February 2009

World in the Satin Bag

Book Giveaways Around the Blogosphere

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Well, it’s that time again, if there’s ever really a “time” for these sorts of things.  Here’s a few giveaways for you: Blood of the Muse has a collection of all six Kitty Norville novels by Carrie Vaughn Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist also has the same set of Kitty Norville novels. SQT has a copy of S. L. Farell’s A Magic of Twilight. Scifi Chick has The Hidden City by Michelle West up for grabs. And just to make it easy on me, Mulluane has a huge list of other giveaways going on right now here. Good luck!

World in the Satin Bag

The Book Review Meme

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Well, I thought I would jump in on the bandwagon.  Here’s the newest viral meme from John of Grasping for the Wind: The Book Review Meme @ Grasping for the Wind1. Grasping for the Wind – INFOQUAKE by David Louis Edelman2. Age 30+ … A Lifetime of Books – A COMPANION TO WOLVES by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear3. Dragons, Heroes and Wizards – ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE by Robin Hobb4. Walker of Worlds – THE TEMPORAL VOID by Peter F Hamilton5. Neth Space – TOLL THE HOUNDS by Steven Erikson6. Dark in the Dark – GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY by M.R. James7. A Dribble of Ink – THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon8. Fantasy Book News & Reviews – EMPRESS by Karen Miller9. Fantasy Debut – ACACIA by David Anthony Durham Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Overall Review Afterthought 10.  WISB/F&SF Lovin’ Blog – SEABORN by Chris Howard There you have it! Feel free to steal it and add your own!

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Show Review: Dollhouse (Ep. 1)

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I was skeptical of Dollhouse, not because of Whedon (I’m a huge Firefly fan), but because it’s science fiction television on a network station (FOX). FOX has done a fine job destroying good science fiction shows for a while, and even killing a few that weren’t great, but still deserved to have a good run. Then, of course, there’s the fact that I find the vast majority of television in general to be mediocre at best, including some shows folks have praised as great. (Minor spoilers ahead, although, to be honest, if you’re at all interested in this show and haven’t seen the first ep., then you probably already know what I’m going to talk about) Dollhouse, I think, is a show with an enormous amount of potential. The first episode does a fine job establishing all the major elements Whedon wants us to know about. The Dollhouse is a facility where people are implanted with personalities to perform tasks (called “engagements”) and where, once finished, these same people are essentially wiped of those implants and returned to the facility where they are monitored and kept in relative bliss–free massages, free healthcare, and presumably free happy time. Echo (Dushku) is our protagonist, whose reasons for coming to the facility are, as of yet, not clear (I get the impression that she did something bad, but this could be twisted in so many ways based on the introductory moments). On one particular mission, Echo begins having flashbacks of something she witnessed back at the Dollhouse and flashbacks from the personality she has been implanted with. This, of course, raises a lot of questions about the memory-wiping/implanting process and the facility in general. Underneath all this there are several subplots: A detective (Penikett) investigating the existence of the Dollhouse (who seems somewhat, well, obsessed?). The conflict between Echo’s handler (Lennix) and the director (Williams) of the Dollhouse. It’s hard to say for certain whether I truly like this show based on one episode. As of now, I am excited to see what Dollhouse has in store for me. It could turn out to be my replacement for Battlestar Galactica, a show that is inches away from ending and subsequently turning my life back to the TV-less boredom it once was. Perhaps Dollhouse will become the next great science fiction show, or perhaps FOX will kill it like they did Firefly. What I can say about the first episode is that it is expertly crafted. Transitions are smooth, the acting is on par, the characters are interesting, the concept is fascinating and well drawn (leaving out a few things to make sure there’s plenty of twists and turns later), and overall it’s beautifully written.  Some part of me also wanted there to be more of the creep-factor in the Dollhouse. Don’t get me wrong, it’s somewhat of a creepy-everyone-is-the-same place, but I think Whedon could have stepped a little farther into the darkness of this entire concept. After all, the inhabitants of the Dollhouse, with the exception of the staff, are essentially slaves. Short of them going schizo on us, they’re stuck there and could technically be kept there indefinitely without knowing about any of it. That’s somewhat terrifying and it will be interesting to learn whether the Dollhouse is really all that secret, or if there’s something darker underneath that we haven’t learned about. On the critical side of things, I think the first episode did leave a little to be desired, and that stems from having a bit much going on and not enough of a bang.  True, I loved the concept and I was intrigued and entertained, but I suspect that Dollhouse’s future will depend on whether it can capture the vast majority of fans who aren’t necessarily interested in science fiction that is “thoughtful.”  This isn’t meant to be an insult to those fans, but it does explain why Battlestar Galactica does not have the massive ratings it deserves; television viewers tend to want a bit more action or comedy (and this is based on the vast majority of stuff that seems to show up on TV these days). My verdict is that this show is worth sticking with for now. I’m not on the fence about this, but I do have to reserve some of my judgment until I have seen two or three episodes. Episode two is coming soon and we’ll see if Dollhouse can keep me interested, or if it will lose me like Legend of the Seeker did. If you haven’t seen the episode already, go to Hulu and check it out. Edit:  I’ve added some bits to this review, primarily because I’ve had some different opinions swim into my head after letting things sit for a while. If you liked this post, please stumble it, buzz it, tweet it, leave a comment, etc. Thanks for reading!

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The Kindle Two: Audio Controversy or Industry Stupidity?

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No release of a new and improved version of an already powerful piece of technology would be as interesting without a little controversy. Apparently the Authors Guild is upset about the new Kindle’s text-to-speech feature, claiming that it could “undermine the market for audio books” (Associated Press). The Wall Street Journal has a bit more to say on that: Some publishers and agents expressed concern over a new, experimental feature that reads text aloud with a computer-generated voice. “They don’t have the right to read a book out loud,” said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild. “That’s an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law.” Now, quite a few folks with far more authority than myself have already spoken up on the issue, including Robert J. Sawyer and Neil Gaiman. They’ve made some fairly good arguments about the whole thing and I’d like to toss my two cents into the game. The problem with all this is that it is flirting dangerously close to the same line the music industry so idiotically crossed. And the music industry hasn’t contracted so much as literature has. True, as I’ve mentioned before, readership hasn’t actually drastically changed. Book sales are still high, with exception to everything following this massive recession we’re so firmly stuck in, and the same amount of people, if not a little more, are reading books now as much as they were about ten years ago–not to mention that most teenagers read a lot more these days than their parents did simply because access to the written word, particularly on subjects kids are interested in, is far better thanks to the Interwebs. What does this mean for the book industry if it crosses the line? It could spell disaster for it. The music industry was enormous when piracy first came into the public sphere. When they tried to stomp down on it by imposing harsh punishments and DRMing everything imaginable, they found that folks were far more willing to flip the bird to the big record labels and switch to the indie scene. But, the music industry didn’t die. It was big enough to survive its mistakes and it has done a decent job doing so. iTunes, as much as I despise it, has helped curb the piracy empire, though it hasn’t stopped. The music industry was at least smart enough to realize that it needed to begin changing its ways if it wanted to continue being profitable. The book industry, however, could find themselves in a horrible position by trying to impose the same rules. With all these electronic reading devices out there, if the book industry isn’t careful it could find that people will stop buying books entirely and use the electronic formats to get books for free. Add on to the fact that there is a thriving indie book community (podcasting, blog novels, etc.) and you can see where being music-industry-anal could spell certain doom. Audio rights are important; I’m not going to deny that. All rights are important, but when we start talking about suing Amazon for having text-to-speech technology installed on the Kindle Two, it’s like saying we’re going to sue mothers for reading to their children. Why should Amazon have to pay what would likely be an absurd amount of money for a feature that isn’t all that great anyway? Yeah, okay, I get the argument that some day technology will progress enough to make text-to-speech sound like something other than a craptastic, semi-realistic, mostly-robotic, humanoid demon. But that’s not happening tomorrow and it’s probably not happening for years. When that happens, then start bitching. Until it does, why can’t we stick with this feature? It won’t influence audiobook sales because people who like audiobooks are still going to buy them. A robotic voice cannot meet the production quality of a good audiobook. Period. And the people who are likely to use this feature regularly are probably not going to be people who would have paid the somewhat high price for an audiobook in the first place. Before we toss the almighty book of lawsuits at Amazon for adding a useful feature to their new techno-gizmo, we should consider the ramifications of that and the reality of the situation as a whole. We’re treading on dangerous ground in considering using the law to thwart technological progress; we’d be one step away from suing parents for reading to their kids, or blind people using a computer to read a book to themselves (a book they already paid $14.99 for)–or people reading to blind people, perhaps. When Amazon’s technology is able to actually replace audiobooks, then you can start demanding compensation. And maybe that will never happen. Maybe the next step for the Kindle (the Kindle Three, perhaps) is to make it capable of having both eBooks and audiobooks. That would make everyone happy, right? Imagine if Amazon’s enormous selling engine made it easier to buy and sell audiobooks through a wireless device? Consider that before we start making rash decisions and crossing the line.

World in the Satin Bag

SoD Chapter Two: Of the Lives of Loe

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The Luu’tre had struck ground. Sort of. She had hit something hard and unmoving, that much was clear, but when James and the others came out into the tempest they found the ship held at bay by something rocky, porous, and the color of the sun at sunset over thin mustache clouds.Laura knew then what they had struck: a coral reef. Captain Norp cursed and fluttered about the deck, running one way and another, commanding and demanding to pull lines one way and then the next. Everyone else had already accepted that no wind would pull the Luu’tre from the great mass beneath them. They needed the tides.Laura felt alone and crowded all at once. There was so much she didn’t understand about this world. Why did the great current in the Straight of Loe run so swiftly? Why did it run all the way down the coast of Traea? And most of all, why did this world exist in the first place? James had shown her his magical dictionary, humorously called How Not To Be a Barbarian, Fifteenth Edition. She was dismayed to find that the author, one Azimus Barthalamule, had gone into hiding and would no longer be supplying new entries. She wanted to know what was going on just like everyone else, and this little book that had once been sixty pages was their only connection.Laura most of all wanted to understand why Luthien, a man she couldn’t quite remember, even now some weeks later and after having seen his face in Sempur, had wanted her in the first place. What did she have that Luthien, a man of apparently untold power, wanted?Now she looked down over the deck of the Luu’tre and into the great red and pink mass below. Great waves bubbled and exploded. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Darl was right. They were grounded.James stood beside her and she tried to give him a sympathetic smile. He had tried to hide his emotions from her, but she could see through him, even if he wouldn’t admit it to himself. He was terrified and disappointed in himself. She stopped speaking to him about his magic to make things easier. She wouldn’t want to be reminded of her faults either.But James was in bad shape, and she knew it despite not having a clue how the magics of this mysterious world worked. What she did know was that anyone with a hand that was constantly healing was not in good health; James needed more powerful healing magic and fast.James didn’t return her smile, though he glanced at her with sunken eyes. “Coral,” he said.She nodded. “I wonder how far it goes. Maybe it’s like the Great Barrier Reef.”“Maybe.”“You remember that Discovery Channel show we watched,” she started, attempting to keep up the conversation. It had been too long since they’d talked as friends. “The one with all the little orange fish.”“Clown Fish,” he said.“Right. And that really long slithery snake with the pointy teeth.”“Moray Eel.”“Right. So you remember it?”“Yeah.” He eyed the reef below. “It gave me nightmares for a week when they showed those sharks eating the seals, though.”“I remember. You wouldn’t stay at my place because we had fish.” She laughed. “You were afraid of the goldfish.”James frowned. Then with enthusiasm he said, “Those were huge goldfish though. They had those big eyes too.”Together they laughed.Laura turned to look out into the vast ocean beyond and found herself face to face with Captain Norp and his tiny Littlekind face. He grinned and looked her straight in the eye. She yelped and jumped back.“Don’t sneak up on people like that!” She cried.“Beggin’ your pardon, ma’am. Couldn’t help listenin’.”“No, I imagine not. You nearly scared me half-to-death.”“Better than full-to-death.”Laura grumbled.“What’s the Discovery Channel?”“It’s a T.V. channel,” she said instinctively. Catching herself, she corrected, “Where I come from it’s a visual show about nature.”“What, like a play?”“Kind of.”“Why’s it called Discovery Channel?”“Well, because they discover stuff.”“Bout nature?”“Yes.”Captain Norp rubbed his chin. “Sounds boring,” he said, ending the conversation and hopping off the railing to the ground. He skipped back to the bridge. A moment later his little arms could be seen grasping the wheel, turning it one way and then another. Curses followed.Laura groaned. The Littlekind was going to drive himself madder than he already was if he didn’t let up. Or, he was going to drive everyone else mad with his gallivanting about with concerns and quibbles. She watched Captain Norp turn the wheel, run one way, then other, and slip down the stairs to pull on ropes and scream out commands. When she turned back she noticed that James had gone. She frowned. Whatever was going on in his head he wasn’t going to talk to her about it, even though she was his best friend. And he certainly wasn’t going to talk to any of the others.Triska came to the railing from across the other side, taking care not to get hit by the whirl of ropes and pullies around the center mast. Laura returned the woman’s smile out of courtesy; she was too worried about James to smile with sincerity.“He’ll be alright,” Triska said.Yeah right. “I just wish I could help him,” Laura said, letting her weight fall to the railing. “He won’t let me. He saved my life and I just want to help him, but I can’t.”“He has to help himself. We can’t do anything for him now.”“I don’t believe that. There has to be something we can do,” she pleaded.“Would he let us even if there was?”No, she thought.“Just let him get over this. He has a lot weighing down on his heart.”Triska patted her arm reassuringly and walked away. She looked back over the railing into the pink below. In the background she heard the wind battering the sails. Voices spewed commands left and right, ropes became taut, snapping with resonating sound, and the ocean roared a violent triumphant note as she lunged her watery arms over

World in the Satin Bag

Ten Reasons Why Fantasy Is Still Awesome

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Hot on the heels of my “Ten Reasons Why Science Fiction Is Still Awesome” list, here is my take on the reasons why fantasy is still awesome. This list was much more difficult than the last primarily because most of the reasons I came up with were cliche. I wanted to do something more with this list than just talk about dragons and magic (granted, those things are in this list, just not as separate items). Don’t be scared to leave me a comment.And here goes: PopularityIt seems like the fantasy genre never had to worry about dying out. It’s always been popular and probably always will be because it is the ultimate escape. Science fiction, unfortunately, is limited in scope. It can only go so far before it becomes fantasy. Fantasy can go anywhere, anytime, anyplace (why it doesn’t, I don’t know). And with all the movies, TV shows, comics, etc. being made out of fantasy series, I don’t expect this popular boom to stop. Improves LiteracyYou might disagree with me on this, but I see the fantasy genre as one that has drastically improved literacy across multiple generations and improved the desire to read among the young. Harry Potter may not be the best fantasy or literature in general, but it has fired up the imaginations of kids all around the world. Even Twilight and Paolini’s Eragon have done wonders for literacy and reading. Say what you will about any of these authors. The fact remains that while kids are still picking these books up, they’re still reading. Some of them may move on and try more “literary” things, or some may stick with fantasy, or science fiction, or both. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that they’re reading! VarietyHow many different series are there in fantasy? How many of them are still going? Every year the list gets longer and longer. The genre isn’t letting up. True, I find the automatic move towards the trilogy or the never-ending series tiring, but the one thing you can’t knock fantasy for is the variety. There are so many authors, so many different kinds of fantasy, so many publishers, so many lengths and characters, etc. The tropes are still there, but if you’re willing to flutter along the edges you can find some fascinating, thought-provoking works. MoviesFor some reason it seems like fantasy books make far better movies that science fiction books do. Case in point:The Lord of the Rings movies were absolutely brilliant, as were the books. 2001: A Space Odyssey or Blade Runner? Not so much. Visually they were brilliant, but as far as being entertaining films…not by a long shot.Fantasy has Stardust, Harry Potter, the Chronicles of Narnia, Spiderwick, and Conan (yes, this last one was a good movie for what it was, thank you). Science fiction can’t really compare as far as well-rounded films go. This is referring ONLY to books turned into movies. As far as completely original works in film form, science fiction trumps fantasy every single time (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.). Contemporary FantasyThis “new” trend of fantasy stories that flirt with the edges of the genre are particularly fascinating these days. It’s probably partially because they’re being written by people far outside of the genre (or at least not people who are known as part of the genre), or maybe it’s for entirely different reasons. Either way, contemporary fantasy, as a genre that isn’t all that new and yet feels so, well, fresh, is, in my opinion, revitalizing an already healthy genre. To put it simply, it adds character. Escapism (Still)Fantasy is still the kind of escapism, and I mean that in a good way. While some of its subgenres have become a little tired, new forms are erupting all over the place, drawing people in and giving them the opportunity to see fantastic worlds that never existed, to meet kings and magicians, and to see amazing creatures brought to life. Fantasy is still the only genre that truly offers an escape into the impossible, and it will continue to do so in the future. ImaginativenessThis ties into escapism, but at the same time is separate. Fantasy has an obvious history as the genre of the imagination, where things come to life that otherwise could never exist. Science fiction does a good job covering the possible, but fantasy covers all that stuff that never will be. As such, it’s a genre of imaginative elements, drawn together into new and striking worlds and characters. The cliches are still around, but the longer you look into the genre, the more you come to realize how much creative diversity exists there (it’s interesting, also, to consider that many of those old cliche elements are now being reworked and changed; orcs can now defy their “programming” and be good folks, if you can believe it). Comics/Graphic NovelsWhile I’m sure there are some excellent science fiction comics/graphic novels, most of the ones I have enjoyed have been fantasy, in some shape or form (and almost always some sort of Japanese concoction). Even the superhero genre has a hard time breaking out of the fantasy genre, if that was ever its intention. Granted, a lot of the best comic/graphic novel-based movies were science fiction, but that doesn’t seem to have phased the thriving fantasy comic/graphic novel market. I’m particularly fond of manga (such as the work of Yuu Watase, who did Alice 19th, one of my favorites). Manly Men and Strong WomenUnlike other genres (like cyberpunk), fantasy is populated by strong female leads and manly men. When I say manly men, I mean dudes who wield swords and chop off orc limbs with ease. None of this dork with bifocals waltzing around getting laid by cybernetically augmented super witches crap. No, in fantasy, the status quo is still maintained for the sake of realism. Do any of us really believe that a super dork can land a hot girl one not and spend the next twelve hours

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