about Pern...

I've read most of the books, excepting the latest. They were a mainstay of my childhood. It's weird though, how much I loathe most the characters these days. Like, Gazoo spare me from Menolly, Sebell and friends. Spare me too from all the rebellious women who just freaking fell in line.

Pern stories I'd be interested in:

- F'lar and Lessa's planned transition to post-thread Weyrs. How do the Weyrs fit into the Pernese economy when the justification for tithing is actually gone?

- Mirrim as reluctant mentor to a new generation of women dragonriders. Fights between gold and greenriders over propriety, the role of women in the Weyr, leadership and sexuality.

- Further technological development. The feudal order very neatly contained technological development so as to minimize social disruptions. What happens when it gets beyond their ability to control? Like, how do they deal with truly mass production, cheap mass communication etc.?

- The spread of holdless populations in a post-Thread world. Settlements are very quickly going to crop up in areas that were previously uninhabited, or low traffic. No thread + techonological revolution = a population unlike any Pern has before? How do Holders maintain their grip on power? Or not.

- Armed conflict. The first trilogy dealt with armed conflict plenty, but its something that fell by the wayside in later books. It's as though Holders no longer maintained security forces with thread around... so again, what happens post Thread? There are plenty of ambitious Holders and would be Holders. The Weyrs (and thread) were key to maintaining peace. Will they still be interested in being the threat that keeps Holders in line?


And... other stuff. Why can't Pern stories be more to my taste? *whiiiiines*

"We're takers, gents."

So Takers is apparently my new fandom of one three? dirty_diana and dlasta are already on board, guys. Let the peer pressure, and these pretty pictures sway you.

( more Takers pics )

So here's the low down on Takers. They're a crew of very smart, very skilled thieves who pull off daring crimes with very big payoffs. They put most of their loot away in investments and savings, with a little (ok a lot) left over for living and charitable donations. They make sure to mix things up, robbing banks, stores, and armored trucks, with plenty of time between takes. Then one day ex-crew member Ghost gets released from prison (early, on good behaviour) and comes to them with a plan. They're suspicious of course, but-- it's a great plan, a great take, and it's Ghost, who they almost want to trust. So they go for it. [For a complete plot summary, head to Wikipedia.]

There's a large cast and I kind of divide them into three groups. ( spoilers, so many spoilers )

Not convinced? Watch the trailer. Fandoms have been built on so. much. less. Oh, and here's a making of, if you're interested in what the cast and crew think.