I looked back at the Hyperion Cantos series and my review of Endymion, by Dan Simmons. You can read my original review here. I remembered it was like an epic journey from planet to planet, and I did a retro book review on YouTube. So, how does it stack up compared to my original review? Check out my video.
Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments below!
From the moment I started this blog until now, I have done 1,999 blog posts. This is the 2,000th blog post! A couple days ago, I asked you to ask me some questions for a major milestone, and this is it! It’s hard to believe that I’ve now made 2,000 blog posts.
So, let’s get into the questions. They’re not easy.
The first question comes from my sister, leeannarcher.
What is your favourite location on your world of Ariadne?
I can’t go into much detail about this, since I don’t have finalised names for a lot of the places, but I’d have to say for now, I like New Brasilia. It’s the second colonial site, and it’s situated on an inland sea in a tropical rain forest. It will eventually be a major city and a very important one in the series.
Next up are some questions from Myrea.
If you could be any animal in the world, which would it be and why?
Could you ask anything any more difficult? Well, I like living a long time, so I wouldn’t want to be a short-lived animal. I always thought I wanted to have a dog or cat’s life, but they don’t live long enough for me. Maybe a parrot. They live long, they can fly, and they can talk! That’s what I’d like to be.
What was your favourite book when you were a child?
The encyclopedia. And that’s the reason I named this blog I Read Encyclopedias for Fun.
Which “authors answer” is your favourite and which is your least favourite?
To be honest, I really, really loved #52, where I brought some much more established authors in to contribute for just one question. That was a lot of fun, mostly because I got to communicate with some well-known authors, even if they declined. Though this month has had some really fun Authors Answers. My least favourite is much more difficult, because I haven’t really thought about it. I don’t think I can answer that one.
Who do you look up to most in the author world?
Also a difficult question. I have some favourites, but the one I was reading when I started developing my world is probably the one I look up to the most. But also partially because she is what got me into worldbuilding. And that is Anne McCaffrey, the author of the Pern series.
And finally, I got several questions from Gradmama2011!
If you could combine the best qualities of life in Japan and those in Canada, what would the combination be like?
Very interesting question! While both countries are quite similar in terms of quality of life, there are some things I prefer about Japan, and some I prefer about Canada. First of all, what I’d like from Japan are the transportation system and convenience stores. The way the transportation system is built make it so easy to get around quickly without relying on cars. I love the train system. As for convenience stores, there’s always one within a 5 minute walk from wherever you are. If I had to add anything else, I’d say that I love the atmosphere and history of the place. Oh, and the climate. And can’t forget the quality of customer service!
What I’d take from Canada are the friendliness of people, cost of health care and education, and central heating. People in Canada tend to be friendlier in public than in Japan. It’s real friendliness, while Japanese politeness is a social responsibility, and not genuine (a lot of the time, that is). People in Canada will say “hi” to strangers when walking down the street. That never happens in Japan’s big cities. Health care in Canada is free (paid for by taxes), but not in Japan. Our daughter’s birth cost a lot of money. In Canada, there would’ve been no cost to us. As for education, kindergarten is free in Canada, but not in Japan. Public school is free in both countries, but private schools and cram schools are extremely popular in Japan. I’m glad the public school system in Canada is good. And finally, central heating. I’m not cold in winter in Canada!
If it were up to you to choose what your daughter would be like when she is an adult, what would you prescribe for her?
First, I’ll just say that I would never choose how she would be as an adult. She’s her own person, so I want her to be her, not what we want her to be. But I would hope that she would be kind and considerate and go for what she desires. Life is short, so you should be able to live life to its fullest. I would also want her to be strong against any kind of discrimination or injustices.
When you sit down to write, do you have an idea in mind? Or do you just wing it and start out with what pops out? Do you keep a notebook or other list of things to write about?
Three questions in one! When I sit down to write, I always have an idea in mind, whether it’s my fiction or blog posts. I never wing it. However, I do let the story write itself, in a way. I don’t want to rigidly plan everything. I like it to flow naturally. And I do keep a notebook, but many of my notes are spread out between notebooks, my phone’s Notes app, my computer’s desktop, and a couple folders of loose papers.
If you were told that in 30 years you will be permitted to go out into space to a planet that is being colonized with Earth people…..how would you begin to prepare for that journey? You may take ten items besides clothing…what would they be?
Interesting question. Of course, it would be difficult for me to leave my family, unless they come with me. Hopefully, they aren’t one of the ten items. I would definitely make sure any loose ends are taken care of here on Earth. Ten things I would take:
What if the people on the Colony all speak different languages, but otherwise are of similar age and educational background? Would that present a major problem for you?
I don’t think that would be much of a problem. I like languages, and have studied a small amount of several languages. I’d definitely study a lot more in the next 30 years, though. But I would wonder about a colony of people who are all around 70 years old. It would be unsustainable!
If it is up to you to decide who, what…etc. gets to go to the new planet, how would you decide? Lets say you have complete say-so, who gets to go, where they are from, what they know, all features. No relatives or friends…just all the people of the world to pick from.
I don’t care about where they’re from, but I would hope they’re all educated and have skills that are useful for a colony. They must have ambition, but are well-balanced and not power hungry. They’d need to pass psychiatric tests to make sure they are well-adjusted people. I’d like them all to be generous, excellent at teamwork, and not self-absorbed. I’d need a good balance of scientists, engineers, construction workers, farmers, teachers, planners, artists, architects, and doctors. Of course, there may be more kinds of people we need, but no politicians or career military. Some ability to use weapons for defense only may be required if there’s hostile life on the planet, though.
So, those are all the questions! Thank you everyone for all of your questions, and I especially thank all of my readers for coming here regularly. That’s 2,000 blog posts, and hopefully we can do something again when it reaches 3,000 (in about a year and a half, I think).
And of course, comments are always welcome! I look forward to reading them.
I Read Encyclopedias for Fun 