I finished up John Scalzi's Old Man's War yesterday, which will be the discussion book in SFFWorld's Science Fiction Book Club in May. I really enjoyed the book; it was smartly written, had some unexpected humor and cool SFnal ideas. I'm going to have to buy The Ghost Brigades in my next book haul.
Tomorrow at 6 A.M., the Virus returns to New York City and Philadelphia.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Vellum and a new job
Earlier today, I posted my review of Hal Duncan's audacious debut novel, Vellum. It was a hyped book last year when the Brits published it, and for the most part, it lived up to the expectations.Friday was the last day at the old job and I start tomorrow at the new place. I've got mixed feelings, of course. I'm both excited and anxious about starting at the new place, I know I've made the right move. On the other hand, I'll miss the people I worked with at the old place; well, most of them anyway. The commute is a bit longer, but the better pay and potential for moving up at the new place very much outweigh the extra three or four miles I'll be driving.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Writing and Metal
I hit a nice little writing milestone this morning – my novel reached 100K! I felt pretty damn good about hitting that number, although I realize quantity doesn’t always equal quality. That’s not to say those 100K plus words are crap, I feel pretty good about most of what I’ve written thus far.
The book started in November as part of my NaNoWriMo experiment, but it was a story idea I’ve had for quite some time. Since November, I’ve been writing and plugging away on a pretty daily basis, between five to seven days a week. One thing I’ve discovered is that the days where I don’t think I’ll have much to write end up being some of the more productive sessions.
So the question remains, now that I’ve hit the 100K mark, where will it end? To be honest and optomistic, I feel I’m coming close to finishing this thing. I didn’t expect it would be quite this long when I started, the tale definitely grew in the telling. This storyline, which I thought I could flesh out in one novel, has grown into what I can now see as a duology, a number of plot points grew as I was writing. I see the end in sight on this book and I’m looking forward to giving it the first once-over when I finish it.
One thing I’ve found to be good background as I write, at least when I’m on the desktop in the “office” at home is the Music Choice channel, specifically the Heavy Metal station/channel. They play probably the best mix of metal available in my area, mainly because the well-known WSOU doesn’t come in too well at my house.
Keeping with the Metal theme, I acquired a couple of really solid albums recently, Trivium’s Ascendancy and Of One Blood from Shadows Fall. I also happened to hear Trivium’s cover of Master of Puppets, which is one of the better cover songs I’ve heard. I’ve heard a lot of good stuff on Music Choice, music I wouldn’t and likely will never hear on any of the local radio stations. I first heard Shadows Fall on Music Choice and have since become a fan of the band and really enjoyed seeing them at Ozzfest last year. I've also been visiting some Heavy Metal Web sites and forums lately (http://www.allmetalforums.com/forums, http://www.thegauntlet.com/forums/, and http://www.metal-rules.com) to find out more about the artists I've been hearing on Music Choice.
The book started in November as part of my NaNoWriMo experiment, but it was a story idea I’ve had for quite some time. Since November, I’ve been writing and plugging away on a pretty daily basis, between five to seven days a week. One thing I’ve discovered is that the days where I don’t think I’ll have much to write end up being some of the more productive sessions.
So the question remains, now that I’ve hit the 100K mark, where will it end? To be honest and optomistic, I feel I’m coming close to finishing this thing. I didn’t expect it would be quite this long when I started, the tale definitely grew in the telling. This storyline, which I thought I could flesh out in one novel, has grown into what I can now see as a duology, a number of plot points grew as I was writing. I see the end in sight on this book and I’m looking forward to giving it the first once-over when I finish it.
One thing I’ve found to be good background as I write, at least when I’m on the desktop in the “office” at home is the Music Choice channel, specifically the Heavy Metal station/channel. They play probably the best mix of metal available in my area, mainly because the well-known WSOU doesn’t come in too well at my house.
Keeping with the Metal theme, I acquired a couple of really solid albums recently, Trivium’s Ascendancy and Of One Blood from Shadows Fall. I also happened to hear Trivium’s cover of Master of Puppets, which is one of the better cover songs I’ve heard. I’ve heard a lot of good stuff on Music Choice, music I wouldn’t and likely will never hear on any of the local radio stations. I first heard Shadows Fall on Music Choice and have since become a fan of the band and really enjoyed seeing them at Ozzfest last year. I've also been visiting some Heavy Metal Web sites and forums lately (http://www.allmetalforums.com/forums, http://www.thegauntlet.com/forums/, and http://www.metal-rules.com) to find out more about the artists I've been hearing on Music Choice.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Savage Review
Yesterday I posted my review of Robert Newcomb's Savage Messiah, which was easily one of the five or ten worst books I’ve read in the past five years and one of the worst books I’ve ever read. The scary thing about this book is that some comments I’ve seen state this book is an improvement over his previous work. If that’s the case, then I cannot understand why people accept such mediocrity.
In good reading news, I finished up V for Vendetta recently, and I only wish I discovered this brilliant SF work earlier. The response the film has been pretty polarize, with people seeming to either love it or hate it. I don’t know that I’ll get the chance to see it in theaters, but I do at least want to see it when it comes to DVD. I picked it up a couple of weeks ago when I stopped by Kevin Smith’s comic shop, which is always a fun place to visit when in downtown Red Bank.
This is my last week at the current job. On the 24th, I’ll be switching companies, where I’ll essentially be doing the same thing, but for better money and a much better opportunity to advance and move up. I don’t know how much blogging I’ll be doing once next week begins.
In good reading news, I finished up V for Vendetta recently, and I only wish I discovered this brilliant SF work earlier. The response the film has been pretty polarize, with people seeming to either love it or hate it. I don’t know that I’ll get the chance to see it in theaters, but I do at least want to see it when it comes to DVD. I picked it up a couple of weeks ago when I stopped by Kevin Smith’s comic shop, which is always a fun place to visit when in downtown Red Bank.
This is my last week at the current job. On the 24th, I’ll be switching companies, where I’ll essentially be doing the same thing, but for better money and a much better opportunity to advance and move up. I don’t know how much blogging I’ll be doing once next week begins.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Sports, Books, and Midgets
Nine years a row and counting for my two favorite sports franchises - the Devils making the playoffs and the Yankees winning their home opener. Last night’s clinching game for the Devils was very exciting, but they way they’ve been letting leads slip in the third period is a bit worrying as they head into the playoffs. On the other hand, last night’s victory was their 8th in a row, so they just might be the hottest team in the league right now.
Some nice news from Gary and Gabe, I think this will be great for both of them.
I posted my not-so-positive review of The New Wave of Speculative Fiction – The What If Factor edited by Sean Wright.
As much as I was pained during my reading of Savage Messiah, Hal Duncan’s Vellum is having the opposite effect on me. So far, the book is living up to all the hype it received last year when the UK published the book first..
Lastly, via Hornswoggler, battle of the midget Kisses. We all knew it was inevitable.
Some nice news from Gary and Gabe, I think this will be great for both of them.
I posted my not-so-positive review of The New Wave of Speculative Fiction – The What If Factor edited by Sean Wright.
As much as I was pained during my reading of Savage Messiah, Hal Duncan’s Vellum is having the opposite effect on me. So far, the book is living up to all the hype it received last year when the UK published the book first..
Lastly, via Hornswoggler, battle of the midget Kisses. We all knew it was inevitable.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Books, David-King, and Wiki-meme
I posted my review of Ian McDonald's River of Gods yesterday. Good, heady stuff here. I look forward to re-reading it. I finished Godslayer by Jacqueline Carey yesterday and really enjoyed it. It has been over a year since I read the first one, Banewreaker, but the story stuck with me so well, the time didn't hurt too much. Still, this one would have benefitted from being a single volume, as Carey originally intended.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I finished up Newcomb's Savage Messiah a couple of days ago, thank God. Ouch, and double-ouch, my review will be posted next week. I'll be starting up Caitlin Sweet's A Telling of Stars, which is the May book at SFFWorld's Fantasy Book Club and the next book for review, Vellum by Hal Duncan. I'll also probably begin dipping into the Elemental anthology edited by Steve Savile and Alethia Kontis as well. In addition, I picked up a month's worth of backlogged comics yesterday, so I've got plenty of reading to do, although I may pick up the newest Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction if I see it at the bookstore. This month's issue has stories by Gene Wolfe, M. Rickert and Matthew Hughes. I've read enjoyed all three writers in the past.
I thought Lost was pretty good on Wednesday night, considering they finally explained why Hurley hasn't trimmed down. As soon as I saw Dave, two films came to mind: A Beautiful Mind and Identity. I'm not completely convinced that the explanation Dave offered isn't true. Time will tell, but at least the show seems to have hit its pace once again.
Another almost paint-by-numbers Smallville, but as with the previous episode, I thought the elements touching upon the seasonal story-arc were stronger than the episode-specific storyline. I really think that's what is keeping me tuning in every week.
Peter David will be scripting the comic-ization of King's Dark Tower. On one hand, I am happy for Peter, and I think he is the right guy for the job. On the other, Marvel has backpeddled a bit from STEPHEN KING IS COMING TO MARVEL to Robin Furth handling some of the chores, to King being the "Executive Editor and Creative Director"of the thing. I can almost guarantee the final product will be what King wants it to be and bringing in a seasoned, proven comic writer of David's high-caliber may be the right way to go. I see this as King admitting he may not be the right person to actually script the book. However, King has penned a decent number of screenplays and I don't imagine there is much of a difference between the two. Then again, many people have seen what happens when King puts on a different creative hat and directs. Regardless, I'll be buying this next year.
Lastly, because I am addicted to Wikipedia, and I love a meme as much as the next blogger/LJer, I pulled this one is from Gabe. If he thought he was scifi, he should check these out. Go to Wikipedia and look up your birth day (excluding the year). List three neat facts, two births and one death in your journal, including the year.
November 7th
Three Neat Facts
1811 - Tecumseh's War: The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana , United States
1932 - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century airs on radio for the first time
1996 - NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor
Births
1927- Hiroshi Yamauchi, Japanese computer game executive, Ex Nintendo President
1867 - Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Polish-born chemist and physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics and in chemistry (d. 1934)
Deaths
1980 - Steve McQueen, American actor (b. 1930)
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I finished up Newcomb's Savage Messiah a couple of days ago, thank God. Ouch, and double-ouch, my review will be posted next week. I'll be starting up Caitlin Sweet's A Telling of Stars, which is the May book at SFFWorld's Fantasy Book Club and the next book for review, Vellum by Hal Duncan. I'll also probably begin dipping into the Elemental anthology edited by Steve Savile and Alethia Kontis as well. In addition, I picked up a month's worth of backlogged comics yesterday, so I've got plenty of reading to do, although I may pick up the newest Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction if I see it at the bookstore. This month's issue has stories by Gene Wolfe, M. Rickert and Matthew Hughes. I've read enjoyed all three writers in the past.
I thought Lost was pretty good on Wednesday night, considering they finally explained why Hurley hasn't trimmed down. As soon as I saw Dave, two films came to mind: A Beautiful Mind and Identity. I'm not completely convinced that the explanation Dave offered isn't true. Time will tell, but at least the show seems to have hit its pace once again.
Another almost paint-by-numbers Smallville, but as with the previous episode, I thought the elements touching upon the seasonal story-arc were stronger than the episode-specific storyline. I really think that's what is keeping me tuning in every week.
Peter David will be scripting the comic-ization of King's Dark Tower. On one hand, I am happy for Peter, and I think he is the right guy for the job. On the other, Marvel has backpeddled a bit from STEPHEN KING IS COMING TO MARVEL to Robin Furth handling some of the chores, to King being the "Executive Editor and Creative Director"of the thing. I can almost guarantee the final product will be what King wants it to be and bringing in a seasoned, proven comic writer of David's high-caliber may be the right way to go. I see this as King admitting he may not be the right person to actually script the book. However, King has penned a decent number of screenplays and I don't imagine there is much of a difference between the two. Then again, many people have seen what happens when King puts on a different creative hat and directs. Regardless, I'll be buying this next year.
Lastly, because I am addicted to Wikipedia, and I love a meme as much as the next blogger/LJer, I pulled this one is from Gabe. If he thought he was scifi, he should check these out. Go to Wikipedia and look up your birth day (excluding the year). List three neat facts, two births and one death in your journal, including the year.
November 7th
Three Neat Facts
1811 - Tecumseh's War: The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana , United States
1932 - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century airs on radio for the first time
1996 - NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor
Births
1927- Hiroshi Yamauchi, Japanese computer game executive, Ex Nintendo President
1867 - Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Polish-born chemist and physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics and in chemistry (d. 1934)
Deaths
1980 - Steve McQueen, American actor (b. 1930)
Monday, April 03, 2006
Review, TV Round-up, and PLAY BALL!
I posted my review of Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon last night, and started Savage Messiah by Robert Newcomb. Based upon the first 80 pages, this will be an interesting read, to put it kindly. But it doesn't bode well when I'm rewriting paragraphs, in my head, as I read them. I also finished up Ian McDonald's River of Gods on Friday. A bit scattered in places, but thought-proviking and very tight in others. My review should be up later in the week.
TV Round-up
Lost another good episode, but I think the Locke backstory episodes are always solid, even though in the present of the story I've been annoyed by him lately. The conclusion of the episode was one of the better ones of the entire series.
South Park standard stuff from them, good in spots, but still under the shadow of Darth Chef.
Smallville was its decent formulaic self. I wasn't paying too much attention to the story itself, but the elements for the greater story line of the season were good - particularly the 'return' of Braniac and Lex's continued scheming. This was what, the 87th time Clark and Lana ended their romance?
Dr. Who is still waiting on the TiVO, but I've really enjoyed the first three episodes, hopefully SciFi will bring the older episodes into some kind of viewing rotation.
Sopranos was probably the best episode of the season last night. With Tony talking, concious, and part of the family again, things were back on track. I'll be surprised if Paulie makes it to the end of this season.
The Devils have starting winning again and baseball has officially started, so it is a good time for sports in my life right now.
TV Round-up
Lost another good episode, but I think the Locke backstory episodes are always solid, even though in the present of the story I've been annoyed by him lately. The conclusion of the episode was one of the better ones of the entire series.
South Park standard stuff from them, good in spots, but still under the shadow of Darth Chef.
Smallville was its decent formulaic self. I wasn't paying too much attention to the story itself, but the elements for the greater story line of the season were good - particularly the 'return' of Braniac and Lex's continued scheming. This was what, the 87th time Clark and Lana ended their romance?
Dr. Who is still waiting on the TiVO, but I've really enjoyed the first three episodes, hopefully SciFi will bring the older episodes into some kind of viewing rotation.
Sopranos was probably the best episode of the season last night. With Tony talking, concious, and part of the family again, things were back on track. I'll be surprised if Paulie makes it to the end of this season.
The Devils have starting winning again and baseball has officially started, so it is a good time for sports in my life right now.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Skulls and Bats
I posted my review of The Book of Skulls, by Robert Silverberg yesterday. A very solid dark fantasy/mystery/thriller/coming of age story. In some ways, it reminded me of Stephen King's The Body, the basis for the film Stand By Me.
The Baseball Draft went pretty well this past weekend, the early rounds worked out just as I hoped they would. I was able to pick up the run-producing machines of Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, so I got my Yankees out of the way early and picked up a lot of runs, doubles/triples, and some stolen bases in the deal. With four keepers per team, the first round of the draft was actually like the fifth round. I'm pretty satisfied with my team, plus or minus a couple of guys, so we shall see what the season holds for my team, the Voodoo Tribe.
The Baseball Draft went pretty well this past weekend, the early rounds worked out just as I hoped they would. I was able to pick up the run-producing machines of Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, so I got my Yankees out of the way early and picked up a lot of runs, doubles/triples, and some stolen bases in the deal. With four keepers per team, the first round of the draft was actually like the fifth round. I'm pretty satisfied with my team, plus or minus a couple of guys, so we shall see what the season holds for my team, the Voodoo Tribe.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Hello Children
Lost, while not a complete disappointment, left me unsatisfied. Even more so because of the long wait between new episodes. A little bit of development in the Henry situation, and we see some more backstory about Sun & Jin didn't cut the mustard. The island cured Locke, so why can't it cure Sun? As is too often the case lately with this show (and the Sopranos for that matter) the previews for next week's show was the best part of the episode.
On the other hand, South Park was brilliant. I don't think they could have handled the Isaac Hayes situation any better. On one hand they dug even deeper at the Scientologists, and on the other, they really did a nice tribute to Chef. The soundboard quality of Chef's lines was probably the funniest aspect of the episode, aside from the final fate of Chef.
Best of luck to Jim Rigney (aka Robert Jordan) and his treatment. I haven't been a fan of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time for a while, although I admit to enjoying the series when I first graduated college. In recent years, I haven't paid much attention to the storyline, and try to keep my distance from the books. However, say what you will about the books, there's still a person behind the story and output . I wish the man well on his road to treating what looks like a rare and difficult disease.
Lastly, and randomly, here's the mix of music I've been listening to at work:
On the other hand, South Park was brilliant. I don't think they could have handled the Isaac Hayes situation any better. On one hand they dug even deeper at the Scientologists, and on the other, they really did a nice tribute to Chef. The soundboard quality of Chef's lines was probably the funniest aspect of the episode, aside from the final fate of Chef.
Best of luck to Jim Rigney (aka Robert Jordan) and his treatment. I haven't been a fan of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time for a while, although I admit to enjoying the series when I first graduated college. In recent years, I haven't paid much attention to the storyline, and try to keep my distance from the books. However, say what you will about the books, there's still a person behind the story and output . I wish the man well on his road to treating what looks like a rare and difficult disease.
Lastly, and randomly, here's the mix of music I've been listening to at work:
- Ozzfest Summer Sampler 2005 (Some nice metal from Trivium, Soilwork, In Flames and Bruce Dickinson)
- Avenue Q Original Broadway Cast Recording
- Rob Zombie, The Sinister Urge
- Bon Jovi, Bounce
- Rage Against the Machine, Renegades
- Dream Theater, assorted songs
- Nativity in Black, A Tribute to Black Sabbath
- Lacuna Coil, Comalies (with some Savatage and Avenged Sevenfold thrown on the end of the burned CD)
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
WIN A FREE BOOK!
Over at SFFWorld, I posted a bunch of David Forbes stuff, my review of his novel, The Amber Wizard, the interview Pat and I conducted with David, and a contest for a free ARC of The Amber Wizard. I enjoyed the book, but it was a bit flawed. I think his next book will be even better.
The fantasy baseball draft is approaching - this Sunday I will be drafting the 2006 roster for the Voodoo Tribe. As I mentioned about a month ago, I am keeping four players from the 2005 roster, Ichiro, Brad Lidge, Mark Buerhle, and Cliff Lee. I've been strategizing with my baseball guru pal for about a month now and things look pretty interesting. The most fun is usually the draft day itself, so I'm looking forward to that.
The fantasy baseball draft is approaching - this Sunday I will be drafting the 2006 roster for the Voodoo Tribe. As I mentioned about a month ago, I am keeping four players from the 2005 roster, Ichiro, Brad Lidge, Mark Buerhle, and Cliff Lee. I've been strategizing with my baseball guru pal for about a month now and things look pretty interesting. The most fun is usually the draft day itself, so I'm looking forward to that.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Writerly Wrumination
Writing is a very personal thing for some people, myself included. When people I work with discover that I'm writing fiction in my spare time, they ask me questions like what is it? What is your story about? Is it a fantasy? Does it have castles? These are things I'm sure many a writer has dealt with when their "secret" is discovered by the people they see on a daily basis.
The current writing project isn't my first attempt, but right now, I know it is my strongest attempt at telling a novel-length story. I've been a lot more consistent with my writing schedule, writing at least five days a week, and very often seven days a week. Is all of it my best work? I don't know, I don't have enough distance yet to judge the quality, but more often than not when I finish my writing for the morning or night, the day seems a lot better. However, when I refer to something, which occurred at an earlier point in my story, I do read some of what I wrote a month or a week ago and a big smile grows on my face. I have the sense that, yes, I have something of a clue about this writing thing.
Another strange thing about funneling your creative energies into fiction writing is how the brain must be continually "on." Writer's jobs never finish once the computer is turned off, and I know that statement is no schematic for wheel reinvention. I'm a person who goes to the gym three, mostly four days a week. What do you think I do between reps and sets? Work out plot points of my novel, or I hone the dialogue I want my characters to use, of course. For some reason, exerting physical energy also allows me to focus my mental and creative energy. This writing, it is really a continual thing.
Take for example this past week. I've been mulling over a plot hurdle for a while now, trying to figure out exactly why a put a character in certain place. I knew the motivation, I had a pretty clear idea of the end result of his visit to this place, and I was trying to work out the specifics of some of the intermediary points. After doing a set of bicep curls, or some other exercise, it came to me. I laid out, perhaps subconsciously, reasons earlier in the story that would logically funnel into later portions of the narrative.
It was at that point I felt like "Yeah, maybe I DO have a good idea of this writing thing." I'm sure the other people doing their workouts in my area were wondering why a huge grin suddenly appeared on my unshaven face, but I wasn't going to tell them. Writing is a personal thing. Besides, they can find out when I publish the book.
The current writing project isn't my first attempt, but right now, I know it is my strongest attempt at telling a novel-length story. I've been a lot more consistent with my writing schedule, writing at least five days a week, and very often seven days a week. Is all of it my best work? I don't know, I don't have enough distance yet to judge the quality, but more often than not when I finish my writing for the morning or night, the day seems a lot better. However, when I refer to something, which occurred at an earlier point in my story, I do read some of what I wrote a month or a week ago and a big smile grows on my face. I have the sense that, yes, I have something of a clue about this writing thing.
Another strange thing about funneling your creative energies into fiction writing is how the brain must be continually "on." Writer's jobs never finish once the computer is turned off, and I know that statement is no schematic for wheel reinvention. I'm a person who goes to the gym three, mostly four days a week. What do you think I do between reps and sets? Work out plot points of my novel, or I hone the dialogue I want my characters to use, of course. For some reason, exerting physical energy also allows me to focus my mental and creative energy. This writing, it is really a continual thing.
Take for example this past week. I've been mulling over a plot hurdle for a while now, trying to figure out exactly why a put a character in certain place. I knew the motivation, I had a pretty clear idea of the end result of his visit to this place, and I was trying to work out the specifics of some of the intermediary points. After doing a set of bicep curls, or some other exercise, it came to me. I laid out, perhaps subconsciously, reasons earlier in the story that would logically funnel into later portions of the narrative.
It was at that point I felt like "Yeah, maybe I DO have a good idea of this writing thing." I'm sure the other people doing their workouts in my area were wondering why a huge grin suddenly appeared on my unshaven face, but I wasn't going to tell them. Writing is a personal thing. Besides, they can find out when I publish the book.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Words, Genes and Guns - A Family Returns
My interview with Keith Brooke and review of his novel, Genetopia, are now posted for your reading pleasure. Keith is a vet at this inter-web-sf-genre thingy and he had a lot of very good things to say in our interview.
So, after a ridiculous hiatus, The Sopranos returned last night. I thought the beginning muddled and confusing, but the show settled in pretty nicely after that. I saw one part of the ending coming from the start of the episode, but was surprised about the other portion of the ending. I'll have to watch my TiVO'd Family Guy tonight.
That is all for now.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Linkdump Friday
Happy Birthday Pyr!
I counted up the votes for SFFWorld's Favorite book of 2005 and the winner is R. Scott Bakker's The Warrior-Prophet.
I'm sure most of the people who read this thing have seen the big hub-bub and controversy the new idiot Science Fiction reviewer for the New York Times has caused. My take - I wouldn't be too surprised if what he said was calculated to ilicit the reaction we are seeing across SF spheres.
I've just rediscovered Steve Savile's Web site and blog. Steve hangs out at SFFWorld's forums, with a forum of his own. This looks like a big year for him, publication-wise, with a vampire trilogy set in the popular Warhammer 40,000 series with Inheritance.
Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology co-edited with Alethea Kontis, is publishing in May. I've got an advanced copy, and it looks very impressive.
I counted up the votes for SFFWorld's Favorite book of 2005 and the winner is R. Scott Bakker's The Warrior-Prophet.
I'm sure most of the people who read this thing have seen the big hub-bub and controversy the new idiot Science Fiction reviewer for the New York Times has caused. My take - I wouldn't be too surprised if what he said was calculated to ilicit the reaction we are seeing across SF spheres.
I've just rediscovered Steve Savile's Web site and blog. Steve hangs out at SFFWorld's forums, with a forum of his own. This looks like a big year for him, publication-wise, with a vampire trilogy set in the popular Warhammer 40,000 series with Inheritance.Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology co-edited with Alethea Kontis, is publishing in May. I've got an advanced copy, and it looks very impressive.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Equilibrium Unchained
TiVO is a cool thing, most of the time. Based on my viewing and recording patterns, it recorded Equilibrium, which I watched for the first time yesterday. I have been seeing/hearing good things about the movie for a while now and I was happy to finally watch it, I'd seen it compared to The Matrix in some circles. There are similarities, but I think I might like Equilibrium more than The Matrix, or at least as much.
I think the writer of the film, Kurt Wimmer, must have read Orwell's 1984 every year of his life, because there are a lot of parallels. The premis is that after a third World War, society has crawled up from the wreckage into a totalitarian state. Bale's character is a policeman, who tracks down and elimates people for the offensive of showing and having emotions. Not exactly the most original plot but I really think the execution was spot on. However, Bale's character kicks a little bit more ass* than Wilson Smith ever did in Orwell's Oceania. Between this and Batman Begins, I think Bale might have it in his contracts that he has to kick ass all the time. Granted he can never kick as much as ass-kicking as Chuck Norris, but to say he handles himself pretty well is an understatement. Anyway, I'm something of a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories, and I do think the story was pretty strong, the SFX and future world interesting looking and as I said, a lot of good fight scenes, particulalry when Bale's character was having what looked like a sword fight with Robert the Bruce. The fight was choreographed like a sword-duel, but the characters were using pistols, it made for something interesting I haven't seen much of before. I'd like to see some kind of special edition DVD of this thing.
This movie should have received more attention than it did when it was in theaters, considering the familiar faces in the cast - Sean Bean, William Fichtner, Taye Diggs, and Emily Watson. Granted they are not all huge stars, but they are all recognizable.
*of course by a little bit more I mean not just a can of whoop-ass, but an entire brewery's worth.
I posted my review of Judas Unchained today, while I liked it a lot, I thought the pace slowed down a bit too much from Pandora's Star. On the whole, these two books are extremely impressive.
I think the writer of the film, Kurt Wimmer, must have read Orwell's 1984 every year of his life, because there are a lot of parallels. The premis is that after a third World War, society has crawled up from the wreckage into a totalitarian state. Bale's character is a policeman, who tracks down and elimates people for the offensive of showing and having emotions. Not exactly the most original plot but I really think the execution was spot on. However, Bale's character kicks a little bit more ass* than Wilson Smith ever did in Orwell's Oceania. Between this and Batman Begins, I think Bale might have it in his contracts that he has to kick ass all the time. Granted he can never kick as much as ass-kicking as Chuck Norris, but to say he handles himself pretty well is an understatement. Anyway, I'm something of a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories, and I do think the story was pretty strong, the SFX and future world interesting looking and as I said, a lot of good fight scenes, particulalry when Bale's character was having what looked like a sword fight with Robert the Bruce. The fight was choreographed like a sword-duel, but the characters were using pistols, it made for something interesting I haven't seen much of before. I'd like to see some kind of special edition DVD of this thing.
This movie should have received more attention than it did when it was in theaters, considering the familiar faces in the cast - Sean Bean, William Fichtner, Taye Diggs, and Emily Watson. Granted they are not all huge stars, but they are all recognizable.
*of course by a little bit more I mean not just a can of whoop-ass, but an entire brewery's worth.
I posted my review of Judas Unchained today, while I liked it a lot, I thought the pace slowed down a bit too much from Pandora's Star. On the whole, these two books are extremely impressive.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Ambergris
Click the above banner to read the excerpt we are hosting on SFFWorld.com. Jeff VanderMeer is an amazing writer and this is the definitive edition of what many consider to be one of the most important and imaginative fantasies in the past ten years. But most of the poeple reading my blog already know that.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Virconium & Handmaid's Tale
I know a few of the people who read my blog enjoy the work of M. John Harrison. This month in our Fantasy Book Club our feature book for March is Virconium by Mr. Harrison. Even though it is early in the month, the discussion is pretty lively.I am hoping to get to the book myself very shortly as I've had it on my shelf since November of last year, when the classy-looking US version at left was published by Bantam Spectra.
In Science Fiction during March, we are discussing The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I liked the book quite a lot when I first read it years ago in college and a good bit of it still sticks with me today.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Being a Post of Briefness
I'm happy that the Olympics are over and the NHL can resume their normal schedule, at least until the All-Star break.
I finished up David Forbes's The Amber Wizard and should post my review in the next couple of days. On the whole, I enjoyed it, and I will elaborate in my review.
My laptop crapped out the other day which is really annoying. I suppose I can't complain too much considering the laptop was free. I still have the desktop PC, but the laptop made life, and writing especially, much more convenient.
I finished up David Forbes's The Amber Wizard and should post my review in the next couple of days. On the whole, I enjoyed it, and I will elaborate in my review.
My laptop crapped out the other day which is really annoying. I suppose I can't complain too much considering the laptop was free. I still have the desktop PC, but the laptop made life, and writing especially, much more convenient.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Bumpeses!
They say death always comes in threes. Don Knotts passed away over the weekend. Darren McGavin also passed away. He, of course, is best know for the quintissential father role of all time - The Old Man from A Christmas Story. Of genre note, he starred in the cult television show, Night Stalker, I've never seen an episode. Lastly, science fiction writer Octavia Butler passed away over the weekend, too. I haven't read all of her books and stories, but those I have read were thought-proviking and moving. I first read Dawn in my Science Fiction Literature class at Rutgers many years ago. The book really opened my eyes, made me think, terrified me, and made me want to read more of her work. I eventually picked up an omnibus of the Xenogenesis saga and really enjoyed it. I've read a few of her short stories and liked them, too. Her most recent book I read was Parable of the Sower for the SFFW SF Book Club a couple of years ago, and I've heard great things about Fledgling, her take on the Vampire myth.
On a happier note, I took Mrs. Blog o' Stuff to see Shinedown at the Starland Ballroom last night. I gave her the tickets as a Christmas gift, since Shinedown is a newer band we both enjoy quite a bit - they are a mix of southern rock and hard rock and lead singer Brent Smith has a deep, powerful voice. Shinedown was great, even if Smith's voice wasn't holding up the whole time, it sounded as if he had a cold. They dedicated their cover of Skynyrd's Simple Man to the late, great Dimebag Darrell and my only criticism of their performance was that it wasn't long enough.
Of the two opening bands, Flyleaf and local Philly hard rock band Halestorm, I enjoyed Halestorm much more. Flyleaf reminded me too much of the Cranberries, and I would never consider myself a fan of the Cranberries. Anyway, both bands were fronted by women and Lzzy Hale of Halestorm has an incredible, powerful voice. We liked Halestorm so much, we picked up their CD at the show.
On a happier note, I took Mrs. Blog o' Stuff to see Shinedown at the Starland Ballroom last night. I gave her the tickets as a Christmas gift, since Shinedown is a newer band we both enjoy quite a bit - they are a mix of southern rock and hard rock and lead singer Brent Smith has a deep, powerful voice. Shinedown was great, even if Smith's voice wasn't holding up the whole time, it sounded as if he had a cold. They dedicated their cover of Skynyrd's Simple Man to the late, great Dimebag Darrell and my only criticism of their performance was that it wasn't long enough.
Of the two opening bands, Flyleaf and local Philly hard rock band Halestorm, I enjoyed Halestorm much more. Flyleaf reminded me too much of the Cranberries, and I would never consider myself a fan of the Cranberries. Anyway, both bands were fronted by women and Lzzy Hale of Halestorm has an incredible, powerful voice. We liked Halestorm so much, we picked up their CD at the show.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Minor post & links
I decided to sign up with LiveJournal, if for nothing else to have an account with them.
Allan Heinberg will be writing the new Wonder Woman series when it launches. I thought the arc of JLA he co-wrote with Geoff Johns was OK and his Young Avengers series is pretty well received. Of course I'll give it a chance, but despite the last few issues of Rucka's run on WW being crap, Heinberg does have some pretty big shoes to fill.
Via Franklin and his new blog, I came across this very well thought-out article by the Bookslut, Jessa Crispin. For the most part I agree, as a reviewer for SFFWorld, and hearing what the other reviewers have said about vanity/self-published book titles, she pretty much nails the points.
I may be the last one to point this out, but ABC is starting up a Masters of Science Fiction anthology show. Sounds good to me.
Don't have time for more blogging now, until next time.
Allan Heinberg will be writing the new Wonder Woman series when it launches. I thought the arc of JLA he co-wrote with Geoff Johns was OK and his Young Avengers series is pretty well received. Of course I'll give it a chance, but despite the last few issues of Rucka's run on WW being crap, Heinberg does have some pretty big shoes to fill.
Via Franklin and his new blog, I came across this very well thought-out article by the Bookslut, Jessa Crispin. For the most part I agree, as a reviewer for SFFWorld, and hearing what the other reviewers have said about vanity/self-published book titles, she pretty much nails the points.
I may be the last one to point this out, but ABC is starting up a Masters of Science Fiction anthology show. Sounds good to me.
Don't have time for more blogging now, until next time.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Random Round-Up
Pitchers and catchers are in camp, baseball starts soon, and I’ve got to finalize the four players I will be holding over from last season Fantasy Baseball League. I finished in probably the worst position possible last season – 4th place. Fourth is just shy of winning money and results in picking 7th overall the following season. Granted, first place picks last, but the way we rotate the draft the first and last pick get back-to-back picks as the draft proceeds. I would have rather finished in last place, which of course is out of the pot, but at least last place guarantees first pick in the following year’s draft. As it is, I’ve got a few decent players to keep in Ichiro, Brad Lidge, and Mark Buerhle, I just need to figure out the final holdover. Of course the men are separated from the boys in the middle rounds when the rankings don’t mean is much and you’ve got to build the heart of your pitching rotation and outfield.
Random thought – I’ve been trying to weigh the benefits of LiveJournal vs Blogger. It seems most of the kewl kids and writers are on LiveJournal and lord knows I want to be one of the kewl kids. I’ve seen some of the WordPress journals and they seem entirely too restrictive for my tastes. Regardless, I may just register with LJ anyway.
On to the geekery – In watching my Farscape season 2 DVD set, the ninth episode, Out of their Minds, was on deck. During the course of the episode, a very familiar-looking bird-like creature appeared on the screen. Being the Henson fans that we are, Mrs. Blog o’ Stuff and I remarked simultaneously, how much the aliens on this episode (referred to as Halosians) resembled the Skeksis, the giant bird creatures from Henson’s epic fantasy The Dark Crystal. After watching the episode, I did the geeky thing and searched the Web to confirm my suspicions. Sure enough, the FX people behind the show created the Halosians in homage to the Skeksis (scroll down about 1/3 of the page).
I am still churning through both Judas Unchained and The Amber Wizard, and I’m still enjoying both books.
One of the many things that makes Mrs. Blog o’ Stuff the greatest is how she indulges my love for beer. For Valentine's Day she gave me some cool Guinness swag and whenever she stops at Wegmans, which has a very impressive beer selection, she always picks up some random beer for me. The most recent gem of a beer she picked up for me was Yard's Washington Porter. This had to be one of the better bottled porters I've had since Samuel Adams sadly stopped producing their Honey Porter a few years ago. Good, good stuff. She said she picked it up for me in honor of President's Day holiday.
Last, but not least, great news for Mr. Lynch; as if I needed another compelling reason to read this book as soon as it publishes.
Random thought – I’ve been trying to weigh the benefits of LiveJournal vs Blogger. It seems most of the kewl kids and writers are on LiveJournal and lord knows I want to be one of the kewl kids. I’ve seen some of the WordPress journals and they seem entirely too restrictive for my tastes. Regardless, I may just register with LJ anyway.
On to the geekery – In watching my Farscape season 2 DVD set, the ninth episode, Out of their Minds, was on deck. During the course of the episode, a very familiar-looking bird-like creature appeared on the screen. Being the Henson fans that we are, Mrs. Blog o’ Stuff and I remarked simultaneously, how much the aliens on this episode (referred to as Halosians) resembled the Skeksis, the giant bird creatures from Henson’s epic fantasy The Dark Crystal. After watching the episode, I did the geeky thing and searched the Web to confirm my suspicions. Sure enough, the FX people behind the show created the Halosians in homage to the Skeksis (scroll down about 1/3 of the page).
I am still churning through both Judas Unchained and The Amber Wizard, and I’m still enjoying both books.
One of the many things that makes Mrs. Blog o’ Stuff the greatest is how she indulges my love for beer. For Valentine's Day she gave me some cool Guinness swag and whenever she stops at Wegmans, which has a very impressive beer selection, she always picks up some random beer for me. The most recent gem of a beer she picked up for me was Yard's Washington Porter. This had to be one of the better bottled porters I've had since Samuel Adams sadly stopped producing their Honey Porter a few years ago. Good, good stuff. She said she picked it up for me in honor of President's Day holiday.
Last, but not least, great news for Mr. Lynch; as if I needed another compelling reason to read this book as soon as it publishes.
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