posted
Wow! And double wow! I just finished reading Dan Simmons' Ilium and I must say it's one of the greatest books I ever read!
It made me wonder, though: what's so attractive about full-scale wars, about courage bordering on madness? Why does it make me laugh like crazy, like I'm really there and actually don't care if I die, as long as it's in battle?!
I really don't get it. I'm not a "warrior" person in real life, more like the contrary. Why then? And it's not just me, I've noticed this in other people who at first glance would seem "pacifires"... Is it the feeling that you have the ultimate POWER, to take a life?! Is it the adventure that (some of) our lives seem to lack so much?
Or maybe I just didn't sleep well last night...
Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I think some of it was summarized beautifully in Gates of Fire, by Pressfield. In the "trenches" (or on the frontlines or wherever) it stops being about causes and about beliefs. It's about the guy next to you and his trust in you to be there for him and vice-versa. In those hellish circumstances, acts of bravery and sacrifice and heroism repeatedly manifest themselves, often at the greatest price- the life of another. Nothing is more moving that knowing someone who died for you personally.
Those bonds of friendship and comraderie are forged in fire and death and they connect us to all men of the past. They make you feel part of something larger than yourself in a more viceral way than nearly any thing else can. Though I think similar bonds are forged between people sharing a tragedy, like natural disasters. Reunions and friendships for survivors are very emotional.
Posts: 1346 | Registered: Jun 1999
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IanO, you just sent shivers of Gates of Fire Memory down my spine.
Corwin, if you have not read that book, read it. it really did explain war for me in a way that I had never seen it. It was one of the most powerful stories I have ever read.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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Simmons' work really inspires me too. Ilium was terrific, as was its sequel, the name of which I can't remember. Olympus?
I find myself getting really into novels or films about "boot camp" type military atmospheres - really tough physical and mental training. Now, I used to be a total physical loser, and I'm still not going to sign up for the Marines. But I suppose that it's just an expression of my liking for hard work and a disciplining force? And to be something better than I am right now?
Ooooh, deep psychologising... Must go back and read something mindless...
Posts: 66 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote: Huh. I thought Olympos was coming out in June or July.
That's what I thought too...
quote: What is Ilium about? Were I to go just from the name, I'd guess Trojan Wars.
You guessed right. Although that's not what all of it is about, and since it's a little bit SF there are some things in it that Homer forgot to talk about... Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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