Eccentric Flower talk:200907/Why Mutants Dont Help

ProfRobert:

I think the writers also got it right with Khan from Star Trek. He behaved exactly as you might expect someone like him to behave. As for superkids, Bewitched dealt with that when Tabitha was born, and Harry Potter dealt with it, too.

-- 16:55, 23 July 2009 (BST)

Columbina:

Yup. Those two are in some ways more superficial treatments of the ideas I'd like to go into, but they're definitely in that territory, as are the better bits of King's Firestarter.

-- 17:25, 23 July 2009 (BST)

Danima:

(let's see if I can get the quote syntax right this time:)

Yes. So did Octavia Butler, back in (thirty-second pause for research) 1976 -- along with virtually every issue that you raise here, and without McCaffery's addiction to everything working out for the good. I know you have issues with her, WRT Dawn, and I respect that. But as long as you keep saying that no one has addressed ideas that she explored in the Patternist books, I'm going to keep recommending them to you.

I think you'll especially like Mind of My Mind. Everyone's really fucked up and abusive in that one, in ways that are congruent with your observations here.

-- 18:13, 23 July 2009 (BST)

Settsimaksimin:

i think one big assumption you're making about the hypothetical group of mutants is that they'd have a cooperative group motivation that's stronger than us plain old humans have! they might have reason to get along if they're at a level where they're still easily controlled by a military force, but beyond that all bets are off. they could end up being squabbling superpowered versions of your average internet denizen. ;)

i'm still partial to Alan Moore's look at metahuman implications in Miracleman; both the ending situation where he sets up humanity like an endangered species in a zoo exhibit, and wife Liz Moran's terror over her beautiful but inhuman infant.

have you looked at the webcomic Freakangels? it looks at some of the same issues.

(Danima: any recommendations for a first Butler book? she's been on my radar but i've never taken the plunge.)

-- 20:26, 23 July 2009 (BST)

Columbina:

Settsimaksimin: That occurred to me. I was operating on the idea that the commonality of the metahumans (i.e. "at least we're not those guys") and their shared desire to be rid of/away from the normal world would override any intramural squabbling.

But once they took over the world, or left it, all bets would then be off.

-- 20:35, 23 July 2009 (BST)

Danima:

Settsimaksimin: It kind of depends on whether you want an intro to all of her work, just the Patternist series, or if you only want to read one book of hers.

Even though she considered herself a novelist who had also written some short stories, I think that the collection Blood Child gives a good introduction to her interests as a writer.

Other than that, it depends on what you're looking for. Drop a note on the discussion tab of my (currently-blank) user page, and I'll take it from there.

-- 18:42, 27 July 2009 (BST)

Ysabel:

Have you read The Terrillian by Sharon Green?

It's out of print, I believe, but see if you can find a used copy of the five-book series. It would both appeal to you for reasons relevant to this post as well as for other reasons entirely.

-- 21:52, 29 July 2009 (BST)

Settsimaksimin:

i don't know what your Warren Ellis Tolerance Level is, but he's doing something coming up called 'Supergod' that seems to look at these themes:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/09/03/preview-of-supergod-by-warren-ellis-and-garrie-gastonny/

-- 18:33, 3 September 2009 (BST)