Comments on THE GALAXY EXPRESS: Bug-Eyed Monsters In Love

Just on a practical point the question of physical...

2009-04-27T13:16:00.000-04:00

Just on a practical point the question of physical intimacy is moot. There couldn't really be insects the right size for things to work. The bio-mechanics just do not work for anything with an exoskeleton to be the size of a human. There are muscle mass, circulation issues. So, no spiders the size of VW buss or giant lobsters trashing Tokyo. Sorry.

From a SF story view point I dealt with some of this in on of the two short stories I've had published. It dealt with the question of children being held to account for their parent's sins, but there was a hint that a romance might have developed if things had been different. I wanted to write something where the BEM were completely powerless and innocent because I HATE BEM stories. They are about reinforcing xenophobia by saying it is OK to hate X just because they are X.

Bugs are icky. I don't trust anything with more th...

2009-04-20T16:25:00.000-04:00

Bugs are icky. I don't trust anything with more than 4 limbs (OK, maybe I can make an exception for 5...)

Jess, either that, or they couldn't get laid and w...

2009-04-19T22:15:00.000-04:00

Jess, either that, or they couldn't get laid and were ticked off. Kidding!

I think it's one of many explorations of the Other as well as delving into our fear of the unknown. I'm sure there are a lot of cultural influences of the time at work in those stories as well (fear of war, invasion, Communism, etc.).

Now that is the ultimate psychotrip. Did the men ...

2009-04-19T00:05:00.000-04:00

Now that is the ultimate psychotrip. Did the men writing such fantasies write them because they longed to see a creature that should be rejected because they don't conform to any sort of human standard of what is socially fit, fit in? Fall in love? Why do I keep checking this blog so late. I think about very weird things right before I fall to sleep.

Jess, I don't know that they originated in just on...

2009-04-18T14:13:00.000-04:00

Jess, I don't know that they originated in just one place. I think you answered your own question in that they came from all of those mediums--print, film, and also on the cover of magazines that ran SF stories. Here's a juicy one. Would be nice to learn about where some of the first illustrations appeared, though.

@Susan I'm not sure it's so much about the creatures craving human females as it is the men writing such fantasies, lol!

I just don't get it! Why do these insectoid creatu...

2009-04-18T10:03:00.000-04:00

I just don't get it! Why do these insectoid creatures crave human females? Wouldn't they be repulsed by the human form?

I'm curious, for those better schooled in the hist...

2009-04-18T00:36:00.000-04:00

I'm curious, for those better schooled in the history of SF, did the bug thing originate from the old B movie invasion flicks because camera tricks allowed film makers to easily create very large bugs as monsters?

Or did the bugs come first in print before the old films? And why bugs? Is it because they seem to be the furthest thing from ourselves physically on the planet, and as the perpetrators of more human deaths than any other order of creature, does bugginess equal automatic fear?

Then do we fall in love with what we fear as a common exploration of the human psyche in literature? Look at the romancing of the monster in the paranormal genre?

Hmmmm, I'm thinking too much.

OMG, you named the movie, the one that dare not sp...

2009-04-17T15:30:00.000-04:00

OMG, you named the movie, the one that dare not speak its name. That thing traumatized me!

Cathy, thanks for reading. Yeah, the physical rela...

2009-04-17T15:09:00.000-04:00

Cathy, thanks for reading. Yeah, the physical relationship, if included, would require adroit handling. And I’m wanting to read NOR CRYSTAL TEARS again as well.

Oh, Ella, excellent point! I don’t see a difference, and having a shifter aspect is one way this could work. One of the things I remember taking away from Foster’s book is how beautiful the Thranx are. I jest, of course, referring to characters like Vel as B.E.M.s, but my underlying point was that these characters can be just as appealing as any other creature. I don’t know about film, but authors these days would be more likely than not to treat the subject seriously.

Katiebabs, lol, it takes all kinds!

Z, not so fast! Have you seen Urotsukidôji? (lol!) I'm kidding, though, because hentai, for me, doesn't pack the same amount of emotional punch as a straightforward romance.

Jess, I know, there’s a need for a certain level of suspension of disbelief in these stories. As an SF convention, I’m curious to see if characters of insectoid origin/genetic makeup keep appearing or if they are simply remnants of an earlier era in SF history. I suppose it depends on how the tale is told. SF has evolved so much that these types of tropes aren’t considered as representational of the genre as they once *seemed* to be.

Ann, I have now! Thanks for the read (it’s free, folks—go forth and partaketh). That wet my appetite something fierce for a book-length story. Made me wonder--*is* there anything in existence involving a Vel type character with a romance? (Barring self-published work. I mean a book that is bought and distributed by a publisher). Must investigate.

Ann Aguirre, I'll be reading Exile's Lament, pront...

2009-04-17T03:09:00.000-04:00

Ann Aguirre, I'll be reading Exile's Lament, pronto.

2009-04-17T02:52:00.000-04:00

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Egad, Z! Just reading that little bit is going to...

2009-04-17T00:26:00.000-04:00

Egad, Z! Just reading that little bit is going to give me nightmares. It makes you wonder about Card, Freudianly speaking, but maybe sometimes a giant caterpillar is just a giant caterpillar ;)

Havw you read Vel's short story, EXILE'S LAMENT?

2009-04-17T00:25:00.000-04:00

Havw you read Vel's short story, EXILE'S LAMENT?

Maybe I'd be a little more open to the idea if I h...

2009-04-16T23:07:00.000-04:00

Maybe I'd be a little more open to the idea if I had recently re-read Orson Scott Card's 'Wryms.'

The final scene...

*Spoilers*

...in which an adolescent girl is mating furiously with a giant caterpillar thing, while dwarves, elves, giants, etc., shoot arrows at them, had me cackling, tossing the book aside AND scarred for life - all at the same time.

LOL, I don't know if I could go there. I like pla...

2009-04-16T22:22:00.000-04:00

LOL, I don't know if I could go there. I like playing with how things evolve, but I've taken entomology, and well, I just have a hard time believing in big bugs without very specific conditions.

Could I fall in love with one? I don't know. I've got a bit of a thing for butterflies. LOL

Aaaaargh! Tentacled things! *throws self out of t...

2009-04-16T21:58:00.000-04:00

Aaaaargh! Tentacled things!

*throws self out of the airlock*

Well it worked for Merry in Laurel K Hamilton's se...

2009-04-16T21:35:00.000-04:00

Well it worked for Merry in Laurel K Hamilton's series where some fairy had 8 tentacles and got Merry off. As for alien bug love, his antennae would be used as a pleasure tool?

I'm with you on Vel. His character pulls at me, a...

2009-04-16T21:16:00.000-04:00

I'm with you on Vel. His character pulls at me, and I want to know more about him. I, too, found myself wanting his story. Maybe we're alike in our love of B.E.M.s, as long as they're created well. How different is this kind of person from say, a dragon shifter? If a human woman can have a relationship with a dragon, why not a B.E.M?
Dragon shifters happen to be some of my favorite shifter stories, so maybe I'm predisposed to the idea of a fantasy-type romance with a hero that has his ugly side.

A physical relationship might be a bit much, but e...

2009-04-16T20:53:00.000-04:00

A physical relationship might be a bit much, but emotional involvement would be interesting to read. I can see a male insectoid thinking he'd be making the ultimate sacrifice by declaring his love for a human female (if we're talking strictly m/f romances anyway ;) and expecting that once they mate she'll be biting his head off. Now that's love, baby.

I need to find my copy of NOR CRYSTAL TEARS. Definitely a good one to read again.