MICHAEL%MAINE.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA (08/06/85)
From: MICHAEL%MAINE.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA (Michael Johnson) First off, Sue Brezden asked (quite a few issues back) if there were any stories dealing with alien races that start expanding/invading/enslaving etc. because of religeous zealousness. There is indeed such a story. The theme makes an appearance in Jack Chalker's "Flux and Anchor" series. >>>>>>>>>>>> MILD SPOILER WARNING <<<<<<<<<<<<< The series deals with a society of humans that are living on a world which is obviously not earth. In the last book of the series, they discover that they were originally a colony from Earth and that they were cut off because the invaders were about to come down their throats. These invaders have the idea that they are the Chosen Ones of the universe. I won't tell you how it comes out. However, this brings me to my next point, which is... >>>>>>>>>>>> END SPOILER <<<<<<<<<<<<< Stories That Deal With Co-existant Magic And Technology. Two of Chalker's current series deal with this (maybe he has developed a fascination for the subject). The series are his "Dancing Gods" and the above-mentioned "Flux and Anchor" series. The "Flux and Anchor" series deals more deeply with the subject, but "Dancing Gods" is more fun. Piers Anthony also seems to like this one. Someone else already mentioned that his "Incarnations of Immortality" is rife with this theme. Having read both of the books already out a couple of times, it strikes me that he has managed to actually use magic AS technology, if you get my meaning. An interesting mix. Other stories of his that deal with the theme are his "Tarot" trilogy (which actually uses it more as a vehicle for the real purpose of the story). Robert Heinlen used the idea in at least one place in "The Number of The Beast" (which I liked, though it may damn me eternally to admit). Niven used the idea in more than one story line. I believe someone already mentioned that he used it in his "Warlock" stories. He also wrote a number of stories starring an inept bungler named Svetz that are collected in his anthology "The Flight of the Horse" which are quite good. The theme figures quite strongly in Marion Zimmer Bradley's excellent interpretation of the Arthurian legends, "The Mists of Avalon". I believe she also uses it in her Darkover novels, though I have never actually read them. Those are all that I can remember right off the top of my head. I suspect that there are many other places where authors have used the idea, since it is one that has so much potential. One last point. A while back, someone made reference to "The Trojan Horse" as a story while discussing Mad Max. As a long time lover of mythology, be it classic or otherwise, I feel compelled to mention that the Trojan Horse story is only one small part of a pair of incredible works by Homer, the Classical Greek poet. These are the Iliad and the Odyssey. The former is an account of the ten-year long siege of the city of Troy by the princes of Greece and their associated armies. The second is the tale of the adventures that befall Odysseus, one of the heroes of the the Trojan War, as he attempts to return home. Homer manages to tie a lot of the (then existing) mythology into these two stories and a lot of the episodes therein are taken out and used in other pieces of literature. References to these two works can be found in much of modern literature. If you've never read either or both of these stories, it would be well worth your while to find a good interpretation of them and settle back for a grand and glorious adventure in literature. To those of you whom I may have offended by implying that you lack culture, or are unread, I apologize in advance. Mike Johnson