Jared Shurin's Blog, page 25
January 16, 2017
"Dream Sequences and Dream Worlds" by Oliver Langmead
For a guy who's just about to have a book about dreams published, you might be surprised to learn that I'm not a great fan of dream sequences.
A lot of the time, they feel a bit unnecessary; one of the weaker parts of the narrative they're trying to enhance. Usually, it's the attempt at adding depth by using a combination of psychoanalytic metaphor and (more often than not) prophetic foresight which seems to fall a bit flat (with cunningly crafted exceptions, of course take Twin Peaks, for e...
January 13, 2017
Jyn, Rey and The Star Wars Experience
As with all great debates, this began in Forbidden Plane as a discussion about which Funko Pop! figure Jared should buy for his desk at work. We take Funkos very seriously here (an discussion for another day), and, before we knew it, a simple Rey/Jyn decision had spiralled out of control.
Also, contains spoilers for Rogue One, The Force Awakens and, in case you're Kimmy Schmidt, the original trilogy.
---
Jared: I like Jyn for a lot of reasons. She's a do-er, she's flawed, she's talented, sh...
January 11, 2017
Radio Drama: "They Bite" (1982)
"They Bite" first aired in 1982 on Nightfall.
Thoughts Before Listening
Why am I listening to another episode from Nightfall? Is it because Donald Trump is now the king of America and my countrys 500 and 1000 rupee notes have become demonetised? Is it because Tila Tequila is a Nazi now? Is it because Delhi was declared the most polluted city in the world because like we keep telling everyone, India is the best at everything? Is it because all the things are now bananabonkers? The answer obv...
January 10, 2017
We're looking for... Small Presses and Book Reviewers
We're restarting ourseries of small press interviews. The last batch was around 18 months ago, and we're keen to support the UK's amazing small press scene.
If you're a small publisher, please get in touch at editor@pornokitsch.com,we'd love to profile you and hear about your books. Our primary purpose is to showcase British presses, but we're happy to hear about publishers from anywhere in the world. Don't be shy!
On a similar note: if you are a blogger or reviewer, please leave your details...
January 9, 2017
A Planet for Texans and The School for Good and Evil
Lone Star Planet (A Planet for Texans) by H. Beam Piper(1958) has been skulking on my shelf for ages, and, I'm pleased to say, there's (slightly) more to it than just a goofy cover. In the far future, the entire population of Texas has picked up to go settle a frontier planet - they're keen to get away from the rules and regulations and gov'mints and such. Our hero, the plucky ambassador from the Solar League, has been tasked to woo them back. There's an alien invasion on the horizon and Ne...
January 6, 2017
Two Dozen 'Five Star' Comics
I use Goodreads weird (bear with me, this is going somewhere, eventually). Ilike the site as a way of tracking my reading... and that's it. I don'tuse it to track 'want to reads', I don't use it to discover new books, and I never, ever use it toshare reviews.
And to double-weird it: I don't rate books.Except, as a visual shorthand, if I think'this book is interesting, and I'd like to talk about it', I'll slap five stars on it.That makes it easy to sort, and leaps out when it is buried in a l...
January 2, 2017
Wargames for Girls? (1964)
Recently, I found the archives of the Avalon Hill General, easily one of the most important publications when it came to the formation of modern wargaming.
Published by Avalon Hill, and devoted to their military games, it helped to link the many, many tiny cells of wargamers around the country.
As well as rules discussion, hints, tips and challenges, the General containedregionaleditors (fan volunteers), an index of local players and 'want ads' for play by mail games. From a pure marketing st...
December 30, 2016
Review round-up: The SPFBO Finalists (Part 3 and Wrap-Up)
The third and final batch o' SPFBO reviews: three books and a bit of wrap-up thunkery at the end.
You can read the first clump here and the second clump here and follow all the scoring from all the judges here.
The Music Box Girl by K.A. Stewart
The gender-swapped steampunk Phantom of the Opera that you never knew you wanted! Stewart's story takes place in a shiny alt-history Detroit, complete with steam-powered robot servitors, mechanical glories and, of course, airships.
The Music Box Girl...
December 23, 2016
Rogue One: Darth Vader is a Scary Dude
There are two things I need you to understand here.
The first is there are many varieties of Star Wars fans, and Im of the sort whose love for the whole thing is rooted solely to the original trilogy. I never got a proper introduction to the Expanded Universe, I havent read any of the new books or comics, and I remember the prequels with the clarity of a fever dream. Ive seen maybe three episodes of The Clone Wars, which I wouldve adored as a kid but didnt grab me as an adult. Ive played the...
December 21, 2016
Villain of the Month: Hans Gruber
In the evolution of the blockbuster action movie, its hard to overstate the importance of 1988s Die Hard.
Though unmistakably a product of its time, it represented a significant departure from its contemporaries. Most 80s action flicks tended to come in one of four flavours: Spy/Cold War narratives (the James Bond franchise), soldier/ex-soldier stories (First Blood, Delta Force), sci-fi (Alien, Terminator), or buddy cop (48 Hrs).
Die Hard didnt conform to any of these, yet in spite of this o...
