January 2009

World in the Satin Bag

The Haul of Books Volume One

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Well, I’ve decided to start calling this feature “The Haul of Books,” because it seems to fit as a clever manipulation of words. So, to start off with a bang, I have a little story! UC Santa Cruz is having a fantastic set of readings this quarter from science fiction and fantasy authors and last Wednesday I had the chance to meet Kim Stanley Robinson and Karen Joy Fowler. After their readings, they answered several questions from the audience and then signed books (while answering more questions). It was a fantastic experience. I don’t get the opportunity to see a lot of interesting science fiction or fantasy authors in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, all of the good readings are in San Francisco (with the exception of Salmon Rushdie and William Gibson, who visited Santa Cruz not too long ago).And as author readings would have it, I managed to get a few books signed (new books, since I was an idiot and left all my Robinson at home).Firstly, here are the books–The Sweetheart Season by Karen Joy Fowler and The Years of Rice and Saltby Kim Stanley Robinson.And here are the signed sections: On top of that are the following books. Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow is a book sent to me from Tachyon Publications for review, which looks really good. Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want by Obert Skye I bought at Borders recently with $5.00 I had in Borders Bucks (I love this series, by the way). The last one is So Long Been Dreaming (Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy) edited by Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan, which I got some time ago along with a book to help me study for the GRE (for the free shipping on Amazon, of course). I found out not too long after buying that last book that one of my favorite authors has a story in it (Tobias S. Buckell with “Necahual”) and I will be using it for my research project, I’m sure.And there you have it. This is the first edition of “The Haul of Books” and I suspect there will be many more in the near future (actually, I can guarantee it, because I just stole a bunch of books off of a friend). Anywho!

World in the Satin Bag

Blogger Book Reviewer Convention Idea

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I just wanted to post some links for all of you who may be interested in this. Whether you’re doing it as a hobby, professionally, or for some other reason, Tia of Fantasy Debut is talking a lot about having a convention/meet up of blogging book reviewers. You can find out more here and here. Please join in the discussion and help us make this become a reality. For the record, it is open to ANY blogger who reviews books, whether they be science fiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, literary, non-fiction, etc. It doesn’t matter what kind of books you review, this convention is meant for all of us. So, join in and give your thoughts!

World in the Satin Bag

Five Reasons Science Fiction Is Better Than Fantasy

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To supplement the Five Reasons Fantasy Is Better Than Science Fiction, I’ve decided to create this list of the exact opposite. I am a science fiction nut, after all, and what science fiction nut doesn’t think about his/her favorite things about his/her favorite genre? Enjoy: SpaceshipsSure, science fiction doesn’t have dragons and unicorns, but it does have awesome spaceships. Okay, so not all of the spaceships in SF are all that great, but a lot of them are. I wouldn’t mind owning the Enterprise. I’d throw some awesome parties on that ship! Gadgets and Technology (all forms)Gadgets, of course, are better known as a James Bond thing, but SF has a lot of gadgets too. Everything from all those handheld gizmos in Star Trek to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (don’t panic!). Then there’s all the lovely technology that makes SF so wonderful (nanotech, cyberspace, robots, universal translators, automatic, self-cleaning toilets that also clean your bumb for you, give you a quick shave, and send you on your way to work…). Expansive Interstellar GeographyUnlike fantasy, SF is not limited by location. In a fantasy world, you can theoretically see everything there is to see in a single lifetime (or a couple if you’re one of those reincarnated folks). But SF has many planets with many cultures and geographies. Imagine all the amazing things you could see! Aliens cities and artifacts and even new human ones with new cities. And this is, in theory, limitless, because there are likely trillions of planets in our universe. Unfortunately, I think if you visited them all you’d probably explode. It’s one of those rules in the Bible or something…look it up if you don’t believe me. Fantasy SimulationWell, with the invention of virtual reality (cyberspace, etc.), SF has the luxury of recreating any environment imaginable, but in the safety of one’s own home, or in a corporate complex, which likely isn’t all that safe at all. So, while a fantasy world may be wonderful to live in, isn’t there something to be said about having the best of both worlds all in one package? Well, SF offers you that opportunity, or at least the characters that populate SF stories. The FutureThis particular item is mostly to poke fun at LoopdiLou, who vehemently contested my inclusion of the same thing in my Five Things Every Science Fiction Story Should Have right up until Kim Stanley Robinson put her straight during a Q&A sessions at UC Santa Cruz. I’m quite interested in the future, as you all may well know. It explains why I read quite a lot of science fiction for fun, because the future is fascinating and wondering where we will be in ten, twenty, even a hundred years is ripe with amazing speculations and imagery. What things would you add to this list? What thing would you omit? Let me know in the comments!

World in the Satin Bag

Five Reasons Fantasy Is Better Than Science Fiction

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It’s been mentioned to me that I don’t talk enough about fantasy around these parts. It’s true, I don’t. In fact, I don’t talk about fantasy very much at all and I think that is a horrible disservice to you, my readers. So, I thought it would be nice to start off my fantasy binge posting with a lovely little list about the reasons why fantasy is better than science fiction (there will, of course, be a second list positing the opposite). Enjoy: MagicProbably the most important aspect of most fantasy stories, magic makes the fantasy world go round. Science fiction, unfortunately, lacks magic. There are no magic baking spells in SF, no glittering fireworks spells or spells to send the evil bad guy to the fiery depths of some imaginary hell. You can’t shoot magic fireballs from your hand in an SF world either, and I think that’s a travesty. Dragons and Other Creatures You Can RideLet’s face it. If you had the opportunity to ride on the back of a real dragon, would you? Unless you’re afraid of flying or heights (or oddly afraid of fantastical critters), or simply crazy, you’d jump on this opportunity in a heartbeat. Throw in some pegasi (plural for pegasus), gryphons, unicorns, etc. and you end up with a laundry list of fantasy-based critters you can ride. Sounds good to me. The Bad Guys Always Lose (a.k.a. Happy Endings)And I mean always. You can probably cite a few good examples to the contrary, but fantasy stories almost exclusively end with the bad guy losing. This doesn’t happen all the time in SF; sometimes you nail one bad guy, but the evil corporation still exists, or another bad guy springs up from the same mold, etc. At least in fantasy you know that there’s a happy ending. Lots of cheering and good ale. All you get in an SF celebration is the dark realization that none of it really matters, because in a week some other goon will rise up and continue with the “company mission.” Unique LanguagesTrue, there are a few SF stories with unique, invented languages, but fantasy rules on this front. And I do mean rules. Tolkien wasn’t even the first one to do it, by the way, but he was the one person who made invented languages a cliche of the genre. But that’s okay. I forgive him for that. I like Quenyan and Sindarin, or the dozens of other interesting languages that have sprung up over the last 50 or so years. They’re interesting and I have the utmost respect for fantasy authors who can do it well, because I can’t. MythologyI don’t mean this in the traditional sense, although fantasy draws heavily from human mythology (obviously). By this, I mean that the fantasy genre has created its own mythology, largely due to Tolkien, of course. Science fiction, with rare exception, doesn’t have this benefit. The hordes of fans obsessively devoted to a particular world tend to be fantasy enthusiasts, not science fiction enthusiasts (with exception primarily to the Heinlein crowd and the folks that thing Dune is real). They have a lot to be devoted to: fantasy authors have developed entire histories for their fictitious civilizations, which have captivated audiences worldwide. It’s a beautiful thing. And there you have it! If you disagree with my selections, leave a comment. Or, if you would like to amend my list and put one of your own on here, leave a comment. Anywho!

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