SF/F Links: April April April
Nothing like a few more links to make you grin with joy, right? This time I have quite a few really interesting ones, which isn’t to say that the ones I had put up in previous posts weren’t interesting. I’m just trying to make you more excited about these particular links. Here goes: Vandonovan presents possibly one of the worst examples of purple prose ever thrust onto the public. To make it more entertaining, though, there is fanart (make sure to scroll down for the link, because it’s hilarious). Robert J. Sawyer has some interesting answers to questions about technology (meant for a Turkish newspaper/magazine apparently). Thoughts By Ted asks whether it is ethical to pirate the e-text of a book he already owns for travel convenience (so he doesn’t have to lug the dead tree book around). What do you think? A really awesomely detailed diagram of a sailing ship from back in the day. Check out the website for Iron Sky, a new alternate history movie in which Nazis fled to the moon and then came back to fulfill Hitler’s mission! Discovery has a story about a computer called MEXICA that actually writers fiction stories. I don’t know how good they are, but that’s pretty cool in my book! Here is an interesting chart called the Trilogy Meter, showing (I think) the relationship between the different parts of various famous movie trilogies based on popularity and rating. It’s simple, so don’t be overwhelmed. Scientists studying the human brain and its reactions to the process of reading have made some fascinating discoveries, particularly this one that suggests that we create simulations within our minds of the world presented within a story (not necessarily a fantasy story, but any story). Here’s an interesting post defending readers. It talks a lot about the solitary experience that is reading. I have no idea who the author is defending readers against, but so be it. Elizabeth Willse asks “What Makes Good Fantasy?” Well, what do you think makes good fantasy? I’ll have more links later on. For now, this is it! Anywho!
SF/F Links: The March Opener
What could be a better way to start the month than with some interesting links? A lot of things, but unfortunately I can’t send any of you to Disneyland or buy you all a brand new sports car. So you’re stuck with links. Enjoy: Here’s a list of 11 literary references people make without realizing it. It’s an interesting list (I don’t agree that all of them are unknown to people, but maybe that’s because I get almost all of them instantly). Clarion South needs your help. Donate, or something. Stock Bank has a short list of some very interesting speculative fiction books written by African Americans. Heretical Ideas talks about the sluggish progress of transportation technology today in comparison to the past. It’s interesting to think about where we’ve come from in that field and the fact that we’re not going much of anywhere now. Larry at OF Blog of the Fallen talks about worldbuilding and escapism in fantasy literature and recent “trends” calling for more “realism” in the genre. Futurismic has an article about a recent study from Reading University that suggests the extinction of some words in the English language we’re all familiar with. Weird and interesting. Maybe we need a conservation campaign for the English language! Mike Brotherton asks what you think about the Loch Ness monster, Big Foot, and other cryptozoological things. Tia of Fantasy Debut has a great article about readership and reader retention. Colleen Anderson has an interesting letter talking about the ghettoization of speculative fiction. Some great points are made. SF Signal asks what the worst book you ever read was. I voted one of the ones I reviewed a while back and could get into. What about you? And there you have it. Enjoy!
SF/F Links: A Few Feb Links
Well, I thought I would bring this feature back. I’m not going to make it as big as I did in the past, but hopefully it will be of use to folks. Here goes: Charles Stross and John Scalzi have posted their opinions on the issue of lateness that has GRRM’s fans all twisted in knots and GRRM a bit irritated. SF Signal has their latest mindmeld feature up asking various authors who their literary influences are in the realm of science fiction. Scifi Chick has a short interview with Eliza Dushku from Dollhouse. Climb the Sky talks about magic and it’s many interesting points. Locus Online has an article about why science fiction often fails at predicting things. It’s interesting, to say the least. I take issue with some of the points made, though. I don’t think science fiction is so much as failure in predicting a lot of things, just not very good at picking good dates. Reality dictates that we’ll conquer space eventually, just not on the time frame provided by science fiction writers… And some random science for you all: Japanese coral can apparently change back and forth between sexes as needed based on their environment. What the heck is it with the environment and sex changes? SF Signal asks what your favorite bookstore is. It’s old, but so be it. Mine, as I’ve mentioned before, is either Bookshop Santa Cruz or Logos in Santa Cruz (or Borderlands Books in San Francisco or Powell’s City of Books in Portland, OR). What about you? What is your favorite bookstore and why? And there you have it! Hope you enjoy the links.
Ten Things That Make Me Stop Reading
Hinging off Matt Staggs’ recent post on the same subject, I thought I would talk about what elements in a novel make me stop reading.I’m a notoriously picky reader, especially when it comes to novels. Some of my TAs at school have learned this, and others are probably oblivious, but when I’m not entertained by a book, it instantly becomes a chore and, thus, difficult for me to actually get through (sometimes I stop reading entirely, even though they are school books). Since I already have to read so many novels, I find myself largely becoming uninterested in books that don’t immediately grab me and, thus, I develop a more sophisticated (not necessarily better) taste in literature.Here are ten things that will almost always make me toss a book across the room: Unrealistic Sex ScenesI realize that the uber dork meeting an attractive woman and then having an all-night-romp of passionate, intense love making is appealing, but it’s also incredibly unrealistic and somewhat pathetic. What about nerves? What about guys who aren’t reincarnated sex machines? Most men aren’t super lovers who can go seven times in half a day (I’m looking at you, Greg Bear; that scene in Blood Music was absolutely absurd and seemed too much like a personal fantasy). Of course, most men won’t admit this, but that’s not the point. The point is that sex isn’t perfect. Not everyone who is inexperienced will magically be good at it. Most will suck. Let’s put some of that into our novels, please. The unrealistic inexperienced lanky guy who gives his partner five O-moments in one night is a bit, well, overused and easy to see as poorly disguised personal fantasy. Rape (Used Poorly)Any time when rape is used for shock value, I’m out. The same can be said for scenes following a rape in which the victim seems relatively un-phased. I don’t find rape entertaining; most people don’t. Rape should be put into a story to serve a purpose. This is why I couldn’t stand The Hills Have Eyes 2: the rape scene was there only to be shocking, not to develop a character in a certain way or drive the plot or anything (it was an opportunity to do something disgusting in order to make our skin crawl). I will drop books that do not address rape as an important and emotionally devastating thing. It’s no walk in the park and I want to see that in the writing. Violence For the Sake of Being ViolentI don’t mind blood and gore. But just as with rape, it has to have a purpose. If you’re just showing me limbs being chopped off because you like it, then I’m likely to drop the book. I want violence that takes itself seriously, that tries to convey a scene realistically and with logical consequences. If a character is involved in a war and manages to survive relatively unscathed after seeing all his friends get chopped to bits, how does he respond to that? If your answer is anything like “he goes off and dances to lively elven music while remarking how awesome the battle was,” then I’m out. Being Artistic For the Sake of Being ArtisticConsider this literary snobbery, if you like. I absolutely despise novels that try to do new things with language or story for the purpose of being artistic. The problem I have with a lot of literary fiction is that most of the people who write that stuff are so focused on the art form that they have forgotten how to tell a story. Literature is here to tell and show us stories. Novels that don’t give any attention to the story and all the attention to language and style are ones that eventually get dropped by me. Entertain me with your pretty language; don’t bore me to death. Laggy BeginningsIf it takes more than fifty pages for something to happen that is interesting, then I’m not likely to finish the book. In a 300-page novel, it’s not much to ask for a bit of action or something in the beginning, even if it’s something small. Set up a question or show me something crazy. Do something. You’ve got more space to get me interested in the rest of the book than you had with your editor. The ending shouldn’t be boring, period. Crappy WritingThis one is pretty obvious, right? I’m going to lob all forms of crappy writing in there: bad style, lots of spelling/grammar errors, poor plotting, etc. I don’t think I need to go beyond this except to say that how you tell a story is extremely important. If reading a work is like trying to decipher ancient hieroglyphics, then clearly whatever it is I’m reading doesn’t deserve to be published. Poor Science Played Off Like Legit ScienceI’m perfectly fine with letting slide things like faster-than-light travel, aliens that look human-ish, etc. What I don’t like is when a science fiction author writes a story filled with explanation about some “new” science that, in reality, is actually a load of absolute nonsense. If you want to write fantasy, then write fantasy. If you want to write hard SF, then stick with sciences we know. The one thing that non-hard SF writers do successfully is represent their “fantasy” tropes as just that: tropes. FTL for them is simply there, thus allowing them to focus on the story rather than trying to explain how their FTL works without violating the laws of the universe. Don’t explain to me how FTL works, just tell me it does and move on. Confusing Names and Other Bad Worldbuilding CrapNames need vowels. Fjfjcbvyx is not a name; it’s what happens when your cat runs over your keyboard. The thing that bothers me about some fantasy novels is the endless repetition of the unpronounceable name. This alone isn’t enough, though. There have to be a collection of worldbuilding-related things working together to get me to drop a novel. These include, but
The Book Review Meme
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!
Ten Reasons Why Fantasy Is Still Awesome
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