Book Review: The Crimson Labyrinth by Yusuke Kishi

Translated by Masami Isetani and Camellia Nieh

Pros: creepy premise, interesting characters

Cons: introduced to too many characters at once making them hard to remember

When Yoshihiko Fujiki wakes up in a red stone canyon in the rain, he has no idea where he is or what's happened to him.  All he has are a few basic supplies and a handheld game system welcoming him to the Mars Labyrinth.  Before he has the chance to follow the directions to the first checkpoint he runs into another player, Ai Otomo.  Her game system is broken, so they team up to face... whatever comes next.

This is a novel that starts slowly - with Fujiki trying to figure out what's going on - but quickly builds momentum.  Like the characters, you're horrified by the turns the 'game' takes, as some of the players become less and less human.  And though Fujiki has some ideas of what's happening behind the scenes, figuring that out isn't as important as staying alive.

Try not to read the book's back cover synopsis as the first paragraph contains a spoiler that will colour how you read the novel.

The premise of the book is pretty creepy.  It starts off as a survival game with everyone in the wilderness.  As time goes on and a trap set by those running the game is activated, things shift and it becomes a different kind of survival game. 

The protagonists are pretty interesting, with down on their luck backgrounds.  Fujiki took a while to grow on me, but I liked his tenacity and cleverness.  While Ai gives good advice at times, she mainly stays in the background, letting Fujiki make most of the decisions.  The other players all have unique personalities, though you don't see much of them.

Fujiki and Ai encounter the other players at the first checkpoint and you're given a quick introduction of all of them.  It's too many people, too fast, several of whom have similar names.  I found that later in the book, when the pair met up with them again, I couldn't remember who was who.

I'd recommend this to people who would like a less violent Battle Royale.  It's got a bit of mystery, a bit of survivalistic writing, a tiny bit of romance and several violent, though not too graphic, deaths.

New Author Spotlight: Tom King

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Tom King! His debut novel is A Once Crowded Sky.

Here's the cover copy:

The superheroes of Arcadia City fight a wonderful war and play a wonderful game, forever saving yet another day. However, after sacrificing both their powers and Ultimate, the greatest hero of them all, to defeat the latest apocalypse, these comic book characters are transformed from the marvelous into the mundane.

After too many battles won and too many friends lost, The Soldier of Freedom was fine letting all that glory go. But when a new threat blasts through his city, Soldier, as ever, accepts his duty and reenlists in this next war. Without his once amazing abilities, he's forced to seek the help of the one man who walked away, the sole hero who refused to make the sacrifice--PenUltimate, the sidekick of Ultimate, who through his own rejection of the game has become the most powerful man in the world, the only one left who might still, once again, save the day.

If you like superhero novels (and 1 graphic novel), here are some you might want to check out:

Trance by Kelly Meding (Pocket Books)
Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines (Crown Publishing)
Leaving Megalopolis by Gail Simone and Jim Calafiore (Kickstarter Project I supported, which I assume will be on sale once the delayed kickstarter copies have been printed and sent out.)

Parody: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

While S.H.I.E.L.D looks like fun, you have to admit this parody by Fortress of Attitude has a good point:

Coming to ABC this Fall, the new show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings you everything you love about Marvel...except for the superheroes. That's the only thing it doesn't have.

Sunburst Award Winners Announced

From their press release: 

The Sunburst Award Committee is pleased to announce that the winner of its 2013 adult award is Maleficium by Martine Desjardins; translated by Fred A. Reed and David Homel (Talonbooks, 9780889226807) and the winner of its 2013 young adult award is Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (Doubleday Canada, ISBN – 9780385668392)

About Maleficium, the Sunburst jury said: Rumour and speculation have it that there is hidden, somewhere in the archives of the Archdiocese of Montreal, a book so dangerous that the Church denies its existence. A copy has been found amongst papers of the author’s family, however, and its interlocking stories—originally told under the seal of confession—are here presented. Gorgeous and multilayered, Maleficium is a complex, devious, and vivid novel, in which all the senses, and most of the deadly sins, are invoked to exquisite and diabolical effect. Situated where Maria Monk meets the Arabian Nights, it weaves together elements at a thousand knots per square inch, its darkness of frame and intricacy of structure combining to subvert the pattern by the final chapter.

About Seraphina, the Sunburst Jury said: In the kingdom of Goredd, humans and dragons have co-existed in an uneasy peace for four decades, but tensions still run high. The dragons are able to present themselves in human shape, which gives them some safety, but cannot protect them from all elements of a society which forever see them as the other. Into this world comes Seraphina, a young and gifted musician who joins the royal court as the anniversary of the peace treaty nears, and a member of the royal family is murdered, apparently by dragons. Seraphina finds herself drawn into the investigation, which puts her in danger from both sides, for reasons she dare not reveal. This is a grand and enchanting tale, as rich and intricate as a medieval tapestry, told beautifully. Hartman's wildly imaginative, well-drawn, and intricate world of dragons and men is definitely a world that bears watching, and Seraphina is a fine, fitting heroine, making her independent way while struggling with a legacy which can be both a blessing and a curse.

...

The other shortlisted works for the 2013 adult award were:

Finton Moon by Gerard Collins (Killick Press)

Over the Darkened Landscape by Derryl Murphy (Fairwood Press)

The Blondes by Emily Schultz (Doubleday Canada)

Westlake Soul by Rio Youers (ChiZine Publications)

The other shortlisted works for the 2013 young adult award were:
Bright’s Light by Susan Juby (HarperCollins)

Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen)

The Green Man by Michael Bedard (Tundra Books)

Rebel Heart by Moira Young (Doubleday Canada)

...

The Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is an annual award celebrating the best in Canadian fantastic literature published during the previous calendar year.

The winners receive a cash prize of $1,000 as well as a medallion which incorporates the Sunburst logo. 

The Sunburst Award takes its name from the debut novel of the late Phyllis Gotlieb, one of the first published authors of contemporary Canadian speculative fiction.

For additional information about the Sunburst Award, the nominees and jurors, as well as previous awards, eligibility and the selection process, please visit the website at www.sunburstaward.org. 

Short Film: From the Future With Love

I saw this on Short of the Week.  It's a series of short videos following 3 cops over the course of one day, in a future where police protection services can be purchased like insurance.  I love the costumes.  It was written and directed by K-Michel Parandi.



From the future with love from Precinct 114 on Vimeo.

Book Review: The Explorer by James Smythe

Pros: interesting premise, interesting examination of perceived experience vs the larger reality,  quick read

Cons: scientific errors, protagonist gets irritating at times

Six astronauts are on a voyage to explore space, going further than any manned mission in the past.  But almost immediately things start going wrong, and as the crew die - one by one - their reporter, Cormac, the least skilled among them, wonders if their mission will succeed.

This is an interesting novel about the worth of exploration and what it takes to leave everything you know for such an opportunity.  There's a twist at the quarter mark that propels this novel from a simple exploratory mission into an examination of how we perceive events based on limited knowledge, memory vs reality and causality.

We get to know Cormac the most, as it's his POV we follow, but through his observations and experiences we also get to know the other crew members.  The story alternates between what's happening on the ship and the process of being chosen for the mission back on Earth.

Cormac's experiences are interesting but his personality gets a bit grating as things break down and he can't do anything but wait for death.

Twenty or so pages before the end of the ebook, the climax hits.  I eagerly turned the page to find out what happened only to discover that the novel was over and the final pages were an excerpt for Smythe's next book.  This was incredibly jarring and meant I didn't appreciate the open style of the ending as I otherwise might have.

I enjoyed the book enough to pass it along to my husband.  Turns out it was a good thing, as the first draft of this review stated the science was accurate. My husband is a huge hard SF fan and he pointed out several errors the book makes with regards to space.  There's a scene that mildly irritated him where water didn't act the way it would in zero gravity.  But the main problem is that the ship is brought to a halt on several occasions for checks and repairs.  Not only would this waste their fuel, both to stop and to start up again (having killed their momentum), each stop would alter their course, which we're told has been pre-set.  These errors made it harder for him to enjoy the book.

It's an interesting novel, and a very quick read, but those of you looking for hard SF might want to give this one a pass.  

Recommended Reading by Professionals With... James Knapp

In this series, I ask various publishing professionals (including authors, bloggers, editors, agents etc.) to recommend 2-3 authors or books they feel haven't received the recognition they deserve.

Today's recommendations are by James Knapp. James Knapp's first novel, State of Decay was a Philip K. Dick award nominee, and won the 2010 Compton Crook Award. He's since completed the Revivors trilogy and written the first novel of a new series, Burn Zone, under the pseudonym James K. Decker.

---

1. First up is T.C. McCarthy, author of the Subterrene War trilogy which includes Germline, Exogene, and Chimera (Germline won the 2012 Compton Crook Award).  He weaves stories of very broken people in very dangerous environments, and he does it all with a poetic flair that really stuck with me.  It’s much more than just futuristic war.   A struggle over rare earth elements has come to a head under the mountains of Kazakhstan, where soldiers sealed in suits of armor fight in tunnels under tons of rock.  In Germline, an embedded reporter quickly is forced to turn soldier, and the way it changes him so completely makes for compelling reading.  McCarthy explores the human psyche, what we're willing to do in order to survive, and the effects that the horrors of war can inflict on us.  He introduces genetically engineered soldiers, but explores the ethics of that (or lack thereof), and the mindset such soldiers might have, or be forced to have.  He wraps it all in a great series of novels, and he does it all believably and memorably.  His short story "Somewhere it Snows" proves that he's equally good at exploring other worlds, too, and I sincerely hope that he does.  Writers like him are the type that we want to stick around, and so I'm recommending him to anyone who likes hard science fiction - even if military fiction isn't usually your thing, give him a try.
2. Next is Alex Hughes, author of the Mindspace series, which so far includes Clean, and Sharp.  I'm a big fan of science fiction and also noir, and her work has strong elements of both.  I likened Clean to a fun blend of Blade Runner and Chinatown, but that doesn't truly do it justice.  Her vision of a future Atlanta feels real, a hot, steamy place where a talented but damaged telepath named Adam uses his abilities to help track down criminals.  The handling of 'mindspace', the sort of psychic residue left behind by people, is something I'd like to see a lot more of.  Telepaths are able to perceive it, almost like an additional sense, and can use it to sort of look into the past.  Adam struggles with an addiction that Hughes handles perfectly, a fight that occurs day to day, minute to minute.  I'm really hoping this series turns into a long running thing.
3. Lastly, although I don't read a lot of fantasy, I want to give a shout out to fantasy author Myke Cole whose work I was introduced to at Balticon (his debut novel Control Point won the 2013 Compton Crook Award, and the second novel in the series, Fortress Frontier, is out now) - he writes Military Fantasy so it’s a mixture of bullets and spell slinging.  His real-life military experience brings a lot to the table, and really pushes his work from just guns and explosions into a much broader examination of what it means to be in the armed forces.  You'll learn a lot of military jargon, and my fantasy-loving friends assure me that his magic system is top notch.

I realize that two of the authors on this list have won awards for their work.  Have they been recognized?  Yes.  Have they gotten the recognition they deserve?  Not in my book - not yet.  I'd like to see all three on the best sellers list, so give them all a read.  You won't be sorry.

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Stay tuned for the next post where we learn who literary agent Joshua Bilmes thinks we should be reading more of!

Stranger Than Fiction: The Law Code of Hammurabi

A column dedicated to pointing out interesting tidbits of history, some of which would be cool to see in a fantasy novel or two. 

The Oldest Code of Laws in the World AKA The Code of Laws Promulgated by Hammurabi, King of Babylon 

Trans: C. H. W. Johns, M.A. in 1903

[Note: I'm sure there are more modern, accurate, and easier to read, translations, but this one's free and I could read it on my iPad, so it's what I went with.]

I had heard that the law code of King Hammurabi had similarities to the Ten Commandments in the Bible, but I didn't realize just how similar the laws were until I read them.  But it's not just the laws themselves that are similar, but also the way in which the law was given, by God (or, in Hammurabi's case, a god) to man.  From the introduction to the code, "It contains on the obverse a very interesting representation of the King Hammmurabi, receiving his laws from the seated sun-god Samas, 'the judge of heaven and earth'".

Though the translation isn't the easiest to read (or understand) the code as a whole has some very interesting laws with regards to property, especially that of women (both in marriage and upon the death of their father or husband).  Here are a few tidbits I found interesting:

section 1. If a man weave a spell and put a ban upon a man, and has not justified himself, he that wove the spell upon him shall be put to death.

section 2. If a man has put a spell upon a man, and has not justified himself, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the holy river, he shall plunge into the holy river, and if the holy river overcome him, he who wove the spell upon him shall take to himself his house.  If the holy river makes that man to be innocent, and has saved him, he who laid the spell upon him shall be put to death.  He who plunged into the holy river shall take to himself the house of him who wove the spell upon him.

I find it interesting that the first two sections of the law deal with witchcraft / spellwork, showing that not only were such things considered real, they were of such importance that they're mentioned before any other crime.  The second section also indicates that the idea of 'trial by water' or 'let God decide innocence' predates the Middle Ages by quite a lot.

section 21. If a man has broken into a house, one shall kill him before the breach and bury him in it (?).

I wouldn't have understood this had I not listened to a lecture (The Other Side of History, Mesopotamia) that explained it.  Basically, if I break into your house then you get to not only kill me, but wall me up in (or perhaps bury me in the foundation of) your house.  

section 48. If a man has a debt upon him and a thunderstorm ravaged his field or carried away the produce, or the corn has not grown through lack of water, in that year he shall not return corn to the creditor, he shall alter his tablet and he shall not give interest for that year.

I find it interesting that acts of God are considered worthy reasons to defer payment on a loan, an acknowledgement that life isn't always fair and people shouldn't be punished for things they cannot control.

Men were allowed to divorce their wives without any question BUT their ex's got to take their marriage portion (ie, dowry) with them and could then marry whoever they wanted once their children were grown.  

section 138. If a man has set his face to put away his concubine who has borne him children or his wife who has granted him children, to that woman he shall return her her marriage portion and shall give her the usufruct of field, garden, and goods, and she shall bring up her children.  From the time that her children are grown up, from whatever is given to her children they shall give her a share like that of one son, and she shall marry the husband of her choice.

For their own part, women could divorce their husbands but only if they acted well with regards to their households.

section 141. If a woman hates her husband and has said 'Thou shalt not possess me', one shall enquire into her past what is her lack, and if she has been economical and has no vice, and her husband has gone out and greatly belittled her, that woman has no blame, she shall take her marriage portion and go off to her father's house.

If they didn't, 

Section 143. If she has not been economical, a goer about, has wasted her house, has belittled her husband, that woman one shall throw her into the waters.

There are, of course, some extremely harsh rules, like those that led to the 'eye for an eye' Biblical ones.

section 195. If a man has struck his father, his hands one shall cut off.

section 196. If a man has caused the loss of a gentleman's eye, his eye one shall cause to be lost.

But the rules apply differently based of the class of the victim and perpetrator.

section 198.  If he has caused a poor man to lose his eye or shattered a poor man's limb, he shall pay one mina of silver.

section 199. If he has caused the loss of the eye of a gentleman's servant or has shattered the limb of a gentleman's servant, he shall pay half his price.

When it comes to doctoring, there are set payments for particular procedures, but fierce punishments should the procedure go wrong.

section 218. If the doctor has treated a gentleman for a severe wound with a lancet of bronze and has caused the gentleman to die, or has opened an abscess of the eye for a gentleman with the bronze lancet and has caused the loss of the gentleman's eye, one shall cut off his hands. 

The code ends with the costs of hiring various craftsmen, meaning there was a standard (something the guilds in the late middle ages were brought in to help create and regulate).

So, why post this here?  Because laws tell us a lot about the society that needs them.  If a crime isn't taking place, than a law against that crime isn't necessary.  If you're writing a SF/F novel, then what laws do your peoples follow?  How do they differ - and how might those differences cause problems?  Even lawless societies tended to follow some sort of code of conduct.  And even if the laws themselves don't make your story, they make good background information for you to know.

Personally, I'm curious how long the laws in Hammurabi's code were followed and why he decided it was time to write them down.  Might make an interesting story on its own.  If you disagree, consider the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments.

Short Film: The Night Rail Before Christmas

This video is from the team that did the amazing Beetlejuice Minecraft roller coster that I posted a few weeks back, nuropsych1 and rivergrl21 (+ a team of builders).  This time, it's The Nightmare Before Christmas, a movie I absolutely love, and it took them 2 1/2 months to put together.  You can find behind the scenes videos on their site.

History Book Review: Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians, 2E by Bob Brier and Hoyt Hobbs

Pros: lots of good information about how normal Egyptians lived

Cons: few photographs, mostly drawn images; lots of repetition, chapter on medicine emphasizes modern superiority over ancient techniques

This is an overview of the life and times of ancient Egyptians, covering history, religion, government, work/play, food, clothes, architecture, arts/crafts, technology/construction, warfare and medicine/mathematics.  There's an extensive bibliography (including internet sources) and glossary of terms at the back.

Each section seems designed to be read independently from the others, for those doing research on one aspect of ancient Egyptian life, so if you read it through from start to finish (as I did) there's a lot of repetition.  The authors do a really good job of summarizing each topic, given the time periods involved and the changes encountered during different periods of Egypt's history.

My main complaint is that instead of photographs the authors primarily used hand drawn images to illustrate their information.  There are some photos, but they're few and far between.

Also, the final chapter, about medicine and mathematics, fails to mention the Egyptian practice of trepanation (cutting/drilling a hole into a patient's skull to relieve pressure on the brain), which surprised me.  The authors also spent a lot of time in this chapter pointing out how modern medicinal practices are better than what the ancient Egyptians use.  I didn't need that pointed out.

I did enjoy the book and I learned a lot about ancient Egyptian life that I'd never heard or considered before. 

Author Interview: Samantha Shannon

Novel: The Bone Season

Website: www.boneseasonbooks.com

Blog: samantha-shannon.blogspot.com

[Taken from an interview for The Today Show. Reprinted here with permission.]

> When did you begin writing The Bone Season and what inspired the story?

I started writing The Bone Season when I was nineteen years old, shortly after completing an internship at David Godwin Associates (DGA), a literary agency in Seven Dials, a small district in London. While I was there, I had a vivid image of a girl having the same day at work as me, but she happened to be clairvoyant – and The Bone Season was born. I sent the finished book to the same agency in April 2012 and it was bought by Bloomsbury a month later.

> Can you describe The Bone Season and the world of Scion? What inspired you to come up with the idea of clairvoyant powers?

The novel begins in 2059, two hundred years after the day that triggered its events, but 1859 still shapes the world of Scion. The way I handle this in the book is through anachronism. You’ll see gramophones, Victorian clothes and herbal remedies in the same space as oxygen bars, data pads and advanced painkillers. I’ve tried to find a word that fits what I’m doing with the novel in this respect. One of the guys at Bloomsbury suggested ‘penny farthing futurism’, which I love. The idea of clairvoyant powers just came to me while I was working at Seven Dials.

> Some of the themes are quite complex, how did you research the book? How many of the clairvoyant ideas are from historic stories, and how many created by you?

I wanted my clairvoyant society to be a cross-section of historical types of divination, extending to encompass twenty-first century parapsychology. I did quite a bit of reading about classical and Renaissance impressions of augury, soothsaying and so on. After that I moved on to nineteenth century Spiritualism, mainly using The Book on Mediums by Allan Kardec. I also integrated Native American legend for Paige’s gift. Although I did a lot of research, I wanted to put my own spin on each type, hence the Seven Orders classification system. I wanted there to be a sense of inheritance and progression, a coming together of legends and phenomena.

> Why is fantasy/dystopia as a genre growing steadily in popularity? Do you think women authors seem to have a better handle on it currently? How does the fantasy aspect of the book help you to get your ideas across?

I think they're still two distinct genres – dystopia tends to veer more towards science fiction than fantasy – but both crucially allow the reader to escape from reality. Personally I like writing and reading dystopian fiction because it takes its characters to the edge: the edge of sanity, of safety, of survival. They're in extremis, and that allows you to see a side of them that you wouldn't be see if they were in, say, a kitchen sink drama, which is pure realism. Fantasy provides a more luxurious escapism. It can often be as gritty as a dystopia, but instead of being woven from nightmares, it plays with the stuff of dreams.

I don't think female authors necessarily have a better handle on the genres, although it certainly can't be disputed that they're writing most of the 'blockbusters': Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Mortal Instruments and so on. Part of the success of these books may be that they boast female characters in leading roles. The vogue for ‘strong heroines’ has transformed the face of fantasy. While it’s great that so many series have female protagonists, the fact that they are still considered noteworthy shows that we need to keep writing them. I’ve never yet been asked why I put ‘strong male characters’ in my book. I think it’s time we stopped being surprised when female-driven books become successful. Paige is ‘strong’ in that she’s relatively independent, a fighter, not defined by her love interest, and driven by the need for freedom, but she has plenty of weaknesses. She’s proud and stubborn, has a knack for

trusting the wrong people, and in many ways, she’s very vulnerable. I try to treat my characters first and foremost as people, not as sexes.

> Do you have any advice for budding authors?

Be open to constructive criticism, don't be afraid to start again, and whatever you do, don't give up at the first hurdle.

Shout-Out: Containment by Christian Cantrell

I spotted this on the shelf at work and it's made my TBR pile: 

The colony on Venus was not built because the destruction of Earth was possible, but because it was inevitable…

A brilliant young scientist and one of the first humans born on Venus, Arik works tirelessly to perfect the science of artificial photosynthesis, a project crucial to the future of his home, V1. The colony was built on the harsh Venusian surface by the Founders, the first humans to establish a permanent extraterrestrial settlement. Arik’s research becomes critical when he awakens from an unexplained, near-fatal accident and learns that his wife is three months pregnant. Unless Arik’s research uncovers a groundbreaking discovery, V1’s oxygen supply will not be able to support the increase in population that his baby represents.

As Arik works against time, he begins to untangle the threads of his accident, which seem inextricably linked to what lies outside the protective walls of V1—a world where the caustic atmosphere and extreme heat make all forms of known life impossible. For its entire existence, Arik's generation has been expected to help solve the problems of colonization. But as Arik digs deeper and deeper, he discovers alarming truths about the planet that the Founders have kept hidden. With growing urgency and increasing peril, Arik finds himself on a journey that will push him to the limits of his intelligence and take him beyond the unimaginable.

Short Film: Momentum

There are so many people making interesting short SF films.  This one is by Stage 5 TV.  They've got a bunch of SF themed videos on their youtube site, including the Space Pals series, a humourous riff on 2001: a Space Odyssey with adult content; Biohazards, a job interview at the Umbrella Corporation (for Resident Evil fans) and a lot more.  

Here's their synopsis for Momentum, a film by Matt M. Murphy and Jeff J. Daniels:

In a not so distant future where fossil fuels is scarce and the search for the next energy source is at its highest, a lonely inventor struggles to develop the "never-ending battery". When a mysterious woman enters his life, it seems he's not the only one interested in his invention.

Book Review: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

Pros: compelling writing, brilliant characterization, minor romance elements, stand-alone story

Cons: close calls start to feel contrived, ending feels abrupt 

For Parents: some violence (murder, torture), no swearing, off screen sex

When Em finds the note in the drain of her prison cell, she knows she and Finn have travelled back in time 14 times, and that they've failed in their objective to save the future.  There's only one course of action left to them, to kill the man who made time travel possible, their former best friend and the man Em used to love.

This book was VERY hard to put down.  The characters feel real, their emotions felt true to life but without the overarching angst that sometimes makes YA hard for adults to enjoy.  Marina has complex relationships with everyone in her life.  She's afraid her best female friends only like her because they want to get closer to James.  Her parents are having trouble in their marriage, using her as a go-between.  She loves James but isn't sure he feels the same way.  And she's jealous of how close Finn and James have become, and so treats Finn badly, even if he doesn't always deserve it.

It's the first YA novel I've read that captured how conflicted I felt as a teen, so I really connected with Marina's character.

Em and Finn - the future versions - are equally complicated characters, having to make a tough decision knowing the pain it will bring their younger selves.

The two guys, one girl, formula sounds familiar but Terrill does great things with it.  Marina loves James and dislikes Finn.  Finn likes Marina, but recognizes that she doesn't like him back, which makes him snarky and bitter towards her at times.  And James... well, it's unclear what he feels.  Even their older selves have a unique dynamic.

Though I felt that Em's compunctions about killing her former crush were realistic, I started to feel the scenes involving close calls with him became contrived towards the middle of the book.  The last quarter of the book shook things up again, which I really liked.

There's little told about the dystopian future the teens are from or the science involved with time travel, so if that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere.

The ending felt abrupt, but on further reflection - and rereading some scenes - I realized that it fit what the author said about time travel.  This is a great book to reread, as you pick up all sorts of details you miss - especially in the first few chapters - the first time through.  

Finally, it's great to read a YA dystopian novel and have it stand on its own.  I highly recommend this one.

Note: The author's done a series of prequel videos, which you can find on her website.  Note, these take place in the future with Em and Finn being tortured in prison before the start of the novel.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Coming in October 2013

There might be more errors/omissions than usual this list as Amazon's SF/F listing wouldn't go far enough back for me to do this the way I normally do.  Instead, I had to go through SF and fantasy separately.  I also added the YA category back in.  I noticed some kids books creeping into the list, which I then deleted, but be aware that there might be some kids books.  Oh, and I used the US page (which, come to think of it, might be why I had trouble) rather than the Canadian one.  So these reflect the US release dates.  As always, release dates are subject to change.  If you spot a mistake, please tell me in the comments and I'll correct it.

Hardcover:

Balfour and Meriweather in The Incident of the Harrowmoor Dogs – Daniel Abraham

Esrever Doom – Piers Anthony

Allegiance – Beth Bernobich

Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who – Steve Berry, Ed.

Dark Talisman – Steven Booth

The Necromancer's House – Christopher Buehlman

Star Trek: The Stardate Collection, Vol 1 – John Byrne, Patrick Zircher, Greg Adams & Josep Maria Beroy

Autumn Bones – Jacqueline Carey

Copperhead – Tina Connolly

Memory of the Trees – F. G. Cottam

Childless – James Dobson & Kurt Bruner

The Last Dark – Stephen Donaldson

1636: The Devil's Opera – Eric Flint & David Carrico

The Power of Twelve – William Gladstone

Parasite – Mira Grant

After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse – Charlaine Harris & Lisa Desimini

Doctor Who The Vault: Treasures from the First 50 Years – Marcus Hearn

Johannes Cabal: The Fear Instituted – Jonathan Howard

The Cusanus Game – Wolfgang Jeschke

Fiendish Schemes – K. W. Jeter

Dead Set – Richard Kadrey

Day One – Nate Kenyon

Bastion – Mercedes Lackey

Love in the Time of Metal and Flesh – Jay Lake

The Last Man Standing – David Longo 

The Republic of Thieves – Scott Lynch

Old Mars – George Martin & Gardner Dozois, Ed.

Summer's End – Lisa Morton

Pachyderme – Frederik Peeters

The Wolves of Midwinter – Anne Rice

The Heavens Rise – Christopher Rice

Path of Anger – Antoine Rouaud

Veil of the Deserters – Jeff Salyards

The Estate – Craig Saunders

The Violent Century – Lavie Tidhar

The End of Love – Marcos Girald Torrente & Katherine Silver

Luminous Chaos – Jean-Christophe Valtat & Mahendra Singh

The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett – Daniel Wallace, Ryder Windham & Jason Fry

Trade Paperback:

Escaping Home – A. American

Tesseracts Seventeen – Colleen Anderson & Steve Vernon, Ed.

Rage's Echo – J. S. Bailey

In the Company of Thieves – Kage Baker

The Obsidian Heart – Mark Barnes

Tomorrowland – Joseph Bates

Steal the Day – Lexi Blake

Katabasis – Joseph Brassey, Cooper Moo, Mark Teppo & Angus Trim

Coins of Chaos – Jennifer Brozek

Light – Nathan Burgoine

The Demon Abraxas – Rachel Calish

Dreams and Shadows – C. Robert Cargill

Cold Blooded – Amanda Carlson

Iron Guard – Mark Clapham

The Wasteland Saga: Old Man and the Wasteland, The Savage Boy, and The Road is a River – Nick Cole

The Diamond Deep – Brenda Cooper

The Law of Superheroes – James Daily & Ryan Davidson

A Dance of Cloaks – David Dalglish

In Space No One Can Hear You Scream – Hank Davis

Knights Templar: A Secret History – Graeme Davis

The Night Eternal – Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

Tales of the Wold Newton Universe – Philip Jose Farmer

Man in the Empty Suit – Sean Ferrell

The Science of Herself – Karen Joy Fowler

Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales – Paula Guran, Ed.

Gotrek & Felix: City of the Damned – David Guymer

His Sacred Bones – Ginn Hale

Theodore Savage – Cicely Hamilton

Lighthouse Island – Paulette Jiles

Child of Time – Bob Johnson

Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth – Stephen Jones, Ed.

Dying is my Business – Nicholas Kaufmann

Trollslayer – William King

Scarecrow Has a Gun – M. P. Kozlowsky

Warhammer 40K: Salamanders Omnibus – Nick Kyme

Autodrome – Kim Lakin-Smith

A Sojourn of Sorts – Douglas LeBlanc

Ancillary Justice – Ann Leckie

Lucia's Masks – Wendy MacIntyre

Fire Logic – Laurie Marks

Layman's Report – Eugene Marten

The Book of Ash – John McCaffrey

Red Hill – Jamie McGuire

Things Withered – Susie Moloney 

Dead North: Canadian Zombie Fiction – Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Ed.

Rogue Calls / Carbon Harbour – Garry Thomas Morse

The Quorum – Kim Newman

Robert Asprin's Dragon's Run – Jody Lynn Nye

Kabu Kabu – Nnedi Okorafor

Saving Morgan – M. B. Panichi

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm – Philip Pullman

The Educated Ape and Other Wonders of the World – Robert Rankin

The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – Mike Resnick & Robert Garcia, Ed.

Jack Glass – Adam Roberts

Heartwood – Freya Robertson

Omega – Jeremy Robinson & Kane Gilmour

Was – Geoff Ryman

Children of the Uprising – Trevor Shane

The Man Who Rained – Ali Shaw

Waking up Dead – Emma Shortt

E. E. 'Doc' Smith, SF Gateway Omnibus: The Skylark of Space, Skylark Three, Skylark of Valeron, Skylark Duquesne – E. E. Smith

Magellania – Jules Verne

The Palace Job – Patrick Weekes

Doctor Who: Summer Falls and Other Stories – Amelia Williams, Melody Malone & Justin Richards

Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture – Ytasha Womack

Flatland: The Early Days – Frannie Zellman

Mass Market Paperback:

Battleground – Terry Adams

Bronze Gods – A. A. Aguirre

Luck of the Draw – Piers Anthony

Kiss the Night Goodbye – Keri Arthur

The Beautiful Land – Alan Averill

Dream London – Tony Ballantyne

Bronze Summer – Stephen Baxter

The Lost Stars – Jack Campbell

Dark Currents – Jacqueline Carey

Rising Sun – Robert Conroy

King Breaker – Rowena Cory Daniells

Spellbound – Sylvia Day

Abyss Deep – Ian Douglas

Dragon Age: The Calling – David Gaider

Star Wars: Ewocks: Shadows of Endor – Zack Giallongo & Dave Marshall

Cursed – S. J. Harper

Ever After – Kim Harrison

Black Heart – Christina Henry

Herbmaster of Tarodash – Colin Hollis

A Study in Darkness – Emma Jane Holloway

Hellhound – Nancy Holzner

Darkship Renegades – Sarah Hoyt

The Scribe – Elizabeth Hunter

Star Wars: Annihilation – Drew Karpyshyn

Star Wars: The Clone Assassin – Steven Kent

The Clone Rebellion – Steven Kent

Redoubt – Mercedes Lackey

V-Wars – Jonathan Maberry, Ed.

Star Trek: A Ceremony of Losses – David Mack

The Disappearances – Gemma Malley

The Cassandra Project – Jack McDevitt & Mike Resnick

My Lady Quicksilver – Bec McMaster

Tour of the Merrimack – R. M. Meluch

Imager's Battalion – L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Merge / Disciple – Walter Mosley

All is Fair – Emma Newman

Accidentally in Love With... A God? – Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Firebrand – Gillian Philip

Death and Mr. Right – Kendra Saunders

Kris Longknife: Defender – Mike Shepherd

Prince Rescue Me's Ride to Ruin – Lynne Tapper

Ecko Burning – Danie Ware

Ebook:

Vampire Games – Tiffany Allee

Redemption – C. J. Barry

The Dark Age of Apollos – Paul Moses Burrow, Jr.

Trancehack – Sonya Clark

Realm Walker – Kathleen Collins

Secret Unleashed – Sierra Dean

The Mountain's Shadow – Cecilia Dominic

Blood of an Ancient – Rinda Elliott

Paint it Black – John Hartness

Pushing Luck – Elliott James

Taste of Passion – Renae Jones

Rogue's Possession – Jeffe Kennedy

Agamemnon Frost and the Crown of Towers – Kim Knox

Nightlife – Matthew Quinn Martin

Wicked Misery – Tracey Martin

Battle Scars – Sheryl Nantus

Death Bringer – Kate Pearce

Whatever Happened to Billy Parks – Gareth Roberts

Undead Chaos – Joshua Roots

Redemption – Stephanie Tyler

Disenchanted & Co pt2: His Lordship Possessed – Lynn Viehl

Y. A. Fiction

Horde – Ann Aguirre

Altered – Gennifer Albin

Crewel – Gennifer Albin

Skulk – Rosie Best

Sorrow's Knot – Erin Bow

The Never Fade – Alexandra Bracken

Martyr's Fire – Sigmund Brouwer

Evanescent – Andria Buchanan

Entangled – Amy Rose Capetta

The Crimson Crown – Cinda Williams Chima

The Shadowhunter's Codex – Cassandra Clare & Joshua Lewis

Endless Knight – Kresley Cole

One Crow Alone – S. D. Crockett

The Eye of Minds – James Dashner

The King's Assassin – Stephen Deas

The Company of Ghosts – Berlie Doherty

Arthur Quinn & Hell's Keeper – Alan Early

The Lethal Target – Jim Eldridge

The Owling – Robert Elmer

Fearsome Dreamer – Laurie Eve

Starlight Grey – Liz Flanagan & Valeria Docampo

Beautiful Redemption – Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Venus Angel – Susan Gates

Dragonfly – Julia Golding

Blythewood – Carol Goodman

The Dollhouse Asylum – Mary Gray

Slayers – C. J. Hill

Waterfell – Amalie Howard

Skyship Academy: Strikeforce – Nick James

Romeo Redeemed – Stacey Jay

Death and the Girl He Loves – Darynda Jones

The Iron Traitor – Julie Kagawa

The Brokenhearted – Amelia Kahaney

Teardrop – Lauren Kate

No Angel – Helen Keeble

Blinded by the Light – Joe Kipling

Hero – Alethea Kontis

Pull Down the Night – Nathan Kotecki

Flutter – Gina Linko

Backward Glass – David Lomax

Jet Black and the Ninja Wind – Leza Lowitz & Shogo Oketani

The Princess in the Opal Mask – Jenny Lundquist

Desert Tales – Melissa Marr

Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales – Melissa Marr & Tim Pratt, Ed.

Scarlet in the Snow – Sophie Masson

Necromancing the Stone – Lish McBride

The Indigo Spell – Rachelle Mead

Midnight City – J. Barton Mitchell

Allure – Lea Nolan

The Field – Tracy Richardson

Grail of Stars – Katherine Roberts

Tainted – A. E. Rought

The Invisible Kingdom – Rob Ryan

Endless – Jessica Shirvington

Unsouled – Neal Shusterman

Renegade – J. A. Souders

Shadowlark – Meagan Spooner

Blood Bound – Keshia Swaim

Phantom Eyes – Scott Tracey

Merlin's Shadow – Robert Treskillard

Second Verse – Jennifer Walkup

Treecat Wars – David Weber & Jane Lindskold

Black Out – Robison Wells

The Other Book – Philip Womack

Rebel Heart – Moira Young

Books Received in August, 2013

Here are the books I received this past month.

Mist by Susan Krinard

Mist lives a normal life. She has a normal job, a normal boyfriend, and a normal apartment in San Francisco. She never thinks about her past if she can help it.

She survived. That's the end of it.

But then a snowy winter descends upon San Francisco. In June. And in quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets…and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god, Loki, alive and well after all these years.

Mist's normal world is falling apart. But thankfully, Mist isn't quite so normal herself. She's a Valkyrie, and she's going to need all her skill to thwart Loki's schemes and save modern Earth from the ravages of a battle of the gods.

Billy Moon by Douglas Lain

In Douglas Lain's debut novel set during the turbulent year of 1968, Christopher Robin Milne, the inspiration for his father's fictional creation, struggles to emerge from a manufactured life, in a story of hope and transcendence.

Billy Moon was Christopher Robin Milne, the son of A. A. Milne, the world-famous author of "Winnie the Pooh" and other beloved children's classics. Billy's life was no fairy-tale, though. Being the son of a famous author meant being ignored and even mistreated by famous parents; he had to make his own way in the world, define himself, and reconcile his self-image with the image of him known to millions of children. A veteran of World War II, a husband and father, he is jolted out of midlife ennui when a French college student revolutionary asks him to come to the chaos of Paris in revolt. Against a backdrop of the apocalyptic student protests and general strike that forced France to a standstill that spring, Milne's new French friend is a wild card, able to experience alternate realities of the past and present. Through him, Milne's life is illuminated and transformed, as are the world-altering events of that year.

In a time when the Occupy movement eerily mirrors the political turbulence of 1968, this magic realist novel is an especially relevant and important book.

Trancendental by James Gunn

Riley, a veteran of interstellar war, is one of many beings from many different worlds aboard a ship on a pilgrimage that spans the galaxy. However, he is not journeying to achieve transcendence, a vague mystical concept that has drawn everyone else on the ship to this journey into the unknown at the far edge of the galaxy. His mission is to find and kill the prophet who is reputed to help others transcend. While their ship speeds through space, the voyage is marred by violence and betrayal, making it clear that some of the ship's passengers are not the spiritual seekers they claim to be.

Like the pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a number of those on the starship share their unique stories. But as tensions rise, Riley realizes that the ship is less like the Canterbury Tales and more like a harrowing, deadly ship of fools. When he becomes friendly with a mysterious passenger named Asha, he thinks she's someone he can trust. However, like so many others on the ship, Asha is more than she appears. Uncovering her secrets could be the key to Riley's personal quest, or make him question everything he thought he knew about Transcendentalism and his mission to stop it.

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill - I'm a little over half way through this book and it is AWESOME.  I've had a lot of trouble putting it down to do anything.  It's a very compelling story.  I'll have a review up for it soon.

"You have to kill him."

Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She's tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present-imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend James since they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America''s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James's life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina's hopes for their future. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. Em and Marina are in a race against time that only one of them can win.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon - I've already read and reviewed this one.  I enjoyed it.  It's the start of a new series with a lot of great background elements.

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others' minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing. But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city--Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly--as soldiers in their army. Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

Myths and Legends: King Arthur by Daniel Mersey

Despite his enduring popularity, King Arthur remains the most enigmatic of Britain''s legendary heroes. In this new book, author Dan Mersey retells the great stories of Arthur, while exploring the different facets of Arthurian myth, from the numerous, conflicting theories of his historical origin, through the tales of Welsh folklore and Medieval romance, and concluding with an examination of his various portrayals in the modern media. Presented with both classic and newly commissioned artwork, this book is an easy-to-read, yet highly detailed introduction to the complex body of myth and legend that surrounds Britain''s greatest hero.

Countdown by Michelle Rowan

3 seconds left to live.

Once the countdown starts, it cannot be stopped.

2 pawns thrown into a brutal underground reality game.

Kira Jordan survived her family's murder and months on plague-devastated city streets with hard-won savvy and a low-level psi ability. She figures she can handle anything. Until she wakes up in a barren room, chained next to the notorious Rogan Ellis.

1 reason Kira will never, ever trust Rogan. Even though both their lives depend on it.

Their every move is controlled and televised for a vicious exclusive audience. And as Kira's psi skill unexpectedly grows and Rogan's secrets prove ever more deadly, Kira's only chance of survival is to risk trusting him as much as her instincts. Even if that means running head-on into the one trap she can't escape.

GAME OVER

Recommended Reading by Professionals... With Jim C. Hines

In this series, I ask various publishing professionals (including authors, bloggers, editors, agents etc.) to recommend two or three authors or books they feel haven't received the recognition they deserve. Today's recommendations are by Jim C. Hines.

Mr. Hines is the author of the Jig the Goblin series, the Princess series and several short story collections.  Libriomancer, the first book of his urban fantasy Magic ex Libris series, has just been released in mass market, and the second book, Codex Born is now out in hardcover.  He won the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer due to his awesome blog.

---

1. Marie Brennan is a fantasy author who writes flat-out gorgeous books. Her latest book is A Natural History of Dragons, which is a memoir-style novel about Lady Trent, who eventually went on to become the world’s greatest dragon naturalist. She’s like Jacques Cousteau of the fire-breathers. Brennan’s Onyx Court series is richly researched historical fantasy, exploring the London-based fairy court’s history over the centuries. The only downside to reading Brennan’s work is I always walk away feeling jealous of how smart she is...
2. Kelly McCullough’s books are just plain fun. I devoured his WebMage books, which blend magic and mythology and computer hacking. And there’s a goblin who’s also a laptop. I was skeptical when I picked them up – a magical system based on computer software? – but McCullough makes it work. Oh, and Kelly sometimes dressed up like a faun and tromps around in Neil Gaiman’s backyard, so there’s that too.

Stay tuned for the next post where we learn who James Knapp thinks we should be reading more of!

Short Film: Sight

I saw this quite a while back but apparently didn't post it here.  It's a brilliant short film by Eran May-raz and Daniel Lazo about a future in which computer apps are directly accessed by your brain for everything from playing games, cooking, and dating advice.  This was their graduation project from Bezaleal academy of arts.


Sight from Sight Systems on Vimeo.

Ontario Speculative Fiction Author Reading List Revised

This is a revised list thanks to the comments I got on the original post.  I went through Chizine Publication's Imaginarium and pulled out the Ontario authors.  I also went through the list of panelists for this year's Ad Astra, a local convention, which has greatly beefed up the list.  So, there are now short fiction and poetry categories, as well as novelists.

A few of the newly added authors I've met/read, so I'm embarrassed that I missed them on my original list.  Having said that, I encountered a lot of authors I've not heard of, which is exciting. :)  And I discovered that Steven Erikson is Canadian, though based in Winnipeg.

I also discovered that Dennis Lee is still writing poetry.  If you're not Canadian you might not have heard of him, but kids of my generation all grew up reading his books of poetry for kids, Alligator Pie and Garbage Delight.  The books have recently come back into print, ready for a new generation.  I'll have to look up some of his adult stuff and see if it's as bizarre and fun as his kids stuff.

I'm sure the list is still incomplete, so if you know any authors missing, please mention them in the comment section.  Oh, and in a few cases I couldn't figure out if they are based in Ontario or not so I apologize for any errors on the list.

Books On the Display:

Book of Tongues - Gemma Files

Eutopia, 'Geisters, Rasputin's Bastards, Monstrous Affections - David Nickle

Indigo Springs - A. M. Dellamonica (her bio says Vancouver, but she just moved to Toronto)

Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood

A Turn of Light - Julie Czerneda

The New Moon's Arms - Nalo Hopkinson

Silence - Michelle Sagara

The Wild Ways - Tanya Huff

The Mirror Prince, Shadowlands - Violette Malan,

The Silver Lake - Fiona Patton

River of Stars - Guy Gavriel Kay

Sins of the Angels, Sins of the Son - Linda Poitevin

Technicolor Ultra Mall - Ryan Oakley

Spin - Robert Charles Wilson

Red Planet Blues - Robert J. Sawyer

vN, iD - Madeline Ashby

Enter, Night - Michael Rowe

Chimerascope - Douglas Smith

Virga: Cities of the Air - Karl Schroeder

The Pattern Scars - Caitlin Sweet

Blind Sight - Peter Watts

Unrepresented Novelists:

Once Every Never - Lesley Livingston
Above - Leah Bobet
The Moon Under Her Feet - Derwin Mak
Run With the Wolves: The Pack - T. C. Tombs
Below the Line - Scott Albert
Deadwalk - Stephanie Bedwell-Grime
Destiny's Blood - Marie Bilodeau
Nexus: Ascension - Robert Boyczuk
Small Magics - Erik Buchanan
Pontypool Changes Everything - Tony Burgess
Halcyon - Catherine Fitzsimmons
Triptych - J. M. Frey
Blaze of Glory - Sheryl Nantus
Elminster Enraged - Ed Greenwood
Fall From Earth - Matthew Johnson
Alex and the Ironic Gentleman - Adrienne Kress
The Raven's Warrior - Vincent Pratchett
The Demonologist - Andrew Pyper
Ink - Amanda Sun
Frozen Blood - Joel A. Sutherland
Defining Diana - Hayden Trenholm
Night Runner - Max Turner
Angel of Death - Karen Dales

Every House is Haunted - Ian Rogers

Short Fiction Authors:

"Dig for Fire" - James Bambury
"The Son of Heaven" - Eric Choi
"The God Thieves" - Derek Kunsken
"The Many Lives of the Xun Long" - Michael Matheson
"Delta Pi" - Matt Moore
"Remains of the Witch" - Tony Pi
"Night Shift at the Tim Hornets" - Mike Rimar
"The Machine is Perfect, the Engineer is Nobody" - Brett Alexander Savory
"Jade Angel" - Dena Bain Taylor
"A Trip to the Northern Elves" - Pippa Wysong
"Mama Fish" - Rio Youers
"When the Zombies Win" - Karina Sumner-Smith
"Cooking For the Dead" - Peter Chiykowski
"Hide" - Rebecca M. Senese
"10 Things to Know About Staplers" - Carolyn Clink



"Centipede Girl" - Ada Hoffmann
"Laikas I" - Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer
"Hawkwood's Folly" - Tim Reynolds
"Razor Voices" - Kelly Rose Pfug-Back
"One Quarter Gorgon" - Helen Marshall

"Nothing But Sky Overhead" - David Livingstone Clink

Poets:

"Falling" - David Clink
The Animal Bridegroom - Sandra Katsuri
Alligator Pie - Dennis Lee
Catalysts& Catastrophes: Feline Poems - Susan Ioannou

"Selected Haiku" - George Swede

Book Review: Psycho by Robert Bloch

Pros: great writing, unique twist

Cons: if you've seen the movie, you know the story (including the twist ending)

When Mary Crane's boss hands her an envelope containing $40,000 to bring to the bank she thinks her troubles are over.  She impulsively drives to her boyfriend's town, intending to use the cash to pay off his debts so they can finally get married.  But heavy rain makes her miss a turn and she ends up spending the night at the Bates Motel.

If you've seen the Alfred Hitchcock movie you know the story.  There are some differences, particularly with regards to Norman Bates, who in the book is 40, overweight, and converses more with his mother than he does in the film.  Mary's also given more motivation for stealing the money.  Mrs. Bates is quite horrifying, especially given how Norman covers for her.

It is a highly suspenseful book, with a great twist ending if you haven't seen the film (and even if you have, the skill with which the author makes Norman's home life bizarre but plausible is wonderful).

With such a great story it's no wonder Hitchcock thought it would make an excellent film, and kept the plot so close to that of the book.  It's short (just over 200 pages) and a very quick read.

Fan Expo - Interesting Things to Buy

There were a lot of interesting products to buy, in addition to the usual t-shirts, artwork, collectables, comics, etc.

I've made a short album with some of my favourites from the show, including - where I know them - links for more information.  Here's the link where you can read my captions and see larger versions of the pictures.  If you just want to see the images, check out the slideshow.

Fan Expo Canada Cosplay

Since Saturday's so crazy at Fan Expo, I decided to go on Friday this year and see if it was easier to get around.  It was, mostly.  I've got a slideshow of costumes, followed by some nifty lego creations that were on the show floor.  There are a few 'celebrity' cars as well (Kitt from Knight Rider and the Batmobile).  If the slideshow doesn't work (or you don't have/like flash or want to see the pictures larger) here's a link to the album.

[And for those of you who commented on yesterday's reading list post, I will be adding the authors when I get the chance, I've just been busy.]

Ontario Speculative Fiction Author Reading List

*I've done an updated list with a LOT more authors, which you can find here.*

I did this endcap about a month ago (it's still up at the World's Biggest Bookstore) because several local authors had new books coming out.  It's hard to believe how many speculative fiction authors live in Ontario.  Oh, and for those of you who aren't Canadian, "Yours to Discover" is Ontario's license plate saying.

As with all my reading lists, this isn't a comprehensive list.  I know I'm missing people on the display, and list (authors I don't know, authors we don't carry, out of print books, etc.).  So if you know an author who's missing, mention them in the comment section and I'll add them to the list.

Books On the Display:

Book of Tongues - Gemma Files

Eutopia, 'Geisters, Rasputin's Bastards, Monstrous Affections - David Nickle

Indigo Springs - A. M. Dellamonica (her bio says Vancouver, but she just moved to Toronto)

Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood

A Turn of Light - Julie Czerneda

The New Moon's Arms - Nalo Hopkinson

Silence - Michelle Sagara

The Wild Ways - Tanya Huff

The Mirror Prince, Shadowlands - Violette Malan,

The Silver Lake - Fiona Patton

River of Stars - Guy Gavriel Kay

Sins of the Angels, Sins of the Son - Linda Poitevin

Technicolor Ultra Mall - Ryan Oakley

Spin - Robert Charles Wilson

Red Planet Blues - Robert J. Sawyer

vN, iD - Madeline Ashby

Enter, Night - Michael Rowe

Chimerascope - Douglas Smith

Virga: Cities of the Air - Karl Schroeder

The Pattern Scars - Caitlin Sweet

Blind Sight - Peter Watts

Unrepresented Authors:

Once Every Never - Lesley Livingston
Above - Leah Bobet
The Moon Under Her Feet - Derwin Mak
Run With the Wolves: The Pack - T. C. Tombs

Movie Review: Battle Royale

Directed by: Kinji Fukasaku, 2000

IMDB listing

Pros: creepy premise, mostly stays close to the book, great acting

Cons: some unnecessary changes from the book, lots of graphically violent scenes

In a future dystopian Japan, the collapsed economy has led to a generation of kids with few prospects and no respect.  In order to make kids learn respect, the government has instituted the Battle Royale program, choosing one grade 9 class at random to duel to the death.

First of all, let me clarify that I'm not a fan of graphically violent movies or books (hence why that's in the 'con' category) but I have read the book and knew going into this that the movie would be graphically violent.  The film comes with a 16+ rating for a reason.  Having said that, if you're looking for a Hunger Games style film where most of the violence occurs off screen, this is not that film.

I was impressed by how much of the film matched the book's content.  There were a few changes I wondered about (like making 2 of the participants transfer students for the purpose of the game only rather than students from the class and the kids not knowing what the battle royale was in advance).  I loved that the man running the games had a personal grudge against this particular class.  Not only did it show that their selection for the game was rigged, it added to the terror because HE knew what was coming.  The one change I didn't really like was the reasoning for the games in the first place.  There's a chilling moment at the end of the novel where you finally learn why the government has instituted the program.  That moment's gone here, as the film has a different motive for the program, told via a quick narration at the start of the film.

Beyond those issues, the story - as far as I can remember - follows the novel pretty closely.  Shuya Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara) tries to protect Noriko Nakagawa (Aki Maeda) while evading the other students and danger zones.  I was impressed by the acting chops of the kids.  They all did an amazing job.

All in all I was impressed by the film.  It's definitely not for everyone, but if you liked the book it's a  good adaptation.

Video: Bettlejuice Minecraft Roller Coaster

I saw this ages ago and forgot to post it.  It's a minecraft roller coaster in the Bettlejuice film setting.  It took its creators, Rivergrl21 and Nuropsych1, 2 months to make in creative mode.  It's quite a trippy ride.