Readers' notes for John M. Ford's The Dragon Waiting
A friend of mine, Andrew Plotkin, has undertaken a monumental task: annotating and cross-referencing John M. Ford's masterpiece of alternate history, The Dragon Waiting. The fruits of this labor, Draco Concordans, just went live. Here's his announcement to the Nielsen-Hayden weblog Making Light:
I know this is not the open thread, but I have an announcement, and this is the topical thread.
Every once in a while, in fandom, these words float by: "Somebody oughtta write notes for John M. Ford's _The Dragon Waiting_." This has happened a lot since Ford's death.
I've written them. In stacks.
Draco Concordans: a concordance for _The Dragon Waiting_:
http://eblong.com/draconc/
This is a big chunk of work. I started in back in February, and I've been pounding on it steadily since then. My aim has been to cover all the allusions, in-jokes, historical references, indirections, and implications in Ford's novel. I also index the appearances of all the characters and historical figures. All cross-referenced and cross-linked for your edification.
I am under no illusion that I found everything. (In general, I don't know history from a hole in the ground -- although I did a lot of digging in this particular field.) Contributions are welcome; I expect the knowledge of fandom to outrun mine by leagues. Feel free to post in this thread, or email me. I will be updating the site as information arrives.
(My secret hope (big wide eyes) that the Benevolent Masters will dedicate a Making Light thread to such discussions. I don't know whether to expect a few comments or a hundred-post cavalcade of detailed historical analysis. Surprise me, everyone...)
It's magnificient, and illuminating. After reading through it [and rereading the novel afterwards] I can't believe that this book was not shortlisted for the Nebula in 1984.
Go read it, everyone who hasn't, then hit the concordance and revel in just how much depth there is! Puns, quite subtle thematic ties across the whole book, actual versus Ford's history, sly references to contemporary SF... it's just dizzying. Mr. Plotkin has done a wonderful job.