Memorial Day: A Quick Note

I've said similar things before, but because today is the day we honor our fallen friends who have served the United States of America, I am going to say a few things before the night ends.

I am eternally grateful for those men and women who served in the United States military and gave their lives for whatever cause (our freedom or someone else's). It matters not whether you participated in a war that we now disagree with or condemn, because, to me, you did nothing but what you were supposed to do when you took that oath to serve as a soldier or pilot or what have you, and when your country said, "We need you," you didn't say, "Sorry, I won't have any of that." You took up your pens and rifles and ships and planes and so on and did your duty, and many of you died or will die as a result. Not many people can say they have that kind of dedication to a cause or nation or people or anything.

So, to the men and women currently serving in the U.S. military: thank you; there are few people I can say are true heroes, and military people make up 99% of all heroes in my book.

To the men and women who have died, who have left behind families and may or may not be able to see this, depending on your belief in the afterlife: thank you; you, like the men and women who are still here on this planet, are heroes, and you deserve more respect than you have collectively been given by the nation you sacrificed yourself for.
That is all. Happy Memorial Day...

Video Found: The Light of Life (Short Film)

I randomly discovered this video while perusing Vimeo last week and thought it was so beautiful stylistically that you all had to see it. It's hard to describe, so I won't say anymore.

Here goes (after the fold):

The Light of Life from daihei shibata on Vimeo.

Video Found: Signing At the Waldenbooks

A very cute little video about author signings. The really funny part about it is that most of what he sings about is pretty true. Author signings for newbies or non-bestsellers generally aren't the most bustling of events. But, if they were all perfect things there wouldn't be anything funny to say about them, now would there? Exactly.

Here it is for your enjoyment (after the fold):

The Skiffy and Fanty Show #3 is live!

Thought I'd let everyone know that the third episode of the podcast I'm doing with Weirdside is live. We talk about the worst novels/authors for aspiring writers, Will Smith, the recent controversy over Paizo Publishing's Before They Were Giants anthology, and much more! Feel free to check it out and let us know what you think!

Thanks!

RIP: Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper passed away today from prostate cancer in his home. We all remember Hopper for his various crazy roles in film, genre or otherwise. He had roles in Apocalypse Now, Hoosiers, Speed and the less-than-spectacular Waterworld and Super Mario Bros. I have fond memories of Hopper, even if I didn't like some of the movies he made. Needless to say, some of the worst movies he was in were made bearable by his presence.
He will be missed!

Note: Update on Security Warnings (on this site)

I've done a lot more work to find out what's been going on and had a friend who has more knowledge about Internet things look over on the site. Both of us show nothing wrong with WISB. At best I suspect that what happened was a fluke (a site external to my own who I link to might have had an attack or some such or Google got it wrong and nothing is going on at all). We might never know what happened.

In any case, the warnings have ceased appearing for me. My understanding is that they have not for everyone else. I don't know what that means, but if you continue to get warnings from this site beyond Monday, please don't hesitate to email me at arconna [at] yahoo [dot] com or send an @ message to my Twitter account.

Thanks for your patience!

Note: Temporarily Out of Service

I wanted to give you all a heads up. My blog was recently hacked or something. I'm getting a lot of Malware notices for the pages for various posts, but not for the main page. I have no idea what's going on, but, rest assured, I'm working on fixing it.

My apologies for the inconvenience. Stick around. Once I get it fixed, everything will be back to normal and you won't have to worry about your Internet safety.

Thanks!

Genre Inclusivity: The Fundamental Paradox of the Love/Hate Relationship in SF/F

Last week, Weirdside and I discussed M.D. Lachlan's article on the inclusivity of the genre community in the second episode of The Skiffy and Fanty Show. While we both agreed that, generally speaking, the genre fiction community is far more open and welcoming than other segments of the writing world, we never properly addressed what I think is a potential destroyer of genre fiction. I'm not talking about disinterest in reading science fiction, or the lack of respect by academics, or the various other things that people cite as the downfall of SF/F or other genres. I'm talking about the internal conflict within SF/F, induced in part by the ability of the Internet to provide a space for any voice, opinion, thought, and so on, often without serious consequences for the speaker. The conflict usually appears with a "fail" at the end of it, such as GenderFail, RaceFail 09 (and 10), and so on.

The problem with these moments in SF/F isn't so much that nobody is addressing a legitimate issue. It would be foolish to claim that race and gender are not important problems in our culture. It's unfortunate that we still have to deal with things like the casting calls for The Last Airbender or the fact that not enough women are being given their due in today's SF/F book culture. Despite how inclusive genre seems to be, it still has a lot of problems that need to be worked out. This is part of the paradox of inclusivity, because the genre is not as inclusive as it should be, and moments when that inclusivity is questioned have created more uproar and divides than were present before (the result not just of the people on the "bad" side, but on the "good" side too; these arguments have no innocent parties, sadly).

The problem with RaceFail and GenderFail is the way certain individuals have used these moments not to help solve a problem or bring attention to it, but to divide us further by ejecting innocent people from the discussion, disregarding key facts, and generally using these moments as soap boxes for a view that may or may not be as true as they think. Racism exists, yes, but one racist instance at one time doesn't necessarily mean that other instances that are similar are inherently racist. Sometimes the dice just roll that way, and that's life. The same is true of gender. Again, I don't deny that racism and sexism exist; if the last year has taught us anything (and the last couple of months especially), it is that both are very much alive and well and on the rise, a fact that, for the vast majority of Americans, should be disturbing, but which has not been appropriately addressed by people in the various movements in which such racism or sexism are rearing their ugly heads. But, despite that, what I have said before, and will inevitably repeat somewhat here and in the third episode of the Skiffy and Fanty Show coming this weekend, is that the SF/F community is in need of a massive overhaul, not just in its publishing realms, but in its engagement among fans, producers of SF/F products (writers, editors, and so on), and academics. We've continued to become divisive in nature, and this is a problem that needs to be solved now before more and more people get shoved out of the SF/F mainstream or movements once regarded as legitimate are sunk in a sea of unproductive anger.

Case in point, and an issue I recently discussed with Weirdside in our third episode (albeit not in as much detail as I would have liked), is the recent controversy over Paizo Publishing's Before They Were Giants anthology. Bloggers and critics grew angry over the fact that the anthology contains only one woman and excludes a vast number of excellent big name female writers. The editor, however, came out of the woodworks and explained his editorial process, part of which involved a number of women SF/F writers turning him down for the anthology (many, we're led to assume, rejected the offer for very good reasons); some writers who were mentioned in the comments were actually excluded by the editor not because they were women, but because they had been published in a series of anthologies with the same concept years before, and the editor didn't want to create an anthology of repeats. These are only two of the points that the editor made, but bloggers and critics wouldn't have any of it. Some went so far as to ignore the most important points made by the editor, as if desperate to keep the onslaught going. In all of this, only a few people came out with honest faces, and a number, some particularly prominent members of the critical/academic SF/F community, came out looking like ruthless trolls so sunk into the bitter world they've created for themselves that they can't see what their actions are actually doing: creating more divide and solving nothing whatsoever.

The one thing I have always wondered about these "fail" movements is whether it is possible for the SF/F community to take a step back and perhaps use the community itself as a vehicle to make the changes to publishing and production that need to be made, without all of the vitriol flooding the Internet and poisoning the community. How important is it to people to bring more women into the SF world? Or people of color? Or international authors? To me, they seem monumentally important, so much so that I can take a step back and think about ways to create change without alienating or destroying people. I don't want more female or PoC writers and characters if the exchange is one of the following:

1. Many good editors, perhaps who make a mistake or have legitimate reasons to have left out some female/PoC writers, lose their jobs and become ostracized by the community that inevitably wants them to change. It seems impossible to change something if you are no longer able to produce for the publishing world. If catching a few bad eggs means potentially throwing out a lot of good ones, then I don't think the trade off is reasonable.
2. Publishers change, but the change isn't because they actually care or because they get it or because they really feel that people are right. They change because you've screamed loud enough and long enough that they just can't ignore you. My problem with this is that you might get what you want out of it, but the end result is nothing more than a hand-me-down pat on the head, as if to say, "there there, we'll give you want you want, little one." It's more condescending than anything else.
3. Nothing happens at all on a significant scale. We might get some small publishers who publish more women, but inevitably the divide in the SF/F community created by the bitter and verbally abusive segments of the population will have no real mainstream change. To me, this is the scariest of them all, because the potential for anyone with an even-headed approach will be shoved into the radical group, despite fitting there as much as a rhinoceros fits in at the table with those poker-playing dogs. If you don't think that's possible, then look at the mainstream view of Muslims, who have been unfairly portrayed as extremists who hate their women and so on. Or perhaps the assumption that all feminists (ALL) are bra-burning raging lesbian lunatics. If you've met people from any of these groups, you'd know that the stereotypes are almost always a load of crap. Yet, the stereotypes still exist and continue to do damage to these communities, sometimes because the stereotypes turn out to be true, and sometimes because the public assumes that the stereotype is the end-all-be-all. True, some change gets made, but the change is too slow and at a cost that I don't think we should be paying, especially not in the SF/F community.

As I indicated before, I am curious about how the SF/F community can be used as a vehicle for change. What would happen if we spent more time in open, honest, but friendly discussion about the issues that plague our genres? What if we organized the community and mobilized it for peaceful engagement with the producers of the material we so enjoy? Why aren't we sending more email pointing out that we're concerned and that we would really like to see more women, PoC, and so on? Where are the petitions? It might seem weak to talk to the publishers directly and tell them what we want, and maybe it won't produce real change either, but it's a step in the right direction.

We need an SF/F community that largely doesn't resort to kneejerk reactions and instead engages with publishers and members to figure out what is going on and to bounce ideas off one another to figure out ways to move forward. Punishing the publisher doesn't do anything; in fact, it harms the authors and editors who rely on publishers for their income (a fact pointed out by Scalzi here). But talking to publishers and figuring out how they think would help the community get a grip on the market. Pointing out to publishers that there's something that needs fixing in a way that doesn't belittle or tear down the foundations might very well get them to open their eyes and see what's happening around them. It happens, and maybe if we can get the community to open the dialogue we'll see some real change.

Then again, maybe I'm naive.

Poll Results: How do you read this blog?

I didn't get quite as many votes as I would have liked, but I think the spread is probably fairly representative of how you folks read this blog. Here are the results:

• 66% of you read this blog via and RSS Reader
• 33% of you read this blog by coming to the main page

Nobody voted for any of the other options, though I know a good 20 or so of the readers for this blog do use email, which accounts for that missing 1%.

I'll have another poll in the near future. Stay tuned!

Video Found: Turbo (Short Film)

Remember that movie Gamer with Gerard Butler? Remember how the idea was really cool, but it was executed poorly? I do. But the good news is that someone else had the same idea and came up with a twenty-four minute short film called Turbo:

TURBO is a high adrenaline short film in the tradition of The Karate Kid and Tron. It tells the story of Hugo Park (Justin Chon, Twilight) a troubled youth whose only outlet for angst is a 4D fighting videogame called “Super Turbo Arena”. When Pharaoh King (Jocko Sims, Crash the Series), the Michael Jordan of cyber-sports, announces a tournament to determine who will join his pro-team, Hugo sets his eyes on the prize. But, Hugo isn't the only gamer who wants fame and glory. If Hugo wants to win he's going to have to beat Shamus (David Lehre, Epic Movie), the all time Turbo champ at the local Pandemonium arcade, and Ruse Kapri, a feisty prep girl that knows how to win. Realizing he can't win on his skill alone, Hugo turns to his brother Tobias a former kick-boxer whose last match left him wheel-chair ridden. Together the two will mend old wounds and see if a washed up street fighter can teach a troubled teen how to become a virtual gladiator!

And it's freaking awesome. It has flaws, sure, but I think it's definitely a great piece of science fiction.

If you've got the time, check it out below (after the fold):

TURBO from Jarrett Lee Conaway on Vimeo.

Top 8 Most Ridiculous Moments in Science Fiction and Fantasy Film in the 21st Century

Science fiction and fantasy have had a great first decade in the 21st century. Some of the best films and television shows in the history of the genre have appeared during this time, making sure that fans can fondly remember this decade as one of the best.

But the 21st century has also brought us some downright awful stuff. From The Matrix Reloaded to the Star Wars prequels, the 21st century is responsible for some of the worst SF/F moments ever. Here are eight of the most ridiculous of those moments (after the fold):

8. Durza's Gurgling Spell Yell -- Eragon
Think back to when you saw this movie. Remember the scene where Durza (Robert Carlyle) gurgles a long string of ridiculous words? These words: Anori Draumr abr Sundablaka it ator Virliger. Possibly the worst part of that entire movie, and that's saying a lot, because Eragon is terrible. Carlyle tries so hard to make it work, but you can see that at some point he gave up trying to take the movie seriously and immediately went for camp.

7. In the Name of the King -- In the Name of the King
Yes, I mean the entire movie. Why? Flying ninja sword lunges. Burt Reynolds as King. Matthew Lillard doing a really horrible British accent. The main character's name is Farmer, who...farms. Most importantly, however, this film single-handedly destroyed any respect I had for John Rhys Davies and every other serious actor in the cast. I'd love the movie more if the cast were made of pathetic has-beens from the 80s, all desperate to re-ignite their old careers, but In the Name of the King pretty much works in the opposite direction. This movie isn't even bad to the point of being funny. It's just bad. Vulcan bad. (I'd love to show you all a video of just how bad this movie is, but unfortunately all I could find were the trailers, which hardly demonstrate how ridiculous In the Name of the King is.)

6. Underground Nude Acid Rave -- The Matrix Reloaded
I'm not the only one to take issue with this scene from The Matrix Reloaded (I can't embed the video, unfortunately). That said, I have an entirely different take on why this scene is absolutely absurd. If humanity has been living underground in an attempt to hide from the machines, then wouldn't it make sense to make as little noise as possible so as not to be found? Why are any of the characters shocked that the machines found out where they live? You're running around banging huge drums and dancing around in a giant cavern. Sound resonates, and you'd have to assume the machines are smart enough to listen to vibrations in the ground. Maybe there's a reason why we ended up being enslaved by the machines: we're stupid as hell.

(Note: A number of people have questioned this one, and so I want to answer to it. While this particular scene is explained in the movie as an attempt to show that they're not afraid, one has to assume that they've always had those drums, because they don't explain where they came from. If you take that assumption to heart, then it's only logical that they use the drums, otherwise there's no reason to make them. So, the moment might be explained, but not the apparatus itself.)

5. Hayden Christensen in Any SF/F Production -- Star Wars, Jumper, etc.
Watch Attack of the Clones again. Now watch Jumper. See the same problems? So do I. Either someone in the editing room phoned it in, or somebody let Christensen have a seizure on camera for kicks. Any time this guy has shown up in an SF/F film, it's been an acting disaster. The thing is, all of these films have moments where you can see his actual ability shining through, but such moments are quickly glossed over by Haydenseizures.

4. Creepy Romance (and basically everything else in The Attack of the Clones except the end with the lightsabers and Yoda) -- Star Wars, Episode Two: The Attack of the Clones
I don't need to explain. These videos can do that for me.



3. Starbuck is an Angel -- Battlestar Galactica (New)
I didn't hate the finale as much as everyone else, but the one thing I didn't like was the mysterious disappearance of Starbuck. So much of what made Starbuck appealing as a character was lost in that moment. Starbuck is an angel sent to the colonies to destroy most of mankind (edit: not directly, as in the Cylons, but indirectly through the divine necessity of her entire purpose for existing) and then lead them to Earth, where she'll go "poof" and leave Apollo wondering what the hell happened? The audience saw that and started screaming "wtf." Too many questions unanswered, and a whole lot of questions reduced to weird religious mumbo jumbo that makes about as much sense as the Midichlorians in Star Wars. Maybe they'll get it right when they pull out that ridiculous movie reboot of Battlestar Galactica.

2. Future Spock -- J. J. Abrams' Star Trek
I don't even need to say anything. You just need to read this, this, and this.

1. The Name Change (like a sex change, but less acceptable) -- SyFy
Let's be frank: SyFy hasn't exactly been the bastion of science fiction television in the last ten years. They've consistently cut the science fiction out of their programming in exchange for crappy reality shows about BS...I mean ghosts, and they've produced more crappy TV movies than any other network in existence, without being smart enough to just stick Bruce Campbell in them all to save face. To give you an idea of how the programming has changed, I filched this comparison from Something Awful:

SciFi Channel Sunday schedule circa 1998
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Dark Shadows - Count Darcy cries about a dead pigeon.
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM The Incredible Hulk - Bruce Banner fights a racist sheriff.
11:00 AM - NOON Automan - Automan goes on a date with an air hockey table.
NOON - 1:00 PM Earth 2 - The survivors find a pickle in the desert, but it's evil.
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Star Trek The Motion Picture - Kirk and Spock fight the Voyager probe.
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Forever Knight - A vampire pharaoh pleads not guilty to racketeering.
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Sightings - An excitable white guy sees a UFO shaped like a helicopter.
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The gang watches Planet of the Hate Hutch. 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Highlander - A greasy Frenchman may be more than he seems.
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM The Prisoner - Number Six thinks he escaped, but it's part of a charity pageant for an ailing evil balloon.

SciFi Channel Sunday schedule circa 2006
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Ghost Hunters - The team drops a camera when they hear a sound.
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Ghost Hunters - Kip's Infrared finds a cold spot on a wall.
11:00 AM - NOON Scare Tactics - Paid actors react to a man with a chainsaw at a restaurant.
NOON - 1:00 PM Extreme Championship Wrestling - Guys hugging on the floor.
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Rage of the Python - A giant python escapes in a Manhattan high rise.
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM Dragon Blast - Survivors of a dragon apocalypse struggle to retake earth..
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Python Fighter - Dean Cain must battle in the post python-apocalypse.
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Terror Turtle - Scientists mate a turtle with a dragon and release a trained giant python to hunt it down. Bruce Boxleitner must stop them both.

But to add insult to injury, the station changed its name from SciFi to SyFy. You all know this and you all probably hated it as much as every legitimate science fiction fan should. We don't hate the name simply because we want a station for science fiction. We hate the name because SyFy is like some sort of dyslexic nonsense you'd expect from a three-year-old or a mentally handicapped baboon, not from the only network for science fiction film. The sad thing is that our bitching and whining amounted to almost nothing. SyFy hasn't listened to the fans in years and they're not going to start now.

And that's it. So, what do you think are some of the most ridiculous moments in science fiction and fantasy film? Let me know in the comments!

Video Found: Khoda (animation made from paintings)

Khoda is absolutely amazing. It's an animated film made entirely from paintings (over 6,000 over them). Imagine having to paint that many things? The story is told without words and is visually gorgeous. The folks who made this were incredibly dedicated.

See for yourself (after the fold):

Khoda from Reza Dolatabadi on Vimeo.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show #2 is Live!

For those of you who are interested, the second episode of the science fiction and fantasy podcast I am doing with Weirdside is up. We cover the recent controversy created by NextRead's rants about SF Signal's Mind Melds, the inclusivity of genre fiction as a community, some Nebula Awards hangups (Spar!), and some interesting news.

You can find it here (stream or download). As always, we'd love to hear from you if you have a question, a disagreement, hatemail, criticism, or glowing praise.

Anywho!

Interview w/ Jack Skillingstead

Jack Skillingstead was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. You can read my review of his novel, Harbinger, here. Thanks again to Mr. Skillingstead for his time and patience. Here goes:

First things first, can you tell us a little about yourself (a sort of mini bio)?

I was born in a working class suburb of Seattle and grew up there, which I suppose formed my character in all the usual ways of environmental influences. My dad was a model builder for the Boeing company. He worked on the moon buggy for the later Apollo missions and built wind tunnel models for the piggy-back 747 / space shuttle. I remember him being quite excited about that project. My mother was a housewife and the big reader in the house. I remember being impressed, as a small child, that she was reading a science fiction story -- the Post's serialization of Asimov's "Fantastic Voyage." I learned to read by following along with my mother's repeated out loud readings to me of favorite comic books. And I remember the exact moment the black marks in the word balloon became a recognizable word. The word was "said." Bradbury claims to remember being born. I don't remember that, but I remember my birth as a word-recognizer. That remains the most important educational step in my autodidactic life. As for formal education, mine proceeded along unremarkable lines. I have three brothers and one sister, all older. My own kids are grown. One is a student at Chapman University in California, the other is following a more erratic path in life -- as have I. Currently I live in the city with fellow writer Nancy Kress, which makes life very pleasant.

Who are some of your favorite authors and what are some of your favorite books? What are you currently reading?

I especially love the stories and novels of Daryl Gregory. He's a kindred spirit. Paolo Bacigulupi is doing incredible work, of course. The short stories of Ted Kosmatka are all knockouts, and Del Rey is doing his first novel, The Helix Game, next year. I'm very much looking forward to that one. Those are some of my contemporaries, in terms of publishing time lines, though I'm a little older than all of them. I'm also enamored with Kessel, Kress, Willis, Haldeman and numerous others. Going back, it's Bradbury, Matheson, Beaumont, Ellison, Sturgeon and Zelazny. These are all writers I return to again and again. I'm talking about genre now, that's leaving out mainstream and classic writers. Currently I'm reading Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg and Parallel Lives by Phyllis Rose, which is a study of Victorian-era marriages of literary types.

What drew you into writing, and, specifically, what drew you to science fiction?

From my earliest memory I've been attracted to science fiction, fantasy and horror. When I was younger -- teenage through 20s -- the emphasis was more on horror. Lovecraft, Ramsey Campbell, Dennis Etchison, Weird Tales era Bradbury, Richard Matheson's short stories plus Hell House and of course I Am Legend. Stephen King. Peter Staub's early novels, pre Ghost Story. This was also a time when I read a lot real-world horror -- the fast and dirty novels of James Ellroy, for instance. Holy shit! Blood On The Moon. Suicide Hill. That stuff was disturbing. But to get back to your question, I can't tell you what drew me and continues to draw me to science fiction. People simply have different filters. My filters catch anything that occurs off the straight and narrow path of the mainstream. As for writing my own stories, I always wanted to do that, though my approach was in more of an optimistic vein when I was a kid and thought I'd write Star Trek type stories. When I actually started producing fiction the quality was pretty wretched, and whatever hotspots occurred usually came out of the dark side of my psyche. So it has been ever since. John Clute said something very perceptive is his mini-review of my collection. He said, paraphrasing, sometimes the stories seemed like a form of therapy. I would only add that these therapy sessions, like real therapy, tended to yield the most interesting results the darker and less certain the outcome.
Your novel, Harbinger, is placed in a rather interesting place within the spectrum of narratives about immortals. While fantasy has largely focused on vampires and other inhuman immortals, your novel takes a more science-fictional approach to the concept. What inspired you to write Harbinger?

There is a science fiction cliché: The ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances. I wanted to see what happened to an ordinarily warped man in extraordinary circumstances -- the man so warped and the circumstances so extraordinary that the reader, at times, wouldn't even know if the circumstances were real. This is a little bit of a Phillip K. Dick approach, but I also wanted the book to be fun and adventurous. And of course it had to be tied in to me personally -- you know, a "therapy" book. My first inspiration to write it at all was simply that I wanted to do a novel that I could sell. I'd already written several that hadn't been successful. This felt like a do-or-die effort. It was time. Of course, the book got rejected all over the place, and I didn't die as a result. And it did eventually find a publisher.

You're right about the current tendency to focus on vampires, but I don't think Ellis Herrick is too far out of the spectrum of immortals in science fiction history. Zelazny wrote about science fiction based immortals all the time, as did other accomplished writers in decades past. Personally, I can't get behind romanticizing the vampire, though I did like the first two Ann Rice books.

Additionally, what do you think it is that draws us to immortals? Why are we fascinated by characters who can live forever and why do we keep coming back to them, whether in vampiric form or in the vein in which you have written Harbinger?

The answer is so obvious that I am tempted to think it must be wrong. We're attracted to immortals because. . . we don't want to die! Well, there's probably more to it, but it all comes back to that. With Harbinger, I was interested in the marvelous freedom suggested by Ellis's evolution. Have you read Zelazny's Amber books? I really loved that whole walking through Shadow concept, and I wanted a little bit of that flavor in my own book. All that stuff in the final section, where they are driving the Bus across space-time reality, and when Ellis walks down the tunnel and the living rock sort of blends into the wall plaster of his childhood home hundreds of years lost and gone back on Earth -- I'm highly enamored of the idea that time and space just might be an illusion that we more or less prop up with our own minds. In the sense of memory and imagination, of course, that is a true proposition. Sit back, right now, and allow your mind to conjure something from when you were, say, twelve years old. Is it vivid? Like it just happened? Chances are some of it is. And if the memory is constructed around an incident your mind is probably imposing some kind of narrative structure, parts of which "really happened" and others that you think happened, but probably didn't, at least not in exactly the way you seem to be remembering. This is what writers do all the time: Plunge into memory and imagination and make something new that feels authentic. The best fiction resides in the reader's mind like a true memory.
What, for you, was the most difficult aspect of putting together a story that spans hundreds of years with one character at the helm? Writing about an immortal must be just as difficult as being one!

Making the future believable was difficult, but I side-stepped a number of potential problems by writing it as an interior novel and telling it in first person. Ellis isn't exactly the classic unreliable narrator, but we are in his head an awful lot and so we are seeing the changing world through a largely solipsistic personality -- which means we are seeing Ellis's version of the world as it is reflected in his self-absorption.

Since Harbinger does contain some elements of the "non-scientific" (i.e. the metaphysical and so on), how do you view the collaboration of the religious or non-scientific and science itself? Do you subscribe to the belief that the two often speak to one another, or are they like two sides of a coin?

I want to believe they speak to each other, but I also know that's a slippery slope. As soon as you authenticate, in your own mind if nowhere else, the non-rational, you are in trouble. The next thing you know you're seeing Fairies in the garden, as did Conan Doyle, or receiving advice about your Plan For America directly from God Almighty, as Glenn Beck believes. On the other hand, I can't abide a strictly rationalist view, either. Science is as limiting as it is liberating. When I talk with an immovable rationalist it begins to feel, after a while, like I'm talking to a committed religionist. The God-believer type, if he doesn't have an answer about, say, human suffering, simply passes it off as an unknowable manifestation of the deity. A rationalist, if he admits he doesn't know something (fat chance!), passes it off by saying something along the lines of, "We don't know it NOW but science (God) will eventually reveal the truth." I don't subscribe to a metaphysical viewpoint, but I don't dismiss it out of hand, either. I know that's equivocal. So what?

Switching gears, I'm curious for your opinion on the present state of science fiction as a genre and where you think it is going in light of the fascinating development of digital publishing. Where do you think science fiction is going? Is it a good place? Are there barking robots and flying cars there?

Digital publishing is more disturbing to me than fascinating. It's not nostalgia for paper (though I usually prefer it), nor my inner Luddite asserting himself (he doesn't exist). It's simply that the digitalizing of everydamnthing makes it convenient and irresistible to appropriate without compensation the stories, movies, music, etc. of working artists. Coupled with the freedom of the internet, emphasis on "free," a situation arises in which the former business template is collapsing with no acceptable new template to replace it. I'm not on-board with the "information wants to be free" crowd. Information doesn't want anything. You might as well say information wants to be controlled.

The present state of science fiction writing exists outside this mess. Writers do what they have always done: Write. There are many wonderful new writers working now, though I don't see a recognizable movement in any deliberate direction. There is, however, a blurring of lines between literary mainstream and genre. I like that. Guys like Chabon and Lethem cross effortlessly back and forth, scuffing the border to near invisibility. They are outstanding writers who happened to like the same sorts of things most of us in genre like. At the same time there's the "new" space opera, the "new" weird, magic realism, hard, etc. -- in short EVERYthing is on the table. This is healthy. I don't think it spells the end of genre sf or the victory of mainstream or any such bullshit.

Can you tell us a little about some of your upcoming projects? Any interesting new novels on the way?

I'm working on what I hope is the final draft of Life On the Preservation, a novel based very loosely on my short story of the same title. I'm throwing everything I've got into it and hope to start shopping it around by the end of summer. I've been so busy with this project that I haven't had much time to write new short stories. I do have one coming up in Asimov's, though. It's called "The Flow and Dream" and runs along fairly traditional sf lines. This was an interesting sale for me, in that I submitted it electronically the first day Asimov's began accepting stories that way. It's not that I was gnashing my teeth waiting for the glorious day to arrive. I don't really care whether a magazine accepts electronically or requires paper manuscripts in traditional format. But I went to their website to double-check the mailing address, saw I could just send the story directly from my computer, and did so. It sold practically overnight, which was fun.

What one piece of unusual advice would you give to budding writers out there?

Hmm. Unusual? I'd say, remember that perception is intentional. Slow down, sometimes. Invest your words with magic. Regard them as keys to limitless inner worlds. I'm talking about individual words. Regard them as play things. Type a noun onto your screen, or write it on a blank sheet of printer paper with a pencil or pen. Stare at the word, let yourself fall into the myriad conscious and unconscious associations the word evokes. A word such as OCEAN could lead you into endless thought experiments. If you practice this, you eventually get past all the obvious associations the top of your mind throws up and you start receiving the personally significant associations. Do this once in a while. It's good for your creative mind. Sometimes you will land on an image or idea you didn't realize was lurking. But when you are writing a story forget all that crap, dig in and use words like practical tools to get the job done.

And now for a random question: If you could invent one technology to change the world, what technology would you invent and why?

I have to go obvious here and say an efficient, cheap and universally accessible mechanism for harnessing solar energy and distributing it to run anything that requires power input. This is not going to happen.

--------------------------------------------------

That's it! You can find Jack Skillingstead on his website.

Video Found: Hibernation (Trailer)

I was browsing Vimeo yesterday and found this really interesting trailer for an independent film called Hibernation, which takes place in the future after global warming has, more or less, wrecked the seasons, forcing the government to create an annual hibernation program to protect each individual from the harsh winter weather.

It's an interesting concept and I think it has a lot of potential. I'm looking forward to seeing the final production when it is released (no idea when that is).

Here's the video (after the fold):

'HIBERNATION' trailer from Simon Dunn on Vimeo.

Self-publishing Fail: Achieving Weak Goals is Meaningless

I'm still on my anti-self-publishing kick, primarily because there has been a lot of really crazy things popping up on the Internet as of late, such as B&N's decision to get their hands into the self-publishing pot. One post that bothered me the most recently was The Book Designer's 26 Ways to Win At Self-Publishing. Overall, the list is quite poor, with the majority either failing completely as praise-worthy goals or falling short of being impressive, and only a few falling into the "good goal" category. Some of the "wins" seem to have more in common with the 40-year-old man who still lives in his mother's basement who is going nowhere fast than with the guy who tries to run for President. They're not goals so much as really sad ways to feel good about yourself when you've essentially achieved nothing. It's sort of like saying I am proud of myself for waking up and breathing today, an action that, for most people, requires no effort whatsoever, and which pretty much everybody else did today.

The list starts pretty much on the lowest scale possible and jumps around from meaningless to semi-praise-inducing. Take, for example, the first item:

You finally get the book finished, printed and in your hand: you win.

Explain to me why this is something to be proud of. Anyone can do this. I can waltz over and print out a book from Lulu and have it in my hands in five days, with very little cost to me (in effort or cash). Unless you live in a country without the Internet, or you have no arms and legs and had to type your whole novel with your nose, then I fail to see what is impressive about this goal. It's a non-starter. To get excited about printing out the book that you self-published is like getting excited about finding your seat on the airplane. It's on your ticket, dear...The only thing praise-worthy about this is that you wrote a book. That's it. But even that is becoming less impressive these days, because anyone can write a book. Most people can't write a good book, though, and if you manage that, then maybe you can get a little excited.

The list doesn't get better after the first item either, with the second being just as meaningless:

At last you have a chance to fully explain the ideas you’ve been thinking and talking about for years: you win

Couldn't you have done this before you self-published? Why do you need to have a self-published book to tell people about your ideas and thoughts? There's no magic barrier that can't be crossed without SPing a book. Unless your family and friends don't listen to you, in which case I'd wonder why you hang out with them, then really there's no reason why this goal is even worth mentioning.

And then there's the fourth, eleventh, twelfth, fourteenth, seventeenth, twenty-fourth, and twenty-sixth:

You send a copy of your book to your ex mother-in-law: you win
You gift wrap a copy and hand it to your mother, watching her unwrap it: you win
You send an autographed copy to your 8th grade English teacher: you win
You overhear coworkers talking, and one mentions that you’ve published a book: you win
Your dad pulls you aside at the next family gathering and tells you how proud he is that you dedicated the book to him: you win
A friend at a party asks if you’re still looking for an agent, and for a moment you don’t understand the question: you win
You start to think about other books you’ve always wanted to write and can now publish: you win

So, if this list is getting at anything, it's that you should be really proud of yourself for gift wrapping or sending your book to people, or proud that people you know paid attention to you long enough to soak up the fact that you "published" a book. This is starting to sound like a list for the underachiever, someone with very few serious goals in life. If this is what makes you happy to exist, then maybe you need to reassess your priorities. Children find these kinds of goals exciting, not adults. Why? Because these are the kinds of goals that children try to achieve. They don't know any better.

But perhaps most pressing and most misleading is number fifteen:

Every one of the people you care about tell you how much they love your book: you win

If American Idol has taught us anything, it's that praise from the people who care about you (or that you care about) is not always reliable. Look at all the idiots on American Idol whose family didn't have the heart to tell them that they sucked. We know they suck, but they didn't because their family never bothered to be honest with them, thus sending them out to be crushed by the judges and the public (who gets so much pleasure out of their misery). If everyone is telling you they love your book, then maybe something is wrong. Even if they all are being honest, praise is meaningless if it isn't accompanied by constructive criticism. If all you're told is "this is wonderful," how can you ever expect to improve?

If you cut the list down to ten items, it's not a bad list. There are some good goals, but, for the most part, the list is dominated by awfully pointless and plain stupid goals. Having low standards for success doesn't suddenly make you a winner. You don't see football players saying "if I manage to hold onto the ball for three seconds, I win." Why? Because there's nothing about that goal that is remotely impressive. It's a weak goal, and weak goals are worth about as much as non-existent goals. Short of impressing your cadre of weak-goaled friends, saying you win and doing something that pretty much anyone can do is a waste of energy and time. Achieve something real, and then start jumping up and down.

Video Found: Azureus Rising (Short Film)

This movie is by far one of the coolest short films I have ever seen, and apparently it's a proof of concept deal, which means there's a bigger project coming up. There's no story here, just a lot of action and a lot of awesome.

See for yourself (after the fold):

Thanks to SF Signal for the discovery.

Video Found: Rise of the Rebellion ep. 1 -- The Battle of Eison (Star Wars)

I'm a true Star Wars fan. I can't help myself. Every new fan production gets me excited, and the latest fan-made Star Wars flick, Rise of the Rebellion, is no different. Made by Turkish fans (that's right, from Turkey), the first webisode of Rise of the Rebellion is visually a treat. The CGI isn't as good as the movies, and certainly needs fine-tuning, but the nine minute battle that makes up the first episode is really quite impressive. Ignore the rather poor acting and just enjoy the visuals. I'd almost say it's better than most of what you see in the prequels. Almost...

Here it is (after the fold):

Rise of The Rebellion : Webisode 01 - Battle of Eison from Turkfanfilm.net on Vimeo.

So, what did you think?

Video Found: Connected (SF Short)

Another brilliant short science fiction venture. Connected is a post-apocalyptic short film (7 min) told entirely visually (no dialogue). The visual effects are quite good and the story is told with expert precision.

See for yourself (after the fold):


(Filched from SF Signal.)

Poll Closing (a few hours left)

If you are a follower of this blog, I'd appreciate it if you could take 3 seconds to come to the main page and vote on the poll to the left. I'm trying to figure out how everyone reads WISB.

Thanks!

Haul of Books 2010: Stuff For Me v.9

Most of the books that have arrived at my doorstep in the last couple weeks have been for an independent study I am taking over the summer on Caribbean literature. A good portion are science fiction, but some aren't, and the books below are in the latter category. Should be a very interesting summer for me.

Here's the image (after the fold):
And here are the descriptions, from left to right, top to bottom (taken from Amazon.com):

1. The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat

We meet him late in life: a quiet man, a good father and husband, a fixture in his Brooklyn neighborhood, a landlord and barber with a terrifying scar across his face. As the book unfolds, moving seamlessly between Haiti in the 1960s and New York City today, we enter the lives of those around him, and learn that he has also kept a vital, dangerous secret. Edwidge Danticat’s brilliant exploration of the “dew breaker”--or torturer--s an unforgettable story of love, remorse, and hope; of personal and political rebellions; and of the compromises we make to move beyond the most intimate brushes with history. It firmly establishes her as one of America’s most essential writers.

2. Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell

Twelve-year-old Beka Lamb lives in Belize City, "a relatively tolerant town" where people with their roots in Africa, the West Indies, Central America, Europe, North America, Asia, and other places, "lived in a kind of harmony. In three centuries, miscegenation, like logwood, had produced all shades of black and brown, not grey or purple or violet." Beka knows her family's history from Gran who tells of "befo' time," when they were slaves, and now, when Beka can win an essay contest at the Convent school: "Befo' time... Beka would never have won that contest... But things can change fi true." And change they do. Before she won the essay contest, Beka's days were filled with family, domestic work, food, school, neighbors, politics, hurricanes, and dreaming with her best friend, fourteen-year-old Toycie. Before the contest, Sundays were the days she and Toycie walked Beka's baby brother through the rich neighborhoods to the seashore and planned the redecorating they would do when they owned the houses they passed, the days Beka waited patiently while Toycie talked to her boyfriend. Before the contest, Beka lied, got caught, got punished, and lied again. Before the contest, Toycie was still alive.

3. Ways of Sunlight by Sam Selvon

The master-storyteller turns his pen to rural village life with Ways of Sunlight in Trinidad: gossip and rivalry between village washerwomen; toiling cane-cutters reaping their harvest; superstitious old Ma Procop protecting the fruit of her Mango tree with magic. With equal wit and sensitivity, he reflects the depression of hard times in London, where people live in cold, damp basements, hustling for survival.

4. Crick Crack, Monkey by Merle Hodge

A revealing novel of childhood about Tee who is being made socially acceptable by her aunt so that she can cope with the caste system of Trinidad.

5. Myal by Erna Brodber

I actually have no idea what this is about. No information on Amazon.com and the back cover only talks about the author.

6. Buxton Spice by Oonya Kempadoo

Back in print: an extraordinary first novel by "a writer to watch and to enjoy."*

Told in the voice of a girl as she moves from childhood into adolescence, Buxton Spice is the story the town of Tamarind Grove: its eccentric families, its sweeping joys, and its sudden tragedies. The novel brings to life 1970s Guyana—a world at a cultural and political crossroads—and perfectly captures a child"s keen observations, sense of wonder, and the growing complexity of consciousness that marks the passage from innocence to experience.

7. In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming

George Lamming's "In the Castle of My Skin" skilfully depicts the Barbadian psyche. Set against the backdrop of the 1930s riots which helped to pave the way for Independence and the modern Barbados, through the eyes of a young boy, Lamming portrays the social, racial, political and urban struggles with which Barbados continues to grapple even with some thirty-three years of Political Independence from Britain. Required reading for all Caribbean people. The novel also offers non-Barbadians and non-Caribbean people insight into the modern social history of Barbados and the Caribbean. A writer of the people one is back again in the pages of Huckleberry Finn_ the fundamental book of civilisation Mr Lamming captures the myth-making and myth-dissolving mind of childhood.

Anything sound interesting to you? These are pretty old, so maybe you've already read a few of them. If so, let me know what you thought.

Science Fiction Criticism: A Necessary "Evil"?

What is the value of science fiction criticism, both in its literary form and as a medium used by the science fiction community to dig into the good and the bad of the genre? If you buy Kyle Brady's argument, its value is a negative number. Back in March of 2010, Brady wrote an article on True/Slant about the damage criticism is doing to the science fiction genre. Unfortunately, it seems as if Brady missed the point of criticism and its value within the genre community. Without criticism there is only praise, and when praise dominates the market, nothing has any value; you really don't have to look much further than YouTube or Amazon.com to understand why praise without criticism fades into the background and contains no value.

Brady seems to think that criticism--specifically, harsh criticism--is potentially catastrophic, namely because it supposedly removes the value from "undying love and devotion" to the genre. The more critical and harsh certain blogs have become--he cites io9 as a prime example--the faster the value of love and devotion decreases--to the point that said admiration fades from the background, leaving the genre with an empty hole. I don't buy this argument, primarily because there is also so much meaningless admiration and praise flooding the Internet that any blog or news avenue trying to pay lip service to said admiration is really adding nothing to the conversation. What exactly do I contribute to the fans of Battlestar Galactica by writing about why I love Battlestar Galactica? I still write about it, but it's more for myself than for the fans of the show or for people who've never seen it. My admiration of BSG is essentially an empty gesture, except to me. Criticism, however, does add to the conversation, even if it is nitpicky. Why? Because to look at science fiction through a critical lens opens a dialogue about what is good and bad about genre, what works and doesn't work, and so on, which brings the community at large to the forefront, where they can question and demand better from the people who produce the things they love.
In fact, I'd argue that we've become too nice in the science fiction community, giving so much space to the blindly devotional and not enough space to the deep thinkers. A prime example of this, I think, is Avatar, which Brady cites as an example of his argument.
Of all the movies you could bring to the conversation, Cameron's "masterpiece" is probably the one film that most deserved what it got from its critics and detractors. Here is a film with an absurdly large budget and also the most amazing visuals ever put into a film--so amazing, in fact, that they've already begun changing how we make movies. But, for all that--all the money spent ($200-310 million, depending where you look)--it also has the most derivative story ever conceived for a major motion picture--so derivative, in fact, that it is almost painful. That's the problem with Avatar, and a point that Brady misses when he tries to indicate that all fiction and movies are derivative (they are, but that's another argument). It's not that Avatar is a derivative movie, it's that it is a derivative movie that knows it is one, and that anyone who saw it or heard about it knew from the start. This is not good storytelling, but lazy storytelling. The fact that most of the film's budget was spent on the visual effects is painfully obvious in the story. At least when Cameron tried to retell Titanic, he did so by adding something to it, by taking a story we already knew and creating unique, emotionally-engaging characters to spice things up (yes, I'll admit that as much as I hate on Titanic, I do think it's a good movie). Avatar was panned because those of us who write about the genre and were supposed to make up Cameron's core audience expected more from the man who gave us Aliens, The Abyss, and so on. Cameron is a director who knows how to merge beautiful visuals with strong stories and characters, and the idea that he could fail so miserably to deliver anything other than a giant special effects test was a disappointment to pretty much all of us. The criticism was necessary, because otherwise we're asking for more of this kind of garbage.
Criticism isn't ruining science fiction; it's making it better. Without criticism, the genre can't grow. Devote yourself to your television shows, yes, but understand the flaws and let people know about it. We are the audience. If we want better, we have to show it. Battlestar Galactica, overall, is one of the best science fiction television shows to ever play on our screens, and if we ever hope to have more shows that take character and narrative depth as seriously as Ron D. Moore and his league of writers did, then we have to look at the rest of the genre and make out opinions known, even if they're negative. Science fiction had to earn the following it has today, and it didn't get to where it is now by cutting out the criticism. Look back through the history of the genre and you will see all manner of harsh criticism against the genre from people outside of it. Without that, the genre never would have grown and become what it is today: one of the biggest genres in the history of the narrative storytelling. If that isn't support for the value of criticism, then I don't know what is.

Haul of Books 2010: Stuff For Me v.8

I only have a few more pictures left before hitting a long wall of silence on this feature. I don't buy books terribly often, just in large quantities, and I don't expect to add many more books to my library in the next few months. This volume involves some books I discovered a week or so ago at Books-a-Million, some stuff I bought for an independent study I'm working on, some things I won, and some things I discovered at the Friends of the Library book sale (the second one I've gone to, though I didn't buy as much this time).

So, here's the picture:
And the books are, from left to right, top to bottom (descriptions taken from Amazon.com and Wyrm Publishing):

1. Tides of the New Worlds by Tobias S. Buckell (signed limited edition; independent study)

Caribbean born novelist Tobias Buckell established himself as a gifted new voice in science fiction with his stunning first novel Crystal Rain. Now, in his first collection, Buckell demonstrates his strengths in the short form, offering readers a collection of stories that are compelling, smart, wonderfully imagined, and entertaining.

Tides from the New Worlds contains 19 stories that range from multicultural science fiction to magical realism, some in print for the first time.

Table of Contents:

* Fish Merchant
* Anakoinosis
* Aerophilia
* In The Heart of Kalikuata
* The Shackles of Freedom (with Mike Resnick)
* Shoah Sry (with Ilsa Bick)
* Her
* In Orbite Medievali
* Four Eyes
* Trinkets
* Spurn Babylon
* Death's Dreadlocks
* Smooth Talking
* Tides
* Something In The Rock
* A Green Thumb
* All Her Children Fought
* Necahual
* Toy Planes

2. Sly Mongoose by Tobias S. Buckell (signed first edition; independent study)

Welcome to Chilo, a planet with corrosive rain, crushing pressure, and deadly heat. Fortunately, fourteen-year-old Timas lives in one of the domed cities that float 100,000 feet above the surface, circling near the edge of a monstrous perpetual storm. Above the acidic clouds the temperature and pressure are normal. But to make a living, Timas like many other young men, is lowered to the surface in an armored suit to scavenge what he can.

Timas’s life is turned upside down when a strange man crash lands on the city. The newcomer is fleeing an alien intelligence intent on invading the planet and discovering the secret hidden deep inside the perpetual storm—a secret that could lead to interplanetary war.

As the invaded cities fall silent one by one, Chilo’s citizens must race against time to stop the enemy. And Timas will find out what kind of man he has become in the harsh conditions of Chilo’s surface.

3. Ragamuffin by Tobias S. Buckell (signed first edition; independent study)

The Benevolent Satrapy rule an empire of forty-eight worlds, linked by thousands of wormholes strung throughout the galaxy. Human beings, while technically “free,” mostly skulk around the fringes of the Satrapy, struggling to get by. The secretive alien Satraps tightly restrict the technological development of the species under their control. Entire worlds have been placed under interdiction, cut off from the rest of the universe.

Descended from the islanders of lost Earth, the Ragamuffins are pirates and smugglers, plying the lonely spaceways around a dead wormhole. For years, the Satraps have tolerated the Raga, but no longer. Now they have embarked on a campaign of extermination, determined to wipe out the unruly humans once and for all.

But one runaway woman may complicate their plans. Combat enabled, Nashara is more machine than flesh, and she carries inside her a doomsday weapon that could reduce the entire galaxy to chaos. A hunted fugitive, she just wants to get home before she’s forced to destroy civilization---and herself.

4. Crystal Rain by Tobias S. Buckell (signed first edition; independent study)

Long ago, so the stories say, the old-fathers came to Nanagada through a worm’s hole in the sky. Looking for a new world to call their own, they brought with them a rich mélange of cultures, religions, and dialects from a far-off planet called Earth. Mighty were the old-fathers, with the power to shape the world to their liking---but that was many generations ago, and what was once known has long been lost. Steamboats and gas-filled blimps now traverse the planet, where people once looked up to see great silver cities in the sky.

Like his world, John deBrun has forgotten more than he remembers. Twenty-seven years ago, he washed up onto the shore of Nanagada with no memory of his past. Although he has made a new life for himself among the peaceful islanders, his soul remains haunted by unanswered questions about his own identity.

These mysteries take on new urgency when the fearsome Azteca storm over the Wicked High Mountains in search of fresh blood and hearts to feed their cruel, inhuman gods. Nanagada’s only hope lies in a mythical artifact, the Ma Wi Jung, said to be hidden somewhere in the frozen north. And only John deBrun knows the device’s secrets, even if he can’t remember why or how!

Crystal Rain is the much-anticipated debut novel by one of science fiction’s newest and most promising talents.

5. Canal Dreams by Iain Banks (book sale)

By the author of "The Wasp Factory" and "Walking on Glass", this book is set in Japan and on the Panama Canal. It concerns a world famous Japanese cellist, who refuses to fly, and as a result finds herself involved in the ominous realm of global "realpolitik".|Hisako Onoda, world famous cellist, refuses to fly. And so she travels to Europe as a passenger on a tanker bound through the Panama Canal. But Panama is a country whose politics are as volatile as the local freedom fighters. When Hisako's ship is captured, it is not long before the atmosphere is as flammable as an oxy-acetylene torch, and the tension as sharp as the spike on her cello. CANAL DREAMS is a novel of deceptive simplicity and dark, original power: stark psychological insights mesh with vividly realised scenarios in an ominous projection of global realpolitik. The result is yet another major landmark in the quite remarkable career of an outstanding modern novelist.|'Apocalyptic is the first word that springs to mind to describe this violent and powerful novel in which Banks once again demonstrates his extraordinary dark powers of imagination.impressive' - THE TIMES|Iain Banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel, THE WASP FACTORY, in 1984. He has been a hugely popular writer of fiction ever since, and, as Iain M Banks, of science fiction.

6. The Dragon Book edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

Never before published stories by New York Times bestselling authors Jonathan Stroud, Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Diana Gabaldon, and others.

Whether portrayed as fire-breathing reptilian beasts at war with humanity or as noble creatures capable of speech and mystically bonded to the warriors who ride them, dragons have been found in nearly every culture's mythology. In modern times, they can be found far from their medieval settings in locales as mundane as suburbia or as barren as post-apocalyptic landscapes-and in The Dragon Book, today's greatest fantasists reignite the fire with legendary tales that will consume readers' imaginations.

With original stories by New York Times bestselling authors Jonathan Stroud, Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Diana Gabaldon, Tamora Pierce, Harry Turtledove, Sean Williams, and Tad Williams as well as tales by Naomi Novik, Peter Beagle, Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple, Cecelia Holland, Kage Baker, Samuel Sykes, Diana Wynne Jones, Mary Rosenblum, Tanith Lee, Andy Duncan, and Bruce Coville.

7. Dreamsongs: Volume II by George R. R. Martin

Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, #1 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin is a giant in the field of fantasy literature and one of the most exciting storytellers of our time. Now he delivers a rare treat for readers: a compendium of his shorter works, all collected into two stunning volumes, that offer fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master.

Whether writing about werewolves, wizards, or outer space, George R.R. Martin is renowned for his versatility and expansive talent, highlighted in this dazzling collection. Included here, in Volume II, are acclaimed stories such as the World Fantasy Award-winner “The Skin Trade,” as well as the first novella in the Ice and Fire universe, “The Hedge Knight,” plus two never-before-published screenplays. Featuring extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume II; is an invaluable chronicle of a writer at the height of his creativity—and an unforgettable reading experience for fans old and new.

8. The Emerald Storm by Michael J. Sullivan (won)

A MESSAGE IS INTERCEPTED. A SINISTER PLAN LAUNCHED. TWO THIEVES STAND IN THE WAY.
Ex-mercenary Hadrian Blackwater sets course on a high seas adventure to find the lost Heir of Novron. His only hope lies in confronting the ruthless and cunning Merrick Marius. Fearing his friend is not up to the challenge, Royce Melborn joins his old partner for one last mission. Their journey finds them adrift amid treachery and betrayals forcing Hadrian to face a past he hoped never to see again.

9. What the Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy by Gregory Macguire (book sale)

A terrible storm is raging, and Dinah is huddled by candlelight with her brother, sister, and cousin Gage, who is telling a very unusual tale. It’s thestory of What-the-Dickens, a newly hatched orphan creature who finds he has an attraction to teeth, a crush on a cat named McCavity, and a penchant for getting into trouble. One day he happens upon a feisty girl skibberee working as an Agent of Change — trading coins for teeth — and learns of a dutiful tribe of tooth fairies to which he hopes to belong. As his tale unfolds, however, both What-the-Dickens and Dinah come to see that the world is both richer and far less sure than they ever imagined.

10. K-PAX by Gene Brewer (book sale)

When a man who claims to be from outer space is brought into the Manhattan Institute, the mental ward seems to be just the place for him. However, this patient is unlike anyone psychiatrist Dr. Gene Brewer has met before. Clever, inscrutable and utterly charismatic, Robert Porter calls himself 'prot' and has no traceable background - but he claims that he is an inhabitant of the planet K-PAX, a perfect world without wars, government or religion, and where every being co-exists in harmony. It's not long before the other patients are hanging on prot's every word. And even Dr Brewer starts to find himself convinced.

So, anything of interest here?

Movie Review: Robin Hood

I had high hopes for this addition to the Robin Hood canon. The trailers promised a new take on the folktale and lots of action. And it gives you a bit of both, but it does so with a lackluster plot, poor character development, and some uneven acting. Consider this my short review, because everything after the movie poster will contain spoilers.

Robin Hood is actually a prequel. You wouldn't know from the trailers, though. In fact, my friend and I didn't know it was a prequel until the end of the movie. It takes place during the Crusades. King Richard the Lionheart has been waging war for ten years while his brother, Prince John, and his mother, are taking care of the kingdom in England. Robin Longstride (a.k.a. Robin Hood) is an ordinary archer in King Richard's army who, along with his companions, has fallen out of favor with the King. When King Richard is killed by an arrow, Robin and his companions make an escape for England, masquerading as knights to report the news back to Prince John (now the King). John, however, is not the King everyone wants him to be and plots from France to take over England have the English turning against the King and their fellow countrymen. Robin will have to unite the people before the King and the French destroy everything.
Robin Hood had potential. The concept was a good one, the possibility of good character development was there, and returning to this franchise was a good chance to show some beautiful landscapes. The film succeeds in only the last of these possibilities. Visually, Robin Hood is gorgeous. The costumes look wonderful, even when they're dirty, and the landscapes and cinematography are stunning. I am surprised that there are still so many places in the world that have barely been touched by humans, and even more surprised that some of these places still look unfamiliar.

The rest of the movie, however, is loaded with problems. The cast is a mixed bag. Russell Crowe is flat and lifeless, which clashes with the often humorous secondary characters (Little John, Will Scarlet, Marion, and so on). Other characters either have no screen time whatsoever, but yet are important to the plot, or are portrayed as stereotypes. Prince John is your typical stuck up rich royalty who knows sod all about being King; if they were going to update Robin Hood's story, they could have made John less of a petulant child--it seemed like they were drawing too much on the Disney animated feature from decades back. Most of the clergy are equally typical, which is probably true, but still lazy storytelling. The best characters are actually the second characters; the actors that play Little John, Will Scarlet, and so on all seem to have wonderful chemistry, and their on-screen antics make for a lot of laughs. If only more of this chemistry could have existed between other actors.

Character development, unfortunately also takes a hit. This is primarily due to the plot, which felt rushed in the last three quarters of the movie. Characters magically develop skills that they didn't seem to have before. Marion, for example, becomes a warrior woman in the end, which is laughable not because she's a woman, but because she is never displayed as being warrior-like--stern and collected does not equal woman knight. Likewise, the strange thieves from the forest, who have been stealing from Marion and her family for months, all of sudden join forces with Marion to fight the French at the end of the movie. Why? No idea. How did they manage to agree on things? Ditto. But it's integral to the ending, because without a truce with the people of the forest, Robin Hood would never be Robin Hood. And then there's the last minutes of the movie, in which King John, having managed to unite his people against the French by promising them liberty, reneges on his promise, which sparks little more than a few complaints. The problem? King John had to promise liberty because his people were about to wage war against him. Yet, in the end, no war. How odd that the people just magically give in when they were seconds from fighting the King only a few weeks before.

These are just a few of the problems with the movie. Overall, while I have to say that I did enjoy it, I also feel like it could have been so much better. The first three quarters of the movie aren't bad, and I did really like the angle of the French invasion, but you can't take a decent start and throw out the cinema cookbook in the end. Endings are as important as beginnings, and if one of them fails, the whole movie goes to crap. This is definitely not one of Ridley Scott's best.

If you plan to see Robin Hood, go to a matinee, or wait for it to hit DVD--maybe they'll have some extra footage that will clear up some of the illogical plot elements.

Directing: 2.50/5
Cast: 2.75/5
Writing: 1.0/5
Visuals: 4.5/5
Adaptation: N/A (I don't know enough about Robin Hood beyond the various other films out there)
Overall: 2.6875/5
Value: $5.00 (based on a $10.50 max)

Video Found: The Cup of Tears

What do you get when you take ninjas, samurai, spaceships, and slow motion fighting? The Cup of Tears, an indie-made fake trailer for a film that doesn't actually exist yet. And the trailer has apparently just earned its creator/director a movie deal with Universal. Cool? Let's hope so. It looks kind of pretty, but pretty doesn't make a good movie (cough Avatar cough).

Here it is for your enjoyment (after the fold):

Thanks to SF Signal for finding this one.

Movie Review: How To Train Your Dragon

I'm reviewing this movie pretty late in the game, and that is entirely my fault. To be fair, I've been hyping How To Train Your Dragon on my twitter account since seeing it a few weeks back. And now I'm reviewing it on this blog.

How To Train Your Dragon is by far one of the best animated films put out by Dreamworks in the company's history--probably because it is an adaptation of a series of books by Cressida Cowell. It's a step in the right direction, I think, and hopefully we'll see more films of this quality from Dreamworks in the future, since most of their films have been rather dreadful in the past.

How To Train Your Dragon follows Hiccup, the son of a fierce viking warrior in a viking village plagued by dragon attacks. Hiccup isn't like everyone else, as if the name didn't give that away. He's small, eccentric, an inventor, and everything that a viking is not. His father is ashamed of him and the village views him as a social pariah. When one of his contraptions causes havoc during a dragon attack, Hiccup is sent to dragon training in hopes that it will turn him into a mighty warrior like his father.

But Hiccup, however, isn't a total failure: during the last attack, one of his contraptions snags a rare and unseen species of dragon, and Hiccup sets out to prove once and for all that he's not the loser everyone thinks he is.

Where do I start? How To Train Your Dragon is one of the best films I've seen for kids (and adults). It's adorable, thoroughly enjoyable, and, in a weird way, kind of beautiful, both visually and emotionally.

From a narrative perspective, How To Train Your Dragon is predictable, but the way it plays with its cliches is quite humorous. There are a few moments in the film where characters refer to the dragons in RPG language (+5 to armor!), which for a geek like me is hilarious and awesome. The same is true of other elements of the story, such as Hiccup's developing relationship with Toothless, the rise of the dragon-killer trainees, and so on. Don't expect a purely original movie here, because this isn't one of those, but it is a story that knows it's a cliche and isn't afraid to make light of that fact.

Probably the strongest point of the film is how its characters interact and make you forget that you're watching something that has been done before (unlike some movies--cough, Avatar, cough). Hiccup is nerdy and lovable and his relationship with Toothless (his dragon) is wonderful and heartwarming. It's almost impossible to not find the two of them adorable in all the right ways. Even the other characters, from Hiccup's father (Gerard Butler) to the handicapped Gobber (Craig Ferguson) to Astrid (America Ferrera) and the other trainees, mesh well from start to finish. The characters are typical, yes, but also wonderful for it. This is very much a character-driven movie, and How To Train Your Dragon is all the better for it.

If one has to nitpick, probably the things that will bother people who see this film are its minor inconsistencies and some of its cliches. The accents throughout the movie are haphazard. Most of the adults are Scottish, for some odd reason, while all of the younger characters are American. It didn't bother me as much as it should have, though, perhaps because the story is downright entertaining. Probably most damning is the Father/Son narrative that is painfully transparent and unfortunately very predictable--as I've indicated earlier on a broader level. I noticed it while watching, and it makes How To Train Your Dragon just a few strides short of perfect, but I don't think the obviousness of its plot points detracts from the wonder of the film as a whole.

The worst thing about How To Train Your Dragon, though, has nothing to do with the film itself: it has everything to do with Hollywood's obsession with 3D. Do NOT see How To Train Your Dragon in 3D. It's not worth the extra $3-$5, not because the movie isn't worth that, but because 3D is really overrated, too gimmicky for its own good, distracting, and sort of lame. 3D sucks some of the color from the picture, which is terrible when How To Train Your Dragon is full of so much color. It can also take some time to adjust; I found myself somewhat disoriented for the first fifteen minutes before my eyes settled in. There are some cool moments, though, such a when ash particles appear outside of the screen, almost as though they are falling around you, but for the most part, the 3D is plain annoying. Don't bother. See the movie on a normal screen.

In the end, I think How To Train Your Dragon is a must see film for kids and adults alike. If you have a family, take them to see this one. It's a little dark at times, but I think the adorable characters and the great character development make for a wonderful film that everyone can enjoy. If you haven't seen it, then you should. It takes the cake as the best Dreamworks film yet to be created and the characters will stay with you for days to come. Plus, the soundtrack is wonderful! I have it on my computer now and it has a lot of wonderful melodies. If you're a writer, it's a good soundtrack to write to!

Directing: 3.75/5
Cast: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.0/5
Visuals: 4.25/5
Adaptation: N/A (I haven't read the original, so I can't really make a judgment)
Overall: 4.125/5
Value: $9.00 (based on a $10.50 max)