[Michigan]

oops, I mean Saturn. Anybody ever read Cradle of Saturn by James Hogan? Had it laying around so decided to give it a try, wondering if I should bother to finish it. It's getting bogged down in politics, both the kind in the book and probably the authors too. I mean, socialism? Really? Aren't we past that?

[psikeyhackr]

oops, I mean Saturn. Anybody ever read Cradle of Saturn by James Hogan? Had it laying around so decided to give it a try, wondering if I should bother to finish it. It's getting bogged down in politics, both the kind in the book and probably the authors too. I mean, socialism? Really? Aren't we past that?

I started it but lost interest even though I mostly like Hogan's stuff.

Talk about Capitalism and Socialism and Communism is mostly propagandistic bullshit. Ain't it curious that the capitalists talking about the FREE MARKET don't suggest that accounting be mandatory in the schools? Oh yeah, the workers are supposed to be dumb consumers making the capitalists richer. So why don't communists and unions suggest it?

All leaders want followers to be dummies.

psik

[Hobbit]

Edited the title, Mich, to make it clearer.

Think you'll find there's still a lot of readers interested in such views, even though, as you say, we may have moved on. It's a bit like reading spy novels from the 1960's, I guess: even though things have changed, some still like to read them.

As for Cradle of Saturn, there's a reason for that: written 1999. At that time there was a lot of this stuff about - very much in the Analog/Baen Books style. Perhaps more in the 80's than 90's (Thinking Ben Bova, amongst others) but still there....

And now even the shuttle's gone....

Mark

[Michigan]

Edited the title, Mich, to make it clearer.

Think you'll find there's still a lot of readers interested in such views, even though, as you say, we may have moved on. It's a bit like reading spy novels from the 1960's, I guess: even though things have changed, some still like to read them.

As for Cradle of Saturn, there's a reason for that: written 1999. At that time there was a lot of this stuff about - very much in the Analog/Baen Books style. Perhaps more in the 80's than 90's (Thinking Ben Bova, amongst others) but still there....

And now even the shuttle's gone....

Mark

Yeah I would have expected to read something pushing socialism if it was an older book, 1999 seems fairly recent to me. It does remind me of something by Bova or Clarke, or kinda even Heinlein, dealing alot with the politics and corrupt governments in a near earth setting. Do I finish it or just move on to Terminal World.

[Hobbit]

If it helps, I usually don't mind them, as long as you read them in context: or accept they are different, sort've like a parallel world version.

But I can see why many might not want to read them: and they're certainly different to Terminal World... !

Mark

[suciul]

The main problem with Cradle of Saturn is its Velikovskian crackpotism the late author was so fond of; now Hubbard founded a religion, Van Vogt was a convert to it, so I guess that's one of the risks of being a sf author; if you are willing to swallow Velikovskianism, Cradle is ok'ish as a disaster novel, better as such than most disaster novels I've read, but since I tend to dislike such that's not much...

If you want Hogan, last year's Migration (the last published work in his lifetime) is much better