, he's Carrot. (Carrot sounds like a fine Tarrant!) Her word is Law. Carol Mc (Supreme Godmother, Empress Elect, Mistress of the Seven Curls, Assistant Peon, etc. of the Tarrant Nostra ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 09:10:27 +1100 From: "Afenech" To: "lysator" Subject: [B7L] B7 & the Discworld Message-Id: <22051709317434@domain4.bigpond.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Penny said: > > And speaking of Pratchett (and B7!), I think Avon could be the Dean, and > second whomever cast Servalan as the Patrician. _______ Have been thinking about correlations - I dont see any really direct ones; there are elements of the B7 characters in various inhabitants of the Discworld - though Magrat and Cally had me nodding agreement -smile- I see Avon as being more like the Patrician. And there is a fair bit of Vila type characteristics in Nobby though Vila is *much* more lovable. Pat F ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 14:33:32 PST From: "Joanne MacQueen" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Tanith Lee Message-ID: <19990121223332.15193.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain >-- Penny "Now, Let Us Consider The Seven Dwarves..." Dreadful Er, shouldn't that be Penny "Well Now, etc." Dreadful? Regards Joanne ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 14:27:46 PST From: "Joanne MacQueen" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Blake's 7 and Discworld Message-ID: <19990121222746.22494.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain >No - when we saw Guards! Guards! we marked Tarrant down for the >young man with shiny teeth who was put forward as king but got >killed by the dragon. The frequent references to aforementioned >teeth were the clincher. >Harriet Proof enough for me! The Toothy One for the would-be king of Ankh-Morpork it is. But how would the Godmother cope with him dying again? Poor Carol, the dear boy is doomed whatever he does Regards Joanne The Cavaliers (Wrong but Wromantic) and the Roundheads (Right but Repulsive) --WC Sellar and RJ Yeatman, 1066 and All That. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 14:47:19 PST From: "Joanne MacQueen" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Renaissance Message-ID: <19990121224719.916.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain >not too busy to access the on-line catalogue and determine that our >county library has this book. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for the >Tarrant-like character alert (vague works for me ), Joanne. We'll >make a TNer out of you yet. Oh no, what have I done! Well, Pasquale is resourceful, more or less decorative, impulsive - a number of other things that Tarrant is always being accused of. Maybe the parallel is closer than I thought. >Mistress of the Seven Curls, What, are the rest of them shared out amongst all the members of the Tarrant Nostra? Regards Joanne Th' first thing to have in a libry is a shelf. Fr'm time to time this can be decorated with lithrachure. But th' shelf is th' main thing. --Finley Peter Dunne ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: 22 Jan 1999 01:05:12 +0100 From: Calle Dybedahl To: "Blake's 7 list" Subject: Re: [B7L] In defence of Sarcophagus Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Julia Jones writes: > I'd also go for _The Electric Forest_. Doubtless Calle will be along > shortly with more suggestions. Ok, then :-) For very unusual and creative fantasy: The Flat Earth series, consisting of "Night's Master", "Death's Master", "Delusion's Master", "Delirium's Mistress" and "Night's Sorceries". It does go downhill a bit after the first two, unfortunately. A rather odd love story between a girl and a robot: "The Silver Metal Lover" (my most re-read Lee novel after "Don't Bite the Sun" and "Death's Master"). Claustrophobic angst-horror: The Blood Opera sequence, being "Dark Dance", "Personal Darkness" and "Darkness, I". Modern fantasy/Horror crossbreed: The Secret Books of Paradys, a series of connected short stories and novellas in for volumes, "The Book of the Damned", "The Book of the Beast", "The Book of the Dead" and "The Book of the Mad". Modern fantasy: "When the Lights Go Out" (and it's new enough that it's probably still in print) She's written a couple of dozen more, but this is a representative sampling. And "Death's Master" is a must-read for any fantasy fan. -- Calle Dybedahl, Vasav. 82, S-177 52 Jaerfaella,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se Please pay no attention to the panda in the fridge. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 20:48:08 -0700 From: Helen Krummenacker To: lysator Subject: Re: [B7L] Power (and other Steed scripts) Message-ID: <36A7F4F8.5E70@jps.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Iain Coleman wrote: (snipping) > It seems to me the (rather daft) women I was discussing earlier go through > life wearing some kind of special spectacles which blank out many of the > most common female figures in popular culture which are clearly aimed at > the most base desires of men, from Lara Croft to Servalan. Weak and > simpering? I don't think so. Lucy Lawless, 7 of 9; I think you've quite a point. > > Now that I've dragged my point kicking and screaming back to B7: I really > don't think any of this has much to do with "Power". The Hommiks' setup > has far more to do with a male-bonding type of ideal, in which women are > excluded while men get on with important things like fighting, drinking > and shouting. And this fits with Avon not-fitting in with the men. He won't use the 'manly' weapons. In real life, intellectual men are usually (voluntarily) excluded from much of the male bonding. This I have observed often. > > > OK. So can I make it clear. I don't share this view. I am just trying to > > understand it. Nor do I think all men have this view. Hope I have covered > > all bases here. > > Fair dos. I still think the primitivism of the Hommiks is more important > than you suggest, and the way women are treated in their culture is a > secondary aspect. Of course, it's a fantasy world they're living in: they > get to live the primitive life of the warrior while still having heat, > light and power on tap. If I was more confident of my Norse mythology I > might try to draw an analogy with Valhalla. Can anyone help? Bringing to mind Valkyries.... seems the strong-woman fantasy goes back a long way. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 23:31:54 EST From: VulcanXYZ@aol.com To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: Tanith Lee's novels Message-ID: Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Kathryn wrote: << Gail, Gail, you must go off and read some of Tanith Lee's novels! >> Well, thank you very much. That is a GREAT idea! And thanks to Kathryn and all of the others (Julia, Penny and Calle) for the recommended Lee reading. Since, as you say, some of this is out of print (I think it's a crime that books go out of print so quickly!), I shall be haunting my local used bookstore and library to see what I can find. I also love Tanith Lee's Sand -- all of that "vampire-ical" sand (or is it the whole planet?) sucking the life out of people. It's another fun episode. Gail ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 13:56:20 +0200 From: "422ami" <422ami@nt52.parliament.bg> To: "Afenech" , "lysator" Subject: Re: [B7L] B7 & the Discworld Message-Id: <199901221155.MAA26264@samantha.lysator.liu.se> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit May I object you, Pat? It seems to me, that, if we make correlation, Avon would be much closer to Captain Vimes (see Cpt. Vimes' behaviour after his second conversation with the Patrician - "Men at arms"). And, whom would Blake look like to - may be to Carrot (from "Guards! Guards!", "Men at arms", "Interesting times") Hellen ---------- > > I see Avon as being more like the Patrician. > > Pat F -------------------------------- End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #39 *************************************