Canavan’s Comments (group member since May 15, 2018)

Canavan’s comments from the Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror group.

“Les Fleurs”

Interesting, but perhaps not my cup of tea. I couldn’t quite decide whether the narrator’s “otherworldly paradise” had some objective reality or whether this story represents Ligotti’s version of the classic unreliable narrator à la Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”.

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I finished watching the second season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I seem to recall Lena giving it a pretty emphatic thumbs down based on her watching of the first few episodes. I guess I’d agree with that overall assessment of the season, although the episodes do finally improve a bit near the end. The story arc is lot darker than that in Season 1 (following that season’s rather surprising and game-changing conclusion). But that’s probably not my real beef with the show. After two seasons, I’m still struggling to figure out just what the show’s writers are trying to say. The show devotes a lot of time to the ideas of good of evil, but those discussions are all rather fuzzy and amorphous. There are good people and bad people, but their moral compass has virtually no connection to any underlying ideology or faith they may espouse. And maybe that’s the point since characters seem to cynically use religion to achieve their own personal goals. But if that is indeed the point, it’s not being made very cogently. If there is a bright spot for folks like Lena, the conclusion of Season 2 seems to promise a return to storylines more characteristic of the first season.

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Late to the party, as usual. *sigh*

“The Frolic”

This was a nice start to the collection, although it’s a little conventional compared other Ligotti stories I’ve read. It boasts a number of touches that I more or less associate with the author: the imagery (“a cosmos of crooked houses and littered alleys”), the connection of horror to a sort of crazed mirth, and the sneering contempt for the illusory nature of a supposedly placid suburban existence.

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Fiona said (in part):

Thanks for your thoughts on Discovery, too, Canavan. I've not seen any Star Trek and had tossed up trying this one - but the flaws you've listed are pretty serious flaws. I would be interested to know what you would recommend watching, if you have the time!

I wish I were more of a TV person, Fiona. There is so, so much available to watch these days, even professional critics are hard pressed to keep pace. I think my recommendations are pretty pedestrian. As far as series are concerned, there are four I think of as favorites (restricting my choices to those that aired in the last 5-10 or so years); and two of those four have already ended and a third is about to. You’ll see from my list that I’m drawn to shows where characters are forced to navigate a morally ambiguous universe.

1. The Americans (2013-2018). This show, set in Cold War America, is one one of those rare series that actually got better over time.

2. Justified (2010-2015). When it came to truly capturing the feel of Elmore Leonard’s writing, this show may have come the closest.

3. Better Call Saul (2015- ). Might actually be an improvement on its predecessor, the much-acclaimed Breaking Bad.

4. Game of Thrones (2011-2019). I’ve been a little frustrated with this series over the past couple of seasons, but just when I start thinking about giving it up, they air an episode like the one last Sunday, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”.

Limited series:

1. Howard’s End (2017-2018). This Starz adaption of the E. M. Forster novel never got a lot of attention, but I thought it was great.

2. Mildred Pierce (2011). Todd Haynes’ five-part adaptation of the 1941 James M. Cain novel.

3. Angels in America (2003). Cheating a bit, since this limited series is quite a bit older than the others, but it’s a big fave of mine — Tony Kushner’s political fantasy about the the 1980s AIDS crisis.

I watched last evening the Season 2 finale of CBS’ Star Trek: Discovery and was trying (while driving into work this morning) to formulate some general thoughts on how the show has evolved. Fans of TV and movie franchises are often prone to lambast scripts as lacking in original ideas, but the truth is often somewhat different — what hardcore fans really want are the same stale ideas packaged in a slightly different wrapping paper (witness the colossal brouhaha over The Last Jedi). One can see that basic truth reflected in the changes that characterize Season 2 of Discovery. I found Season 1 to be uneven and problematic, but interesting enough to merit further viewing. But quite a few in the fan base found it be far too dark and gritty and not nearly “Trekkie” enough. The creative team has responded with a Season 2 story arc that emphasizes more witty banter, more adventures/explosions, and less in the way of interesting character development.

What I found especially galling was the introduction of one of those of those tedious plots in which the forces of good must battle against overwhelming odds to prevent the extinction of all life in the galaxy (*yawn*). Storylines like this one are supposedly meant to increase stakes, but I find that ironically they often have the reverse effect. My dislike of the overall Season 2 plot (which involves time travel and A.I.) also stems from the the fact that in order to make it span all 14 episodes, events are drawn out and explanations are unnecessarily convoluted.

I found some of the early episodes to be well nigh unwatchable. In general, the writing improved over the course of the season, but it was a tough slog. And even if the writing got a bit stronger, I wrestled throughout the season with the directorial vision which seemed too often to be channeling Michael Bay.

Without getting too spoilery the finale leaves the show and characters in an uncertain place. I’m wondering where the writers go from here. And whether I’ll be along for the ride.

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I was sadden to hear that Gene Wolfe passed away on 14 April. He was probably best know for the critically-acclaimed series The Book of the New Sun .

“Vortex”, Gregory Benford

I’ll admit to having to struggle a bit to finish this story. I haven’t read a lot of Benford, but, based on my limited exposure, his work has a certainty colorless, unexciting quality, especially in his descriptions of people and their interactions with one another. (view spoiler)[I found Benford’s descriptions and ideas about the Marsmat kinda interesting, but the human stuff (which consisted largely of the rather anodyne prescription that nationalistic biases and beliefs shouldn’t be allowed to infect the rational thought processes that supposedly characterize the behavior of scientists) seemed rather ho hum. My only other negative comment has to do with the rather odd and abrupt ending. (hide spoiler)]

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Corrine said (in part):

I agree about not "a ton of stock in such things". At one point I thought it meant more but from my personal experience it doesn't always translate to a story I'll like.

Agreed. The other thing to be said is that different literary awards bodies necessarily have different institutional slants, biases, outlooks, etc. on what constitutes good fiction. For whatever reason, the type of horror the HWA typically espouses is usually not my cup of tea.

Corinne said:

realistic-horror ? I find that to be the scariest horror.
I appreciate the comments and have to say ... I need to read that :)

I don’t put a ton of stock in such things, but I will also note that Hill’s story is a Stoker Award finalist in the long fiction category.

Corinne said:

hopefully Canavan can give us his thoughts on how much bias king likely had after he reads the story.

I won’t spoil the story except to say that the horrors presented are of the non-supernatural sort. But it’s pretty effing scary (at least I found it to be so)...and depressing. The way in which Joe Hill approaches this specific large-scale topic through the eyes of ordinary folks reminds me a bit of an old John Varley story, “The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridged)”.

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As for the anthology, Flight or Fright , I’ve read about a third of the stories thus far. Almost all are reprints except for the one under discussion by Hill and another by the co-editor, Stephen King. So far, I would say that the editors have done a good job with their story selections.

Corinne asked:

Anyone read it? Is it all that and then some?

I have the anthology, but haven’t gotten to that particular story yet. I’ll try and remember to report back if and when I do.

Lena said:

Jared, or any character actor just a smidge more attractive.
I only remember Joquinn from gladiator. He never grew on me.

I didn’t particularly like Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Commodus in Gladiator, but then again I wasn’t a particularly big fan of the movie as a whole. But I have liked some other Phoenix performances, notably those in The Master and Walk the Line.

Lena said (in part):

Just received this from the Centipede Press newsletter. I thought it was lovely so I’m sharing.

Thanks for sharing, Lena. It’s funny that Jarad mentions that both he and Wilum were dishwashers in their younger days. I, too, was once a dishwasher. Boy, that brings back memories.

“RedKing”, Craig DeLancey

I noticed that a number of people in the science fiction community admire DeLancey’s story. It was included in no fewer than three best-of-the-year collections — the one we are presently reading by Allan Kaster, another by Rich Horton, and a third by Gardner Dozois. My own reaction, however, was pretty similar to the ones expressed previously in this thread by Kaa and Lena. (view spoiler)[The story is a quick-paced and relatively entertaining police procedural set in the near future. But I found the ideas expressed (viruses, neural implants, etc.) relatively stale, and the plot unfolded in a manner that left little doubt about what was really happening to the protagonist when he fled the police station. I thought the story might have benefited from some additional plot twist, but it instead ended in rather lackluster fashion with an elicited confession reminiscent of a mediocre TV episode. (hide spoiler)]

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“Of the Beast in the Belly”, C.W. Johnson

(view spoiler)[I’m generally a sucker for stories about redemption, which probably explains, at least in part, why I like Johnson’s tale as much as I do. In the story, Nawiz seeks to avenge her family’s honor by killing Majnu, who was to have married her. But before she can accomplish her mission, they are both swept into the digestive tract of a huge sea creature, an arcthant. The author does a pretty good job of describing the physics and physiology of the beast’s interior; and the story’s length — it’s really more of a novelette — allows us to witness Nawiz’ gradual redemptive journey.

In thinking about the story’s literary antecedents, there is, of course, the obvious connection to the biblical Jonah’s transformative experience; the story’s title is a pretty clear nod to Jack Henry Abbott’s famous 1981 memoir, In the Belly of the Beast: Letters From Prison. (hide spoiler)]

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Randy said:

I still haven't read any fiction by Pugmire, but I've enjoyed some of his postings at various sites on the Internet. His enthusiasm for the Lovecraftian was contagious.

I’m not a huge Lovecraft guy, but I read and generally liked some of Pugmire’s Sesqua Valley stories. I met and briefly spoke with Wilum at a reading some years back and the enthusiasm to which you refer was quite evident; he seemed like a genuinely nice person.

I was saddened to hear that Wilum H. Pugmire (who generally wrote as W. H. Pugmire) passed away yesterday. I had heard that he had been in poor health in recent years (congestive heart failure). Those interested in Lovecraft may be familiar with Pugmire; he was never really prolific, but was one of the more unique Lovecraftian writers of the last few decades.

Kim said:

Info on season 2 of Castle Rock

I hope this second season is better than the first.

“Something Happened Here, But We're Not Quite Sure What It Was”, Paul McAuley

Hmm. I thought the title for this story was particularly apt. I’m not really sure what I think of it. I tend to agree with Kaa on one point — “Something Happened” is part of the author’s Jackaroo series and in some ways isn’t particularly satisfying based solely on its own merits. (I’m pretty sure I’ve read one of McAuley’s other Jackaroo tales, but I don’t even remember the title.)

(view spoiler)[If there is a message here (and I’m not 100% sure that there is), it’s about the dangers of factionalism as demonstrated by the hypothesized fate of the Ghajar and which is mirrored by the political wrangling on First Foot in which neither of the opposing camps come off looking very good. (hide spoiler)]

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Holly said (in part):

I was so disappointed with Seasons 5, 6 & 7 that I'm not motivated to watch the final season. At this point it's become such a cartoon that I can't take anything seriously or really invest in any of the characters. If I do watch, it will be reminiscent of MST 3000.

David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the guys behind Game of Thrones, have taken a bit of fan flak as the series has increasingly (and necessarily) gone “off book”. I think at least some of that criticism has been deserved, but I wouldn’t go nearly as far as you, Holly, in characterizing the show as “cartoonish”. For my money it’s still one of the better dramas airing on television. Of course, that’s just my opinion. ;-)