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| Art by Clyde Caldwell |
After way more intensive review of Barsoomian names in Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars books and adding a dash of Gardner Fox's Llarn novels, which pretty closely mimic Barsoomian morphology, I have come up with a
series of generators for Martian names, as accurate as I can make it. Well, there's one name from the series it can't generate, but by the time I discovered this, it was too late. Anyway, it's pretty close to getting them all.
Check it out.
Note the in the structures given for the names multiple "elements" typical mean a new word for males names, but is more likely to be a multi-syllabic "single" name for females, but since this isn't always the case I've elected to leave the dividing up to you. For example: EES is the structure of Djor Kantos, but also Carthoris and Vanuma.
The world needs more sword-and-planet.
ReplyDeleteI haven't followed the genre very deeply, but do you know of any contemporary takes on it?
I'll interpret contemporary as post-1990.
ReplyDeleteParagaea by Chris Roberson is probably the most pure planetary romance while updated thing I'm aware of in prose. S.M. Stirling also has two novels that do a modern rationalized sci-fi take on the pulp versions of Mars and Venus in In the Courts of the Crimson King and The Sky People.
There was also an updated comics versions of Flash Gordon from Dynamite in 2014.
Awesome. I'm going to pick up Paragaea. I've tried reading Stirling before and couldn't quite get into his writing. Too bad no one with the skill of Gene Wolfe has taken on the genre.
ReplyDeleteLet's make a royal couple!
ReplyDeleteQueen Kima
King Sonaihana
They sound a bit tropical to me. Perhaps they rule a kingdom on Venus?
Another author whose way with names that I liked was Tanith Lee. Her Birthgrave series has a sword and planet feel to it at times, and I liked how the names of places and people rolled well off the tongue.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm starting a new sword and planet project myself tentatively titled Swords of Maruzar. An excerpt of the intro is on my blog http://hariragat.blogspot.com/2018/10/battle-for-maruzar.html.
This is very cool.
ReplyDeleteYou could always add a Kline variation, too.
So this morning was getting a robot to pick me random numbers for names!
Meant to post this before now but a few more contemporary takes on Sword and Planet of note are:
ReplyDeleteChampion of Mars by Guy Haley
Jane Carver of Waar and Swords of Waar by Nathan Long
Surprised there hasn't been any mention of the anthologies by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois:
ReplyDelete* Old Mars
* Old Venus