Exactly. Yeah - it’s a trilogy of children’s books from the early 70s. They’re the story of a group of rats made super intelligent and they escape from the lab. IIRC the author was inspired by work done on mice and rats at NIMH in the 60s. The NIMH series became films too. These are a staple of my childhood and it’s funny bc I haven’t thought about them in, I dunno, decades? Lol
Definitely I have to read this book now. It sounds like a departure from Stapledon's best-known narratives, which work impersonally over huge time frames ("Last and First Men" and "Star Maker"). You've made me curious about his skills at characterization, especially when a dog is the main character. Oh, and Ramses is beautiful.
I sympathize: I AM a cat person, and Fritz Leiber's "Space-Time For Springers" does the same thing to me, especially when my cat Parker tries to sniff my coffee in the morning. (From 2002 to 2019, I had a cat named "Leiber" who unfortunately didn't take after his namesake at all: I kept threatening the cat that if he got any dopier, I was going to rename him "Doctorow.")
Oh, I thought it was going to be something different. It's a read that triggers the grief we have for our pets that have died. Which is very real and very potent. But when I read that line, "an extraordinary dog, a super-sheepdog of human-level intelligence who struggles all his life with his nature, his talents, and his disabilities—most notably his lack of hands." I howled out loud. That's some funny stuff. You're a dog, buddy. Your whole life you're going to wish you had hands? Dog's don't have hand's, man, get over it. Be a person next time. What about his 😂 compulsion to "clean" certain areas of his anatomy. Telling ya. Missed opportunity.
Typically illuminating entry, except for the crack about 'cat people.' To redeem yourself, I recommend "My Beloved Monster" by Caleb Carr, and for dessert, "The House Guests" by the nonpareil John D. MacDonald (start with "The Only Girl in the Game")
never heard of this before. interesting title. sort of reminds me, in a very loose way, of rats of NIMH
NIMH = National Institute of Mental Health?
Exactly. Yeah - it’s a trilogy of children’s books from the early 70s. They’re the story of a group of rats made super intelligent and they escape from the lab. IIRC the author was inspired by work done on mice and rats at NIMH in the 60s. The NIMH series became films too. These are a staple of my childhood and it’s funny bc I haven’t thought about them in, I dunno, decades? Lol
Definitely I have to read this book now. It sounds like a departure from Stapledon's best-known narratives, which work impersonally over huge time frames ("Last and First Men" and "Star Maker"). You've made me curious about his skills at characterization, especially when a dog is the main character. Oh, and Ramses is beautiful.
I sympathize: I AM a cat person, and Fritz Leiber's "Space-Time For Springers" does the same thing to me, especially when my cat Parker tries to sniff my coffee in the morning. (From 2002 to 2019, I had a cat named "Leiber" who unfortunately didn't take after his namesake at all: I kept threatening the cat that if he got any dopier, I was going to rename him "Doctorow.")
Oh, I thought it was going to be something different. It's a read that triggers the grief we have for our pets that have died. Which is very real and very potent. But when I read that line, "an extraordinary dog, a super-sheepdog of human-level intelligence who struggles all his life with his nature, his talents, and his disabilities—most notably his lack of hands." I howled out loud. That's some funny stuff. You're a dog, buddy. Your whole life you're going to wish you had hands? Dog's don't have hand's, man, get over it. Be a person next time. What about his 😂 compulsion to "clean" certain areas of his anatomy. Telling ya. Missed opportunity.
Typically illuminating entry, except for the crack about 'cat people.' To redeem yourself, I recommend "My Beloved Monster" by Caleb Carr, and for dessert, "The House Guests" by the nonpareil John D. MacDonald (start with "The Only Girl in the Game")