tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post7496974273961011524..comments2024-03-17T23:41:39.161-06:00Comments on Steampunk Scholar: I'll be Holmes for Christmas, or Sherlock Holmes and the case of the missing holidayMike Perschonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-5345363013901486382012-01-09T13:48:03.496-07:002012-01-09T13:48:03.496-07:00@michael
Michael Moorcock's Gloriana is set i...@michael<br /><br />Michael Moorcock's Gloriana is set in a world without Christianity, and Kirk Mitchell's Germanicus trilogy is set in a world where Christianity never took off.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233238451356532910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-60261888856050899662011-12-23T03:47:19.341-07:002011-12-23T03:47:19.341-07:00The relationship between speculative fiction and r...The relationship between speculative fiction and religion is always an interesting one--and I hope (and perhaps should pray to Saint Cuthbert of the Cudgel) that someday you write the definitive book on the subject; or failing that supervise the PhD dissertation on it. <br /><br />Oh, and I managed to dig up something I read awhile aback on 'implicit Christianity in Dungeons of Dragons' that might interest you: http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/12/implicit-christianity-of-early-gaming.html<br /><br />I will look out for Annie Lennox. I find personally that Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band offer the best for decent old-fashioned carols. And on that note, may you and your family have a very Happy Christmas!Ostiariushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03381755316766273496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-74792256378868309232011-12-20T13:59:17.705-07:002011-12-20T13:59:17.705-07:00D.A., I'm assuming those or two separate thoug...D.A., I'm assuming those or two separate thoughts, or I'm hunting down the medieval fantasy inspired by Bing Crosby.<br /><br />Yes, I think medieval fantasy is a prime candidate for the same discussion. After so many years of fantasy gaming, where the hell is my cleric/paladin quest? Oh - I'm writing it, that's right.<br /><br />Have you heard Annie Lennox's Christmas album? It's got more old-world feel. As does anything by Loreena McKennitt.Mike Perschonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-43922415943749963812011-12-20T05:19:18.861-07:002011-12-20T05:19:18.861-07:00Could your thoughts on the absence of Christianity...Could your thoughts on the absence of Christianity extend to speculative literature as a whole? Medieval fantasy comes to mind?<br /><br />In response to Klinger, I wish one heard more 19th c. carols, and less Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby et al., catering to the tastes of nostalgia-sodden babyboomers!Ostiariushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03381755316766273496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-77643092710948003372011-12-17T07:42:19.324-07:002011-12-17T07:42:19.324-07:00You might be right, L, but I'd say it comes as...You might be right, L, but I'd say it comes as much from lazy assumptions about history (this has happened to First Nations people entirely in one alternate history in particular) and personal bias (you can get rid of whatever you don't like - a world without religion!). Thanks for the kudos!Mike Perschonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-63963360518940533872011-12-17T05:39:03.188-07:002011-12-17T05:39:03.188-07:00Coming from left field here, but perhaps the lack ...Coming from left field here, but perhaps the lack of Christianity in these works is due to something as mundane as marketing...making it appealing to the broadest swathe possible? Sounds shallow, but that's what I always guessed myself. <br /><br />I agree with the need of the literature to retain something of the Church and other religions in one form or another (since they had such a deep presence in the actual 19th century) *or* a careful secularism, which as a reader, I do find a treat, if not historically accurate :)<br /><br />And PS-love the blog! kudos from another academic and steampunk fan!Liz Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943612296446635511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-67630496777465512622011-12-16T15:34:27.809-07:002011-12-16T15:34:27.809-07:00Amen. In my (non-existent) spare time, I've oc...Amen. In my (non-existent) spare time, I've occasionally wondered how hard it would be to write an alternative history story without the advent of Christianity. Suppose Mary's "fiat" was a "nyet" instead; two or three thousand years later, it seems doubtful we'd have the bland irreligious humanism supposed by Asimov and other golden age writers. I'm imagining more of a Romanesque polyglot pluralism, with overlapping levels of philosophies (from pseudo-atheistic mechanical Epicureanism to organic 'Eastern' mysticism), cults both new (technomancy) and old (Apollo and Aphrodite), and above all other allegiances, the imperial religion of Industrial capitalism and nationalism. (Assuming that we still get an Industrial revolution, for the sake of the genre.) And, of course, the continuing existence of Diaspora Judaism, the only recognizably "modern" religion from our perspective as readers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com