Scifi Media

Book Review: Zone One, by Colson Whitehead

2012-01-25T22:19:00.004-05:00

Zombies are in.

From AMC’s smash hit television series The Walking Dead, to the movie Zombieland (and the upcoming film version of Max Brooks’ World War Z), flesheaters are everywhere. In fact, they’re so much everywhere that I have started worrying that zombies were reaching that too-much-of-a-good-thing spot that vampires reached right around the second Twilight book.

So, it was with some curiosity and a fair bit of skepticism that I read Colson Whitehead’s most recent book, Zone One. The story follows three days in the life of Mark Spitz (no, not that Mark Spitz), a survivor of a zombie apocalypse, who is working to help the government re-establish an outpost of civilization in lower Manhattan.

Spitz is employed as a “sweeper”, part of a team whose job it is to clean out straggler zombies from buildings in the Zone. Over the course of the novel, Spitz reflects on how he came to be there, his relationships with his teammates, the fall of modern civilization, and its prospects for rebirth.

There are two types of zombies in Whitehead’s world: the vast majority are the mindless, ravenous hordes that we all know and love and the other are a rare type of “malfunctioning” undead. These poor creatures spend endless days repeating a single task from the fallen world: standing at a copy machine, pushing a broom around a room, holding a skillet in a long-unused kitchen. They don’t attack people and never even seem to notice them. It is these stragglers that Spitz is most interested in and curious about.

Whitehead is no hack “genre” writer either – his literary novels over the past decade have been critically well received and have even been finalists for prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. And, boy, can the man put a sentence together. (Of the sort that makes me despair as a writer, knowing that I’ll probably never write sentences that good.) Using power metaphors and allusions, Whitehead transforms the day-to-day drudgery of Spitz’s Zone One existence into something beyond a horror story. It is, in a way, horror literature.

In Zone One, Whitehead turns the view of the post-apocalyptic world back onto the trappings of our world and civilization – the technologies we take for granted, our attachment to material goods, and our societal preoccupations – and plays on our own desire to “chuck it all away and start over”. The scenes with the malfunctioning zombies, stuck in the pointless, repetitive lives are particularly well done. And through it, Spitz becomes sort of a 21^st century everyman who sheds the modern world, but doesn’t particularly mourn it.

The book is an engaging societal and human commentary, masterfully written against (and within) a now-familiar zombie apocalypse backdrop that manages something remarkable: a fresh take on a genre that I thought was getting stale.

Four stars out of five.

The Making of: Icarus & Daedalus: 1st short story, Part 4.

2012-01-25T15:04:00.000-05:00

Taking longer than last entries. I’ve had less time to work on this project lately. But I have been productive. Here are a couple of entries for our heroes ala The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (sort of).
____________________________________________

ICARUS SNEED

Real Name: Icarus Sneed
Aliases:
Occupation: Thief, vigilante, revolutionary
Known Relatives: Mary Lou Sneed (mother)
Group Affiliation: Partners w/ Daedalus Scott, aka.the Oni Brothers. Mentored by Ogun Thoth
Education:
DOB:
Ht: 5'10"
Wt: 170 lbs.
Eyes: blue
Hair: light brown
Skin: caucasian
Appearance: Lean, handsome, trendy.
Abilities: Combat skills focused around his speed/agility, superspeed, enhanced dexterity, thief skills (streetwise, fast-talk, B&E, stealth, climbing), acrobatics, parkour.
Equipment: Lots of B&E equipment.
Personality: The Promoter ESTP, charming, impulsive, materialist/hedonistic, realist, optimist, improvise, flashy, actor/the gas pedal, spytech/technophile, Gray Mouser, Lancer, The Charmer, Loveable Rogue, Chaotic Good, Fragile Speedster, Badass, Roguish Male, Wise Guy.
Interests: Women, good food/drink, helping the little guy as long as he's pretty well off financially
History: Born and raised on the streets of Optimus, TN by his single mother, a transplant from Mississippi. Got in/out of trouble by getting into Parkour. Petty street criminal for years. Graduated high school and joined Schwa Balice’s cat burglar crew, going into higher tech and magical techniques. He learned ninja-ish skills. Sticking with Balice, Icarus was able to advance to higher-grade jobs. he learned the criminal and law enforcement subcultures of Optimus, TN.

Icarus struck out on his own and has become a favorite instrument of Ogun Thoth, a Pawn Shop Owner with a hand in both the black and ordinary markets. Icarus was caught during a daring robbery on Hugo Lamb’s estate (CEO of Mondrian Industries). Off to prison.

Icarus met a quiet, oddly out of place man in prison, named Daedalus Scott. While Icarus already knew and was friendly with a large number of folks in prison, Daedalus was practically unknown to the inmates, until he recognized him from the news as that fellow that had ended up beating up a large number of cops during an Occupy Optimus protest outside of Mondrian Industries HQ. Intrigued and rather bored in prison, he became friends with Daedalus. Icarus found him calming and trustworthy in a sea of scheming and posing prisoners. Icarus had always been apolitical but found himself sympathetic to Daedalus' left-wing enthusiasm. He didn't buy it all the way, but he was sympathetic.

After a particular discussion Icarus realized they were both screwed by Hugo Lamb and Icarus proposed a Robin Hood approach, once they got out of jail. Daedalus thought it was a good idea and was released early from prison. Icarus killed some time until oddly enough Ogun Thoth pulled some strings and got him out on a reduced sentence six months after Daedalus. Ogun Thoth clearly implied he will call in a favor later as repayment.

Icarus found Daedalus, after hitting one of his stashes to get some more money and a new outfit. Daedalus was living in a horrible apartment in a poor neighborhood and working multiple shifts at fast food joints and working as a bouncer at night clubs. Icarus, brought Daedalus to his place and they'd be roomies as they planned their revenge on Hugo Lamb, and got rich in the process in Icarus'mind.

They settled into a warehouse in an industrial part of town with a large office looking over the warehouse floor that's been converted to a bedroom apartment. There they began to plan thei Robin Hoodery upon Hugo Lamb.

__________________________________

DAEDALUS SCOTT

Real Name: Anthony Daedalus Scott
Aliases: Daed (usually pronounced Dead), Blue Oni
Occupation: Thief, vigilante, revolutionary
Known Relatives: Ronald David Scott (father-English/Art Teacher), Michelle Sarah Scott (mother-Math Teacher), Isaac Ulysses Scott (2 yrs older brother), Nicole Oshun Scott & Olivia Isis Scott (the twins 4 years younger)
Group Affiliation: Partners w/Icarus Sneed, a.k.a. the Oni Brothers. Mentored by Bantu Ochoa
Education:
DOB: 4/24/87
Ht: 6'
Wt: 220 lbs.
Eyes: dark brown
Hair: brown-black, short cut, goatee
Skin: brown
Appearance: Burly, tends to wear earth tones, and loose fitting comfortable clothing. Right shoulder Black Panther Party tattoo. Left shoulder Black Star tattoo (references to anarchism and Black Star Line).
Abilities: MMA, well rounded education in the liberal arts, arcane knowledge, enhanced strength/endurance, beginner level space/time magics.
Equipment: Until Icarus, lots of books and himself.
Personality: The Counselor INFJ, quiet/shy, patient, altruistic/ascetic, idealist, pessimist, planner, subtle, reactor/the brakes, magic-centered, Fafhrd, Hero, Nice Guy, The Reliable One, Neutral Good, Mighty Glacier, Badass Bookworm, Noble Male, Straight Man.
Interests: Zen Buddhism, Revolutions, anarchism, socialism, The Black Panthers.
History: Grew up in working class suburbs of Atlanta, child of 2 teachers. Scholarship to the Ascension Academy, a rather well respected school in Optimus, TN. There he excelled in his studies as well as a talent for mind/body magics based upon yoga, meditation, martial arts, and the philosophies behind them. At the age of 18 he was greatly impressed by a presentation by Bantu Ochoa a guest speaker and soon after a humanities professor (focused on history and sociology) at the Ascension Academy. Prof. Bantu liked Daedalus and they engaged in extensive after school discussions. Daedalus became involved in the social justice movement under Prof. Ochoa's guidance. Prof. Ochoa also attempted to train Daedalus in time/space perceptual magics but Daedalus wasn't a natural at it.

During a particularly large Occupy Optimus protest in front of Mondrian Industries, Hugo Lamb sent in a large contingent of Pinkertons to bum rush the show. The cops followed up and Daedalus attempting to protect the protesters as they fled, assaulted a large number of Pinkertons and then the cops jumped in against him. He was subdued and eventually sent to prison.

While in prison he met and slowly became friends with Icarus Sneed. He realized Icarus was typically apolitical, but intelligent

After a particular discussion Icarus realized they were both screwed by Hugo Lamb and Icarus proposed a Robin Hood approach, once they got out of jail. Daedalus thought it was a good idea and started to work on plans. Pressure from social justice movements and good behavior while in prison enabled Daedalus an early release.

Daedalus wishing to live in Optimus had minimal support. His family was still in the Atlanta area. He applied for jobs, but the economy was rather horrible. He ended up working at fast food joints and night shifting as a bouncer at several clubs on weekends.

One day Icarus showed up and brought Daedalus to his place and they'd be roomies as they planned their revenge on Hugo Lamb.

They settled into a warehouse in an industrial part of town with a large office looking over the warehouse floor that's been converted to a bedroom apartment. There they began to plan their Robin Hoodery upon Hugo Lamb.
_______________________________

Next time I’ll be tweaking the plot and just diving into the writing. Remember I’m mostly doing this on my lunch hour after I’ve eaten, so fast, I am not.

Until next time, true believers!

Nick.

X-Men Schism

2012-01-25T12:20:00.000-05:00

It isn’t every Wednesday that I can tell you that you should be reading an X-men comic. This one is pretty good and if you haven’t picked up an issue of X-Men in a few years, it is a great place to catch up. These are professor x-less X-men. I think ole chuck is off on his honeymoon/retirement in the Shi’ar or something, but he hasn’t been running the show for a while. Running the show would be Emma(white queen) via Scott(Cyclops). Scott thinks he is in charge though.

With around 200 mutants left on Earth, Scott sees Mutants on the verge of extinction and feels the need to protect mutant interest. This sets the framework for Schism. Wolverine starts getting all mentory on new girl and doesn’t like how Scott is running things. When the new girl is very nonchalant about taking a life at 14 years old, Wolverine snaps and decides that kids should be allowed to be kids.

I have always liked Logan and mostly always hated Scott. I think I am in the majority with that sentiment. Scott is just too type A for me, and for a guy that uncontrollably shoots a force beam out of his eyes, the writers and Scott himself seem to think of Scott as all powerful and God’s gift to mutantdom. Wolverine, who they have pretty much made all powerful, is a lot more grounded. Must be the age difference.

Anyway, Schism was a pretty good story and had really good artwork. As much as I love to hate Emma, I love to see her drawn well. It was fairly well paced and the story had real implications and touched on philosophical ideals. In other words it wasn’t just mindless battle scenes and Scott and Logan didn’t just shake and make up at the end. This is the title that ended the Uncanny run(Uncanny was the longest running monthly title until that point, a distinction it held for exactly one month). Not to worry I am sure all the Marvel and DC numbering will revert back in due time.

If you have been away from the x-books for a while, you should probably pick up Schism and check out what is going on.

Super 8-movie review

2012-01-23T12:15:00.001-05:00

So this movie had huge hype over the summer. I was afraid to watch it because of that. But I dutifully tuned in so that I may inform the Scifi Media viewing community.

Plot- Think district 9 but with only one really cool alien. It is also set in the 80’s and the feel of the movie is totally Goonies. This is good, great in fact. Goonies might be one of the greatest movies with a predominantly adolescent cast. The fact that this movie hit that note is excellent. Not only did it remind me of Goonies, but it also reminded me of growing up and the way kids were.

Characters- Abrams made these kids shine. In between lens flares you see these kids being kids. It doesn’t seem like acting. Elle Fanning showed her chops early by doing the play within a play at the beginning and totally selling it. While the plot has been somewhat done before the acting in this movie teamed with scripting and directing makes you connect to these kids. It made me think of growing up and my friends from that time.

SFX- Awesome, no draw back here. They are well integrated and do not stick out like a sore thumb, well except for the constant lens flares.

Family fun- It is violent and a little scary at times, but I watched it with my oldest and she enjoyed it quite a bit. There was a lot of language in it, but there is some language in Goonies as well, though not nearly as much.

Overall-It was a great movie, maybe the best of the summer. I would say that 12 and up are good ages for this movie or around the ages of the kids in the movie. Highly recommended.

The Making of: Icarus & Daedalus: 1st short story, Part 3.

2012-01-20T15:20:00.001-05:00

Two main things to do, I think, before I dive into just writing and seeing what comes.

1. Narrowing down on I&D’s abilities.

2. What’s the short story going to be about?

***1. Narrowing down on I&D’s abilities.

Icarus I have a decent feel for and he’s totally Ninja/James Bond criminal on a budget.

Daedalus, strategically should really be a cyberpath, monitoring the net, phones, electronic surveillance, etc. But I don’t want him to be convenient. I want him to be a Zen, bookwormy strong guy. That’s a gut desire, not necessarily thought out. Being a cyberpath makes them the perfect team. The agent and the control. But that’s no fun. I want them both in some kind of action, so I’m going that route. Inconvenience also makes for excellent opportunities for plot complications. Making life difficult for the main characters is key. Enough excuses, that’s what I’m doing and I’ll figure out how to do the rest later.

2. What’s the short story going to be about?

I recently re-watched the Firefly episode, The Train Job. So, how about a small heist story. I think I’ll heist a tractor trailer truck carrying a MacGuffin for Mondrian Industries.

Sneaky heist w/drivers unaware vs. stick-up?

MacGuffin will turn out to be way more important than I&D thought. Not sure how though.

May have multiple people after MacGuffin turning into hot potato like heist ala Snatch, but not too much as it will make the story too long.

Probably will have them keep MacGuffin and sell other stuff not realizing what they possess for later story.

1st version plot outline:

ICARUS ON THE PHONE W/DAEDALUS. DAEDALUS HAS RESERVATIONS ABOUT THIS JOB, THEY JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE MACGUFFIN LAST NIGHT. ICARUS REASSURES AND REMINDS DAEDALUS ONCE IT GETS TO MONDRIAN HQ THEY’VE MISSED THEY’RE OPPORTUNITY TO GET THE MACGUFFIN. “TOO LATE NOW.” ICARUS LEAPS OFF OF A BUILDING AND LANDS ON TRUCK.

COMPETING THIEF SEES ICARUS LAND ON TRUCK AND IS TICKED OFF THAT SOMEONE ELSE PICKED THE SAME TIME TO STRIKE.

ICARUS SETS OFF ECM DEVICE TO BLOCK ALL COMMUNICATIONS WITHIN 100’ AND STARTS CUTTING A HOLE IN THE TOP OF THE TRUCK. SLIPS INTO TRUCK. LOOKS AROUND WITH FLASHLIGHT AND FIND STHE RIGHT BOX, SLIPS IT IN A DUFFLE BAG SLUNG OVER HIS SHOULDER, CLIMBS ON THE ROOF.

COMPETING THIEF MOVES TO TAIL THE TRUCK AS IT PASSES. HE WITNESSES ICARUS LEAP ONTO OVERPASS WITH A NEW BULKINESS. HE CUSSES AND IS ABLE TO GET OFF AT THE RIGHT EXIT.

DAEDALUS POV, WORRYING ABOUT HIS PARTNER, WHEN HE SPOTS HIM IN THE REAR VIEW. ICARUS SLIPS IN SHOTGUN SEAT AND THEY PULL OFF. HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY.

DAEDALUS SPOTS TAILING CAR (COMPETING THIEF) & TRIES TO LOSE IT.

INTERNAL MONOLOGUE OF COMPETING THIEF AND SERIES OF BIZARRE CONSPIRACY THEORIES HE HATCHES AS TO WHO ICARUS AND DAEDALUS ARE AS HE TAILS THEM.

WHILE ICARUS COMPLAINS THAT HE’S A BETTER DRIVER AND THEY SHOULD SWITCH PLACES. DAEDALUS ADMITS HE’S NO NASCAR MAN, NOTES THAT IT ISN’T REALLY POSSIBLE TO SWITCH DRIVER/PASSENGER IN A HIGH SPEED CHASE. THEY ARGUE AND DAEDALUS DOESN’T QUITE CLEAR ANOTHER CAR, TOTALING BOTH CARS IN THE PROCESS. AT LEAST IT’S A STOLEN CAR (SILVER LINING).

COMPETING THIEF SEES THE ACCIDENT AND ICARUS/DAEDALUS HEADING AWAY ON FOOT DOWN A SIDE STREET. CONFIDENCE IS HIS. HE FOLLOWS DOWN A NARROW STREET AND DAEDALUS PUSHES A GARBAGE DUMPSTER IN FRONT OF COMPETING THIEF’S CAR. CRASH!

ICARUS & DAEDALUS NOD AT EACH OTHER AND SMILE AND ICARUS TELLS DAEDALUS, 3 BLOCKS TO A PARTICULAR OPTIMUS CITY METRO (TRAIN/SUBWAY) STATION.

METRO STATION IN SIGHT, COMPETING THIEF COMES FLYING OUT OF NOWHERE AND LANDS IN FRONT OF THEM.

CHOREOGRAPH YUEN WOO-PING STYLE BATTLE WITH COMPETING THIEF SPOUTING OFF VERY ODD ACCUSATIONS AND OUT LOUD THOUGHTS WHILE ICARUS AND DAEDALUS ARE QUITE CONFUSED.

THEY DEFEAT COMPETING THIEF AND GET ON A TRAIN.

THEY GET HOME TO A WAREHOUSE THEY’RE RENTING AND LIVING OUT OF WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE OFFICES IN AN INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT OF OPTIMUS.

THEY DISCOVER THE CARDBOARD BOX CONTAINS A BLACK CARBON FIBER BOX THAT THEY CAN’T GET OPEN OR DAMAGE.

Needs more work and a clear ending that does not feel too episodic.

Until next time.

Are you there Hollywood, It is me, Budd.

2012-01-19T12:24:00.001-05:00

If Gina Carano shows any talent for acting what so ever in her new movie Haywire, please make her Wonder Woman. There is no other person I could think of that could fill the role with the presence it deserves. Thanks for listening, Hollywood. Now enjoy this picture of Ms. Carano.

The Making of: Icarus & Daedalus: 1st short story, Part 2.

2012-01-18T16:04:00.000-05:00

Having second thoughts about Robin Hood mode. In cyberpunk/urban fantasy, setting in our surveillance society it would be very difficult to perform Robin Hoodish activities without anonymity like Zorro. I think I may have to come up with less controversial day job to counter the all-surrounding danger of attacking the rich and powerful. These two aren’t all powerful and the rich (their targets) can afford the best science and magic, as both are publicly available.

Contemplating, giving them Zorro identities of Red and Blue Oni. They would wear practical black helmets/body armor and if unmasked have face paint ala Chinese Opera to distract from their features and voice modulators to reduce VR.

Hmm. Not sure this is a good idea. Will this get too deeply James Bond/Mission Impossible?

***

I just thought about Casanova Quinn from Casanova comics. I’m doing high action; maybe I’m flipping out too much about level realism within a cyberpunk/UF setting. This brings in some Illuminatus Trilogy thoughts, but don’t want to wander too astray, just a dang short story for now.

In addition, most jobs can be done without need to declare it Robin Hooding. They can be selective about targets/jobs and after they liquidate loot into cash, they can donate anonymously to causes. They can reserve Red/Blue Oni strikes to non-profitable demonstration moves. This way they can merely appear to be selective criminals. I think I’m onto something.

***

I’m going to commit to the idea despite reservations and see how far I can go with it.

SOP for sneaky missions is that Icarus does sneaky/undercover work while Daedalus monitors and helps as best he can. Daedalus also can act as the cavalry in combat.

BACKGROUND IDEAS:

ICARUS

Born and raised on the streets of Optimus by his single mother, a transplant from Mississippi. Got in/out of trouble by getting into Parkour. Petty street criminal for years. Joins Schwa Balice’s cat burglar crew, going into higher tech and magical techniques. Higher-grade jobs. Learns Criminal/Law Enforcement subculture of Optimus. Ogun Thoth (character I already developed) becomes Icarus’ Sheelba. Jail stint for daring robbery on Hugo Lamb of Mondrian Industries.

DAEDALUS

Grew up in working class suburbs of Atlanta, child of 2 teachers. Scholarship to Optimus Magic School. Learns magical subculture of Optimus. Taken in by Mage-Mentor. Discovered radical L-wing politics/activism, radical mentor becomes Daedalus’ Ningauble. Jail stint for illegal activism against Hugo Lamb of Mondrian Industries.

TOGETHER

They met in jail, Daedalus quietly radicalizing Icarus. Icarus providing some fun. After talking, they discover they both feel wronged by Hugo Lamb. Revenge via Robin Hooding proposed by Icarus. Accepted.

Daedalus is released first, Icarus second. Daedalus has established crappy job, and crappy apartment, while doing legwork. Icarus arrived later applauded Daedalus’ work, but with his connections, he can do it up faster and better.

Need fast money to upgrade for full revenge. Decide to do minor hit on Mondrian Industries, enough for money but not too many problems. Working on bigger plan to harass Hugo Lamb. Feeling Monte Cristo-ish.

REMEMBER: Need at least one contact for illegal equipment of the techie kind and magical the magical kind.
REMEMBER: Need at least one source (outside of Daedalus, Icarus and their mentors) of jobs.

Most of today’s session was like pulling teeth and most of the ideas I liked happened in bits and pieces after lunch hour was over. Sentence here and there during afternoon workday. I like the direction.

Nick

The Making of: Icarus & Daedalus: 1st short story, Part 1

2012-01-17T15:25:00.001-05:00

I’ve been rather inactive on Sci-Fi Media and so for fun and hopefully for someone’s amusement I’m going to be writing short story and sharing the different steps in this blog. I’m doing it in a word program first then copying and pasting it. I’m doing this at lunch at work. At home, I have other stuff to deal with and a larger project I’m working on, which get priority. I am clearly an amateur writer so don’t take my methods as necessarily something to copy. I’m no expert, just sharing my current process. Today is all about….

BRAINSTORMING.

I have some headway here. I have a speculative fiction universe I’ve been playing with for years in my head and I’ll just use that setting for this piece. It allows me to fill out the world for future possible projects.

SETTING

Mix of urban/contemporary fantasy with cyberpunk primarily. It’s a parallel earth so history varies at times. I’m not going full on Turtledove. Secondly, magic is not secret but integrated into general society and has been throughout history. I’ll limit things there for now. Don’t want to digress too much.

Secondly, likely going to set it in my fictional city ala Metropolis and Gotham – Optimus, TN. City founded on the ashes of Linden, TN (sorry folks, I had to put it somewhere with a lower populace) after a major accident. Re-built rapidly. Population roughly 2 million creating sprawl in counties surrounding Perry County.

CHARACTERS

I’ve wanted to do an urban fantasy version of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser forever and have played with other duos. I don’t want it to be a straight copy and I want it to reflect my brain and me. Anyone can create do some find/replace searches on Fritz Leiber’s work to modernize it, but that’s unethical, likely illegal and boring. Therefore, it is more the main source of inspiration rather than an adaptation. Although I think an urban fantasy, adaptation of F&GM could be awesome in the right person’s hands and I would love it as a TV series. However, that’s a digression.

I keep a database of cool names I make up and any imagery I associate with it. My action duo will be Icarus Sneed and Daedalus Scott. I have nothing associated with them ahead of time. I know they need to be somewhat opposites, but have enough in common for the Bromance to work.

I do plan to make Icarus the wilder of the two, but I have no intention of making Daedalus be an inventor of any kind despite the naming. It’s a gut choice that I’m fairly well settled on.

I also tend to like my heroes to be heroic even if they are a bit shady. Therefore, they need to have some altruistic tendencies to make me be excited about the project.

Being how I am, I’ve longed to do something Robin Hoodish, so now I’m thinking about Zorro and Iron Monkey (Kung Fu movie). I’m not 100% on the Robin Hood thing, but I’ll test it further.

I have a predilection and start thinking in personality types. I don’t do this all the time, but I check it out.

First Thoughts:

Daedalus – INFJ the counselor – Quiet, sensitive, patient, altruistic, nurturing, artistic, hints at psychic.
Icarus – ESTP the promoter – Loud, charming, popular, confident, impulsive, fun, clever, optimistic, daring, excellent wheeler/dealers, hints of hedonism.
I started a little chart below that will expand as I hit other sites to get the brainpan moving. I check out the Fafhrd/Gray Mouser entry at TV.tropes.org. That leads me to the Bash Brothers entry, then Action Duo. Since both characters will be badasses, Action Duo is irrelevant. Not a sibling team, clearly different names. I want both to be decent at combat and thief skills. I’m leaning Daedalus strong man, Icarus nimble ninja. Magic is much harder to jack-of-all-trades with in my universe so powers are narrow and more internalized closer to kung fu wizards and superheroes. More Naruto-ish than Gandalfy universe. Sort of Red Oni, Blue Oni, but personalities are somewhat reversed.

Since I’m working on duo options, I check out characters in the left hand column to check out possible relationships and wander away from F&GM for now.

Off to Duo Tropes. Browse around. Adventure Duo that consider themselves part of La Resistance and do things Just Like Robin Hood.

Daedalus: quiet/shy, patient, altruistic/ascetic, idealist, pessimist, planner, subtle, reactor/the brakes, magic-centered, Fafhrd,

After visiting TV tropes.com…

Hero, Nice Guy, The Reliable One, Neutral Good, Mighty Glacier, Badass Bookworm, Noble Male, Straight Man.

Icarus: loud/charming, impulsive, materialist/hedonistic, realist, optimist, improvise, flashy, actor/the gas pedal, spytech/technophile, Gray Mouser,

After visiting TV tropes.com…

Lancer, The Charmer, Loveable Rogue, Chaotic Good, Fragile Speedster, Badass, Roguish Male, Wise Guy.

I’ll go with this for now. Lots of time wasted wandering around TV tropes, but it can feed the brain. Next time, more brainstorming, probably on their pasts, how they met, why they’re friends, etc.

Nick

Cowboys and Aliens- Movie Review

2012-01-17T11:47:00.000-05:00

I don’t know, I just didn’t feel cowboys and aliens. It was cool until they started going after the aliens and then it just seems like it fell apart and lost me. It was like they said, let’s do this original concept and then make it 100% cliché.

Acting- The acting was fine, the characters did well enough in portraying their characters and giving off emotion or not depending on who they were.

The plot- other than taking place in the wild west, clichéd alien invasion story. This movie was sold to me as James Bond and Han Solo fight ET in True Grit directed by the guy behind iron man. It wasn’t really that. That would have been way cooler.

I am not going to recommend this movie. If you think that you might want to see this movie, go check out Enemy Mine. It will be a more constructive use of your time, in my opinion. It was an okay movie to have on in the background, but other than the tropes, there was something missing about it that just kept it from drawing me in.

Frankenstein, or How I Suck at Blogging

2012-01-09T12:29:00.001-05:00

Wow, I don’t think I blogged much in December (goes to look, wow 4 times with the last being the 7th). I think I was just giving time for my Thor review to sink in. Yeah, everyone needs time off from time to time.

I finally got around to reading Frankenstein in that detour. Frankenstein is considered by many to be the very first science fiction novel. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t as blown away as I thought I would be. Well in the sense that the book is nothing like what you know of Frankenstein from TV and movies, yes I was blown away.

I found that the book was pretty slow at points, but these same points are the really creative parts of the story. Shelley explored the philosophical side of the monster, but man does she hit us over the head with it. Victor is a horrible, horrible character. Kids today think they invented Emo, but they didn’t. That distinction belongs to the Leisure class of the 17^th century. Victor is an absolute bore and his actions seemed nonsensical. Luckily there was a monster in the book to make things interesting. Oh crap, it is a monster that is just as emo.

It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the classic I expected either. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it or my preconceived notions of the Frankenstein monster singing Putting on the Ritz were just too much to overcome. I really enjoyed parts of it, but the rest were only meh. Even though I would only give this one about 3 stars, I would recommend it for its historical relevance. It is fairly short and can be read fairly quickly.

Thor- Movie Review NCCW

2011-12-07T07:31:00.001-05:00

Thor was pretty good. I say pretty good and not great for a reason. It just didn't leave much of an impression. I watched it a few weeks ago and almost immediately forgot it. While watching it I enjoyed it though. I am not a huge Thor historian, so I am not sure how close it is to the comic. I am pretty sure that Thor is a God and not just mistaken for a God, but actually a super advanced alien race.

Natalie Portman was in this movie along with Kat Dennings. That was nice. The guy that plays Thor does a pretty good job and confirmed my opinion that Norse gods would have British accents.

Overall it was a pretty good movie that just didn't have much impact. Consider it a prequel for the Avengers movie. While pretty safe for all ages, my girls, 10 &7 lost interest.

Cosmic-Ashli's YA Corner

2011-12-06T23:12:00.000-05:00

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce, is about a 12 year old boy who loves, "thrill rides"otherwise known as roller coasters, teacups,etc. He is "abnormaly" tall and almost gets to drive a car at a car dealer ship, but when he sees an advertismen about how you could be the best dad and let your child on a new ride called"the rocket" he has to ask his own who says No. So he calls by himself and gets to go but then he realizes
that he doesnt have a child, so he takes the one who used to pretend to be his daugter, Florida. This book is an exciting enchantment that is a thrill ride all on it's own.
I recemend this book for all ages and SERIOSLY recomend the autiobook so your whole family will have a laugh and that is totally cosmic.

The Old Spice Must Flow

2011-12-02T16:32:00.001-05:00

Series-A criticism

2011-12-02T12:27:00.001-05:00

I am not sure what school of criticism this would fall under or if it will fall into one at all. I am here today to criticize series. I know, I have went after certain series on the site before. *coughwheeloftime, coughsongoficeandfire. In the past, I mostly criticized series for the amount of time between books and that is still a concern of mine, but there are other things that peeve me about series.

Never-ending- I won’t pick on wheel of time here, instead I will go after Sookie Stackhouse and her ilk. The never-ending aspect can be good as you are always looking forward to the next book. Put another way, there is always more to read. In my opinion what ends up happening is character atrophy. By book nine or ten, the characters have pretty much developed, they may have new adventures and/or learn new things, but they can get quite stale, especially second and third tier characters.

One continuous story- I am not wholly opposed to series, but recently it seems like series are just telling one big story instead of different stories with the same world and characters. I will pick on song of ice and fire here. The books don’t tell individual stories at all, the stopping points, although logical, are arbitrary. In primary school we learn that structure of story and while playing with structure is sometimes fun, most stories follow the same structure. They are introduction, build up, climax, and resolution. In most series you get intro in the first book, build up with mini climaxes in every book, no real climax until you are thousands of pages in and then hopefully a resolution that isn’t a book in itself. Stories have been told with that structure for thousands of years because it works.

Numbering- I have had the misfortune of picking up books from a series without realizing that they are not the first book in said series. These are almost impossible to follow. Sometimes, trying to find out what books are in the series and which comes first is painful. Also seeing book 13 in whatever various series makes me think I need to start at book 1 and then makes me think that I don’t have time or money to read 13 book. Ignorance is bliss, so I walk away.

Trilogies- Did you know that Lord of the Rings wasn’t originally a trilogy. You probably did. Binding a single book that large wasn’t actually feasible so they had Tolkien split it into three volumes. How many trilogies today are completed when they are split into three volumes. I would guess that none are and while the system sometimes works, sometimes you get books that feel very different from each other, or maybe even worse, years between books. Look at the Dark Tower series for an example of both these things.

Self Published- If you are self published and you are writing a series, I have less faith that said series will ever be completed. I am sorry, but that is the truth of it and I have been burned by published authors who do nothing else but write for a living.

In conclusion, series are not bad. I picked on some very successful stories that had weaknesses in a certain area but tend to be strong in other areas and well regarded over all. That said, not every good story has to be a series. If you create an amazing world and want to use it for more stories, go for it. Just remember that your world is likely populated with millions of people and amazing things can happen to all of them. You don’t have to wear out the same cast, don’t be afraid to spin off. One last note: If you can’t tell a reader how many books there are going to be in the series, you are just making it up as you go along and that doesn’t inspire confidence. For a look at a well done series, look at J.K. Rowling. They all have self contained stories with normal story structure, we all knew how many books there were going to be, It was easy to tell what book was first and seven, while a lot, doesn’t sound insurmountable. While she didn’t do it all in one go, she didn’t write anything else in between. She did it right and turned okay writing(it did improve) and a “chosen one” story into one of the most popular series of all times.

All Star Superman: The Movie-NCCW

2011-11-30T09:17:00.001-05:00

As much as I don’t like Grant Morrison and really hate a lot of Frank Quitely’s stuff, I actually enjoyed All Star Superman. I thought that both the writing and the art were great. It was with enthusiasm that I picked up the movie version of the comic and was not let down there either. It captured the spirit of the comic. I did regret that two of my favorite stories were missing (the Jimmy Olsen one and the Clark says goodbye to his father one). But, neither of those would have really fit into the flow of the movie. It was a good movie and my kids really enjoyed it as well.

Thankskilling

2011-11-28T11:23:00.001-05:00

There just aren’t that many movies about Thanksgiving, especially horror movies. Thankskilling aimed to change that. I guess what was made could be called a movie, so, in that way, they succeeded. I had heard so bad it is good things about this movie for a while. It was horrible yes, but did this make it good? Yeah, It kind of did. The acting was horrible, the camera work wasn’t great, the turkey was horribly fake, but it looked like everyone was having a great time. The plot was horrible and I especially love that the kids survive the night only for the Turkey to steal a car and track them down. This movie wasn’t even trying to take itself seriously.

It isn’t rated, but it is easily an R movie. So children and pregnant women should not watch it.

Anne McCaffrey

2011-11-23T11:10:00.001-05:00

Anne McCaffrey passed away on Monday. She died from stroke in her home in Ireland. She was 85 years old. She is probably best known for her fantasy series Pern. Pern took place in a world where people rode dragons. Although I have never read any of her books, she was considered one of the greatest fantasy authors of the 20^th century. Her works inspired many. She will be remembered fondly.

NCCW: Wonder Woman

2011-11-23T09:48:00.001-05:00

Nice classical look here. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Grimm

2011-11-21T13:55:00.000-05:00

This weekend, I got caught up with Grimm. I watched it with both girls. It is an interesting show with likeable characters. The show does really well in the first two episodes but then loses something on the second two. The first two episodes reference Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks. The third and fourth had to do with more obscure fairy tales or at least more obscurely with them. In these instances it would be great if they filmed a synopsis of the fairy tale that the week’s episode will deal with. It is an interesting concept and is pretty much a police procedural. It is worth a watch and quite a bit better than that other fairy tale show. It reminds me of Supernatural to some degree.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth-Ashli's YA Corner

2011-11-17T09:19:00.000-05:00

THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH was a book about a girl, Mary, who is confined to her village, surrounded by the unconsecrated, the only thing thats stands between them and her, is a fence. When marrage season comes, Mary is excited, it's the only happy thing thats happened to her in a long time, Mary talks about the ocean and love, a world different than the one that surrounds them now and untouched, the secrets it may hold. But when no one speaks for her, she moves to the sisterhood, a religion that resembles the catholic church. She finds scary and lonely times but wonders about the worlds undiscovered secrets. Then, when she finds unfamiliar footsteps in the snow, she knows that he Sisterhood has its own secrets.

The Noughties

2011-11-14T12:39:00.001-05:00

I would normally link to Dave Wrote This instead of giving the URL of http://davewrotethis.blogspot.com/2011/10/announcing-noughties-blogfest.html, but alas I am updating from work due to lack of proper planning on my part. The image would also normally by hyperlinked and probably will get that treatment in the near future. Enough excuses from me; on to the list.

I will be listing what I believe was the best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror film or book for each year.

2000- You know Pitch Black came out of nowhere to be way cooler than a really cool, waited for it all my life X-Men movie, Fantasy would be Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and over in Japan a little movie called Ju On was making waves in the horror genre. Book-I Think A Deepness in the Sky just slips past Cryptonomicon.

2001- Donnie Darko fits all categories on movie, special mention to Spirited Away. Book- I am tempted to give it Martin and his Song of Ice and Fire entry, but Clarke gets an honorary for 2001 here.

2002- Equilibrium, is the Sci-Fi film of the year, but look for Imposter as well. Fantasy- LOTR; TTT. Horror Bubba Hotep. Book- I think American Gods does a pretty good job representing this year.

2003- Not a great year, But X2 tops the list for SciFi. Fantasy-Big Fish, hands down. Horror-It wasn’t an awesome year hear and I have not seen Wrong Turn, but that is considered the best on offer. Books-I say you go with Kiln People by David Brin.

2004- Spiderman 2, but I almost went with Eternal Sunshine… or Butterfly Effect. Fantasy- House of Flying Daggers. Horror- Goes to the Dawn of the Dead Remake and special guest star of Infection a Japanese movie. Book- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, hands down.

2005- Serenity. Fantasy-Mirror Mask. Horror- The Descent. Book-HP Half Blood Prince, but I am reading Never Let Me Go right now, so…

2006- Children of Men, Fantasy- Pan’s Labyrinth, Horror- The Host (Korean). Book Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi

2007- The Last Mimzy. Fantasy-300, pure awesome. Horror-Grindhouse double feature. Book-World War Z, Max Brooks.

2008- It wasn’t Tokyo Gore Police, but might be Iron Man. Fantasy-The Tale of Despereaux. Horror-Let the Right One In. Book-. Anathem, Neal Stephenson

2009- Moon. Fantasy-The Lovely Bones. Horror-Drag Me to Hell but also watch The Orphan. Book- The Wind Up Girl, Bacigalupi, really the best book of the year, in my opinion.

Hope you enjoyed the list. I haven’t seen or read everything and welcome your input on glaring omissions.

Walking Dead Season 2

2011-11-14T07:06:00.001-05:00

Walking Dead season 2 had been kind of just rolling along until last night. Great episode with a great reveal at the end. Daryl is slowly becoming my favorite character. We have an unwanted pregnancy that may be reveal an affair. If you haven't been watching the show, you need to check it out. Great show.

The Name of the Wind

2011-11-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

A few months back, NPR had their list of top 100 science fiction and fantasy books as voted on by the public. The top 20 was riddled with the usual suspects. I had read most of the books and at the very least seen the movies to the rest. Well, except for one; The Name of the Wind. I had never heard of the author or the book. I mean, I go to a book club once a month for science fiction and fantasy and no one there had ever heard of this book. How the heck did it get on the list. The only conclusion that I could come to was that everyone that had read the book had voted for it.

This is a recent book and the first in the series. I believe the series itself is what was nominated. This adds to the intrigue as the third book has not even been released. The second book was only recently released. So I tracked down a copy of the book and gave it a read.

Plot- It doesn't look like it is a "boy who would become king" story. In fact, if the series name is an indicator, it is a "boy that would kill the king story." It follows the story of Kvothe as he is telling it to the chronicler, so the truth behind the stories can be revealed. There are many fantasy tropes here and they are handled well for the most part. The story meanders a bit in places and poor Kvothe just can't catch a break.

Characters-There are only two characters that matter in this story; Kvothe and the girl. The girl is an Enigma and although you get several names for her, the reader is never even given her real name. Kvothe is almost too perfect though. He is extremely smart, talented, and witty. Girls want him and guys want to be him. If it weren't for bad luck, the character would have no depth at all. Despite is extreme intelligence, he seems to lack any sense at all.

Overall, it isn't a bad story. I was upset to find out that the second book just came out and the third (final?) book isn't out. It only took 4 years between books, so, I am not sure if it is worth reading the first two and having to wait a few years for the final installment. If it even is the final installment. While good, I am not sure it warrants a place on the top 20, or at least not on the merits of the first book alone. If you like fantasy, you should enjoy this book quite a bit. If you don't like fantasy due to repeating tropes, this has some, but not as many as others. Safe for everyone. My 10 year old is reading it.

Friday Quiz-Super Spooky Halloween Edition

2011-10-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

This week's quiz is guest hosted by Christine Hadden, who can usually be found talking horror on her own site Fascination with Fear. You might want to stop by there and check out her super aggressive Halloween Festival of Lists. Every day this month she has created a horror related list numbered to correspond with the day of the month. For example today is the 28th, so her list will have 28 items on it. One of my favorites so far as been the kids in horror one. On to the quiz.

$200-  What film is supposedly based on The Keddie Murders, an violent unsolved case of a brutal murder in the Sierra Nevada mountains?

$400-   What three Dario Argento movies combine to make the "Three Mothers" trilogy? And what are the names of the so-called mothers?

$600- What flavor of ice cream does Dick Hallorann give Danny in The Shining?

$800-  Name the real-life mall in which 1978's Dawn of the Dead was filmed?

$1000 Author and friend Peter Straub convinced Stephen King to put down and step away from what novel he was writing because the subject matter was so disturbing?

Bonus- Match the car to the movie

1. 1958 Plymouth Fury A. Death Proof
2. 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 B. Christine
3. 1969 Dodge Charger C. Evil Dead 1, 2, and AOD
4. 1957 Ford Custom 300 D. Psycho

Christine Hadden is the creator/editor/writer of Fascination with Fear. She prefers frequenting dark theaters alone and avoiding most situations in which she is required to be social. She boasts an uncanny knack for sarcasm, an utter lack of conformity, and a raging hatred of the 3D phenomenon. Vampires are her go-to monster of choice and she has a sincere love of Italian horror, ghost stories, Great White sharks, and Norman Bates. She is a contributor to Fangoria, Paracinema, and The Blood Sprayer

Their Return Was Prophesized!

2011-10-27T13:54:00.001-04:00

Just a friendly reminder, tonight Beavis and Butthead return at 10pm tonight on MTV. I don’t watch any MTV anymore, but I may have to flip over and relive my teenage years. If the show is still good, I will tune in next week at the same Beavis time, same Butthead channel. I can only hope for more scenes in the spirit of frog baseball, nacho vending machines, hey baby, wanna wrestle, and hanging out outside of the gas station.

“I see you have braces, I have braces too. Wanna make out?”

Vampirella-NCCW

2011-10-26T07:36:00.000-04:00

It is the last New Comic Content Wednesday before Halloween. Today's installment will be one of my favorite horror inspired comic character; Vampirella. As a teen there was a certain aspect of the character that drew me in. The comic was first published by Warren Comics in 1969 and almost continually since. I found the character in the Harris years. It is currently published by Dynamite. In the 90's there was a direct to video movie starring Talisa Soto. Enjoy the pics.

The Doll- Review

2011-10-25T07:33:00.002-04:00

Do you like campfire horror stories? Yeah, me to. In The Doll, J.C. Martin crafts a story in the campfire horror story tradition. I could just imagine bringing a little Mexican Doll along and stashing it in someone's tent before telling the story.

This is the story of a woman and her child that come upon relics of an obscure religion. This story ultimately warns you to beware which superstitions you would write off as silly.

The pace on this story is lightening fast and can be easily read in a half an hour. I think it is accessible to anyone with the reading level to read it. While it is creepy, it isn't too creepy for kids to enjoy. As I stated before, it would make a great campfire tale. You can pick this story up on Amazon for only 99¢. J.C. Martin is also holding a giveaway on her blog with the possible prize of a kindle touch.

What are you waiting for, get on over to Amazon and pick up a copy, enter her give away, and support an up and coming writer. Don't forget to sign up for mine own give away as well.

Salvadora says buy the story.

Your Highness (2011)

2011-10-24T12:17:00.000-04:00

You know, I thought Your Highness would be funny, and would be a rather stupid fantasy movie. Turned out it was only a little funny, but managed to be a pretty decent fantasy movie. Who knew. Zooey wasn’t even that annoying and you get to see Natalie Portman in a metal bikini.

The Humor is rather vulgar though. I might have thought it funnier about 15-20 years ago, but a lot of it just made me feel uncomfortable. I would say that the funniest part was the hanging at the very beginning.

It isn’t a movie for kids and most women (any woman reading this blog are obviously excluded as they may tolerate it more, but be warned) aren’t really going to care for the crude humor.

EC Comics- NCCW

2011-10-19T07:43:00.000-04:00

Warning, this post has not been approved by the Comics Code Authority! EC Comics made its money on horror comics and the comics code killed the company. Below a some great covers from a few of their titles.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

2011-10-18T07:48:00.000-04:00

So, I watched X-Men: First Class. I guess technically, as a movie, removed from the comic, it was a good enough movie. But, I am unable to separate the years of comic book reading from the movie. I did have problems with the plot as well so on to the review.

Plot-I have no doubt that there are people that exist that would love to see the world burn. I don't doubt this. But to have Sabastian Shaw, a very wealthy womanizer, be the person that wants to see the world burn doesn't make sense. For whatever reason, he thinks all mutants will survive nuclear annihilation and start a new world. Even if they were able to survive the nuclear blasts and fallout, they would inherit a dead world. They also has a character named Darwin that has the ability to adapt to conditions around him to survive. In order to establish Shaw's power we get to see how Darwin can't adapt to everything regardless of the fact that it was established that he could. He was also the one black guy in the movie. Yes, the black man dies.

Acting- I can't fault the movie here. The acting was pretty good. Well, I didn't care for the constipated Professor X, but everyone else was pretty good and I would like to see them in a real X-Men movie.

Characterization- The X-Men are almost 50 years old. They have a 50, oft times convoluted, history, but they have a history. The comics have epic story arcs that are critically acclaimed. I understand that they wanted to do something original and I am not opposed to someone doing that, but why mess with the characters. I mean, they put characters in the wrong place in time lines. Alex Summers is the brother of Cyclops. Having him as a 20 something in the 60s means he is 40 years older than his older brother. That is just one small example. They took 50 years of characterization and continuity and crapped all over it.

Some people will say that the first X-Men movie did the same. To a degree, it did. But that was a different time and I think folks were just excited to see the X-Men on the big screen.

Overall, it was an okay movie if you separate it from comics. As a comics fan, I just felt cheated. I wanted to take a shower after watching the movie.

Tokyo Gore Police (2008)

2011-10-17T07:30:00.000-04:00

Be sure to click the blood is red image above and leave a comment in that post to enter the giveaway

Tokyo Gore Police takes place in a not to distant future. A fascist police force protects and rules Tokyo. There is a virus that causes people to mutate and become mindless serial killers called engineers. Ruka, our heroine, is a cop with an engineer killing specialty. Her father was also a cop and was murdered in front of her. Can she find out what is causing people to turn to engineers?

Plot- It isn't that the plot is necessarily bad, but the writing is way over the top. This movie has no idea what subtlety is and smacks you over the head with everything it does. I realize that the film was supposed to be absurd, but it goes too far even for that. Don't get me wrong, I love blood spray as much as the next guy... well probably a little more than the next guy, but a movie is not blood spray alone.

Acting- Nothing to see here move along. Seriously, the acting here is pretty bad. It is a B movie though, so you shouldn't really expect much else. Also, the movie is over the top and I am pretty sure that even if anyone involved could act, they were told to be over the top.

Overall- It is a really strange movie. If you like really strange Asian movies, this one is a must see, because it definitely fits the bill. While I can't really recommend it to anyone else, I can't tell you not to watch it because it just that strange. No kids due to swimming pool amounts of blood spray, graphic mutant nudity, and some soccer with human head scenes.

Halloween Giveaway

2011-10-14T07:42:00.000-04:00

It is October 14th, and time to announce what exactly I have been promoting for the past two weeks. In honor of Halloween, I will be hosting a giveaway. I will be giving away a digital copy of Blood is Red by Scott Sigler. I can do this for Kindle or Nook (but only countries supported by one of their stores). But wait, that isn't it. In conjunction with J.C. Martin's Trick or Treat Spooktacular, I will be giving away a digital copy of The Doll by J.C. Martin herself. I will draw from qualifying entries on 10/30 so the winner can be scaring themselves silly by Halloween night.

The Rules be simple. You just have to comment on this post and also be a follower. You can follow on twitter, on google reader, or even on Facebook. Easy right. I do need to be able to contact you if you win. Also if you are an international entrant, please let me know which country. So, what are you waiting for, leave a comment for your chance to win.

47North

2011-10-13T13:01:00.001-04:00

Amazon is reporting that they will launch their own science fiction imprint. At first this doesn’t seem like a really big deal, but then you read who is attached. They got Stephenson and maybe a little bit of Greg Bear. That is quite the announcement that turns it from “what is the big deal, they might just be buying up self published stuff that sells well” to “wow, they signed some heavyweights.” I shouldn’t be surprised as Amazon has been on a roll lately, but I am. I guess we don’t have to wonder when these books will be available on kindle.

On the flip side, does this give Amazon too much power?

Marvel Zombies- NCCW

2011-10-12T07:32:00.000-04:00

Before there were black lanterns or even red lanterns, before there was Zombie Land, there was Marvel Zombies. It wasn't riding the coat tails of the zombie craze, it was at the forefront. This one is old enough that I am going to throw out spoilers.

The basic premise is simple; what if zombies infected superheroes. The answer provided by the comic is super zombies causing global devastation in their quest for ever more food. Most companies would have went safe here and infected some lesser heroes to have the big names come in and safe the day. Marvel infected the big names and just when you thought the next big name would save the day, he/she is infected as well. It looks as Reed Richards' scientific mind is the only hope. While researching the virus, Reed falls in love with the beauty and simplicity of it and infects himself. The series ends on a familiar note. The heroes of the marvel Universe teaming up to face Galactus, to make him a zombie as well.

Naturally, I had some questions. Wouldn't Wolverine's healing factor stave off infection? Couldn't Colossus just stay in his steel form to prevent infection? How can you bite something that intangible like Kitty Pryde? The comic obviously works around these issues as it infects everyone. If you want to know what your favorite marvel character looks like undead, this is the place to go.

Children of the Corn (2009)

2011-10-11T12:56:00.001-04:00

Full disclosure- This remake of Children of the Corn was done by the people at SyFy. That being said, I thought it would be a great horror movie for my 10yo that wanted to watch a scary movie. That is, until the random teenage kid, 5 minute long, sex scene came on 1:45 into the movie. Yowza.

The story is actually closer to the Stephen King short story than the original version, but the pace was much slower. It kind of holds your hand and explains pretty much everything, but that was great for my daughter.

The acting is where this one falls down. Dualla from BSG is in it and she totally sucks. Every line she had, I kept hoping that they would kill her and do it soon (the character, not the actress). The kids while not horrible, were nowhere near as creepy as the original children.

Your Pretty, D, but your acting is suspect at best.

The violence in this one seems to be more graphic than what I remember of the original. Gore does not equal scare though, as it just didn’t creep me out like the original did. I didn’t feel threatened by these kids, while just looking at the face of the kids in the original, you can’t help but think they are pure evil.

Overall, not a bad movie. By Syfy standards, it is Oscar worthy. It wasn’t a good movie. The random scene with nudity was a bit much and I guess was used to illustrate where babies come from, the original did that with just showing one of the teen girls as pregnant. I couldn’t help but compare this version to the original, which both is and isn’t fair. It didn’t have the budget of the original, I am sure, but it is a remake and remakes get compared. I would opt for the original if you are only going to watch one. It scared my daughter, so mission accomplished.

2011-10-07T07:31:00.001-04:00

This week's quiz will be about zombies.

$200- This Romero movie changed the face of zombie movies in 1968.
$400- Linnea Quigley made zombies hot in this movie.
$600- Marvel had a series of comics with a zombie outbreak called this.
$800- Max brooks wrote these two books about zombies.
$1000- Zombies originally were represented as slaves from this religion.

American Horror Story-spoiler free review

2011-10-06T07:45:00.002-04:00

FX, known for pushing boundries, debuted their new show, American Horror Story. It is Rated TVMA for sex, violence, language, and brief nudity. Yep, it had all of those things, a lot of all of these things. This might be the raciest thing not on a pay channel right now. So, be warned.

Horror wise, the show sets up the mystery of the house in the first 5 minutes and only builds it from there. The sex scenes are actually somewhat contextual as they fit into the story, but don't get me wrong, they are definitely gratuitous. I imagine this show will stir up some controversy.

Overall, the acting was done well, the special effects were good, and the story was very intriguing. I will most likely be tuning in. The wife didn't care for it at all, but she doesn't like horror and really doesn't go for the gratuitous sex scenes. Make sure the kids are in bed for this one.

oh, the young maid is hot!

Black Lanterns-NCCW

2011-10-05T19:08:00.000-04:00

October is upon us and that means we get to do scary stuff all month long. I will be revisiting my Your Blog Horrifies Me Award, this year with categories. Make sure you send me links to any sites you think are full of Halloween Fun. Be sure to tune in next Friday for a horror themed announcement. On to our comic content of Black Lantern pics. Black Lanterns were dead heroes and villains from the DC universe that were brought back with power rings.

Walking Dead Season 2

2011-10-04T07:44:00.000-04:00

The Human Centipede(2009)-Movie Review

2011-10-03T07:30:00.000-04:00

Have you ever heard so many people say that a movie is disgusting and a waste of film that you had to check it out for yourself. That is pretty much what happened with the Human Centipede and me.

Even some horror bloggers didn't care for this one. It falls into the torture porn genre, I guess. I personally see it as a mad scientist type movie as the good Dr's purpose was not to torture but to experiment.

If you haven't heard about this movie, the plot is basically that a mad scientist want to join three people mouth to anus to form a human centipede. That is pretty much the entire movie. I guess the torture porn label is kind of apt as the soundtrack is overwhelmed by whimpering, screaming, and sobbing for the most part.

The acting was okay. It was a low budget film, but all most of the actors had to do was scream and cry. Not a lot of depth needed. Dieter was sufficiently creepy. The girls may get some more scream time in other movies as they are attractive and proved that they are capable.

Overall, it wasn't a great movie, but it wasn't as bad as what everyone led me to believe. I wouldn't say I enjoyed the movie, but I didn't not enjoy it either. It was suspenseful and creepy which is what I wanted it to be. I don't know if saw fans will like it as their is no elaborate contraptions or schemes. Not sure about Hostel fans either as it isn't really a torture flick. I would say the best match would be those that like weird Japanese movies.

The second movie is out and I am pretty sure that they upped the weird as it has been banned in the UK.

Hearts and Minds- NCCW

2011-09-28T07:28:00.001-04:00

As always I encourage everyone to post comic book content on Wednesdays.

I was able to pick up the hardcover trade of G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds when Borders was in their final throws for about $3 after tax. Yes true believers, for the price of a single issue, I got the hardcover trade. As of writing Amazon has an edition for $10.

This book was penned by Max Brooks. Yes, that Max Brooks. It covers different members of Cobra and Joe singularly. I think each issue of the comic was split in two and covered two characters. It goes into the character's motivations or back stories that leads to them being either Joe or Cobra.

I thought it was a pretty good book. It is very light on dialogue and really narrative in general. Brooks put a lot of faith in his artist to convey what he wanted and I think it worked. It looks into why a person would become a terrorist, what drives them. You aren't going to see Duke or Cobra Commander. This book takes a look at some of the characters that you wouldn't get to know otherwise. One of the stories is even dedicated to random faceless Cobra troopers.

If you like G.I. Joe, you should enjoy this book, but I don't think it is a prerequisite. You could go into this book just knowing that Cobra is a terrorist organization and Joe is an elite group of the military and fare pretty well. It is appropriate for anyone that can actually read it. Give it a shot.

Terra Nova

2011-09-27T07:30:00.000-04:00

Terra Nova as I explained to my kids, means new Earth. Which isn't actually the case here. It should be Terra Antiquus, as our heroes are traveling back in time to escape an Earth they destroyed. I got some basic problems with the story, but I will get back to them at the end.

The two hour premier did a pretty good job of introducing the characters. The initial scene set up the world and got the viewer emotionally invested. We understand what kind of family this is and what they will do for each other. Special effects are at a tv level. They did an overall good job on the dinosaurs, but apparently they didn't get the news that dinosaurs have feathers.

Overall it was pretty good show with enough story revealed that I will be tuning back in. I think they showed too much of their hand at the very end, though. I was completely willing to go along with not knowing about that for a couple of episodes. Or maybe just a partial explanation, but they revealed the whole thing.

My problems would be with basic things in the story. A wife that works in public hospitals has the ability to collect a rucksack full of money. A future high security prison that someone is able to sneak/bribe her way into and pass off a laser that allows escape. A rucksack full of money lying pretty much in the open. Being able to bribe your way onto a launch window. Those are just a couple of the things.

The show wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good. I was willing to overlook or ignore most of the little problems though and that is a pretty good sign. Apparently, only attractive people get to travel to Terra Nova so that is a plus. It is worth a watch though. Glad I gave it a shot.

Dark Tower Comic- NCCW

2011-09-21T07:33:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday, Stephen King! You are 64 years old today. As it is Wednesday I will bring him into the new comic content fold with his Dark Tower Series. I have not read the comics but I have read the first three books. The art from the comic is gorgeous. Below you will see some of these images.

Fictional Science Movie Saturday: Contagion

2011-09-19T21:43:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, the Beloved and I went to see the new natural disaster film Contagion. Natural disaster film, you say? Absolutely. Much more so than any of the crap that Roland Emmerich’s been churning out (2012, The Day After Tomorrow), Steven Soderbergh’s thriller has a decidedly realistic feeling – so much sometimes so that you can get the feeling that you’re watching a docudrama. You know, if your normal docudrama was populated with Oscar-caliber actors.

In Contagion, Gwyneth Paltrow plays Patient Zero in the outbreak of a particularly nasty and easily communicable viral infection – a very natural disaster. Soderbergh does an almost Pixar-esque bit of storytelling in the opening sequences – the camera moving from a following a slightly sallow Paltrow and lingering on objects she’s touched – a cocktail glass, a cell phone, a doorknob etc. I won’t go into the details but as you can imagine, things get ugly and they get ugly pretty quickly. The CDC and WHO are called into action. Politicians get worried. The populace alternately ignores it and panics.

Much like Soderbergh’s Babel, the story jumps back and forth to several parties as they try to deal with the spreading plague. What’s good is that most of the characters are “normal” people, who make mistakes, miss things, and take chances -- no one seems like a stereotype. The film’s antagonist (besides the virus, I suppose) is a blogger (hah!), played by Jude Law, who professes the “Truth” about the pandemic – that it’s being controlled by a conspiracy of governments and pharmaceutical companies. He promotes a natural product remedy and sows discord between the authorities and a populace that is facing a worldwide death toll in the hundreds of millions.

Now being a scientist, I’ve always watched movies and TV shows that feature research with some trepidation. Usually, there are way too many unrealistic three-dimensional displays, fluorescently colored solutions and “scientific sounding” gibberish. Soderbergh though correctly figured that an all-too-imaginable reality is a lot scarier than ridiculous schlock. To try and maintain scientific cred, he hired the Director of Columbia’s Center for Infectious Diseases as a consultant.

To their credit, the research labs look like research labs. Not too many flashing lights, a lot of plastic pipettes, and data in spreadsheets. The virology, while unlikely, is plausible – it’s contagious, but not super-contagious. It’s lethal, but not 100% lethal, and its made clear that the idea of trying to find a vaccine for a virus like this might cost you a lot of research monkeys and take more than 24 hours to create (I’m looking at you, Outbreak). There were a couple of things that we snickered at, but will likely go unnoticed except by structural biologists.

In the end, I think Contagion was a good-not-great flick that has a few genuinely scary moments -- usually when a character (and you by extension) is contemplating the scope of death and upheaval something like this could cause.

Now I’m going to go wash my hands.

Again.

10 worst SciFi/Fantasy/Comic book movies

2011-09-19T07:26:00.000-04:00

Today, Alex Cavanaugh is hosting the 10 worst movies Blogfest. As my sight is themed, so shall be my list. I could almost fill the entire list with comic book movies from the 90s, but I think I will stick to one obvious choice. So here we go.

10. Roger Corman's Fantastic Four- This one apparently was never meant for human consumption. The studios paid Corman to film this low budget hokefest so that they could retain the film rights. The new Corman could do it for under a hundred bucks, so they wouldn't be losing much money. I feel sorry for Corman, then I remember all the schlock he has produced and feel better. None of the actors new what was going on either, though. I do feel sorry for them. Not lower on the list due to never being released. You might also like the 90s Captain America Movie, the 90's Justice League movie, or eighties tv Spider-man movies.

9. Catwoman- While we are on comic books lets look at one of the biggest disappointments of all time. Halle Barry is very hot and she has been able to act outside of comic book movies. When it was announced that this vixen was going to play Catwoman, I think every fanboy was looking forward to it. Then the movie turned out to not be a movie about The Catwoman and just a movie loosely based on the comic book character. By loosely based, I mean she had a similar costume.

8. Roland Emmerich movies in the past decade- Of all of the ones that I have seen, Eight Legged Freaks was the best and belongs nowhere on this list, 10,000 BC, Day After Tomorrow, and 2012 are all crap though. I mean they are all spectacles to behold as they are beautiful high budget films, but this just goes to show you that you do need a well written story and good direction. And an editor. And scientific consultants.

7. The Happening/Avatar- I will admit that I was an M. Night apologist. I even kind of like Lady in the Water a little, sort of. But, the happening was total crap and it was supposed to be horror and it was just dumb and we had watched it right after being disappointed in sweeney todd at Halloween scary movie fest. Avatar-The last Airbender shoves entire season of awesomeness into one two hour movie. Who whould have thought that the parts they cut out would have been what made it awesome. Well that filme franchise is dead.

6. Sweeney Todd- I know some people loved this movie, but I was not one of them. It was horrible. I hope that Bonheim-Carter, Depp, and Tim Burton never work together again. Please!

5. The Transformers Franchise- My immediate response was that I liked the first movie. But then I made the mistake of thinking about it. I have never watched this movie a second time. I have not seen the third movie but it is going to be available on DVD about 3 months after hitting theaters and that is never a good sign. The second may be the worst of the three as it made absolutely no sense. A huge complaint of mine is how over complicated the robots where. I couldn't tell what the heck was going on.

4. The new Nightmare on Elm Street- Hey, I have an idea, lets get that guy from the watchman to play freddy! Turns out they also needed a guy from the watchman to write a movie. How do you remake an iconic 1980's slasher film in order to relaunch the franchise? Not like this. Again, they threw money at it in the hopes that people wouldn't notice the writing. How much do writers make, it can't be that much.

3. Starship Troopers 3- I loved the book and the movie for Starship Troopers. The second movie, while disappointing wasn't that bad, but the third movie is a disaster. Oddly, they first movie is my favorite and it is the only one I don't own, as I have a penchant for picking up really bad movies.

2. Mortal Combat Annihilation and Uwe Boll video game movies- Video game movies are another genre you could almost fill the list with or even just Uwe Boll movies in general, but let us not give him any more time and move on to the movie that Annihilated the Mortal Combat film franchise. MK2 was following up on the successful MK1 movie. The only people that went to see this film were people, like me, who played the game and liked the first movie. I honestly asked for my money back (they said no). It was the only movie I ever went to that people got up and left in the middle and didn't come back.

1. Necropolis- I picked this one up out of a bargain bin on VHS. It might be the worst movie ever made, but that does give it some entertainment value. All those people trying to bring back the 80s should check out this movie and realize what they are really trying to bring back. I gave this movie away and it was given away again by that person. I imagine that this movie is making the rounds and one day, you too may get the chance to view it. Just a little preview of the horribleness. A witch trying to raise the dead has demon servents and she has to grow additional breasts so she may feed them. No kidding. So bad, you have to see it.

Be sure to check out the other blogfesters!

Steppe- A second look

2011-09-15T11:08:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, Ross reviewed Steppe for us. Ross was nice enough to send me his copy so I could give it a read as well. I did and was pleasently surprised. I had never read a Piers Anthony story before and didn't know what to expect but I had heard only cheesy things about the Xanth novels.

I won't go over the plot again as Ross did an excellent job at this. I will simply talk about what I liked and didn't like about the novel.

I loved Alp's, a character from the past, response to the people of the future. Alp sees the men as weak and the women as not very womanly. When he escapes into the game it is almost as if it is the only way for him to survive the cultural shock. I also liked that bonds in the game seemed to carry over. Anyone that has played a game knows that your personality shines through your character. The playstation and MS networks are proof that people like to connect as friends to people they meet in game and Anthony wrote this long before video games were networked. I guess he could have observed people in the arcades. Any way, back on topic, the players were able to form bonds with each other, some stronger than others.

I also liked the illustration of nations as giants and dwarves. At first I thought it was kind of dumb, but it worked so well in describing what would happen that it really grew on me. I wonder why no one has done an actual animated film based on the movies in the book to use as an educational tool.

My one complaint about the book is that it is almost too predictable. Even before Ghengis was mentioned, I knew that he would be the obvious conclussion. Because the book was so closely tied to history and educational, it locked itself in and there was not as much room for creativity.

Overall- I agree with Ross that it is a 3 star book, maybe 3.5. It was a great introduction into Anthony as I am interested in reading something else by him now. I don't think you have to be a fan of history to enjoy this book, but it probably helps a lot. It was enjoyable though. Age wise, I would say about 13 and up, but adults will likely enjoy the book more than teens.

X-Men Forever-NCCW

2011-09-14T07:34:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered what would have happened had Chris Claremont not left the X-Men when he did? Claremont is arguably the most awesome X-Men writer on one of the best runs of the comic, with some of the greatest story lines. I am talking Phoenix, Dark Phoenix, and Days Future Past here. This guy shaped the X-Men. So what happens if he picks up the book where he left off? The answer to that is kind of X-Men Forever.

I say kind of because Claremont's tale is obviously influenced by the twenty years of story line that came after. Not that he is following the same story, but that he is reacting to what other writers did with the characters. It is a pretty big challenge if you think about it. He had to reinvent the team that he had already reinvented and then left for twenty years. In the meantime, they had been reinvented about twice every year and had writers that did great things and writers that messed stuff up (Grant Morrison). I mean there were retcons on retcons. The X Universe is a hot mess. X-Men Forever was not a retcon but an alternate timeline, so it gets to ignore all that crap, but has to be different from it.

The story in Vol. 1 was okay with a very surprising death. It is hard to make sense of what you are reading and rewind and start again at the fall of Asteroid M. It seems like he wanted to tie in all of his story lines as we have references to the Phoenix and the Morlocks. I will probably check out Vol. 2 in the future.

Devil (2010)-Spoiler Free Review

2011-09-12T07:40:00.000-04:00

We all though M. Night was the devil, but he isn't here.

M. Night produced and wrote Devil.With his recent history (I am looking at you The Happening and Airbender) I wasn't really looking forward to this one. I also wondered how good a movie about people stuck in an elevator with the devil could be. He redeemed himself a bit.

Plot- Five people stuck in an elevator. The lights will flicker and one of them will die or get hurt. Who is doing it? Actually, that is just part of it as one of the security guard builds the mythology of the Devil coming to Earth to torment souls before he takes them to hell. The story was actually really good and a pretty good mystery. It had a good story outside of the elevator and a pretty good twist.

Characters- I wasn't familiar with any of the actor's but they provided really good performances. They were engaging and pulled you into the story.

Overall- It was a pretty good movie that surprised me. I didn't think it was scary but my 10 year old did. She wanted to see it so I let her. She said it was good. While I think it isn't a child's scary movie it is kind of light for an adult horror movie. It fits fairly well with his other movies. Kind of horrorish but more of a mystery. I would go 13 and up on this one due to gore.

Friday Trivia-Hodgepodge

2011-09-09T07:36:00.000-04:00

At SciFi Media, We do the weird stuff!

It is good to be back and I am catching up on older postings as fast as I can. Here is today's random category quiz, Good luck!

$200- This was the first comic launched in the "New 52" DC line.
$400- Director or Dr. Horrible's sing along blog
$600- She is the beautiful legacy that starred in the Village.
$800- In the fist Friday the 13th movie, The Jason killer is actually this person
$1000- The alliterative real name of Daredevil

Superman Costume-NCCW

2011-09-07T07:30:00.000-04:00

It is Wednesday so it is time for new comic content. Today we get a look at the new Superman costume. The jury is still out as stills can't show what the costume will look like in action. Ma Kent apparently had access to some really hi-tech materials and had a flare for design. Enjoy the picture.

Priest (2011)- Spoiler Free Review

2011-09-06T07:30:00.001-04:00

Whew, sorry about the hiatus. Had a family situation to attend to, was trapped in the gulf coast due to a hurricane... in New England, and I had promised the girls some things before they went back to school (six flags and camping). So it has been a busy two weeks. On to the review!

Priest- I wanted to see this in the theater. It just looked really cool and looked like the type of movie that would really pop on the big screen. I have not read the graphic novel but my give it a look now.

Plot- Vampires are the monsters that haunt the night and the Catholic Church and their Priests are our only hope. The movie starts with humans as victorious, but trouble is stirring. Our hero asks to investigate and is denied the right, but defies his orders and goes out of the fortress city in search of the truth.

Characters- The priests are supposed to be emotional voids. Being a cold blooded killing machine can do that to you, but we do get to see some emotion and the audience is able to identify emotionally with the priest without him losing that tough/hard edge. The Maggie Q character is instrumental in this and the movie would not have worked without her. She had great chemistry with the priest.

Special effects- The monsters were really cool, but there was something off on the motorcycle through the desert scenes. The animation sequence at the beginning was really cool and I can see an animated sequel being done in that style.

Overall- It was a pretty good movie. I enjoyed it and watched it with the girls and they seemed to like it too. It had them jumping in some spots. I would recommend it to almost anyone. Parental discretion due to bloody violence. This one was fun.

Guest Post-Aubrie Dionne-Favorite Women in Sci Fi

2011-08-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Aubrie Dionne for the guest post today. The second to last entry for August in her blog book tour.

Favorite Women in Sci Fi
In Paradise 21, Aries Ryder is fed up with the status quo aboard her colony ship, The New Dawn, and wants to take destiny into her own hands. She’s an intelligent, driven, and compassionate main character inspired by all of the sci fi women in the movies I watched as a teen.
Here’s my favorite sci fi main characters and what I liked about each one:

Sigourney Weaver as Ripley from the Alien movies-
I love how tough Ripley is in the face of danger. She shows emotions, but she works her way through it. We see a softer side of her in Aliens, when she saves Nute, the little girl from the colony. She takes her job very seriously, and suffers ridicule for her crazy alien stories that turn out to be true. She sacrifices her own safety to go back after the aliens and save others. Truly heroic.
What I love most about her is that she doesn’t have a traditional romantic lead in any of the movies. She doesn’t need one. She is defined by her actions and not by who she falls in love with. Awesome.
Beverly Crusher from The Next Generation:

Beverly Crusher is the chief medical officer aboard the USS Enterprise. What I liked the most about her was her duel role as chief examiner and mom. (Remember Wesley Crusher?) She always treated everyone with compassion, and her quiet romance with Jean Luc Picard always kept me watching to see if they’d end up together in the end. She’s sensitive and highly perceptive, and seems to pick up on things that the rest of the crew overlook in others. She has a great sense of justice, and will defend the underdog fiercely. I liked how she was strong, yet feminine.

Princess Leia from Star Wars:
I loved how driven Princess Leia was. She wouldn’t let anything get in the way of her work with the rebellion. Her personality was forceful and blunt, and she fought against her attraction to Hans Solo, making for a great movie material! She kills Jabba the Hut in Episode VI, regaining her freedom wearing a metal bikini. She’s tough as steel, determined, and bold. A great sci fi role model.

My question: Can you name a strong female character in sci fi? Who’s your favorite?
---

Aubrie is the Author of the book Paradise 21, available now wherever books are sold.

Paradise 21:
Aries has lived her entire life aboard mankind’s last hope, the New Dawn, a spaceship traveling toward a planet where humanity can begin anew—a planet that won’t be reached in Aries’ lifetime. As one of the last genetically desirable women in the universe, she must marry her designated genetic match and produce the next generation for this centuries-long voyage.

But Aries has other plans.

When her desperate escape from the New Dawn strands her on a desert planet, Aries discovers the rumors about pirates—humans who escaped Earth before its demise—are true. Handsome, genetically imperfect Striker possesses the freedom Aries envies, and the two connect on a level she never thought possible. But pursued by her match from above and hunted by the planet’s native inhabitants, Aries quickly learns her freedom will come at a hefty price.

The life of the man she loves.

Paradise 21 by Aubrie Dionne

2011-08-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

Aubrie Dionne is a fellow blogger, so when she announced a blog book tour for her new Scifi/romance novel Paradise 21, I offered my services. I didn't know that her publicist was going to send me the book to read. I haven't ever read a romance novel before and I am pretty sure I wasn't the target audience. I am always willing to read outside my comfort zone, and this book gave me the opportunity.

This book is a romance novel but it is very PG-13. I am pretty sure that I couldn't have made it through a seriously steamy romance. Dionne keeps the romance element at its basic and throws it in on top of a space opera in which the Earth has destroyed itself and was abandoned by the haves, leaving the have nots to die. One such ship, The New Dawn, has been traveling through space for hundreds of years towards a paradise planet where humanity can settle down.

Some of the have nots were able to hijack ships once they figured out that the were going to left to die. So space has a pirate class that are barely surviving. This group was not afraid to throw themselves into worm holes and find themselves even with the new dawn as the story takes place.

Aries is the main character of the book and she isn't happy with the puritanical ways of the new dawn. As a woman she is already a second class citizen and she is betrothed to a man that she can not stand. She decides to make a break for it using an escape pod. Of course, her controlling fiance doesn't want to lose face by losing her. She sets down on a desert planet. This planet is full of sandworms, lizard men, and the dreamy marooned pirate Stryker. Will her fiance find her? Will they survive the sandworms and lizard men? Will the space pirates die in space when they run out of resources? You know what they say; you will have to read the book to find out.

Overall- I enjoyed the book. I was super skeptical as it was all romancy, but the scifi story kept me interested. It was a very quick read and I burned through it. I now wonder if women actually think like the character of Aries, it might explain a few things, or if that is just how female characters in romance novels think. The scifi is light and fun, so if you are a hard scifi buff you might not enjoy this much. Dionne doesn't try to explain how things work in her story which is great for light scifi. Better to not say anything than to say something and be wrong. The audience I would really recommend this to are the wives/girl friends/moms of scifi readers that don't read science fiction. This book will ease them into the genre with a story told from the perspective of a strong female character that feels trapped. Guys if you were ever curious about romance novels and wanted to give one a try, this might be the one. While I probably won't seek out future romance novels, I will be keeping a look out for Dionne's next book.

Paradise 21 is available at Amazon in paper and electronic format

Pardon the interruption in service

2011-08-23T07:17:00.000-04:00

I will be off the grid for about a week or so, please pardon the interruption in scheduled service.

The True Meaning of Smekday- YA with Ashli

2011-08-22T07:14:00.002-04:00

In an effort to get my daughter critically thinking about the books she reads, I am going to have her right reviews for some of the books she reads. She is about 10.5 years old. Hopefully by discussing the reviews with her and going over her mistakes, she will learn something. So, if you are looking for reviews on YA fiction you may want to keep an eye out for these reviews.

The True Meaning of Smekday is about a girl named Gratuityand her cat, Pig. Aliens attack Earth on Christmas Eve and her mom got suckedup in to an alien ship with a weird mole on her neck. Now Gratuity is out to find her. The king alien, Smek, re-names earth andcalls it Smekland. The boov (the aliens) “generously” give land to the humans,they give them Florida, so Gratuity has to drive from Pennsylvania to Florida and finds a boov who seemsfriendly enough but she’s not too sure about it. When they get close to Florida the boov calls Gratuity “Turtlebar”what her mom called her . She steams upat the mention of her mom and starts attackingthe boov who calls himself J.Lo( not the actress) then J.Lo tells her how the people who got sucked up onChristmas eve how they had moles that held every word the said a lot or thoughtabout a lot to teach them English and the boovs had the moles installed on theirnecks and that her mom was probably was histeacher. Gratuity lets him come withthem and they reach Florida, which turns out to be abandoned then find out that they had to go to Arizona . it's a longdrive so J.Lo tells stories , in one part of one there is the gorg who didn’twant to be to be friends a after a while they see a gorg ship and J.Lo confesses that when he was at the place where Gratuityfound him he accidentally sent a song that went kind of like this: Gorgs aredumb, dumb like soap, and their wives are fatter than they should be. Then he remarks that they don’t even havewives. In Arizona a lot more things happen , read the book tofind out …Smek day is very exciting and very funny . I recommend this book to 5^th gradeto 8^th grade but adults could read it too.

Comic Book Call to Arms-NCCW

2011-08-17T06:11:00.000-04:00

Please enjoy this picture of Batman Vs Wolerine

For the past few months I have been posting new comic book content on every Wednesday. I think this is a great way to bring back those memories of new comic book day when I just couldn't wait to get to the shop and go over all the titles that came in before picking up my pull list. It was like Christmas every Wednesday. I hope some of that feeling comes across in my Wednesday posts. I would like this to become an ongoing meme though. Not just for SciFi Media, but on blogs everywhere. I know Cal does Wonder Woman Wednesdays, so definitely check that out, but I want this to be huge. If you want to participate, you can do so by posting something comic related on Wednesdays. You can label or tag the post with New Comic Content Wednesdays or NCCW, or not. You can post a link in my comments to your post, or not. The important thing is that you post about comics on Wednesdays. So go forth and blog. Nuff said.

Red Riding Hood (2011)

2011-08-15T23:47:00.000-04:00

Amanda Seyfried stars as the titular character in this modern interpretation of Red Riding Hood. This is modern, apparently, because it involves werewolves and has a romance in it.

Plot- I mean, as stories go it should have been good. It had werewolves and a pretty girl. I think it was trying to cash in on the twilight market, but from what my wife told me the vampire guy wins in that story so it this one is a movie about the losing side. Because it was a twilight inspired film, it was missing the nice hard edge that generally makes a good horror movie. For a movie about people that can turn into monster wolves, it was guilty of a most grievous crime for a horror movie, It was boring.

Characters- You just don't really care about the characters at all. The movie doesn't do a good job of making them relatable. I actually found myself hoping that Red would be turned to a werewolf in the end. You will have to watch it to find out if she does. Nor even Gary Oldman could make me care.

Overall- I am pretty sure that the Red Riding Hood you grew up with was pretty gruesome. It involved women being eaten by wolves and woodcutters cutting said wolf open. This current edgy version is much less edgy than the original. It has werewolves and is less edgy. It really has very little resemblance to the original story. The original was a thinly veiled warning for child molestation and stranger danger. I think you could give this one a pass. Might want to keep the younger ones away due to some sexuality. That is some as in not enough to be interesting.

Friday Quiz-Ships

2011-08-12T07:03:00.002-04:00

Sorry about the lack of updates, but the computer I normally post from has IE7 and blogger became incompatible with IE7 this week. It has actually been affecting my commenting as well. Alex awarded me the Liebster Blog award. It goes to a deserving blog with less than 200 followers. I will pass it on to 365 Days of Comics as Dom consistently entertains with reviews on observations from his comic addiction. Be sure to visit Alex's site for other winners. On to the quiz.

Today is an image category: Ships. Be sure to phrase your answer in the form of a question.

$200-

$400-

$600-

$800-

$1000-

Good Luck!

NPR's top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

2011-08-11T13:06:00.004-04:00

NPR has published their list of the top 100 scifi and fantasy books. I have read or attempted the top 10. Actually out of the top 30, I had read or attempted 27. I finished with a total of 52 complete. I disagreed with some (Neverwhere was good, but how is it there and not Good Omens and why is Gaiman on here four times). I think Hitchhiker is top ten book but I don’t think it is A. #2 on the list, nor B. the best science fiction entry. I had at least heard of most of the science fiction entries, but can’t say the same for the fantasy entries especially #18 The Kingslayer Chronicles. I mean on a list where I have read 27 of the top 30 and have seen movie versions of two more, I have never even heard of #18.

I think a lot of authors got a bump due to being very hot right now. Brandon Sanderson, for instance, had three things on here and I just don’t think he is going to be that relevant in 20-30 years. It is worth noting that this list isn’t really a best of list, but more of a popularity contest. A lot of people have commented on the fact that the list should have been split or that an author should only be allowed on the list once. These are great ideas.

Pleasant surprise- Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave

Glaring omission- John Steakley’s Armor.

Miss Martian-NCCW

2011-08-10T07:45:00.001-04:00

After reading that issue of Teen Titans, Miss Martian has been on my mind a lot. What is it with green girls that attract a guy. Miss Martian has the added advantage of having red hair. Sure Miss Martian is actually a white martian parading around in green face, but hopefully that gets retconned.

Zombie Run

2011-08-05T10:19:00.000-04:00

I posted a review of Jennifer Hillier's Creep at My Alternate Reality. Go check it out.

No quiz this week, but I have a picture category coming up that should be fun.

On to the Zombie Run. On October 22, 2011 in Baltimore, zombies will attack. You must survive the zombie apocolypse by successfully navigating this 5k obstacle course populated with zombies that would love nothing more than to sample your flesh. Upon completion you can find other survivors and start rebuilding civilization with life music and food.

Runners are given a flag belt, when all the flags are gone they are dead, or undead depending on how hungry the zombies were and if they were dismembered. There will be health bonuses throughout the course that can help you to survive. The course has twelve obstacles, I could tell you the obstacles but that wouldn't be fair. The course is 5k-10k long and it is a race with prizes. Yeah, 5-10k, so choose your path wisely.

If you don't feel like running from zombie, but still want go to the after party, you can even buy a pass for that. Looks like they are trying to get these things started around the country. I think it is probably good training for the inevitable zombie outbreak. So, be on the lookout for one near you. It is a bit pricey for a race at $67 bucks but you do get a cool party afterwards and are chased by zombies in makeup during.

Free Scifi for the Kindle

2011-08-04T11:30:00.001-04:00

Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine is now offering a free digest version of their magazine in electronic format exclusively at the Kindle Store. According to the Amazon description, you will get all the non-fiction content and one story and short descriptions of the paid content stories. The non-fiction content includes interviews and book and movie reviews.

Obviously this is a marketing gimmick to rope people in to subscribing to the full version, but it is an excellent one. It is a free sample, to make you crave more. The full kindle edition runs at about $2 an issue or $12 a year (bi-monthly). I have already subscibed to the digest version. I imagine Asimov's will follow suit pretty soon.

What are you waiting for Fantasy and Science Fiction fans? The first hit is FREE!

Spiderman is Dead, Long Live Spiderman-NCCW

2011-08-03T10:19:00.000-04:00

I originally had something else planned for today, but how can I pass up the news that Ultimate Spiderman, hot on the heals of Peter Parker getting killed off, is making a new character Spiderman.

Miles Morales will apparently slide into Peter Parker's still warm costume. It looks as though, Miles will be mentored by MJ and and Aunt May and will deal with the same theme of "with great power, comes great responsibility." Not sure where the power comes from, but maybe Spiderman is like the Flash (no not Flash Thompson, the DC character) and he is powered by a force that is passed down through the ages. I will call said force the Spider-Force. Eventually we will have multiple Spidermen and they will be able to travel in time by shooting webbing at a treadmill.

The Ultimate line has a tendency to re-imagine their characters as minorities. Granted the Marvel universe is a very Eurocentric type place. Minority characters seldom take the starring roles and the Ultimate Universe is trying to change that by changing popular, established characters. I tend to think this is the wrong way to do it (once with Nick Fury was neat), but, unfortunately, I do not make creative decisions at Marvel. Miles Morales is half black/half hispanic. From comments by the artists about, black and/or gay characters one day not turning heads, I think he will most likely be gay as well. What it comes down to is, will the readers relate to the new Spiderman. Well, they have the half black/half hispanic, gay, marvel comics reading community sured up.

It makes me miss my original minority Spiderman, though. Bring back Spiderman 2099. Miguel rocks!

Ashli's Universal Soldier Review

2011-08-02T06:23:00.001-04:00

This is my 10 year old's Universal Soldier review, unedited.
"universal soldiur was a great movie because the story of how Luc and the seargent died and the way that since no one lived how the military brought them back to life by cooling cycles and the way that he went against orders and saved a news reporter who took pictures of classified info and they start a entensifying adventure together, It would be great for 10 year olds who are not afraid of a little violence but it would be just right for 12 year olds"

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl

2011-08-01T09:31:00.023-04:00

Vampire Girl Vs Frankenstein Girl is a movie. It has a vampire like creature in it and it has Frankenstein type girl in it. These characters are attractive Japanese girls, oh, and there is lots of blood spray.

I forgot the characters names as they aren't really important. All you need to know is that the vampire girl is the new girl in school and she has her eye on the same guy as the future Frankenstein girl. She tricks said guy into eating a blood laced chocolate (well the blood was a trick, but he takes the chocolate pretty willingly). This makes him half vampire until he drinks her blood one more time. Franky will do anything to stop this relationship and gets thrown off the roof for her trouble. Good thing her father and the HOT school nurse are psycho mad scientists that have been using students for their testing. Now that she is augmented with the best body parts, she is out to get her man back.

She is a messy eater.

This movie doesn't even try to take itself seriously and you shouldn't either. It exists for the sole purpose of having blood spray, gore, and hot girls covered in blood. In my book, that is an okay reason for a film to exist, but not a great one. I mean I watched the whole thing, but it was lacking something, not sure what. It wasn't nearly as gory as Machine Girl and the story wasn't nearly as good either.

Overall, I thought that my time could have been better spent. Some of the creatures were cool, but the movie just didn't bring anything to the table for me. The social messages with the cutting girls and the gangaru girls isn't really socially relevant to me and the portrayals just felt over the top and ridiculous to me. I am glad that the film introduced me to Eri Otoguro (Frankenstein Girl) as she is very attractive.

Frankenstein Girl sans Makeup. Meow!

Friday Quiz- The companion quiz

2011-07-29T11:53:00.003-04:00

I am calling this the companion quiz. We will be testing your knowlege on various companions, mostly from the New Series (as that is where my knowledge lies). Wouldn't Emma Watson make a great companion. Also, I am having trouble leaving comments on some blogs for some reason right now, so know that I am lurking.

$400- Susan was the first companion and generally referred to the Doctor as this familial term

$800- This companion got her own spin off show.

$1200- She is the companion pictured on this page.

$1600- After serving with the tenth doctor, she went on to serve with Unit and Torchwood.

$2000- He is the male companion to 9th doctor in the new 1st season that is expelled for bad behavior.

Good Luck!

The Magicians-book review

2011-07-28T12:12:00.002-04:00

Lev Grossman's The Magicians came to me as a highly recommended "gritty Harry Potter." Some even called it, "what if Harry Potter went to college." So, I was very intrigued and couldn't wait to start reading it.

Plot- Quentin and his friends are the smartest kids in NYC and are all going to Princeton, but what is the point, until Quentin is whisked away to a magical college. He takes an interesting exam and then the author rushes him through 5 years of college where he and his friends are the smartest kids at school and are all also edgy alcoholics, but what is the point and life sucks. He graduates and is able to live off of a magical trust fund and he and his friends all become drug addicted drunks, life is so boring until a long lost enemy comes to him with the key to a Narnia like world from books that all, and I mean all, the characters have read and worship. They all go to the Narnia like world and Quentin is, amazingly, still not happy. At one point he opines that he wished he would have brought some drugs with him because that would make the lame Narnia world really cool. He proceeds to get drunk in Narnia world. It goes on from there, I don't want to spoil it for you. It has a lot of cussing and sex in it too.

Characters- There is really one likeable character in the whole book and she surrounds herself with so many unlikeable characters that you end up hating her for it (oh, she is a complete Hermione clone). I take that back, Josh seems cool to but is so underdeveloped that you just don't know, and he also surrounds himself with douches. Quentin is the lead and he is an ever whining, perfect at everything, never happy, BORE. He is exactly the type of person that you try and not make friends with but he always comes over and talks to you and you can't escape. Usually the protagonist of the novel changes and grows during a novel, especially one that cover 5 years in 402 pages. Confederacy of Dunces is proof that you can have a totally unlikeable character and still have a good book that engages the audience. This book fails to do that.

Overall- The book started well and there were parts in the middle and end that worked, but if you couldn't tell by now, I didn't like it. I think Grossman had an excellent idea that fell apart in execution. The writing felt rushed. It felt like Grossman would just get bored with writing parts and would just move on to his next ideas. The book was full of "oh yeah" moments. These are where the auther would have an event or action and then have to go back and explain why a character knew some information or that someone had come in to a room, things like that.

There is one piece of completely hideous writing that I would like to paraphrase here. The characters are all tired and weary from this battle and they are at the boss, they are in fear of their own and their friends lives, earlier in the novel they had demon gnome things tattooed into their backs that they would fight for them once upon being released. The protag, in a state of fear and exhaustion, in the middle of a battle turns around, lifts his shirt, says the incantation to let the demon out and then says, "Say elloh to my little friend!" No kidding.

I didn't like it, but some people did, I guess. People call it edgy, but in my book it takes more than sex, drugs, and cussing to be edgy. You can't compare this to Harry Potter or Narnia, but the book brings these two worlds up so much as to draw constant comparison to something better. To me it felt like what would happen if Grant Morrison were to pen a novel.

I liked this review over at heliologue.com.

Secret Invasion-NCCW

2011-07-27T12:18:00.003-04:00

They invaded for our Ice Cream.

Marvel's Secret Invasion follows the Civil War storyline and has the Skrulls attacking Earth while its superheroes are at war with each other. It is unclear how long they have been amongst us, but it has been at least for a few years, some possibly longer.

This story plays with continuity somewhat. some of those characters that you thought were dead and returned are actually scrulls. From Civil War we know that Steve Rodgers dies, but Captain America arriving on the scene in Secret Invasion makes you wonder if he is a Skrull. Okay, so knowing what I know, I knew the answer, but you know, if you read things in order, it would be interesting.

The cast is mainly the Avengers, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, Sheild, Young Avengers, and skrulls, lots and lots of skrulls. While having such a large cast is problematic for character developement, it looks as though important character points occur in this book to be further explored later. The art was good, but with so many characters it was easy to get lost in what was happening.

Marvel does use this as an oppurtunity to kill off a character. I won't spoil which one, but one, that is right, only one during a mass invasion of skrulls, character dies. The skrulls must be total wimps or just secretly kind hearted to have not killed anyone up to that point. It is a big deal with the other characters, but I am not sure why they got so upset about a character dying in a war. They should have thanked their lucky stars that the skrulls are incompitent and that it was only just one.

At the end, we get the reason for the invasion and it looks like that story was probably spun off into Fantastic Four or Avengers for a conclusion. Overall, it wasn't a bad book. It wrapped Civil War fairly nicely.

Book Review: "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness

2011-07-25T20:26:00.005-04:00

One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve begun following book bloggers and keeping up with friends on Goodreads is that the quality of book I’ve been reading has been getting better. Surely, this is because most of the books I start now have been reviewed by someone whose tastes I understand might be similar to mine.

So, it’s a bit of a cautionary tale that I began listening to the audiobook of Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches, which I found by scanning Audible.com’s “Most Popular” list, forgetting perhaps that in a world of chart-busters such as Stephanie Meyer and Dan Brown that “the people” tend to sometimes get into books that aren’t, well, let’s just say, in my sweet spot.

A Discovery of Witches follows the adventures of Diana Bishop, who has eschewed her heritage as a witch in lieu of making it on her own as an academic historian. While on sabbatical at Oxford, she becomes embroiled in subterfuge concerning a mysterious manuscript that just might hold the key to the nature of witches, vampires and daemons. Initially, she wants nothing of it, but becomes intrigued by and then enamored of a vampire, Matthew Clairmont, who for some reason seems to be looking out for her, as well as the book.

When I started all the bones of a great story seemed to be there: witches, vampires, daemons, biology, alchemy, and history. It seemed as though Harkness wanted to upgrade the Twilightian fantasy by taking the particulars out of high school and make them adults (both in age and in outlook).

Sadly, the story just didn’t hold up for me. Matthew, naturally (or perhaps supernaturally) is supposed to come across as incredibly smart, and incredibly brave, and incredibly handsome, and incredibly strong, and incredibly fast, and incredibly learned on all subjects, and incredibly dangerous and don’t forget incredibly sensitive. What happens is that he becomes incredibly annoying, while Diana gets trapped in the unwilling-but-plucky heroine clichés that make their scenes together – especially after falling for one another – downright painful.

There were two parts during my listening that really shaped my view. One came about two-thirds of the way through during probably the best and most tense scenes in the book. I’d been sort of slogging along and was hoping for something to shake things up and it began to seem like it might be coming together. As I was listening to the climax, I realized that one of two outcomes was most likely: a cliché’ one that you could see coming from a mile away or a courageous one that could really have set the novel in a new and interesting direction. Guess which one Harkness chose? Yeah.

The other moment was as the book was winding down – about 13 hours into the 14 hour total – that my stomach sank as I realized that THIS BOOK IS NOT A STAND-ALONE STORY!

I should have known. Isn’t anything that can possibly be labeled as “paranormal” – especially “paranormal romance” – required to come in multiple parts? Of course it is. Naive Stevil.

Anyway, in the end, I think Harkness has tried to write a romantic, paranormal, action adventure – and it was certainly a book I wanted to like more than I did. Oddly enough, in some ways it’s a cross between Twilight and The DaVinci Code. So, if you’re into either one or both of those, give A Discovery of Witches a try.

If not, listen to your friend and give this one a pass.

Two stars out of five

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell- spoiler free review

2011-07-25T08:46:00.000-04:00

In Susanna Clarke's novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell takes place in an England were magic has all but faded away. Magicians no longer practice magic, but only study people that did. Two men are prophesied to bring back English Magic.

This book takes place in early 19th century England only that England has a rich heritage of magic that culminated in the rule of the Raven King in Northern England. Clarke does an amazing job of populating the landscape with her magical history and varied, interesting characters. The story creeps slowly forward like a snowball picking up momentum until you are hit with an avalanche. I personally think that it starts picking up with the introduction of Jonathan Strange. I guess you could call me a Strangite.

The excellent characters drive the story. This book is not so much about the revival of English magic as it is the relationship of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (excellent title there Susanna). Seemingly secondary characters also play very large roles in the motivations of the main characters if not stepping up for their own share of the action.

While the subject matter would put this book squarely in the fantasy genre, it is unlike any fantasy that I have read before. It fits the fantasy genre in about the same way that The Prestige was science fiction. It adopted the concepts, but told a different type of story that only loosely holds to genre norms.

It was an excellent novel and I have found myself unable to recommend it to enough people. It is a bit on the long side; coming in at just over 1,000 pages, but once you get into it the pages just seem to melt away. Almost as if by magic.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

2011-07-21T11:41:00.002-04:00

I am an unashamed fan of the first two resident evil movies. Even the third one was pretty cool. They all deliver on zombies and crazy mutations. They are a lot of fun. So, of course, I was going to check out Afterlife. I was a bit disappointed right from the start. The actor that played Wesker was wooden and had some horrible lines. Also this movie had zombies in it, but they were not really the focus. The humans were mostly isolated from them and really only had to fight of the mutations.

Plot- The movie picks up right where it left off. Alice is out for revenge against Umbrella. This really wouldn't work as a stand alone movie as you need to have watched most of the previous movies to understand what was going on. I think you can get by with just the recaps in the other movies. So, Alice defeats Umbrella and now fears that she is the last living person. She finds some people holed up in a prison and can't help but stop to help them. Of course, her timing is impecable as all hell is about to break loose.

Characters- Paul Anderson wasn't really on his A-game here. He wasn't getting the best performances from his actors. Milla is Alice, you can't go wrong there, but the other actors just weren't cutting it, especially but not limited to the guy that played Weskers. It was probably a bad script and bad lines, but I really didn't care about anyone in the movie. Of course all the characters went completely undeveloped, so why should I care about them.

Prettyness- The movie is shot almost too polished. Resident Evil is about monsters and zombies at its core. This movie is just too bright and too pretty looking for most of the film. It fails to set a mood and creep you out. This was also a problem with the third movie.

Time- 97 minutes. Really. . .Really. . . Really. . . The movie was practically over once it got started. Hey Paul W. S. Anderson. How about 15 minutes of character development or maybe 10 minutes of fighting zombies.

Overall-It was just okay. It wasn't a zombie movie or a horror movie, it was an action movie. I don't agree with that direction for this franchise. They even forgot that you can't kill zombies by shooting them in the body. Yes, many zombies were taken down with body shots. What are people learning from watching this sloppiness. Anderson could be costing folks their lives with his laziness. I am not going to tell you to not watch the lovely Milla, but I can't really recommend the movie either. Just know that it is an action movie you are watching.

Teen Titans-The Hunt for Raven NCCW

2011-07-20T12:31:00.001-04:00

Confession time: Before this, I had never read a Teen Titans book. I had watched the Teen Titans Go! cartoon and enjoyed the heck out of it, but had never picked up the comic that inspired it. I say inspired, because based on The Hunt for Raven, they are pretty different. I think Go is based on the team from the 80's.

The Hunt for Raven was written by Felicia Henderson and illustrated by Joe Bennett. The artwork is pretty standard with some great individual pieces scattered throughout. The writing suffers from super team writing. It is hard to tell a story that includes a cast as large as the titans in 32 page issues and make it flow. This is especially true when you are trying to make the team book about everyone on the team and while not necessarily giving them all equal time, making sure each character gets some developmental nugget. The story comes across as rushed.

As a new reader, this issue is mostly accessable. It starts on a crisis of leadership from some previous issue with Cassie being the reluctant leader. There were some characters that I wasn't familiar with and I don't think I was properly introduced. Anyway, the team doesn't seem like much of a team, almost like they are trying to pull together and develop the bonds that make them a team.

Overall, it was an okay book, but I wouldn't recommend starting off here. There is def. some character history going on in these pages.

Now Watching Falling Skies

2011-07-18T12:15:00.001-04:00

Have you heard about TNT's new SciFi drama, Falling Skies. I had heard about it vaguely, and had been meaning to watch it, but totally forgot about it. I just don't watch a lot of TNT and Sunday night seems to be HBO night. This weekend, I caught all of the current episodes on demand. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised by the TNT SciFi outing. It is immediately clear that this is better than anything currently running on SyFy.

Why do the mechs only have two legs? asked in episode.

Plot- Aliens have invaded the Earth. They set off some kind of super EMP that has fried all the electronics all over the world. They capture kids and put a mind control devise on their backs. Adults they just kill. The aliens are called Skitters, because they all skitter around on 6 legs. there are also mechs. The mechs are hard to take down, but seem slow and combersome. The story follows a military outfit (the 2nd Mass) and the civilians that they are protecting. At this point, they are in retreat and defend mode and humanity has not developed a strategy for taking back anything that they have given up. The Skitters have us on the run and it all looks pretty bleak.

Hot, even after an Alien invasion!

Acting- The acting is pretty good. They have the delectible Moon Bloodgood and dependable Noah Wyles in the cast. While Bloodgood can act, her track record with success seams to leave a lot to be desired, but this could be the role that gets her over that hump.

Production- there are aliens and mechs so they have to do special effects. The effects are better than a made for Syfy movie, but are well below movie quality. I imagine that they are spending a huge portion of their budget on FX, and if the show isn't getting enough viewers then TNT will likely pull the plug for a lower costing alternative. It is TNT though and they tend to look at awards as well. They are really pushing themselves as a cable network with a full lineup of original dramas and not just showing NCIS in syndication five nights a week. This gives me hope.

This is a skitter

Overall-It is a fun serial drama that has already introduced some mysteries that have me thinking. The show pulls you in and takes you along for the ride. Political commentary and metaphor have not really shown up as yet, which I think is good. While it worked in BSG to some degree, BSG often came off as preachy. The show has tackled religion though. Odd considering the show takes place in Boston with the main character being from Cambridge. It handles it in a respectable manner and even puts it in a positive light. It comes off as part of one of the character's life that she is unashamed of. Bravo for getting this right.

I would highly recommend this show. It might be a little to scary, bloody, thematic for most younger children but kids around 10 and up should enjoy it. It comes on Sundays at 10/9 central on TNT (they know drama).

Friday Quiz-Harry Potter

2011-07-15T11:26:00.002-04:00

We know who the real star is.

In spirit of the weekend festivities that are surrounding the final movie, Harry Potter is taking over the Quiz this week. I wish I were enough of a Harry Potter geek that I could convert the money into wizarding money, but I am not. If you are feel free to do it.

$400- Harry's mother and father's names
$800- Harry's godfather that dies in book/movie 5.
$1200-Hermione starts this organization to help house elves, whom she feels are slaves.
$1600-The Actor that plays Ron Weasley (the only one whose real name sounds more like a wizarding name than his character's).
$2000-When you can talk to snakes it is called this.

Good luck, and have fun if you are seeing the movie this weekend.

5 Reasons Why I Don't Care About Harry Potter

2011-07-14T08:44:00.000-04:00

Not the best picture but you get the point.

Wow, that title is a little harsh. It isn't that I don't care, it is more like I haven't been consumed for hype about the conclusion of the movie series. Well on to the list.

5. Edward died in the 4th movie. So that is already done.
4. The actors are like 30 or something now. They have to shave Ron after every scene, Emma Watson has to debeautify (should not be allowed) in order to look younger (plus she has to snog Ron, Yuck!) Radcliffe still only looks twelve and it makes it hard to take him seriously when he is the only kid in a movie full of adults.

3. Order of the Pheonix killed the magic. Harry was tolerable before then, but I never could really like him after that book.

2. I am not in my early twenties. Harry Potter isn't my Star Wars; Star Wars is my Star Wars (all three and 1/2 movies). I didn't read the books until I was majoring in English in college. While Rowling is a good writer and improves throughout the series, the series and writing are just okay. Full of tropes and cliches, they are very formulaic. Shakespeare it isn't. Jane Austen it isn't. Heck, Stephen King the early years plus his short stories it isn't.

1. I have read the books. I know exactly what happens. While I read a movie plays in my head. Since I saw the first few HP movies before I read the last book, the movie in my head has all of the stars except that Hermione wears a bikini throughout. Also in my head version there is Hermione and Cho Chang make out scene (Cho also wears a bikini(sorry, couldn't find a picture of that)). I would say my head version is the better version.

Did I miss anything? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.

Sluggy Freelance- NCCW

2011-07-13T11:44:00.000-04:00

The year was 1998. I was in the Army on a Gateway computer chatting with someone on ICQ. This person was from outside of Canberra Australia and they said (typed) the words that would come to have great impact on me. The asked, "have you been to sluggy.com?" At that point I had not. I went and started at the first comic and waded through six months worth of comics that night. I have been hooked ever since. Pete Abrams is the creator and he has taken these offbeat characters a long way. His art has improved and the stories have gotten deeper and more intertwined as the years have gone by. It started out as pretty much a joke a day type comic, but at some point it looks as though Pete gave up hope or desire of newspaper sindication and just started telling his stories. 13-14 years of comics may sound overwelming but Pete has put together a new viewer's guide to help you out. below is the first comic and the comic for the date of this posting. I encourage you to check out site and start reading through some back log, you should know pretty quick if you are a sluggite or not.

Saturday SF Matinee: Super 8

2011-07-11T21:22:00.002-04:00

This weekend, the Beloved and I ended up with a surprisingly unscheduled Saturday so after an early trip to Coronado Dog Beach, we decided to do something we don’t do too often in these busy days: go to the movies.

After a perusal of the last of the pre-Potter theater listings, we opted to go see JJ Abrams’ science fiction film Super 8. I’d been interested in this movie ever since I saw the trailer many months ago. I’m an Abrams fan and Spielberg’s movies shaped a lot of my adolescence –Jaws,Close Encounters, Raiders, and E.T. – man, that’s a lot of influence right there.

The bromance between Abrams and Spielberg has been pretty well publicized and in many ways this film was an homage to Spielberg by Abrams – an attempt to capture the feeling of the Spielbergian alien classics – Close Encounters and E.T.

The film follows a group of filmmaking teen nerds as they attempt to make their zombie movie for a local film festival as they become entangled in a horrific train crash in their small Ohio town – a crash that unleashes something into their midst and begins wreaking havoc on the town.

The teen cast is exceptional and covers the entire gamut of nerds: bossy filmmaking guy, big talking scaredy-cat, firebug, winsome lass, and troubled dreamer. I bought every one of them. Having been 14 years old in 1979 (when the film is set) I felt a strong connection to the kids and could have been one of them, you know if you substituted Dungeons & Dragons for filmmaking.

The film centers on the mysterious happenings after the crash and includes a slew of Spielberg staples: resourceful kids, menacing military men and normal folks dealing with the extraordinary -- I’m pretty sure that a list of the winks and nods to moments from Spielberg's movies could fill some film student's dissertation.

Coupled with this is the personal story of Joe Lamb – the central teen character – as he deals with the accidental death of his mother and discovers love for the first time. Throughout, the personal and SF elements are balanced effectively. The special effects – in particular the train crash – are well done and the anxiety in the film builds effectively without resorting to gore.

Overall, the movie had a chance to be "great" instead of "good", but they sort of family-movied their way to the ending which is okay, because I guess it's supposed to be a family movie. I'm sure I'll watch this one several more times, just because it was fun.

Cassastar- book review

2011-07-11T11:32:00.000-04:00

Cassastar is the Freshman effort of author Alex Cavanaugh. Full disclosure: I read Alex's Blog and enjoy it, he also has been known to visit my blog. I was actually leary of reading the book as I didn't want to not like it. I mean, I read his blog and while Cavanaugh can be entertaining in short bursts, I didn't know if he could carry it over to long form. I was worried for nothing it seems.

Cassastar follows youn Byron through flight school and his first assignment as he learns to fly star fighters. Yes, the theme music from Top Gun was running through my head the whole time I was reading the book, but I think Byron is probably more like Iceman that he is Maverick. It is fully scifi, and while the characters are humanoid there is nothing that I noticed that said that they were specifically human. So this is a book that should be accessable by all humaniod life forms (which I am sure was the intent).

Plot- This is a familiar plot. Not only is it similar to Top Gun, but also to other scifi novels. I wouldn't say that it is cliche, but it is a well worn path. In my estimation, if you choose the well worn path, you have to do something to set yourself apart.

Characters- Character is where Cavanaugh really makes his impression. The reader will start out not liking Byron that much, but through the narrative, the character grows and his motivations are revealed. Characters don't just act a certain way, Cavanaugh shapes their pasts and makes them real, makes their actions seem in character.

Overall- It was an enjoyable book and a pretty quick read. Cavanaugh proved to me that he is in fact capable of long form fiction and that his strength seems to lie in characterization. Cassastar will soon be followed by another book that follows Byron on the next leg of his journey and I am looking forward to it. If you like Top Gun and science fiction, give this one a try. If you didn't like top gun because of tom cruise, but you still like the flying part, you are pretty safe as well. It is appropriate for all ages and all sentient humanoid species.

End of an Era

2011-07-08T11:43:00.002-04:00

The Shuttle Program comes to an end with this weekends final launch. This makes me sad. The shuttle program has not been the only space program in my life time, but it is the only one that I remember and it is what I think of when I think of space flight.

In a weird cold war reversal, we are now going to be catching lifts with Russians on their flights. This is the first time since the program has started that we will not be launching our own rockets into space. We currently have no replacement for the Space Shuttle and I don't even think a concensus has been reached for the replacement at the design stage. In fact, a vast majority of those working in the space program have been laid off. With budget woes, our space faring days may be over with this final launch of the Atlantis.

For the first time since the start of space travel, it looks as though the United States will not be leading the way in space exploration. The future is passing us by as we lose our will to search space. Make no mistake, this weekends launch is a sad day for the space program and a sad day for space exploration. If you are from the U.S. it is a sad day for us as well. For science fiction fans, it is a sad day indeed. Instead of moving into the future we have given up.

Fare the well space shuttle, I only wish you were retiring because some young whipper snapper was replacing you, but alas your position is being phased out.

Creep

2011-07-07T11:13:00.001-04:00

So I have been following Jennifer Hillier's blog for a while now. She did it! She got published and her book Creep is now available. Now it isn't scifi, fantasy or horror, but it is a thriller and it sounds pretty good. Below is the Amazon blurb:

If he can’t have her . . .

Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology. An expert in human behavior. And when she began an affair with sexy, charming graduate student Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were together, riddled with guilt when they weren’t, she knows the three-month fling with her teaching assistant has to end. After all, she’s finally engaged to a kind and loving investment banker who adores her, and she’s taking control of her life. But when she attempts to end the affair, Ethan Wolfe won’t let her walk away.

. . . no one else can.

Ethan has plans for Sheila, plans that involve posting a sex video that would surely get her fired and destroy her prestigious career. Plans to make her pay for rejecting him. And as she attempts to counter his every threatening move without her colleagues or her fiancé discovering her most intimate secrets, a shattering crime rocks Puget Sound State University: a female student, a star athlete, is found stabbed to death. Someone is raising the stakes of violence, sex, and blackmail . . . and before she knows it, Sheila is caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with the lover she couldn’t resist—who is now the monster who won’t let her go.

So what are you waiting for, support a fellow blogger and pick up a copy of her book.

All American Heroes- NCCW

2011-07-06T11:45:00.000-04:00

Since Monday was Independence Day in the United States. I thought I would show some all American comic characters. See if you can Identify them all.

Friday Quiz-Doctor Who

2011-07-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

$200- Stephen Mophet intrduced us to these crying statues in the episode Blink (one of the best hours in television history in my opinion)
$400- This is the name of the Doctor's current female Companion.
$600- He played the 10th doctor (my favorite).
$800- She was the first companion of the new series.
$1000- River Song was introduced in this episode.

Good Luck Everyone.

One More Day- NCCW

2011-06-29T12:46:00.001-04:00

Some stories are just polarizing. One More Day is that kind of story. How can you change who Spiderman is? He is inevitably shaped by his relationships with those around him. Ben gave him his responibility. May gives him compassion, Harry gives him purpose, Gwen gave him love, and MJ gives him soul. Most of those people are already dead. What will Peter do, when he has to choose between the last two of these relationships.

I will come out and say that I thought it was a good story and was very well executed. I think a lot of people were upset by what it would do to Spiderman continuity. This is a legitimate concern but not one that i found well founded. It would be like complaining about Age of Apocalypse changing continuity. In this, I mean, I don't think the change was meant to be permanent (at least relashionship wise). While Peter and MJ had been having their problems, I think this story was conceived of as a way of making them stronger and not tearing them apart. It was also a way to counteract the events of Civil War.

Taken on its own, the story is excellent. Peter feels responsible for Aunt May being shot. He feels that his decisions have put his whole family in danger. He is willing to do anything to give Aunt May a way to survive, but the clock is ticking. Mephisto offers a trade; Aunt May's health for Pete and MJ's marriage. Both have to consent and they have 24 hours (one more day) to decide. What follows is some very emotional Spider-man.

I have yet to read brand new day to see the results of their decision, but their are hints that the fallout from One More Day will not remain permanent. Mephisto acknowledges that what the characters had was special and it is foreshadowed that they will eventually be back together. One of the larger consequences was that it seems that MJ was pregenant. So, will may Parker never be born? Will we never have Spidergirl?

Love it or hate it, the production value and writing are above average on this arc. It deals with the marriage problems and allows MJ to be reintroduced as less of a downer type character or the decision to be reversed with their relationship renewed. I am not a monthly reader of Spiderman, so my opinions may not count for much, and I have not really ever been that big of a fan of MJ. Gwen Stacey all the way for me. If Mephisto really wanted to split them up, all he had to do was resurect ole Gwen.

Overall, it is a must read for Spiderfans. You may hate ever word on the page, but it is now a pivitol story in the Spiderverse.

Never Say Never

2011-06-28T12:15:00.000-04:00

How is this a cover, who is
editing at Marvel that lets this
slip by.

A few months ago, I said I had sworn off Grant Morrison. It seems at the man has his fingers into everything, especially in the DC universe for the past 5-10 years.

My first foray was something that I actually enjoyed for the most part. All Star Superman. It just felt fun and light and had absolutely no bearing on continuity. Then I picked up Batman and Robin and the first two volumes were not bad. I saw his New X-Men at the library and picked it up and I am not sure what I liked worse, his writing or Frank Quietly's art. How is it possible that these two also did All Star Superman. I call shenanigans. Morrison's goal must have been to completely destroy the x-men franchise. Usually I see where he is going with his ideas and just think that he fails to execute. Not with x-men, there was no redeamable factor. Now this is based soley on volume 1. I don't expect to read volume 2.
Because I didn't hate the first two volumes of Batman and Robin, I thought I should pick up volume 3 and here comes Grant Morrison. Volume three was disjointed and had to be studied to figure out exactly what was going on. The gaps in that comic are so wide you could write entire TPBs to fill them in. It is like the man writes a plot outline and then instead of writing the story just adds some dialogue to the outline. I know some people like the fact that he allows them to fill in the blanks themselves, but I am not one of those people. When I pay for a comic, I want the writer to have actually written a story. I will start filling in the blanks when I start getting paid to do so. On that note, I hate self checkouts. The checker's pay is already added into the price of your products. When you use self check out you should save money. Hey, since Morrison is only writing half the story, shouldn't the comic be half price?
I can't swear the man off though. He is just too omnipresent in DC comics. For some reason that I am unable to fathom, he is very popular, but Leifeld was very popular in the 90s, so who knows.
I also read We3 which was okay with really pretty art and lots of gaps. Morrison kills a bunny in it though.

Deadgirl (2008)

2011-06-27T12:03:00.001-04:00

A lot of times when I am watching a movie or a tv show that my wife finds disturbing, she will ask me why I am watching it and ask how it will affect me or some other silly question. Usually, I watch these shows because, at some level, I find them enjoyable. She was asleep when I watched Deadgirl, which is funny because if she would have asked why I was watching it, I might have agreed with her and turned it off.

It is a train wreck of a film. Not that it is shot or acted bad, but train wreck in the sense that you can't look away. I kept thinking to myself that I couldn't believe someone thought this movie up. Well, actually I can, but I can't believe that they then wrote this idea down.

Plot- Two teens find a "corpse" in an abandoned mental hospital that isn't really dead and, it is later shown, can't be killed. She is chained to a gourney and covered in plastic. The bad influence teen is getting pretty excited about seeing a naked girl, even though he thinks she is dead. The "normal" teen is getting pretty freaked out. The evil teen then cops a feel and they realize that the body is indeed alive, and this is where the movie dives off the deepend. Normal teen states he doesn't want to "have fun" with the chained down girl, but agrees to keep her secret.
The next day, evil teen makes normal teen come back and witness that the girl can't be killed. He apparently discovered this as the deadgirl started snapping her teeth and he wanted to teach her a lesson. Of course the beating she sustained has done nothing for her looks and now she has bullet holes in her stomach from the second demostration. Weirdo evil teen seems to be even more turned on and quits going to school to have sex with the zombie on a pretty much constant basis. Worse he reqruits another kid at school to have sex with the zombie when he can't (maybe he thinks she will get lonely). Not really understanding the movie at all at this point and it gets weirder from here.
Characters- They do a pretty good job of fleshing out the characters and the acting isn't bad, but I just am not sure that character motivations would have taken the characters where they go. I find it hard to fathom that one person would act like that, let alone almost every character. The film portrays men as nothing but sex addicts that will drop their pants for anything, and I mean anything, that is offered.

Overall- I don't know that I can actually recommend this movie for anyone. It has been a long time since a movie disturbed me and this one hit that note and hung with it from about 30 minutes in to the very end. Not sure why I finished it. I guess I was just hoping that the "normal" teen would redeem himself.

And the Winners are. . .

2011-06-24T09:11:00.000-04:00

We had a total of 5 entrants to win 3 copies of Infected by Scott Sigler. I don't know if you ever tried it but randomly picking 3 numbers out of 5 never seems all that random once you see the numbers. As the book is only $.99, for a limited time on Amazon, I figure I can part with 5 copies. So, everyone is a winner (this is why I don't do more giveaways).
Alex, Mr. Mike, and Pat, check your inboxes because I am on top of things. Angry Lurker and Ryan, I need an email address to send these out to.

Carol Ferris/Star Sapphire- NCCW

2011-06-22T11:37:00.002-04:00

Carol Ferris is the on again off again love interest of Hal Jordan and also his employer. She is vice president of Ferris Air a company owned by her father. She has known Hal most of her life. She has been possessed by the Star Sapphires more than once. Carol is a very powerful female character. Enjoy the pics.

Except for every other issue with you, Hal.

Did Blake sell it?

Left Hand of Darkness - book review

2011-06-21T12:37:00.004-04:00

Ursula K Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness is an experiment in world building. The reader will quickly realize that every aspect of this world has been thought out. Le Guin is able to take the climate and physiological characteristics of her characters and create a society that builds and play off of them.

Genly has been sent by the Ekumen to bring the world of Winter into the Ekumen as a trading partner. Winter was apparently populated long ago by some gene hacking experiments. The people of winter are neuter for most of the month, but then can go into heat (paraphrasing) and can be either male or female for a few days of uncontrollable sex. The desire for sex is so strong that society have developed Kemmer (heat) houses where people can go and hook up with someone else that is also in kemmer. Genly, is and alien and always male, so they look at him as some kind of pervert.

The plot of the novel, while not bad although somewhat slow paced, takes a back seat to the effects of a never ending winter and gender non identification would have on a people. For instance, A king's heir must be born from the king. The king has to give birth to the heir. Also, because the planet has no flying birds native, the people have no concept of flight. It is a very interesting thought experiment.

The books downside is that all of this history and world building requires a lot of exposition, most is inserted as part of the dialogue, but it slows the story down quite a bit. I will admit that the book had a tendancy to put me to sleep at some points as it was almost like reading a text book on the people of Winter's culture. It was a slow, dense read but quite enjoyable.

I compared it to a text book and maybe it is; a text book on world building. If you are going to build a world, this is the kind of attention to detail that you need to employ. Maybe you don't have to reveal every detail about your planet, but preparing those details and knowing them can make the story flow better and seem less like things are coming out of no where. For example I bring you the many ways of travel in the Wonderful World of Harry Potter, every year it seamed that there was a new way to get around that everyone used. First there was the flu, then port keys are all the fad and the only way to travel, then you have people aspirating all over the place with hardly a mention of Flu's or portkeys as actual transportation. It is obvious that Rowling hadn't really planned this out.

Anyway, it was good book with great world building. If you are old enough to stick with this book you are old enough for the content which isn't graphic at all. I can see why this one is a classic. It won the Hugo and Nebula.

Free Book Drawing

2011-06-21T09:00:00.002-04:00

Today is the final day to register to win one of three copies of Infected. What are you waiting for?