tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post5771095648820146418..comments2024-03-28T08:50:57.015+01:00Comments on Beyond Fomalhaut: [REVIEW] City of the Red PoxMelanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-46143004623714873492022-09-29T19:54:56.276+02:002022-09-29T19:54:56.276+02:00Hi Melan,
I am sorry that the wider zine disappoi...Hi Melan,<br /><br />I am sorry that the wider zine disappointed, and I agree that the section which introduces the city in more depth is weaker than I would like, but this was my first time writing in a troika like style, and I didn't pull it off as well as I would like.<br /><br />You are right, I do avoid "Dense, two-column text". As much as anything because I find it uncomfortable and tiring to read. The whole zine was an experiment in making a work that would be something *I* would be able to use at a table. Something that gave discrete space to single ideas (or small clusters of closely related ideas), but also gave space for thoughts to run on from it. A book for someone who's ADHD and/or Dyslexia manifests as mine does. I hope that context helps. I understand it may not be to everyone's taste but it is done with intention. <br /><br />Beyond this, it appears you missed or neglected to mention that the overt commentary is not exclusively anarchist, nor in the author's voice. In fact, it is a Socratic dialogue between different characters and the text. The extract you quoted is in response to this section, in which another character who is praising the city's democratic credentials.<br /><br />"Antar is a thalassocracy within its own context. As Lambert<br />describes in Seapower States(2018), such states are a threat to those that surround them because their progressive politics and innovative nature is an existential threat to the relative stasis of universal monarchy and theocracy. Few empires are impressed with upstart democracies, as they represent an alternative social order, and a threat to the authority of gods, emperor, and kings alike." <br /><br />To answer the question "why is antar on the verse of revolt" with "because the Author made it so" misses the context that Antar is an analogue for La Serenissima. The Serene Republic of Venice through a large portion of its history a city who's democratic and authoritarian tendencies co-existed in profound tension.<br /><br />Anyway, thank you for the review.benjamin wenhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15079920061062261246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-27899953175566188822022-09-29T19:11:45.706+02:002022-09-29T19:11:45.706+02:00Hey, the author here with a correction on these co...Hey, the author here with a correction on these comments. Nothing is smuggled here. <br /><br />To smuggle is to "convey (someone or something) somewhere secretly and illicitly". <br /><br />City of the Red Pox gives indicators of its politics in all public facing materials. <br /><br />benjamin wenhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15079920061062261246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-25500963059355762102022-04-17T11:51:52.554+02:002022-04-17T11:51:52.554+02:00Oh yes, I can imagine someone reading a RPG supple...Oh yes, I can imagine someone reading a RPG supplement, then charging the barricades foaming at the mouth, all in living colour. If indoctrination by RPG would have any real effect, I'd be a purple-haired antichrist hacking the system from a Siberian hideout by now, judging from all the edgy stuff I consumed in my romantic youth.Voljahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08826776454392269862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-18020816293796672932022-04-13T22:47:21.017+02:002022-04-13T22:47:21.017+02:00Good to see Zinemassacre 2021 is continuing into 2...Good to see Zinemassacre 2021 is continuing into 2022! Not so good to see anarchists are still smuggling ideology into their Kickstarter RPGs.PMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06294944268720440205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-60944826381518896452022-04-12T15:56:12.106+02:002022-04-12T15:56:12.106+02:00I've always thought a series of supplements de...I've always thought a series of supplements detailing fantasy cities or citadels that used real maps as a starting point would be fantastic. Venice and the Potala would make two great examples, seeing Venice last year prior to visiting you really drove home that point. I guess maybe the potential customer market doesn't justify the effort involved?Ken McKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12703655906864165005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-2814074951583457152022-04-12T09:50:38.285+02:002022-04-12T09:50:38.285+02:00Yeah, the design is striking, and the premise was ...Yeah, the design is striking, and the premise was very promising (which is why I picked it up). It stumbles on execution - unfortunate; "corrupt fantasy Venice during a plague" has enormous campaign potential.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-72252954225396970572022-04-11T19:10:48.765+02:002022-04-11T19:10:48.765+02:00Agreed, why don't people who have such good ar...Agreed, why don't people who have such good artistic skills partner with someone good at writing , instead of wasting their skills on something like this?Ken McKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12703655906864165005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-26050047330414326592022-04-11T06:47:28.521+02:002022-04-11T06:47:28.521+02:00It's disappointing to see all that nice art go...It's disappointing to see all that nice art go to waste on mediocre content :-(Ghasthousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07401924351959645260noreply@blogger.com