Is there *any* S.M. Stirling series without cannibalism?

[eschaton]

I just re-read The Sky People recently, so this was on my mind, as I know he has a hard on for cannibals, either making them into sadistic villains or human vermin. But I didn't realize until I stepped back he uses it as a trope in almost every single series.

Off the top of my head.

1. Draka - Never read the series, didn't interest me because it was so implausible. But I seem to remember hearing a female villain in the later books consumed human flesh.

2. ISOT - There was definitely at least one cannibal villain, who was, IIRC, an Asian woman from the present. I can't remember if there was any cannibalism suggested from the extant bronze-age cultures in the books.

3. Peshawar Lancers - Cannibals abound, both in terms of "human vermin" (especially in Shikari in Galveston), and sadistic villains (the Russians)

4. Emberverse - Here, the implausible cannibals all seem to be of the "human vermin" sort, as the big baddies of both sub-series eschew human flesh.

5. Lords of Creation - At least the subhuman vermin in The Sky People actually not quite human, although his one-dimensional ravenous Neandertals are laughable, particularly in that they begin eating people in the middle of freaking combat. I don't remember any cannibalism at all in In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, which was part of the reason I found it one of his most enjoyable books.

6. Conquistador - I don't recall any cannibalism, but this novel was so unpleasant to read that I might have glossed over some reference to the Aztecs still performing it or something.

Anyway, what did I leave out?

 

[MerryPrankster]

I don't recall any cannibalism in the Draka novels at all. I think Gwen considers eating a guy she killed just after arriving on our world, but instead uses his credit card to order lots of Chinese food.

And in ISOT, although Alice Hong was a torturer, sadist, and general unpleasant person, I don't recall any cannibalism.

 

[Faeelin]

I don't recall any cannibalism in the Draka novels at all. I think Gwen considers eating a guy she killed just after arriving on our world, but instead uses his credit card to order lots of Chinese food.

And in ISOT, although Alice Hong was a torturer, sadist, and general unpleasant person, I don't recall any cannibalism.

There's some in Under the Yoke, by the French resistance. And then in the last book, the mother trapped on the space ship feeds her kids the corpses of the fallen.

 

[Grimm Reaper]

Way back when he wrote a story called Roachstompers about a world facing economic chaos and world war and guess what pops up?

 

[MerryPrankster]

There's some in Under the Yoke, by the French resistance. And then in the last book, the mother trapped on the space ship feeds her kids the corpses of the fallen.

Oops. Forgot about that.

The Pathfinder incident was just supremely dicky on the Draka part. Taking away all the food on purpose so the survivors would have to eat their dead?

Add Yolande Ingolfsson to "Karma Houdini" on TVTropes because she survives the Final War and is still in charge of Aresopolis.

 

[eschaton]

And in ISOT, although Alice Hong was a torturer, sadist, and general unpleasant person, I don't recall any cannibalism.

I know there was a line in there with her referring to using human flesh in some stir-fry she made, and how delicious it was compared to merely pork or something.

 

[Grimm Reaper]

It was suggested that she was joking but, as the book also notes, neither Odikweos nor Mittler nor any others in hearing had the slightest doubt that she was quite capable of whatever depravity she felt like trying.



On the other hand Walker was neither a cannibal nor a sadist but, as was put so well in his picnic discussion with Hong, his own record of atrocities was far beyond any of her achievements, possibly made worse by the fact that his actions had nothing to do with cruelty for its own sake.

 

[mdc_1957]

He did make some licensed Terminator novels. At least those didn't have cannibalism, from what I've heard.

 

[Count Dearborn]

It is mentioned in Conquistador, as one of the Pacific Island Cultures liked "long pig".

 

[Thande]

I doubt it. Cannibalism and lesbianism are his version of death and taxes.

 

[Tom Veil]

I know there was a line in there with her referring to using human flesh in some stir-fry she made, and how delicious it was compared to merely pork or something.

Amazon has full-text search for most of Stirling's books.
In ISOT I, the Olmecs (Mexico) are referred to as cannibals. And on page 334, there's a graphic depiction, complete with everyone's favorite fun fact, that cooked human flesh smells like pork.
In ISOT II, we again learn that cooked human flesh smells like pork, but that's because a guardsman falls into an open flame. Plenty of references to human sacrifice, though.
In ISOT III, at page 151, Alice Hong brags about eating children with sweet-and-sour sauce. Seriously. And just in case the reader think it's a joke, we have Odysseus tell us, nope, she means it.

 

[Archangel Michael]

I...I never realized this.

Oh God. Oh God. My mind is full of fuck.

 

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

Why does anyone read any of this tripe?

 

[Grimm Reaper]

A man spends literally decades shoving cannibalism into his writing on every subject any of us can find and suddenly people are suggesting a fetish or worse...being so judgemental is just so sad.

 

[hopper2cool]

What about the General Series? There is no cannibalism there.
As far was why does anyone read this? Well, I like Stirling even though I know he has his faults. Personally I think the Emberverse books were the most implausible (even more than the Draka) and that everyone in his books acts like they are in a Stirling book. Much like how Stephen King books require the characters to act like they are in a King book. It's a somewhat lazy way to explain away plotholes but it's better than just plain ignoring things like some other authors do. I guess this is a YMMV type of deal.

 

[Finn]

A man spends literally decades shoving cannibalism into his writing on every subject any of us can find and suddenly people are suggesting a fetish or worse...being so judgemental is just so sad.

What exactly are you condemning here? That he shoved cannibalism into all of his writings or that we are judging him for shoving cannibalism into all his writings?

 

[RazeByFire]

What about the General Series? There is no cannibalism there.
As far was why does anyone read this? Well, I like Stirling even though I know he has his faults. Personally I think the Emberverse books were the most implausible (even more than the Draka) and that everyone in his books acts like they are in a Stirling book. Much like how Stephen King books require the characters to act like they are in a King book. It's a somewhat lazy way to explain away plotholes but it's better than just plain ignoring things like some other authors do. I guess this is a YMMV type of deal.

What do you mean by this? I mean, I'm not arguing, I just don't quite understand it.

Is it that, in the Emberverse, most people went crazy and next to no government, either local or state, survived? In essence, no one does anything that doesn't revolve around what Stirling wants to happen in the story. How would you expect things to be be done differently?

Again, I am just aksing, not tryint to argue the point. I try to write myself, so when I see someone post something about writing, I ask questions.

 

[mtk1701]

My mind is full of fuck.

This sentence is full of win. I have to find ways to work this into conversations.

 

[hopper2cool]

What do you mean by this? I mean, I'm not arguing, I just don't quite understand it.

Is it that, in the Emberverse, most people went crazy and next to no government, either local or state, survived? In essence, no one does anything that doesn't revolve around what Stirling wants to happen in the story. How would you expect things to be be done differently?

Again, I am just aksing, not tryint to argue the point. I try to write myself, so when I see someone post something about writing, I ask questions.

Basicly I mean that the characters in a Stirling book go crazy way too quickly and decide that slavery/feudalism is the way to go about 10 minutes later. I don't really buy how quickly things went to crap in DTF. Also I really don't buy that Armitage was able to set up 15th century French Feudalism less than year a later. Give it 20 years and sure that might work.
Instead we get a story where just to keep the timeline short people do unlikely things way too quickly. Like large amounts of people becoming cannibals. Or where Walker decides to rogue just to make things difficult for the Nantucketers. Or the fact that no one ever lies about why they are doing the things they are doing just saying "fuckem they are weak and should belong to us".
For me I just decide that he is cutting out the boring middle parts where the things get set into motion. I understand it and it doesn't really bother me but I certainly notice it.

Sorry I missed your questions about King books. Now I haven't read him in 10 years so maybe this has changed. What I mean about King is that the characters often overlook the 10 or so warning signs until they are screwed. Pet Cemetary and the Shining are the two examples I can think of. People ignore problems until too late.

 

[Archangel Michael]

What about the General Series? There is no cannibalism there.

Well, there's probably a few barbarian tribes that do, and I remember in one of the books, a possible future shown by Raj showed cannibals.