Rick Riordan and Socrates Part 1

The classic Greek architecture of the British Museum,
a center of learning, and where artifacts from
the Parthenon of Athens are stored.

As you can see by perusing my reading list for 2019, I've finished the ten novels that make up Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and The Heroes of Olympus series. I've always yearned to understand how the ancient Greeks regarded their gods, and Rick Riordan's lighthearted take on the subject made the subject more real to me.

This may sound crazy, as Rick Riordan's fantasy novels rival J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter books with regard to character adventures and fireworks. Still, the way he focuses on demigods like Percy and Annabeth, portrays their divine parents, and how the teens utilize their powers to either benefit themselves or protect others, tells me a lot about how the ancient Greeks related to their world. As a bonus, the second series brings in characters from a Roman camp, and demonstrates how the Romans viewed the gods differently.

After reading Riordan's novels, something spurred me to read a few of Plato's writings. His stories--Apology, Crito, and Phaedo--illustrate how his mentor Socrates viewed the world, as well as his place in it. As I read Plato's stories, cast as a series of conversations and arguments, I couldn't help think about Socrates, and why his fellow citizens might put him to death. To follow are some of my reactions and thoughts. They are in no way educated assertions, but merely reflections based on my own outlook and experience.

Socrates was seventy years old when he was condemned to death. The charge seems to revolve around his teachings, and corrupting the youth. But Socrates had lived in Athens, and been a philosopher there all his life. If his fellow citizens have tolerated his teachings up to now, why did his teachings suddenly become too dangerous to tolerate?

The ancient Greeks had far less medical knowledge and capabilities than today. Socrates would have suffered the ordinary accidents of life that maybe doctors back then couldn't set right. In an age without Flu shots, inoculations, and antibiotics, who knows what aftereffects of diseases like Tuberculosis or Scarlet Fever he might have suffered from. Additionally, as a soldier in the Peloponnesian War, he would have suffered injuries and wounds that left scars in more ways than one. 

Anyone who has suffered from a malady the doctors had trouble diagnosing knows the long term implications of infection. Even poorly maintained teeth can lead to a heart condition. It's safe to say the palliatives and ointments the ancients used to treat wounds and illnesses weren't as effective as today's more targeted cures. 

Might Socrates have needed a steadying hand to help him get around? Did he suffer from defective hearing or eyesight? Might he have lung or heart damage? Did the doctors attend him regularly to manage his ailments? In a society in which doctors regularly practiced assisted suicide and euthanasia, maybe the government weighed his physical needs against the community's available time and resources, and manufactured a reason why this long-time philosopher's teachings were suddenly a corrupting influence.

Clarissa, the daughter of Ares, the Greek god of War, in Rick Riordan's novels, might well approve of such a decision. Personally, I suspect that Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the seas, would find a more caring way of dealing with the aged philosopher. 

Dragon Dave

Frank Herbert & John W Campbell in Great Sand Dunes National Park

One moment you drive through scenic Colorado. The next, sand dunes transform the land. 

It's a curious thing, to gaze upon these dunes, and realize that in full sun the temperature can rise to 130 degrees. It calls to mind the devastation that can creep so readily into our world through neglect, or a misappropriation of our resources. For Science Fiction fans, it calls to mind the world of Arrakis, a desert planet at the heart of Frank Herbert's novel Dune.

Dune took Frank Herbert years to write. Inspiration came from an area of expanding sand dunes that a community in Oregon had fought to control. Ideas and guidance also came from editors and fellow writers in the Science Fiction community. Kevin J. Anderson, and Frank Herbert's son Brian, while preserving and expanding the Dune universe, published a short novel called Duneworld, based on Frank Herbert's original story outline. It is a vastly different story, lacking many of the elements that made Dune extraordinary, such as the entire Bene Gesserit order, and the depth of the evil Harkonnen family. This is the story that Frank Herbert might have written, if not for the assistance of his fellow writers, and the guidance of editor John W. Campbell.
 

It was interesting to sit and sketch here, while contemplating this awesome expanse of desert, as well as Frank Herbert's monumental novel. Kevin J. Anderson, a guardian of Frank Herbert's legacy, has hiked here. As an author who dictates his first draft based on an outline while he hikes, he found inspiration and beauty here. While my drawing did service to the sand dunes, my wife's watercolor truly captured the beauty and diversity of the national park.

In Dune, the spice mined on Arrakis helped humanity progress. So every aspect of human community and endeavor must constantly refine itself, and find new ways to meet the demands of a changing world. Sadly, the Science Fiction community has recently chosen to move into the future by attacking the legacy of patriarchs like John W. Campbell because his opinions and beliefs no longer equivocate with theirs. Because a man who died fifty years ago, and whose paradigm of life was formed a century ago, thought and saw the world differently than they currently do, the Science Fiction community has stripped his name from a prestigious award, as well as an annual conference.

So much for honoring a lifetime of contributions to the field, and the countless novels he elevated, like Dune, into extraordinary works of art.

It is easy to destroy, and hard to build. The dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park teach us that. After two hours sketching in the sun, I found myself wiped out, even though I had sheltered  from the sun, and thought I had drunk enough water. The experience taught me respect for this awesome place, as I have always respected Frank Herbert's novel Dune, and the literary achievements of Kevin J. Anderson. After reading Duneworld in Kevin and Brian's book The Road To Dune, I also respect the magnitude of John W. Campbell contributions to the field, even if the strongest voices in contemporary Science Fiction do not.

Dragon Dave

The Two Howard Starks of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark

While watching the movie "Avengers: Endgame" in the theater earlier this year, I was thrown by the actor who played Howard Stark. He seemed different to me than the man who had played the father of Tony Stark (Iron Man) in "Captain America: Winter Soldier." As it turns out, I soon discovered I wasn't the only one. I told a local comic store owner about my confusion, and he agreed with me that he found the portrayal confusing too.

This weekend, I watched "Captain America: Civil War" for the first time since its theatrical release. I was struck by how the actor who played Howard Stark was the same man who had portrayed him in "Avengers: Endgame." While the character belongs to the past, what occurred between the Winter Soldier and Howard Stark drives much of the action in "Captain America: Civil War," so it's a fairly important role. Obviously, the Marvel Cinematic Universe extends over many films, so recasting of minor roles is inevitable. Still, I was curious about the two actors who played Howard Stark, so I decided to investigate further.

John Slattery as Howard Stark

American actor John Slattery portrayed Howard Stark in "Iron Man 2" (2010), "Ant-Man" (2015), "Captain America: Civil War" (2016), and "Avengers: Endgame" (2019). British actor Dominic Cooper portrayed Howard Stark in "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011), the short film "Agent Carter" (2013) included as an extra on the home video release of "Iron Man 3," and several episodes of the "Agent Carter" TV series in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, he will voice the role of Howard Stark in an animated web series (or streaming TV series?) in 2021 called "What If...?"

Or, to put the two faces in chronological order:

Movie/TV Series                                       Actor                 
Iron Man 2                                               John Slattery      
Captain America: The First Avenger       Dominic Cooper
Agent Carter (Short Film)                        Dominic Cooper
Ant-Man                                                  John Slattery     
Agent Carter (TV series)                         Dominic Cooper
Captain America: Civil War                     John Slattery     
Avengers: Endgame                               John Slattery      
What If...?                                               Dominic Cooper

Obviously, "Captain America: The First Avenger" is set before all the others (in the 1940s during World War II), and the "Agent Carter" film and TV series would naturally follow. Dominic Cooper plays Howard Stark then. But when Tony Stark travels back in time to 1970 and speaks with his father in "Avengers: Endgame" that's John Slattery playing Howard Stark. John Slattery then plays the role forward, as he portrays Howard Stark's death in 1991, as revealed via a video recording in "Captain America: Civil War."

Was it necessary for two actors to span the fifty years of Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, given the wizardry of make-up and modern special effects? Or was the casting of the two Howard Starks determined simply by actor availability? At least I know what actor played Howard Stark when now, and as a result, so do you.

Dragon Dave

The Yeti and Illustrator Alan Willow

Jamie discovers the Yeti-control spheres in a cave.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Of course, there are all kinds of pictures. Some images really speak to you, while others prove eminently forgettable. But few compare to video, which includes motion and sound, and can bring characters and a story to life in a way words or still pictures never can. 

Sadly, five of the six episodes of the Doctor Who story "The Abominable Snowmen" no longer exist. I've watched the story reconstruction several times. This was a real labor of love for dedicated Doctor Who fans. They cobbled the missing episodes together using photos taken of a TV screen, a complete sound recording (probably compiled from multiple sources, and most likely all from just a child's low-tech cassette recorder) and some fan-made animation. While I'm amazed by their achievement, it's the events from the single remaining video episode that cling most tenaciously to my memory.

 So unlike most of the classic Doctor Who stories, reading Terrance Dicks' novelization of "The Abominable Snowmen" was like revisiting a novel I hadn't read in years. I vaguely remembered bits of the story, but for the most part, while familiar, it was also completely new. Again.

Monks defend the monastery during a Yeti assault.

 Given the worth of a good picture, and how much it can contribute to a story, I'm glad the artist who drew these interior sketches receives credit in the book. Of course, Terrance Dicks gets his name on the spine, on the cover, and inside. The publishers also point out that Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln wrote the original screenplay. While the illustrations are copyrighted by the publisher, at least the illustrator, Alan Willow, gets a mention. That's better than some books, in which the interior artist is never recognized until years later, if ever.

Alan Willow would go on to illustrate more of the early Doctor Who novels. Sadly, the series dropped the interior illustrations after awhile. But at least in these early books, we have these wonderful sketches that enhance the story. That's especially nice for stories like "The Abominable Snowmen," which no longer exist in their original form.

Edward Travers, explorer for Britain's Royal Geographic Society, spots a monk and two Yeti.

A few thoughts strike me as I conclude this series on "The Abominable Snowmen." One is that the novelization copyright is dated 1974. This is the same year in which Terrance Dicks left the TV series, after serving for five years as script editor. So this may represent one of his first literary efforts. A second thought is that it was not widely known at this time that the BBC were wiping old tapes to use again, so it would not have represented an intention to preserve a lost story. Third, and lastly, Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen is the first book in the Target Doctor Who series. This suggests that the publishers thought this story was strong enough to launch their range, and that the idea of the Yeti was powerful enough to draw readers to their new book series.

They would have had eleven years worth of Doctor Who stories to choose from by this time, encompassing the first, second, and third Doctor eras. That adds up to over seventy stories! So the fact that Target Books chose "The Abominable Snowmen" to launch their Doctor Who line suggests they must have thought it was extraordinary.

All of which makes me wonder why, with the exception of a cameo appearance in "The Five Doctors," the Yeti never returned to the TV series. But then, Doctor Who has never suffered from a lack of frightening monsters, or threatening alien races.

Dragon Dave

The Yeti and Terrance Dicks

 

Of all the people associated with Doctor Who, Terrance Dicks casts a long shadow. It was he who devised the history of the Doctor in the final second Doctor story "The War Games." He guided the Doctor throughout the Third Doctor's time as script editor, building and deepening the mythology of the Time Lords, and his home planet of Gallifrey. Not only did he write further stories for later doctors, but he novelized more Doctor Who stories than any other writer. For decades, the only way to follow the second Doctor's adventures with the Yeti was through his novelizations of Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln's stories "The Abominable Snowman" and "The Web Of Fear."

Terrance Dicks died recently. Given how much he contributed to the program, his death was a little hard to take in. Perhaps in response, I picked up my paperback of The Abominable Snowmen, and followed his simple, fast-paced narrative. Unlike other authors, Dicks never sought to rework the TV scripts, but related the scenes as they had been filmed. He never sought to impress readers with dazzling wordplay, or elegant turns of phrase. Hence, readers don't get an alternative version of the TV story, but a faithful literary adaptation. 

Perhaps that is the secret to Dicks' success in life. When approaching a new story, he never sought to break the mold, or reinvent the wheel. When the production team asked for a story, he gave it to them in the requested time. When publishers asked him for a novelization, he handed in his manuscripts on time. He did his best without agonizing over every single word or scene. He produced proficient and exciting stories. He always entertained.

I will miss seeing Terrance Dicks in new Doctor Who Making Of specials. But at least I can still listen to his commentary on the DVDs. He wasn't the most insightful presence in those audio recordings, and he often repeated himself. But he contributed so much to Doctor Who that it's hard to think of the program without him. 

He didn't create the Yeti in Doctor Who, but he wrote novelizations of their adventures. When he wrote "The Five Doctors" for the show's twentieth anniversary, he included the Yeti in one short scene. And yes, of all the doctors he could have used, he had the second doctor encounter them. It was the perfect way to include the Yeti, and cap off their involvement in Doctor Who, at least during the classic series era. 

I can only imagine the kinds of stories he might have contributed, had he worked on the newer series. These stories, filmed in Wales, boast production values and special effects that Terrance Dicks could only have imagined in the 1960s and '70s. Might he have pitched a new Yeti story, had the producers asked? It hardly seems unlikely, given the return of so many classic aliens, such as the Ice Warriors and the Zygons, and how today's audiences have enjoyed their return.

Farewell, Terrance Dicks. Thanks for so many great stories.

Dragon Dave

The Yeti in Snowdonia National Park

The Yeti don't get much love in Doctor Who. Sadly, the two second Doctor stories in which they figured prominently, "The Abominable Snowmen" and "The Web of Fear," went missing from BBC archives for many years. Aside from a cameo appearance in the twentieth anniversary story "The Five Doctors," the Yeti silently slipped away from Doctor Who, never to rival the popularity of Cybermen and the Daleks.  

Thankfully, one episode of the six-part "The Abominable Snowmen" still exists, and five of the six episodes of "The Web of Fear" were returned to the BBC in recent years. So by watching the fan-produced reconstruction of "The Abominable Snowmen" and the BBC-reissued "The Web of Fear," fans can get an idea of the menace the Yeti posed for the second Doctor in the 1960s. Still, with so many established alien races, and the program constantly introducing us to more, it seems unlikely that the Yeti will ever rise higher than curiosities in the Doctor Who universe.

Nonetheless, my wife and I thought of the Yeti, and "The Abominable Snowmen," when we drove through Snowdonia National Park in Wales a few years ago. For it was in this area that the second Doctor and his companions Jamie and Victoria encounter the elusive creatures. Or at least this was where the location filming took place. Transformed by the production team, the TARDIS actually lands in the Himilayas, where the heroes protect priests at a Buddhist Temple from the Yeti, and a malevolent entity called the Great Intelligence.

While shrouded in mist, Snowdonia National Park proved rich in character. Towns with seemingly unpronounceable names proved picturesque and inviting. Grass, foliage, and trees burst forth from the hard ground and stark rocky hillsides. We wondered how harsh the winters in Wales might be, given the rugged terrain, and were glad we had arrived in summer, when conditions were cool but comfortable.

I would have liked to have visited the actual spot where the Doctor Who production team filmed the Yeti. Sadly, this area lay far off the beaten track. So my wife and I confined ourselves to well-traveled roads, and enjoyed getting a taste of the area that had doubled for the remote Himilayas in "The Abominable Snowmen."

South of Snowdonia National Park lies the city of Cardiff, where the current Doctor Who production team is located. Perhaps we'll have to return to Wales someday, and see the locations the ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth Doctors have visited. I wonder if, by the time we travel there, the Yeti will have returned to Doctor Who? Fans of the Yeti can only live in hope.

Dragon Dave

Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman in Colorado Springs

After flying into Denver International Airport, we drove our rental car south to Colorado Springs. Along the way we passed through the concrete canyons and big box store forests of urban sprawl. When we reached Colorado Springs, we ate lunch at a popular chain restaurant before touring the U.S. Air Force Academy. Then we drove along the freeway, and through wide paved streets lined by strip malls to our hotel. 

It wasn't until the next day, as we hiked in Garden Of The Gods, that I realized we were actually in Colorado Springs, where Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was set. In the TV series, Dr. Michaela Quinn travels from Boston, Massachusetts to Colorado Springs in 1867, because the townspeople of modern Boston refuse to visit a female doctor. At first, the inhabitants of this frontier town refuse to trust Michaela also. But gradually, she wins their respect, and becomes a valued member of the community.

While Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was filmed in California, this is the area in which the TV series was set. There may not have been a real Dr. Michaela Quinn. Nonetheless, the issues the character battles, and the events she lived through, were very real indeed. When you see General Custer leading his army troops against nearby Native American tribes, this is where those battles actually took place. When you see Army troops killing herds of buffalo to drive away Native American communities, and clear the land for homesteads and ranches, this is where that occurred. When you see the townspeople striving to attract the interest of the railroads, and thereby develop their town, this is where that occurred.

In the series, all that occurred, or at least began, in 1867. In the one hundred-and-fifty years hence, townspeople like shopkeeper Loren Bray and barber Jake Slicker won. The train came to Colorado Springs, and the town grew. Now there's far more than one school or church in Colorado Springs, let alone one doctor. The town has grown out all proportion to its original size, and has reaped all the benefits of becoming a modern city, as well as the accompanying traffic and overcrowding issues. 

In Garden of the Gods, the beauty of the land in which Colorado Springs was planted remains. This was the place where people like Dr. Michaela Quinn demonstrated that all people are equal, regardless of gender, race, or beliefs. I'm so glad it remains free to enter, and accessible to all.

Dragon Dave

Captain Marvel and the Air Force Academy Chapel

While Colonel Steve Austin represents the Air Force of the past, perhaps no one represents the Air Force of the present better than Captain Marvel. While Carol Danvers resembles a normal female officer, she isn't actually Human. Instead, she's an alien living peacefully on our world, and a member of the Kree race. Yet she's brave, capable, and strives for excellence, like all cadets who attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. It's fair to say that she wouldn't naturally belong to the Protestant faith, to which the upper, and best known chapel, is dedicated.

While the Air Force Academy may impose many strictures on cadets, their choice of faith is not curtailed in any way. The lower level of the building hosts a Catholic chapel, which is also very beautiful.

Then there is the Jewish chapel, which was filled to capacity during our visit. 
 

While our world often pits one religion against another, cadets who would worship in the Muslim and Buddhist chapels enter and exit through the same outer door to reach their separate sanctuaries. As this would prove impossible without creating dissension and violence in some parts of the world, this exemplifies how the Academy strives to install a yearning for greatness in every cadet.
 

Apparently, there's even an All-Faiths room, which can be utilized by individuals and congregations of less popular faiths. And somewhere outside, those belonging to Earth-centered faiths such as Wicca, Paganism, and Druidism can practice their religions in the Falcon's Circle. Perhaps we would have seen the latter, had it not been raining during our visit. 

Thus, while Cadets cannot take freedoms like speech, time, and movement for granted, they are allowed to pursue the faiths of their choosing,  regardless of their race (or planet) of origin. While striving to impose order and discipline, and imprint their concept of a model officer on cadets, the Air Force Academy recognizes that celebrating diversity can make us stronger. 

Either that, or the leadership has been taken over by shape-shifting Skrulls, striving to make us all weaker, and preparing our world for invasion. Hey, it happened in the movie...

Dragon Dave

 

Astronaut Steve Austin and the Air Force Academy Chapel

The Chapel at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado is a beautiful place, both outside and in. On the day we visited, clouds filled the sky, and falling rain made it hard to take photographs outside without water spotting the camera lens. Inside the Chapel, the cloudy sky prevented the stain glass from radiating at optimum brightness and color. Still, the building's beauty was apparent.

We all idolize people like Air Force Colonel Steve Austin in the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man for his accomplishments as an aircraft pilot and astronaut. Our reverence for him stems from his real life counterparts, such as the young people who attend the Academy, and go on to  brilliant careers in the United States Air Force. Even the interior of the Chapel reminds us of their highest aspirations: to fly a jet or spaceship at incredible speeds, defend our country, and explore the unknown. But do we recognize the price these heroes pay to achieve these lofty goals?

Like this monumental Chapel, each cadet's future achievements are grounded upon their experiences--and sacrifices--at the Academy. During their Academy years, everything the cadets have ever relied upon, and called their own, is stripped away from them. Chief among these losses are freedom of choice, freedom of time, freedom of movement, and even freedom of speech, perhaps our most cherished right of all. 

Like Colonel Steve Austin after the wreck that ended his career as a test pilot, the cadets are stripped down to their component parts, and gradually reassembled according to the Air Force Academy model. Perhaps they don't leave the Academy with artificial organs or bionic limbs, but they graduate only after a substantial transformation. To paraphrase Oscar Goldman, the director of the Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI), they leave "better, stronger, and faster."

Every aspect of popular culture teaches nonconformity. To be a great person, first one must be popular, and therefore different. To become popular, one must be irreverent and disrespectful. To get ahead, one must step on toes and break the rules. Only then can one achieve great things. 

The Air Force Academy teaches an older, more staid approach. To become great, one must first learn to be respectful, to obey the rules, and to pull with the team. Only through submission, conformity, and respect for others, can one in turn gain respect and become a leader. 

Religion can also share in this older, time-honored approach to greatness. I speak not of religion which allows all influences, and therefore empowers disruption. Nor do I speak of religion in which participants and leaders play off one faction against another. True religion respects all, especially those who have traveled before. True religion doesn't merely allow or okay, but seeks to understand the meaning underlying all choices. True religion views compromise and conformity as a way of navigating the present toward a better future for all.

I don't know how cadets relate to the Air Force Academy Chapel on a daily or weekly basis, but I'm guessing that an "anything goes" philosophy plays no part whatsoever in their teachings and worship services. If the introductory film shown at the Academy Visitor Center is anything to go by, I suspect that the Chapel enhances cadets' Academy experience by helping them belong more fully to their fellow cadets and superiors, and craft a spiritual life which makes them better, stronger, and faster leaders. Based on the people we admire, like Colonel Steve Austin, I imagine the Chapel plays a strong role in fashioning them into Air Force officers, fighter pilots, and astronauts. 

Out of all who join the Air Force, and train to become officers, only a select few are chosen to attend the Academy. Hopefully, the applicants are chosen according to merit, and for their ability to achieve greatness. They have their course to pursue, and you have yours. Which path to greatness will you choose?

Dragon Dave

Arthur Conan Doyle and Downton Abbey at Baconthorpe Castle Part 2

Although William Baxton, the first member of the Heydon clan, built the Inner Gatehouse in 1460, it was Sir Henry Heydon (William Baxton's grandson) who constructed the rest of the castle inside the courtyard, either during or after the War of the Roses finished. There, they would have lived comfortable lives, their needs attended by servants a la Downton Abbey. His son, John Heydon II, also constructed a wool processing factory along the inner courtyard wall, the ruins of which you can see behind me. By his Sir Christopher Heydon I's time, the family owned 20,000 to 30,000 sheep, and their ability to produce finished cloth allowed them to live in truly grand style, perhaps even better than the Crawley Family in Downton Abbey. For then, in the mid sixteenth century, they employed around 80 servants, and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle.

Unfortunately, as in Downton Abbey, Sir Christopher Heydon I found that his spending outstripped his earnings, and his son was forced to sell off part of the estate and mortgage the rest of the property. 

When I read The White Company by Arthur Conan Doyle, I couldn't understand why Sir Nigel Loring left his castle in England to find glory in France. Recently, I've been reading about the 100 Years War, and how France was less a country back then than a series of adjacent territories overseen by various rulers. The novel is set in 1366 and 1367, when England saw itself as owning much of France back then. So Sir Nigel's decision to lead a company of knights through land of contested ownership, and perhaps in some way increase England's sovereignty, makes sense. 

There was also an economic benefit to the 100 Years War which Arthur Conan Doyle doesn't cover. One region ruled by French rulers was Flanders, which is now a county in Belgium. Flanders was where the medieval world sent its wool to be transformed into finished cloth. The leaders of the wool trade in Flanders appealed to Edward III to help protect their businesses, which were necessary to UK international trade. 

Still, British rulers were too far away to protect Flemish weavers, so they began emigrating to England. Remember, Sir John Heydon II built the wool processing factory, and his first spinners and weavers likely hailed from Flanders. The fact that he owned 20,000 to 30,000 sheep, and operated the wool processing center too, gives you an idea of how powerful he was, and how he could afford such a lavish lifestyle.

Unlike the Crawley family in Downton Abbey, Sir Christopher and his successors couldn't control their spending. So increasingly, servants were dismissed, lands were sold, buildings were mortgaged, or even dismantled and the stone sold by the cartload.

People no longer live year round at Baconthorpe Castle. But visitors come to see the ruins of a castle that lasted from the tail end of the 100 Years War, through the War of the Roses, the British religious reforms of Henry VIII and his successors, and the English Civil War. While we were there, a swan couple found the mere a pleasant place to birth their children. So perhaps successive generations of swans will call Baconthorpe Castle home. Let's hope they prove wise managers of the estate, and refrain from warring with their avian neighbors.

Dragon Dave

Related Links
Baconthorpe Castle at English Heritage
Wool Trade at Historic UK

Arthur Conan Doyle and Downton Abbey at Baconthorpe Castle Part 1

The first thing that greets you at Baconthorpe Castle is the outer gatehouse, which was built around 1560 by Sir Christopher Heydon I. His lordship of the castle seems to coincide with the high point of the Heydon family. Like the Crawley family in the TV series Downton Abbey, the Heydon family by this time had a large manor house inside the inner castle courtyard, and employed around 80 servants.

At first glance, Sir Christopher Heydon I (1518-1579) seems to have benefitted from a period of relative peace in England, falling between the War of the Roses in the 15th Century and the English Civil War in the 17th Century. But then you have to remember that Henry VIII ruled England during the first half of the 16th Century. His government could have been described as anything but placid.

By 1560, when the outer gatehouse was finished, English Christians had been rocked by the formation of the Church of England and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, ultra-progressive protestant rule of Henry's son Edward, and the ultra-Catholic rule of his daughter Mary. No wonder Sir Christopher decided he needed an outer gatehouse, as well as a larger defensive wall to surround the property. 

Oh, and he also decided to crenellate the buildings and walls around this period too, which would give his guards and soldiers better defensive positions.

The stretch of land between the outer and inner gatehouse gives you some scope of what was essentially a manor house and surrounding lands. The area off to the right would have been a large formal garden, completed by Christopher Heydon II (1561-1623). He was a solder, as well as a Member of Parliament and a writer of astrology books. 

The second Christopher's militaristic nature got him into trouble in 1601 when he took part in the Essex Rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I. Unlike the 100 Years War, and the War of the Roses, the Essex Rebellion was a comparatively small affair of short duration. Nevertheless, he fought on the wrong side, against Elizabeth, and ended up being fined and sent to prison.

Still, even if his warring nature got the better of him, and he proved an unwise estate manager, at least he appreciated the beauty of nature, as he built a mere as well as the formal gardens.

A moat surrounds the castle. You have to walk across what was once a drawbridge, and is now a permanent walking bridge, to access the inner gatehouse and castle interior. The Inner Gatehouse was built by the founding member of the family castle, built by William Baxton around 1460. 

At first, you might ask why he built such defenses, as this would have been just after the 100 Years War, which lasted from 1337 to 1453. But then you have to remember that the War of the Roses, which lasted from 1455 to 1485, had already begun. Anyone who had significant assets back then, and wanted to protect their family back then, would have owned a defensible manor or castle like Sir Nigel Loring in Arthur Conan Doyle's novel The White Company. 

Although William died rich, and got the castle off to a good start, his son changed the family name to Heydon, as William was a self-made man. Perhaps patrons like William de la Pole, the Duke of Suffolk and a prominent military leader in the 100 Years War, disliked the Baxton name. Or perhaps, John felt that Heydon sounded more prestigious than Baxton in the fifteenth century. 

After all, young immigrant Bedrich Polouvicka changed his name to Richard DeVere in the sitcom To The Manor Born, and went on to found a popular UK chain of supermarkets. And the Heydon family would go on to become major players in the wool trade, which was one of England's major industries in medieval times.

Dragon Dave 

Review: Spine of the Dragon by Kevin J. Anderson Part 3

St. Edmundsbury Cathedral
Bury St. Edmunds, England

The Science Fiction and Fantasy genres have always had an uneasy relationship with religion. Usually, if religion is mentioned, it is portrayed in a negative context, as in Kevin J. Anderson’s early novel Resurrection, Inc. Some of this can readily be explained by the sad fact that the proponents of religion and science so often feel opposed to each other. As for the Fantasy field, if novels revolve around gods, usually the author pits the mortal characters against these divine beings. While this approach stacks the odds against our protagonists, it does nothing to enhance a reader’s spiritual life.

In Kevin J. Anderson’s novel Spine of the Dragon, Key Priestlord Klovus glories in destruction, and yearns to impose his will over the entire world. He nurtures his godlings not only on small amounts of worshippers’ blood, but also drains all blood from wounded sailors and prisoners of war before casting their corpses aside. His assassins brutally kill one another as part of their regimen, so Klovus will always have the very best murderers at his beck and call. And he does other things, too despicable to mention in this review. Despite Anderson’s strong portrayal of villainy—or perhaps because of it--the character never spoke to me. But Klovus is just one among a host of fully rounded characters that won me over with their passions, their bravery, and their all-too-Human foibles.

With such a strikingly negative portrayal of religion, it would have been nice to see a more beneficial one practiced in the Commonwealth. Still, Anderson throws out an interesting theological construct here. Unlike the Wreths, who were created by a god, the Humans were fashioned out of magic by the Wreths. Thus, like the featureless simpleminded drones that now serve the Wreths, the Humans have no souls, and only what they do in this life matters.

Perhaps it is unfair to suggest that the Isharan religion is entirely negative. For when Queen Iluris tours her districts in search of a potential successor, she discovers that all priests do not share Klovus’ lust for power and death. A few call upon their godling only after they have exhausted every other resource, and then only for protection and healing. Perhaps it is too much to hope that Klovus might learn from their example, and become a more sympathetic character in future volumes. But sometimes the blackest villains end up surprising you.

Kevin J. Anderson may yet reveal more aspects of Priestlord Klovus, or his everyday life, that will help his features stand out amid the darkness. For example, Kevin and his wife have several cats. Klovus could adopt a white, longhaired cat, and stroke it in key scenes like another classic villain. 

Tamworth Castle Gardens
Tamworth, England

As flowers usually grace our sanctuaries, and gardens often beautify church grounds, Priestlord Klovus could take up gardening. With the way he can channel magic, and the aid of his Godling, it would be interesting to see what types of flowers Klovis could grow in the magic-infused Isharan soil. After all, he would like to marry Queen Iluris, who has a beautiful garden on the palace grounds. Perhaps planting and nurturing a garden would be the way to win her heart?

You can never know how the next volume of a Kevin J. Anderson series will go. As a longtime reader of his novels, he surprised me with the level of originality he built into Spine of the Dragon. While charting the rising tensions between Ishara and the Commonwealth, as well as between the Humans and the Wreths, perhaps Kevin will devote a little time to showing a softer side to Priestlord Klovus. I look forward to seeing how Klovus, and Anderson’s depiction of religion and theology, grow and evolve over the course of the series.

In the meantime, perhaps I should devote a little more attention to my own garden. Even unaided by magic, I’m sure if I worked harder, I could make it more productive and beautiful. In this way, I could enhance my house and my life, while also blessing the lives of those around me.

St Edmundsbury Cathedral
Bury St. Edmunds, England

As for the whole cat thing, well, I think I’ll leave that to Kevin and his wife.

Dragon Dave