SPOTLIGHT: Catching up with the Classics - Starship Troopers

So, here's the new "feature" at the Blog o' Stuff. Once a month (at the very least, I hope), I'll be taking a look at a classic book or novel from the Fantasy/Science Fiction genres. This will either be a book I haven't read in a while, or the case of in this installment's book Starship Troopers, a classic I have yet to read. How can I never have read this book? I just never got around to it, simple.

What I can I say about one of the most famous, acclaimed, influential, popular, and important Science Fiction books of all time and a Hugo winner, to boot? What can I add to all the words that have been extolled or exhorted in frustration? I don’t know, except for my opinion and my own response. Suffice it to say, it is virtually impossible to open up this book and read it for the first time without knowing about it, its reputation, or having some preconceived notions.

Much of the novel deals with Johnny Rico’s experiences in the Mobile Infantry and how he deals with the equivalent of boot camp in the future. Heinlein basically paints a picture of the life of one volunteer in what amounts to the Space Marines. Throughout, Rico’s thoughts about life, politics become shaped by his training, his superiors, his “drops,” and the battles in which he engages with the “Bugs.” He goes from one who is unsure of his thoughts to a man with strong-held convictions, and in this sense, the story works as a coming-of-age story.

One thing that surprised me as I was reading the book was how little action and science-fictiony stuff happens for the better part of the novel. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I think the best science fiction novels, like this one, have an utterly human quality to them. Even if Johnny Rico serves as something of a mouthpiece for Heinlein (as some have said), the character comes across as genuinely human.

Another part of the story that surprised me was the nonchalance with which Rico reacts to the attack of the Bugs and the beginnings and of the Bug War. Despite Rico losing his mother and the momentary grief he experienced because of it, the attack and break out of the war are dealt with very matter-of-factly. I understand that Rico and his peers are training for war, but there didn’’t seem to be any kind of panic or any great swell of emotion when the Bugs attack Earth, or not as much as I would have expected.

I don’t know Heinlein’s writing well enough, but one item in particular struck me as very far sighted. Much of the novel, probably because it is in an unspecified future, has a timeless air about it. You get the sense that Heinlein was writing this both as a reaction to what he saw as well as a treatise as what he thought. One can also get the feeling that he wrote this book with the intention that it could ring true for many years to come, particularly the chapter where Rico describes something he takes for granted, what most people of that time take for granted, and something that has become a staple of the Military Science Fiction genre – Power Armor:

No need to describe what it looks like, since it has been pictured so often. Suited up, you look like a big steel gorilla, armed with gorilla-sized weapos. … But the suits are considerably stronger than a gorilla. If an M.I. in a suit swapped hugs with a gorilla, the gorilla would be dead, crushed; the M.I. and the suit wouldn’t be mussed. (Page 100 Ace mmpb)

That description says more in the words it doesn’t use than it does in anything else. It allows the reader to visualize something big and powerful; something iconic. It doesn’t rigidly define the thing and allows the thing to stand the test of time.

Although (as I said) I’ve never read the book before now, I do know of its reputation and influence, it arguably spawned the entire Military Science Fiction subgenre. Half of the authors of Baen Books were likely heavily influenced by Heinlein, and this book specifically. As I was reading through the book, I recalled some of the books I’ve read and realized how they were influenced by Starship Troopers – Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Mr. Scalzi admits to patterning his novel off Heinlein’s. Robert Buettner’s Orphanage* is a very similar story line (the alien enemies are Slugs, close enough to bugs for me), though a good book in its own right. Ender’s Game also has a strong similarity. The whole drop scene and group of Space Marines from the film Aliens were likely patterned after the Mobile Infantry. Look at any of the popular science fiction video games, many can trace their origins and influences back to this book.

Lastly, I have to believe Stanley Kubrick read Starship Troopers at some point in his life prior to making his war masterpiece, Full Metal Jacket. The depiction of boot camp is very similar and there is a point in both stories where they seem like two different novels/movies. As soon as Private Pyle blows off his head and Private Joker heads off to Viet Nam, it seems like a different film. Granted, Full Metal Jacket is an adapted screenplay so the source material may be structured this way, but Starship Troopers fits the mold, to a degree. The cut isn’t as drastic in Starship Troopers, but the tone of the book changes, at least in my internal reading voice, after Rico leaves.

Obviously, I can’t speak on how much the novel is “of its times” nor can I speak directly of how much validity there is that certain characters in the book are simply mouthpieces for Heinlein, I haven’t read all that much by him. What I can say is that the novel is very powerful and I agree with William Lexner’s sentiments – this is a must read and probably one of the five most important Science Fiction novels ever written. I’d go as far as to say one of the most important books written in the 20th Century considering it is on the reading list for three of the four US Military Academies.

I still haven’t seen the movie, and I’m not making any plans to watch or TiVo it. So, have I added anything to the discourse that has been going on about this book since its publication nearly 50 years ago**? Perhaps. If nothing else, it shows that the book is still effective to an experienced reader of the genre like myself.

In sum, I really enjoyed the book and am torn. On one hand, I feel I should have read it many years ago. On the other, I'm glad I just read it for the first time. I'm not sure what my next book will be for this "feature" but I certainly started it off with a bang.

* Buettner's next Jason Wander novel, Orphan's Destiny, publishes later this year through the new Orbit US imprint, which absorbed the WarnerAspect Science Fiction line. Good for Robert, the books are a lot of fun. The covers are redesigned and look very good, but I still like this original piece from Fred Gambino.

**I wouldn’t be surprised if some sort of fancy 50th anniversary edition of the novel will be published next year.

Pulling the Killswitch, Another Writing Project, Cloverfield

I skipped a week with posting a review, so here’s my latest – Killswitch by Joel Shepherd. This novel wraps up Cassandra Kresnov’s story, for now. Shepherd brought closure to the story but left it wide open enough for more stories, should he choose to return to Sandy’s world.

I started a new writing project this week, using some ideas that have been percolating for a few years. I’m approaching this one a bit differently – I prepared an outline and brief character sketches before actually writing the story. I wanted to get a good sense of what ingredients I was dealing with before I started cooking the stew, to borrow a metaphor. That said, I started the prologue last night with some of the outline still unfinished; I wanted to get a feel for my writing voice in this story, which I think/thought might help me put the finishing touches on the outline.

I’m also considering posting some of this stuff online, perhaps on a blog all itself. It worked for some authors and it would the first bunch of my fiction writing up for public consumption. I have to admit, it daunts me a bit, but I need to get over it. I will.

I’ve got something cooking as a regular feature here at the world famous Blog ‘o Stuff, which might go up this week.

The more I see of Cloverfield, the more I HAVE to see it.

2007: A Review of Rob's Readings

Well, everybody else is doing it, so why not me. Right? I’m of course referring to a brief summary of what books I liked best from my readings in 2007. Sure, I mentioned a few books in my contribution to the annual SFFWorld round up, but that was limited to only those books published in 2007. As is the case with most readers like myself, not all of my reading is comprised of books published in that specific year. Though in my personal ratings, no book I read last year received a “10,” quite a few received a “9.”

The best science fiction book I read last year was Robert Charles Wilson’s Hugo-award winning novel, Spin. As I said on the blog a few weeks ago:

On the whole, I really REALLY enjoyed this book. I thought it was an extremely human look at a near future where people were confronted with a technological event far beyond anything people in the world are capable of doing. I am not surprised it received the Hugo and think it will be considered a top SF book for a while. The ending was a little frustrating because I wanted to see what would happen next, but I also consider the ending to be appropriate.

The best collection, perhaps the best overall fantasy book I read last year was Jeffrey Ford’s The Empire of Ice Cream. The book contains award-winning stories, which is becoming par for the course with Mr. Ford’s collections. Here’ what I said back in Novermber:

I don’t know if this collection is better than his previous World Fantasy Award winning collection, The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant, but it isn’t any lesser a collection. What we have here is a writer unrestrained by bounds of genre and imagination. Jeffrey Ford’s writing has such an authenticity about it, you cannot help but trust that the stories he tells have a ring of truth to them. More importantly, you want to believe them as real and year for the next stories to be told.

Every year has it fair share of debut novelists, the three whose work most connected with me were Joe Hill’s Heart-Shaped Box, Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself, and the “hot new star” Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind. I reviewed both of these for SFFWorld. Here’s a snippet from my review of Heart-Shaped Box:

Where the story transcends both the genre and just being a “good story” is how effectively Joe Hill puts forth the reality of Jude’s situation. One gets the sense that the story could be an episode of VH1’s Behind the Music after taking a very dark turn. Even though Jude is a living legend of an almost Ozzy Osbourne status, Hill paints a picture of a real man haunted by his past and current demons.

Here's a snippet of what I said about The Blade Itself when Pyr delivered the book to US readers:

I thought the novel started a bit slow, I was thinking all the hype surrounding the book upon its UK release last year was going to leave me disappointed. It has happened with other books in the past for me. Thankfully, Abercrombie’s story, and more convincingly, his characters pulled me into the story unheeded. ... Abercrombie is a damned frustrating writer. He writes so well and his story is so infectious it is difficult to stop reading and even thinking about the layers of his story and world.

From The Name of the Wind (which I was lucky enough to read before much of the hype took hold of the book):

Where will The Name of the Wind stand at year’s end and over the next few years in the genre? At least for this year, Rothfuss has set the bar very high for any other author publishing their first novel in 2007. As for where the book will stand in the years to come, it will likely stand as the start of one of the bright careers in fantasy fiction. Suffice it to say, the book is very good and has all the elements of greatness – characters with which the reader can empathize, a fascinating backdrop where these characters live, and the key ingredient: leaving the reader wanting for more. Since this is just the first book in a trilogy, that want will be met.

Though not a new author, I came across her work for the first time in 2007 and the book turned out to be the Science Fiction novel I enjoyed the most, Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon.

With a rich and vivid setting, peopled with believable and sympathetic characters and fascinating aliens, Kay Kenyon has launched an impressive saga with Bright of the Sky. My only criticism involves some of the scenes where the narratives point of view character switches from Quinn to those who interact with him in the Entire. The transitions aren’t entirely smooth and I found myself re-reading passages to be sure to whom the words were being attributed. These scenes were very few, but did jar the otherwise smooth and quick pace of the story. That said, Bright of the Sky, like the best novels opening a larger sequence, balances closure with open plot strands.

Scott Lynch’s second book was just as good as his first. This is not surprising because he made Locke Lamora and Jean pirates. I loved the dialogue and interplay betwixt the two and really liked the non-straightforward timeline Lynch used to tell the story in Red Seas Under Red Skies.

As sequels go, Red Seas Under Red Skies is fabulous and a more accomplished, more tightly written novel than its predecessor. Considering what a top notch job Lynch did with his debut, this is impressive. As importantly, Red Seas Under Red Skies doesn’t work so bad as an introduction to the Gentleman Bastards. I found myself smiling throughout most of the book, grinning at the dialogue, and riding right along with Jean and Locke on their pirate adventure. At its heart, Red Seas Under Red Skies is pure fun.

Even though I knew the events that form the backdrop of the book, Buster Olney’s The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty was a superb book. Being a Yankees fan for the past 30+ years, I’ve followed the team through ups and downs, and none were more “up” than the championship run at the turn of the Century. Even knowing much of the outcome, Olney managed to keep my glued to every word on the page.

The Author I rediscovered in 2007 was Steven Erikson. I’m still slowly making my way through the Malazan Book of the Fallen, but the saga took hold of me fully in the summer of 2007 when I read the first two books whilst serving Jury Duty in May and June.

Another series I rediscovered, after breezing through much of it a few years ago, was Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. Specifically, the latest book, Dzur, which I liked very much.Other books that stood out for me were Peter David’s Darkness of the Light, Tobias Buckell’s Ragamuffin, David Anthony Durham’s Acacia Book I, and the two books in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy.

I also read a couple of stinkers last year, David Keck’s In the Eye of Heaven. The book seems to be somewhat polarizing, I’m in the camp that didn’t care much for it. Gail Z. Martin’s The Summoner didn’t work for me either, I couldn’t even finish the book. I hate when that happens, but buy the halfway point, nothing worked for me and I felt it was a story I read many times before with more originality. Brian Ruckley’s Winterbirth didn’t work so well for me either, I just couldn’t find anything in the story about which to care. The book, coincidentally, is the January 2008 Fantasy Book Club of the Month at SFFWorld, others have reacted differently than I did. The most disappointing; however, was Robin Hobb’s Forest Mage. I love Hobb’s writing, but this story angered my like almost no other book I’ve read.

So that’s it, the brief summary of the highlights and lowlights of my 2007 readings.

Happy New Year

In what has become something of a Christmas/New Year’s tradition in the Blog o’ Stuff household I watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy. As much as I love the movies, and know how the story ends, all those fade to blacks at the end of Return of the King set one up to think the film has ended. To keep the Tolkien theme in mind, I read The Children of Húrin yesterday. The story reminded me of a Greek Tragedy, in both style and theme Tolkien employed to tell the story as well as the grandeur and power. Though I read it over a day or two, the story is still resonating with me.

Yesterday, aside from the first day of 2008, was also the first NHL Winter Classic. Even though I probably would have had a difficult time seeing the game from the stadium seats, it would have been very cool to be there. It was a solid game with an ending the NHL couldn’t have scripted any better, with the Kid scoring the winning goal in a shootout. I would love to see this become an annual tradition, with perhaps a game in New Yankees Stadium in 2009 or a game in Pittsburgh, or in RFK Stadium with some rotating teams. Maybe the previous Stanley Cup champion being involved in the game, though having the Anaheim Ducks as the host tem would kind of defeat the purpose.

The first day of 2008 was a busy day, as it turned out; I posted my latest review, The Solaris Book of New Fantasy edited by George Mann. I liked the majority of the stories and may pick up their New Book of Science Fiction. In addition, we jiggered up the front page of SFFWorld yesterday.

Metatemporally a Merry Christmas!

Hobbit / Mark posted the second part of the 2007 Round up by Adam/Werthead, Deornoth/Graeme, Robert/Cervantor, and Aidan/'al Kael, Mark and myself. The first part resulted in a great discussion at SFFWorld, I hope this part does the same. While the focus of the first part was Fantasy, in the second, we turn our attention to Science Fiction, Films, and Comic books. Admittedly, the latter two don't receive as much attention at SFFWorld, but are worth disucssing.
Don't forget to vote for your favorite 2007 at SFFWorld!

Also up at SFFWorld is my latest review, The Metatemporal Detective. I couldn't help posting the awesome cover by John Picacio, which more than many of the covers of the boosk I've recently read, captures the feel of the book so well.

John's one of the top artists in the field right now and it is no mistake that his covers have graced a good number of books by Pyr. John also has done great covers for Jeffrey Ford's two collections from Golden Gryphon books and he recently posted the three covers to the Golden Gryphon versions of Jeff Ford's spectacular Well-Built City trilogy

Merry Christmas to all! Happy Christmas to all!

SFFWorld's 2007 Reader's Poll & Spin

Over at SFFWorld.com, we are running our annual member poll for favorite reads of 2007.

Hobbit also posted the first part of SFFWorld's annual review., wherein we discuss the books, authors, films, and events in Speculative Fiction. In the past, it was just Hobbit and I who put this thing together. This year we invited some of the regular visitors/bloggers from the forum: Adam/Werthead (http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/), Deornoth/Graeme (http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com/), Robert/Cervantor (http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/), and Aidan/'al Kael (http://www.aidanmoher.com/blog/).

I finished Robert Charles Wilson's Spin a couple of days ago, and had it fit the eligibility rules we set in place, I might have given it one of my top spots. This book was as good as everybody said it was, not the least of whom are Stephen King and the people who awarded it the Hugo award.

This was an epic book filled with human, well drawn characters who had to deal with earth-shattering (or rather earth-encompassing) events. Diane (the primary female character) seemed to get a bit of the short end of the stick, compared to the other two characters. I think that is mainly due to the smaller amount of screen time given to her character compared to Jase (her brother) and Tyler (narrator/protagonist). That being said, her character in its absences, still exhibited a certain power that neither Jase or Tyler did.

I think the title was a metaphor of sorts, and maybe an inverse metaphor. People are constantly told to stop and not let the world pass by them. In this case the world was stopped and the life, the universe, and everything nearly passed by us. Or so it seemed for much of the novel. I also saw the metaphor of how the story began and ended, for the most part, at the same location.

The political climate RCW depicted seemed very accurately presented. However, we didn't quite get to see the everyman's point of view of what happened. I suppose Tyler was intended to fit this role to a degree, but being the best friend of one of the most powerful men on the planet isn't so everyman.

On the whole, I really REALLY enjoyed this book. I thought it was an extremely human look at a near future where people were confronted with a technological event far beyond anything people in the world are capable of doing. I am not surprised it received the Hugo and think it will be considered a top SF book for a while. The ending was a little frustrating because I wanted to see what would happen next, but I also consider the ending to be appropriate.

The only other novel I've read by RCW is Darwinia, which I also enjoyed. The ending "event" reminded me of that novel. I will be picking up Axis, as well as some of his other backlist titles, as if I don't have enough unread books on the shelf.

Eye of Heaven, Wheel of Time

Seems I'm on a good-bad-good-bad streak with the books I've been reading lately. The latest review up at SFFWorld is a bad one, David Keck's In the Eye of Heaven. When the book first published last year, there was mostly positive buzz, with a couple of naysayers mixed in the buzz. Through most of the book, I was unable to care about the protagonist and what happned to him or any of the characters. Read the review for more. I told Pat this would be another book about which we would disagree.

In bigger news, of course is that Brandon Sanderson will be writing the last and concluding volume of The Wheel of Time. From what I've seen Sanderson really is becoming something of an heir apparent at Tor. He is finishing up the Mistborn series, plus I think he is contracted for another trilogy (or is it duology?) with Tor. His Mistborn novels, at least the first two, I found to be very solid. The guy, from all accounts, is a pro and churns out books at a very impressive pace. That said, there will of course be Jordan fans who won't be happy with this. Either way, I'm glad for Brandon and think Tor made a smart choice on this one.

Aliens, Assassins, and a new Arena

My latest review, Fleet of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner is now up at SFFWorld. This was my introduction to Niven's Ringworld saga, as well as his novel-length fiction. I liked it quite a bit, have others read this and I'm interested to read how it stacks up against his other fiction, both the Ringworld novels and others.

Another very good book I just finished was Steven Brust's most recent Vlad Taltos novel, Dzur. I've been following Brust's witch-assasin and dragon-like familiar since Ace books decided to repackage his early novels in a few nifty omnibus volumes. It has been a few years since I last read one of the Vlad Taltos novels (Issola, to be precise) and I nearly forgot how much fun I have listening to Vlad, er rather Brust, tell me stories.













Brust is a solid writer who should be getting more recognition and deserves a larger readership. When I read The Lies of Locke Lamora last year that something about Lynch's writing reminded me of Brust, not surpising considering both writer's protagonists are known for prodigiously sticking knives in people. That connection came even more strong after reading Dzur. So I can only HIGHLY recommend that people check out Brust's Taltos novels while waiting for the next Lynch book, starting with The Book Of Jhereg (the first Taltos omnibus) or Jhereg (the first Taltos novel).

Brust has acknowledged that his writing was influenced by Roger Zelazny and is an admitted fan of the legend's writing. Much of the plot Zelazny' Amber stories takes place through the conversations of the story's characters, Brust's Taltos novels are as well.

Outside of the Vlad Taltos novels, Brust "reimagined" Satan's revolt in Heaven in the entertaining To Reign in Hell. Brust also wrote a very well received vampire novel, Agyar as well as a collaboration with Emma Bull and one with Megan Lindholm.

Though not explicitly part of the Vlad Taltos series, Brust wrote a few books that take place in the Dragaeran empire, which is the setting for the Taltos novels. Collectively, these are known as the Khaavren Romances and are comprised of The Phoenix Guards, Five Hundred Years After, and The Viscount of Adrilankha, (published in three volumes: The Paths of the Dead, The Lord of Castle Black, and Sethra Lavode).

Like I said, Brust has been writing for a while and should definitely not be lost in the shuffle (so to speak) of all the new emerging writers.

For more information check out his Wikipedia entry.

I enjoyed my first NJ Devils game at the new Prudential Center on Friday. It, of course, didn't hurt that the Devils won 4-0 and Zach Parise got a Hat Trick. The arena is great looking, easy to get to via train and a VAST improvement over the Meadowlands. The seats are a bit small, but the design of everything, the Red/Black color scheme, and stylish concourse/entrance is really awesome.

Forest Mage, or the Slacker Protagonist

Yesterday, I closed up what is possibly the most frustrating book I've read in the past few years, Forest Mage by Robin Hobb. Frustrating that the writing itself was good and parts of the story sucked me in, which contrasts with the utter despair at the hopelessness of protagonist Nevare's character. Frustrating because I've come to expect the good writing, and even the passivity of the slacker protagonist, but here it was almost too much to bear. Frustrating because I hold Hobb’s earlier works in such high regard, a measuring stick by which I compare other writers.

I agree with much of what is said in the SFFWorld forum topic about the book: 200 pages of this novel amounted to a constant reminder of how fat Nevare had become. I felt browbeaten into submissive into beliefy. Much of the novel (maybe 50 pages worth even) was Nevare constantly saying "I don't know what to do" or some similar phrase. Basically, far too much of the obvious being hinted at without stating the obvious.

Many readers have complained that Fitz (from the Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies) was something of a dullard. I hope for their sake, they never read this book. Nevare's outright stubborn insistence on doing absolutely nothing was also frustrating. Am I the only one who was thinking from about the first third of the novel that he could have gone to Epiny for assistance with his magic? It is almost as if Nevare forgot that she helped in the prevoius novel.

Watching Nevare persist in doing nothing for himself other than accept the meagerness thrown at him rather than be proactive was akin to driving slowly past a horrific car wreck. You don't want to look and see the blood and death, but part of you is fascinated by it, while the other part wants to see the reason for their delay. I don't know if that is a compliment, but that quality about the story did keep me reading, and fervently at that.

I don't even think there was a good case to support either sides of the conflict (Specks vs. Gernians). Both sides are callous in their approach to the other side and nothing compels me to truly give a rat’s ass which side “wins.” I; however, suspect neither will win.

On the converse side, I would attribute much of Nevare's despair and hesitance to act as a result of his un-acceptance of the magic. To me, this novel could have been trimmed considerably; it would have been a stronger novel, without the browbeating. I get the sense that perhaps this "trilogy" with some judicious (and often needed) editing, could have been a more powerful duology.

In the end I was very compelled (almost as addictively as Nevare's eating compulsion) to read through to the end, and to even want to read the final installment. What is also frustrating is that it took Nevare so long to finally take some sort of stand and do something. Unfortunately this happens in the last handful of pages and the novel ends on a cliffhanger.

Will I read the final book? Probably, I am a completist and a big fan of Hobb. I am also curious if this story would have indeed read as well (or better) as a duology.

Sure, I know this book was published over a year ago here in the US and before that in the UK, but I couldn’t not drop a post about the book here.

The Empire of Ice Cream

Jeffrey Ford is one of the more decorated writers in speculative fiction over the decade or so. His first fantasy novel, The Physiognomy, won the World Fantasy Award, as have his first collection, The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant, a short story and a novella (Botch Town, which appears in his second collection).. The story whose title, The Empire of Ice Cream, serves as the name of his second collection, won a Nebula award. For all the awards, his writing deserves a much bigger audience. Those who have read his work, at least most of those with whom I’ve come into contact, think very highly of his writing.

What I’ve read from Mr. Ford has been spectacular, and his most recent collection (the aforementioned The Empire of Ice Cream) is no exception. The first story, The Annals of Eelin-Ok though distinct in its story, does set a tone for the overall collection. Just under our noses, small fairy folk live on the beaches we visit every summer. Ford’s story is the diary of one of thse little folk and it is supremely effective at giving the reader a different lens by which to view the world.

The second story, Jupiter’s Skull, had the feel of an old folk tale, something passed down through the generations. Considering the nuts and bolts of the story itself, this is very fitting. An old artifact is inexplicably passed down through generations and has a magical effect, something of demonic possession one might say, on those who come into contact with it, particularly if they are of opposite sexes.

A Night in the Tropics is a very surreal and powerful story which is a showcase of Ford’s ability to capture the everyday life of his characters. The mood and characters are so real and believable that the fantastic elements come across just as real. In this story, a cursed artifact has made its way to a person from the protagonist’s past.

The story which lends the title for the collection had probably the deepest connection to his award winning novel, The Physiognomy. A misunderstood boy with a “condition” goes through much of his life distanced from reality. Only when the right doctor comes along and diagnoses his condition does the protagonist’s life take a foothold in reality. The archaic condition here is synesthesia, a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway, or where one can taste colors and hear smells. This was possibly the most tragic story in the collection. For the time being, this story is still online at the SciFiciton archives.

The Beautiful Gelreesh has the feel of a modern fable or parable to it, although there are also hints of science fiction. Like any such story, humanity’s fears and emotions are at the core of what drives the story. The enigmatic Gelreesh makes promises to those with whom he speaks, but the price is not negotiable, or known at the outset.

I first read Boatman's Holiday in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, in fact I purchased the issue primarily for the story. Here, Ford plays with the myth of the ferryman who carries souls across the river Styx. I liked this one quite a bit; there was a wry, dark sense of humor to it.

Botch Town, the largest story in the book, is also the most richly alive story of the collection. The story reminded me of the best of Stephen King’s stories of youths who encounter things of the other. Stories like The Body, Hearts in Atlantis, and his massive novel IT. Like many of Ford’s stories, Botch Town, has a ring of the truth about it, you believe the narrator and imagine the strange events could happen. The nugget of fantastic here is that a model town in a family’s basement can be used to show how events will happen in the future.

The only story that didn’t completely connect with me was A Man of Light. This is not to say it is a bad story, I just don’t think it succeeded as well as the other stories. However, the story’s authentic seeming pseudoscience did resonate with his novel, The Physiognomy.

Perhaps the weirdest story in the collection was Giant Land. Ford transports his characters across strange landscapes in this story that felt very much a stream-of-consciousness. Characters are plucked from an everyday commute into a world of Giants, both human and human with animal heads. Without missing a beat, the story shifts slightly into a dream like state as the protagonist realizes the reality that mirrors our own is not hers. The story flips between fantastical and “real” without missing a beat, displacing the reader’s sense of reality.

The Trentino Kid closes out the collection and is perhaps the most personal story of the bunch. Many of the tales collected in this novel either are informed by Ford’s life and/or include a protagonist named Jeff. This gives the stories a greater air of authenticity, and this trait is on its greatest display in The Trentino Kid. The life of people who work on the ocean can be very wearying, even more so considering the very real dangers the work entails. Part ghost story, part semi-autobiography, this story would fit in very nicely with some of Rod Serling’s classic and chilling Twilight Zone episodes.

I don’t know if this collection is better than his previous World Fantasy Award winning collection, The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant, but it isn’t any lesser a collection. What we have here is a writer unrestrained by bounds of genre and imagination. Jeffrey Ford’s writing has such an authenticity about it, you cannot help but trust that the stories he tells have a ring of truth to them. More importantly, you want to believe them as real and year for the next stories to be told.

Dribbled, Part 2

Aidan posted the second part of the blogger-go-round here.

Turkey Day is almost upon us. Or as the rest of the world knows it, Thursday. I'm looking forward to plenty of good eating, driving across Union County from one family to the other.

More later.

New Review and Heroes

After far too long a hiatus, we finally updated the front page of SFFWorld.com. We've had a lot of content go up on the Web site over the past few weeks, but haven't had the chance to do a full update. The big "get" is an interview with George R. R. Martin. Part of the update included my latest review, Wayne Thomas Batson's latest novel, Isle of Swords.

Heroes has been very good the past couple of weeks; I liked the filling in of the missing pieces last week and thought tonights episode was as tough to turn away from as any of the episodes from last season. Granted, I thought a couple of scenes and events were a little predictable, but overall I was very satisfied and am looking forward to the next episode.

Non-segue, I tried Sam Adams Winter Lager a couple of weeks ago after a couple of years of not really liking it. I don't know why I didn't care for it initially, but now I like it quite a bit. All the spices that float through the beer are a nice, refreshing addition to any meal. That Jim Koch, he knows what he's doing. The winter beers are on the shelves and I'm a happy guy.

The Tables Turned on Me

Aidan, of A Dribble of Ink, decided he was going to round up some of the bloggers from SFF online community. He wanted to turn the tables on us and interview us. It was a bit odd, but pretty neat. I thought it turned out very well.

Then again, half the people who read my blog are probably other members of the group interviewed by Aidan.

Anyway, here is the first part of the interview.

33/3

I turned 33 on Thursday, who-hoo. Mrs. Blog o’ Stuff gave me xmradio and made an awesome dinner for me. I had some good beer with my in-laws, and with my parents, so I can’t really complain.

My third “blogoversarry” also passed since I last posted, and I might try some new things after the New Year with this blog. Not the least of which is more regular blogging and maybe a regular “feature.” Exciting, isn’t it? I know the huddled masses are chomping at the bit.

It's Electric, Botched and a God Killer

My review of Jeff Somers's The Electric Church is now up at SFFWorld. I thought it was a pretty good book, an interesting look at a dark future. While not an uncommon story (all-controlling government, corrupt church) Somers did enough interesting things in the novel to make it stand out. As I say in my review, I kept hearing Queensrÿche’s Operation:Mindcrime as I read the book.

About a month ago, SFFWorld posted Pat's interview with Jeff Somers, which is worth checking out as well. Jeff also happens to be a fellow Jersey-boy.

I was unable to go to another World Fantasy Convention, but congratulations to the winners. I'm in the middle of one of the award winners right now, Botch Town in Jeffrey Ford's incredible (so far) collection, The Empire of Ice Cream. Everything I read by Ford is on a different level than almost every other writer. Whether in short for or long form, his stories really make the fantastic seem real, the dream-like seem lucid. I think this is because his does such an incredible job of capturing the reality of human pathos and interaction. Again, another writer from New Jersey.

Last week i finished another marathon of a Malazan book, House of Chains. I liked it better than the previous book, Memories of Ice. Karsa Orlong is probably my favorite character in the series right now and I love how Erikson is building up the legend and myth of the character.

Karsa's challenging of his gods reminds me a bit of Kratos's storyline from God of War. Is that a strange analogy? I don't know, but it works for me. I also happend to beat God of War II last week. I liked the game a lot, but the gameplay wasn't as balanced as the first game.

Just in time for Hallowe’en, I posted my review of the H.P. Lovecraft collection, The Horror in the Museum. Well, the stories are re-writes/ghost-writes/co-written by Lovecraft, but most were still pretty damned good. As I say in my review, my only other foray into Lovecraft’s writing was Black Seas of Infinity, which I thought was a superb collection edited by Andrew Wheeler.

The Yankees named Joe Girardi their new manager today after the unsurprising firing/non-acceptance of contract by Joe Torre. As much as Don Mattingly was my favorite player, I think Girardi is the right choice as manager. I liked him as a player and probably more as an announcer on YES. Granted, the way Joe Torre was not brought back was sloppy, I think Girardi is a step in the right direction. The best news out of Yankee-land is Alex Rodriguez opting out of his contract.

Somehow the fact that a film version of Stephen King’s The Mist is coming out in November slipped by me. I liked the story a lot when I first read it years ago. Even more so, I enjoyed the Cool Audio version of the story released more than a decade ago. On the good side, Frank Darabont wrote and directed it, who also had a hand in The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption. On the other, Thomas Jane (who I thought was great as Mickey Mantle in 61*) was also in the King clunker, Dreamcatcher.

The more I watch Reaper, the bigger my crush grows on Missy Peregrym. I like the show and make sure I see it every week, it reminds me a little bit of Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters is one of my favorite, most quotable, and most quoted movies.

Review, stuff

I posted my review of Hurricane Moon by Alexis Glynn Latner the other day, but since sffworld.com was a little wonky yesterday, I couldn't retrieve the review to mention here. It was an interesting book, but didn't completely work for me.

Rutgers seems back on track after taking down the #2 team last Thursday. On one hand this is great, on the other this tells me they "should" be undefeated. Their two losses were to teams that were not of the same caliber as USF. Granted, Cincinatti is doing some pretty good things, butstill frustrating nonetheless.

I have to say, one of the cool things about doing these book reviews is getting early looks at some forthcoming books. Case in point, I received a nice big fat ARC from Del Rey of Peter F. Hamilton's next Epic Space Opera, The Dreaming Void. Another, equally cool, perk is receiving the same e-mail from Simon Spanton Pat did, with the synopsis of Richard K. Morgan's foray into Epic Fantasy, The Steel Remains.

Revenge of the Elves by Gary Wassner

Meme-ology

Gacked from where most of these memes are gacked, the Antimucker.

MOUTHOLOGY
Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. 1,000 Island or Robusto Italian

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. White Castle.

Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
A. The Chimney Rock Inn. The Loaded Rock Fries are a heart-attack on a plate but are awesome.

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. Usually 20%; I start at 15% and the waiter/waitress decides from there. That is, if they are good it goes up.

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
A: Steak.

Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
A. Meatballs

Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
A: Peanut Butter

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A: 4.

BIOLOGY
Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. Right.

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. Wisdom teeth.

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. Only one, about three years ago.

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
A. What do you consider Heavy? 8o lb dumbells at the gym?

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. No.

BULLSHITTOLOGY
Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. No.

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
A. World’s Coolest Millionaire

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. One Million Dollars.

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. Probably.

Q. Have you ever saved someone's life?
A. If so, inadvertently.

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. I don’t think so.

DAREOLOGY
Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. I need more money than that.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. Now you are talking.

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. yes...

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
A. Yes, but that magazine would lose money.

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
A. Absolutely.

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. It depends on the specific human life; however, I do recall an episode of the Twilight Zone (or maybe Amazing Stories) where somebody was offered something along these lines, with the disclaimer that you would not know who the person to die would be. They, of course accepted, only to be told that the next person who was offered the $1M would have no idea who would be killed, either. Karma's a bitch.

DUMBOLOGY
Q: What is in your left pocket?
A: Nothing.

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A: Good is a strong word.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A: Yes.

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A: I wish I could sit.

Q: Could you live with roommates?
A: I have in the past (college) and I do now (wife).

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
A: One pair with a bottle opener in it although mine are black.

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A: A few months ago when I blew through a stop sign.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: A superhero.

Q: Who is number 1 on your top 8?
A: ????

LASTOLOGY
Q: Friend you talked to?
A: My old college roommate.

Q: Last person who called you?
A: See above.

Q: Person you hugged?
A: Mrs. Blog o’ Stuff.

FAVORITOLOGY
Q: Number?
A: 7 or 23

Q: Season?
A: Summer

CURRENTOLOGY
Q: Missing someone?
A: Not really.

Q: Mood?
A: Somber

Q: Listening to?
A: Baseball playoffs.

Q: Watching?
A: See above.

Q: Worrying about?
A: Bills, work, house-projects.

RANDOMOLOGY
Q: First place you went this morning?
A: The bathroom.

Q: What can you not wait to do?
A: Retire.

Q: What's the last movie you saw?
A: Theaters: Stardust. Home: Snakes on a Plane courtesy of TiVO.

Q: Do you smile often?
A: Only when I do evil things.

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A: At times.

Summer in October - Waiting for the Cold

My latest review, Brian Ruckley’s Winterbirth, went up at SFFWorld tonight. I have to admit I was disappointed in the book. It wasn’t a bad book, and I think has some good qualities. However, the book just didn’t connect with me. Apathetic might be a strong word, but I did find it difficult to completely immerse myself in his world and the story.

Mark/Hobbit posted a couple of reviews, too: Mike Carey’s The Devil You Know and Karen Miller’s The Innocent Mage.

The weather is perfectly normal here in New Jersey for October – the temperature has been in the 80s for the better part of the last week or so. This makes a little odd to be enjoying Oktoberfest beers like Widmer’s Octoberfest, and Post Road (Brooklyn) Pumpkin Ale, and Smuttynose Pumpkin.

The life of o’ Stuff has been interesting and hectic the past couple of weeks. I picked up a new car a little over a week ago, sold the old one, and my company moved its office 7 miles closer to my house. 7 miles may not seem like all that much to some, but when those 7 miles less are in North Jersey, it makes a considerable difference.

I thought the premiere of Reaper was pretty enjoyable and the second episode is turning out pretty well, too. I’m glad Heroes is back and like last season, the show keeps me hooked and anticipating the next week’s episode. I'm hoping Christopher Eccleston comes back this year, I really liked the small role he played last season. Right now, Peter's story is working the best for me even if it might be a small re-tread of his arc last year.

I posted my review of Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself today. Right now it is near the top of my list for 2007 reads, Abercrombie’s snarky writing reminded me of Scott Lynch. He really built up a lot of tension and has me eager to read Before They Are Hanged.

I'm sure most of the same people who follow my blog, at least the fantasy fans, also follow Aidan's blog. If you don't and are a fan of Steven Erikson's Malazan Empire, click on over. I've been waiting for the right time jump back into Malazan after plowing through the first three a couple of months ago and now seems as good a time as any.

Surprise, surprise the Yankees made the playoffs again. I like their chances against Cleveland and think the Red Sox will be tired out by the Angels; hopefully. How about those Mets? Wow, that has to be as bad as the Yankees being bounced by Boston after their collapse a couple of years back. The National League is really wide open.

MEME: Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time

MEME: Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time
(gacked from SFSignal)

Below is Snarkerati's list of Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time. A great topic for a meme!
You know the drill...copy the list and BOLD the movies you have seen. Post yours in the comments, or on your own blog (a link back here would be appreciated!)

1. Metropolis (1927)
2. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
3. Brazil (1985)
4. Wings of Desire (1987)
5. Blade Runner (1982)
6. Children of Men (2006)
7. The Matrix (1999)
8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
9. Minority Report (2002)
10. Delicatessen (1991)
11. Sleeper (1973)
12. The Trial (1962)
13. Alphaville (1965)
14. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
15. Serenity (2005)
16. Pleasantville (1998)
17. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
18. Battle Royale (2000)
19. RoboCop (1987)
20. Akira (1988)
21. The City of Lost Children (1995)
22. Planet of the Apes (1968)
23. V for Vendetta (2005)
24. Metropolis (2001)
25. Gattaca (1997)
26. Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
27. On The Beach (1959)
28. Mad Max (1979)
29. Total Recall (1990)
30. Dark City (1998)
31. War Of the Worlds (1953)
32. District 13 (2004)
33. They Live (1988)
34. THX 1138 (1971)
35. Escape from New York (1981)
36. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
37. Silent Running (1972)
38. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
39. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
40. A Boy and His Dog (1975)
41. Soylent Green (1973)
42. I Robot (2004)
43. Logan's Run (1976)
44. Strange Days (1995)
45. Idiocracy (2006)
46. Death Race 2000 (1975)
47. Rollerball (1975)
48. Starship Troopers (1997)
49. One Point O (2004)
50. Equilibrium (2002)

More than half. Not bad, I guess.

The Realms Reviewed by Rob

The latest review went live on SFFWorld, Paul S. Kemp's Erevis Cale Trilogy. Paul popped into the SFFWorld forums a couple of times and his postings generated some interesting discussion. He and I got to e-mailing and I wound up reviewing the books. To be honest, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, since my only exposure to the Forgotten Realms was Salvatore's Drizzt books, which I enjoyed.

Kemp's books I enjoyed a bit more, his writing has a darker edge and the tone is slighty more tense. The story itself was enthralling and Kemp has me looking forward to his next set of books.
I do hopes all ye joined in the bottle of rum for today's e'er so special day, YO HO! I know I did, wearing an eye patch and bandana at work, AARGH-ing it up. Last year when the holiday rolled around, I was dared to talk and wear the get-up all day, even so far as to go in an speak to a Senior VP with the accent. I, of course, am not one to be dared lightly and received a nice bottle of Captain Morgan.

Robert Jordan's death is still having a strange affect on me, I didn't expect to be as moved by it as I have been. This is especially true since I've been known on minor occassions to poke fun at the Wheel of Time over at SFFWorld, and haven't been as into the books since Winter's Heart published. Seeing people's thoughts on his work and remmbering how much I enjoyed the books when I first read them is making me want to jump back into The Eye of the World. I remember when I first had jury duty nearly ten years ago and I was reading Path of Daggers at the time, how I struck up a conversation with one of my fellow jurors about Jordan's books. Earlier this year I was at a family thing and speaking with a cousin who I hadn't seen very much in recent years and the conversation, very surprisingly to me, turned to Robert Jordan. He was one of the last people I'd expected to have read the books.

Pat posted his thoughts, as have many others. I missed Ken's nice post, which echoes much of my thoughts and The Hornswoggler had a good, if different perspective.

On a somewhat unrelated note FantasyBookCritic is a pretty good blog.

The Wheel Turns...R.I.P. Robert Jordan

James Oliver Rigney, also known as Robert Jordan passed away yesterday. I’m just one of many blogs, fans, and news sites reporting this, but it is still worth mentioning here. His Wheel of Time is easily one of the most popular (if not the largest) multi-volume sagas in the genre and helped to make fantasy (and I’m sure by extension, Science Fiction) a more commercially viable genre in the nineties on through to today. For all the finger pointing at Jordan for his shortcomings as a storyteller, he was one of the great “gatekeepers” of the genre, and hopefully will be for many years. The Eye of the World, and to a lesser extent his Conan novels, are some of the first fantasy books people read, or fiction people read in general.

I can only relate my own experience with his writing, and how it helped to bring me back in a greater way to reading fantasy and science fiction. I’d always enjoyed reading; after all I was an English major in college. As I might have said, I cut my reading chops at a very young age on those Choose Your Own Adventure books as well as The Three Investigators, then I moved onto Stephen King somewhere just before middle school. That brought me a bunch of horror, basically whatever my parents had on the shelves. Then, I found Dungeons & Dragons as a game, and DragonLance as a story. Soon, though, college called and my “free-time” reading became something of the past.

As college wound down, my free reading time returned. One of the first books I recall buying was The Eye of the World; I saw something about this Wheel of Time series on one of those news shows the SciFi Channel once aired, Sci Fi Buzz hosted by Mike Jerrick. He and Jordan were discussing the Wheel of Time. The concept interested me; I liked the idea of resonating myths coming to life; a fantasy world that has echoes of our own. I recalled Jordan’s name when I visited Barnes & Noble some time later. I figured, what the heck, the book looks interesting. I was hooked, and I have to admit to still recalling some of the scenes from the first book pretty clearly even a decade later. When I joined the Science Fiction Book Club shortly thereafter, I wound up ordering the next two books and read though them fairly quickly. I didn’t want to have to wait to mail in my order the SFBC and then wait for them to deliver the next books, which would have been The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven, so I bought one in paperback and the other as a discounted hardback.

I remember reading some of the scenes in Lord of Chaos long into the night and in general, those first five or six books of the Wheel of Time were some of the most fun and compelling reading experiences I had, at least up until that point. Despite how a couple of the later books in the series left me unsatisfied, The Wheel of Time will always have a special spot on my bookshelf. I’ve been wondering for a while now if the first books would hold up as well if I were to re-read them. I was considering going through them again once the final book was to be published. Perhaps, as David Gemmell’s widow did, Jordan’s widow can finish off the last volume. She was, after all, his editor.

Before The Eye of the World was published, Jordan published other novels, but he also lived a damned interesting life. He studied physics at the Citadel, he was a nuclear engineer, and fought in the Vietnam War where he received awards for his bravery in the war and settled into a house built in the late 18th Century. Not a shabby set of life experiences, if you ask me.

Robert Jordan, through his Wheel of Time, was an ambassador to the genre, welcoming new readers. Jordan has been compared to Tolkien, and say what you will, Jordan’s importance to the genre cannot be understated. George R. R. Martin has already posted a very nice remembrance of Jordan and a thanks, as have many others. The Wheel of Time helped to make fantasy a much larger genre, and brought in a large audience. As of yesterday, the genre has lost another giant and is a shade smaller.

For that, and the many hours of reading pleasure he brought to his fans, James Oliver Rigney will be missed. Death is never easy, even when you are given a set time to live. My condolences go out to his family, friends and many readers, including those who came together in life through his books.

Over at SFFWorld, we’ve got a thread recalling his work where our members are posting their thoughts and remembrances.

http://ofblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/rip-jim-rigney-robert-jordan-1948-2007.html
http://grrm.livejournal.com/21250.html
http://www.tor-forge.com/NewsArticle.aspx?articleId=574
http://www.dragonmount.com/RobertJordan/?p=90
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009381.html#009381
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jordan
http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/very-sad-news.html

Career Matchmaker

This is interesting, except I suck at my number 1 match. Oh well.

Instructions:
1. Go here: http://www.careercruising.com/default.asp
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top results.

1. Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator
2. Desktop Publisher
3. Fashion Designer
4. Costume Designer
5. Set Designer
6. Cook
7. Writer
8. Critic
9. Graphic Designer
10. Artist
11. Communications Specialist
12. Market Research Analyst
13. Translator
14. Computer Animator
15. Website Designer
16. Print Journalist
17. Medical Illustrator
18. Industrial Designer
19. Interior Designer
20. Animator
21. Baker
22. Special Effects Technician
23. Sign Maker
24. Plumber
25. Glazier

In some form or another, I've had rresponsiblities similar to 2, 7, 11, 12, 15, and I love to cook. But a freaking plumber? I'm not bad at dealing with plumbing issues in my house and nothing against the plumbing profession, but that doesn't fit with the rest. And a glass cutter? Wow.

Fire and Blood

Knacked from the Hornswoggler & Aidan. I can live with that, though I thought I would be a Stark.

Your Score: House Targaryen

63% Dominant, 63% Extroverted, 63% Trustworthy

Ancient. Noble. Passionate to the point of insanity. Transcending lesser beings, you are of House Targaryen.

You are a dominant personality—in fact, you are the most dominant of all eight house types. You will not suffer yourself to be ignored. You will not suffer yourself to be ruled. The phrase "I will not suffer myself to _____!" was practically made for you. You are willful, arrogant, and exceedingly dangerous to screw with. With a temper like yours, anyone stupid enough to saunter into your line of fire won’t soon forget their mistake.

You are also extroverted, which means that everyone in the world knows exactly what your intentions are. Unlike your cohorts (who hide behind smiles and courtesies and court politics), you think of it as your birthright to come riding in on an enormous dragon, breathing fire and fucking your siblings. Hey, what you lack in subtlty, you make up in style!

Finally, you are trustworthy. Your absurd amounts of power and borderline psychosis are not used unjustly. Unlike many, your general aims are just and true. You we bred for rule, and the fact that you cannot rest until you are doing so is not your fault. If you make up your mind, it becomes reality. Never one for empty threats or vainglorious lies, you can only speak the truth. And the truth is "fire and blood."

Representative characters include: Daenerys Stormborn, Rhaegar Targaryen, and Viserys Targaryen

Similar Houses: Baratheon, Lannister,and Tully

Opposite House: Frey

When playing the game of thrones, you play it to the death.

Link: The Song of Ice and Fire House Test written by Geeky_Stripper on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

A Feast of Books Continues

The latest review I’ve posted is today’s: Feast of Souls by C.S. Friedman, the first book in her new Magister Trilogy. Ms. Friedman is no stranger to fantasy and science fiction readers, but this book seems to have flown under the radar since it published in February. Shame really, because Friedman is an excellent writer.

I suppose her writing will always hold a special spot on my shelf because her Coldfire Trilogy was what I read on the beach in Hawaii, and the plane to and from the Island State when Mrs. Blog ‘o Stuff tied the knot over seven years ago.

The only books I haven’t read by her are The Wildling and This Madness Season. I remember liking This Alien Shore quite a bit when I read it.

That’s the long of it. The short of it is that I really enjoyed Feast of Souls, check out my review.

Over the weekend, I watched Pan’s Labyrinth, which was sitting on my TiVO for a few weeks. It was dark, both in the fantastical elements and real elements. The costumes/creatures were great, the acting worked for me, and I just really enjoyed the movie.

I don't see much talk about The 4400, which happens to be a pretty entertaining show. Part X-Men, part, Heroes, part conspiracy. The only surprisng thing is that it is on USA and not SciFi.

Rutgers is 2-0 and the Yankees have a healthy lead in the wild card. Sports are looking good from my vantage point.

Ascension

Another Monday* and another new review up at SFFWorld by yours truly. This time it’s Mistborn: Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. I liked this one very much and can see why Tor is getting behind him in a big way. So far, he’s cranked out three books in three years, so he delivers regularly. More importantly he delivers quality in spades.

We also posted the David Anthony Durham interview I conducted alongside with Pat, Larry, and Ken. Pat posted a while ago, but SFFWorld put it up tonight. I read Durham’s Acacia Book I: War with the Mein earlier in the year and was really impressed with the book.

RU started off the season very nicely, beating the point spread. It was a bit “different,” shall I say, to see a completely packed stadium, as well as participating in crowd chants numerous times throughout the game. Granted, there were some games when I attended that had big crowds, but the atmosphere was odd: it felt like what a college football game should feel like. As one friend I ran into at the tailgate said, its kind of weird to see so many people at a Rutgers game wearing Rutgers attire.

If Rutgers want to maintain and/or move up, we need to see more of the same, in terms of offense. I was never a big proponent of teams running up the score; however, it seems to be an unfortunate means to an end of getting the top rankings.

*I know, sometimes I put up my new reviews on Tuesday.

Elves, Pandas, and Knights

I just posted my review of Gary Wassner’s latest GemQuest novel, The Revenge of the Elves. I continue to enjoy Gary’s writing and hope his audience increases with this book.

Although this is probably old news by now to the folks who read this blog as well as those on my side bar, but La Gringa is back to regular blogging. This is a good thing, especially with all daily genre updates she’s been doing.

Thursday Knight is Rutgers Football Kickoff and I’ll be in attendance. I haven’t been to too many games since I graduated, so this should be fun. With the team starting out in the Top 20 (#16) and Ray Rice as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate, it looks to be a great year. I don't recall expectations ever being so high for Rutgers; it is a weird place to be for this team, though one they will hopefully be in over the next big handful of years. Just a few years ago I had trouble finding Rutgers merchandise in stores and malls. Now it is everywhere. Regardless of how well the team ever did, there was never any excuse for not being able to find RU merchandise. Especially in the malls closest to the school. Enough of that bitching for now, the forthcoming season looks like it will be a ball.

SFFWorld Stuff & a Meme

A slew of new material has been posted to SFFWorld in the past few days. Hobbit posted reviews of Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley and Steven Paul Davies’s The Prisoner Handbook. Art posted his (as always) thoughtful review of Queen of Candescence by Karl Schroeder. We also just posted the second half of Aidan Moher’s Changing of the Guard article.

I’ve got two reviews ready to go up to the Web site, after one last read through for later this week.

I saw Stardust last week and really enjoyed it. Althought the comparison was made by many reviewers/critics, I don’t think comparing it to The Princess Bride was fair, regardless of how fun, delightful, and entertaining Stardust was. It was easily my favorite movie so far this year, at least what I’ve seen in theaters. Was it perfect? No, but very few movies are perfect. If it was cut by maybe 10 minutes it would have been perfectly paced. That said, I would have like to see more of the ghostly brothers bickering, something I recall being more prevalent in the novel.

Found these over at Wistful Writings

What are you reading right now?
Dawn of Night by Paul S. Kemp, Hurricane Moon by Alexis Latner, and the latest issue of Realms of Fantasy. Kemp is entertaining, I just cracked open Gardner’s debut and the stories I’ve read in RoF so far are good.

Do you have any idea what you'll read when you're done with that?
I usually have a pretty good idea. Since Dawn of Night is a middle book in a trilogy, I’ll logically enough move onto Midnight’s Mask straight after DoN. The books are enjoyable so I’m not complaining. Once I finish Latner, I’ll probably grab a handful of books and ask Mrs. Blog o’ Stuff to pick from the bunch.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now?
Realms of Fantasy and a bunch of catalogues.

What's the worst thing you were ever forced to read?
You flip the coin: Heads it’s Wuthering Heights; tails it’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

What's the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?
One book? That’s tough, since I recommend based off the personality to whom I’m recommending. Lately though, it’s been A Game of Thrones.

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don't they?
I can’t say they do. Since I moved three years ago the only time I went to the library was for elections.

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don't like it at all?
As the saying goes, Mileage May Vary; however no one book stick out like a sore thumb more than any other.

Do you read books while you eat? While you bathe? While you watch movies or TV? While you listen to music? While you're on the computer? While you're driving?
Yes, no, TV, yes, occasionally and no.

When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits?
Not really, although everybody in school knew I was a big Stephen King fan.

What's the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down? Half the night?
Maybe The Name of the Wind.

Dog Days of Summer

I haven’t felt inclined to post lately, obviously. Summer has been busy with work, work around the house and seeing friends on the weekends. For the first time in a few years, I went to Great Adventure earlier in the week. Mrs. Blog o’ Stuff and I met some family members there and had a pretty good time, despite the oppressive heat. Of course Kingda Ka was not running, but El Toro, the ginormous wooden coaster was. What an incredible ride.

All of this has left me with very little reading time over the past couple of weeks. The books I’ve been reading; however, have been good. Particularly Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn: The Final Empire, the most recent book review I posted. I saw the buzz for Elantris (which will coincidentally be the SFFWorld Book Club Fantasy book for September) two years ago and actually won a hardcover of The Final Empire in one of Pat’s contests. When an ARC of the second book, The Well of Ascension, I cracked open The Final Empire. I was thoroughly impressed and the sequel is living up to the first book.

I’m also in the middle of Gary Wassner’s forthcoming GemQuest novel, The Revenge of the Elves. I’m about halfway through and enjoying this one very much, too. I’m hoping readers will discover Gary’s books soon, they deserve a wider audience.

I caught The Simpsons Movie last weekend with a couple of friends. It was entertaining and made me laugh more often than not, even if some of the jokes were far too telegraphed. Of course the funniest part of the whole film was the Spider-Pig sequence.