Strange Horizons made their goal!

[kaberett]

Which means the entire AJ short story has been published! Part 1 and Part 2.

Discussion in the comments? YES I THINK SO.

Comments

[kaberett]

Haven't finished reading part 2 yet (or even started) BUT:

(1) I actually squealed when I realised what was going on
(2) I feel weirdly icky about the gendering in this society; I am having to remind myself that having been given details about the physical configuration of Breq's body says nothing at all about her gender
(3) her name aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah her name :D :D :D :D

basically I AM SO GLAD THIS BACKSTORY IS BEING FILLED IN because I did wonder, and now I get to know

perhaps more detailed thoughts when i've finished flailing!

Ullamaliztli

[davidgillon]

I thought it might be worth discussing the game itself. The instant I saw the illustration* I thought of the Aztec ball game, ullamaliztli, and knew that there would be deaths involved. There's a pretty good explanation here. Politically the Aztec game seems to be the closest match we have, though play-wise the game Sister Ultimately-Justice makes her own seems to have somewhat more in common with volleyball, with the distinct player zones, though the scoring across a goal-line is more handball-ish (I was completely confused as to who had won the final point as I initially read it as out-of-play in the soccer or tennis sense).

*It's disappointing from the access side of things that there's no alt-text to explain the image for people who can't see it.

[vass]

I love how immediately recognisable Breq's voice is, and I don't mean her singing voice.

"One of the disciples who witnessed it," Ultimately-Justice said, "became abbot in his place. The other died soon after."
"You're a student of Blue Lily history."
"No," she said. "It was obvious."

Yep, there you are. Hi, Breq.