^TagFantasy

Summer Storm, Monument Valley, Navajo Nation, Utah, USA

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
July 8, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts and Culture, Fantasy, HBO, Native Americans, Nihilism, Robots, Science fiction, Season One Westworld, The Last Jedi, Westworld}

Westworld: Episode 4 Review

_{If nothing matters, then why are we doing this?} _{Gary Varner

July 8, 2023

7

Arts & Culture}

Episode three spent a great deal of time simply building the characters and world but had one good scene that explored some interesting ideas about consciousness. Episode Four has a lot more action and much less depth. It does; however, feed us some nihilistic nonsense along the way, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. In the first scene, we return to a glass room where Bernard is once again talking to Dolores. She expresses concern about her world, and this seems to be the first time Bernard has heard her communicating thoughts that are somewhat independent of her programming. So, he gives her a wooden toy he calls The Maze and tells her that if she can find the Read More ›

Dark knight illustration, medieval era wizard, fantasy concept. Generative AI

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
June 11, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Arts and Culture, Astronomy, C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, Holly Ordway, J.R.R. Tolkien, science, Science fiction, The Lord of the Rings}

J.R.R. Tolkien on Science Fiction

_{The master storyteller was more open to sci-fi and tech than the stereotype lets on} _{Peter Biles

June 11, 2023

5

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

In early 2021, literary scholar Holly Ordway published a deep dive into J.R.R. Tolkien’s reading habits. The celebrated author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit was a linguist and medievalist at Oxford for decades until his death in 1973. Based on his immersion in ancient literature, people often assume that Tolkien despised all things modern – including modern books. Even C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “No one ever influenced Tolkien–you might as well try to influence a Bandersnatch.” Today’s conception of Tolkien stereotypically portrays him as a curmudgeon who refused to engage with modernity. Ordway, however, pushes back against such an image and lays out a comprehensive case for Tolkien’s interest in contemporary literature, including the Read More ›

The surface of Venus, the irregularities of the planet. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
March 23, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Andy Weir, C.S. Lewis, Enchantment, Fantasy, Mars, Materialism, Outer Space, Perelandra, Science fiction, Technical science, Technology, That Hideous Strength (book), The Chronicles of Narnia}

C.S. Lewis and Science Fiction

_{Sci-fi can reveal that you don't necessarily need to visit Mars to find the bizarre and beautiful} _{Peter Biles

March 23, 2023

4

Arts & Culture}

The 20th-century intellectual, novelist, poet, and popular theologian C.S. Lewis was a rare bird. He spent most of his life embedded in the academic world, to which he contributed greatly, but was also a lover of fairy tales and the dystopian. His long-held affection for fantasy and science fiction led him to write some of the most popular fictional works in recent memory, most notably The Chronicles of Narnia and what’s commonly known as the “space trilogy,” though Lewis himself objected to the term “space” as an adequate descriptor of what he viewed as a vibrant and meaningful cosmos. In a more obscure Lewis title, Of Other Worlds, Lewis writes of his appreciation for science fiction and what makes the Read More ›

Man and girl in post apocalyptic city. The last of us style. Generative AI.

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post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 4, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Apocalypticism, Fantasy, Gary Varner, HBO Max, Sci-fi, Science fiction, The Last of Us, TV shows}

The Last of Us Review: Episode 2

_{A rather slow episode despite the sonar zombies} _{Gary Varner

March 4, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

Last time, we looked at the first episode of The Last of Us and talked about how it was well written, but if you are aware of the controversy surrounding this game and its sequel, then you know bad things are on the horizon. Once we reach episode two, the writing quality drops a little but not much. It’s still pretty good, at least, when it’s consistent with the source material. Ellie wakes up to find Joel and Tess staring at her with a loaded gun. Her guardians are having a hard time believing that she is not infected with the virus despite the fact that her wound has healed. There is a brief debate about whether or not to Read More ›