Jacob Foxx's Blog, page 65

A Great Night for Television

I don’t know about you, but I had a wonderful Easter! I am not Christian, I didn’t hide Easter eggs, I didn’t go to brunch and half my family was sick with the flu so no family get together. Still, there was joy to be had.

First, the NCAA Tournament was on. Congratulations to Louisville, Wichita State, Michigan, and Syracuse. All of you ruthlessly destroyed my bracket. Still the games were great.

SPOILER ALERT!

But the highlight of the night was two shores, one a season premier, the other a finale. First came The Walking Dead. This is my favorite show on television and possibly the greatest ever! The battle between Rick’s group and Woodbury reached a conclusion and some characters were killed off. It sort of rushed on a few things, which cheapened it a little. Darryl just lost his brother and we only got three lines on that. Also, some were left alive that shouldn’t be.

The Governor remains a threat, but with only two henchmen left. The prison is secure after Rick’s group laid the smack down on the Governor, scaring his little force off. It was a little too easy, but then again the Governor’s forces were not soldiers and had never seen actual battle with living enemies. Shooting walkers from a wall is nothing compared to fighting for your life on the road. Plus Meryl knocked out eight more, cutting into their numerical superiority.

Darryl remains the favorite character. If they kill him off it will eliminate a third of the fan base. For me, I am a fan of Carl, Michone, as well as Daryl. The incredible stress and trauma of the zombie apocalypse is starting to damage Carl’s psyche. For two and a half seasons he was probably the most stable and courageous member of the group. It looks like his resilience is wearing down.

Michone has a past, which hasn’t been revealed yet. She’s warmed to Rick’s group and vice versa. The fact that she wields a samurai sword is just an added level of bad ass.

Darryl’s awesomeness is hard to explain. It just is. Part of it is the base awesomeness of Norman Reedus. Reedus is already legend due to his portrayal of Murphy MacManus in the classic The Boondock Saints. For those of you who haven’t seen this movie, go out and rent it NOW.

Not the best episode, but definitely still worth watching.

SPOILER ALERT!

Then came the highly anticipated Game of Thrones. Season 3 is the continuation of George R.R. Martin’s epic dark fantasy, covering the third book A Storm of Swords. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) survives the battle of Blackwater Bay but is feeling pretty unappreciated. His sociopathic sister is concerned with her security and is seeing her influence on her son Joffrey wane. Jon Snow meets Mance Raydor, the King beyond-the-Wall. Things are not what they seem in the north. Stannis Baratheon remains in the clutches of the red priestess. Daenerys sails trying to raise an army but finds she is still in great danger.

Peter Dinklage is a superstar. Tyrion is one of my top three favorite characters in the story. On another note, I was disappointed there was no Arya scenes.

The Lannisters are in the advantageous position of controlling King’s Landing and most of their forces are intact, if divided. However, the family itself is a total wreck and poorly led by the ruthless Tywin and psychopathic Joffrey (personality disorders seem to run in the family). The Starks are scattered throughout Westeros but their situation improves. Arya is free, Robb’s Army of the North has won one victory after another, and Jon Snow’s life seems safe for now.

The Baratheons are pretty screwed. Renly is dead, and Stannis has lost his mind to religious fanaticism. The Tyrells are an interesting bunch. Outraged after the murder of Renly, they’ve allied themselves with the Lannisters. Marjaery is now betrothed to Joffrey, replacing Sansa. She’s beautiful and surprisingly compassionate, visiting orphanages in King’s Landing.

I don’t know if this is just to gain favor with the populace or if she is really that charitable.

The dragons are growing in size and strength. Daenerys has overcome several challenges but still needs an army. She finds a city that trades in mercenaries. They are abused from day one and live a life of pure violence. She is disturbed by the idea of hiring them while her trusty advisor Sir Jorah thinks it would benefit her and the horribly abused mercenary soldiers.

I haven’t read past the first book so I have no idea where this is going. My guess is the Stark situation is going to worsen. Robb is surrounded by enemies. He violated his agreement with Walder Frey which will be a problem. Sansa is a pitiful idiot and needs help before she finds herself dead or being used as a pawn against her family once again.

Whatever is going on in the cold north, I don’t think will have much impact in this season. It seems a lot of it has to develop and oh yeah, there’s that giant wall. The problem will stay up there for now. Tyrion at some point has to decide if he truly going to serve his family or look out for himself. The internal battles of the Lannister family will dictate the course of much of the story.

I look forward to the next episode.

Jacob

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Update and Some Random Thoughts

For the last couple weeks I’ve been in the editing process for the sequel of The Fifth World. The story has come together and I finally decided on an ending and foreshadowing for the third book. It will probably be a 4 book series. My hope is each will be able to stand on its own so that a reader who picks up the sequel won’t be lost.

While politics, history, government, and space travel has been a lot of fun, I am thinking of switching to less intellectually heavy themes. Right now I am developing an outline for a military Sci-Fi novel set on near future Earth, which will be more of a comedy and action type story, in other words a bit more “fun” than post-apocalyptic.

I also want to do a series that is not necessarily a group of novels, but a group of shorter works perhaps novellas (50-150 pages). It would also be a bit more character-driven but have some of the themes I’ve used in the past. It is in it’s early stages but I think it’d be a great way to offer a smaller product for readers and allow me to put more of my writing out there quicker.

Also, I’ve been writing a lot of book reviews lately and have come to realize maybe I’m not going about it the right way. I’m no literary critic. After all, I’ve only released one book and lack any background in literary history, or literature in general. My own writing still has flaws that need work. Hence, it is a little pretentious of me to be giving book reviews for other authors that have been at it a lot longer than I have.

I hope that it’s clear in the reviews that it is just my opinion as a reader, not an expert analysis. However, to avoid being rude I am going to stop posting negative reviews. From now on the old adage “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” will apply to all reviews. There will be one exception: I love talking about the classics and so I will keep giving full opinions on those.

In the future I also want to focus on lesser known titles and authors. In fact, if there is a way to get a list of small press, or self-published titles I would prefer to draw more attention to those. The highly-touted big press titles don’t need another person giving a review. They get thousands anyway.

That’s all I got for now.

Jacob

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Review: 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson

2312 is an amazing work in some ways, a little dry in others. The book takes you 300 years in the future with plausible futuristic technologies, locations, scenery, and societies. From space travel to sex changes, it covers an incredible amount of ground, hitting on nearly all subjects of science fiction. The story takes you to Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Titan, Iapetus, Pluto, and various asteroids floating about the the solar system. Its scale is massive and the science is in a class by itself.

This was my first Kim Stanley Robinson novel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t know about his writing style or anything else that would bias my judgment. My judgment is biased enough as it is.

First, the scenery description and imaginative human habitats should be read by everyone (if there’s a way to skip through the other parts). The habitats on Mercury, which Robinson stunningly makes plausible, are particularly impressive as well as the asteroid-based terrariums.

The story starts with the death of a major political and intellectual leader named Alex. She left to her friends an important task to complete. It is required to prevent calamity across the solar system. Swan Er Hong, one of her proteges and friends, is an artist, and terraformer with a bizarre appearance and personality. She is a Mercurial. Also there to help in this mission is Wahram, a toad creature, Inspector Gennette, a small person, and Kiran, a human-looking human living on Venus. It’s a future where gender is no longer clearly defined. The plot involves artificial intelligence turning on its human masters, political intrigue, and survival in extreme environments, like Mercury and space itself.

The portrayal of sex, gender, and family deserve mention. Robinson illustrates a future with various family arrangements as well as several interesting and bizarre alternative lifestyles. There are gynandromorphs (those having male and female genitalia), androgyns (those living bisexual lifestyle I think), and parahumans (human-animal hybrids). For example, on Saturn individuals form loosely-formed communes for the purpose of raising children then go their separate ways. This becomes possible thanks to life spans approaching 200 years.

It sounds extremely strange and weird, which makes it compelling. Imagine how strange and weird our lives our compared to those of 1713. Our embrace of women’s rights and female sexuality alone would freak them out to no end.

The exposition is enormous in this book, including interluding chapters of lists, encyclopedia entries, poetry, and random collections of words and phrases. Within the chapters there are long explanations of persons, places, and things. It is impressive in its size, detail, and the broad expertise needed to assemble it.

While some entries and explanations were fascinating to me, others were not. I think this is true of many readers. Everyone will find some subject that interests them and skip over the rest. The story follows a very deliberative pace in between the expositions, which made it a little frustrating. At 560 pages, it was a bit long.

I can definitely see how some readers had serious issues with this book. Judging by the reviews on Goodreads, people either loved it or hated it. The characters speak in a heavy over-intellectual style that can lose you easily. There are dozens of neologisms and esoteric scientific terms that I didn’t bother looking up. The ending was a little disappointing as well.

2312 is for those who love all things science and will go through the exposition with as much enthusiasm as the story. For those looking for an exciting story, great characters, and other traditional elements of normal fiction, this book is not for you.

It was nominated for a Nebula Award this year, which I think is a testament for the genre’s emphasis on ideas rather than style. 2312 is chock full of ideas. I give it 3 stars and recommend it for those who don’t mind the infodumping and heavy science load.

Jacob

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The Future is not so Bright: Science Fiction Trending Strongly Towards Apocalypse/Dystopia

In the late 20th century, the future was very bright. You could see it in the culture. Science Fiction emphasized the wonders of space, incredible new technologies, and fascinating new alien species. Our lives would be longer, happier, safer, and easier.  Fantasy was about grand kingdoms, heroic kings and knights, the triumph of good versus evil, and love over hate. People were feeling good.

My how things have changed. Science Fiction has veered strongly towards detailing dark futures, apocalyptic events, the fall of humanity, and the return of barbarism. Fantasy has gotten darker as well, focusing more on war, human suffering, and tragic romances. Terrifying creatures populate the most successful fantasy movies, TV shows, and novels.

A search of Amazon’s bestselling Sci-Fi and Fantasy provides evidence of the current trend. The top selling novels include apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic novels like Wool, World War Z, The Host, Ready Player One, and The Hunger Games. In all these novels life for human is about to get worse, in some cases much worse. On the fantasy side, the top seller is A Game of Thrones, a dark, brutal and unromantic epic fantasy.

Hollywood is even worse. The big blockbusters for this year are likely to be Oblivion, After Earth, Pacific Rim, Elysium, and Mad Max. The world is a pretty rough place in all these films. The Hobbit offers some respite from the agony. Before this year, Avatar was the huge Sci-Fi blockbuster, which painted a dismal view of Earth.

This is much different than the days of Star Trek and Star Wars. Both were featured stories of hope. Star Trek was about the triumph of reason over ignorance and hate. In the TV show and the early movies, the future was a wonderful place. Today, everything has changed. The name of the new film says it all, Star Trek Into Darkness. Star Wars Episodes 4-6 (the first three) had their dark moments but the final conclusion was the triumph of the rebellion over the evil empire, and the redemption of Anakin Skywalker. Episodes 1-3, released in the past fifteen years, were about the fall of the republic and Anakin.

I believe the change in the genre is largely a result of the change in times. The great works of Sci-Fi in the 20th century came at the dawn of the space age and the economic prosperity of the 1980s. Today, people across the world have become perhaps a bit pessimistic about the future due to the events in the world.

It started with September 11th, which ended the aura of perfect security and peace in the United States. We found out we were vulnerable and could not escape the scourges of the world. Terrorism and war dulled the excitement around the peace dividend and the information age. The housing bubble and subsequent recession made everyone’s perspective even more bleak.

Even technology scares us. Movies like Terminator 2, The Matrix Trilogy, 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, and Cloud Atlas are about our innovations destroying or enslaving us.

The mood of people these days is dark, and it is clearly reflected in the movies and novels of the times. The biggest consumers of entertainment, younger Americans, also are enduring a time of high unemployment, poor prospects, and crippling student loan debt. Combined with a society that enjoys to drag out adolescence and you have a generation that feels stuck.

We are an uninspired generation. The challenges of our time are not going away and our leaders clearly have no idea how to resolve them.

Just like in the post-apocalyptic and dystopic movies and novels, there is a real chance the future will be a darker and more barbaric place but it doesn’t have to be. It isn’t destiny. There is always hope. There are many things about this world that should encourage us and make us feel that we can overcome these challenges.

Hunger and disease are in decline in nearly every part of the world. Despite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, total deaths worldwide from combat are at historic lows. An individual has access to near infinite amounts of information today thanks to the internet, the personal computer, the cellular phone, and other incredible innovations. Poverty has dramatically declined in Latin America, Asia, and parts of Africa. And although the past few years have seen some setbacks, freedom remains on the rise in the world.

I think it is very possible that we can overcome the challenges before us and avoid the dark futures we see in movies and read about in novels. When it happens, there very well could be a change in the themes of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. After all, they are speculative fiction and when people are in a good mood, they are more likely to speculate about positive things. When that happens we’ll see works more like A New Hope rather than the Revenge of the Sith, more like The Hobbit and less like A Game of Thrones.

Jacob

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StellarCon 37

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

StellarCon 37 was an interesting experience for a first time attendee. Held in Greensboro and with a thirty-seven year history, it had a different feel than Raleigh’s illogicon. It was a small affair, where many attendees seem to know each other from previous cons. While closely-knit I never felt like an intruder amongst them and got an opportunity to meet some interesting people.

The guest of honor was Eric Flint, a master of alternative history novels. He is also a respectable historian with an extensive knowledge of the time periods he writes about. While some authors and panelists can be reluctant to speak or perhaps shy, Flint is the exact opposite. He led an interesting discussion on writing alternative history, and is now on my to-read list.

A healthy collection of fantasy writers attended including vampirologist Theresa Bane (Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology), Teresa Frohock (Miserere: an Autumn Tale), Janine Spendlove (War of the Seasons series), and Debra Killeen (The Myrridian Cycle Series). I also got to meet game designers Chad Bowser and Andi Newton, known for their Chtulu Invictus games. The literary panels were interesting, although sometimes not well attended. The overall con attendance was relatively light and spread thin among literary, gamers, musicians, costumers, and those just there to party.

What was particularly informative was hearing from people in publishing including Grey Rinehart of Baen Books. Several other panelists also went through their experiences working for or with publishers. Rinehart works in the slush pile, the unattractive term for unsolicited submissions. As an author it was disconcerting to hear what they go through and how quickly they have to sift through submissions. The reasons for rejections vary and while some are reasonable others seemed a little unfair (welcome to the real world). For example, several admitted they picked a manuscript up based on title, and then read the first chapter or two before deciding to discard it and move on.

At the same time they offered advice on improving your chances, which included actually meeting editors and publishers at cons. Unlike other genres, there are events that can bring author and publisher together and get your work moved to the top of the pile. There was also the usual advice on having someone else do a line edit, and spending extra time on it before submitting it (no first drafts).

When you need to go through a large number of 100,000+ word manuscripts, there has to be a somewhat efficient process to work through the pile. I was surprised that so many have tried their hand at being an author. The size of the work and hours it took made me think many probably don’t finish them or won’t take on the task to begin with. Apparently a lot of people do finish but don’t subject it to line editing, critique, or other useful refinements before sending it in.

I also learned aspiring authors can be quite arrogant. The amount of research done and knowledge built, along with perhaps some delusion into the true mastery of the writing can build up an author’s ego long before the manuscript is sold, let alone published. I must admit I do feel that my work is special, otherwise why would I go through the trouble of writing it and publishing it? You need to love what you’re doing and what you’re are creating to actually finish it. In that situation, it’s hard to listen to input from others especially if that input is a rejection letter.

At the same time, this is a business. An author needs to be humble and realize there are many reasons a publisher can turn you down. There is also the very likely possibility that while you love it, others simply do not. I’ve always felt that even if my books don’t sell, I’ve had a wonderful time writing them so not all is lost. Getting paid would be nice, which is the only reason a publisher will acquire it. The commercial aspect of it can turn some authors off but if you are trying to sell something, that is what is necessary. If you don’t want to go through that, just self-publish. It is extremely easy and cheap.

I learned a lot about gaming, both boardgames and RPGs. I’ve never had much interest in either. It turns out there are some appealing aspects to it, which are making me give it a second look. Anything involving rule-making and control of the experience is appealing to a lawyer. This is part of being the game manager or dungeon master or whatever the person is called. The games don’t go for hours and hours as I originally believed, although the panel admitted some do and a select few can go on for days, months, even years. Some games are quite boring and seem childish to me (monsters, ogres, etc.) plus the mathematics and dice also take away from the experience a bit. Even so, I can definitely see how many can enjoy it and I’ve developed a new respect for it.

I met a few other interesting characters and made the mistake of attending a midnight panel. As I should’ve suspected, the panel was pretty inebriated by then. While it was funny at times, a lot of inside jokes and interacting with buddies in the crowd was taking place.

Overall, it was good times and I intend to be there next year.

Jacob

 

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Review: The Hunger Games

I’ve been eager to see The Hunger Games movie but wanted to read the book first. This week I finally got to it on my reading list. It did not disappoint. The Hunger Games lives up to the hype and then some. It is easily one of the best I’ve read in a while, right next to Ready Player One.

Suzanne Collins creates a future world where a post-American state has resorted to ancient Greek practices of demanding human sacrifice or tribute from its vassal states. In this case it is Panem demanding it from twelve districts. They demand a boy and a girl for the hunger games (a gladiatorial fight to the death in a huge arena), where the winning district gets prizes along with the survivor. The people of the capital treat it as their Super Bowl. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take the place of her younger sister in the games and believes she will die so that her sister can live. As it turns out she brings some rare talents to the game that have some in the capital talking. Her male counterpart for the district is Peeta, one who has a secret crush on her and obviously no intention of killing her. The games progress as the people watch children ages 12 to 18 kill each other.

The human sacrifice/tribute system is a frightening throwback to Greek and Roman times. The use of an arena, like the gladiators, is also a really interesting and disturbing glimpse of how our future may not be about progress at all, but a return to a far less enlightened and far more brutal society. The story is told from the first person perspective of a teenage girl that is one of the tributes, which is like a female version of Gladiator.

This part of the story feels real as does the plight of the people in district 12 (Katniss’s home). They are kept poor and hungry by the capital as a punishment for a rebellion years past.

The descriptions of the capital are equally disturbing. It is a society that completely ignores the fact that they are entertained by watching children killing one another. They treat it like the Super Bowl, oblivious to the barbarity. The flamboyant clothes, makeup, cosmetic enhancements, and the spectacle of the games all remind me of the opulence that can desensitize the upper class. It happened in Charles Dicken’s Paris, in ancient Rome, and some feel it is starting to happen in Hollywood. The extravagant and indulgent lifestyles of the wealthy sometimes detaches them from reality, pushing them dangerously close to barbarism.

Katniss is a somewhat complicated character. Her upbringing is one of tragedy and desperation. Despite the horrific circumstances one can recognize the typical 16 to 17 year old girl. She is resourceful but not terribly bright in some ways. She struggles with her social interactions but her talent as a hunter sets her apart even more. What I like most is, Katniss is not a damsel in distress nor an over-the-top tough as nails biker chick stereotype where all sense of femininity is absent. She is in the middle.

The other characters are simple and play their roles well. The teenage romance is awkward, given the fact they’re fighting for their lives but it is by design. Peeta is somewhat interesting and has his own talents but its easy to see him as a weakling. The other peripheral characters are fairly straightforward, except for their training instructor Haymitch, who is a tortured and miserable former winner of the games.

It is best categorized as science fiction but the science and future elements are not prominent. This might change in the sequels. The social aspect of the novel is around but the book is mostly a story of survival and teenage romance.

Its similar to another work, Battle Royale, but that doesn’t really take anything away. It’s clear Collins got her inspiration from other sources.

The Hunger Games gets 5 stars from me and is one of my favorites of the past year. 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson is next, along with Bowl of Heaven and The Road.

Jacob

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Decent Year for Oscars

I haven’t watched the Academy Awards in five years but I still pay attention to who wins. The event itself is just way over the top and the self-glorification that Hollywood engages in every year is too much for me. There’s also the threat of some actor or actress going on an incoherent rant about something they know nothing about. From what I hear, none of that happened this year thankfully. Other than its excessive length, I heard it went very well.

The Oscar for Best Picture went to Argo, the story of six Americans who managed to escape the US embassy in Tehran as it was being taken over by radicals. Directed by Ben Affleck, it was filled with suspense, keeping you on edge the whole time. It was a very good movie but I’m not sure it deserved to win the Oscar for Best Picture. My two favorites for that award were Lincoln and Life of Pi.

Best Actor went to Daniel Day-Lewis who did a brilliant job as Abraham Lincoln. He was my pick for this one. Best Actress went to Jennifer Lawrence for the Sliver Linings Playbook. I didn’t see the movie but heard very good things. I’ve been a fan of Lawrence’s since X-Men: First Class.

Best Supporting Actress went to Anne Hathaway for her portrayal of Fantine in Les Miserables. I didn’t see this one either. Once you’ve seen one Les Miserables movie, you don’t have much desire to see another with a new cast and some new take on the Victor Hugo classic. I’m sure it was great. I’m a fan of Hathaway as well so I was happy to see her win. Best Supporting Actor went to Christopher Waltz in Django Unchained. I’m pretty burnt out on Quentin Tarantino so I didn’t see this one (noticing a pattern yet? I don’t go to the movies often).

Tarantino’s been on this campaign to kill off history’s bad guys. Here it was slave owners, before it was Nazis (Inglourious Basterds), and racist border radicals (Machete). Inglourious Basterds was a big disappointment despite a brilliant performance by Christopher Waltz. Machete was just awful.

In my opinion, the last great movie Tarantino made was Pulp Fiction, which is one of my favorites of all time. Reservoir Dogs is another classic. Kill Bill was okay but not great.

Zero Dark Thirty was a good one. It was brutally honest and I appreciate that the director made it as apolitical as possible. The people who get the most credit aren’t politicians or political appointees, its the CIA operatives and the SEAL Team.

James Bond got a big tribute for being 50 years old. It’s really cool that it comes the same year as arguably the best film in the franchise, Skyfall.

I heard the show went over 3 hours long, which is unfortunate. Actors, directors, and producers already celebrate themselves enough as it is. You got the Oscars, Golden Globes, Screen Actors’ Guild Awards, and the BAFTA Awards every year. There’s also the constant coverage of celebrities on TV shows, magazines, and websites which treat them like a bizarre version of royalty.

None of this is really the actors or actresses fault. Its part of their profession. I doubt they have much say in how many awards are given out or how the paparazzi behaves. Regular Americans are probably most to blame for consuming all the tabloid stuff and being so fascinated with celebrities day in and day out. Sometimes there’s a celebrity who is deserving of such attention. Not only are they great entertainers, they are compassionate, thoughtful, and have some measure of humility.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on that.

Jacob

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Review: Mira Grant’s Feed

I must apologize, all I write lately is book reviews. I’ll try to change it up from now on. Anyway, I finished Feed last night. It is a young adult (YA) zombie apocalypse novel that was nominated for several awards and was pretty successful. I love zombies but don’t typically read YA fiction. When I do I enjoy it as long as the author doesn’t try to be too serious. Feed tries to be fun and serious but accomplishes neither. I just didn’t get into it and had to put it down a little over halfway through.

The narrator, Georgia Mason, is a twenty something internet journalist covering all things zombie in a post zombie apocalypse world. It is a time when the undead are just a part of life in America. There are constant blood tests, scans, various hazard zones, etc. There is plenty about internet journalism, the basics of blogging, and all sorts of other details about their profession. She works with her twin brother Shaun and their trusty tech expert Buffy. In a stroke of good luck they are chosen to cover Senator Peter Ryman, who is running for president. It is a huge break for the trio. As the campaign continues they uncover an incredible conspiracy that had me excited to finish it. Unfortunately it fell apart a little after that.

The science in the book is great, including an explanation of the zombie virus, the events that led to the outbreak and the aftermath. The developments post-outbreak are especially interesting. It was creative and the best element of the book.

Zombies are typically used for horror and action. I prefer horror zombie, but am open to something else if its funny or has plenty of action. Unfortunately Feed just isn’t funny. The jokes and punchlines are all pretty juvenile. The bulk of the book is actually about internet journalism with very little action. Granted, I did not finish the book so it might’ve shifted gears at the end but it seemed like this was a book about journalism not zombies.

Without the fun or action, the book focused more on the quirks of the main characters, their jobs as journalists, and the presidential campaign they were covering. When a novel goes in a more serious direction like this my expectations rise.

Feed covers heavy topics like politics, religion, and death – and approaches none of them in a thoughtful way. All three are dealt with superficially from an ill-informed perspective. If you are going to write a novel about a presidential campaign and focus on political commentary, it probably shouldn’t be superficial (especially if the book is 570 pages). The author’s portrayal of certain politicians were ineptly transparent jabs at conservatives. One politician is a big-breasted bimbo seeking the Republican nomination (Sarah Palin), while another is a gun-toting, Church-loving Texan (George W. Bush). If it were clever or funny I’d be all for it but it wasn’t.

It was also clear early on the author has some serious hang ups about Christianity. At first I thought Georgia’s issues with organized religion was just part of the character but as the story continues it becomes clear it’s another transparent expression of the author’s opinion. Again, if it were funny or clever it could’ve worked.

Usually when I am having trouble with a book, I don’t just stop. I want to read it to the end and see if the climax and/or the conclusion pulls it together. I try to stick it out when the story bogs down but sometimes there’s something in a book that is so troublesome I just can’t pick it up again.

SPOILER ALERT! The part that forced me to stop was a scene where the senator, who just lost his daughter a few days prior, is listening to three bratty journalists demand an interview with his wife (a grief-stricken mother). How am I to believe someone who just lost a daughter would be so patient, understanding, and deferential to these three kids? And I say kids because they act like children throughout, not professional journalists. To think any parent would endure that is ridiculous. It was infuriating and made me strongly dislike Georgia as well as her brother.

By then there were almost no zombies, it wasn’t funny, and now I hated the main character and her brother. There was simply nothing to keep me going.

Since I couldn’t finish it, I have to give Feed only 1 star. I have high standards when it comes to novels that touch on politics, history, law, religion, and things like that. I also have a bias against movies or books that use zombies as props or background and not as part of the core story. I understand the novel was well-liked by many and the trilogy is fairly successful. I can only conclude I was not the intended audience.

On to Hunger Games and then Bowl of Heaven.

Jacob

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Review: Ready Player One

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. Things have been slow. I did manage to finish Ready Player One over the weekend, so here we go. Ready Player One might be one of the best sci-fi novels of the past few years. It is cyberpunk, an enormous tribute to 80s geekdom, an epic quest, and a bit of a love story.

Wade Watts lives in abject poverty in the mid 21st century. To escape his struggles in reality he enters the OASIS, which is World of Warcraft on steroids. It is a fully interactive online game with layers upon layers of complexity. Inside the game, players embark on a quest to solve the riddles of its founder in order to inherit his multibillion dollar fortune. Standing in Wade’s way is IOI an evil corporation seeking the fortune for itself.

The book is wildly entertaining with accurate depictions of geeky, anti-social gamers but also looks at the aspects of their personalities that attract them to science fiction, fantasy, online gaming, and all other forms of geek. They are usually escaping from something in their lives or reality that causes great pain and suffering. Its a new look at individuals that are normally the target of numerous jokes (no lives, live in mom’s basement, etc.).

The tech in the book is fantastic. Since I’m not a computer wizard, I can only presume it is all accurate. The quest requires players to have enormous levels of knowledge about 80s culture, particularly games, cheesy sci-fi movies, novels, and music. It was probably an extremely nostalgic experience for the author to write this book then setup a Da Vinci Code/National Treasure/Indiana Jones style quest right in the middle of it.

It is very entertaining, even for a non-gamer who grew up in the 90s. I suppose non-geeks may find the book with too many 80s gaming references, movie quotes, and other stuff they know nothing about and don’t care to know.

The love story is unique given that it is two very unusual romantic characters. Both are gamers with less than attractive physical traits (it would’ve been insulting to readers if they were both really attractive, like Twilight) and some anti-social tendencies. Their lives are lived in the OASIS, and with all the baggage that comes with it.

The only negatives I can think of is the overload of “one of my favorite” this and that, as if everything from that period was just so damn awesome and epic. The constant pop culture references got a little tiresome in a couple chapters, usually when it had nothing to do with the quest. Some of the dialogue is pretty obnoxious, particularly early on, but is accurate since all the characters are essentially teenagers with little or no social skills.

The book is perfect for geeks who grew up in the 80s. For the rest of us, its an excellent YA cyberpunk novel. It gets 5 stars! I am finishing up Feed by Mira Grant and then its Hunger Games.

Jacob

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Sci-Fi Movies: The Year Ahead

It looks like 2013 will be the year of the post-apocalyptic film. Fantasy and vampires are in decline with zombies starting to get a boost. The space opera and superhero subgenres also have some highly anticipated titles coming up. After a disappointing 2012, this year is looking to be a good one.

Science Fiction: Post-Apocalyptic

While the Twilight Saga has reached its conclusion, Stephanie Meyer has another successful speculative romance novel, The Host. Eager to see if her dominance of the pre-teen/teen female audience continues, Hollywood will release The Host in March starring Saoirse Ronan (Hanna, Lovely Bones, City of Ember). Aliens invade Earth, and take over humans as a parasite hoping to eventually overtake the planet and eliminate uninfected humanity. Except there’s one girl that finds a bond with her alien parasite consciousness and they decide to reject the alien plot. It’s got teenage love, alien invasion, post-apocalyptic future, and probably some action.

The big blockbuster winner of 2012 was The Hunger Games. While not really post-apocalyptic (its dystopian), it is a future of despair, violence, and of course hunger. Jennifer Lawrence did an amazing job as the heroine Katniss Everdeen. It got millions of girls into archery and pushed up the ratings for the competition in the Olympics. The sequel is based on Suzanne Collin’s Catching Fire.

That does it for the teen love story in a sci-fi setting category. This trend will probably continue as Hollywood and publishers have now realized young girls love to spend money. Now that they are able to offer sci-fi/fantasy products that appeals to them they will milk it for all they can get.

Now we turn the more traditional post-apocalyptic stories (no teenage romance). The big one that already has previews running is Oblivion. The Tom Cruise film is about what is left of humanity trying to rebuild after surviving an alien invasion. Morgan Freeman costars which gives it some serious juice. The previews shows more of an action flick than anything else but still looks good. Tom Cruise has had some good ones lately. I am not sure what the twist is but the previews hint of a good one. Cruise’s character has his eyes opened and action follows.

Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith star in the far future film After Earth. Their ship crashes on a remote planet humans evacuated 1000 years before. They must find a way to survive while they are stuck there. The Smiths are a talented family but I don’t know if acting together in the same movie is a guarantee of success. In particular, couples don’t seem to do all that well when they are in the same movie. Father and son might be different. Who knows maybe they are the perfect pair for this kind of thing. Will Smith has had some duds in sci-fi (I, Robot) but I would still give him a chance.

Pacific Rim is the movie I am most skeptical of and probably won’t see. Military sci-fi can flop miserably if it is not done right. This one is directed by Guillermo Del Toro, which I suppose is better than Michael Bay or Roland Emmerich doing it. The previews don’t really excite me. The giant robots in the previews look like relics of a 1970s or 1980s robot movie. For some reason it takes two people to operate them, a nice plot device for the need to a build a personal relationship with a partner. The special effects look fantastic but that won’t save it. Battleship was a disaster last year because Hollywood decided that people underestimated their audience. People love summer action movies with minimal plot and acting but there are limits. If Pacific Rim follows the same model as Battleship, it will definitely fail.

One interesting upcoming film is Mad Max: Fury Road. The resurrection of the highly successful Mel Gibson franchise might go over well given the post-apocalyptic trend in entertainment. The new road warrior is Tom Hardy who we all know better as Bane.

Elysium is also supposed to be post-apocalyptic where the wealthy live in a pleasant space station while most of humanity suffers on the ruins of Earth. It stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. I need to know more before I consider seeing this one. Most of these movies include some element of class warfare or rich versus poor. This theme is worn out. It is directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9) so there is reason to hope.

Damon ventured into political advocacy with the foreign oil financed and factually ambiguous Promised Land. It flopped as most of these kinds of films do. People don’t go to see movies for political commentary or to watch actors and directors use the medium to get on their soap box. Jodie Foster has not been in a good movie in a long time. The Brave One was the strangest vigilante movie I’ve ever seen. Foster’s incoherent rant at the Golden Globes also makes me question her ability to make wise artistic choices.

And of course we can’t talk about the apocalypse without talking about zombies. World War Z is one of the coolest novels I’ve ever read. It resurrected the subgenre for me after a series of disappointing retreads of George Romero’s classic. The previews show fast moving zombies that seem to operate with some sort of intelligence, as in climbing on top of one another to get over walls. These things aren’t very zombie-like. It’s directed by Marc Forster who did Quantum of Solace, Monster’s Ball, and Finding Neverland. These are great movies but none of them are in the same ballpark as World War Z in terms of subject-matter and style. I don’t have a problem with Brad Pitt being the lead, as he has done some great work in the past. He may be a pretty boy but there is no denying he can act.

Science Fiction: Space Opera and Superheroes

I combined these two subgenres out of convenience and the fact they hold some of the most highly anticipated movies of 2013. Let’s start with space. There really wasn’t all that much going on in space last year. Most of the best stuff was happening on Earth. We got the news that a new Star Wars film is coming but not until 2015. The Star Trek franchise was rebooted a few years back giving new life to it. For space, I think the list is short but we have some good ones.

Up first is the highly anticipated Star Trek Into Darkness. This is not Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek. It is set in his universe and uses his characters but the style and story lines are all much more on the action/military side. The philosophical topics and optimistic vision of our future are discarded for an alternate reality where Vulcan is destroyed. The first movie was awesome and I definitely want to see this one.

Hollywood will once again try to resurrect the Superman franchise. Superman Returns was actually a decent movie but I guess it just didn’t do well enough to warrant a sequel. And so we have a second reboot, this one with a new Superman (Henry Cavill) and new director (Zach Snyder) and the creative genius of Chris Nolan for the story. This movie comes with a lot of potential. It is called Man of Steel and by the way, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, and Lawrence Fishburne are in it. So… its kind of a big deal.

After the tremendous success of The Avengers, the franchise will continue for years to come. The first new film to emerge is my favorite of the bunch, Iron Man 3. Robert Downey Jr. was by far the best actor in The Avengers dominating as the eccentric billionaire Tony Stark. However, I am sick of Iron Man fighting other people in metal suits. Hopefully that will change. It is going to be a close battle of who wins the box office fight between Superman and Iron Man.

 

The dark horse to be the box office winner of 2013 is Ender’s Game. The novel is one of the best science fiction works of the past thirty years. Starring Asa Butterfield (Hugo), Abigail Breslin (New Year’s Eve, Zombieland), Harrison Ford, and Ben Kingsley. I do have some concerns that the brilliant novel may not translate into a brilliant movie. Parts of the book that develop the character Ender, the game, and the other elements of the story are not particularly entertaining visually. It isn’t an insurmountable problem but it will require good writers and a good director. It is directed by Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) so there is reason to be optimistic.

Other notable titles are Riddick, Gemini Rising, and Gravity. Chronicles of Riddick was a pretty weak movie (nice visuals, no story). I don’t expect much from a sequel or prequel or whatever it is. I don’t know much about the other titles.

Fantasy

In my opinion, the big fantasy event of 2013 is the new season of Game of Thrones. Since this post is about movies I should move to the only fantasy title of any significance for 2013: The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug. I liked the opening film and am eager to see the second one. The book is being divided into three movies, which is a bit excessive but Peter Jackson insists on doing Tolkien right even if it takes 9 hours. I look forward to seeing more of the classic characters, especially Smaug himself who I think should be voiced by either Sean Connery, Malcom McDowell, or Gary Oldman.

It is shaping up to be an exciting year for science fiction movies. Fantasy might have to wait. Its time may be passing with the end of the Twilight Saga and all the vampire/werewolf stuff that followed it. Outside of the genre, I am excited about the new Die Hard movie and Zero Dark Thirty.

Jacob

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