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calarco 's review for:
The Blazing World and Other Writings
by Margaret Cavendish
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.