Jim C. Hines's Blog, page 119

I Went to Canada … AND SURVIVED! (#SiWC2013)

I’m back from the Surrey International Writers’ Conference in Canada, and I had a blast. I got in at midnight on Thursday, which was 3 a.m. my time, so I may have been a bit out of it that first morning.

It was my first time at this conference, but it came highly recommended by Mary Robinette Kowal. As usual, Mary was right. It was well-organized, with a lot of fun and friendly people from a variety of genres. I gave two workshops (one on diversity in your writing, and one on using social media), did a bunch of one-on-one Blue Pencil Sessions to talk about people’s works-in-progress, and then they let me give a keynote address on Saturday. This was my first time doing a keynote, and I was a bit nervous about it, but it went over very well. (More on that later.)

I also got to meet MT O’Shaughnessy and Silvia Moreno-Garcia, two Vancouver-area writers and generally wonderful people who stopped by to say hi. Silvia just sold her debut novel to Solaris, by the way. And she was kind enough to give me an anthology she edited and a collection of her own work. Which was perfect timing, since I finished the other book I was reading on the flight out.

More coherent thoughts later. I didn’t get back home until late, and was greeted by a car with a dead battery waiting for me in the airport parking lot. I blame Dementors. Fortunately, the nice security guard at the airport had a portable magic box that — eventually — made the car work again.

My thanks to Kathy Chung for inviting me, to all of the staff and volunteers who put the convention together, and to all of the authors, editors, agents, and everyone else who made it such a welcoming and positive experience.

Now to steal a page from Susanna Kearsley and start plotting how to get myself invited back next year!

Surrey International Writers’ Conference

Tonight I’m off to the untamed and exotic wilderness of Canada for the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. Don’t worry, I’m packing plenty of moose repellant!

I’m really looking forward to this. I’ve heard good things about the conference, and there’s a great lineup of guest professionals.

My schedule for the weekend:

Friday:

9:30 a.m. Opening Session.
10:30 a.m. – Noon. Blue Pencil Sessions.
3:30 – 5 p.m. Workshop: Writing Diversity. In which a straight white dude talks about his ongoing process of creating more realistic and honest diversity in his work, including the danger of stereotypes and tokenism, his various mistakes and successes, and most importantly, the need to never stop listening.

Saturday:

9:30 a.m. Opening Session.
10:30 a.m. – Noon. Blue Pencil Sessions.
3:30 – 5 p.m. Workshop: Blogging, Social Media, and Self-Promotion. “If you’re going to be an author, you HAVE to do online promotion ALL THE TIME!” Or maybe not so much. Join a Hugo award-winning blogger as he talks about what he’s tried that worked, what failed miserably, and the unanswerable question of whether or not it’s worth it.
5:30 – 7 p.m. Book Fair. (Signing and cocktail social.)
After Dinner: Keynote Address. (That’s right, they’re letting me do a keynote! Bwa ha ha ha!)

Sunday:

9 a.m. Opening Session.
9:30 – 10:45 a.m. Blue Pencil Sessions.

I expect to be thoroughly exhausted by the time I get back late Sunday night. I also expect to have a great deal of fun. I may even post the occasional update over on Twitter. (They do have internet in Canada, don’t they?)

Interview with a Fan Activist: Chris Barkley

Chris Barkley has been active in fandom since 1976 as a member of the Cincinnati Fantasy Group, has attended 27 Worldcons and several hundred other conventions, and is currently employed at one of the best bookstores in the U.S., Joseph Beth Booksellers. (And I’m totally not just saying that because I want them to keep stocking my stuff!)

Chris has been working hard to try to establish a Best YA Novel Hugo Award. You can visit the discussion page on Facebook.

#

1. You described yourself as a fan activist. How does this differ from the SMOFs of legend? What tasks and trials must one complete to become a fan activist?

Well, I’ll put it to you this way; I would NEVER admit that I am a Secret Master of Fandom. I don’t think that I am; I don’t have any control over anyone nor do I have desire to. I was a convention chair once (in 1986) and I was quickly cured of that peculiar malady.

To be perfectly serious, I don’t think anyone who does identify themselves as a SMOF does either. People who embrace that term are basically people who run sf conventions. They do so because it is fun (at least some of the time), they provide a valuable service to fans and they continue a distinguished tradition that stretches all the way back to the Depression Era.

In the past 15 years or so, I would describe my activities as that of a fan activist. (This is not to be confused with the term “fanac,” an older slang term for fannish activities.) I truly became an activist when I read an Octoober 1998 Entertainment Weekly a feature article on the “Sci-Fi’s Top 100”

Needless to say, I was appalled by the choices of the EW staff (The Jetsons, #52 were ranked over Babylon 5, #97; C’MON MAN!) and the next thing I knew, I was busily concocting my own top 100 as an article for Mike Gyler’s File 770.

The very first thing that I learned as a fanzine writer was that I had to develop a very thick skin. No matter how well thought out and written you may think your article and point of view is, there will ALWAYS be some antagonist or snarky person out there, trying to do anything in their power to bring you down and mount you on their wall like a trophy.

As an activist, I feel as though you have to walk a fine line; between your utter conviction that you are right and they, whoever they are, are wrong AND feeling flexible enough in your beliefs where you can admit that you are wrong or can compromise on a position you take.

Paradoxically, I really don’t relish being in the spotlight. I have not been rewarded nor have I taken any credit for the work I have done in Worldcon press offices or on Hugo Award categories. I am not a celebrity nor do I have any desire to be one. I am of the opinion that those sort of distractions undermine my integrity and work. I relish my privacy. I try keep to myself grounded, not act in very pretentious manner or make a spectacle of myself. I say try because I have been guilty of that in the past.

The primary thing I keep in mind at all times is that in the long run, the only power I actually have is to persuade other people to either try something (like my current project for a Young Adult Category Hugo Award) or to do the right thing (voting for motions at a public meeting, sometimes under very hostile conditions).

2. Diversity in SFF fandom. Do you think it’s a problem, and if so, where do you think that problem comes from and what can we do about it? If not, what are you seeing that makes you feel that way?

I really don’t know, honestly. I have been in fandom and attending all sorts of conventions since 1976. I have never encountered any racial discord or had any problems with anyone in fandom. Having said that, the majority of the conventions I have attended over the years are literary based and it has not escaped my notice that I rarely see minorities at them, even at North American Worldcons.

I have seen a number of minorities at anime, media and comics based conventions. I know for a fact that minorities read sf and fantasy since I work full time in one of the best bookstores in country. It’s no secret that lit fandom and their conrunners, on average, are much older than other genre conventions. Simply put, I don’t see much a future for fandom unless they conduct more outreach to younger fans and minorities.

3. For the past two years, there have been complaints about accessibility and disability issues at WorldCon. Institutional memory seems like a serious problem for a convention run by different people each year. How can we do a better job making sure Worldcon is accessible to all fans, and to encourage all conventions to do the same?

The problem is that the individual Worldcon convention committees are doing an inadequate job in supporting the people in charge of Handicapped Services, both with money, equipment and staff. It’s really dismaying to see the same thing happening over and over again nearly every year.

Someone should chronicle all the complaints, mishaps and mistakes of the past dozen or so Worldcons and package it up as a manual for running Handicapped Services.

4. What has been your most exciting or rewarding experience as a SMOF fan activist?

Well, honestly, I feel a little vicarious thrill during the Hugo Ceremonies every year when they announce the winner in the categories that I had a hand in creating; Best Dramatic Presentation Long Form/Short Form, Best Editor Long Form/Short Form and Best Graphic Story. (I was also a proud co-sponsor of the Best Fancast as well.)

When I began working on the Hugo Award categories back in 1999, I simply to make the Best Dramatic Presentation fairer by separating out big budget nominees from smaller productions. As my work progressed with other categories, I became enamored with a newer and more important goal in mind; make the awards more diverse, competitive, engaging and lively to everyone.

I am not foolish enough to think that the changes I helped in to existence will last. I certainly hope they don’t. Time, history and sf literature have a common theme, constant change. Good or bad, it’s inevitable.

5. I’ve talked to several conrunners who described a siege mentality, an Us vs. Them conflict between the people doing the work and the rest of the world. The conrunners feel unappreciated. Fans feel blown off or attacked for trying to talk about problems. Have you seen this, and if so, how do we get past it?

I have sampled the comments from conrunners and their critics over the past year or so and it’s hard for me to feel any sympathy for those SMOFs (who run a number of literary based conventions and nearly all of the Worldcons), some of whom I have known for many years, because they have NOT opted to adapt to modern times. There is practically no transparency evident, save for the Business Meetings at Worldcons that are posted online.

The SMOFs have operated most their debates and deliberations involving conventions off an email listserv for over two decades. As of this writing (17 October 2013), they do not have a Facebook page nor do they appear to operate on Twitter, Reddit or any other social networking sites. They are mostly older (like me) and while a goodly number are adept with modern technology, they don’t employ it very well when they encounter any criticism.

I have been a subscriber to the SMOFs list for a good long while but I rarely check the daily digest nor do I participate in any of the various discussions that are usually going on.

The latest case of blatant SMOF malfeasance is what happened to a Wisconsin based fan, Amy McNally. When my partner and I could not mount an effort to go LoneStarCon 3 to submit a proposal for a Young Adult Book category, Ms. McNally, whom I did not know beforehand, submitted her own proposal independently.

It would be an understatement to say that she was rudely treated; she was berated online, on her Live Journal account and in person at the convention. She was repeatedly told that she did not know what she was doing, that the YA issue was dead, that she and her opinions and ideas were not wanted. The proposal was dead on arrival at the LoneStarCon Business Meeting but a study group (of which I am a member) was formed to present a report at the Loncon 3 BM.

I knew EXACTLY how she felt because I went through because I went through a similar baptism by fire when I graced my first Business Meeting at Chicon 2000. Amy McNally is a victim of SMOFs who have been entrenched in position of authority for decades and now think they know what’s “best for fandom.” You can’t heap too much shame on those people, in my opinion.

The only way traditions like the Worldcon and Hugos will have any future is if the people who are interested and feel frozen out of the process continue to provide civil and constructive criticism and stay involved in fandom. If this doesn’t happen, and soon, there will be very little chance of the Worldcon surviving beyond 2020.

What we need is MORE dissent, MORE thinking outside the box and MORE diversity in fandom, not less. The sooner SMOFs realize this, the better off we’ll all be.

Cover Pose Calendar Auction (with Bonus Mary’s Angels Print!)

I have two boxes full of fresh-from-the-printer 2014 calendars, packed full of cover-posing goodness.

Most of the calendars will be sold through the Tinker’s Pack website, because Pat Rothfuss has a team of wonderful employees who offered to take care of things like orders and shipping and all the rest. Whereas I have a team of ill-behaved pets and two children who think things like homework and playing are more important than packing and mailing calendars for Daddy.

As with last year’s fundraiser, all profits from the sale of these calendars will go to the Aicardi Syndrome Foundation.

[image error]

It will probably be a week or two before I can get these shipped to Wisconsin and they show up on the Tinker’s Pack website, but if you don’t want to wait, you’re in luck. I’m auctioning off one calendar Right Now! I’ll even autograph and personalize it for you.

Not only that, but if the bidding goes past $50, you also get a download code for an audio book copy of Libriomancer.

If it reaches $100, I’ll throw in an 8 x 10  print of “Mary’s Angels,” autographed by all of us. That’s worth at least $100 all by itself, isn’t it? (Depending on how high the bidding goes, I may toss in some other goodies as well.)

To encourage you to bid, here’s a picture of Taz the cat hanging out with the calendar. (Note: cat is not included in this auction.)

[image error]

HOW CAN YOU REFUSE THAT KITTY???

To Bid: Leave your bid in the comments at http://www.jimchines.com/2013/10/cover-pose-calendar-auction/  Bidding must be in whole-dollar amounts. Opening bid amount is $20.

Shipping: I’ll cover shipping within the U.S. If you’re bidding from outside the U.S., I’ll have to ask you to chip in a few extra bucks. Sorry.

Deadline: The auction will close in one week.

Reminder: All proceeds go to a very good cause.

Emotionally Manipulative Comment: If this doesn’t get lots of bids, Taz will be a VERY SAD KITTY!

Legend of Korra: Beginnings, Parts 1+2

Legend of Korra

2 x 7: Beginnings, Part 1

2 x 8: Beginnings, Part 2

Full episodes available at Nick.com.

Episode Summary (from the Avatar Wiki): Korra learns about the origins of the first Avatar and realizes what she must do to restore balance to the physical and spirit worlds.

[image error]

My Thoughts: I’m depressed by how much I enjoyed these two episodes in which none of the main cast appear at all, except for a few glimpses of Korra. On the other hand, I did enjoy them, and that’s a big step up from last week.

I’ve been told that these episodes disregarded some previously-established canon regarding the origin of bending and the Avatar, which could certainly be frustrating. I haven’t finished watching TLA yet, though, so this wasn’t an issue for me.

I was a little nervous about the first few minutes, in which Wan’s food-stealing escapades looked like it had been lifted almost scene for scene from Disney’s Aladdin, but then we started getting into the larger worldbuilding, the lion-turtles, the spirits living in the human world, Wan stealing fire from the lion-turtle…yeah, it hooked me.

I liked that Wan was flawed and screwed up sometimes, but that he was trying to do the right thing. He was very human but also sympathetic in a way this season has been lacking. I appreciated that he didn’t have a simple moment of revelation, but that his journey was an ongoing thing, involving multiple mistakes and longer-term growth. Watching him learn to use the forest’s tricks against his human pursuers was particularly fun.

I’m still thinking about the revelation that the Avatar is the blending of human and the spirit Raava. It makes sense, and it fits, though after all of Raava’s insistence that spending too long in Wan’s body would kill him, I’m not sure exactly how it works. Or maybe I missed something there. The whole thing made me think of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the first slayer being part demon. Let’s just say I like the Korra version better.

And the bending! I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed the more graceful, fluid style of bending we saw from Wan.

Aye-Aye and the rest of the spirits were a lot of fun too. And Wan’s relationship with Aye-Aye and with Raava, that’s the kind of thing I’ve wanted to see all season. Complex, conflicted relationships. Likable characters.

These were the first two episodes this season that were animated by Studio Mir, the folks who did season one. I hadn’t been aware of this until after the episode. It sounds like Studio Mir will be doing episodes 10-14 as well. Based on what I saw in these episodes, I’m very happy to hear they’re doing more.

Frustrations: I find myself wondering why we couldn’t have gotten this episode earlier. Tell us that the Harmonic Convergence is coming, and give us that looming deadline to worry about instead of leading us through the meandering storyline we’ve had so far. They did it with TLA and Sozin’s Comet, right? Grr…

Korra’s whole amnesia bit seemed pointless. She could have conveniently washed up on fire sage island without having to have her memories reset. Heck, she could have had an Avatar experience while in the belly of the spirit. (Are they going to explain why the dark spirit conveniently spat her out, or how she ended up at the island?)

Finally, it would have been nice to see some female characters.

Overall Rating: I liked it a lot. It wasn’t perfect, but my expectations had dropped after last week, and this was a pleasant surprise. They crammed an entire show’s worth of story into an hour, and it didn’t feel rushed. I’m quite happy, but nervous for what will come next.

Predictions: I want to see Aye-Aye again. Presumably Unalaq has something to do with the dark spirit Vaatu. The obvious explanation is that he’s working to free Vaatu. A more interesting possibility would be that he’s either working to find a way to destroy — no, to enslave Vaatu. We know Unalaq can spirit-bend. I wonder if he’s hoping to tame and use Vaatu the way Wan joined with Raava. I really hope that Korra will focus on getting the gang back together and prepping for the big convergence throw-down. Beyond that … I think it depends on how many risks the writers are willing to take. They could fundamentally change the nature of their world, depending on what they do with Vaatu and Raava. Ultimately though, I don’t think that’s likely. I’m just happy to be looking forward to what comes next.

Cool Stuff Friday

Happy Friday, all! I’m really, really hoping to have a draft of Unbound I can submit to my editor by the end of this weekend. If I do, I may reward myself by trying to put a costume together for Windycon. Don’t know if I’ll be able to pull it off, but there’s an idea that’s taken hold of my brain…

Amazing and wonderful costumes of New York Comic Con, from Tor.com. I particularly loved the service dog dressed as Captain America.
13 pictures of goats on cliffs. (As usual, don’t read the comments.) I was a little skeptical about this, but I did some digging and verified that at least some–possibly all–of these photos are genuine. And now I’ll be singing “Spider-Goat, Spider-Goat, does whatever a Spider-Goat can” for the rest of the day.
Model maker and photographer Michael Paul Smith’s forced perspective photographs.
Maria Keller, 13-Year-Old Minnesota Girl, Donates 1 Million Books.
This one is totally self-serving, but still cool! Graphic Audio is offering a talking (chirping, really) Smudge with purchase of the goblin trilogy for the rest of October. Or you can order Smudge directly.
100,000 Stars. Basically, a Google Map of the galaxy. Though it won’t give me driving directions to Gamma Draconis
From a few years back: Botanists in Israel grew a tree that’s been extinct for 1500 years, using seeds from 2000 years ago.
Finally, from the Mary Sue, check out this Labyrinth family cosplay:

Fake Writer Girls!

By now, I assume most of you are familiar with the Fake Geek Girl phenomenon, in which women’s geek credentials are repeatedly challenged, because everyone knows girls don’t like geek stuff. (Isn’t that right, Big Bang Theory?) It gets even worse if the woman in question is traditionally attractive, because even if we acknowledge the possibility of the occasional female geek, we all know she has to be ugly and socially maladjusted, right? Fortunately, we have men who tirelessly volunteer their time to challenge and harass these wannabes.

Because do you know what would happen if we let Fake Geek Girls into the inner circle of geekdom? PURE, UNMITIGATED GIRL-COOTIES!

Well let me tell you, Fake Geek Girls have nothing on the Fake Writer Girls. You know the ones I mean. Those women who think they can write stories and books that are just as good and important and serious as the ones written by us men. It’s almost like they don’t even understand that their work is inherently inferior, because GIRLS!

One of the best ways to spot a Fake Writer Girl is by looking for Mary Sues, those unrealistically competent, know-it-all, oh-so-special characters who are the Best at Everything! They’re nothing but silly, estrogen-fueled wish fulfillment fantasies. Like a girl could ever be an active, competent character. Oh, those wacky Fake Writer Girls and their ridiculously super-special heroines. If only they could write realistic, heroic protagonists like Ender Wiggin, James Bond, Eragon, Lazarus Long, Clark Kent, Kvothe Kingkiller, Legolas…

And don’t get me started on how they’re ruining science fiction and fantasy with their romance cooties! Urban fantasy? Paranormal romance? Why don’t they care about the history of our genre? SF/F stories should be about spaceships! and swords! and fighting! and yes, the occasional hooking up, but only when it’s nubile young women throwing themselves at manly protagonists!

It would be nice if these Fake Writer Girls could just stay in the romance section, because we all know romance isn’t a real genre. I mean, sure, romance makes up 55% of all fiction sales, but a real man wouldn’t be caught dead reading that stuff, so it doesn’t count. Besides, ALL ROMANCE NOVELS ARE JUST FORMULAIC, UNIMAGINATIVE HACKWORK! (On a totally unrelated note, I just remembered that I have to write a review of this awesome book I read last week. It’s just like Lord of the Rings, except instead of a ring, it’s a cursed dagger! Brilliantly original stuff.)

You might laugh, but Fake Writer Girls present a real threat to real writers like me, writers who write while also being guys. Just look at this report from VIDA that shows how lady writers are stealing review space from hard-working men! They took 33% of the book reviews in The Atlantic, 36% from Harpers, 26% from the London Review of Books, 19% from the New York Review of Books, and 34% from the New York Times. And they want to take even more review space away from real (i.e., male) authors! Why can’t they be happy getting slightly more than half of the reviews in Romantic Times and leave the rest to us? Why do they have to hurt men’s careers with their Fake Writer Girl Agendas?

Here are just a few known Fake Writer Girls, authors whose work you definitely should not immediately go check out and buy and read and tell all of your friends about.

Please feel free to suggest others in the comments. Because the more you know…

Known Fake Writer Girls

Jaime Lee Moyer – Wrote a perfectly good book about vengeful ghosts, then ruined it with relationships and romance!
Seanan McGuire – Prolific and popular. Stole multiple spots on the NYT Bestsellers List from deserving boy authors.
Nalo Hopkinson – Her first book was Brown Girl in the Ring. Yeah, right. Call me when you write Brown Alpha Male in the Ring, amirite?
Elizabeth Bear – Not only does she sneak relationship-cooties into her work, I’ve even seen her brag about doing it!
Laura Anne Gilman – Sure, she’s been an editor as well as a Nebula-nominated author, but she also wrote some books for Luna. Romance! Fake Writer Girl! Unclean!
Nnedi Okorafor – We all know she’s an award-winning novelist, but she’s also writing a Disney Fairies book. Need I say more?
Kameron Hurley – Not just a fake writer girl, but a militant fake writer girl who actively blogs about girl stuff like sexism in addition to writing books.
Mary Robinette Kowal – Her work has been described as Jane Austen with magic. That’s another dead giveaway right there. And if that’s not enough, she also plays with puppets!
Alethea Kontis – She’s doing fairy tale retellings. Hmph. Fairy tale books are only worth reading if they’re written by a man!
Tansy Rayner Roberts – That’s right, even Australia has Fake Writer Girls!!!
Amal El-Mohtar – Yep, Canada too!
J. V. Jones – Sure, she was writing grimdark fantasy decades ago, but do we really have to mention her when we talk about grimdark fantasy? Can’t we just talk about the men?

Kaleidoscope Guest Post: Chupacabra’s Song

I have a guest post on the Kaleidoscope blog today, talking about “Chupacabra’s Song,” the story I wrote earlier this year about Nicola Pallas, who would go on to become the Midwest Regional Master of the Porters, back when she was teenager.

From my post:

Nicola Pallas didn’t start out autistic. In the first draft of Libriomancer, the character was named Nikos, a weary, arrogant man described as looking ‘like an accountant in his plain suit and tie, gold-rimmed glasses, with thinning black hair.’ He was also neurotypical, which raises the question, Why did I go back and make the character autistic?

There’s another, equally valid question, albeit one I rarely hear. Why did I make the character neurotypical in the first place?

Check it out. And if you’re so inclined, head on over to the Kaleidoscope Fundraising Page. A $15 donation earns earns a Twelfth Planet Ebook and an ebook copy of the Kaleidoscope anthology. You could consider it a pre-order that supports an anthology of diverse YA fantasy.

Legend of Korra: The Sting

Legend of Korra

2 x 6: The Sting

Full episodes available at Nick.com.

Episode Summary (from the Avatar Wiki): When triad activity threatens to put Future Industries out of business, Mako performs an investigation and uncovers a conspiracy.

My Thoughts: Oh, no. You did not just dumb down Lin Beifong for plot convenience! Korra writers, you and I need to have a talk.

The most interesting thing in this episode was Unalaq coming out of the spirit gate. So after a minute of that, we immediately jumped to the world’s most ill-conceived sting operation, in which all of our characters apparently suffer from a -6 penalty to intelligence checks.

Mako (fails INT check): Busting in on an interrogation is a great idea! I’ll totally do that!

Lin Beifong (fails INT check): Apparently I have no control over my department, because reasons! And Mako was a fool for interrupting me, but I’ve also worked with him enough to take him seriously … on second thought, I think I’ll side with the mustache twins, who seem to have a collective IQ of 12, but I keep them around because comic relief is more important than competence.

Bolin (fails INT check): Look at me! I’m a cliche of a self-absorbed actor! (Though his “My instrument!” howl of anguish was funny.)

Mako (fails INT check): I’ve got it, let’s hire criminals! That’s totally in character, and couldn’t possibly end badly!

Writers (fail INT check): You know what this season is missing? Let’s bring back the love triangle!!!

Look, you have twelve episodes this season, and you used this one to reveal Varrick as a bad guy. That’s pretty much it. That’s all you accomplished, aside from jumping various characters through silly plot hoops.

What frustrates me most is what this episode could have been. Imagine if Mako had come to Lin Beifong in private with his suspicions. Imagine her taking taking him seriously, giving us a Mako + Beifong police-themed episode, maybe with Asami and Bolin, all working together to track down leads. We’d get a few battles — maybe even see some metalbending, which was freaking gorgeous in season one and we haven’t seen once in this season.

Imagine them getting closer to the big bad, who starts pushing back. Instead of stealing Asami’s stock, he blows it up when they don’t heed his warnings to back off. Instead of Asami kissing Mako, maybe we see her crying, starting to break, but instead pulling it together and deciding that no matter what else happens, she’s taking this bastard down. Maybe she even breaks out some prototype equipment she has sitting around.

They end up in secret bad guy headquarters, where Zhu Li ambushes them, revealing herself to be a skilled fighter, possibly a bender herself, a kind of secret bodyguard character. Varrick gets away of course, because we’ve got six episodes left, but we also end up with a stronger team of characters who might actually like one another.

It’s really bothering me that we have almost zero teamwork here. With a few exceptions, I don’t like these characters this season. Bolin isn’t funny; he’s obnoxious. Korra’s overreacting, even abusive. Varrick has been rather slimy from day one. And Tenzin and his family are apparently Sirs-Not-Important-To-This-Story.

And that’s before we get into problems like Bolin forcing his unwanted “affections” on Ginger, complete with creepy-rapist dialogue. “So, that kiss! I liked it. And it seemed like you liked it too.” (Thank you Amal El-Mohtar for getting me the actual quote, which I had apparently blocked from my memory.)

I know this franchise is capable of being much more. I hope it gets there soon.

Positive Stuff: I do kind of like seeing Varrick’s propaganda machine. It’s interesting seeing the tactics a non-bender can use to manipulate the world. Asami is officially a badass getaway driver. Korra’s reflexive airbending when she woke up on the shore was nifty. (Someone pointed out that she performs the same move we see Aang do in the opening credits.) And while Mako comes off as a bit uptight, I’m continuing to like his character this season, and I thought his piecing together the detonator clue worked well.

Predictions: I assume we’re going to get more Mako/Bolin drama as Mako works against Varrick and Bolin defends the guy making him famous. We’ll have more romantic triangle tension. And we’ll have amnesiac-Avatar finally getting the chance to be free of the pressure and responsibilities of Avataring, during which time she’ll discover her spiritual side and learn who she’s truly supposed to be.

I hope we’ll soon bring Tenzin et al. back into the story, and discover what’s going on with Unalaq and the spirits. I’d love it if that revelation added some depth to him and his family, one way or another. And one way or another, I want to see Asami (with Mako’s help) bring Varrick down. Don’t know if it will happen that way, but I can hope, right?

Picking Winners

I had two winners to pick, one for the giveaway for people who donated to help Eugie Foster fight cancer, and one for the cover reveal post over on io9 where we asked people to caption the cover of The Goblin Master’s Grimoire.

[image error]The captions at io9 were a lot of fun. Some of my favorites:

“I’ve heard of handbooks, but this is ridiculous!” -Doxx
“Not in the face!” -bewareofgeek (A very in-character comment for Jig.)


“IT’S OVERDUE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” -A Wild Comment Appears

And the winner is:

“Klaatu Barada N… Necktie… Neckturn… Nickel… It’s an “N” word, it’s definitely an N word! Klaatu… Barada… N…[coughs] [pause] Okay then… that’s it.” -LongCorpse

Because I’m a geek who appreciates a well-placed Army of Darkness quote.

I also very much wanted to thank everyone for supporting Eugie. (You can still help – details are here.) I picked a winner at random from everyone who commented or emailed me.

I’ve contacted both winners.

That is all. Thank you, and please carry on with your normal Sunday activities.