Meno by Plato: on Daedalus and Automata

Socrates
Well, do you know why it is that you wonder, or shall I tell you?

Meno
Please tell me.

Socrates
It is because you have not observed with attention the images of Daedalus. But perhaps there are none in your country.

Meno
What is the point of your remark?

Socrates
That if they are not fastened up they play truant and run away; but, if fastened, they stay where they are.

From here.

10 things you might not know about THE AUTOMATION – in GIFs!

10 things you might not know about THE AUTOMATION – a dark fantasy novel about ancient Automata invading our modern world:

  1. There are Automata (uppercase-A, yes, thank you) in this novel. They’re divine as fuck and not made by men – and they’re often mistaken for human. Here’s a lowercase-a automaton to illustrate what they are NOT like:
  2. Those Automata can only function with a human soul. Thus, they need a human “Master” to wind them up. This makes for some awkward situations for some of the characters.
  3. The Greco-Roman gods Vulcan and Venus have small roles in the novel. Though they play a bigger part later on in the series and will likely eff more shit up for the  poor human characters.
  4. One of the characters is a cat. Don’t ignore the cat. Though the cat can ignore YOU.
  5. One character’s sexuality is changed in the novel. Because the gods Vulcan and Venus need him to like girls instead of boys. And it’s not fair.
  6. The Narrator (whose abbreviated name is B.L.A.) and the Editor (Gabbler, whose contributions show up as footnotes) are also characters in the story. It’s actually B.L.A.’s memoir, you could say (though Gabbler is of the mind it’s – ahem – obviously embellished). [But just to be clear: the novel is written by one person, not two, despite what they tell you. PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN].
  7. It is for readers who like sf novels set in “this” world like: Vicious, The Magicians, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, American Gods, The Just City.
  8. It claims to be Epic Poetry, but it’s written in prose. Thus “Prose Epic” is apparently applicable.
  9. The novel breaks the fourth wall. It knows it’s a novel. Meta to the max.
  10. You can read the first chapter online for free. Be our guest. Enjoy the show.

THE AUTOMATION is available in paperback and for DRM-free Kindle download. In all countries. Maybe. Probably. WE DON’T KNOW, OK?

[“BLA and GB Gabbler” (really just a pen name – singular) are the Editor and Narrator behind THE AUTOMATION, vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. They are on facebook, twitter, tumblr, goodreads, and Vulcan’s shit list.]

all yellow B&N | Amazon | Etc.

On Narration:

And despite the profound and unsettling discoveries of modernism and post-modernism, and everything they show us about the unreliability of the narrator and the fallacy of omniscience, some of us still, when we read, are happy to accept that the narrative voice has the right to comment on a character, whether tartly or sympathetically, and the ability to go into that character’s mind and tell us what’s going on there. Do we ever stop to wonder how extraordinary it is that a disembodied voice can seem to tell us what is happening in someone’s mind?

From here/read the rest.

 

Dripping with Alchemy

 

 

We’ve quoted this before, but…

“It is significant that in Homer the smith of the gods is lame, and the poet among men is blind. That may be how the thing began. The defectives, who are no use as hunters or warriors, may be set aside to provide both necessaries and recreation for those who are.”

– C.S. Lewis, “Good Work and Good Works.”