The Grand Illusion
Is there a historic/political basis for the Power Paradigms and Construct from Adiamante?
So far as I know, neither the Paradigms of Power nor the Construct exist as a part of any governmental structure or constitution, nor has any other author come up with anything quite like them. They are a result of my own reflections on close to 20 years in government and politics… and the veiled observation included in the book that no present society would ever adopt anything like them — at least not until or after a world-wide catastrophe of some sort.
I believe that one of the reasons the Construct will never be enacted (in whole or in part) is the phrase ‘Trust cannot be withheld on unfounded suspicion.’
Likewise, when the Paradigms state, “Certain individuals are born incapable of forbearance; so are certain cultures,” few people can admit that their own family members (or they themselves) fall into this category… and there are large portions of U.S. society that believe in ‘cultural relativism.’ Insofar as I have seen, though, some cultures are more equal than others (to paraphrase another author). My daughters would never have the chance to be all they could were we living in Afghanistan or Yemen, as examples.
As it happens, I just finished re-reading Adiamante yesterday after a few years since my first reading. I thought it excellent and quite thought provoking.
It is a joy to experience the range of books in Mr. Modesitt’s catalog; even though I generally prefer the hard science fiction, I have also enjoyed a number of his fantasy titles. I suspect that the one tens to strengthen the other.
I am sorry, though, that there have been no more in the Tangible Ghosts series.