Donald B. McFarlane's Blog, page 11

Iceland

Some pictures from a recent trip to Iceland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st Book III Amazon Review

“Having read these first three episodes, I am ready to offer a review.

The storyline is very well conceived. The characters are well fleshed out with none of the weaknesses common to too many hard science novels. The plot is very easy to follow yet without obvious connections. This story could go on for many enjoyable episodes. The only consistent flaw is the lack of a thorough professional editing job. There are wrong words, misspellings and numerous grammatical errors that detract from the experience. But these flaws are minor given the many strengths of the story. It is thoroughly enjoyable. I can’t wait for the next chapter.”

 

Always appreciate feedback. I’ve recently re-edited books I-III, so hopefully the issues regarding typos etc. have been addressed.

 

Tracking

One of the biggest issues with writing a series is tracking all the data: characters, locations, space-ships, the endless stuff that you must remember. As of today, the Earth Saga is looking at 318 scenes, 96 characters of interest, and 43 planets mentioned or visited. It’s a lot to keep track of.

 

(These notebooks help with keeping things straight. Notes for each novel go into a separate book, whenever the need presents itself.)

 

(This lovely chart tracks the story. It started way back in book I, and even has a few entries for books VI, VII, VIII, and IX. The primary information on this list include what chapter I’m working on, what is going on in the scene, and then location, and finally the date.)

 

(Tracking characters is very important when doing a series. Who is still alive, and who might have disappeared but will reappear in another book? Black means they’re out of the picture in that book, while green means they’ll make an appearance. The far-right information lists the species and any critical particulars about the character. The information on the left is colour-coded for humans, friendly aliens, enemy aliens, and those we won’t be seeing again.)

 

(Various planets are visited throughout the Earth Saga. Green are friendly, red hostile, and grey unoccupied. Distance from Earth is among the data tracked for this page.)

 

This is just one of the necessary evils of writing a series. It is getting slightly more difficult and frustrating to track people, places and things as the series continues, but I think that the more depth in characters and locations, the better the story.

 

Numbers

I suppose it’s clear to anyone in business that the first thing you need is a product. After that you’ve got to get it to market. Now assuming your product is worth putting it on the market, the first question to ask is how. That’s the struggle I’m dealing with as the solo writer who is without an agent or decent contacts.

 

I’ve been tracking how many books I’ve sold since Minus Epsilon went live in December 2013, and when you break it down to sales per month, it makes for sober reading:

 

Minus Epsilon: 1157 days (roughly)—130 books sold—8.9 days between a sale

 

Defiant Order: 580 days (roughly)—64 books sold—9.06 days between a sale

 

Horizons: 427 days (roughly)—36 books sold—1.86 days between a sale

 

Remnants of Empire: 152 days (roughly)—18 books sold—8.4 days between a sale

 

It’s enough to drive a man insane. At least the trend is drifting in the right direction with book IV!

 

Now, part of the problem is the lack of advertising or marketing on my part. Sure, it needs to be done, but it needs to be done properly. As we speak I’m on stand-by, waiting for a friend to help me launch the most awesome advertising campaign of 2017. It’s the waiting part that isn’t fun.

 

I suppose when you’re an artist, or struggling writer, people ask how you’re getting on and occasionally offer help. Well after 3 years the only help I’ve received is obvious advice (get an agent), and tech support. Hell, I wouldn’t be where I am now without tech support.

 

Do I need an agent, quite possibly, but that isn’t the focus of 2017. This is the year of the Facebook Ad campaign, whenever that takes off. It’ll be glorious!

 

All I can do right now is to keep trucking with book V and the spin-off. Perhaps things will pick-up, or a contact will finally come through with a real lead on something. Perhaps.

 

Can’t hold our breath.

 

Anyway, dear readers, you heard it here first, off the record, on the QT and very hush-hush.

 

PS: If my arithmetic is off, sorry. I hate maths.

2017

Not much of one for resolutions. With that in mind there are some clear objectives I’ve laid out for 2017. The two literary related targets are the completion and publishing of Book V: Condition Zero and Standish. I’m aiming for 120,000 words for Condition Zero, and roughly 90k for Standish. We’ll see where those land. Time allocation wise, I’m giving myself more time each day to work on Standish, get that out of the way while chipping away at Book V.

I suppose one measure I’ve taken for 2017 is to work out a stricter use of my time. X amount of time in the morning for Book V, then Y amount in the afternoon for Standish. Writing two novels at one time is not easy, but I find it more challenging to take time off from one and then attempt to reengage than tackling two at the same time. Since both novels operate in the same universe, albeit decades apart on my time-line, there is overlap in possible locations, factions, organisations etc.

One key area I’m trying to keep in focus is maintaining a sense of realism with Book V. While I recognise that we have yet to make contact with aliens, I believe that too many sci-fi novels and films don’t depict what a hostile encounter with them would actually be like, with the exception of Battlefield Earth, which we won’t mention again. Many alien encounter films show humanity emerging victorious, which is just plain silly. If aliens can travel lightyears to reach Earth, they have more than enough technology to defeat humanity without much of a struggle. Everyone says Cortes and the Aztecs. Check out Pizarro and what he did to the Incas. Now there is an example of what would happen if ET showed up and was not friendly.

Another area I’m working on is the introduction of more minority characters into the Earth Saga. I’m running low on characters of colour. Totally my fault. This will be corrected.

2017 is also going to be the year I knuckle down and conduct some kind of coordinated marketing/advertising campaign. This has been sorely lacking since I published Minus Epsilon in late 2013. I trust this will include, but not be limited to, Facebook advertising and better use of social media. Time will tell.

Off to Sadler’s Wells tonight for a dance production. I suppose culture is always good for the creative juices. One of the benefits of living in London.

Time to get back to the creative salt mines. These books won’t write themselves.

Lex

‘Lex’

 

 

It was raining.

It was always fucking raining at this time of the year in Sector 83.

Fuck.

It wasn’t enough that Lex had to travel down from Sector 7 every day before his shift. Nope. It was the rain that really got to him. Toxic rain coming off the Black Atlantic. Spend too long outside and your skin would start to show the effects of the fine radioactive particles in every drop. Even the kit he wore was showing signs of exposure. Lex’s Lawmaster bike only lasted him his first four months on the street before it had to be replaced.

It seemed that the rain never stopped sometimes. Someone at the station house had told him he’d get used to it. That worried him.

Every time a drop of rain hit his armour a little sizzling sound could be heard. The slow death of the once pristine kit, just like everything and everyone else in this dump. You could always tell who wasn’t from 83 just by looking at their face and clothing. Then again, it was rare to get visitors to 83.

Lex was still a rookie Judge, and as such he was assigned, like the bulk of Mega City One’s judges to the Street Division. It wasn’t glamourous, and the pay didn’t stretch far enough, but it was work he enjoyed, and it kept a room over his head, and gave him a purpose in life.

Looking up to the grey sky, Lex couldn’t help but wonder how much longer he’d be stuck in such a backwater sector. He hadn’t scored well enough in his class at the academy to land a spot in one of the more elite divisions of the force, or even a better sector to launch his career, but he had passed-out, and that was what mattered at the end of the day. That and surviving his first quarter on the street. Of the nearly 500 graduates of the class of 2080, he was one of 325 that were still alive going into their fifth month on the street.

“Lex!”

The rookie dropped his head and looked over at his partner, supervisor, and mentor Judge Sarah Alesberg. At a full six feet tall, Alesberg had an inch on Lex, and was built just as powerfully.

“Sir!”

“Keep your fucking head in the game.”

The rain continued to fall as the duo inched along the grey concrete exterior of a featureless building, one of hundreds like it in Sector 83.

83 had only two mega-blocks, the massive one-story plus buildings that dotted Mega-City One, while the rest of the city was made up of structures ranging from single story to five, all build after the Atomic Wars, and almost all of them covered in graffiti and heavily scarred from the rains. Alesberg herself was showing signs of exposure, perhaps that’s why she never asked for a transfer out. Rumour at the station house was that when she had arrived in the sector as a rookie she was an attractive woman, now she was scarred, just like the locals. Perhaps that’s why she kept turning down promotions and offers to transfer out. She was the most decorated Judge in the sector, by a long way. She could have been running a sector by now, but instead she hid in plain sight. In Sector 83.

 

It wasn’t often that a concerned citizen called the Judge’s to complain about a matter of law and order in this sector. That kind of shit would get you killed in a place like this. But a call had come into the sector house about a drug manufacturing operation being run out of the shithole building that Alesberg and Lex were currently stacked up outside.

There weren’t any sentries posted. No cameras and no dogs. Low tech thugs operating in this part of town probably couldn’t afford such luxuries, because if they were making any real profit, they’d have had security in place. That or they were just sloppy.

The sector house had sent a drone into the area for an initial reconnaissance, and only one entrance to the structure had been discovered. There might have been other ways into the building, but if there were, they weren’t visible to the Judges.

 

“Door.” Alesberg said in a low voice.

Lex brought his head around and looked past his mentor and confirmed. “Door.”

“Sweep left upon entry.” She ordered.

“Left.” He repeated.

“Moving.”

In his four months on the street, Lex had passed through many doors in a similar manner. Alesberg would lead and take one section of the first room they entered, he’d take the rest. They had been met with gunfire on several occasions. Some of it very accurate and Lex was certain that on at least two occasions the duo had been lucky to escape with their lives.

Alesberg pushed the door open without trouble. The lock was either not engaged, or the door had been left unsecured. Either way she disappeared into the building and out of Lex’s view for a split second before he followed her inside, out of the stinging rain, and into a dimly lit entrance hall.

There was a thin mist hanging around the ceiling, and the walls were covered in graffiti like the exterior of the building. There was trash littering the ground and it was obvious to Lex that this entrance was almost never used.

The space itself was ten yards wide, and fifteen deep. The exposed concrete blocks that lined the walls had a rough look, an unfinished look. At the opposite end of the room from the door they had passed through was a thick black curtain hanging from a bar that had once been the top of a doorway. From Lex’s position, it looked to be made of a heavy plastic, but he wasn’t certain.

Looking to his right, he watched as Judge Alesberg took her time to look over every inch of the room. Looking for clues or dangers, just like he had been taught in the academy. When her sweep was finished, she looked over to Lex.

“We’re going to move up to that curtain. You stay left. Silently.” She emphasised that last word.

Lex just nodded.

Alesberg stepped off first, slowly. She took deliberate steps. She also made an effort not to step on anything other than the floor beneath her feet.

Lex wasn’t sure if Alesberg thought that the room was booby-trapped, but he took her lead, and gingerly placed his foot down with each step.

Three and a half minutes later the pair was ready to rush through the curtain which was made of a heavy-duty plastic, but was not attached to anything other than the top frame of what had once been a doorway.

Lex could hear voices on the other side of the curtain, but they were distant. He knew from the initial drone reconnaissance that the building was fifty yards deep, which meant it was 35 yards to the far wall.

“Stand-by.” Alesberg ordered.

Taking her left hand down from her pistol, Alesberg opened a pouch on her utility belt and pulled out a small grey metal looking ball and knelt down.

“Get ready.” She took a final glance up at Lex before bringing her arm back and rolling the orb under the curtain with great force, before springing back to a standing position.

Alesberg looked down at her left forearm at an image that Lex couldn’t see, but he knew what she was waiting for: a count on the number of humans on the other side of the curtain. The orb could detect all living organisms within a one-hundred-yard radius, critical information for any breach.

It didn’t take long for the results to come in: 12.

“Sweep left and keep moving forward.”

“Sir.” Lex tightened his grip on his pistol before tilting it slightly to the side to make sure the weapon was on ‘standard’ fire mode, and he wasn’t about to fire off an incendiary round. He’d made that mistake before, and he wasn’t about to make it again.

“Move.”

Lex was through the curtain half a second after Alesberg, by which time they were already taking fire. It wasn’t accurate, but enough to send him ducking forward into a roll that brought him to a knelling position behind a large concrete support column. Shifting to his right, he brought his pistol to bear on the end of the room in time to see two men down, weapons next to them, Alesberg halfway across the room.

“Lex!”

The rookie sprung to his feet, and ran forward twenty yards to a position just to the left and front of Alesberg and quickly took in the scene. Two dead gunmen, both dropped with single shots to the head. Eight male and female workers in aprons squatting or kneeling with their hands raised and looking scared out of their minds, and then a man and a woman, both wearing jeans, grey tank-tops and covered in lots of ink standing defiantly against the backwall with their hands in the air.

“Lex.”

He glanced over at Alesberg. She holstered her pistol and bent down and picked up the two weapons that the dead men had dropped and quickly emptied the weapons of their ammunition before rendering the weapons inoperable, and then dropping them back to the ground.

“Evaluate.” She said in her normal speaking voice, which was elegant and refined, and hinted at a background of higher education.

Lex dropped his gaze from the two standing individuals and looked around the room. Six tables were set up nearby. Four had laboratory kits on them. It was clear that a ‘cook’ was in progress. The fumes in the air stank. Health and safety procedures were clearly not in place. The remaining two tables were littered with an assortment of weapons, packed drugs, and cash laying on them in a very haphazard manner.

“Manufacture of controlled substances. Illegal possession of firearms. Resisting arrest.” Lex said with confidence before turning his attention towards the two standing individuals. Taking a few steps towards them, Lex got a better look at their ink, before turning to Alesberg. “Membership in illegal street-gang.”

Alesberg nodded. “Good.”

Lex took a few steps back towards Alesberg, his pistol still trained on the two tattooed suspects, neither of whom had spoken yet. “Sir?”

Alesberg took in a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. She looked down at the eight workers that were cowering on the ground. The oldest was not even out of his teens. “Get me scans on them.” She pointed down to the workers.

Lex nodded, and pulled out a data-reader off his hip and moved towards the workers and methodically took finger and retina scans, plus photographs of all eight workers, all the while keeping his pistol trained on the two bosses that hadn’t moved or said a word yet.

“Done.” Lex reported.

“Good.” Alesberg looked over at the cash on the nearby table and walked over to it and poked the large stack of cash with her left forefinger. Her right hand resting on her pistol grip. Turning towards the closest worker, she pointed. “You.”

Lex looked at the kid that Alesberg had pointed to. A mixed-race youth of maybe ten.

“Come here.”

The kid looked at his bosses, then over to Alesberg, then to Lex. A look of fear on his face.

Alesberg knew that the kid was scared. Who wouldn’t be?

“It’s okay.” Alesberg said quietly, and without hesitation pulled her pistol and shot the male in the grey tank-top in the chest, and then holstered her pistol like lightening. “They won’t hurt you.”

Lex snapped his head around just in time to see the male grab at his chest before crumpling to the ground.

“All of you, come over here.” Alesberg said to the eight kids. There was hesitation for a moment before the youngest, a girl, got up and walked over to the table Alesberg was standing next to. “Fill your pockets.” Alesberg pointed towards the cash.

The girl hesitated for a second, and even glanced over at the female boss who was standing next to her dead partner, a look of fear on her face, before looking back down at the cash. A final look up at Alesberg, and then she grabbed at the loose credits, shoving them by the fist-full into her pockets.

“All of you, do the same.” Alesberg ordered.

Walking away from the table, Judge Alesberg started walking towards the female gang member. “On your knees.”

The woman didn’t move.

“Lex. Get that bitch on her knees.” Alesberg ordered.

Lex moved forward, and did as he was told.

“Children.” Alesberg stopped behind the woman. “This is what happens when you break the law.”

A single gunshot rang-out, and the female boss slumped forward, dead. “Take that money, and get out of here, and let me never see you again.” Alesberg stepped over the dead woman’s body and started to stride back towards the table.

The children paused for a moment, taking a final look at their former employers, and then took off towards a set of stairs in the corner of the room.

“Meat wagon, Lex.” Alesberg ordered.

Lex made the call as his superior walked back towards the table with the drugs, weapons and money.

“You know what Mega-City is, don’t you Lex?” Alesberg asked, taking off her helmet and setting it down on the table. “It’s a meat grinder. People go in one end, and meat comes out the other. All we do is turn the handle.” She let out a laugh. Reaching down she picked up a neatly bundled block of cash. “Hold onto this.” She tossed it towards Lex. “There are a few things I still have to teach you.”

Lex caught the block of cash. It was wrapped in plastic with a number printed on the front: 5,000. That was more money than he or Alesberg would make this month, put together.

Alesberg turned around, and rested her rear on the table before pulling out a cigar from her breast pocket. She stuck the tobacco in her mouth before pulling out a silver lighter from her hip pocket. Lighting the cigar, she took a few quick puffs before looking through the smoke towards Lex. “I think it’s time we take your education to the next level.” She took a few more tugs off the tightly wrapped cigar. “I’ve still got a few things to teach you.” A smile creeping onto her face.

Looking towards Alesberg, a smile started to creep over Lex’s face. The weight of the cash in his hand felt good. The expensive cigar smoke that wafted about him smelled delicious, and the blood that was racing through his veins sent a warm rush along his skin. Lex looked around him at the four deceased criminals that Alesberg had taken-out, then back at his superior with a giant grin on his face just as a sense of power start to come over him. It was one of the best feelings he had ever experienced.

Lex looked down at the cash in his left hand, and righted himself, finally holstering his pistol. Looking towards the black plastic curtain they had come through only a few minutes earlier, he could hear approaching sirens in the distance.

I’m a huge fan of the Karl Urban ‘Dredd’ film that came out in 2012. Good story, excellent action. It’s a really fun piece of sci-fi storytelling. I’ve been off wordsmithing for a bit and wanted to get back into the swing of things gradually, so I thought I’d just knock-up a quick story offering a bit of backstory on Lex, the villainous Judge who comes to Ma-Ma’s aid. How did Lex become the Judge he is in the film? I’ve tried to offer a bit of an answer to that question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Valencia

 

 

Jetted off to Valencia for New Year’s. Here are some pictures. Good location for a 2/3 day visit.

 

Day 1:

 

(Looking towards Las Arenas Beach.)

 

(Perhaps I shouldn’t be wearing brown suede semi-brouges on the beach, but needs must.)

(On the beach.)

(I think my interest in architecture comes from my father, an architect. Naturally.)

 

(Museo de las Ciencias.)

(Fly-over in the middle of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Cinecias.)

(Amazing futuristic architecture. Great for the creative jucies.)

(Palau de les Arts)

Day 2:

 

(Lower ground floor of the Mercado de Colon.)

(Placa de Bous de Valencia.)

(Estacion del Norte.)

(Trying to look casual.)

(Correos. Post Office.)

(Ayuntamiento. Town Hall.)

(Forecout of the Biblioteca Publica Provincial. Library.)

(Inside.)

(Exterior of the library.)

(Torres de Quart.)

(Impressive stairs.)

(On the roof.)

(Skyline.)

(Robot Love.)

(Warm enough for this look.)

(Lots of Sci-Fi theamed art.)

(Haircut in preparation of global warming?)

(Love this mecha image.)

(Hipster-Zombie.)

 

(Torres de Serranos.)

(Centro Comercial Aqua. I swear I saw a Taco Bell here.)

Day 3:

(Mercado Central.)

(Inside.)

(Amazing options on offer, even by London standards it was very impressive.)

(When I buy my chicken, I always want the head attached.)

(Esglesia dels Sants Joans.)

(Street of Centro Historico.)

(Paella Valencia containing chicken, rabbit, artichoke & rice inside El Forcat on Calle Roeros.)

(Mi amor.)

(Love those blue bottles.)

(Good example of old town architecture.)

(Walking up Calle Cadiz.)

(Crossing a near empty Gran Via Germanias on New Year’s Eve.)

(Found this amazing asian fusion place. Best food we had in Valencia.)

(I’ve seen this before.)

 

(Town hall less than an hour before New Year’s.)

 

(Smuggling beer past the cops was too easy.)

(Party over. Time to hit the sack then head to the aeroporto in a few.)

British Airways: The Beginning of the End?

British Airways: The Beginning of the End?

(Heathrow T5.)

I have been a supporter of British Airways since I was old enough to book my own tickets, and I was especially proud of the airline because like myself, it is British. Now, as we enter the dawn of 2017 I fear that my love affair with this airline is coming to a painful end. In the last 30 days, I flew with BA to Warsaw, Atlanta (return via Miami) and Valencia. These trips were illuminating, and cast doubt in my mind as to the future of my relationship with this once iconic brand.

(A380 at Heathrow.)

Where to start? It doesn’t help that the man at the helm of BA, Alex Cruz, has a background with Clickair and Vueling airlines. Both low cost carriers. It seems that Mr Cruz, a Spaniard, plans to take BA in the direction as those airlines, cut-rate budget. Measures are already in place to charge passengers for baggage, and on the 11th of January passengers flying Euro Traveller (Coach) will be required to purchase Marks and Spencer’s meals on board flights. This tactic reeks of cheap, thrifty service, and will undoubtedly slow the time it takes to service the cabin.

(Excellent Flight-Crew chowing down in the rear of a 777.)

On my recent flight back from Valencia I was presented a sandwich for lunch, and then asked to put all my rubbish into a tiny plastic bag supplied with the meal. While I understand that this may be convenient for flight crew it is another sign that BA is heading in the wrong direction. You can always tell what kind of restaurant you’re in when you have to bus your own tray, and it’s usually a fast-food joint. I hope that is not what BA is aspiring towards.

(I’ve had worse.)

(Really?)

To quote a flight attendant on a recent flight: “BA is in between Delta and Singapore and it can’t be both. The problem is that it’s moving towards Delta, and that isn’t good.” The same attendant even expressed fears that the airline is moving to inevitable parity with Ryan Air. Shocking. It’s quite clear that Mr Cruz wants more butts in seats, regardless of the cost to the brand.

(World Traveller on a Boeing 777. Exit Row.)

Skytrax, the international airlines rating agency, currently ranks British Airways with 4 out of 5 stars. Its customer reviews are not so sparkling.

 

Food & Beverage- 3/5

Inflight Entertainment- 3/5

Seat Comfort- 3/5

Staff Service- 3/5

Value for Money- 3/5

I see a dangerous trend. Going down.

(Subtle.)

There are clear indications while on-board the flights thatservice is getting lower, and we should all be concerned where this will end. When you have passengers asking for blankets and they are told that they are not available any longer, and people on trans-Atlantic flights asking for a pack of peanuts and being offered the opportunity to purchase a bag of M&Ms while they kept serving me an endless supply of cold beers gratis, there are serious issues at hand. Don’t even get me started on the M&S meals that passengers will be forced to pay for starting this month. Deplorable.

(They ran out of Heineken.)

Then there’s the baggage debacle. Taking a page from Easy Jet or some crappy American airline, it seems that fees are now being applied to checked baggage. Thus, passengers are trying to drag a silly number and size of bag onto the aircraft. Boarding has become a mad dash for over-head storage space, and those that board first are forced to watch their possessions get squashed by their fellow air traveller as they try and shove their cheap luggage into the over-head bins.

(Angels three-four.)

One area that I believe has yet to suffer from the free-fall drop in standards are the crew. The men and women that make up the cabin crew are still lovely and engaging. BUT! There is trouble in the rear of the plane. There are three types of crew on BA. I’ve asked the crews on all three of my recent flights about this and it’s hard to nail down exactly how the system works, but it seems that some crews are on better rates and contracts, and some of these crew recently threatened strike action over Christmas and Boxing Day.

(Keeping the plebs out.)

If things continue to deteriorate on their current trajectory, there is a good chance that Mr Cruz will continue to pinch £, and as a result, the cabin crews will suffer even more, and then they’ll leave. Simple as that.

(Rear stairs on an A380)

Then there are problems behind the scenes. The BA app works well sometimes, and other times it doesn’t. Change seat during on-line check-in, maybe. Ring to inquire, maybe that fixes things. Print boarding passes at home? Maybe. A total lack of consistency seems to have infected the pre-flight processes. It also seems that the only way to get a response from BA is to send them an angry tweet. Truly we’re in the 21st century.

(I am not a happy camper.)

Where does it all end? I don’t know. Things look grim. Services are being eroded and I was told by another flight attendant that some aircraft are having a toilet removed to make room for more seats. Not good.

(The correct footwear is essential for a long-haul flight.)

My mother tells me about flying in the 60s when all ladies wore stockings and gentlemen wore suits. Now flying has turned into some version of the National Express at 34,000 feet. The passengers dress like they’re going to the gym and have little regard for their fellow traveller all the while British Airways tries to tighten the purse-strings and find ways to offer a lower service at the same price, but with less bells and whistles attached. It’s clear that tourists of the future will be faced with two very distinct choices: fly an airline run out of the Middle East or Asia, or deal with the decline and fall of ‘Western’ airlines. Years ago I made up my mind to stop flying US airlines, now it looks like I may be forced to abandon British Airways. It’s a sad day for a once great airline which was run by the government of the United Kingdom until 1987. Perhaps it’s time for our nation to reclaim this brand and restore it to its former glory. Oh, and might as well include the railways at the same time.

(Lights out.)

It’s 2017, but are we moving forward towards a brighter future? Not with British Airways, tragically.

Rogue One

 

Ladies and gentleman, I have finally found a Star Wars film worth the price of admission. I was -3, 0 and 3 when the original trilogy came out, and when the prequels arrived in 1999 in the form of the Phantom Menace my friends Asa, Nick, Zach, and I were very excited to finally see a new Star Wars film in the cinema. Well that film and the two disasters that followed put a poor taste in my mouth for the years since. There was a bright spot when I discovered the Clone Wars animated series on Netflix. It was well done, fun, and action packed. It breathed fresh hope into the Star Wars franchise, at least in my mind, so when Force Awakens hit theatres in 2015, I was pumped and excited. Well that was a let-down of galactic proportions. The Force Awakens sucked even harder than I could have possibly imagined, so when Rogue One came onto my radar I was excited, and cautious with scepticism at the same time.

Well let me put all your fears to rest: this is a fun, entertaining movie that makes almost all the right moves. Perfect, no, but enjoyable enough that the morning after, I’d go see it again today without a second thought.

There won’t be any spoilers in this review, so read ahead without fear, for this review will be brief, and to the point.

Rogue One, as we should all know, takes place just before A New Hope. Princess Leia’s ship is attacked by the dreaded Lord Vader. She has received stole information and smuggles it into R2-D2 and sends him and C3PO off to find Obi Wan Kenobi. We know what happens next.

Well the film that results in the eventual destruction of the Death Star has been very well cast. To give nothing away, I’ll be vague. Rogue One did a nice job of bringing together a colourful cast of actors, some more seasoned to add gravitas, some non-native English speakers to give it a more global vibe, which is a good thing, and some non-human characters that really add to the mix. One character, who will go nameless, steals almost all best lines, and adds a bit of brightness and humour to this otherwise dark film.

If you pay close attention there will be plenty of micro-cameos from the rest of the Star Wars universe that will make you say, ‘I know that dude.’

I must make one slight spoiler here: there are two cameos that are done in CGI that are so poorly executed you wonder if they were added in once the films budget was spent. I’m talking about CGI on a level that should be an embarrassment to the people at Disney. I might be picky, but I found the results unacceptable. Not enough to ruin the film, but enough of a talking point that the music producer sat next to me raised it with ire after the lights went up.

Rogue One takes us on a trip around the Galactic Empire, exploring new worlds, some of which are breathtakingly gorgeous, as we follow the heroes on their quest to steal the plans for the Death Star. We also visit some classic locations that will make any fan happy. Some of these locations make you ask what insane architect would have dared build them, but I think that adds to the wonder of the Star Wars Universe. It also makes you ask how do all those small shuttles and fighters fly around the galaxy with such ease? Either they don’t need much fuel to travel, or the distances are not that great. The geek in me wonders about that issue, a lot.

This film also packs some good action. Blaster battles, hand-to-hand combat, and some action above the ground add to the ‘war-film’ vibe that was used to describe the movie. It’s well done and gets the heart racing at a few critical points. We know what happens: The Death Star gets blown into small pieces by Luke Skywalker, but there is still enough action and drama and moments of doubt that linger for our heroes.

I’ve been talking with a good friend about this film before its release. The expectations about what needs to happen to make this a Star Wars film for the 21st century in the guise of Black Hawk Down and the Magnificent Seven: our heroes fighting against the odds. I believe that the writers and director delivered a solid, action packed product that makes the right turns at the right moments and gives audiences something they deserve.

Episode VIII has much higher expectations after this, or perhaps I should keep my expectations in check for the future spin-offs: Han Solo and Boba Fett.

3.5/5

See it.

Warsaw

Why Warsaw? Three reasons: never been, why the hell not, and most importantly it was cheap.

 

 

A must have.

 

I find with BA you’re guaranteed a level of service. Unfortunately, it seems that passengers will have to pay for their meals come next year. Very uncivilized. I’d prefer a hike in ticket prices.

 

Heathrow T3.

 

I watched Sully too recently.

 

On the ground.

 

After a quick ride to the Hotel, a quick shower, I was out the door, map in hand. I was staying at the Regent, which is not ideally located. A little bit too far south for easy access into central Warsaw by foot. Cant’s recall where I spotted this electric peacock. Ended up on Nowy Swiat and ate some delicious perogies.

 

Oh, happened to walk by Ronnie.

 

Jumped on the Metro to get back to the hotel. Fairly simple system. Two lines, piece of cake for anyone used to The Tube.

 

Back in the hotel. Destination drunk.

 

When in Rome, or Warsaw in this case. Vodka.

 

Map recce for day 2.

 

Anyone who knows me and has visited London knows that I like to walk. Always the best way to see a city. I decided to jump into a cab and head north from the hotel to Most Gdanski bridge. A double-decker bridge over the Vistula. This is a shot looking south on the west bank.

 

Cars on the top level, trams below.

 

Tram. This one is modern. There are plenty of Cold War looking trams running around.

 

Soviet vibes.

 

Walking south on the east bank through a park next to the river.

 

Shot looking north from Most Slasko Dabrowski bridge. Very little river traffic. I only saw a single boat.

 

Royal Castle.

 

Again. On the interior court.

 

Old town. One of the few parts of the town not destroyed during WW2.

 

85% of Warsaw was destroyed during the Second World War.

 

Waiting for my KGB contact.

 

Old Town.

 

Old Town.

 

Old Town.

 

Mid-day ceremony at the Presidental Palace.

 

Presidental Palace.

 

Old Town.

 

Walking south along Krakowskie Przedmiescie.

Again.

 

It seems they haven’t done away with the dreaded Bendy-Bus in Warsaw yet. Their non-Bendy-Bus is also really long.

 

Metro enterance I used last night.

 

Architecture.

 

Reminds me a bit of post-war London council estate design.

 

Palace of Science and Culture. Built in 1955, it has 42 floors and over 3200 rooms. Love it.

Lunch. Meat and steamed veggies. Uber Polish. Yummy.

 

View from the observation deck on level 30.

 

Warsaw.

 

Warsaw.

 

Hard to get selfies without a travel buddy.

 

Cute.

 

National Museum.

 

A true classic outside the Polish Army Museum. This tank is a major reason the Allies won WW2.

 

SCUD, I think.

 

MIG 29.

 

The road less travelled.

 

Walking back to the hotel.

 

Palace on an Island.

 

I found a real peacock!

 

Palace.

 

Again.

 

Ditto.

 

No idea.

 

Polish take on the steak tartar. Lovely. Last meal in Warsaw. The next morning I was off to the airport, and back to London.

 

I suppose a large reason I took a two-night run to Warsaw was to joggle the creative juices. I was probably suffering from sensory deprivation having bene locked in London for too long. Of course, London will give you more to do than anywhere else on the planet, but sometimes you need a change of pace. Warsaw was the cheap option. It was a quick flight from the UK, and offered me my first glimpse of snow in several years.

 

Right now, I’m trying to write two novels simultaneously, this is no easy task. Perhaps the mind just needed a little shift to get things back on track.

 

One thing that this little jaunt did reinforce is that Europe is an amazing place to be. You can board a plane and immerse yourself in an entirely foreign culture in no time at all.

 

Anyway. Back to the salt-mines. Wordsmithing, here we come.