Ace: aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me
Sunday Morning Book Thread - 7-26-2026 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]
Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (don't roll a "1"!). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...
So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?
THE ODYSSEY'S INFLUENCE IN SCIENCE FICTION
The YouTuber above points out that The Odyssey has had a surprising influence on the science fiction genre and provides some compelling evidence. He points out that you can replace the islands that Odysseus visits with alien planets, sea monsters with hostile aliens, and Poseidon with an indifferent universe. He also points out that in a lot of science fiction stories, the hero's greatest strength is his adaptability and creativity in problem solving, rather than strength of arms.
Looking through my own library, I can find a number of additional examples of science fiction stories that conform to the same story structure as The Odyssey
Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon - This six-volume series has Major Clive Folliot engage on an epic quest to find his long lost brother in darkest Africa. He is sucked into an interdimensional portal that takes him to The Dungeon, a multilayer hellscape requiring all of Clive's wits to find his brother and return home. It's very much a textbook example of The Odyssey's story structure, with lots of strange encounters, most hostile, but some not, and when Clive reaches the end of his journey, he is no longer the same person who began it, growing, learning, and evolving into a new creation at the end.
The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - A young man leaves home to find adventure so that he can court the woman he loves. He dives into danger, encounters strange and unusual creatures on a mysterious plateau in South America, and returns home to discover that the woman he fell in love with was never meant for him at all.
The Majipoor Chronicles by Robert Silverberg - Valentine is a juggler with amnesia. He must discover his true self to reclaim his legacy. He explores the bizarre world of Majipoor and eventually finds his way back to his castle, at the top of the highest peak of Majipoor. There are a lot of parallels with Homer's story here.
Otherland by Tad Williams - A group of strangers enter an virtual Matrix-like world and become trapped in a complex web of power games as those who rule planet earth seek to elevate themselves to immortal status. At one point the characters find themselves in a virtual simulation of the Trojan War, which is a pretty blatant homage to Homer. The protagonists didn't create the world, but they must learn to survive in it according to rules they barely understand.
All the stories above have common elements with The Odyssey. The main characters start out somewhat innocent of just how strange their universe is. Over the course of their adventures they draw attention to themselves from hostile actors who object to their interference and take steps to prevent them from reaching the end of their journey. They all have to learn to adapt to their environment and leverage their gifts and strengths to find creative solutions to the challenges they face. At the end, they all realize that they are NOT the person they were when they began their journey. If they experience a homecoming event, they may find out that they no longer belong at home and decide to continue on their journey (e.g., Edward Malone in The Lost World.)
Although this is a book thread, one of the best examples of The Odyssey's influence in television is Farscape. Astronaut John Crichton is sucked through a wormhole to a distant corner of the universe. He spends four seasons just trying to get home. Great show.
What other books have been influenced by Homer's The Odyssey? (It doesn't have to be fantasy or science fiction...in fact, that might be more interesting!)
++++++++++
(Admit it--we've all been there...)
++++++++++
HEROES STILL MATTER -- Malcolm Guite's "Galahad and the Grail"
This video showed up in my YouTube feed recently. I immediately thought of JTB, who is a devoted fan of Malcolm Guite's poetry. I've also watched a few of Malcolm Guite's YouTube videos and have enjoyed them. One of the things that resonates with me in Rob's video above is that he is dedicating time and energy to share the reading experience with his own children, though his two-year-old might not be quite ready for it yet. He's using Galahad and the Grail to engage with his own children to teach them important moral lessons in life, which I think is fantastic. His children are going to grow up to become amazing people, I think. So kudos to Rob for sharing his own love of reading with his children and equipping them with the tools they will need to navigate the challenges of life later on.
+-----+-----+-----+-----+
WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED RECENTLY
I continue to explore the Dune Expanded Universe written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I probably won't get ALL of them since I'm really not interested in the "interquel" novels about Paul Atreides early life. But I wanted to hit the high notes in the Dune universe.
My goal for the remainder of this year is to get through all of these books and also include a visit to the original Dune novels, of which I've only read the first three.
Legends of Dune: The Butlerian Jihad
Legends of Dune: The Machine Crusade
Legends of Dune: The Battle of Corrin
Great Schools of Dune: Sisterhood of Dune
Great Schools of Dune: Mentats of Dune
Great Schools of Dune: Navigators of Dune
Sequels: Hunters of Dune
Sequels: Sandworms of Dune
WHAT I'VE BEEN READING RECENTLY
Dune: House Harkonnen Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
This is the second novel in the Dune: Prequels series. It's basically setting up the major plot points that are going to occur in Dune. Even though it's titled House Harkonnen, the events in the story tend to oscillate between House Harkonnen and House Atreides with some sections devoted to Emperor Shaddam IV (House Corrino). The Tleilaxians that have conquered Ix are getting under everyone's skin. Their lead researcher is on the cusp of a major breakthrough with synthetic "spice," which threatens the established economic base of the Known Universe, as well as the power structures keeping that economy in place.
Dune: House Corrino by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Duke Leto Atreides has had enough of Harkonnen treachery and the Emperor's tepid support. He launches a devastating attack on a major Harkonnen stronghold. He also pledges his full support to his childhood friend, the exiled Earl Rhombur Vernius of Ix. Together, they begin a daring campaign to recapture Ix from the vile Tleilaxians, who have enslaved the native population for their obscene biological experiments. We also witness the birth of Paul Atreides, who is destined to reshape the Known Universe.
Dune: The Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Over ten thousand years before the present era in the Dune universe, machines, led by the nearly omniscient and omnipotent Omnius, are conquering the Known Universe one planet at a time. "Cymeks" -- disembodied brains in robot bodies -- serve as generals in the robot armies, as they still possess the creative spark of innovation that machines are lacking. The humans wage guerrilla warfare against the machines, hoping to one day free themselves from their robotic masters. The Butlerian Jihad is THE key historical event in the Dune universe--their calendar starts from when humans are freed at the conclusion of the Butlerian Jihad, named for Serena Butler, one of their leaders.
One of the problems with prequel novels like this is that it does rely a lot on "memberberries" to tell the story:
'Member the "spice" that's central to the original Dune? Well here's the story of how it became the Known Universe's hottest commodity!
'Member the rivaly between House Atreides and House Harkonnen? Here's how it all started...
'Member the Holtzman generators that can fold space/time, suspend gravity, and provide personal shielding? Meet the man who created it, along with his talented assistant who made the real innovations!
...and so on.
Tips, suggestions, recommendations, etc., can all be directed to perfessor -dot- squirrel -at- gmail -dot- com.
