Xena and TITAN...A Comparison
I found Gary's comparison of Xena:Warrior Princess and the John Varley science fiction books, TITAN, to be very interesting...see what you think!
Xena:Warrior Princess has a tall,dark-haired heroine who can fight really
well,and who has a sidekick named Gabrielle(Gabby). They have adventures and
fight for the rights of the downtrodden.
I am a science-fiction fan,and have read twice the fine trillogy by John
Varley,a noted science-fiction author. In 1979,he wrote TITAN,the first of
three books about one of Saturn's moons,Titan,which had an artificial "moon"
circling it.
The main character,Cirocco (Rocky) Jones is a tall woman,over six feet
tall,with long dark hair and is in command of a spaceship which is pulled
to its destruction by an unknown force. When she survives the wreck,her crew
is missing. Her second-in-command,Gabby,is a short blonde woman who is a
good fighter,too,and who is a close personal friend to Rocky.
Rocky wanders the "planet" for days alone,thinking she is the only survivor
of the crew of eight.
After days,she finds Gabby,and they are so lonely and relieved at the same
time,that they have a "subtext" relationship,mostly out of being alive and
grateful to find another human being. They were not lovers aboard ship,and
in the novel,it happens only a couple more times because of their affection
and dire circumstances.
After many adventures,even meeting a race of Centaurs,both male and
female,they ultimately find out how they were brought to the "planet".
I find it is fascinating that the resemblance between TITAN and XENA is so
striking. I am sure it is a co-incidence,but when you look at the
themes,descriptions of the characters (Rocky is warlike as Xena is,and Gabby
is more of a talker,who can fight),I feel that good stories abound in
various mediums.
Another fine sci-fi author is Poul Anderson,who,if alive,is well into his
eighties. His stories have strong female warrior-types,mostly set into the
future where the earth has been ravaged by wars and tribalism is
revived...it is good reading for everyone.
Home