this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2024
89 points (98.9% liked)
askchapo
22816 readers
166 users here now
Ask Hexbear is the place to ask and answer ~~thought-provoking~~ questions.
Rules:
-
Posts must ask a question.
-
If the question asked is serious, answer seriously.
-
Questions where you want to learn more about socialism are allowed, but questions in bad faith are not.
-
Try [email protected] if you're having questions about regarding moderation, site policy, the site itself, development, volunteering or the mod team.
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Yes, I'm looking at you Ann McCafferey and whoever the fuck wrote The Reality Dysfunction series.
Runner up.
Reality Dysfunction was Peter F. Hamilton.
Oh yeah damn, I hadn't even thought about that. ick. : p
I have vague memories as a teenager reading The Night's Dawn books under the desk at school, getting really embarrassed by the multi-page hardcore sex scenes and the protagonist being, uh, a pretty bad person.
There's just something about Doorstop Sci-fi books that seem to lead their writers into trying their hand at fancy space smut.
It contrasted to Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series, which I read around the same time, where (IIRC) it's either wholesome romance or very obviously intended as something deeply unhealthy... although there was a lot of that!
Reality disfunction was hornt? Why don't I remember that. Weird. Oh wait. I looked it up. I fell off that one. Wasn't it terrible politically?
Less horny *from memory) that SA... I started reading the series at the second book probably over 10 years ago. I don't remember how horny the rest of the series was, but I recently found and tried to read the first book and there's was too much graphic descriptions of sexual assault that I had to stop reading it.
Like... I get that SA is a way to identify the "bad guys", but I really don't need it described.
Politically? I don't remember. There were some really nifty things that were described at how humanity had split itself into two factions but I don't remember it being anything that stood out as "oh shit this is bad".
In the way of old sci-fi it was pro monarchy, specifically anti union, libertarian, somewhat objectivist. Pro collectivist insofar as it allowed for orgies. So just a mess all over.
I remember the royal family was specifically referenced as trustworthy because they were too rich to bribe. Which is the most powerful reddit brained idea.
If I ever get back into trying the first book and rereading the series, I'll be sure pay attention.
My memory is foggy but I thought the Edenists were the collectivist branch of humanity and the Adamists had the monarchy. (I'm also very lazy and am not going to look this up right now.)
But yeah, "too rich to bribe" is kinda juvenile thinking.
At one point they go to planet that recreates a 1800s England and there a scene about how unions ruin everything. Also some weird sexual violence so the politics are rough. I seems to me the book isn't worth going back to but if you feel different I'd hear your assessment.
That sounds like what the "baddies" of this series were doing with their undead soul powers.