February 2007
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Eric is Pratchett's novel parodying the classic tale of Faust.
PROS: Some amusing bits
CONS: Not as funny as other books, very short book.
BOTTOM LINE: Aside from continuing the adventures of everyone's favorite Wizzard, Eric just doesn't hold up compared to other Discworld books.
MY REVIEW:
It's been a long time since I last read Eric, and I didn't really remember much about the story. That's probably because it's not one of his better efforts. Still, being Pratchett, it has some funny bits and some good characters which raise it, slightly, above mediocre.
Eric is a retelling of the classic tale of Faust. In this case, Eric plays the part of Faust, while Rincewind plays the part of Mephistopholese. You have to feel sorry for anyone who tries to summon a demon to make a deal with and gets Rincewind instead. As you can imagine, all sorts of bad things then occur. Unfortunately, the book feels like Pratchett only had a few ideas to work with and, as a result, it's very short and not up to par with other Discworld novels. That's not to say there aren't some good aspects to the book, there are. Some of the more memorable characters, aside from Rincewind, are Cohen's daughter, Death (of course), Eric's parrot ("Wossname!") and the great god Quezovercoatl.
Pratchett also manages to make Hell (the fire and brimstone one) into a place of true nightmares (one of endless beauracratic protocols and vacation slideshows). He even manages to give a typical Pratchett-ian view on the birth of the Discworld universe, complete with a Slartibartfast-like creator. These areas go a long way to making Eric a fun read, but they can't manage it on their own.
The book itself just doesn't seem to hang together very well. I've read that it was supposed to be a graphic novel, but was later made into novel. I think a graphic novel would have been better given the lack of material to make a full fledged book out of.
Still, a mediocre Pratchett book is better than any Jordan door stopper novel. You should read this book, just not at the expense of other, better, Discworld novels.
(See the full Pratchett Reading Table for all Discworld reviews.)
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| Posted by JP on Wednesday February 28, 2007 - 3:02 PM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2007 SF Signal
It's been confirmed by Paramount that Trek XI will be released on Christmas Day, 2008 and that J.J. Abrams will be directing. But is Abrams, the brains behind Alias and LOST, enough to save this movie? I say 'No! A thousand times no!".
Let's count the ways shall we? Yes, we shall.
So you see, ladies and gentlemen, far from being a sure thing to ignite the masses of Star Trek fandom, this movie has trainwreck written all over it. Sure, the Galactica re-imagining has worked out, but this? It isn't even a proper re-imagining, just a focus on a time that isn't that interesting. STar Trek has some mileage left, I think, but not on re-hashing older characters. We need new stuff. And good stuff.
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| Posted by JP on Wednesday February 28, 2007 - 10:51 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2007 SF Signal
The New Hampshire Humanities Council is launching a year-long, book-based project called Speculate: a new past, a different present, an out-of-this-world future. The program
Here's their suggested reading/listening list:
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| Posted by John on Wednesday February 28, 2007 - 12:13 AM
| Category: Books
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Wednesday February 28, 2007 - 12:03 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
The Winter 2007 issue of Subterranean Press Magazine has been posted online with the following offerings:
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| Posted by John on Tuesday February 27, 2007 - 12:18 AM
| Category: Web Sites
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Tuesday February 27, 2007 - 12:15 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
The SFWA has posted the Final 2006 Nebula Award Ballot. The Nebula Award will be presented in New York City at the 2007 Nebula Awards Weekend, May 11-13, 2007.
Linked story names go to online versions.
NOVELS
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| Posted by John on Tuesday February 27, 2007 - 12:02 AM
| Category: Awards
| © 2007 SF Signal
REVIEW SUMMARY: D.A. reads like Robert A. Heinlein on speed!
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Theodora Baumgarten is erroneously enrolled as an IASA space cadet and subsequently tries to find out why.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Fast-moving story; Willis' writing style is thoroughly engaging and highly entertaining.
CONS: Somewhat predictable, especially for fans of Heinlein's juveniles, to which this story pays homage.
BOTTOM LINE: An excellent novella.
In Connie Willis' novella, D.A., Theodora Baumgarten is enrolled as an IASA space cadet and is quickly whisked away to the Academy space station, named the RAH after Robert A. Heinlein. (No coincidence - this story is overtly Heinleinian, which is good because it gives me two chances to say "Heinleinian".) While Theodora's appointment is considered a great honor by her friends, family and fellow students, all of whom would love to be in Theodora's space shoes, there is a problem: Theodora never actually enrolled in the IASA. With the help of her Earthside hacker friend, Kimkim, Theodora sets out to find out how she could possibly come to be signed up in the IASA.
Reading D.A. is like a getting a shot of Heinlein injected directly into the bloodstream. Actually, it's like Heinlein on speed because the story mimics themes in his juvenile novels - a young person overcoming obstacles by using ingenuity and intellect - and moves incredibly fast. Willis' engaging plot and her highly entertaining prose make the Lucy Ricardo circumstances surrounding Theodora's enlistment sing with in the tune of classic science fiction parody. Even though there are no real surprises for the Heinlein fan, watching her as she tries to figure out what the heck is going on is just plain fun.
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| Posted by John on Monday February 26, 2007 - 12:28 AM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2007 SF Signal
A remake of 1986's The Fly is headed for the opera stage. You heard me. From The Orlando Sentinel:
Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore, Plácido Domingo and director David Cronenberg are forming an unlikely trio to create an unlikely opera -- The Fly.This is exactly what science fiction needs to give it the class it deserves. And what better way than via an operatic version of a Cronenberg movie? I can't wait to see Plácido Domingo vomit on some poor bastard's stump just before he chows down. I bet Luciano Pavarotti is so jealous...A co-production by the Theatre du Chatelet and Domingo's Los Angeles Opera, The Fly will premiere in Paris on July 1, 2008, and open the Los Angeles Opera's 2008-9 season Sept. 7, 2008. Domingo will conduct both runs.
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| Posted by John on Monday February 26, 2007 - 12:18 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2007 SF Signal
Kathryn Cramer has posted the table of contents for the annual anthology se co-edits with David G. Hartwell, Year's Best Fantasy 7, to be published in June 2007.
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| Posted by John on Monday February 26, 2007 - 12:13 AM
| Category: Books
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Monday February 26, 2007 - 12:04 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
| (146 total votes) |
"I go back and forth between The Undiscovered Country and Nemesis as my favorite. Both deal with similar themes (aging; ending; drifting apart) and I think the inclusion of endings (for characters and stories both) is what gives each film an edge and a stronger tone." - Pete TzinskiBe sure to vote in this week's poll on The Best Midriff-Baring Space Princess!
"Goodness, that is a heck of a list, but one can never go wrong when you have Ricardo and William Shatner in the same movieBesides without ST2 - you would never have the immortal phrase: "KHAAAAAAAAN!!!!"" - Tim
"ST2 was great because it was overall small and personal. It involved the personal vendetta of Khan against Kirk, the personal tragedy of Spock, and the personal situation involving Kirk's son. The other movies all try to be grand and expansive and end up either being all about special effects or huge galactic battles. I fear this will never make a great sci-fi film." - Scott
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| Posted by John on Monday February 26, 2007 - 12:00 AM
| Category: Polls
| © 2007 SF Signal
In a brutally honest follow-up to his classic "The Classics of Science Fiction" article from 20 years ago, James Wallace Harris has this to say about the classics of yesteryear:
Now looking back with twenty years of hindsight I'm not sure how many science fiction books I would consider classic. The final The Classics of Science Fiction list wasn't selected by me, but was assembled from the most frequently recommended books from 28 best-of lists and other sources dating back to the 1950s. Of the 193 books on the list, I'm not sure how many I would personally recommend today.These days, he's been listening to audiobooks, some of them are the audio versions of the sf classics and the experience has been mixed. Isaac Asimov's Foundation, for example, does not hold up, he says:
A few months ago I listened to Foundation by Isaac Asimov and I was appalled by how bad it was. I had forgotten most of the story. I had read the original Foundation trilogy back in the 1960s and accepted it then as a classic because everyone said it was so.He concludes the article with a feeling felt by others - that science fiction becomes quickly outdated.It is well loved, but not by me anymore.
As many observers have noted, modern children prefer movies, video games and movies over books, so there's always a chance that books won't be popular in the future. However, I think hard-core science fiction readers will continue to seek and find the books on The Classics of Science Fiction list. The average science fiction reader will be content with the latest fad in science fiction and fantasy books. I think the desire to read science fiction is mostly based on the urge to find new and novel excitements - so the classic books that come from the 1940s and 1950s pulp magazines will feel old and quaint to them. Eventually, even the New Wave times of the 1960s and 1970s will seem old wave. Books from the 1920s and 1930s seemed quaint to me in the 1960s. I have a feeling that the most sophisticated science fiction written today will feel like a dime novel does to us when read by our grandchildren.While I might disagree about the outdated part (to me, classic science fiction is charming because it reflects what forward-looking thinking looked like in the past), I have to acknowledge what an interesting read this is...not only for the blunt truthfulness of his insightful observations, but also because of the perspective it provides across the twenty years it's been since he first wrote The Classics of Science Fiction article, an amazing achievement in itself.I guess my conclusion is science fiction goes out of date too fast to become classic. I wish I could live to be two hundred and find out the answer though.
Well done, Mr. Harris!
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| Posted by John on Sunday February 25, 2007 - 12:15 AM
| Category: Books
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Sunday February 25, 2007 - 12:06 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Ofelia and her mother move into an old mill in rural Spain to start a new life with her new father, fascist Captain Vidal. Ofelia soon finds that the woods around the mill contain fairies, and a faun that sends Ofelia on a series of quests to prove that she' the long-lost princess of the Underworld.
PROS: Amazingly captivating story; horribly evil villain
CONS: None
BOTTOM LINE: The best film I've seen in a very long while, a worthy Oscar nomination for best foreign film.
I was VERY nervous about taking my wife to this movie. She dislikes having to 'read' films (the movie is in Spanish with English subtitles), she's not fond of fantasy and she really, really hates war movies. Pan's Labrynth is all those things, and to make matters worse - it's written and directed by Guillermo del Toro - the guy that did Hellboy and Blade II. Fortunately she knew none of this before we went, and the first thing she said when we left the movie was that we need to get the DVD when it comes out!
Pan's Labrynth is set during the end days of the Spanish Civil War. Ofelia and her pregnant mother move to a mill in the country so that the baby can be born with her new father, the fascist Captain Vidal.
She soon discovers that the Captain is a horrible, sadistic captain, feared by his men as well as his family. Ofelia frequently escapes to the woods surrounding the mill and soon finds an ancient stone labrynth in which she discovers a woodland faun that thinks Ofelia is the long-lost princess. To test this, the faun gives Ofelia a series of test, or quests.
Half of Pan's Labrynth is set in the real world, under they tyranny of her horrible stepfather who will stop at no lengths to root out the guerrillas in the surrounding hills, and her mother, who's difficult pregnancy threatens to kill her. The other half is in a fantasy world where Ofelia quests to prove that she is indeed the long lost princess.
The writing in Pan's Labrynth is as strong as another fantasy film classic, The Princess Bride, but as light and fun as Princess Bride was, Pan's Labrynth is as dark and horrific. This is not a Disney film - it earns it's R rating. Still, the violence and language are not gratuitous.
If you do not see this movie in the theatres (and you should - it's beautiful!), then you must definitely rent it on DVD.
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| Posted by Kevin on Saturday February 24, 2007 - 6:49 PM
| Category: Movies
| © 2007 SF Signal
Taking a cue from John C. Wright, SF Signal would like to promote The New Space Princess Movement!
And what better way to celebrate than with some stiff competition between midriff-baring space royalty? Ex astris, diaphragmata! [Thanks to My Elves Are Different for the slogan. - Ed.]
The rules are simple:
The contestants are...
Princess Aura from Flash Gordon (1936):
Princess Aura from Flash Gordon (1980) (Flash! Ahhh-ahhh!):
Barbarella, Queen of the Galaxy (OK, so that's pushing it. But it's Barbarella!):
Princess Ardala from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century:
Princess Leia from Star Wars:
Queen Amidala from Star Wars:
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| Posted by John on Saturday February 24, 2007 - 12:11 AM
| Category: Movies, TV
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Saturday February 24, 2007 - 12:05 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Former starship pilot Titus Quinn is coerced into returning to the mysterious realm, the Entire, by the Miranda corporation. Miranda wants Titus to discover a way to use the Entire as a shortcut for interstellar travel. Titus has other ideas.
PROS: Unique setting both physically and societally; Titus Quinn is a compelling anti-hero.
CONS: Some clunky writing; a drawn out ending; weaker secondary characters.
BOTTOM LINE: Bright Of The Sky effortlessly blends science fiction concepts and world-building with fantasy story telling to create a unique and intriguing whole.
MY REVIEW:
Bright Of The Sky starts out with a riveting action sequence, where the Appian II space platform suddenly and catastrophically malfunctions. As the crew desperately race to evacuate, Helice Maki tries to discover why the AI in charge of the station has re-assigned all computing resources to chasing down phantom particles that have resulted from a lab experiment. This is our first inkling of the Entire, a separate universe from ours, that never the less intersects with ours at seemingly random locations. These intersections allow for interaction between the two universes, and it is particles from these interactions that caused the Appian II AI to obsess over them.
Helice takes this information back to Earth. The Miranda Corporation has been losing star ships at an alarming rate and a new, safer method of interstellar travel must found. One that doesn't rely on black holes. One that takes a short-cut through the other universe. On Earth is Titus Quinn, former Miranda starship pilot. Titus was drummed out of Miranda after the destruction of his ship, of which he was the only known survivor. Titus appeared on a remote mining planet, claiming to have been in another universe, the Entire, for 10 years, even though only several weeks had passed. Additionally, he was convinced that his daughter, who, along with his wife, were also on the ship, was still in the Entire and that his wife had died there. All other memories of his time there had been erased. Helice and Miranda Corp. desperately need Titus to go back to the Entire to try and find a safe way for humans to travel to the stars. With the data from the Appian II platform, Miranda has been able to create a prototype device to travel to the Entire. They use the lure of Sydney, his daughter, and threats against his surviving family members to convince Titus to go back to the Entire to try and secure travel rights for humanity with the Tarig, the lords of the Entire. Titus, however, intends to rescue his daughter.
After a rousing start, Bright Of The Sky moves at a much more sedate pace, as events and information slowly unfold. The machinations of Miranda become clear to us and Titus, but the lure of rescuing his daughter and the stick of the threats against his family force Titus into returning. Far from being a hero, Titus begins that story being a self-absorbed hermit, wallowing in his own self pity over the accident, the loss of his wife and daughter, and his expulsion from Miranda. He has become a bitter, unsociable man, difficult to talk to, and is really not a pleasant person, an anti-hero. Still, Kenyon has done a very good job in writing Titus. Even with all of his faults, Titus is a sympathetic figure. We know something happened to him. Something terrible and frightening enough to cause him to lose his memories. Something not necessarily of his doing. Who wouldn't fall into bitter recluse? Plus, you can't help but pull for him as tries to rescue his daughter. Even if his actions later in the book are unexpectedly dark, like Thomas Covenant in Lord Foul's Bane.
Titus Quinn is, by the far, the strongest character present. All the others aren't as fleshed out as he is. From the conservative Yulin, ruler of a local Chalin (human-like alien) dominion, his scheming wife, Anzi, who becomes Quinn's guide, and even to the Tarig lords themselves. None of them are given as much attention as Quinn. This leads to the secondary characters ready to throw in with Quinn and betray the Entire seemingly at a whim. Sure, the Entire isn't as idyllic as it seems on the surface, but those who do help Quinn just seem to do so against expectations. Just a little oddness in an otherwise interesting story.
Quinn is the main focus story wise, but a close second is the Entire itself. Kenyon has create a very unique setting to tell her story in. The Entire basically tunnels through our universe, existing everywhere but only actually touching in a few, mobile areas. These areas are called 'reaches' in the Entire, and they are stationary there. Also, time seems to move at a faster clip in the Entire than in our universe. Put together, they make the Entire a perfect shortcut to move around our universe. Physically, the Entire is a 'landlocked' universe. As big as ours, but with no interstellar space. It's basically one large land area, mostly empty, with pockets of civilization. The Tarig created the Entire for purposes of their own, and populated it with beings they patterned after those they saw in our universe,which they call the Rose. The Chalin sway, where Titus appears, is modeled after feudal China, and lends an exotic yet oddly familiar feel to that portion of the Entire. Each sway is contained in a larger swatch of 'land' called a primacy. The primacies radiate away from a central 'ocean' where the great city, and power base of the Tarig, the Ascendency resides. Travel between primacies is accomplished by navitars who pilot 'boats' on the river Nigh, which is made of something like water, but stranger. The outside boundaries of the Entire are storm walls. Huge walls of exotic matter the keep people from leaving the Entire. Above lies the Bright. A self-illuminating 'sky' that is constantly filled with roiling clouds. The Bright provides illumination, and it never gets dark in the Entire, just twilight. How the Tarig power something this vast is unknown, but it serves as a large plot point near the end of the book which changes the course of Quinn's quest.
I chose quest for a reason. Make no mistake, while Kenyon has written a science fiction novel, the actual story structure is more like that of a fantasy book. Titus is engaging on a quest. Two, in fact. The first, to find and save his lost daughter. The second is to save humanity, and our universe, from an implacable enemy. This second quest can also be seen in terms of space opera, and gives Bright Of The Sky and interesting mix of fantasy and science fiction tropes. The whole book has that feel, with its weird mix of high and low tech and its feudal seeming form of governance. Kenyon manages to mix these two disparate genres well. Not as adroitly as Gene Wolfe, but certainly well enough to impress with her world-building.
Two things bothered me, though. The first I chalk up to the fact the book I read was an advance reading copy. There were a couple of areas where I felt the paragraphs didn't flow together well. In fact, one spot had the same thought being repeated, almost word for word, within two sentences. There was also some clunky writing used to describe Titus' feelings during his stay in the Ascendency. Hopefully that was tidied up with more editing. Secondly, though, the ending of the story just seemed to keep going. In fact it felt like the ending Return Of The King, there were three of them. Kind of annoying to reach a seeming ending point, only to have more story left. But not enough to be a big drag.
Kay Kenyon has created a standout novel in Bright Of The Sky. I'm looking forward to the rest of series.
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| Posted by JP on Friday February 23, 2007 - 1:42 PM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Friday February 23, 2007 - 12:15 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
Teen Lit Fest, to be held February 24th, 2007, at Atascocita High School in Humble, TX, celebrates young adult fiction. Authors and illustrators attending include Chris Crutcher (keynote speaker), Gail Giles, Justine Larbalestier, Benjamin Saenz, Scott Westerfeld and Chris Yambar.
Here at SF Signal, we like to promote reading in young adults and kids. So, if you are in the area, check it out! [Looks at JP, Tim and self.]