Maurice Broaddus's Blog, page 45

Rise of the Planet of the Apes – A Review

"A Boy and His Monkey"

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since Tim Burton's re-imagining of Planet of the Apes.  Thanks to a smart script by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, Rise of the Planet of the Apes provides not only a true re-imagining of this universe, but a surprisingly enjoyable romp.

GenSys scientist, Dr. Frankenstein, uh, Will Rodman (James Franco) experiments with a new Alzheimer drug ALZ 112 in the secret hopes of curing his father (John Lithgow).  The drug is deemed a failure when the female chimpanzee he was testing it on goes berserk, attacks her handlers, and is ordered put down by his we're-never-quite-sure-what-mood-he's-in boss, Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo).  Will discovers that she had just given birth to a baby and takes it home.  Naming him Caesar (Andy Serkis), Will treats him as part of the family, which means he monitors  and charts his intelligence and development as much as he does his father, whom he is also conducting tests on.

"You're trying to control things that aren't meant to be controlled."  -Caroline

Along the way of their misadventures, Will  meets primatologist Caroline (Freida Pinto), whose sole role seems to be to deliver the fact about ape supplication gestures and be nominally romantic interest.  After a mishap, Caesar is sent off to a chimpanzee sanctuary, guarded by less-than-hospitable keepers, and he stages an uprising.

Yes, this is the simian version of Spartacus.   Yes, ridiculous as it sounds, this movie works.

In fact, Rise of the Planet of the Apes works best when there are no humans on screen at all.  With little to no dialogue, Caesar's hero's journey is both touching and thrilling.  This is due largely to WETA FX and Andy Serkis' motion captured CGI performance, which is amazing and holds the film together.

The movie touches on a lot of hot-button issues without getting bogged down by them:  the plight of research animals, the ethical questions of when science goes too far, corporate greed/excess, the nature of families, the triumph of the outside, and how all it takes is a little thing (like a virus) to bring all of civilization crashing down.  But it is essentially about Caesar as rebel leader.

"Apes alone … weak.  Apes together strong." -Caesar

Caesar is the Christ figure, a product of an engineered birth.  Not initially accepted by his own, yet calling for a revolution in both thought and how life should be.  His is the true "rise", as his ascension brings with it the pursuit of freedom.  The first step on this path to freedom is realization of the dilemma that they find themselves in. In their world, there is something terribly wrong. Their brethren live lives of coerced conformity, their freedoms curtailed.  Because their world seemed so dark, hopeless, and full of despair, they traded their freedom to secure a measure of order and peace. On top of that, they weren't even aware of who they could be.

The next step in the journey is a kind of conversion experience, a paradigm shift as one moves from one kind of worldview to another.  This is where revolution begins, with a new idea and faith in a new hope. For such a revolution to take root, it needs messengers to carry the idea forth and converts to live out the mission.  Caesar's was a simple message, one of the hope of freedom. The world as he knew it would have to end and a new planet would have to begin.

"Some things aren't meant to be changed." -Caroline

Since we know where the movie is going to end up, its job is to entertain us along the way.  Granted, during their tribute to The Great Escape, the chimpanzees keep jumping through glass windows without getting hurt (in fact, for such smart creatures, you'd think they would turn the occasional door knob to make their exit).  Caesar comes alive as a character, eliciting true emotional resonance with the audience who get swept up in his performance without realizing it.  The climactic battle on the Golden Gate Bridge alone puts most battle scenes to shame with its simplicity and originality.

The movie works by staying true to itself:  telling a small story against a huge back drop.  We know the mythology and where the story has to end up, but it's the characters and emotions of the core story which makes Rise of the Planet of the Apes the most enjoyable entry in the series in a long time.

The Change-Up – A Review

"You ready to take a piss?"
Because after a night of booze-soaked bromance, two friends Dave Lockwood  (Jason Bateman) and Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds), do so into a public (and, of course, magic) fountain and we get this generation's Vice Versa.  Or its potty-mouthed little brother.  Audiences should know what they are getting into, as The Change-Up is helmed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) and written by the scribes of The Hangover , Jon Lucas and Scott Moore.
As with other modern day comedies, such as Bridesmaids , The Change-Up follows an anything for a laugh credo.  The cringe-inducing moments are frequent and funny, leaving no sacred cow untipped.  One might be reminded of any episode The Family Guy when the story gets interrupted for them to do some sort of sight gag.  It may have nothing to do with anything germane to the plot, not springing naturally from the story or set up, but just simply be a "and now a(n insert body fluid of choice) joke" moment.
"I don't know how to do all of your grown up crap." –Mitch
The set-up is as familiar as the casting.  Dave struggles to raise three kids, attend to his underappreciated and under loved wife Jamie (Leslie Mann), and pursue partnership in his law firm.  His best friend, Mitch, smokes pot between auditions for "lornos" (that's "light pornos"), and has no interest in a committed relationship (other than disappointing his father (Alan Arkin)).  So there's an overzealous, over scheduled go-getter who remains so busy that he misses most of his life and a quitter who never finishes anything … there are probably life lessons to be learned in this movie.
One may have trouble seeing why Dave and Mitch are friends in the first place, long history together (BFFs since third grade) notwithstanding.  If Dave is such a dedicated corporate climber, he'd have ditched Mitch long ago.  Not to mention the fact that Bateman is, and looks, seven years older.  Once that is overlooked, Reynolds and Bateman tend to work the same side of the street when it comes to their comedy styles, so neither exactly gets a tour-de-force romp.  At best, we get Bateman, usually cast as the straight man, playing mildly against type during some of his rants and Reynolds staying close to home being smart yet sensitive.
"I missed all the sex, drugs, and bad choices." –Dave
Women in this movie exist to pretty much show their boobs.  Mann doesn't come across too different from when she was in Knocked up and isn't given a lot more to do besides mope around as dissatisfied and be a boob prop.  Olivia Wilde (also in the current Cowboys & Aliens), as Sabrina McArdle, seems too good to be true:  a hot legal assistant who loves sports, regrettable decisions, and sex at the drop of a hat.  Who shows her boobs.
"He was always looking over the fence, looking for a better life." –Jamey
We know that the movie builds to the point that our own, real lives are ultimately better, but it taps into the longing present in many people's hearts.  The quiet desperation many feel, leading empty lives, and looking over the fences of other people's lives to check the greenness of the grass over there.  The desperation points to a hole within us, a hole we want to fill by any means necessary, be it poor choices in relationship partners, drugs, false ways of seeing ourselves, a cycle of materialism and desire and want, neglecting those around them, not knowing how to be whole … not knowing if we are running away from something or toward something else. Or, as Jamey puts it, "he can't turn it off.  He still wants more."
"We weren't put on this earth to work, breed, and die." –Olivia Wilde
Like the magic fountain, the Gospel is an opportunity to examine the way you've been living. You don't have to pursue empty goals of materialism and consumerism. That God is at work in every moment in every square inch of the cosmos. We were created in His image and our lives are gifts. We can be about reconciliation, between God and humanity, each of us to one another, and humanity to creation. We can be about the pursuit of justice. We can be about freedom, since we have been freed from the chains of sin and death. Kingdom living begins now. We live in light of the Gospel message. The call is for us to respond to the news because each of us has a role to play, even in the seeming ordinariness of our lives.
"You respect my art, you respect my life." –Mitch
The Change-Up wrings every possible joke from the setup before pouring on its "lessons".  What little emotional pay off is there feels muddled at best coming on the heels of humor rooted, for example, in a CGI sequence of babies playing with sharp objects and banging themselves in the head.  The best of the body swapping subgenre, from Big to All of Me to Freaky Friday, offer commentary on their social situations along with humor.  The Change-Up passes up such opportunity for depth, which is fine as long as it delivers consistent laughs.
For some, seeing one of the leading men getting hit in the face with projectile poop while changing his kid's diaper may seem needlessly crass.  And while there may be plenty of room for such "humor judgment", I can't say I didn't laugh.  But that is The Change-Up in microcosm:  a flexing baby anus spraying onto the audience.  So your mileage may vary.

Digital Me

I thought I would make it nice and convenient for folks looking to purchase any of my work for their e-readers.  I have them broken down by novels, novellas, short stories, and anthologies I've appeared in.  Buy me often!

NOVELS

The Knights of Breton Court: King Maker. The streets of Indianapolis, the ancient Arthurian cycle is replaying in the lives of rival street gangs. Told through the eyes of King, as he gathers like-minded friends and warriors around him to venture into the fastness of Dred, the notorious crime lord, this is a stunning mix of myth and harsh reality. (Angry Robot Books).  The Prologue is available as a free read.

The Knights of Breton Court:  King's Justice.  Spurred on by ever more urgent visions by his mystic advisor, Merle, King attempts to unite the warring gangs. But the knights of Breton Court are assailed on all sides by greed, temptation and some very real monsters. But worse, there is betrayal from within King's innermost circle.  (Angry Robot Books).  A sample chapter is available as a free read.

The Knights of Breton Court:  King's War.  Coming Soon.

NOVELLAS

Orgy of Souls (co-written with Wrath James White). Twenty souls for his brother's life is a price that seductively beautiful Samson is willing to pay. Twenty souls drenched in blood, powdered with cocaine and more than one kind of ecstasy. A fair trade for the life of a brother. A fair trade for the life of a priest. And everyone he meets seems so willing to give theirs away. Samuel's faith often wavers. Diagnosed with HIV and in rapid decline, he hides his disillusionment in the rituals of the priesthood. But when Samson brings him the first blood-signed contract for a young woman's immortal soul, the steamy world of high fashion male models and the quiet decay of a sickly priest begin to writhe against the realities of life, death, and otherworldly power. (Apex Books)  Chapter one is available as a free read.

Bleed With Me – When two lives become so intertwined that the symptoms of one can be passed along to another. So when Lorelei Davina's veins open up one night in a suicide attempt she didn't initiate, it began her descent into a world she never suspected existed. Coming Soon from Delirium Books

SHORT STORIES

I have several short stories for sale at the Angry Robot Book Store.  It's not like I'm putting out a collection anytime soon, so consider this an e-collection of my work (samples of each story available with a simple clicky-clicky of the links):

Black Frontiers – Originally published in Dark Dreams II (April 2006):  A weird west horror tale, as Govie Ikard transports a very special package across the Kansas Territories, a package many people want to see destroyed.

Broken Strand – Originally published in Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest (March 2008):  A science fiction tale of a scientist who believes he can genetically cure man's "sin nature".

Family Business – Originally published in Weird Tales #338 (January 2006):  A dark fantasy of a man returning to his homeland in Jamaica only to find corruption and the supernatural.

In the Shadows of Meido – Originally published in IDW Publishing's comic books (December 2005):  In ancient Japan, a samurai confronts the excesses of the masters he serves.  And vampires.

Just an Old Man on a Bench and Just a Young Man and His Games – Originally published in HorrorFind.com (June 2004) and Doorways (March 2008):  A horror tale of an old man haunted by the ghosts of Tuskegee followed by a sequel of sorts set in the same universe.

Nurse's Requiem – Originally published in Dark Dreams III (June 2007):  A horror tale of as a nurse works in a nursing home where all of the residents are possessed by demons.

The Ave – Originally published in Horror Literature Quarterly (Nov. 2007):  A horror tale of a man in prison who calls on his ancestors to return home.  Read a review of it here.

Hootchie Cootchie Man – Originally published in Black Static #14 (December 2009):  A horror/crime tale of a car thief on one last job.

Trouble Among the Yearlings – Originally published in Harlan County Horrors (Oct. 2009):  A horror tale of coal miners trapped only to find that they are not alone.

KINDLE STORE

-King Maker

-King's Justice

-King's War

-Orgy of Souls

-Apex Mazazine vol. 3 number 2 – which has my steamfunk story, "Pimp My Airship".  The revolution will not be televised.

-Wretched Moments – which has my horror comedy story, "Snapping Points", where family dinner takes on a whole new turn.

-Dark Futures: Tales of Dystopian SF – which has my SF story "A Stone Cast into Stillness", in a future where children are at a premium, a couple faces the loss of a child.

-Beauty has Her Way – which has my fantasy story "I, Theodora", a prostitute in ancient Rome is transfigured into a goddess.

-Voices from the Past – which has my horror story "Receipt of Fern Seed," a homeless man wanders the streets in search of his brother and ancient evil.

Cowboys & Aliens – A Review

"Riding Toward Absolution"
As the age of genre mash-ups overtakes us—vikings and aliens (Outlander), staid literary folks and zombies (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)—we are awash in two great tastes that hopefully go great together.  So why not throw together two classic genres, the western and the alien invasion flicks, for a grand cinematic romp?  Based on the idea from a Platinum Studios graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Iron Man 2) delivers Cowboys & Aliens.
Working from a script by Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Transformers), Favreau balances the needs of both genres he's working with and remains true to them.  On their own, the western story and characters as well as the alien invasion story are pretty familiar to those even nominally interested in either.
"God's been real swell to me.  Either he ain't up there or he doesn't like me very much." –Doc (Sam Rockwell)
A stranger rides into town, though it opens more like Jason Bourne waking up in the middle of the New Mexico desert.  The amnesia-stricken Jake Lonergan, played by Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace), reaches for a bloody wound at his side and discovers a strange bracelet cuffed to his wrist.  His only clue to who he was is a tintype photograph.
The town is introduced of the town, the aptly and ominously named Absolution.  The movie cleverly unfolds a cast of what could be stock characters, except since they are so wonderfully cast, the clichés become familiar.  Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood), the spoiled scion of the local cattle baron, Col. Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), bullies the townsfolk and carelessly falls on the wrong side of Craig's knee.   Deadwood 's Keith Carradine plays Sheriff John Taggart, who tries to maintain order though thoroughly beholden to Ford's Woodrow.  Ford plays against type—a few decades ago, he might've portrayed Lonergan—chewing up scenery as the presumptive black hat in this story.  That is, until the stranger's wrist manacle springs to life and aliens strafe the town.
The stranger demonstrates his usefulness.  Craig has the yeoman's task of keeping the movie straight, not giving into potential pitfalls of hamminess.  He walks the tightrope between ruthlessness and sensitivity, his version of James Bond except in a cowboy hat.
"I've seen good men do bad things and bad men do good things." –Meachum (Clancy Brown, The Shawshank Redemption)
The stranger unites the people.  Cowboys & Aliens owes a debt to John Ford's The Searchers, a movie about a Comanche abduction of a white girl whose would-be rescuers  are led by John Wayne's racist uncle.  In another example of the writers twisting the familiar, the Indians were swapped out for reptilian space aliens.  A united posse—cowboys and Indians, cattle barons and downtrodden townsfolk, the stranger and the colonel—go after the abducting alien horde.
"I can't absolve you of your sins if you can't recall them." –Meachum
The idea of sin has changed over time or rather, the images we use to describe it have.  The oldest Old Testament idea  about sin was that it was a load to carry, a burden which had to be removed.  In the New Testament, the picture of sin was that of a debt one had to pay (or be punished), one which could be cancelled.
The characters each have their burdens they are carrying.  Lonergan with his life as a thief and wanted man, not to mention the guilt over his wife's death.  The Colonel, having to "be a man" from an early age, forced into battle time and time again, carrying the toll of it in his soul.  Doc, already struggling with the lack of respect he has also carries how he failed his wife.  Everyone with a past they seek redemption from, seeking absolution.
We don't have to be perfect to be dispensers of God's grace. Martin Luther spoke of Christians as being simultaneously saints and sinners. It has taken me quite a while to understand that God's not interested in fixed vessels. We have it in our heads that we need to be perfect, have our act together, be the "best" representatives that we can be because how else can we be used by God.  We're called into a new way of living. In our imperfection, in our brokenness, we know each other's pain and weakness—without room for judgment—and can best be there for one another. We can be the consoling arms of God for one another.
Confession unloads and heals us.  It not only has to be heard, but forgiveness has to be received.  And we can pronounce absolution in the name of Christ to one another.  Just as the picture of sin changes in the Bible, so has the images of atonement:  sacrifice, reconciliation, justification, victory, redemption all of which are ours in Christ's forgiving work for us.
"God don't care who you were, son, only who you are." –Meachum
Olivia Wilde takes on the messianic role in this movie as Ella Swenson.  Her story is a familiar one as she came from "a place above the stars" and has taken on human form so that she could walk among people.  She even has her own transfiguration moment involving a fire which becomes the biggest risk in the movie as it violated the conventions of both westerns and space operas.  As a picture of Christ, it is her sacrifice which makes a free life and final victory possible.
"Whether you go to heaven or hell isn't God's plan.  It's yours." –Meachum
Cowboys & Aliens isn't flawless.  The second act feels like a series of serial-style cliffhangers, the script writers rolling their d20s to determine what the band of heroes would encounter next (Bandits!  Indians!  Aliens!).  Nor is it satisfactorily explained why the aliens want what they want or why they need people at all.  It doesn't explore its conceit as deeply as it could—as if the movie makers essentially say "we got cowboys and aliens!  What more do you want?  Shut up!"  A hint of camp might have collapsed this movie (Wild Wild West says what?) and it gets by on its easy, video game action of shooting at aliens.  It's content to be a popcorn movie and that's not a bad thing as it delivers what it promises (there ARE cowboys AND aliens!  Shut up!).  Beautiful and fun, Cowboys & Aliens is the perfect mix of action and humor.

Championship Heart aka Getting Published Isn't Easy

"At the end, it's on me.  Everything is on me. Turnovers. Missed shots. Fouls. If anything, learn from it. That's all I can do right now." –Derrick Rose

I know no one comes to my blog for cogent sports analysis, because, well, they'll get none.  But there is a lesson about writing that I've been thinking about.  Back in 1988, Michael Jordan was on the scene as a budding superstar, got all the way to the Eastern Conference Semifinals then ran into the buzzsaw known as the Detroit Pistons.  Again in 1989 and 1990, the Pistons' "Bad Boys" had his number, and all Jordan could taste with his wagging tongue was defeat.

Michael Jordan learned through those losses was Derrick Rose is learning now:  what it takes to be a champion.  He suffered through the pain of loss, the heartache, the frustration.  He toughened up, gained experience, and continued to hunger until he could climb that championship mountaintop.

In many ways, failure builds the player.  We learn from our mistakes and shortcomings.  Just like Michael Jordan had to go through Detroit, Derrick Rose has to go through the Miami Heat.  His performance coming up short may require him to develop other aspects of game.  The experience of failing to show up will help teach him to never waver on the big stage.  The experience of falling short will mold him into a clutch player.  And time will allow his team to gel.

"Maybe it's my fault that you didn't see that failure gave me strength; that my pain was my motivation. Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a God-given gift and not something I worked for – every single day of my life." –Michael Jordan

It always troubles me when I see writers spin out and rail against the literary gods or against the gatekeepers of the industry (real or imagined).  How they will refer to networking as "ass kissing" or an acceptance letter as a reward for begging for approval from a publisher.  Then they throw their hands in the air, calling the entire publishing business a fool's errand, and consider going the self-publishing route.

Ironically, they're oblivious to the fact that they've managed to insult both those who've gone the traditional route (as lucky and/or ass kissers) and those who went the self-publishing route (as if that doesn't require more work and a greater skill set).

The fact of the matter is that this is it.  This is what you signed up for.  A lifestyle of perpetual speed dating:  constant rejection/mis-matches hoping for the occasional connection.  Part of it may simply be being tired of facing the pain of rejection.  Running from the pain and frustration of rejection keeps you from certain opportunities.  But there is a lot of control and safety on smaller stages and doing it yourself.  You get to maintain your posture of raging against the man and whoever else holding you down.  Sometimes I wonder how much of it is a fear of success, the possibility of a big(ger) stage looming where you'd have to put up or shut up.

Don't get me wrong:  we've nearly all had that sinking frustration, the dark night of the writer's soul.  Like any dark night, you have to push through it however you can, no matter how messy it might look.  This is it.  This is the writing/publication path.  It is what it is.  It doesn't get any easier.  It's not supposed to be.  Nothing truly worth doing is.  You stockpile those rejections, double down and do more work, more writing, and muster more perseverance.  So I repeat:  it doesn't get any easier.  There are only new problems to deal with.

In the meantime, we will wait and see how Derrick Rose comes back next year and what coming up short teaches his game and shapes his character.  I'm betting it will continue to shape the heart of a champion.

Our Focus Rally America Audition

Now it can be told aka, someone reminded me that I never told/finished this story

Okay, so back in October, Wrath James White calls me up saying "I got a great idea."  Now you should know, when Wrath calls with "a great idea" we're talking 6' 6'' of chuckling madmen whom I'm not always inclined to tell "you're out of your mind."  So anyway, he tells me they are holding auditions for this new reality show (uh oh) called "Focus Rally America."  Think "Amazing Race" (since it's from those producers) with teams of two traveling in a Ford Focus.

"Come on, MoBro" (he always breaks out MoBro when he KNOWS he's about to talk me into something).  "Picture it:  what could be more entertaining than watching two horror writers go across country?"

"Wrath, you've actually seen me drive."

"We can work around that."

Which is how I ended up off to Austin, Texas to audition for what I called "How long before I get on Wrath James Whites's nerves before he stuffs me in the trunk of a car. Then sets it on fire."*   I flew down on a Tuesday for a Wednesday audition (which also included dinner with Lee Thomas and Nate Southard) to come back on Thursday.

And now, let me give you a selective Tweet recap of things:

-Dear Jesus, thank you giving me this front row seat for the @WrathJW & Christie show.

-Who had "a half hour" in the pool of how long it would take me and @WrathJW to get in an argument?

-"Come home winners or don't come home at all." -Christie White. Wait, there's a PS: "If you do come home, pick up BBQ for dinner."

-I'm wearing my Kevin Matchstick/Mage t-shirt & @WrathJW's says "You will bow to me."

Which was how we entered round one of the auditions.  There was quite the line and they took us in 3-4 teams at a time and sat us around a table.  There were folks dressed as clowns, a brother on roller skates, all sorts of folks dressed to be "personalities".  We just sat down and let everyone else talk first.  When the producers got to us, all we had to do was introduce ourselves and what we did.  Then the OTHER contestants kept asking us questions to keep us talking.

Skip ahead in the story via my Tweets:

-"You two are characters!" the producers tell us … now the wait begins to see if we get a callback.

-@WrathJW is so cute when he's nervous. Whatever the terrifying version of cute is.

-Determined to complicate @supersjbroaddus' life, the producers just called & want me & @WrathJW for the next round. Friday morning.

So, I extended my stay in Austin (which now included dinner with Daniel and Trista Robichaud) as we prepared for the second round of auditions.

-A snapshot of what the show would look like (we're lost & the Garmin is yelling at us)

-"THESE ARE NOT PIMP PAJAMAS!!!" (my tweet)

-The casting agents saw Maurice in his bright red outfit and said he looked like a Skittle. (Wrath's tweet)

Okay, here's what you have to picture for this round:  there are two producers behind a camera and a love seat.  They ask me and Wrath to sit in the loveseat as if we were sitting in a Ford Focus.  You have to realize 1) Wrath is bigger than a Ford Focus and 2) in any given situation, Wrath likes to take up a lot of space.  So I'm all but sitting in his lap.  The producers say they have a list of questions for us, but they want to see how we'd interact in this situation.

They never got to their questions.

It was 15 minutes of me and Wrath insulting each other, arguing about God and strippers (don't ask), and non-stop jokes.  We literally had the producers in tears.  And they said that they have a dilemma:  because the show was going to be an experiment in doing direct to the internet programming (via Hulu), they were casting people with huge internet presences.  So we were competing against YouTube "stars" with millions of views.  The problem was that those stars didn't have much by way of personality.  We, as you might guess, had personality for days.  So it was going to be a close call.

The third round was paperwork, a background check and:

-And now the nine page application package to fill out. uh oh: what would your friends say are your best qualities? Your worst?

Well, we didn't get the slot.  I'm pretty sure we lost out to the big-boobed jiggle twins I saw on one of the Ford Focus pages.  But it was a great time and experience.  The only thing I wished I'd had from that experience is our audition tape.  I'd love to post that on YouTube that way folks get that instead of me and my "I swear to you, in context, it makes perfect sense" watermelon dance.  NOTE:  There's a fine line between savvy marketer and attention whore. *checks rear view mirror for the line*  The things I do to have interesting things to talk about on this blog.  I'll leave you with one last Tweet from that weekend:

-I appreciate all the requests for a Maurice & @ChesyaBurke sitcom, but I'd have huge salary demands for that gig.

*Little known fun fact, he had three possible scenarios in mind:  he and Brian Keene, he and me, or he and Hal Bodner.  I don't know if there's a show big enough for a couple of those combinations.

I'm a Tough Read?

In one of my writer crit groups, I was informed that I was "a tough read."  I was curious what they meant by that as it wasn't the first time I had heard that charge.  Of course, their answer was "have you looked at your story?"

It was a little trunk piece that I had taken out to noodle with.  It was basically the narrative of a woman who'd grown up as a slave, worked in the Underground Railroad, and lived through Emancipation.  There were all sorts of vivid accounts of the horrors that occurred around her.  A horror story where the horror was in the reality of her world.

And it was a tough read.*

There is a dual nature to reader expectation when it comes to escaping into a novel.  For some, they want to be transported to a world to get away from their own, where a book is strictly a vehicle for entertainment.   For others, they want to embed themselves in another world as a way of examining the world around them, which isn't to say that they don't want to be entertained along the way.

For example, Devil's Marionette was tough for me to write.  I wrote it from a painful, angry place as I had been thinking about the struggle of black artists against the pressures and expectations of the community, the failure to live up to that unspoken obligation, and the yoke of a history of racism.  So I whole-heartedly agreed with reviewer, Michele Lee, when she wrote of it:

Yet despite this immersive, and painfully open experience of being each character as hundreds of years of hatred and racism crushes down on them, the reader is left with the same feeling as someone who witnesses something beautiful or terribly in a quiet woods. It's almost as if this pain is clear and known, but we are not supposed to speak of it, or even admit that we know it's there.

The aura or spirit of this book far out shadows the actual story within the pages. It's left me feeling not thrilled, or entertained, but uneasy, a perfect tone for a horror novella to strike, but one not that makes experiencing it an entirely pleasant experience.

I like to write from real and painful places.  I like to make people uncomfortable.  I love to challenge them and defy expectations.  That's pretty much my philosophy/m.o.  Admittedly, part of that is a function of who I am as a person.  I hate to be put into a box or be easily labeled (or as Chesya Burk puts it, I'm "not happy until every side is pissed off at [you] in a debate").  So when people hear that I'm a Christian writer (not a label I would use for myself), they come to my work with a certain amount of expectations.  An anthology edited by me, Dark Faith, brought to mind for many a collection of Christian tracts.  Until they picked it up and realized my philosophy was present there, too.  Defying and challenging.  It means when they pick up Orgy of Souls expecting a certain kind of story about faith, they get a wholly other.  (Ironic on two fronts:  1) they forget that I'm writing with Wrath James White, known as Mr. Light & Fluffy Writer to his peers and fans; and 2) I continue to get emails from folks telling me how much they loved Orgy of Souls because it was a tricky topic and a journey they didn't expect).

The same process is at work in my Knights of Breton Court trilogy.  I know it's not an easy read.  Besides being partly based on my former neighborhood, a lot of the stories represent the day-to-day reality of some of the homeless teenagers I was working with.  A scary and dark enough place before I added trolls and zombies and magic.  But I also wanted to carve out a strange new world for the reader to immerse themselves in.  An uncomfortable world, an unfamiliar world, yet a very real feeling world, which prompted one reviewer to say of it

It would be wrong of me to say "I liked this book" in the same way it would be wrong to say "I like drugs / gang warfare" due to the very nature of the subject matter but in my mind a book like this isn't there to be "liked", it's there to be consumed, appreciated, inwardly digested and above all to make you think, to open your perceptions. For this reason this book is a triumph, I can honestly say that this novel has made me think about the world and people around me more than any other book has for a long time.

I love to hear stories I'm not used to or explore worlds completely new to me.  I love the new experience of reading.  I know that difficult reads aren't everyone's idea of pop entertainment.  And authors who relish being difficult reads have to walk that fine line of entertainment and "substance" (and sometimes art and pretension).  I write what I write because of who I am, part of that wonderful alchemy that is creation.  After that, the story belongs to the reader.

*Of course, "tough read" could simply refer to it being a trunk story.  But I'm choosing to ignore that possibility.

Smallville Finale – A Review

"Flights and Tights Too Long Delayed"

The finale of Smallville has been bugging me for a while.  Ten years is a remarkable run for any show, especially these days when many don't make it past their first season.  However, like many shows (X-Files says what?), Smallville stayed around a few seasons too long.

The whole premise of Smallville was to tell the tale of of young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) growing up as a Midwestern boy, dealing with life and problems in high school while struggling with coming to terms with the fact that he was more than human.  The guiding philosophy of the show was "no flights, no tights" meaning that during the show, he would neither don his trademark costume nor take to the skies.  Which meant it was a multi-season long tease for him becoming Superman, which the viewers were on board.  But we run into problems after a while.  High school is a four year show.  Even giving himself a year or two after that we could see.  But ten years is a long time to "come to terms" and more importantly, tease your audience.  Ten years means that you have to do a lot of writing gymnastics in order for him to NOT put on tights and fly.  Ten years means you strain a lot of credulity and audience loyalty to keep the show moving forward without going anywhere.

The show was uneven, inconsistent, sometimes illogical, if not insultingly stupid at times.  Thing is, as a fan of Smallville you got used to it.  Their "monster of the week" formula from the early seasons, the ups and down of the Clark and Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) relationship (which as a viewer you could never get invested in because you know Clark is destined to be with Lois Lane (Erica Durance), so it seems pointless to drag it out), the weird mythology the show kept building (The Traveler?).

"I am the villain of this story." –Lex

Probably the best part about the series was the idea that Lex Luther (Michael Rosenbaum) and Clark started as friends.  And that a lot of the show was a vying for the soul of Lex.  Theirs was a great dynamic, everything that Clark and Lana wasn't.  Because, again, while we know they can't possibly end up as friends, watching their gradual animosity unfold each week was a great tension.  So the show probably should have just wrapped up the season when Lex left the cast, but it opted to muddle forward, leading to the much anticipated return of Lex in the finale.

"Every villain is only as great as their hero." –Lex

Smallville's greatest villain apparently was their budget, it's the only think I can think of to explain their consistently anti-climactic season ending fight sequences.  The bulk of the barely two minute fight scene between Clark and Doomsday happened off screen the season before.  You'd think "once bitten", yet here we are having to deal with:

-Oliver taking out Granny Goodness, Godfrey, and Desaad in one shot (not even with the Bow of Orion and despite the three having super powers).

-Clark taking out Darkseid by flying through him.  Seriously.  He flew through "cloud of smoke Darkseid" and that was it.

-Superman pushing Apokolips away which not only avoided a collision but also solved the darkness problem.

"We have a destiny together, Clark.  Only on different sides." –Lex

But budgetary issues don't explain how the Luthors were handled.  They just kept killing each other in an almost Shakespearean fashion, which is rather fitting.  So that part was fine.  What wasn't fine was the machinations which brought Lex back and then the all-too-convenient "re-setting" of Lex which defies logic and leaves the viewer wondering "what did that even mean?"

Lex: What did you want?

Tess: Something I'll never have.

Lex: Clark?

Tess: Redemption.

All in all, the last season of Smallville was more concerned with getting Clark into his tights and rushing to pay tribute to the iconic movies Superman I & II.  So we can be disappointed in the lack of slugfest style endings because Smallville was never that type of show.  We want to give it a pass because, well, it's Superman.  So we say that it was more about the journey (Lost apologists say what?), the messianic expectation of the long prophesied, long destined Superman.  But every journey has to have a payoff.  And the finale failed to live up to that destiny.

True Blood (Season 3) – A Review

Even arriving late to the True Blood party in full swing at season three, it doesn't take too long to get caught up in Alan Ball's (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) Southern gothic melodrama.  Set mostly in the fictional Louisiana town, Bon Temps, the show revolves around one Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin).  Sookie, a telepath, works as a waitress at Merlotte's roadhouse owned by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), a shapeshifter. Thanks to a synthetic blood, vampires have revealed themselves.  Thus Civil War veteran and immortal Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) had returned home and he and Sookie fall in love.

"I know what you're going through.  That first kill, it's got a way of making you feel like that's all you are.  But you've got to know that you are still a man that is capable of goodness, of heartbreaking, and a generosity of spirit.  And if you can cling to that with everything you got, you're gonna be all right." –Terry (Todd Lowe)

As season three picks up, Sookie runs around in a hysterical state of shock as Bill, who had just proposed is kidnapped by villains unknown.  (He spends most of the premier episode being drained by V junkies).  Sookie's best friend Tara (Rutina Wesley) is grieving the death of her lover, Eggs (Mehcad Brooks), a serial killer ordered around by a maenad.  Andy (Chris Bauer) takes the blame for killing Eggs, covering for Sookie's serial lothario brother, Jason (Ryan Kwanten).

Those seem to be the main storylines, though there are many other subplots going on, which is typical not only for an episode, but for the season.  True Blood thrives on cliffhanger endings, sharply drawn characters, strong dialogue, and convoluted, concurrent storylines. So the impact of any one story is dulled by the sheer crowd of stories going on.  Not only that, but season three also introduces werewolves, inflating an already swollen cast even more.

"You wanna really fuck somebody's life up?  Tell the truth about them.  They ain't never going to be the same." –Jason

There seem to be no end of metaphors that vampires can stand in for, though in True Blood, they pretty much cover the less than subtle territory of race, immigration, and any other marginalized people.  Yet one of the continuing sub-themes is how there is no possibility for liberation for anyone.  As Alan Ball does so well, people are trapped in their (dysfunction seems too weak a word) disturbed families.  People are stuck being what they are, telepath, shapeshifter, werewolf.  People cannot escape their blood ties and the obligations that come with them.  So everyone lives in a spiral of captivity and self-loathing, acting out in any of a number of ways, if nothing else, as slaves to their appetites.

"The blood is sacred. Wasting it on anything other than procreation is blasphemy." –Magister (Zeljko Ivanek, Homicide:  Life on the Streets)

We sometimes feel like we don't have the strength for the pain of this life. We just want the hurting to stop, if only for a minute.  So we retreat to our old comforts, habits, self-medication in order to deal with the hurts.  We develop addictions, things we become slaves to.  And once we realize we have an addiction, we can get caught up in our struggle with it, allowing that one area to define us and our focus of growth to the exclusion of everything else.   But we don't have to live in a state of perpetual bondage.

Christ is the freedom-bringer and we were created for freedom.  There is a tradition or story or understanding of how God shares in our suffering (because this is the story of Jesus' suffering on the cross) as opposed to reaching down with power and rescuing us from our suffering. Jesus' story is the story of poverty: God humbling himself, becoming poor and weak. Human. In order to free the oppressed from poverty and powerlessness. Becomes a victim in our place (at the hands of a corrupt justice system no less) and transforms the condition of bondage. Providing not only a new vision, but a new paradigm in which to live.

God's reconciling act is centered on the cross, a gift of freedom. The resurrection is a sign that the powers have been defeated, though still active. The cross transforms our condition while also providing an example of hope.

Look, True Blood makes no pretense at being subtle.  It's an over-the-top soap opera with a supernatural core.  At turns violent, scary, hysterical, and full of sex, like with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the show has a moral center no matter how obscured by blood it may be.  We can forgive its uneven tone and its sometimes meandering plotlines, as the show seems built for short attention spans:  don't like what's going on, wait a minute and the show cuts to something new.  Eventually that frenetic pace and the need to continually top its storylines wears on the viewer (or rather, on the writers).  In fact, Alfre Woodard's appearance drove this reminder home for me.  The last time I saw her was on another over-the-top series, Desperate Housewives, where even her capable skills couldn't ground the show enough to save it from storylines that no one cared about.  The advantage the show has is that it has Charlaine Harris' books to mine from and the show remains fairly faithful to the material (and strives to keep the best parts).  Which means it's not too late to jump on this undead roller coaster and ride it into the land of the not-so-guilty pleasure.

Dark Faith: Devotions and ALL THINGS ME!!!

As the promotional efforts for Dark Faith begin in earnest, Apex Book Company has been running a series of mini-interviews with some of the contributors called Dark Faith: DEVOTIONS. I've been loving the responses and want to collect the links to them here. And take a moment to appreciate how much my friends love and respect me…

DEVOTIONS

Alethea Kontis - "The God of Last Moments"

Mary Robinette Kowal – "Ring Road"

D.T. Friedman - "Paint Box, Puzzle Box"


INTERVIEWS

On my end, I have the unpreced...