April 2015

SF/F Commentary

Shaun’s Terrible Book Covers: With Great Power by @_terri_jones

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In case you missed it on Twitter, I playfully suggested that I would draw the cover art for someone’s book if they sent me a description for a scene.  And I promised the art would be bad, because I’m no artist. One brave victim responded to my call:  Terri Jones. And this is what I came out with: You can click for a larger image.  Yes, it is terrible.  But it’s also kind of awesome. I may do this again in the future, so keep an eye out 😛

SF/F Commentary

A Long List of Writing/Blogging Projects I Want to Do

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As you may recall, I mentioned that I had started to reconsider the future of this blog and my various blogging/podcasting/writing projects.  The conversation preceding and surrounding that post have led me here:  a post about the things I would like to do. Obviously, I cannot do all of these things, but I know these are projects I want to complete or pursue at some point in my life.  Your opinions on anything listed here is greatly appreciated.  If anything leaps out at you as something you’d really be interested in, let me know in the comments.  You’re also welcome to suggest things, as it’s possible I’ve forgotten something. Blogging Projects: Write more commentary on WISB — less so on controversies than on genre Create a steady, repeatably schedule of specific things for WISB Star Wars Extended Universe Re-read — reading, discussing, and reviewing the entire extended universe.  The ENTIRE EU.  In chronological order.  I feel inclined towards this because the EU is, well, gone, and I think that is a travesty. SFF Film Odyssey — a broader take on the lackluster feature I’ve been running.  Taking a play out of Jay Garmon’s suggestion, this would involve looking at sf/f films 10/20/30/40/50+ years in the past in some kind of order I’ve yet to determine.  Perhaps by week (10 years ago this week…).  Reviews and discussions of significant sf/f films (housed, I suspect, at Totally Pretentious). Director Explorations — reviewing every feature-length film released by a single director, old and new.  I’ve talked about doing this already; I think it could be a lot of fun to do at Totally Pretentious. Space Opera Read Along (for the Fall) — I’m teaching a space opera course in the fall.  Since I don’t often discuss older books on this blog, I thought that might be a cool thing to do in the fall. More book reviews — in combination with new and old.  I do so much “new” reading for Skiffy and Fanty that I feel I’m missing out on a lot of older stuff, and I suspect some of you might actually care what I think about books 20 or so years removed. International SF/F Fan Survey — to get input from non-US fandom about the Hugo Award (perception, etc.); this isn’t specific to the SP/RP thing, though a question would be directed to that.  I plan to get general feelings versus specific responses to contemporary controversies; the intent is to understand what folks outside of the States think about the award. Podcasting: Monetize The Skiffy and Fanty Show (yeah, I want to consider this now) Expand Totally Pretentious (and monetize so we can do more stuff) — David and I are talking about adding a second feature (Gap Fillers — where we alternate selecting a movie we think the other should see that they haven’t) and possibly adding more stuff in the future.  Some of that would be solved by increasing the subscriber base, but the others would require funding it, I think. Start a writing podcast Start a semi-academic sf/f podcast called Opera Fantastika. Start a podcast about my grandmother’s crazy life (seriously, her life was full of weirdness and laughter and crazy) Note:  to be clear — I don’t mean “monetize” in the sense of “I want to make money for myself.”  For Skiffy and Fanty, monetizing wouldn’t be profitable for me anyway because I share the show with a lot of other people.  But bringing in revenue for that show could mean we can get better recording equipment, attend more conventions, etc. Fiction: The Histories (blog novel) — a fictional history book detailing the real identity of Mike Underwood via an in-depth analysis of anthropological, photographic, and historical evidence. YA Space Opera Craziness — the novel I’ve been working on for a while, which I’ve tentatively described as two siblings — a tech-savvy genius and her wheelchair-using combat expert — go on a grand adventure through the universe, with wheelchair mecha, crazy technology, religious fanatics, mayhem, and wicked cool stunts. Camden in Nightface — “gritty” space opera which follows the leader of a revolutionary force who witnesses the total destruction of his homeworld and wages a terrorist campaign against a federation of Earth-aligned worlds.  The MC is literally a terrorist, so it’s a bit of a challenge. Full Magic Jacket — urban fantasy about a guy who bonks his head after a drunken stupor one evening and awakes to find that not only can he see the supernatural, but also his cat can talk to him…and turns out to be the reincarnated soul of an Egyptian pharaoh. Editing Projects: The Evil Anthology of Evil SFF — a collection of subversive science fiction and fantasy addressing evil in all its complicated machinations (at least two authors expressed interest in this, by the way, so I think it’s likely something like this could happen) The Secret Cabal — a collection of equally subversive sf/f on bigotry in its overt and subconscious forms House Cleaning: Finally move WISB to its own website. Finally figure out what WISB will become… And that’s it…for now.

SF/F Commentary

In the Duke’s Sights: Danielewski, Carroll, Butcher, and HelgadĂłttir

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In the Duke’s Sights is a regular column where I talk about the various books and movies that grabbed my interest in the last week. Destroying the Novel So Your TV Will Make Sense! I won’t pretend to fully understand all of Danielewski’s work, but I own all of it and find his refusal to participate in normal novel writing fascinating.  His latest novel, The Familiar Vol. 1, is apparently a deconstruction of the television series.  io9 has some great shots of the weird formats in the book, which are, as Danielewski is known for, just plain weird. The book doesn’t come out until next month, so you’ll have plenty of time to pre-order. Bigfoot is Probably Real (or in a Book) Subterranean Press recently sent me an ARC of an upcoming collection of three Harry Dresden novellas.  Since I’ve never actually read any of Butcher’s books, for which I will probably be summarily hung, I figure it’s about time I give his work a shot.  This seems like a nice entry point:  short and to the point!  Granted, I actually really liked the Dresden Files TV series, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy the written work, too. This particularly set of stories has Harry working for, well, Bigfoot.  That’s sufficiently goofy for me to want to read it. Really Weird Covers Creep Me Out! The cover for Jonathan Carroll’s upcoming novella from Subterranean Press reminds me of Aphex Twin’s music video for “Come to Daddy.”  Go on.  Watch it.  You know I’m right: In any case, Teaching the Dog to Read looks like more of Carroll’s brilliant weirdness wrapped in a single 96-page book.  The description says it all: Since the appearance of his first novel, The Land of Laughs, in 1980, Jonathan Carroll has been one of the most compelling, consistently versatile storytellers in modern imaginative literature. His extraordinary new novella, Teaching the Dog to Read, is quintessential Carroll: surprising, funny, and filled with unexpected moments and astonishing revelations.  The story opens when mid-level office drone Tony Areal receives an extravagant gift: the Lichtenberg wristwatch he has always coveted. Shortly afterward, he receives an even grander gift: the luxurious—and expensive—Porsche Cayman that has always been the car of his dreams. Accompanying the car is the mysterious Alice, who knows more about Tony’s dreams and desires than Tony himself. This encounter opens the door to a rich and unexpected universe: the world behind the world.  Teaching the Dog to Read is set at the intersection of the mundane and the miraculous, a place where reality itself shifts and shimmers with disconcerting suddenness. It begins in the realm of recognizable things and ends in a room where a bizarre—and invisible—reunion takes place. Along the way, it offers both grand entertainment and a visionary meditation on the complex connections between our dreaming and waking selves. The result is a master class in the art of narrative and a permanent addition to Jonathan Carroll’s remarkable body of work. The Stars, the Moon, the Inner Journey, the Outer Journey… Fox Spirit Books recently sent me several books from the far off mystical land of England.  Among them was MargrĂ©t HelgadĂłttir’s The Stars Seem So Far Away, a tale about the Earth in its last days.  Though the premise sounds familiar, the blurbs on the back of the book certainly enticed me, as they included high praise from Damien Walter of The Guardian and Adam Roberts, the celebrated academic and author.  Both praised HelgadĂłttir’s prose, so it’s likely I’ll find something to love in this particular book.  Thus, it goes to the big fat To Be Read pile!  —————— And there you have it.  Those are the things that grabbed my attention this week.  What about you?

SF/F Commentary

On Forgiveness and Redemption (Storify)

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[Update:  since a number of people are reaching my blog via this page, please see this addendum post, which includes an apology and other things related to this post.] You’ll need to click the “read more” because the darn Storify is so long that it floods my main page. [View the story “On Forgiveness and Redemption” on Storify]

SF/F Commentary

On the Future of This Blog and My Bid for World Domination

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Earlier today, I had a rather revealing conversation with Jay Garmon, Fred Kiesche, and Paul Weimer about Patreon, blogging, and being successful at both (Patrick Hester was also there, but he just wanted to talk about donuts…).  As you know, I have a Patreon page.  Over the last week or so, I’ve been wondering why it hasn’t been more successful given that this blog does have a few hundred readers and that I think I’m providing good content for sf/f-minded folks.  Granted, I never expected anything nearly as successful as Kameron Hurley’s $800-and-climbing Patreon page for obvious reasons:  she’s selling fiction (I’m not, though I wish I were); she’s sf/f famous (I’m kinda not really); and she has enough follows to drown a human being in a pool of bodies (I don’t).  But I thought it might be a little more successful. So, I started asking questions on Twitter to see why that might be.  Fred and Jay were the most vocal speakers on the subject, and each imparted upon me a set of core ideas that I realized I had never really addressed: There must be a focus (what you’re interested in beyond some generalized “thing”) There must be a “hook” (what makes it different from everything else) There must be a reason for reading (why should anyone care what you think) It dawned on me, then, that I didn’t have a focus.  This blog covers just about everything:  books, movies, TV, comics, SF/F controversies, writing, and other rambles.  It isn’t really about anything except in the broadest sense.  It’s about SF/F, which is sort of like saying “this is a blog about sports.”  And in trying to be about SF/F, I’ve created something that is about too many darn things.  For one man, that’s kind of ridiculous.  After all, I am not Tor.com, which can talk about dozens of things because it has dozens of contributors.  I am not SF Signal, which can do the same.  I am not Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together, Fantasy Faction, SF Site, and so on and so forth.  But I’m also not Adam Werthead, who covers bits of sf/f news, or Ian Sales, who maintains SFF Mistressworks, or Foz Meadows, who provides in-depth criticism of media and SF/F events from a particular feminist perspective, or Kameron Hurley, who does the same, and so on and so forth.  I am trying to do all the things but essentially not doing any one (or two) thing(s) particularly well. That’s been a huge problem for this blog.  I have so many interests that I want to do so many different projects.  But I don’t have time to cover everything I want to cover in a year, and so I end up sort of half-ass covering a few of the things I love.  The SFF Film Odyssey should have been completed last year, but I’m still inching my way along because I never focused on it.  All these side columns are great ideas, but for one person, they’re kind of impossible to manage if you have two teaching jobs and a PhD to finish.  Don’t get me started on my lackluster reviewing habits… So I started thinking about what I wanted to do as a blogger, what I wanted to do as a podcaster, and what I wanted to do as a writer and Patreon user.  And it came to me that maybe it’s time for something to change around here.  Maybe this blog has been stagnant for so long because I didn’t know how to make it better or to move on to the next thing or to focus on anything.  I wanted to do all the things and I couldn’t admit to myself that, well, I just can’t.  I can’t do all the things. Now I have ideas.  Many of them.  And I would love your input if you’re a reader of this blog.  Here are some disjointed thoughts on what I might do for the future: The Thinning Package: Open a new page which will focus on a specific thing (SF/F Film Odyssey type stuff, for example) Change WISB to a personal webpage for my writing self (still sf/f-ish, but not focused in the same way) Move most of my review-related blogging to The Skiffy and Fanty Show blog The Shifting Package: Move my SF/F Film Odyssey and film-relate stuff to the Totally Pretentious blog and run a specific act there (something like the SF/F Film Odyssey on a regular basis) Change WISB to a personal webpage and a space for critical reflections on genre happenings (which would otherwise be poorly suited to The Skiffy and Fanty Show blog) Move everything else to S&F as above The Ultra Thinning Package: Kill everything I’m currently doing on WISB and shift my focus to one specific, regularly occurring thing (SF/F Film Odyssey type stuff, perhaps) Move reviews to S&F as above SF/F criticism mostly disappears because S&F isn’t really the place for my ranting nonsense. Note:  obviously, I need to get this darn website off of Blogger and into something that looks, well, up to date for the year we’re actually in. Those are just some ideas.  I don’t have the answers yet because I haven’t a clue what do.  I’m only just beginning to think about how to change what I’m doing to make it better, not just in terms of the quality, but also in terms of my ability to “do” it.  And I’m still not certain what I want to do when I set down a focus, except that I think it would be stupid of me to leave out my academic side.  What I do know at this moment is that I can’t do everything, even if I would like to.  I just don’t have the resources, and I think trying to do too many things is ultimately damaging my ability to do anything else well. The comments are now yours.  Do let me know what you think about

SF/F Commentary

Adventures in Teaching: Space Opera Course Recommendations?

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In the upcoming fall semester, I will be teaching an upper division modern science fiction course on American space opera.  That’s right.  A whole entire course just on American space opera.  Though I have a few ideas for texts to teach, I realize that space opera is a massive field and that I would be remiss not to poke the infinite knowledge of other science fiction fans for works I might otherwise have missed or which might serve my needs better than the things in my head. With that in mind, I’m looking for space opera recommendations!  As of right now, I’m strongly considering teaching E.E. “Doc” Smith, Joe Haldeman, Tobias Buckell, Alfred Bester, Samuel R. Delany, Lois McMaster Bujold, and C.J. Cherryh.  I have a lot of titles, but I’m not sure what I will choose to focus on just yet.  Given the scope of the course, I may be limited in how much I can actually explore. So what am I looking for? 1) Short stories, novellas, and novels (no longer than 400 pages) which could reasonably be described as space opera OR playing in the space opera sandbox.  The stories should in some way engage with the course description: Coined by Wilson Tucker in 1941 as a pejorative, the science fiction subgenre of “space opera” has become a staple of science fiction narrative, most popularly envisioned in film by the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises. But far from mere visual spectacle or adventure, space opera’s history suggests a complicated relationship between the subgenre and the contemporary culture in which it is written. From its roots in the often paranoid and sometimes blatantly racist narratives (e.g., “Yellow Peril” stories) of what I.F. Clarke calls “future war fiction,” to its development as a legitimate subgenre in the pulps and the Golden Age via writers such as E.E. “Doc” Smith and Alfred Bester, space opera has always been in conversation with its time. It reinforces contemporary values or, as science fiction is apt to do, it critiques or deconstructs those values.  This course will explore the development of American space opera from its literary origins in late 19th-century “future war fiction” and the “Edisonades” to its codification as a subgenre in the pulps via writers such as Edmond Hamilton and E.E. “Doc” Smith. From there, the course will trace the legitimization of space opera as a subgenre in the Golden Age and the political blowbacks to its imperialistic and/or “conservative” themes or narrative tropes in the New Wave (Samuel R. Delany, et. al.) and New Space Opera periods (Tobias Buckell, C.J. Cherryh, et al.).  Readings will consist of serialized fiction, novels, and critical readings on science fiction, history, or relevant literary or cultural theory. Students will be expected to keep up with the readings and to regularly participate in class discussion. Written course requirements will include two short essays, a group discussion panel, weekly discussion questions, and one final essay. 2) Specific requests: Stories which are considered precursors to traditional space opera Stories which helped define the subgenre Stories which pushed against the traditional form (particularly works form the New Wave) Significant works of New Space Opera 3) Short Story Oddities:  though this course privileges American space opera, I may be able to fit relevant works of other non-US movements into the course (British Boom, etc.). 4) Non-fiction:  essays (academic or otherwise) which explore space opera as a genre or which explore specific works of space opera (w/ their space opera-ness as central). There you go.  Recommend away!

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