diff --git a/blogs/2022/10/18/the-prince-of-milk.md b/blogs/2022/10/18/the-prince-of-milk.md index 8827d23..cf41070 100644 --- a/blogs/2022/10/18/the-prince-of-milk.md +++ b/blogs/2022/10/18/the-prince-of-milk.md @@ -3,15 +3,15 @@ The Prince of Milk is a science fiction novel by Exurb1a of YouTube fame. It follows the story of a fictional village in southern England named Wilthail, which ends up the unwilling venue for the settling of an ancient grudge. -Deities known as Etherics exist alongside the mundanity of 21st century Wilthail, and engage in absurdity, sodomy and violence with its quaint populace. +Deities ("Etherics") exist alongside the mundanity of 21st century Wilthail, and engage in absurdity, sodomy and violence with its quaint population. The books makes reference to a number of popular philosophical debates, and takes inspiration from a number of classical sci-fi authors. A common theme is the idea that power is relative. -Though the deities are immortal - their grudge has played out across hundreds of 'Corporic' incarnations - having power far beyond the comrehension of their human counterparts. +The Etherics are immortal - their grudge has played out across hundreds of 'Corporic' incarnations - and have power and abilities far beyond the comprehension of their human counterparts. However, they do not necessarily view themselves as gods. -This is particularly true of the character Beomus, who frequently plays down their immortality and returns fire with questions about modern humans' relationship to their primitive ancestors, or ants. -This relativity of power recurs plenty, and is reminiscient of Arthur C. Clarke's statement of any sufficiently advanced technology being indistiguishable from magic. -As characters in a book, the Etherics are understandably cagey about how any of their abilities work - but broadly refuse to allow them to be classified as magic or technology. +This is particularly true of the character Beomus, who frequently plays down their immortality and returns fire with questions about modern humans' relationship to their primitive ancestors, or with ants. +This relativity of power recurs plenty, and is reminiscient of Arthur C. Clarke's assertion that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. +As characters in a book, the Etherics are understandably cagey about how any of their abilities work - but broadly refuse to classify them as either magic or technology. Reincarnation is viewed as a fundamental way of the world - Chalmers' panpsychism, or the Hard Problem of Philosophy. This goes further than to suggest that people are simply reincarnated as others when they die, rather suggesting that consciousness is a fundamental force of the universe, in just the way electromagnetism is. @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ It's a neat and satisfying view, and one that has yet to be disproven by neurosc The human characters are invariably damaged - mental health issues, broken relationships, toxic parentage, drug use, suicide, difficult histories. This paints PoM's world as realistic, and grounds it through the fantastical happenings in the middle act. -It grips the reader with its variety of characters, and follows them all as the confront not only their own personal hells, but the one they now find themselves sharing, in a twisted take on country bumpkinism. +It grips the reader with its variety of characters, and follows them all as they confront not only their own personal hells, but the one they now find themselves sharing, in a twisted take on country bumpkinism. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading more of Exurb1a's writing. I am a little biased, as I have already enjoyed the YouTube channel for a number of years.