Most fantasy settings have a medieval-style, feudalistic government based on royalty and aristocracy. Darkover was one of these, where a lost expedition of long ago devolved from spacefarers to knights and ladies. You could tell a hero or a ruler from their appearance, especially their red or blonde hair, a timeless trope. Well, what if the characters in the lower levels or peasantry of the kingdom decided they had had enough? What if some Darkovan Marx or Lenin set a revolution in motion, inciting the powerless, brown-haired proletariat to rise up against their oppressors? Here are the "Socialist Revolutionaries of Darkover," standing at the dawn of a new era. The red flag features the Communist central star surrounded by four crescents, representing the four moons of Darkover. I exhibited my "Soviet" image at DarkoverCon in 1984 and was told privately that Author M. Z. Bradley was not amused.
Acrylic on illustration board, 7" x 10", October 1984.
1 comment:
She didn't like it? What a sourpuss. It's hilarious.
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