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3.0 AVERAGE
3.0 AVERAGE
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2308871.html[return][return]For all the primacy of Frankenstein, I reckon this must be one of the earliest known sf books by a woman, at least in English. The Duchess of Newcastle was a well-known eccentric of Restoration England - Samuel Pepys has several awestruck entries in his diary about simply wanting to look at her in astonishment, including her visit to the Royal Society - and wrote various pieces including this exploration of politics, science, religion and learning from 1668. [return][return]Her unnamed heroine, kidnapped by sea from her home, is blown by storms to the North Pole and thence to another world which adjoins ours there. The inhabitants immediately make her their Empress, and we then settle down for a hundred pages or so of exposition and world-building, some of it a little satirical, some simply speculative and imaginative (some of it perhaps inspired by her visit to the Royal Society the previous year). The Empress then causes further point-of-view confusion by inviting the Duchess of Newcastle to come visit her on her own planet, and, using otherworldly technology, exterminates all of England's military enemies to ensure that Britain can be Top Nation. [return][return]It's a undisciplined, rollicking, diverting ramble through the mind of one of the era's most interesting personalities, and I'm really surprised that it is not better known - I think I came across it only browsing Wikipedia, though I then found an essay about it in Speculative Fiction 2012 when I was already half way through. I also detect one or two elements which surely Swift must have put directly into Gullver's Travels; he would surely have known and read this.
I don’t often read books from the 1600s, so Margaret Cavendish’s proto-sci-fi works collected in [b:The Blazing World and Other Writings|354620|The Blazing World and Other Writings|Margaret Cavendish|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328042370l/354620._SY75_.jpg|51879212] was a unique experience. Seeing past visions of distant futures never fails to fascinate me, for they are typically more telling of the time period in which they are written, more so than anything else.
The titular The Blazing World centers on a woman who slips into an alternate world filled with anthropomorphized animals who occupy this new utopia. All are ruled under the Empress, and with her total rule all are able to live in true harmony. This was purposely written as a hopeful future, which is quite different from most other early sci-fi authors who tended to spin more bleak fears and concerns into twisted tales.
While it is kind of cool to see a female protagonist delve into an envisioned future ruled by a matriarch, Cavendish’s love of absolute sovereign rule is more than a bit heavy-handed and in-your-face (and this is present throughout the entire body of work). After all, it is only a utopia because everyone is falling in line and following orders from someone who inherited their role. Given my own present-day, democratically-minded perspective, this story felt a more so like a bucolic horror, though I doubt that was the author’s intention.
Overall, it was definitely a unique reading experience, so if material like this sounds appealing then feel free to pick up a copy.
The titular The Blazing World centers on a woman who slips into an alternate world filled with anthropomorphized animals who occupy this new utopia. All are ruled under the Empress, and with her total rule all are able to live in true harmony. This was purposely written as a hopeful future, which is quite different from most other early sci-fi authors who tended to spin more bleak fears and concerns into twisted tales.
While it is kind of cool to see a female protagonist delve into an envisioned future ruled by a matriarch, Cavendish’s love of absolute sovereign rule is more than a bit heavy-handed and in-your-face (and this is present throughout the entire body of work). After all, it is only a utopia because everyone is falling in line and following orders from someone who inherited their role. Given my own present-day, democratically-minded perspective, this story felt a more so like a bucolic horror, though I doubt that was the author’s intention.
Overall, it was definitely a unique reading experience, so if material like this sounds appealing then feel free to pick up a copy.
when I tried to read this three years ago, I rated it 3/5.
to be fair, it is such a chaotic narrative... very hard to follow, and so much weird pseudo-scientific 17th c. stuff in there.
but now that I appreciate the context (this is 1666 and novels really did not exist! even for a hundred years after this, novels – in the way we enjoy them now – did not really exist) and allowed myself to sink into it a bit more, I actually found this very interesting.
some fascinating and surprising implications about gender, empire, art, language, fiction, everything!
absolutely would recommend. quite readable for its time.
to be fair, it is such a chaotic narrative... very hard to follow, and so much weird pseudo-scientific 17th c. stuff in there.
but now that I appreciate the context (this is 1666 and novels really did not exist! even for a hundred years after this, novels – in the way we enjoy them now – did not really exist) and allowed myself to sink into it a bit more, I actually found this very interesting.
some fascinating and surprising implications about gender, empire, art, language, fiction, everything!
absolutely would recommend. quite readable for its time.
I’ve noticed most of the more negative reviews regard this book as boring... it’s from the 17th century and, especially part 1 of The Blazing World, is more so a series of questions asked to various experts of this new world.
I really enjoyed this and continue to reflect on little details while I fold laundry. My girlfriend also read this and really loved the world building. I found I enjoyed the “The Blazing World” as a sort of door to our own world- reminding me to ask more questions, especially regarding the natural world. (I ended up reading a lot about moths after one of the Empress’s questions about the presence of blood as a requirement for creatures to be considered living organisms).
The Blazing World is the longest of the stories (about 100 pages) but the other stories are still enjoyable.
As an Aside:
“The Contract” was a fun and quick read compared to “The Blazing World.” Though Cavendish obviously came first, “The Contract” reminded me of a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald called “The Camel’s Back”, which I found to be pretty hilarious.
I really enjoyed this and continue to reflect on little details while I fold laundry. My girlfriend also read this and really loved the world building. I found I enjoyed the “The Blazing World” as a sort of door to our own world- reminding me to ask more questions, especially regarding the natural world. (I ended up reading a lot about moths after one of the Empress’s questions about the presence of blood as a requirement for creatures to be considered living organisms).
The Blazing World is the longest of the stories (about 100 pages) but the other stories are still enjoyable.
As an Aside:
“The Contract” was a fun and quick read compared to “The Blazing World.” Though Cavendish obviously came first, “The Contract” reminded me of a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald called “The Camel’s Back”, which I found to be pretty hilarious.
I love the way Cavendish crafts her worlds, even if she is sometimes a bit too philosophical for me. “And in the formation of those worlds, I take more delight and glory, than ever Alexander or Caesar did” pretty much sums it up and inspires me to write.
I can't really properly review this without stripping it away and touching on it's smaller parts which would be a great disservice to Margaret Cavendish who created such an amazing world in this Blazing World. She sought to fix the problems with her own world as "The Lady" later deemed "The Empress" learns from her many subjects the workings on their world, some drawn from our own.
The Blazing World is inhabited by fishman and other fish-like men (sirens) with satyrs and giants along with a bevy of other creatures which looked like themselves but walked upright like men (fox-men, bear-men, bird-men). There are ships of gold and ships of leather, each with two seemingly wind powered engines that propelled them forward (one which went against the waves). It's stuff like this and the extravagant cities filled with gold and diamonds and garnets that make this story unique.
I can see other parts where people might feel that Margaret Cavendish made The Empress a bit of a Mary Sue with a literal self insert character, but it was all about self reflection and more a witty take on her own life and the life of her friend The Empress. In something that is written in such a conversational manner, you being told a recount of the story instead of reading the events yourself, you can still relate and admire the characters which I found was fairly surprising and interesting.
I mainly picked this up from a meme that said Mary Shelley was the mother of science fiction, but everyone touted Margaret Cavendish's The Blazing World as the true source. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much, but I did. I will say you should listen to the audiobook instead of reading it. I found a great copy on LibriVox thanks to my friend.
The Blazing World is inhabited by fishman and other fish-like men (sirens) with satyrs and giants along with a bevy of other creatures which looked like themselves but walked upright like men (fox-men, bear-men, bird-men). There are ships of gold and ships of leather, each with two seemingly wind powered engines that propelled them forward (one which went against the waves). It's stuff like this and the extravagant cities filled with gold and diamonds and garnets that make this story unique.
I can see other parts where people might feel that Margaret Cavendish made The Empress a bit of a Mary Sue with a literal self insert character, but it was all about self reflection and more a witty take on her own life and the life of her friend The Empress. In something that is written in such a conversational manner, you being told a recount of the story instead of reading the events yourself, you can still relate and admire the characters which I found was fairly surprising and interesting.
I mainly picked this up from a meme that said Mary Shelley was the mother of science fiction, but everyone touted Margaret Cavendish's The Blazing World as the true source. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much, but I did. I will say you should listen to the audiobook instead of reading it. I found a great copy on LibriVox thanks to my friend.
1.5 stars. Oof. This one was a chore. Forget the description on the jacket blurb. This isn’t really a work of sci-fi, or a Utopian novella, or even a feminist text. Those are all just modern lenses through which to view what is a fictional political, scientific, and philosophical polemic steeped in 17th-century inside jokes. Cavendish’s life seems far more interesting than this book, for which I had such high expectations after reading the description -- the literary equivalent of an exciting trailer for a dull movie.
The rating here is a very conflicted four, because this is a very well written book of-its-time, but it has not aged well. In particular the ‰Ычdifferent races do different things well‰ЫЄ is heavy handed, and the section on ‰ЫчJewish Cabbala‰ЫЄ was just, urgh.
This is utopian fiction, but rather than being about a utopia for all, it seems to be about utopia for one. By which the person gets abducted, and then becomes the uncontested leader of a new world. Where there are jewels beyond compare, and people to do their bidding.
Overall, fascinating in a ‰Ычreading historical texts‰ЫЄ way, but I don‰ЫЄt recommend it as pleasure reading.
This is utopian fiction, but rather than being about a utopia for all, it seems to be about utopia for one. By which the person gets abducted, and then becomes the uncontested leader of a new world. Where there are jewels beyond compare, and people to do their bidding.
Overall, fascinating in a ‰Ычreading historical texts‰ЫЄ way, but I don‰ЫЄt recommend it as pleasure reading.
