Eleanor Arnason

A triumph of the author's imagination, "A Woman of the Iron People" was an entertaining read. At the same time, it was worrisome because of the fact that HUmans proliferate too much and are hateful and destructive, so now I'm worried about the future of the planet they invaded. At the ending, the shamaness tells them to stay on their island, and not to bring more HUmans from the ship, but in the last chapter, it is questionable if they are obeying those orders. See how believable Arnason made her craft?… (more)

There are three pieces in this mini-collection: The title novella, an essay on what SF's social duty is, and an extended interview with the *fascinating* Author Arnason. All are worthy of your $8 and your eyeblinks. About that novella:

Honestly, I think I should simply put this in front of you:

"The thing your teachers may not have told you is how full of hope the late '60s were. Yes, there was violence. The police and FBI and National Guard were dangerous. Plenty of people—good people—died in fishy ways; and plenty went to prison for things they almost certainly did not do. But the times were changing, and many of us thought we were building a new world in the shell of the old. As it turned out, we were wrong, at least for the time being. The '60s wound down slowly through the '70s, and in 1980 Ronald Reagan began a long period of reaction."

...issue an apology for my entire generation for allowing the calamity that was Reagan's rule, and go quietly away. In fact, I suspect many (some even related to me) would like that a lot. So I won't do it.

But you *will* need to visit Ye Olde Blogge for the full text. That much trimming isn't worth my time.… (more)