Sunshine

One of the movie's trailers.

Civil War paperback

Marvel Comics' big "event" this past year was its Civil War: the community of superheroes is divided over the issue of whether they should be registered with and regulated by the government. Things turn violent quickly as the pro-registration heroes and the government set out to arrest and imprison (in the negative zone!) all the dissenters. The interconnect universe of super-beings is torn apart in a war between heroes.

This big event starts when a group of amateurish superheroes battling supervillians cause an explosion that kills 600 school children.

The writer of the series, and other commentators, have noted that this can be seen as a political parable. That we more adult, sophisticated readers can see the analogy between this story and the American response during these post 9/11 years. Yet as I read this book it seems more like a metaphor of issues of gun control. Superheroes are vigilantes running around with loaded guns. The big incident in the comic, involving a school, makes me think more of the Columbine-types of tragedies rather than our war against terrorism. It's interesting that the writer Mark Millar lives over in Glasgow Scotland. Not being a resident of the US, perhaps he lacks much of a realistic perspective of issues in America. There are plenty of ways in which war against terrorism has effected things in the US, but the metaphor of a Civil War doesn't touch on these things at all.

This works as a minor parable concerning the right to bear arms without registering--but as a grand reflection of the effects of 9/11 on our society this one tells us nothing.

Authors on the tube, part 3

On the left is the great writer Kim Stanley Robinson, in the center editor Gordon van Gelder of the long famous Magazine of Fantasy and Science fiction, and on the right, leading the conversation is another great author: Greg Bear (Eon, Blood Music, Dawin's Children, etc).

Authors on the tube, part two

A slicker video promoting William Gibson's new novel Spook Country. He seems to have moved from writing cyberpunk (which he invented in th early eighties) to writing about the present as if it takes place in a science fiction novel.

Authors on the tube, part 1

Here's Ian McDonald and Richard K. Morgan in conversation...a good way to promote writers, I think, except for all the background noise. McDonald is one of the best writers in the English language, right now. Morgan writes griping, if violent stories, in a more derivative vein, and sells a lot more books, in the US at least. Look for part two of this video on Youtube.

Paprika

The anime movie Paprika was pretty nifty to watch--but not quite the mind-blowing surreal phantasmagoria I imagined after reading some reviews and watching the trailer. To be as far out as I was expecting there would have to have been far less of a linear plot than the movie turned out to have. (A plot involving a stolen machine that can allow you to enter other people's dreams) There were plenty of loose ends and unexplained or contradictory elements, but no more than I've experience in my other anime viewing experiences. With the possible exception of Spirited Away, all the anime I've see has left me emotionally disconnected--I can see that these are supposed to be very emotion laden stories, but I never manage to connect. And all of them seem to be missing parts of the plot, expecting me to make connections that I can't completely make. The end result is that I only catch an anime movie once or twice a year...after I've had enough time to forget my previous disappointment. Are there clear plot elements that I'm not getting because these are stories from another culture? Or is the culture of anime just not so interested in clear plot connections the way I am? Yet if Paprika had less plotting I would have been able to let go and really enjoy all the fantastic dream animation without the distraction of trying to so hard to fill in the frustrating gaps and loose ends!

Mainspring

I've just finished reading the novel Mainspring, by local Portland author Jay Lake. It's an impressive science fantasy creation--a world, perhaps a whole universe, that physically runs on clockwork principals, the earth traveling around the sun on great brass gears. It's the idea of God as the "great clockmaker" taken literally and used as the basis of fabulous, grand scale world building. Lots of that sense of wonder readers of imaginative fiction crave. And Lake manages to wind up a breakneck roller coaster ride of a tour of his creation that kept me turning pages late into the night. Towards the end the plot relies too heavily upon a series of convenient and dream-like miracles for my taste...but I was still glad to have read the book.

Though full of elegant, evocative prose, this novel is all about the cool ride, the grand creation--rather than being deep psychologically or intellectually. In many ways, with a 16 year old protagonist and an emphasis on exploration and a character's growing in confidence and power, I felt Mainspring might especially appeal to a young adult audience--though to be published as YA, the love making on a page or two would have to be toned down.

Jay Lake is a phenomenon in science fiction: with over a hundred short stories in print, five or six small press volumes, winning the best new writer award, and now his first book from a big New York publisher. He lives here, in my home town of Portland, OR--yet the local press has taken no notice of his career, as far as I can tell. Powell's, our famous local monster-size bookstore, has given him very little attention. The Powell's branch here in Southeast Portland seems to have carried only one copy of his book on their shelves (and they now seem to have sold out what copies of the novel they had within the whole Powell's system of stores, with just one that can be mail ordered from their warehouse), with no recognition that he is a writer who lives within walking distance of the store! Shouldn't there have been a big party, a reading at least, or even a little note on the book shelf mentioning that this is a local author with a growing national reputation...certainly Powell's should have seen that with a little effort they could have sold a fairly large number of copies of a new local science fiction hero's first big time novel???

Additional note:

After writing this, I was at Powell's main store, checking out a reading, and I discovered they do have copies of Lake's novel there. It seems their website was either wrong, or I misunderstood it. Still my main point stands: that Powell's should have/could have given Lake a little promotion as an especially promising local writer--both as a community business and because it would make good professional business sense. To only carry one copy of his book in the store that's right in the heart of his own neighborhood is particularly sad.

Butcher

I was recently sucked deep into the audio book Storm Front, first in The Dresden Files series, by author Jim Butcher. The audio version is wonderfully narrated by James Marsters (best known as Spike in Buffy). I know there's a cable tv series of The Dresden Files already in existence; but right now I can't picture any one else but Marsters as wizard/detective hero Harry Dresden. The simplest description of the book would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and maybe Harry Potter) crossed with Raymond Chandler. The book's description--a book about a wizard detective in modern day Chicago--didn't sound very promising to me. I also tend to be suspicious of books that are part of a long series--especially ones about a "hard-boiled" detective.

I didn't believe my friend--even though I know she has great taste in fiction--that The Dresden Files was worth reading. Still it was easy enough to test out her recommendation with the audio version from the library--listen to it while doing chores around the house--and then be able to say I gave it a try, even though I knew I wouldn't get sucked into a series of light cookie cutter books.

Very soon I was looking for more and more chores to do and going for long walks so that I could listen to it on my iPod. Now I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.

The hard boiled genre is so familiar that I'm always taken by surprised when the formula works yet again. Somehow it is a great engine for creating an addictive reading experience. The jaded, loner hero is going to be reluctantly caught up in a case where he's also a suspect, he's going to get beat up a couple of times, he's going to meet a variety of decadent high society types and other seamy characters during the course of his investigation, including a large number of fallen women and an even greater level of corruption is going to be revealed at the climax. At the end the hero is even more jaded and bitter, although he's also proved that he's somehow more pure and innocent than the ugly world he is forced to inhabit. How can this same plot work over and over? It has spread out from the mystery genre into all the other genres. It seems so obvious and predictable--surely it's a sign of authors creating the lightest and least challenging pieces of fluff entertainment.

I can't be sucked into this obvious formula after all these years as a reader! Yet Butcher (see him laughing in the picture) translates the formula perfectly into the urban fantasy setting and uses it to slowly peel the onion of his fantasy creation, seducing us, leaving us wanting more details (both about the world and about many of his intriquing characters). In the end I suppose the hard-boiled formula is a perfect bridge between our real world and a fun, if dark, fantasy vision.

A glimpse of Paprika

I'll be seeing this movie later this afternoon. I'm looking forward to a trance inducing trip. Anticipation may be greater than real experience....

Fantasy novels

Any review or essay by the thoughtful and intelligent Adam Roberts is worth reading (if you enjoy thinking about SF and Fantasy). I thought this one, (on the Strange Horizons website) reviewing two much hyped recent "high fantasy" novels, was particularly insightful. In particular it addresses the kinds of language used in high fantasy.

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band Concert Sample

The magic of the internet. 24/7 access to anything. I hadn't thought to find a sample of the Big Damn Band on YouTube before now.

Big Blues

A week ago I was spending just about all my time at Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival--I must have seen more than thirty bands (I'm pretty obsessed with blues)--and the very best was Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band.
They have a super high-energy, high-attitude onstage presence. Non-stop energy. And a unique acoustic blues sound. Their album Big Damn Nation turned out to be pretty great too, but most of all you need to see this band live. Punk-Hillbilly-primitive blues is the closest way to describe their in concert approach.

Those in the Portland area can see them again on August 2nd at McMenamins' Grand Lodge in Forest Grove.

The Silver Surfer

This Silver Surfer cartoon is so cool. I enjoy it as an adult and I would have peed my pants over it back when when I was a comic book fanatic eleven year old. Back then, in the 1970's, I'd be lucky to get a brief glimpse of the Surfer maybe once a year in the pages of comic books. He was the most exciting of the marvel characters--I longed for all things cosmic! Now-- in this future I call my adulthood--the things I longed for as a boy are freely available. Silver Surfer cartoons, available whenever I want them. Endless reprints of the Kirby/Lee classics, all at my local library and bookstore. Quality live action movies about my favorite heroes. It's all so easy now. All 13 episodes of this great cartoon are up on Utube. Hopefully they'll come out on DVD some day. What I've posted here is part 1 of episode 1--if you like this you need to find part 2 of episode one--and, in fact, the origin story goes on for the first three episodes. From there the Surfer continues on from one wacky cosmic adventure to another throughout the 13 episodes...

Power of Spiderman

I wonder how much the success of Spiderman is being driven by kids. In the 4th and 3rd grade classes where I've been student teaching, the kids knew the exact date of the movie's release weeks ahead of time. They would ask me what I was going to be doing on May 4th back in mid-April! And two students were pulled out of class early that Friday so that they could go to the movie with their dads! I think these kids have grown up watching the first two Spidey movies over and over on DVD and so they'd built up this huge excitement over the coming movie, which might often be reinforced by superheroes being a way to bond with Dad.

Spiderman 3: Huge Disappointment

Spiderman 3 is a terrible movie. And I don't think I had particularly high expectations. I just wanted some cool superhero action sequences, some fun pulpy characters, and a breezy style. But watching this movie I was constantly insulted by the total lack of internal consistency, the lameness of the characters and the dullness of the action sequences. I'm completely puzzled by all the positive or even half positive reviews I've been seeing. I rarely felt entertained at all while sitting through this flick--most of the time I felt irritated.

I really don't think I'm a picky moviegoer. I was entertained by Ghost Rider. I even enjoyed a good portion of The Last Mimsy. I understood that I was not watching great movies--but I was able to have fun.

What makes a kid love a book?

I'm reading a book with a group of 4th graders. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. They love it! But the main thing they love about it is the turtle, named Dribble, who is mentioned on the first page of the book and who is mentioned every now and then throughout the narrative. The turtle is a minor part of book (so far, anyway)--but the kids love the book because of Dribble. Every time the turtle pops up they get all excited and talk about what a great book we're reading. Without Dribble the turtle I'm not sure this particular group of boys would care much about the book.