Because I care

[james_davis_nicoll]

As mentioned in comments, Dan Simmons has a dystopic novel coming out.

Canada, used to dividing itself into smaller parts to appease ethnic groups, languages, and claims to prior ownership, [...]

Is that a snipe at Nunavut?

Comments

[scott-lynch.livejournal.com]

Ah, christ, I read the announcement.

"Is Flashback a novel stating Dan Simmons' political biases?

In a word... no. In two words... hell no."

And yet, here's his old hobbyhorse Eurabia, buried in the quagmire of this extended press release / outline / spoilerfest:

"We also get glimpses that tell us that the Global Islamic Caliphate -- only a fervent fever dream now in a billion or so minds -- is real enough in the post-Die-Ought-If days of Flashback. The Global Caliphate is a giant crescent, its central curve and core and capital in the Mideast where the triumphant states of Iran and Syria struggled toward mere regional hegemony in our own day. It seems that they succeeded. And then some. The northern horn of the Caliphate crescent stretches from the heart of the Mideast (Mecca and Medina, no longer part of the dead state Saudi Arabia at the heart of this heart) across Turkey and eastern Europe and all of Western Europe with the sharp tip of its crescent ending in Canada."

Yep. Doesn't contain a speck of Simmons' real-world positions, no sir.

[carloshasanax.livejournal.com]

It's not a bias if you think it'll really happen!

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

> "We also get glimpses that tell us that the Global Islamic Caliphate -- only a fervent fever dream now in a billion or so minds

``A billion or so'' seems like an overestimate of the Right Wing Psycho Nutjob population.

[kithrup.livejournal.com]

Well, how many of the RWPNs suffer from multiple personalities?

[timgueguen.livejournal.com]

Rats, you beat me to it.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

How is Canada a sharp tip of a crescent? Or is the sharp top of the Caliphate somehow impaled in Canada, possibly stuck in Manicouagan Crater?

[yamamanama.livejournal.com]

What's the other tip? How do Bangladesh, Xinjiang, Indonesia, and Malaysia fit in with this?

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

As places neither on North America nor poised to invade North America, they don't count and do not appear in the story.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Bah! From Malaysia it's just a small open raft sail to Polynesia, and from there just a little more to Hawaii, and from there to Los Angeles, and from there to Washington and New York, and before long you're poised to invade America! It's the Kon Tiki Domino Theory!

[(Anonymous)]

So it's illegal to invade America from the West?

Bruce

[mme-hardy.livejournal.com]

::applause::

I would *totally* read that book.

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

That wouldn't be much less plausible than many books which have been written. I think the best part would be the invasion of Los Angeles. When the Polynesian Muslims (yeah, I know) have taken over Hawaii they can ally with the massive Hawaiian Separatist movement and then, um... Which leads to the invasion of America!

If the author has a sense of humor, we'll see someone trying to advance a column of BMPs through LA traffic. Good luck with that.

[caper-est.livejournal.com]

It's a hydra-headed crescent, whose tips are constantly multiplying.

[sethg]

Do any of the people sweating over the prospect of a Global Islamic Caliphate notice that the vast majority of firepower wielded by the Muslims of the Middle East is directed at other Muslims?

Any Caliph who inspires loyalty across Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, never mind Europe, would truly owe his kingship to Divine Providence.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

I've actually seen a space opera where a view point functionary rues and laments the success the founders of his state had at getting mutually hostile sects to unify under the flag of Islam under one government; the isolation from other religions seems to have given the sects time to really focus on why they hate each other.

[mme-hardy.livejournal.com]

Title?

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Sorry, that was the only part that was memorable; don't recall the title.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

John: (calling up map on laptop) You know, I guess if you start in Spain, swing hard south through northern Africa, you got Algeria, Libya there, Egypt, cross the Red Sea and you're in the Middle East ...

Tyrone: From there, if you spot him the Indian Ocean and India, you're in Indonesia.

John: I am not spotting him eight hundred million Hindus. I call shenanigans.

-- http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html