tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post8067613794111147730..comments2024-03-16T09:24:45.474+01:00Comments on 22 Billion Energy Slaves: J is for Just Out - Seat of MarsJason Heppenstallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-48947440350280817332017-01-18T17:21:26.899+01:002017-01-18T17:21:26.899+01:00For a look at the failure of a lone prepper, the r...For a look at the failure of a lone prepper, the recent Northern Irish film 'The Survivalist' directed by Stephen Fingleton is great.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-25593586979547687962016-12-02T10:37:32.374+01:002016-12-02T10:37:32.374+01:00I consider some other catastrophe, such as a nucle...I consider some other catastrophe, such as a nuclear war, a plague or something like that. But in the end I settled on the evil cabal plot because it gets people's attention more readily, and also makes satire possible. I hope that at least *some* people get that this book is a satire - just as 1984 was.Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-18236580037720094562016-12-01T18:38:19.919+01:002016-12-01T18:38:19.919+01:00Cabals intentionally starting the apocalyptic coll...Cabals intentionally starting the apocalyptic collapse as a way to intentionally de-populate is a good "generic" way to start a collapse. I think it works because it gets one to an area of realistic collapse without getting into the hot button hand wringing issues of global warming, financial system meltdown, and pandemics.russell1200https://www.blogger.com/profile/16258915475311426433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-91640152132849788682016-11-28T20:07:15.233+01:002016-11-28T20:07:15.233+01:00Thanks. Of course, the idea is a bit of a thought ...Thanks. Of course, the idea is a bit of a thought experiment, to say the least, but the ongoing story needed a collapse of some description. And so I thought "Why not make it a deliberate one?". <br /><br />And yes, the reason I didn't have a 'lone prepper' was a deliberate one. I wanted to show that in order to survive they needed a community. This goes slightly against the standard Mad Max apocalyptic collapse meme, but I think I managed to sneak it in.Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-35071368489796862492016-11-28T20:05:58.513+01:002016-11-28T20:05:58.513+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-42679253217714717592016-11-28T17:01:06.620+01:002016-11-28T17:01:06.620+01:00Congratulations on publishing the book. I have of...Congratulations on publishing the book. I have of course read and enjoyed the serialized version here at your blog.<br />One thing that struck me in your synopsis of the book in this post is that the notion of any government deliberately putting policies in place to eliminate two thirds of its population is hard to imagine in the abstract, but that when presented in fictionalized form in your novel, the idea is more easy to accept since it shows that while the thing is going on, you don't have to quite believe it. Your mind can come up with excuses that let you hang on to your cherished beliefs such as the basic goodness of your government, but in the end, you have to switch from, I don't believe this is happening, to OK, what do we have to do to survive.<br />What the book also does a good job of showing is how a group of people thrown together by fate manages to form a community that survives the hardships of living without government support and an industrial culture. It seems to me that resilience in the face of hardship and the ability to work together with other people is a much better survival strategy than solitary prepping. The lone prepper will eventually run out of food and ammo but a community will likely contain a much larger repository of survival skills than any solitary prepper could have access to.<br />Wolfgang Brinckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08314364206955412017noreply@blogger.com