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Sep. 18th, 2009 10:45 amI'm off to Troy for Pendragon later today. Just thought I should let you all know.
Sep. 18th, 2009
Having finished Five Hundred Years After
Sep. 18th, 2009 10:51 amPoint 1: I liked it a great deal, and knowing the event it was building up to didn't lessen the impact of said event.
Point 2: Since it's been in discussion lately, congrats to Steven Brust for passing the Bechdel test, and moreover doing so within a novel whose primary protagonist is male.
Rule 1: There must be at least two female characters.
Accomplished and then some. There are a number of female mains (Tazendra, Sethra, Aliera, Daro), and the characters in the background are pretty much 50/50. This is helped by the fact that Brust's Dragaeran society is professionally very equal. The random guard, general, bartender or farmer mentioned can be male, female or we might never even learn one way or the other.
Rule 2: The female characters must talk to each other.
Yes, they do. The most notable conversations are those between Sethra and Aliera, and Sethra and Tazendra.
Rule 3: ...About something other than men
To use the example of Sethra and Aliera's first meeting, they spend a few minutes being hostile toward one another (Aliera is investigating without authorization in a case she may be a suspect in), they proceed to geek about forensic techniques, ignoring Khaavren completely. Sure, the victim whose death they're investigating is male, but I don't think that counts.
Applying this rule to race, which I've also seen done, gets trickier since this is not our world. As far as the physical makeup of the cast goes, the House of Dzur seems to have some Asian (visual) traits, and contrary to being paired with the modern Asian stereotype of quiet studiousness, the Dzur are known for hotbloodedness and their love for battle and its glory. People who've read more can probably offer further comment, though again, the comparison gets rather spurious, since the characters are not even human, exactly.
Point 2: Since it's been in discussion lately, congrats to Steven Brust for passing the Bechdel test, and moreover doing so within a novel whose primary protagonist is male.
Rule 1: There must be at least two female characters.
Accomplished and then some. There are a number of female mains (Tazendra, Sethra, Aliera, Daro), and the characters in the background are pretty much 50/50. This is helped by the fact that Brust's Dragaeran society is professionally very equal. The random guard, general, bartender or farmer mentioned can be male, female or we might never even learn one way or the other.
Rule 2: The female characters must talk to each other.
Yes, they do. The most notable conversations are those between Sethra and Aliera, and Sethra and Tazendra.
Rule 3: ...About something other than men
To use the example of Sethra and Aliera's first meeting, they spend a few minutes being hostile toward one another (Aliera is investigating without authorization in a case she may be a suspect in), they proceed to geek about forensic techniques, ignoring Khaavren completely. Sure, the victim whose death they're investigating is male, but I don't think that counts.
Applying this rule to race, which I've also seen done, gets trickier since this is not our world. As far as the physical makeup of the cast goes, the House of Dzur seems to have some Asian (visual) traits, and contrary to being paired with the modern Asian stereotype of quiet studiousness, the Dzur are known for hotbloodedness and their love for battle and its glory. People who've read more can probably offer further comment, though again, the comparison gets rather spurious, since the characters are not even human, exactly.
New round of games for Intercon J posted
Sep. 18th, 2009 11:41 amA Night at the Eden Opera House - sounds interesting. Could definitely be a contender.
Fuzzies!LIVE - I'm really not sure what this is all about.
Limbo! - Eh, I'm neutral.
Oz - More likely to play in the WPI run if I wind up playing. The blurb makes it sound like a game style I'm rather awful at (political negotiation), but I could be wrong about that.
ETA: Talked to GM. Much more interpersonal than the blurb led me to believe. Signing up for the WPI run.
Replaying a Classic: Mary Celeste - ...So this is like the Clarence version of MC? Could be interesting, but I'm more likely to take a non-meta game unless this is Sunday morning.
The Other Other* All Batman Game - Sunday morning game. I'm neutral.
Tonight at Eight - Still not my cuppa.
What to Do About Tam Lin - On one hand, this sounds really cool. On the other hand, I've never heard of the GMs, and I do NOT want a repeat of Tithing Times (another fae-based game, which I got a throwaway character and had a miserable time in).
Fuzzies!LIVE - I'm really not sure what this is all about.
Limbo! - Eh, I'm neutral.
Oz - More likely to play in the WPI run if I wind up playing. The blurb makes it sound like a game style I'm rather awful at (political negotiation), but I could be wrong about that.
ETA: Talked to GM. Much more interpersonal than the blurb led me to believe. Signing up for the WPI run.
Replaying a Classic: Mary Celeste - ...So this is like the Clarence version of MC? Could be interesting, but I'm more likely to take a non-meta game unless this is Sunday morning.
The Other Other* All Batman Game - Sunday morning game. I'm neutral.
Tonight at Eight - Still not my cuppa.
What to Do About Tam Lin - On one hand, this sounds really cool. On the other hand, I've never heard of the GMs, and I do NOT want a repeat of Tithing Times (another fae-based game, which I got a throwaway character and had a miserable time in).