January 2010

World in the Satin Bag

Book Magnet Entry #3: Null Pointer and Star Strikers by Ken McConnell

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The third entry for my Book Magnet Project is in, and late (because of me). There’s a story, though: I picked up the letter containing Mr. McConnell’s magnet and bookmarks and put it into a book, where it remained for quite some time due to my mind deciding it didn’t want to memorize where I had placed the stuff. But, I found the magnet again, and the bookmarks, and want to tell you all about this very interesting set of books by Ken McConnell! So, let’s start with this first:Description of Null Pointer: The man in the cubicle beside him was dead. The police say it was a heart attack, but programmer Joshua Jones knows better. A message he found in the dead man’s code points to a psychotic hacker who can strike through the internet, leaving no trace. Relying on the advice from his tech savvy friends, Joshua must solve the mystery of who the killer is before becoming the killer’s next victim. It sounds interesting, right? The author was worried that it might not be specfic-y enough, but a story about a hacker that kills people through the Internet? That’s pretty damn specfic-y to me! You can find Null Pointer on Amazon.com or in the various other formats and locations listed here (you might also be curious to know that the novel can be found for free on a blog and in various ebook formats, including the big boys). So, check it out! Might be a thrilling read for the cyberpunk enthusiast!Description of Starstrikers: Starstrikers is a military space opera that takes place during a thousand year war between two galactic civilizations. It captures the strategy of fleet admirals, the bravery of common spacers and the adventures of an elite special forces team as they all struggle against a powerful enemy war lord with devastating new technology. The description leaves much to the imagination, but if you’re into space opera, it might be the one for you! The novel can be found on Amazon.com and loads of other places listed here (in print and digital format). It’s also free in several formats available at the aforementioned link. About the Author: Ken McConnell is a writer of SF and Mystery novels and short stories. He works as a software tester and writes fiction in his spare time. He has maintained a blog about writing and technology since 1998. You can follow him on Twitter (user name: KenMcConnell). You can find more information about Mr. McConnell and his fiction at his website. There you have it folks! Feel free to check out Mr. McConnell’s books and his website. ———————————————————- There you have it. If you have a promotional magnet for your sf/f (or related) book and want to take part in this project, send an email to arconna[at]yahoo[dot]com with the subject “Book Magnet Project.” Help me cover my fridge!

World in the Satin Bag

Magical Realism: A Brief Definition (in the form of a rebuttal)

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Over at Suite 101 they have an article about Magical Realism. While the author lists some excellent examples of the subgenre, I do think she gets one thing quite wrong: An angel walks into your local grocery story with shiny wings and a glowing halo. Everyone accepts this as a natural occurrence and doesn’t bat an eye. My problem with this statement isn’t that it’s simplistic–the author admits that as a fault. The problem is that it’s wrong on a fundamental level. I would argue that Magical Realism is actually an exceptional disconnection of the fantastic from focus. Yes, it is about the acceptance of the fantastic as natural, but it goes beyond that. Magical Realism makes exceptional, both in its form (writing) and its content (characters, etc.), the naturalization and de-mystification of the fantastic; this means that, while Fantasy presents the fantastic in a way that is both exceptional in its presentation (i.e. we see it vividly and in a form that clearly demarcates the elements that make it fantastic) and its content (stories “of” the fantastic), Magical Realism does the exact opposite, taking something that we know doesn’t exist (or at least only exists in a particularly limited supernatural scope) and putting it into the backdrop of an otherwise “real” story. You don’t actually “see” the fantastic elements in Magical Realism unless you’re intentionally looking for it. They become so utterly embedded into the world, so de-emphasized so as to be less than a passing fancy. You don’t see the fantastic in Magical Realism well enough to say that it is a coherent structure of the fiction being portrayed. So, when an author uses an example like an angel walking into a grocery store, that has far more to do with urban fantasy than it does with magical realism. Why? Because the angel is not de-emphasized; the example clearly allocates considerable textual play to the nature of that angel’s existence, placing such a being outside of the exceptionally naturalized. Magical Realism goes that one step further by making the fantastic natural for us (the readers) too. Does anyone disagree with me? Let me know what you think about Magical Realism. I’m curious to hear opinions on this.

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Movie Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

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You’ve probably never heard of this movie. More than likely, it’s not even playing in your local movie theater. What is it? Well, for starters, it’s the last movie to feature Heath Ledger, which became a problem for the director because they hadn’t finished filming (which explains why Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Colin Farrell make short appearances). Ring any bells yet? No? How about the fact that it’s directed by Terry Gilliam? Okay, well, if you’re not on board yet, let me get the important bits out of the way: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a stunning example of how fairytales, myths, legends, and all those other things we’ve passed off as nothing more than childish fantasies can be used to tell emotionally engaging and complex modern stories that comment upon all facets of human existence. An immortal (Christopher Plummer as Doctor Parnassus) and his little companion (Verne Troyer) run a traveling show with the Doctor’s teenage daughter and an impetuous youth. But Doctor Parnassus has made a terrible deal with the Devil, and the Devil has come for his payment. The Doctor must find a way to thwart the Devil and protect those he cares about without making things worse for he and his daughter. Slipping between a 19th century England (my guess) and a strange world driven by hopes and dreams (literally), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is beautiful in almost every detail.I’ve been looking forward to this movie for a while, for many of the reasons I listed in the opening paragraph to this review. I expected it to be good, yes, but I didn’t expect it to be the one film from 2009 that will stick with me forever. IDP (the acronym I will use for this film from now on) is infectious in waya I don’t think anyone ever expected. IDP is really a monument to collaborative effort. Everything from the cast to the design meld together into the closest thing one can get to perfection in a film whose main actor passed suddenly in the middle of filming. IDP is not flawless. How could it be? There are huge chunks of story that probably couldn’t be done without making Gilliam’s use of the fantastic in Ledger’s absence inconsistent. But, what could have been a disaster turned into something I think I’ll remember for decades to come. It’s a film I might be willing to pay $20 for when it comes out on DVD, and that’s a claim I can’t make for most films. Visually, IDP is not just stunning, but bloody brilliant. Whoever was responsible for the development of the fantastic “dreamworld” did something most films have never been able to do: take something that, to most people, would seem impossible and turn it into something so real, so odd, and so wonderful that it lights up the screen and allows viewers to revert back to that childish, dreaming state (all without playing down to the audience). The way the scenes (both in the “dreamworld” and outside of it) seamlessly mesh together real and fantastic gives IDP a charm, a kind of aura that recaptures the power of stories. You really have to see the film to understand. While everyone is talking about Avatar, I’m focusing all my attention on IDP, because there is nothing quite so mystical and astonishing as a film that can meld the real world with one that doesn’t exist (a feat that no secondary world/universe can ever do). But what about the characters and the story? The cast works well together, and Christopher Plummer really shows his colors here. I’ve never seen him in roles that really require him to demonstrate emotional complexity (though I haven’t seen all his films), but here he creates a character you love and hate all at once, who is so unimaginably human that you forget that he’s an immortal. Ledger is also well placed here, along with the supporting case (even Verne Troyer is lovable, and his cracks about midgets were definitely humorous). The rest of the cast seemed to fit well, but most importantly, I think is the story: a mish-mash of fairytales and myths in a modern (or pre-modern, if you will) world. The story unfolds at a pace that gives you time to think, if you want to, or surprises you with humor or twists and turns. It’s like watching a movie for kids with adult jokes tossed into the mix that everyone enjoys (except IDP isn’t for kids). The short version of all of the above is this: see this movie. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is an amazing film that deserves more attention than it is currently getting, and you should support it by seeing it in theaters. Forget Avatar or whatever other big movie is out right now. They can’t hold a candle to what has to be Gilliam’s finest work yet. Directing: 4.75/5Cast: 4.75/5Writing: 4.75/5Visuals: 4.5/5Adaptation: N/A (it isn’t an adaptation as far as I know)Overall: 4.7/5Value: $10.00 (based on a $10.50 max)

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Suspending Disbelief While Writing Fantasy (Harder Than It Sounds)

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I may have talked about this before (in passing), but I wanted to bring the subject up again, and in a little more depth. And then I’m going to ask a question. I’ve been struggling as of late with writing fantasy. While I love the genre, I can’t seem to get past the third or fourth chapter in any fantasy novel I try to write (and from my reading statistics over the last few years, I apparently have read more fantasy than science fiction, as shocking as that may sound). The problem? Every time I start a fantasy idea (mostly in novel form), I end up burning out, not because of the usual (I’m bored of the story or characters), but because I cannot suspend my own disbelief in terms of the “cliches.” I have no problem doing this while reading, though, and this poses a bizarre dilemma. How exactly can I write in a genre I enjoy if I can’t get past my own nagging guilt that I’m “telling the same story all over again?” Other authors do it (and let’s face it, most of them aren’t writing anything “original” at all, because that’s not really what fantasy is about). I read it. I love it. And I rarely dislike fantasy if the writer can pull off the cliches with grace (meaning they write in a way that makes the cliches irrelevant). I don’t know if that’s my problem. Am I graceless when it comes to fantasy? Maybe. When I write fantasy I get a good twenty or thirty pages into the story (maybe even 50) before I tell myself “I’ve seen this before” and lose interest. No, I’m not consciously trying to copy others (in fact, the novel I was working on for a while, Watchtower, had what I thought was a fairly unique use of old ideas developed outside of fantasy and then shoved into the middle of it for what the genre offered to the story). I may be doing this unconsciously, and, if so, I wonder if that is also a problem all fantasy writers (published or otherwise) deal with on a regular basis. On the flip side, what makes it easier to suspend disbelief while reading fantasy (again, in terms of the cliches) than while writing it? Is there a switch that needs to be turned on somewhere in my head? So, I’ll ask those of you who are writers (published or otherwise) what you do, or would suggest I do, to get past this? Is this a normal nagging thing for all writers of fantasy?

World in the Satin Bag

Why I’m Glad I Was Poor When I Was A Stupid Writer

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I’ve been thinking back to the good old days when I was young and unaware of my imminent demise from alcohol poisoning or a brain aneurysm. It occurred to me, in that musing, that I should be very grateful about growing up on welfare and various other degrees of poor-ness. Why? When I started really getting into writing, there weren’t a lot of great ways to “get published.” This whole “webzine” thing hadn’t happened yet, publishers were far away, meaning you had to pay for postage (because nobody took email submissions back in the day), and the scammers (i.e. what are now called vanity presses, in various shapes, since there was no Lulu or Createspace) were everywhere, milking anyone they could for every cent (to be fair, Lulu and Createspace milk you too, but at least they are honest about it and seem to avoid the unethical methods other companies do). And back in those days, I was a dumbass. I actually thought that it was the same thing to spend $5 to send a manuscript to a publisher, to wait months and months and months, to get accepted with a $5,000 advance, and to see my book on the shelves as spending $5,000 to have a company print my book under the guise that somehow I would end up the same as Stephen King, that my book would be in stores and people would love me and all that happy stuff, and that the company was accurate and honest in its claims. I learned my lesson eventually, much the same way so many others have: by seeing other people who weren’t as poor, but equally as stupid as myself, get screwed over and lied to or put into various stages of delusion about the reality of their existence as “published writers.” So, if there’s anything to be grateful for when it comes to being poor as hell as a kid, it’s that I didn’t have the money to do something absolutely positively stupid. You know, like fall for some of the horrible crap described here.

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SF Signal’s Newest Mind Meld: My Top Five Anime Films

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The fine folks over at SF Signal asked me to contribute to their newest Mind Meld on the top five Anime films. I mistakenly assumed they meant movies as opposed to television, so I’d probably change a few things now. Still, the ones I did pick are all excellent movies. They are: Howl’s Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki) The Cat Returns (Hiroyuki Morita) Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii) Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki) The Place Promised In Our Early Days (Makoto Shinkai) The actual post for the Mind Meld contains a bit more info for each, and a hell of a lot of other selections by writers and Otaku alike. If I were to change the list to include television, I’d probably consider some of the following shows: Gasaraki Saikano Samurai X Crest of the Stars (and Banner of the Stars I & II) Gundam Wing (because I grew up on it, so bite me if you think it’s stupid) There are plenty of others I’ve seen and liked, which poses a problem for me when trying to narrow things down to five. It’s easy for films; it’s impossible when you combine the two. In any case, you should check out the Mind Meld. There’s a lot of great stuff there!

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