Who_Wants_To_No

I just recently switched to LibreWolf from Firefox. It's one of the easiest software transitions I've ever made. It really is just Firefox without Mozilla's recent bad decision making.

One of the many things I like about Zelazny is that the style of he could write in many different styles. He tends toward first person with snarky, self-aware characters, but he can also do austere and elegant (example: Dilvish the Damned), elegaic (My Name is Legion), intense and serious first person (Nine Princes in Amber), and simplified narration by a dog (A Night in the Lonesome October). It isn't just a matter of changing genres, he changes the style of his prose to suit (or sometimes to contrast) the subject. I can't think of any other writer who has shown that much range. It always felt, to me, that he was always experimenting in ways that established writers rarely do.

I certainly enjoy his classics, like the Amber series, but my favorites are "This Immortal" and "A Night in the Lonesome October".

"This Immortal" has a snarky first-person narrator who is still a very serious characters. The background of the story has a sense of melancholy and loss that turns in an unexpected direction. It manages to be entertaining, moment by moment, and also engaging and complex as a whole.

"A Night in the Lonesome October" has the background of a dark high-fantasy, but the odd choice of narrator gives it a unique flavor. It is told by the protagonist's dog, who has a sound but somewhat simplified take on the events. It turns a plot that could be formal and stylized into something that feels more like a children's story. I can't think of anything else like it.

I sympathize. I'm far behind you in deciding these things need to be done, but I have finally gotten there. I think we will have more company soon.

I am generally opposed to violence, but I don't know that I disagree with you. The thing is that violence doesn't offer any simple answers either. Modern surveillance and military technology make a traditional stand-up fight suicidal. Large organizations are highly vulnerable to information leaks and infiltration. Small, loosely connected groups and individuals are most likely to survive and be effective. It's going to be a lot more complicated than picking up a rifle and marching off to the front line.

What comes next will also depend on a lot of factors that are current unknowable. The courts are pushing back, but it isn't clear how effective that will be. Congress could change things, but is not likely to do so unless we can motivate them. And will the military support an openly illegal fascist government, avoid getting involved, or oppose it?

I think it's worth peacefully protesting in every way possible, especially economically, but that is going to require real sacrifices too. Many of us, including me, are used to a certain level of comfort and convenience in our lives. Dramatic gestures are sometimes easier than the daily hassle of not ordering from Amazon, not communicating via Facebook and Reddit, and recofiguring our phones and computers to avoid using Google services.