This is not directly related to Heathenism, but I felt that some of our readers might enjoy hearing about the incredibly aewsome Sci-Fi series I’m reading now.
The series is written by S. M. Stirling, whose works have been slowly working their way onto my favorites list for a while now.
The first books of his I read were the Falkenberg’s Legion Series, co-authored with Jerry Pournelle. They’re hard core military science fiction centered around a mercenary force hired to train and set up the army of the newly settled planet Sparta. I first discovered these when I was living in Brazil. There was a great big multi-lingual used bookstore in the city that was well stocked with military sci-fi and I’ve been hooked ever since.
The next books of Stirling’s I read were the Draka Series. These are more in the alternate history/military sci-fi genre, chronicling the takeover of the world by a race of Nietzchean supermen from South Africa. Inevitable comparisons to the Nazis are subverted only by having the Draka kick Nazi ass and enslave the entirety of Europe, as well as Asia and Africa.
Most recently I enjoyed reading his Nantucket Series, exploring the adventures of a small population of Americans who find themselves unexpectedly transported back to the year 1250 B.C.E. That’s a really fun one, filled with Indo-Europeans, Homeric Greeks, Egyptians and Babylonians running every which way.
But now I’ve starting reading a series from S. M. Stirling that I just had to share with you all. This is the Emberverse Series, which asks the question “What would happen if guns, bombs and electricity all just suddenly stopped working…for ever?”
Well, if you answered “it would be chaos and lots of people would die”, then give yourself a cookie. (Or don’t, if you’ve been following or nutrition posts.)
But there’s more! Some people would survive (and this is where it really gets fun!) and maybe some of those in the best position to survive would be the ones with skills applicable to surviving in a world without advanced technology. Ex-military, martial artists, hunters, horse wranglers, Wiccans, organic farmers, medieval re-enactors, living history types…wait, what, back up. WICCANS? You expect me to believe that WICCANS would be the people most likely to survive a technological Apocalypse?
Yeah, well, it makes some sense if you think about it. There’s a fair degree of crossover between Neo-Paganism, organic farming and the whole re-enactment/living-history vibe. If our hypothetical Wiccans were lucky enough to team up with a few hunters and ex-military types early on, they just might have what it takes.
Now, I grant you, this whole series would be made a whole lot more realistic if the primary protagonists had been Heathens and not Wiccans. (Everybody knows that Heathens are the hardcore survivalists and that Wiccans are just a bunch of tie-dyed hippies.) But from a mass market publication, I think we can understand that that may have been expecting too much. We almost get there, anyway, as the Wiccans’ strongest allies end up being a bunch of bear-skin wearing mercenaries with a Tolkien fetish.
Believability is not really the primary factor here, anyway. These books are fun! Particularly if you’re anything of a history buff and have ever wondered “wouldn’t it be great if we could all go back to fighting with swords and spears and arrows?” Well, here you have it. There’s plenty of good, gritty medieval combat action. There’s plenty of singing, home-brewing and old school country cooking. There are plenty of references to magic and mythology that fit in perfectly with the context of the story, without too much blurring of the line between fantasy and sci-fi.
I’m only on book two of the series, but so far I rate Emberverse two-thumbs-up. Start with Dies the Fire.
P.S. The primary action of this series is set around Portland and Oregon, which may or may not make this extra fun for certain individuals.
Thanks for these recommendations, Clint. I have to get into reading sci-fi literature. Some Philip K. Dick books are hiding here in my room that want to be read. But I have no time…
I never really got into Philip K. Dick.
If you want classics, go Heinlein. Awesome stuff.
I just ordered a copy of Dies the Fire from Amazon. I’d like to recommend a book for you. I do this with great trepidation because it is an unusual choice and my reasons for recommending it are even more unusual.
The book is Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins. It’s a bit of a girly book but it may well be worth it to overlook a few things to gain other benefits. The two main characters are Vidar and a mortal he loves, for the second time. Other characters include Odin, Thor, Heimdall, Loki, a delightful Vanir slave named Aud, the Norns, Vidar’s mother the giantess and a few strange wights and widgets. The setting spans the rainbow bridge from Asgard and Jotunheim to an island in the Norwegian Sea in Midgard. Chronologically it’s contemporary.
The magic for me lay in the descriptions of Asgard. Every time I read a chapter devoted to the characters there I had to lie down and take a nap and dream. I found the book to be a terrible inconvenience at work where I am allowed to read but sleeping is seriously frowned upon! The dreams were amazing and while I read the book I felt as though I were living in two worlds. My life in Asgard was as real as my life here.
While the author has a pretty good grasp on our Gods and their dramas I certainly didn’t agree with her in many regards. She depicts Odin as a totally corrupt spirit and gives Vidar a bit more to say than I would have – but I suppose that’s what happens when you make a silent god the hero of a novel, he’s got to say things now and then. Thor is depicted as one dimensional brutish and Heimdall is as well, but Vidar and Loki are very multidimensional and I was fond of them both, especially Loki whom I have an affinity for anyway.
I did have to wonder if perhaps her vision of Odin might not be true after a thousand years of no followers. A thousand years is a long time to be ignored. Might make me a bit cranky too. The other aspect I found interesting was that they made some mockery of us viewing them as gods. Perhaps they aren’t. Perhaps they are just another type of being in our vast and multidimensional universe.
There is much talk among Heathens about changing our world view from the good/evil dualistic paradigm of Christianity. This book did more to change my world view than literally a few thousand pages of the ideas of our peers. Because the author broke the “worship” mold for me by rendering the gods as vulnerable, flawed critters just of a different, albeit way more powerful, breed than me I was able to finally get off my knees and understand a symbiotic relationship with them, breaking that Christian meek and humble and guilty mode forever. So the author did my soul a great service.
But really, even beyond all that, the dreams! Everyday I was transported to Asgard and each day was more beautiful and wonderous than the one before it. My husband read it and even though, as I said, it’s a bit girlish, his dick didn’t fall off and his balls didn’t shrivel up and he actually enjoyed it. In fact, he apparently wants an Aud – the Vanir slave – of his very own.
I just finished reading The High King of Montival. I can say that there are Heathens, both Asatru and Anglo-Saxon.
Your remark about Wiccans is just stupid. There are many more Wiccans in the military than there are Heathens and many Wiccans are quite hard core and enjoy hunting and are ranchers and farmers. I say this being a Heathen.
“In fact, he apparently wants an Aud – the Vanir slave – of his very own.”
I am the “he” mentioned above. And I already have my very own Aud, she goes by @.
LowKey:
My comment on Wiccans was written with tongue firmly in cheek and intended to be taken that way. I actually considered adding in some kind of winking emoticon for those who might miss it, but decided to just run with the screaming all-caps and hope that was enough.
It is great to hear some actual Heathens turn up later in the series though, that’ll be a blast.
@:
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ve added that one to my amazon wish list.
Personally, I don’t mind unconventional portrayals of the gods at all, as long as some part of the story rings true. Have you read “Written in Venom”?
http://www.amazon.com/Written-Venom-Lois-Tilton/dp/1587151197/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292977082&sr=8-1
Read the Stirling series and it is really good. Especially if you are into post-apocalyptic scenarios. There were occasionally cheesy parts which bordered on being a little SCA-ish for my taste. But all in all a great story. Thrilling and gruesome and hopeful in an odd way. I like to think about what I might do in a similar scenario.
Reminds me a bit of the Fifth Sacred Thing in fact. Very good, very similar book … and similar criticisms.
Oh, and it is fun that it takes place in and around Portland. I’ve been to a lot of those places.
Yeah, that was pretty much my take too. Cheesy in parts, but I’m enough of a dork that I really don’t mind. It’s a “geeks shall inherit the earth” fantasy.
I’ve also always loved the whole post-apocalyptic thing. I’ll have to write a few of my own some day.
Besides, any book that has Recon Marines and SAS troopers running around in armour and getting into sword fights just has to be good.
Top marks go to Juniper Mackenzie for the bagpipes-inspired pregnant berserker charge, though.
And there’s a whole set of Asatru/Heathen who are met later on, in the second series!
I had a lot of fun doing these; glad you’re enjoying them.
Hey, thanks for stopping by.
Yeah, obviously, I’m enjoying them a lot. It’s reading stuff like this that makes me want to be a real writer myself, someday.