One of the best panels I've ever attended was on monarchial systems in fantasy but I didn't realize until later that someone with a wicked sense of humor must've set it up. I believe it was Michael Moorcock, Tim Powers, Alma Alexander, and... I've forgotten the last person. Powers has constant Arthurian themes, Alexander immigrated to the US from... I want to say Hungary, but I'm not sure that's right. And of course, Moorcock, originally British, and completely irreverent and utterly hysterical. Between Powers and Moorcock (with Alexander inserting quiet, subtle digs) they completely sliced and diced the obsession in modern high fantasy with always having a freaking monarchy. I believe Moorcock was tossing off suggestions of alternate political systems was digging on all the books with monarchies (which curiously were all titles written by Powers, bwah) and Powers started tossing out the alternate systems (and somewhere in there, Alexander was trying to reinsert sanity by asking whether we weren't moving into science fiction instead of fantasy) and it went something like this...
Powers: Socialism... Moorcock: Some kid named Meiville's already written all of those. Powers: Authoritarianism... Moorcock: Your basic dystopia. Powers: Totalitarianism... Moorcock: Also known as Science Fiction. Powers: Are you here to help, or just snark? Moorcock: Snark.
I honestly wish I'd known to have some kind of videocam or recorder along, because the entire panel was priceless, but 75% of it was Powers and Moorcock bouncing their irreverent humor off each other.
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Date: 20 Feb 2011 07:00 pm (UTC)was tossing off suggestions of alternate political systemswas digging on all the books with monarchies (which curiously were all titles written by Powers, bwah) and Powers started tossing out the alternate systems (and somewhere in there, Alexander was trying to reinsert sanity by asking whether we weren't moving into science fiction instead of fantasy) and it went something like this...Powers: Socialism...
Moorcock: Some kid named Meiville's already written all of those.
Powers: Authoritarianism...
Moorcock: Your basic dystopia.
Powers: Totalitarianism...
Moorcock: Also known as Science Fiction.
Powers: Are you here to help, or just snark?
Moorcock: Snark.
I honestly wish I'd known to have some kind of videocam or recorder along, because the entire panel was priceless, but 75% of it was Powers and Moorcock bouncing their irreverent humor off each other.