Uncategorized – Page 101 – One Thousand And One Parsecs

DAFT PUUUNK!!

So a few days ago I discovered this French techno group called Daft Punk. They are freaking amazing! I’ve been listening to them nonstop ever since–and when I say non-stop, I mean it quite literally. Their music is so awesome, it blows my mind!

Take the stuff they’re doing for the new Tron movie, for example. When I listened to Derezzed for the first time, I was like “whoa.” I’m not really all that into techno, but that track really grabbed me (I actually prefer this edit, which is even more epic than the original). The highly compressed quality of the sound, the awesome industrial tone, the intensity and power behind it–immediately, I was like “this is good stuff.”

So then I looked a little more into Daft Punk, and I discovered some interesting things. Probably the most interesting is their image: as you can see from the picture, they wear these crazy robot helmets every time they’re in public. I guess it started because the two guys are kind of shy, or maybe because they wanted to distance their personal lives from their public persona–either way, you’ve got to admit, the concept is just freaking awesome. Robot DJs in leather and chrome FTW!

The more I found out about them, the awesomer it got. For example, did you know that they released a feature length anime to go along with one of their albums? That’s right–a feature length film, set to nothing but music. And what’s more, it’s science fiction!

Interstella 5555 is just about the cheesiest, awesomest sci fi you can get–it’s like it’s taken right out of the 70s, when Star Wars was the big new thing and space was still this magical place that everyone felt we were destined to go some day.

But the music–man, this isn’t the throbbing powerhouse kind of stuff they’re doing for Tron. This music has depth and emotion; it’s much more innocent, and resonates on a more personal level with me than their hardcore techno stuff–which, don’t get me wrong, I still like. It’s just that with their Discovery album (which became the basis for Interstella), I feel that I can listen to any song no matter what mood I’m in, and by the end of the track I’ll be smiling.

In short, Daft Punk is AMAZING. What more can I say? Squeeee! You should totally give their stuff a try. Maybe it’s not for you, but who knows–maybe you’ll be surprised. At least check out Interstella 5555, because it is awesome.

Man, I’ve watched and/or listened to this film maybe half a dozen times in the past four days, and it just doesn’t get old. Like so many other things, it makes me wish I’d grown up in the 70s and 80s, when science fiction was good. Even though it came out in 2003, Interstella 5555 just seems to channel the spirit of that time.

Anyhow, I’d better wrap this up before I get all fanboy crazy and start slathering at the mouth. But if you want to be the most amazing person on the planet, please!!! get me Interstella 5555 for Christmas! Are you reading this, Mom? And as for the rest of you, don’t worry–I’d be totally happy with any of their other albums, hint hint.

🙂 🙂 🙂

Hooray for Free Books!

Last year at World Fantasy, I learned that one of the perks of an attending membership is that you get a massive bag of free books. What’s more, there’s a table where people can informally swap books (since everyone gets a slightly different bag).

The really cool part, though, is that most people don’t have room in their luggage to pack all the books. Some people ship them home, but most just dump them on the table for anyone to grab. On most days, if you arrive early enough (when everyone else is nursing their hangovers), you can get some really good picks.

So this year, my unofficial goal was to hang out around the book swap table and see how much I could make in free books. Here’s the list at final count:

Asher, Neal. Shadow of the Scorpion: A Novel of the Polity. $7.99
Asher, Neal. Prador Moon: A Novel of the Polity. $7.99
Austen, Jane, and Ben H. Winters. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. $12.95
Baker, Kage. The Anvil of the World. $14.99
Cook, Glen. Starfishers: The Starfisher’s Trilogy Volume Two. $14.95
Cook, Glen. Star’s End: The Starfisher’s Trilogy Volume Three. $14.95
Cook, Glen. Passage At Arms. $7.99
Holland, Cecelia. Varanger. $16.99
Kollin, Dani and Eytan. The Unincorporated Man. $25.95
Mallet, Nathalie. The Princes of the Golden Cage. $7.99
Marks, Laurie J. Water Logic. $16.00
North, Pearl. Libyrinth. $17.99
Pitts, J.A. Black Blade Blues. $25.99
Sanderson, Brandon. Warbreaker. $7.99
Strahan, Jonathan, and Lou Anders, eds. Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery. $15.99
Turtledove, Harry. After the Downfall. $24.95
Vigneault, Francoise ed. Elfworld. $12.95
Waltz, Jason M. ed. Rage of the Behemoth: An Anthology of Heroic Adventure. $16.99
Williams, Walter Jon. Implied Spaces. $24.95

Total: $296.54

All in all, I more than made back the cost of admission and the hotel. Not too shabby–and this list doesn’t count all the ARCs and free samplers I took as well.

Yep, World Fantasy is pretty much awesome. Now I just need a bookshelf…

World Fantasy 2010: Day 2

Wow, what a tiring day. I feel drained, mentally and physically, and I didn’t even spend all that much time at the parties tonight.

I got started a bit early, prowling around the book-swap table, where I was rewarded with some books that look really good. If you know what you’re doing, you can totally get the price of your admission ticket in free books (and then some). I packed super light for that exact reason.

The convention started out with an awesome panel titled “Fantasy Gun Control,” where the panelists discussed why fantasy tends to favor swords over guns, even though guns have existed since the 1300s. Funniest quote from the panel: Walter Jon Williams asked what if Samuel L. Jackson was one of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers from Harry Potter, and Charles Gannon quipped “do I have to get magical on your ass?”

The other panel I attended was “The Tension Between Art & Commerce,” an excellent panel which very quickly evolved into a cage fight between Nancy Kress and her publisher, Tom Doherty. It basically went something like this:

Tom: I don’t think there is any tension; the best art always sells the best.

Nancy: No way! Just look at Danielle Steele: her writing is CRAP, yet she sells like crazy–and that’s the norm!

Tom: But true art endures beyond its time and sells much better over the long run. After all, just look at Homer and the Iliad.

Nancy: Homer? Are you serious? He’s been dead, what–2,000 years?

Tom: Yeah…but my point is, if you’re a writer, you need to write what’s in your heart and not chase the market. If you do try to chase the market, your writing will be crap, AND it won’t sell.

Nancy: True, but what about my apocalyptic novel about a plague that turns domestic dogs feral? I got four rejections that all said: “this book is great, but it would offend dog lovers so much that we can’t publish it.”

Tom: Well, those were just stupid editors.

Nancy: Uh, Tom…one of those was from your publishing house!

Of course, those aren’t exact quotes, and Nancy was very quick to make it known that she loves Tom and appreciates him for publishing so much of her work, but that was more or less how it went. It was hilarious.

At the same time, the panel was quite useful as well. Everyone mentioned how a writer’s willingness and ability to learn the craft and accept criticism is key–especially after getting an editor. Without this capacity to learn, aspiring writers will almost never succeed, whereas those who have it have a chance.

The rest of the time I spent hanging out and shmoozing with various people. I interviewed both Dan Wells and Peter Ahlstrom for the Mormon Artist article on BYU’s “class that wouldn’t die,” and those interviews went very well. Those two guys are seriously awesome–way down to earth and easy to talk with.

I also pitched to a couple agents, and I think it went very well. For one of them, I thought I saw her eyes light up as I described the characters in my novel from last year, Genesis Earth. It might just be wishful thinking, but her response was enough to convince me that I need to give that story a thorough revision and send it out to her before the end of next month.

I worry, though, that there’s not as much demand for the kind of fiction I write. My writing falls very solidly into science fiction (space opera, to be more specific), but everything I see here at the con is fantasy–epic fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, steampunk. No science fiction, except from a couple small presses. Just fantasy.

In the art vs. commerce panel, Ginger Buchanan claimed that science fiction was never a popular genre–that the popularity was all due to a handful of specific writers and a handful of specific works. I’m not sure I agree with that, but it is a bit discouraging. Speculative fiction is a fairly niche corner of the publishing world to begin it, and to see and hear people within that niche treating science fiction as ANOTHER niche…it doesn’t bode well for someone who wants to make a full time living writing it.

But then again, maybe my stuff is good enough that it’ll find a home anyways–and not just a home in a small press, but with a big enough publisher that I can actually be a full time writer. I don’t hold any illusions about my books making me fabulously rich and famous or somehow spawning a new sub-genre unto itself, but I do think my writing is good enough that I can shoot big and hope to get somewhere–perhaps even expect it. I don’t know, but I feel that the hope is justified, at least.

Anyhow, that’s probably more angst than you cared to read. World Fantasy is going great, and I’m exhausted, so I’m going to hit the sack. Good night.

To do list for World Fantasy:

Finish Mercenary Savior 4.0 (almost there!)
Figure out a good elevator pitch for MS 4.0.
Memorize the bus system of Columbus Ohio.
Get con roommate’s phone number.
Get a ride Sunday night from the Salt Lake airport.
Acquire and memorize the convention schedule.
Figure out a list of specific goals to accomplish.
Do laundry.
Pack (leaving plenty of empty space for books).
Make a bag lunch for the flight.

Am I missing anything?

Yay for work!

So I found a job today, which should keep me in the black until November and help me save up enough money for World Fantasy 2010.

The job is at a warehouse for a locally based costuming company. It only runs through October, but that’s perfect because the training for the wilderness job starts the week after. If all goes well, I should be gainfully employed for the rest of the year.

In a blessed stroke of good fortune, I landed a normal 8 to 5 shift. Graveyard is a good shift for writers, but only if you’re sitting at a desk spending 95% of your time doing nothing. I doubt that’s what this job will be like.

I don’t know what this new job will do to my writing, but I tend to think it will be positive. At the very least, it’ll give my life some much-needed structure, and at the worst, it’ll make me write as if my life (or livelihood) depended on it.

In unrelated news, my sister went into labor today. Go Kate! My mom texted everyone in the family–she’s way excited. This will be her second grandchild, and my first nephew. If all goes well, I’ll see him over Thanksgiving. Sarah and I are already planning the road trip down to Texas–it’s going to be awesome!

Life is very, very good.

In the Realm of the Wolf by David Gemmell

Never leave home without a weapon, Dakyras taught his adopted daughter Miriel. Though they live a quiet life alone in the mountains, death is never far from the man known as Waylander.

When the Assassin’s Guild puts out a high price on Waylander’s head, both Waylander and Miriel find themselves on the run. With them come two ill-fated gladiators from Drenai: the loyal and steady Angel, and the arrogant and reckless Senta. Both men vie for Miriel’s hand–and both are honor bound to kill each other.

But in the face of the evil hunting Waylander, Angel and Senta must lay aside their vendetta and take up arms against the Gothir army hunting the Wolf clan, tribe of the prophesied chieftain that will one day unite the Nadir. For deep in the realm of the Wolf lies a castle more ancient than the three empires–a castle whose dark secrets threaten to upset the global order forever.

This book was awesome. I loved every moment of it. With each page, the story just got better and better, right up to the climactic finish. If you’re looking for a rousing adventure, you can’t go wrong with David Gemmell.

One of the things I loved the most about this story was the love triangle between Miriel, Angel, and Senta. At first, I thought I knew who was good, who was bad, and which one she’d end up with, but then things changed and I wasn’t too sure. Even though I hated Senta at first, I spent most of the book vacillating with my feelings on him. And the way things ended–I wasn’t disappointed. Not one bit.

Even though the overall story conflict was much, much larger than life, Gemmell’s characters always felt very real. Perhaps it has to do with the way their true nature always seems to come out in battle–and Gemmell gives them plenty of opportunity to show their true nature.

It also has to do with the things they’re fighting for, though–the stakes are always clear for each character, and when they’re confused what they’re fighting for, that’s made clear too. Though the conflict itself is larger than life, the stakes for each individual character never are.

The ending really took the cake for me, though. When I finished the book, I couldn’t help but smile. Gemmell is a master at writing endings that make you want to stand up and cheer.

As awesome as this book was, though, the last book in the trilogy, Hero in the Shadows, is so much better. The last scene of that book stands out so much more to me, now that I know everything about Waylander’s past. So. Freaking. Epic.

But do yourself a favor: don’t read the last book first, like I did. Start with Waylander, which is a good book–not great, but good–and read through the trilogy. If you love stories about true heroes and epic adventures, you won’t be disappointed.

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

On a stormy night off the coast of Marseilles, a local fishing trawler recovers a man with a gunshot wound to the head. The local doctor patches him up, but when he recovers, he has no knowledge of his past life. Even his name is a mystery.

Fortunately, he has a clue to help him get started: a microfilm surgically implanted in his hip containing an account number for a bank in Switzerland.

When he arrives in Switzerland, he finds that the account contains millions of dollars, as well as a name: Treadstone 71. Before leaving the bank, however, a squad of hitmen attack and nearly kill him, for no reason that he can possibly understand.

On the run from people he doesn’t know for things he doesn’t remember, Jason Bourne finds himself in a struggle, not only for his life, but to find his true identity. But the answers, he fears, are much, much darker than he can possibly accept.

Okay, to start things off, let me say that this book is NOTHING like the movie. NOT AT ALL. The two are completely separate stories. The beginnings of both are similar, with the whole amnesia thing and the bank account number implanted in his hip, but after Jason leaves Marseilles, everything gets different. EVERYTHING.

For that reason, it’s difficult to say which is better, because they both try to do very different things. The movie is more about the action and suspense; the book is more about the intrigue and character development. Both succeed quite well at what they respectively set out to do.

That said, I enjoyed the book at least as much, if not more than the move. Ludlum’s writing is quite good, and he paints an excellent picture of both the exotic European setting and the complex psychological portrait of his main character. Unlike Crichton, whose characters often fall flat, Ludlum does an excellent job creating characters who stand up on their own right.

The suspense lagged somewhat in the middle for me, when the details about Cain and Medusa came to light (that’s one thing I’ve got to say about Crichton–he’s a master of suspense), but it wasn’t enough to keep me from finishing. The ending, however, was atrocious–not in a clumsy way, but in a too-many-loose-ends kind of way that meant that the story wouldn’t truly be resolved until the sequel. I hate stories that do that, but oh well, what can you do?

Overall, though, the book was quite good–better than I expected. I can see why Ludlum was such a successful writer: he created interesting, capable characters and put them in exotic, foreign settings to fight ruthless, evil villains in a desperate zero-sum struggle for survival.

Interesting characters + exotic setting + high stakes conflict + good writing = win. Oh, and Bourne is way more awesome than Bond. Just sayin’.

Waylander by David Gemmell

The Drenai lands have been overrun, and the Vagrian conquerors, led by Kaem and the Dark Brotherhood, are laying waste to all that lies before them. Only the stronghold at Purdol withstands them, but unless the Drenai can rally a counterattack, all will be lost.

In these trying times, a strange old man visits the assassin Waylander and urges him to go to the sacred Nadir mountain of Raboas and retrieve the legendary Armor of Bronze. With this armor, the Drenai commander Egel can rally the army that will save the kingdom.

But Waylander is a hunted man–a man of dark secrets and many enemies. Kaem wants him dead for killing his son. The Nadir want him dead for violating their lands. And the Drenai want him dead for assassinating their king.

I love David Gemmell. When you pick up one of his novels, you know exactly what you’re going to get: gritty, complex characters, bloody battles, ruthless villains, and difficult moral decisions that transform even the most depraved individuals into true heroes, if only for a few moments before they die. Waylander is no exception.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the story behind the founding of the Thirty. When the young Source priest named Dardalion forsakes the pacifism in order to save the lives of his fellow countrymen, twenty nine fellow priests join him to form the band of legendary warrior monks. This religious order goes on to play a pivotal role in some of Gemmell’s best works.

Waylander himself is also an interesting, memorable character. During the events of Waylander, he’s basically hit rock bottom, but as he learns again what it means to love and fight for what he loves, he climbs out of that dark place.

I really enjoyed this book. My only complaint is that the ending felt a little rushed. All the plots and subplots get tied up, but some of them so abruptly that there’s little room to savor the emotional impact. Still, the novel was quite satisfying overall. I look forward to reading the next book in the Waylander saga.

Rock Canyon Writing for Charity

So a couple weeks ago, I heard of this for-charity writer’s conference going on in Sandy this weekend. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the full event, but I did go to the evening extravaganza with fellow writer and quarkie Jimmy.

The evening session was great! There were some excellent performances by Divine Comedy and singer/songwriter Nancy Hanson, and a giant question/answer panel with such local writers as Shannon Hale, James Dashner, Sara Zarr, Brandon Mull, and Brandon Sanderson, among others.

My question for the panel was “with the way the market is changing, what advice do you have for new writers trying to break in right now?” Most of the answers were pretty standard fare, such as “don’t write for the market, write what you love,” “don’t let all the crazy speculation keep you from writing,” and, perhaps implied more than spoken, “no one really knows how things are changing; just keep writing.”

At the signing afterwards, though, I was hanging out with Brandon Sanderson, and he had some interesting things to say on the subject. When asked about getting an agent, he said that new writers should follow the blogs of the agents to whom they want to submit and join the conversations going on there.

Let me just say that Brandon is better to his fans than practically any other authors I know–and that’s saying something, because I have yet to meet an author in-person who wasn’t friendly and gracious. Maybe it’s something about sf&f; the community tends to be really good to its own.

Anyway, even with all the fame he’s gained from the Wheel of Time (he’s basically Tor’s biggest superstar fantasy writer right now), Brandon is still very accessible and down-to-earth. He makes a special effort to remember his fans, and greets them by name (or by some other tag if he can’t remember names) when he sees them. One of the guys asked if he could take a picture of Brandon with a message to his son, and Brandon not only took the picture but posted it to his twitter pics.

Overall, the event was a good opportunity to rub shoulders with other authors and aspiring writers from the area–and in Utah, there is certainly no shortage of either one. Chatted with Dan Wells and Rob, an old friend from the first 318 class I took at BYU, as well as others. Besides that, the money went to buy books for low-income kids across Utah–how can you not feel good about that? Great event–I’m glad I could go.

Mr. Monster by Dan Wells

John Wayne Cleaver wants very much not to kill you. He wants it so much, in fact, that he’s made up a host of rules to keep his inner monster from taking over. The way he complimented your shirt, for example–he said that to counteract the delicious thought of you tied to a wall, screaming in terror while he skins you alive.

It’s nothing personal. He doesn’t hate you. He just has a need–or rather, his inner monster has a need–to take your life.

You see, John Cleaver is a sociopath with all of the psychological tendencies of a serial killer. Now that he’s killed once (albeit to save his community from an ancient demon), it’s getting very difficult for him to tell who he really is. Is he his addiction? Or is that a separate persona–one that he can control, suppress, and eventually overcome?

He’d better find out quick, because a new killer has arrived in town–a demon, just like the first–except this one is in touch with the Brotherhood.

This was a good book. I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the first, perhaps a little more so. The ending was awesome–excellent lead-in to the last book in the trilogy. Too bad we have to wait a year to read it. <shakes fist at the universe>

Dan Wells is very good at writing strong, well-developed characters, especially with his main character, John Cleaver. This might sound bad, but as a Mormon I can relate with John’s personal rules to keep his stray thoughts under control. Not that I have a secret desire to murder people, but I’d be lying if I said that it’s easy to live a celibate, porn-free lifestyle as a twenty-something young man. But I digress.

The best part of this book was the way the romantic tension compounded the basic conflict of John vs. his need to kill. It’s not easy to date a girl when you have passionate dreams every other night of killing her. That tends to make things a little awkward (just a little). In spite of how sick that might sound, John and Brooke’s relationship is quite compelling, and I found myself instantly drawn to them because of it. Again, it makes it easy to relate–not that I, uh–yeah. Whatever.

Overall, the book is great. However, I do have one criticism, which may be more personal, but I’m sure it applies to others as well. When John confronted the killer, things got a little too disturbing for me–not the tense, wide-eyed, “oooh, what happens next?” kind of disturbing, but the “this is just wrong–why am I reading this?” kind of disturbing. It didn’t make me put the book down, and the resolution was quite satisfying, but I did step back and ask that question at one point.

The ending, though, is pure awesome. The last page–man, I’m looking forward to see what happens next! And if there are only three books in this series, John Cleaver has to come to terms somehow with his inner monster–he can’t continue in this way all his life. He just can’t. He’s got to find some kind of equilibrium. And him and Brooke–well, let’s just say I’m very eager to see how the series wraps up.

Mr. Monster comes out in the US at the end of September (I borrowed the UK edition from my sister). Like I said, it’s probably not for everyone, but if you can stomach a particularly gruesome episode of Law and Order: SVU, you shouldn’t have a problem with this book. Or should you? Guilt! Guilt!