Semi-OT: The Icaran Empire Preview (the book one)

[Hunpecked]

Nobles: Ah, the military has authority over nobles in the military . OK.

Religious "freedom" and "legal" religions: In other words, everyone has the "freedom" to share the state's approved beliefs, or else. Sounds like an analogue of George Orwell made it into this alternate reality.

Crusade: It's not the concept, but the word itself that I question. The word is derived from specific actions that probably didn't occur in the Icaran reality (although I notice Islam seems to have slipped in). The best translation to 21st Century English may indeed be "crusade", but the Icaran term itself would probably have nothing to do with Christian symbolism, i.e. a cross. As an alternative I'd suggest "Wars of Liberation", as in "The Phong Liberation" and so on.

[Starhawk]

Hmmm that has a ring to it "Phong Liberation" I like that

Well yeah considering Icarans don't speak English I guess translations from terminology may not even carry over into English.

As far as Islam "slipping" in well Icara took generations to reach the Mideast so the locals had plenty of time to get into the "swing" of things with Islam before Icara showed up and quashed the local governments.

As far as the "freedom" to beleive in the state religions well like I said as long as you stay under the "religious radar" your not messed with, but if you run around spouting fundamentalist Islam (as is currently seen in the extremeist arabs) you'd end up on the wrong side of a stun batton before being dragged in to have a chat with a shadow dagger. Cults are just plain hunted down by the local authorities and it's pretty much up to the Provincial government what they do with the members, though Imperial law dictates the immediate execution of the leader.

[edit]Oh and forgive my ignorance but who is Orwell? is he the guy who wrote Animal farm?[/edit]

[dogscoff]

Oh and forgive my ignorance but who is Orwell? is he the guy who wrote Animal farm?

*gawp*

OK, ignorance forgiven.

Yes he is the guy who wrote Animal Farm. He is also the guy who wrote 1984.

Orwell is very important, in literary terms, particularly in the kind of speculative alternate-reality totalitarian-regime-construction & maintenence fiction you are looking at. I'd throughly recommend you read some of his stuff. (by "some of his stuff" I mean "at least 1984") Even if you find nothing in his works that you feel inspired by for your own writing, at least you'll understand what people are talking about when they compare Icara to Oceania. And they will, if your own writing is any good.

About Gerorge Orwell.
Don't read the wikipedia entries on the actual books, BTW. They are full of spoilers. Read the books instead/ first.

1984 is not only a monumentally important book: It's also a bloody good book. In fact it's one of the most gripping novels I've ever read, and I've read a lot of them. Animal farm is fascinating as a historical metaphor but as a novel it doesn't compare to 1984. It's still well worth a read, but it's not 1984.

The film 1984 (the one with John Hurt and the Eurythmics soundtrack) is a respectable interpretation of the story, but read the book first. The film will make you go cold and probably give you nightmares, but the book will leave you awake night after night, staring into bleak nothingness at 3am as you sit up in bed hugging your knees, shivering, rocking and babbling incoherently.

Aside: My older brother Dave signs all his text messages to me "1984". Big Brother. Get it?

[Atrocities]

Oh and forgive my ignorance but who is Orwell? is he the guy who wrote Animal farm?

I tried to read 1984 in 1994 but found it to be to... how shall I put it... boring to read at the time. I think I read like two chapters and never went back. Not to worry I also did that with one of Tom Clancy's books....