YMMV / Fallen Dragon

• Take That!: Perhaps as a counterpoint to the post-Global Warming scenario of the Greg Mandel books, Hamilton seemingly constructed Earth of Fallen Dragon for a single, hilarious joke on the politically correct. In the interests of efficiency and profit, the Mega Corps which rule Earth have developed open-source fusion technology and nutritious, palatable artificial food. Result; zero emissions, no animal cruelty, and most of the landscape is Ghibli Hills. This means that the only people who still practice animal husbandry are countercultural types. After reaching Earth, Lawrence starts a relationship with a feisty hippie, and thoroughly enjoys the acrobatic sex. However, when she takes him home to meet her parents, things start to bug him; the air stinks, the house is cold and uncomfortable, and then the Granola Girl tells him that not only is the sandwich he's eating made with "real beef" but that she slaughtered the cow herself - which causes him to throw up and run right back to the nice, clean, comfortable city where people don't drink contaminated water and eat rotting food.
• Squick: A thirty-something Lawrence Newton goes back in time to stalk his teenage girlfriend, with the intention of re-establishing their relationship once past!Lawrence leaves. Seems to be very much the high-tech midlife crisis. Lawrence gets the shiny new vehicle, the girlfriend significantly younger than him and attempts to relive his idealised youth. Also given he's not the man the girl thinks he is, he's planning on spending the next however many years committing rape by deception.
  • Actually a common conclusion in settings with ultra-tech medicine - how do you know the hot date you're taking home isn't actually old enough to be your parent with some very good cosmetic surgery?
  • However, Lawrence has a high-tech starship and the knowledge of the Dragons. There is no reason why he could not simply tell Roselyn the truth about himself.