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Friday, September 30, 2005 Brief Notes Hey! Ever thought about writing a novel but you kept putting it off for one reason or other? Do you know anyone who's a writer? Or are you one of those crazy people who want to do it again? Then head on over to the National Novel Writing Month site. Sign ups begin tomorrow! I am keeping a weblog on this year's participation here so blabber about writing will be kept to a minimum on this one. Meanwhile, I am making backups of all the comments on this site. I tell ya', it's a pain in the neck. Next time, I'm going to do regular backups of the stuff every month. Stay tuned--I'll probably get another commenting system up in the next couple of days. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 12:29 PM : Thursday, September 29, 2005 The Thursday Threesome: Little Lost Sheep Onesome: Little-- by little we work our way through the week. Do you have anything fun coming up this weekend or in the next week? ...or maybe you're ready for a little relaxation? No. Twosome: Lost-- Do you get lost easily? ...or are you one of those people who always seems to know where they are? It depends. If the place is laid out in a logical manner, I could probably get myself to the destination. If it's a hodge podge of this and that, maybe not. Threesome: Sheep-- ...and goats and rabbits and, and, and: What is the favorite critter you look forward to seeing at the petting zoo (if you're a fair goer)? ...and if not, well, which one would just as soon not run across on a walk around the block? I mean, if you were the type who walked around the block and the farm animals escaped from Farmer John's truck on his way to the Fair... No tarantulas please. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:17 AM : Tuesday, September 27, 2005 An Opinion on Body Art So I'm thinking about reading a dark fantasy book, but I'm waffling due to the size of the thing. And what do I do? Visit the author's website and find that fans actually mail her pictures of their tattoos inspired by her novels. Sort of creepy. And before anyone else mentions it--yes, it's just as creepy when someone tattoos Elvish on their arms. (And yes, it was made up by a dead linguist, but geez, it was made-up.) It's not really the tattooing that gets me--after all, people can do whatever they want with their bodies--but the branding. It's the equivalent of branding yourself with someone else's name, as if you no longer belong to yourself, like a cow seared with some ranch hand's mark. Of course, nowadays there's laser surgery and tattoos may just as well be another form of costuming. Like wearing a t-shirt with some corporate logo. But at least that's less painful. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 6:18 PM : Monday, September 26, 2005 And the Lamprey-Monster Ate Him I've been taking allergy medicine for the past couple of days. It hasn't really helped my running nose all that much. The only difference I can see are the intense nightmares I keep getting every night. Must be the antihistamines. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 4:42 PM : More Spec Fic Count Zero by William Gibson. Okay. So the only other Gibson book I've read was Idoru which was interesting, abet raw, so I was not expecting very much from the cyberpunk king (I don't expect very much from cyberpunk in general--the entire genre doesn't seem so fresh, so '80s, ya' know?) but I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this one. The novel starts with three main storylines featuring Turner the corporate mercenary sent on a mission recover the creator of the biochip, Bobby Newmark the young hacker who runs for his life when a new icebreaker backfires on him, and Marly Krushkova the former gallery owner with a tarnished reputation who ends up working for the enigmatic Joseph Virek. The three parts merge into a stunning finale located in the futuristic yet gritty metropolis called the Sprawl. There's plenty of action and twisting plots to keep any reader hopping and happy. Too bad I didn't realize that this was the second novel in a trilogy (the first is Neuromancer, which I'm currently reading). Sex, Lies, And Vampires by Katie MacAlister. I think this is one of those novels where a reader would either laugh at or despise. As a parody of all those romantic vampire novels currently glutting the market, it's light and not very serious. The ditzy heroine, Nell Harris, is a professor of medieval history who travels to the Czech Republic to get her hands on a piece of fourteenth century armor but ends up recruited into a mission to help save her client's nephew from the demon lord Asmodeus. When Nell stumbles into the appropriately dark and brooding Adrian the Betrayer who insists on being called a Dark One instead of vampire, hijinks ensue--imp squishing, visiting poltergeist bordellos, raising mummies. Funny, yet with a climax that will leave you rolling your eyes. Unconscious Mutterings
[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 4:23 PM : Friday, September 23, 2005 Ha! It's not fair. People who've been blogging for about three months are called Blog Queens. Of course, these people are famous for reasons other than blogging, but that does not mean that they're immediately expert bloggers. But if a three month old blogger is a "blog queen", then what about a six month blogger? A year blogger? A decade blogger? [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 9:45 AM : Should Have Been Yesterday's It really sucks getting stuck behind a truck going 15 mph on a one-lane road. The Thursday Threesome: Gunning Down Romance Onesome - Gunning - What is it that you have been gunning for lately? Er, getting through the next day? Twosome - Down - What brings you down? A lot of things. Threesome - Romance - What's the most romantic movie scene you can recall? Are there any scenes that get your heart-a-fluttering? You know, that's the funny thing. I'm fine with reading about romance, but I really don't like watching romance in a movie or TV show or whatever. It's sort of like "Ew! Gross! Get a room!"--you know, like forced voyeurism. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 8:24 AM : Sunday, September 18, 2005 Unconscious Mutterings
[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 6:37 PM : Saturday, September 17, 2005 Non-Fiction: Microbes and Rodents Dark Life by Michael Ray Taylor. A communications and theater arts professor, avid caver, and science journalist, Taylor originally set out to find "dark life" within the depths of the earth--microbes that flourish in the absence of sunlight. As he increasingly gets involved with scientists in the field, he not only discusses the microbes living in other out of the way places such as hot springs and deep sea vents but also the controversy surrounding the existence of nanobacteria and microfossils on the Martian meteorite ALH 84001. The science isn't so esoteric that the casual reader can't pick it up, but the main attraction to the narrative is the emphasis of the personalities involved--such as the quirky scientist trying to prove that travertine is the result of nanobacteria deposition and the undergraduate caught between the warring factions arguing for and against life on the Martian meteorite. Rats by Robert Sullivan. After finishing this intriguing nature narrative, I was, well, a bit disappointed. Sure, there are the odd facts and the author's observation of city rat behavior in an alley that was located just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center, but the central point revolved around the human's relationship with the rat and not the rats themselves. We see that author creeping about with night vision goggles and becoming almost paternal about the rats he observes eating out of trash bags and restaurant dumpsters and meeting a homeless man with a strange love-hate relationship with them. There's quite a bit of history as well--particularly of New York's exterminators and sanitation service. And at times, it is even scary--such as the rats jumping back to full health even after workers from the CDC pump the rodents with enough tranquilizers to kill a cat. These are definitely not lab rats--but one will have to admire these city pests' adaptability. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 9:23 AM : Friday, September 16, 2005 Spec Fic: Coming of Age The Book of Dark Days by Marcus Sedgwick. I admit, this was somewhat of an impulsive choice from the library--particularly since I have never heard of this author before--but sometimes, new finds can be quite serendipitous (the last male fantasy author I've encountered in similar circumstances was Garth Nix). What drew me to this book was the setting--during the last extra days of the year that didn't fit neatly into the rest of the months--because I had used this plot device myself in a Nanowrimo novel. The Book of Dark Days takes place in a nameless European city where two orphans (Boy and Willow) accompany magician Valerian on his quest to find a book. Valerian believes the book will help save him from a demonic pact in which the deadline is at the end of the Dead Days. There are mysterious and dark scenes as Boy, Willow, and Valerian tramp through the decaying city--from a murder at the theater and a mortician animating bestial frankensteins to grave digging and underground canals. But the main questions are, just who is Boy and what is his role in the magician's quest? The tone is dark for a young adult novel but while the characters themselves may seem a bit distant, it certainly isn't lacking in any atmosphere. A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Gypsum is the middle child of the extraordinary LaZelle family of Southern California. Unfortunately, where her brothers and sisters--not to mention her mother and other family members--are able to wield impressive magical talents, Gypsum failed to go through "Transition" when she hit adolescence and must content herself to being normal and magic-less like her father. But then at twenty while the rest of her family is on vacation, Gypsum undergoes a violent Transition and develops the dangerous talent for cursing. Things become hilariously funny as Gypsum tries to control her own powers, interact with her close-knit family, and prevent the curses from wreaking havoc with everything around her. Hoffman has written a lovely book which is not only about a young woman's literal Transition but an emotional and maturing one as well. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 1:02 PM : Thursday, September 15, 2005 Spec Fic: Puns, YA, and S & S Currant Events by Piers Anthony. As the first book in Anthony's second Xanth cubed trilogy (that's the 28th book in the series), it's just, well, more of the same zany, pun-filled fantasy. Clio, the Muse of History, discovers that one of her Xanth history books is already written although she doesn't recall writing it let alone reading it. So it's off to the Good Magician Humfrey to find an answer to that conundrum and on her quest, she must restock Xanth with dragons and come to terms with her body image as well. Fluffy fun, as usual, especially for those Xanth fans but the book's themes--or what's there anyway--is nothing new. Coraline by Neil Gaiman. It seems like everyone has already read this tale by the time I got to it, but at least my enjoyment of it wasn't spoiled by all the glowing reviews. Coraline is a young girl who moves into an old house that's been turned into an apartment building with her somewhat oblivious parents. The neighbors, are to put it lightly, a bit weird--a pair of aging actresses and an old man training circus mice. Bored, Coraline takes to counting all the doors in the house and stumbles onto one door that leads into a parallel universe where there are her "other" parents who look just like her own except for button eyes and even creepier neighbors. It's just short of scary--a perfect read for a dark day. The Misted Cliffs by Catherine Asaro. Firmly in the sword and sorcery genre is the second book in Asaro's fantasy world (started in The Charmed Sphere). Cobalt the Dark, a man with a tortured past and a terrifying reputation, frees his father Varquelle--the deposed king of Harsdown, and plots to take regain the country by marrying Melody, the current heir to the throne of Harsdown. The marriage alliance, however, doesn't prevent Cobalt from waging war with the neighboring countries and it is up to Mel and her blossoming magical powers to help her husband overcome the inner demons stemming from his abused childhood. An interesting tale--although it treads no new ground--and there is enough foreshadowing from Cobalt's cruel grandfather to the deposed rulers of the conquered countries for the reader to look forward to the next volume. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:52 AM : The Thursday Threesome: Daily Dilly Dally Onesome: Daily-- What part of your daily routine could you simply not do without? ...and just to make it interesting, your morning coffee is a given, so try something else! I don't drink coffee in the morning, although when I do, it's liberally mixed with something else like milk or cream or sugar or half a can of chocolate mix. I suppose waking up, going to the bathroom for hygenic purposes, and eating breakfast is my routine. Twosome: Dilly-- Okay, fess up; what's the latest really good one you've pulled? Well, at least something you can share with the gang here. I'm really quite a staid person. I don't particularly recall anything crazy I've done the past year. But you can correct me if I'm wrong. Threesome: Dally-- What is your favorite way to dally away some time instead of working on a project? Do you read, play games, look for lost kittens, study cloud formations? Come on... Reading, working on the weblog, writing. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 6:25 AM : Wednesday, September 14, 2005 Spec Fic: Urban Fantasy Times Two I have no idea if I've opined about the following two novels before. Maybe. But I'm too lazy at the moment of this writing to go back and see. Anyways, one of these books is by a debut author and the other from a long-time favorite. Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy. On a flight back to Seattle from her estranged mother's funeral in Ireland, Joanne Walker spots a woman getting attacked on the streets. Once on the ground, she hails a cab in order to track down and save the woman and ends up getting stuck in the midst of a mythical Celtic Hunt. Joanne is one of those sarcastic kick-ass heroines who somehow brazens things through. The only quibble I have with Murphy's first effort is the pacing. It's brutal how so many events are squished into a few days and it was a wonder that the heroine is still standing at the end (even if she did manage to heal herself after getting stabbed by a sword in the first few chapters). However, the premise--a mixture of Native American and Celtic mythology--is an interesting one and I look forward to seeing how the author fleshes it out in the rest of the trilogy. Sunshine by Robin McKinley. McKinley is one of the few authors who I automatically pick up, no questions asked due to the writing style rather than the story. Sunshine, however, is a completely different endeavor than her previous fairy tale-oriented works. This urban fantasy work is edgier and influenced, as other reviewers may point out, by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The fictional work is populated by humans, vampires, shape-shifters, and other things that go bump in the night, but that is mere background for Rae Seddon (Sunshine) Cinnamon Roll Queen. At the core, it's the struggle between the comfortable and familiar, and the scary, mystical unknown. Non-stop action this is not, but if you don't mind a bit of meandering and digression with your blood-suckers and pastries, McKinley's latest work makes for some delightfully chilly reading. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 3:26 PM : I'm Still Here, Sort Of More of note to self: I have to figure out how to keep all the comments somewhere. I can't log into my Blogback account for some reason so I guess I'll just have to go back to every post and manually save everything. So unless there's a particular comment that you (uh, are there still any readers out there?) want to be left on the ol' WWW, this is your last chance. Or forever hold your peace 'cause I'll be changing the commenting system soon. Maybe I'll get some actual posting too, mostly just book reviews/opinions/whatnot, in the next couple of days. [posted by S. Y. Affolee on 2:18 PM : |
