Links to Other Sites
Sime~Gen Universe
The Sime~Gen universe, created by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, appears in a
series of stories by her and/or Jean Lorrah, as well as in fan fiction.
In the future, the human race has split into two forms.
There are the Simes, who do not consume food as we do, but live on selyn, which they
draw into their bodies through retractable tentacles on their forearms; and there are the Gens,
who produce the selyn, but are in grave danger of being killed if a Sime feeds off them.
Only the channels, a mutant form of Sime, are capable of safely withdrawing selyn from donor
Gens each month, and channeling it to normal Simes so they can live without killing.
Although there are obvious differences, the Sime/Gen concept is
conceptually an SF version of vampirism.
Sime~Gen.com
http://www.simegen.com/writers/simegen/
http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/
This is the official Sime~Gen site. Among other things, it contains webpages on the
history of the fandom, webscribed copies of old print fanzines, links to discussion lists, and
authorized fan fiction. The quality of the latter is variable; but a few stories have
been accepted into canon by Lichtenberg.
The Secret Pens
http://www.secretpens.org/
The unofficial Sime~Gen site, with more fan fiction. Some of it is distinctly
alternative universe, but much is close to canon; and a lot is of very high
quality.
Mary Renault's The Charioteer
Mary Renault is perhaps best known for her historical fiction set in
ancient Greece. However, she also wrote modern novels, most particularly
The Charioteer (Longmans, 1953).
In the fall of 1940, Laurie Odell is a patient in a
military hospital near Bridstow, recovering from injuries sustained in the fighting in France.
Here he meets Andrew Raynes, a Quaker and conscientious objector assigned to work as an
orderly at the hospital. However, Laurie's love for Andrew—perforce
platonic—is tested when he becomes reacquainted with a man
whom he had hero-worshipped at school. Ralph Lanyon is now a naval officer, reassigned
ashore after being injured in the evacuation of the army from Dunkirk. Unlike the
idealistic Andrew, Ralph is very much aware of the nature of his own desires and part of the
gay subculture in town. Laurie is forced to confront his own nature in order to make an
ethical choice between the two men he loves.
Mary's Handmaidens
http://community.livejournal.com/maryrenaultfics
A fan site for all of Mary Renault's books, both those with historical and those with modern
settings. The site is for discussion of the books, fan art, and fan fiction.
In particular, archives hold over sixty fan stories based on The Charioteer, and two
chapter-by-chapter discussions of The Charioteer, the second of which compares the
texts of the British and American editions.
