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| Idea for a book. | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 12 2012, 02:34 AM (311 Views) | |
| zaktan | Feb 12 2012, 02:34 AM Post #1 |
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Adolescent
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I'm reading War Torn by Andy McNab now and it's basically about the fighting in Afghanistan told from the viewpoint of British soldiers. The native customs are alien to them and it's really hard for them to negotiate with the native people and adapt to the conditions. I was thinking of a similar storyline for a book or movie where humans find sapient aliens on planet full of rare earths. The aliens don't need rare earths, but are extremely xenophobic. Basically the alien's don't trust humans, partly due to their religion and that humans are more advanced technologically. Aliens start fighting any humans who venture on their homeland, but never escalates into planetary warfare due to insufficient technology. Complicated alien language makes negotiation difficult, as well as corrupt politicians on both sides. Any feedback is appreciated! |
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| Kamidio | Feb 12 2012, 02:50 AM Post #2 |
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The Game Master of the SSU:NC
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Here's some feed back. This needs to be in the Cafe Cosmique. |
SSU:NC - Finding a new home. Quotes WAA
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| Cephylus | Feb 12 2012, 02:57 AM Post #3 |
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Torando of Terror
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Agree! |
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| Spugpow | Feb 12 2012, 03:08 AM Post #4 |
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Prime Specimen
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I feel like the "alien natives vs. humans" narrative has been done a lot, especially recently. What other interactions can we consider? Maybe a story in which the alien and human cultures both play nice and learn from one another. Over time, however, this leads to the degradation of both their cultures as they transfer the worst elements of each between them. Sort of an anti-globalization parable. Then again, if you have some really good ideas for your present book, I say go ahead . |
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| macgobhain | Feb 12 2012, 03:15 AM Post #5 |
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Adult
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As long as he's not ripping off Pocahontas the way James Cameron's "Avatar" did I think it has the makings for a pretty good story. |
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| Temporary | Feb 12 2012, 10:25 AM Post #6 |
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Transhuman
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Maybe, but it hasn't been done that well. Avatar is just a bunch of pretty pictures hoping to distract you from the pathetic story. Its anvilicous and misanthropic to the extreme, and the only decent character got killed off. (weirdly I still like it, but I only sat through once, if I did it again though odds are...) Frankly I think it would be a good place to start, the soldiers in the middle east I mean, you could make it a lot more accurate. Especially if you can make it sympathetic to both sides, I might actually read it. |
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| lamna | Feb 12 2012, 11:29 AM Post #7 |
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Or better yet a story where Humans arrive and find the aliens to be fractious, flawed beings just like themselves and take up the civilizing mission, educating the aliens, building infrastructure, toppling tyrants and introducing parliamentary democracy in exchange for trading with the aliens and in the end, everyone is better off. That way you can tell a pro-globalization story instead. Corrupt politicians are fine, but what you really need are sensible, reasonable people who are steadfast in their duty, who just happen to disagree with your position. Corrupt politicians are a dull foe and would offer little resistance, after all they can be brought by their very nature of being corrupt. Someone who honestly thinks that humans are a bad influence, or that sending young men and women to die far from home for dirt are much more compelling than some fat old man who wants more money. The essence of a good villein is that they are basically normal people, just on the other side. |
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| Ànraich | Feb 13 2012, 09:52 PM Post #8 |
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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Lamna, to introduce technology to a society before it is ready would be harmful, and it would be destructive. That is why you Feds have the Prime Directive. And it's been raped enough by the horrible, horrible writers Star Trek has had over the years. I hope they get better writers in the future. Or just quit while they're ahead. Anyways, with this book, have you considered maybe having the humans become as fractured as the aliens? Perhaps some human settlements or factions sympathize with competing alien factions, and then use their technology and influence to attack/raid other humans and alien factions, thus gaining favor with the factions they sympathize with? That way you end up with a kind of "nobody gets out alive" scenario that's a bit more complicated and engaging than it appears. Maybe the human factions suddenly realize that while they've been down there squabbling they've been forgotten and abandoned by Earth (if Earth is even involved, although I imagine that without contact from the colonies in a while even if they couldn't help they'd assume the mission failed). Realizing they're all alone on this alien world, the humans might unite to conquer the aliens to ensure their (mostly) mutual survival. Or maybe the aliens see the humans beginning to cooperate and decide to try to destroy them in a surprise attack before they are too powerful for the aliens to resist. Perhaps you could even somehow blend the two and show the former from a human perspective and the latter from the alien's perspective. That way you could explore a little more in depth into the aliens psychology and culture than you could from a purely human perspective. Telling the same story from two different angles is also a common way books are extended in length from what I've seen, so granted this isn't one of those "got it all in my head" things that never gets to paper there's some advice. |
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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| lamna | Feb 14 2012, 03:18 AM Post #9 |
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It's just cowardice and a lack of backbone. It could end up being like Southern Africa, with Boer, British, Portuguese and German equivalents, with different faction within each, like the BSAP and so on. |
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