This post is a something a little out of the norm when compared to my other book reviews.  It will, at some point soon, be a full-fledged review.  For now, it’s a bit of a preview of sorts.  I have read most of the book, but haven’t had a chance to finish it before today’s post.  As I didn’t really have anything else to cover, I decided to be a little unorthodox with my post.

First, let me get this out of the way.  It seems like the fates conspired against me getting to actually finish this book in a reasonable amount of time.  I started reading it a couple weeks ago, just before my brother came to town for the family reunion.  I figured I’d still have time to read while he was here–I really didn’t.  So, when he left the reading started to pick up a bit.  When this week arrived, though, I was thrown off by the arrival of the school semester.

Now I have really gotten into it, and have begun to enjoy and appreciate it a bit more.  I am almost done, but I can pretty much surmise my feeling about the book as a whole.  If something comes up, namely with the ending, that makes me think less of the book, then I will be sure to update this piece with that information.

The Town That Forgot How to Breathe, by Kenneth J. Harvey, is a pretty eerie piece of work.  Set in the Newfoundland town of Bareneed, the novel paints a lovely picture of seaside life.  While Bareneed looks quaint and picturesque, everything is not as it seems.  As novels like this tend to showcase, nothing out of the ordinary really happens until an outside makes his or her (in the case of this novel his and her) way into town.

The outsiders in this story are a young father, Joseph Blackwood, and his daughter Robin.  Though Joseph’s family was originally from Bareneed, his father had left it, and he grew up outside of the small town.  Because of him familial ties Joseph takes Robin there for a vacation.

Upon their arrival, they meet an eccentric old woman named Eileen Laracy who just happens to clue the reader in on something about Robin: she is “blessed”.  Blessed, in this novel, is sort of like having “the shining”.  Robin can see things that others cannot (spirits, the future, etc.), and tends to sketch them in a notebook she keeps with her.  What she sees, and it’s almost immediate, is the ghost of a young girl in the barn on the rental property her and her father are staying in.

After the initial sight of the ghost girl, things slow down a bit story-wise.  Harvey introduces a few new characters, one of which can see the future like Robin.  Tommy Quilty has the same habit of drawing what he sees in notebooks of his own.  Not long after, though, peculiar things begin to happen again, and these odd occurrences culminate in the sea regurgitating the bodies of those that have been lost in it.  Though these bodies are dead, they don’t look like drowning victims should.

As all this is happening, certain townsfolk begin to die mysteriously.  First they succumb to rage, then their bodies just stop breathing–seemingly forgetting how to do so.

The story itself is good.  The setting is great, and beautifully described.  Harvey’s cast of characters are well rounded and quite believable.  There is a bit of a problem with too much inane description–description that really serves not purpose as the story goes along.  I think those descriptions bog it down a bit.

While I enjoyed–and am still enjoying–this novel, I will not yet make a recommendation.  When I finish it, and have time to digest what happened, then I will update this odd post.  Until then, later!

These are seven of my favorite Sci-Fi TV shows.  I decided to go with a more recent selection, as I could fill a list with older shows quite easily.  These are NOT in any particular order because it would be really hard for me to choose one over another!  Well, except for one, which you’ll see.

X ALWAYS stands for something mysterious!

The X-Files­

Agents Mulder and Scully were a big part of my teenaged life.  I looked forward to what crazy things they were going to investigate each week.  Though I was always a fan of science fiction, this show really cemented my love of the genre.  Even though out-of-this-world things were constantly happening, the two agents and the incredible cast of supporting characters was believable. I know a show like The X-Files­ requires a suspension of disbelief when you start watching.  I can’t help but think that there is a little paranoid person in all of us that can easily find something to latch onto.

Crown (second from left) is easily my favorite character.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

This is one of my favorite shows, hands down.  And not just in the genre of science fiction.  The premise of the show was totally science fiction:  As a means of experiment, a human worker Joel (replaced by Mike as the show went on) was shot into space on the Satellite of Love and forced to watch horrible B-movies.  While watching these movies Joel (or Mike) and his only companions, some wisecracking robots, did what everyone likes to do when they see a terrible movie: mock it mercilessly.  They not only made a terrible movie watchable, they made it enjoyable AND hilarious!

Fringe

Fringe takes a page from The X-Files. An FBI lead group, the Fringe Division, investigates a slew of strange disturbances called “The Pattern”.  The characters drive the show a bit more than the occurrences they are responsible for investigating.  Walter, a deranged scientist who just happens to be the cause of some of these occurrences, really steals the spotlight, in my opinion.  The show’s current venture into a parallel universe is great!  Especially seeing what could have been in our universe.  With the third season on the way, and one of the members of the Fringe Division from our side stuck in the other universe, things are bound to be exciting!

The Doctor and a bunch of his old friends

Doctor Who

THE epitome of time travel television!  Doctor Who is an amazing series that has been going for many (many many) seasons!  The exotic locales, and exotic beings, have nothing on the characters of the show.  The show may be called Doctor Who but it really is a show about The Doctor’s companions, and their lives.  Some of my favorite episodes are the ones dealing with historical figures, rather than those that deal with alien beings, etc.

This picture, alone, cannot show the awesomeness of the show! I tries, though.

Futurama

The only animated series on my list, though not the only animated series I enjoy, Futurama really does have it all.  Aliens?  Got them.  Robots?  Yep.  Sewer mutants?  You’re damn straight!  What other show has a man from the past that is his own grandfather?  None that I know of.  The thing is, Futurama takes all of these abnormal things, and makes them completely…well not mundane, but close.  It really is a slice of everyday life (well sometimes), just set 1,000 years in the future.  Let’s hope that its rebirth, after a seven year cancellation, lasts a bit longer than its first run!

Eureka

Eureka it touted as America’s smartest little town, and it very well is.  Eureka is basically a town where all the smartest people in the world live and work.  However, what I love about this show featuring incredibly brilliant scientists is that the man that winds up saving the day is an everyman.  Sheriff Jack Carter may not be the smartest person in the town, but he certainly has pulled the town out of the “fire” on many occasions.  Jack manages to do so with a sense of humor, even when things look their worse.

This is what sexy supernatural beings do in their time off.

True Blood

This show, drawn from the series of books (Southern Vampire Mysteries) by Charlaine Harris has a bit of everything.  Vampires, werewolves and other werebeings, witches and faeries…you name it!  Even with this eclectic mix of fantastical beings, True Blood is intense, sometimes campy, and always incredibly sexy.  Though the second season was crazy, and really all over the place (even for True Blood), the third season is brilliant.  Sure, it’s just as crazy as last season, but it’s a much more focused kind of crazy.

A few honorable mentions, because I had a hard time keeping my list at seven: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (both the micro-series, and the current series—I am an unabashed Star Wars fan!), Dead Like Me, and Pushing Daisies.

Cheesy, but for some reason it I loved it.

I decided on something easy to get me started, but feel free to email any of us with any ideas you would like to see us cover.

SciFi television is something I have always loved, even when sometimes it is not up to par.  I have mentioned before that I used to watch SciFi with my family, but most especially with my dad.  It is one of the ways we bonded.  Maybe that is why I still have such a deep love of it today.  While compiling this list, I realized that it is really hard to rank your favorite shows, and in someways, those that I had seen more recently kept creeping up the list.  Mostly this convinced me that I need to rewatch all my old favorites to do this right.  However, as I still have to work and re-watching all that  tv is unpaid, I am going to do the best I can on my recollections alone.

Honorable mentions: Dead Like Me, Witchblade (TNT Series), Pushing Daisies, Firefly, Dollhouse, Quantum Leap, The Guild

7.  3rd Rock from the Sun

Seventh place was somehow the hardest to pick.  I ended up going with 3rd Rock, mostly, because it was a sitcom, while all the rest were hour long dramas (more or less).  3rd Rock had that little bit of SciFi, but was still on network television, attracted a large audience, and was truly funny.  Maybe it didn’t have quite the mystery, costuming and otherness of most of my  other choices, but it worked and had a scifi background.

6. Dr Who (new version)

David Tennant is so expressive! My favorite Dr.

 To be fair, I have never watched the original Dr Who, which i hear is great and has the same quality as Bond, where you get to replace the Dr. and his companion regularly within the framework of the show and without upsetting the fan base.  I admit that many of the monsters/aliens / special effects are a little cheesy in this series at times, but I think the acting is part of what really makes me love this series.  David Tennant is just so expressive.  His Dr is like a little kid in his enthusiasm for life, and yet he can still be serious when that gift is threatened.  Great chemistry and often great writing (Turn Left, and the angel episode) make this series worth watching.

5. Star Trek: The Next Generation

My first introduction to SciFi

This was my first foray into Scifi, and I watched it with my dad.  My best friend at the time also watched it.  Together we would buy the action figures and read the spin-off books (I mostly remember Imzadi)  In high school, we went to see the first Next Generation movie together in the theatres. I even came to my love of tea through watching Jean-Luc Piccard constantly ordering Earl Grey. I don’t know if it is all nostalgia, but I love this show.

4. Babylon 5

I remember when they tried to cancel this show before its 5 seasons were finished.  I was so upset, and then they had to rewrite season 5 because the actress for Ivonova walked off in contract negotiations.  This show first introduced me to the annoyances that come with loving scifi, or really any television programming.  It can be canceled at the whim of the network, consigning so many unanswered questions, realtionships and mysteries to the trash heap.  Fortunately it did make it to season 5, and there were really so many long storylines that they got a chance to play out, which I loved;  The reltionships between G’kar and Lando, even Lando and Vir, the growth many characters had to go through.  There was a lot of Star Trek plotlines in this series (individual questions of clashing cultures and morality) but the overreaching plotline made it stand out to me, and because it was plotted from the beginning, it didn’t dissolve into complete soap opera, which I always appreciate.

3. Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Oh and right after my soap opera comment, I dive into the drama that is a high school vampire slayer.  This was my first official introduction to Joss Whedon.   My sisters got me into it in high school, and I have to say I was not impressed with the plotline of the first episode I watched.  It seemed a little corny and a little forced, but the dialogue was awesome.  So I tuned in for more dialogue and got addicted to the character insight and sheer plot genius that is Joss Whedon.  I now watch pretty much anything with his name on it, and I know I am not alone.  I was a little disappointed when it went to the UPN network, and Joss was no longer with it full time, as he was also juggling Angel at that time, but I felt the season 4 closer would have been a perfect end to the series.  Of course, then I would never have gotten to experience Buffy: the Musical, and that would have been a real shame.

2. Farscape

Farscape…what can I say?  Muppets, and new “f” swear word (frell), fantastic creatures, great plotlines, great villians, a cast that changes to keep the show feeling new, episodes done as roadrunner cartoons?  I guess it is in part this show’s willingness to takes risks that makes me love it.  I love the cast of characters and the vibrancy that comes from painting half of your aliens different colors.  I know I sound glib, but I do own this entire series on dvd.

1. Battlestar Galactica (new version)

Best show…I introduced non-scifi fans to it, and after their intial uneasiness at watching scifi, they too became addicts.  It is so much more about people and politics, then it is about scifi and it reflects so poignantly on our real world and all the crisis we face in it.  I was devastated to hear it was canceled, and yet, it that way it could never just die out, as so many other shows do in long runs.  I loved Starbuck, for I felt I could never quite peg her down, though I also felt I knew her so well.  I liked the Dr for the sheer fact that he was a coward and a narcisst and yet sometimes was still plagued with conscience.  I loved seeing how positions of power or lack there of changed these people and the questions posed when the final 5 were revealed.  There is so much to catch in subsequent viewings and so much to think about even the first time through.  I just can’t express how much I love this show.

Yes, as the natural world winds down to the deep sleep of winter, we humans ramp up plently of nerd friendly entertainments.  First, I am really excited for the Spiderman musical.  This is not to say I think it will be great, or possible even good, but roaring success, or catastrophic failure, I will be there to review it myself.  Apart from the seeming impossibility of putting almost any superhero on stage (yes, Toxic Avenger already got an off-broadway musical), Bono and U2 are doing the music.  And when I first moved to New York, Alan Cumming was going to play the Green Goblin.  Tragically, He has since left the show for other obligations, and considering it was supposed to start in Feburaury and is currently selling tickets for opening in November….who can blame him?  Since it looks like this is finally cast and snag-free, I look forward to trying to find an inexpensive, good seat…..hmmm, I may have to work a little harder on that.

Next, New York Comic Con is on its way in October.  I am going to try and go on my day off.  James Marsters and Kate Sarkoff, among many others will be present.  I keep checking for an updated event list, but that it must stil be under development, as I can’t find one.  I am sure many other great names will be there, but I should state here, that while I enjoy comic books I read mostly The Uncanny X-men in high school, and am sadly uninformed on most other comics and their related star writers and illustrators. 

Also, new television season brings with it the hope of another first season of Heroes….There is ABC’s offering of No Ordinary Family..Basically, family goes on vacation…freak accident…Fantastic Four…oh wait, copyright infringement…The Incredibles….Well anyways, family with superpowers, and everyday problems tries to continue living an ordinary life when they are anything but. 

NBC  has The Cape, about a cop and father who becomes his son’s favorite superhero, to fight the corruption he finds in his workplace and the city at large.

For you Zombie lovers out there, AMC is premiering a series called the Walking Dead.  Yes, an entire series about Zombies.  I wonder how they will create meaningful storyline or at least varying action sequences, but this network has held its own with Mad Men and Breaking Bad, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.  And it is based on a popular comic, which gives AMC something to work from.

Stephen Speilberg’s Terrnova may have potential, but as a midseason replacement, with little info, it is hard to tell. The synopsis has to do with humans trying to go back in time to reverse the damage we did to the planet, which made it unlivable.

I know there are many more new shows  out there.  For example, I really look forward to Running Wilde, the new comedy starring Will Arnett from Arrested Development.  It may be too quirky to last long, but if it is anything like Arrested Development, I will enjoy the ride as long as it lasts. 

 Enjoy the fall and all it has to offer, and let me know what if I have left out anything of interest, for I would hate to miss something out of ignorance of its existence.

So the new Paperspaceships site design is live (hooray!), and although it’s not completely finished yet, I must say it’s looking super crispy – thanks Rufus.

I am currently charging through a copy of Robert V.S. Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy, a book I purchased based on good reviews… and so far, so good. I think we may have a winner here. A review will be up… oh yeah.

So I’m taking a little vacation (I really really need it) starting Sunday night, meaning I will probably be incommunicado for a week, but I will be coming back reloaded – hopefully. Look for reviews of Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, as well as The Desert Spear, Peter V. Brett’s sequel to the awesome debut The Warded Man.

Last but not least, I am really trying to get myself back into writing short stories again. I’ve been drafting up a novel I’ve had tumbling around in my head lately (part of the reason for my absence) and I need some polish and practice to get the wheels moving on it. I plan on posting one (broken into parts) in the very near future. Until then, adios astronauts, see you very soon.

I just wanted to post  a quick musing here for you tonight.  This is in lieu of a book review, which would normally wind up in this place.  It was an incredibly long and exhausting weekend, both physically and emotionally.  Had a great time with family I only see every couple years, and I am bushed.  Trying to spend this week recuperating.

That said, I didn’t have time to finish reading the book I wanted to review.  Hell, I didn’t have any time for reading at all.  I am well into The Town that Forgot How to Breathe, and I am enjoying it.  I made a trip to the library to add to my “to review” pile.  The most exciting of those is three of the The Walking Dead graphic novels (thank for the recommendation, Rufus!).

It will be easy for me to read those in the coming weeks, because school is starting on Monday!  I am going to be fairly busy with classes, but will always have time for you guys!  Until I post again, later!

Definitely a strange one, but by no means unappealing.

Let me just lay down an two immediate facts for you: Jay Lake is a weird ass dude… got that? Good. The other fact? He has an imagination that leaves me bordered between amazement and sheer envy. When not blogging about his battle with colon cancer (which is somehow not depressing), he’s racking up an absurd amount of short stories – over 250 strong according to his site – and still managing to publish some damn good work, like Mainspring.

The premise is brilliant in its simplicity: The Earth is (quite literally) a clock winding down, and a young clockmaker’s apprentice named Hethor must travel to its core to rewind the mainspring and save all that lives.

While it is interesting to look at an America still ruled by England, the first thing that is evident in Mainspring is the heavy religious tone of the novel. The catch here is, that while Christianity/Rational Humanism are the prevailing themes here, everything adheres to the concept of the earth – and the universe for that matter – being something akin to timepieces. The idea is that God is a master mechanical craftsman who has put the planets on tracks that orbit the earth; tracks that are frequently mentioned in the novel as being visible in the sky and made of brass. Jesus Christ is now known as the “Brass Christ”, sacrificing himself to save the world. Crucifixes are now “horofixes”, further emphasizing the bond between time and religion as one thing. It’s really refreshing to see in a steampunk novel, or just in general.

Being steampunk – a genre I never really can get on board and stay on board with –  made the going rough for me when I read Mainspring. What carried me through was the innovative and sometimes chilling storytelling, something Lake execute as if it were breathing. There were a few times where I actually shuddered reading this book, something I don’t normally do at all. I got over my anxiousness with the story once our hero, Hethor made it over The Wall – the brass boundary separating the world’s two hemispheres – and started experiencing new cultures. What I like so much about Lake’s writing is that he is able to make the simple into the complex and interesting, as he did with a race of overly hairy natives, calling themselves “the correct people”. Their carefree attitude when faced with even death was so clearly explained and felt so genuine I was actually sad to see them hurt during the story.

The characters are very well fleshed out as well. Hethor, timid and shy throughout the book, is powered by one thing: the appearance of the angel Gabriel at the beginning of the novel and the task appointed to him. Despite his absolute terror throughout the novel, he carries his task like a torch through the night, right to the very end of the story. Aryella, a member of the correct people, is a strong yet free character, making me at times forget that she was not a human woman, but a woman the size of a child with a body covered in hair. William of Ghent, a sorcerer is chilling and adds a much needed weight to the novel as the lurking antagonist, harrying Hethor’s quest to rewind the world’s mainspring.

Though Mainspring is a complete story in and of itself, it is the first book of a trilogy, one that I’m hoping to get to soon, provided I can muscle through the fall book releases – man, there are so many. If you’re big on steampunk, this book is definitely a fresh take on the genre and one worth the time to check out.

I was struck right away by the first person narrative, both for it’s dry wit and how is succintly summed up the personality of the main character.  Amelia Peabody is a woman in a man’s world, but she is past romantic ideals, and is well aquainted with how the world works.  That being said, she is a woman who knows how to work the system and order affairs to her own ideals.  If she wants somthing, she sees no reason why she shouldn’t get it, no matter who stands in her way.  She loves a good fight, as she is sure she will win, because, of course, she is right.  She is bossy, and a little domineering, but the magic of her character is that this does not make unapproachable or unlikable.  In fact, it is her very stubborness that makes you love her.  Amelia is also intelligent and well versed in ancient cultures and it is her love of study that leads her to dream of seeing those things she reads about in person and to our story in particular.

In this first book of the series, Amelia becomes a woman of independent means, and sets off to Egypt, with a female companion, where she can fufill her dream of seeing the remains of ancient Egypt.  Here Elizabeth Peters does a great job of painting a picture of Egypt in the Victorian Age, as wealthy Englishmen (and women) travel to and pilfer from ancient tombs for tidbits of interest to display on their native soil.  She also sets this in the context of political stirrings of different clans within Egypt at the time and their response to the indomitable English Empire.

  Once in Egypt, the real story and mystery begin, and Amelia must protect her companion, fight with a pompous English Archeologist, and just maybe solve a mystery along the way.  For me, the mystery was not hard to solve, but the joy lay Amelia, Evelyn, Emerson and Walter and their interactions throughout the action of the book. Scathing comments, and dry observation are a joy to read when written this well, and I couldn’t help but smile and laugh to myself, even when surrounded by strangers on the subway.

When I finished this book, I was glad I had already ordered the next two online (I had to buy the first one there, as it was not in the library, nor was it at any local brick and mortar chain bookstore).  If this series sounds appealing to you, I urge you to go to www.betterworldbooks.com, where you can pick up this hard to find title (published in 1975)  while recycling and supporting literacy at the same time.  Did I mention shipping is free anywhere in the United States, no matter how many books you buy?  If you do pick it up, let me know what you think.  It is always fun to share your views on a good book, but sometimes it is hard to find someone else who has read it.

When I find an author I like, I read as many of his or her books as I can.  I am sure everyone does the same thing.  My last trip to the library netted me books that were written by authors I know and love.

I have yet to be displeased by anything written by Chuck Palahniuk, though my current read came close.  When I first started reading it, anyway.  Pygmy is a good book, don’t think for a minute that I didn’t enjoy it, I just had to get past, what I thought was, a bit of a problem.

The chapters are written as mission debriefings, which makes them interesting to read.  The issue I had (again, at first, I warmed to it) was the actual writing.  These debriefings were written by someone to whom English is a second language, the titular character Pygmy.

The grammar was incorrect, and it was basically Engrish.  It wasn’t really funny Engrish (a la engrish.com), though.  At first it was a bit of a nightmare to make sense of everything.  The character was basically detached from the whole thing.  Being a briefing, though, I guess that it could be expected.

After I got a hang of the odd language, I really enjoyed these debriefings.  Pygmy, as he is called by everyone, is one of a number of child operatives from a totalitarian government.  They were sent to America to live with small-town host families, and put into action a covert operation called Operation Havoc.

Each of the kids is a specially trained operative that knows how to kill.  With their skills, they hope to infiltrate American families, and ingratiate (to a point) themselves into them.  By collecting money, which they steal from church collection plates, their goal is to spread a neurotoxin throughout America via a science fair project.  Death of many, or all, Americans is the actual goal of Operation Havoc.

Interspersed with the mission briefing chapters are flashback chapters, which are also given in the briefing format.  These chapters usually pertain to the training of the kids, but as the novel goes on, they also show a bit of what Pygmy has lost, due to his training: his family.

The story itself is, at heart, a satire of strict totalitarian governments, and the brainwashing of their residents that sometimes happens.  It is also a satire of American culture, as well.  The American characters, aside from Pygmy’s adopted sister, are American stereotypes.  The father is an overweight slob, the mother is highly sexual (and masturbation obsessed), and so on down the line.

When I finished reading the novel, I was ultimately satisfied with it.  It went from something that seemed like a chore to read, to another of Palahniuk’s great works.  I don’t have a hard time recommending it, unless the way it is written isn’t something you would enjoy.

Next week, I should have a review of an interesting, eerie novel called The Town That Forgot How to Breathe, by Kenneth J. Harvey.  I say “should”, because there is a bit of a family reunion going on this weekend.  Normally that would interrupt next week’s flow, but my older brother is flying up from Florida to be here.  So I may not get a lot of reading done while he is here.  We’ll see.  Until then, later!

I love the authors you find by accident, or that you feel you have “discovered”.  It makes them somehow more personal.  You feel a sense of ownership and prides in these authors.  You actively try to get others to share the joy of your discovery, through lending books out, or, (in the case of how I was introduced to Dave Duncan), you accost complete strangers in the bookstore.

There I was, innocently scanning the bookshelves, when this stranger began talking to me.  He asked what authors I liked, what books I had read, and in the way most people react when complete strangers show an unexpected, enthusiastic interest in your person, I started to plan escape routes.  When he pushed The Reluctant Swordsman at me, I agreed to buy it, just to escape the situation

Boy, am I ever glad that madman approached me in the store.  The book had old school art, and was the kind I would never have picked up on my own, but since reading this series, I pick up any book with Duncan’s name on it. At first glance, his books are very classic, and perhaps even predictable.  They begin with a reluctant hero, an unlikely quest, with even more unlikely companions, which ends in getting the girl, saving the world, or both at the same time.

But Dave Duncan’s books are so much more than that.  The Great Game series stands out the most to me as a series with the deeper themes of what religion means in the human race:  why we have it, how it changes us, and how we shape it, and how prophecy can screw you over.  It explores interesting possibilities relating to a pantheon of Greek-like gods (all powerful, with all too-human emotions and motives) to new insights into Christianity.  This series made me want to take a world religions course, just so I could be sure to catch everything I was sure I had missed the first time through.

My favorite works are the earlier ones: A Handful of Men, A Man of His Word, The Great Game, and the Reluctant Swordsman.  Many of the newer books seem a little forced and while still a decent read, they don’t seem to have the philosophy of the earlier works.  I love the early works because though they may take me to a familiar ending, the ride is always surprising, insightful and fun, and no matter how many times I read them, I get the joy of discovering new details, insights and references I missed on previous readings.  Thank you for sharing your passion, stranger from the bookstore:  it turns out your enthusiasm is catching!