Difference between revisions of "Bowl of Heaven"
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''Bowl of Heaven'' reviewed Bill Dynes, ''SFRA Review'' #301 (Summer 2012): pp. 56-58, our source here.[http://sfra.org/resources/sfra-review/301.pdf] | ''Bowl of Heaven'' reviewed Bill Dynes, ''SFRA Review'' #301 (Summer 2012): pp. 56-58, our source here.[http://sfra.org/resources/sfra-review/301.pdf] | ||
− | "To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven" (Chuang Tzu, Book XXIII, ¶7), headnote to chapter 3 of Ursula K. Le Guin's ''[[The Lathe of Heaven]]'' (1971), and referenced in her title and those of | + | "To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven" (Chuang Tzu, Book XXIII, ¶7), headnote to chapter 3 of Ursula K. Le Guin's ''[[The Lathe of Heaven]]'' (1971), and referenced in her title and those of [[THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (film 1979/80)]] from PBS and THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (2002) from A&E TV Network. So for regular SF readers the title might suggest something in-group (and possibly somewhat wise-ass) in store. Dynes notes that the title object is "a hemispherical construct whose diameter is larger than Mercury’s orbit, propelled by a plasma jet bursting from the red dwarf star about which it rotates. One character describes the artifact as 'a wok with a neon jet shooting out the back' (71), and laughingly begins referring to it as 'Cupworld'" (p. 66). And Dynes suggests a more directly relevant allusion, "As the tongue-in-cheek 'Cupworld' suggests, the nature of the construct inevitably invites comparisons with Larry Niven’s Hugo and Nebula winner Ringworld (1970)." |
RDE, finishing, 17Jun21 | RDE, finishing, 17Jun21 | ||
[[Category: Fiction]] | [[Category: Fiction]] |
Revision as of 00:08, 18 June 2021
Benford, Gregory, and Larry Niven. Bowl of Heaven. New York City: Tor, 2012. Bowl of Heaven and Shipstar (omnibus). New York City: Tor, 2020. See Internet Speculative Fiction Database for other printings and German translation Himmelsjäger.[1]
Bowl of Heaven reviewed Bill Dynes, SFRA Review #301 (Summer 2012): pp. 56-58, our source here.[2]
"To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven" (Chuang Tzu, Book XXIII, ¶7), headnote to chapter 3 of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven (1971), and referenced in her title and those of THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (film 1979/80) from PBS and THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (2002) from A&E TV Network. So for regular SF readers the title might suggest something in-group (and possibly somewhat wise-ass) in store. Dynes notes that the title object is "a hemispherical construct whose diameter is larger than Mercury’s orbit, propelled by a plasma jet bursting from the red dwarf star about which it rotates. One character describes the artifact as 'a wok with a neon jet shooting out the back' (71), and laughingly begins referring to it as 'Cupworld'" (p. 66). And Dynes suggests a more directly relevant allusion, "As the tongue-in-cheek 'Cupworld' suggests, the nature of the construct inevitably invites comparisons with Larry Niven’s Hugo and Nebula winner Ringworld (1970)."
RDE, finishing, 17Jun21