Ahmed Writes

BOOKSCAN #8 REVOLT IN 2100, by Robert Heinlein Baen Books (1986) This compilation consists of a novel, "If This Goes On...", and 2 novellas, "Coventry" and "Misfit". None of them is a major work though they form a part of Heinlein's Future History framework. The novel features a theocratic dictatorship in the US. Heinlein, realizing that this scenario might seem like an improbable scenario to some reader, provided a postscript - and part of that postscript is the reason why I include this book in my Bookscan series of blogs. And here it is: [With reference to] the idea that we could lose our freedom by succumbing to a wave of religious hysteria, I am sorry to say that I consider it possible. I hope that it is not probable. But there is latent deep strain of religious fanaticism in this, our culture; it is rooted in our history and it has broken out many times in the past. It is with us now; there has been a sharp rise in strongly evangelical sects in

PEOPLE MACHINES  By Jack Williamson   Ace, 1971   After a long time I have across another book worthy of a Bookscan post.  "People Machines" is a collection of 9 short stories by Jack Williamson. The stories are very good but better than the stories are author's notes that precede each story. In these notes, Williamson discusses various elements of a story: characters, plot, scene, language, style, etc. In these notes, I found 2 things worthy of extra attention. First is what I consider the best definition of Science Fiction: "Fiction based on the imaginative exploration of scientific possibility."  Second is his mention of "stratificational grammar" postulated by Sidney Lamb. This was a new term for me and as I love going on excursions tangentially from a book, I started looking up transitional grammar. And I was disappointed. I was not able to locate a single resource for explaining the concept to a layman or to demonstrate any applicability. For my