The LA Times revisits Patrick White’s brilliant Voss:

“Voss” is a historical novel, set in the 19th century, and its eponymous hero is based on a doomed German explorer who vanished into Australia’s dead heart, the brutal and ancient desert that occupies much of the continent, then roamed only by aboriginal tribesmen. Voss’ fatal flaw, and, oddly, his immense appeal as a character, is his pigheaded megalomania. Asked if he has studied the map of where he intends to go, Voss replies: “The map? I will first make it.”

Voss is a staggering work of imagination and Patrick White thoroughly deserves a new audience. White’s Riders in the Chariot waits patiently on my bookshelf. Soon, I promise.

I can’t help but laugh at the venom being thrown Ron Moore’s way for the series finale of Battlestar Galactica.

It doesn’t surprise me, however. Some people simply don’t have enough faith in their own beliefs; they need to have their beliefs continually validated by others (especially the media).

I assume these poor misguided souls feel horribly betrayed by Moore for not subscribing to their vision of his show. How these former fans failed to notice the rôles religion and spirituality and faith have played throughout the series is quite beyond me.

I certainly have quibbles with the finale, but they’re just that: quibbles. Moore didn’t cheat a single viewer with some arbitrary dénouement of the deus ex machina type. God was always there; you just chose to ignore him. So put aside your prejudices and enjoy the show for what it was: entertainment, albeit of a slightly smarter nature.

Thanks, Ron. BSG will be missed (at least in this household).