First published poem, inspired by the work of Federico Gracia Lorca. Posting here so it is not lost to the ether.
Month: March 2015
Alien – Ridley Scott Re-watch
So, a little confession – I have never seen Alien before. I have seen all the others in the series, including Prometheus (which I actually enjoy).
I managed to miss Alien, and I was saving it so I always had a good genre movie to look forward to, but the time has come.
I am amazed by how good the practical effects hold up. This is a marvelous looking film still, though there are a few shots of the Xenomorph that I found a little off, and the movement of the chestburster after its birth from John Hurt’s character is a little laughable, but all in all, the effects still hold up. If it wasn’t for the graphics on the compter monitors, this would almost look like a modern genre movie…
The action occurs on the Nostromo, a mining ship, and this is not a clean, modern military vessel. Almost all of the crew smoke (An artifact of the era of the movie. Not only is the act itself becoming rarer, but would not be allowed on ships depending on air recycling, etc. let alone what the smoke would do to the electronics.) and we have a bit of a class distinction going on with Harry Dean Stanton (Brett) and Yaphet Kotto’s (Parker) characters being the working class stiffs only getting part shares. Ian Holm plays the medic Ash, Tom Skerrit with a full beard plays the Captain Dallas, John Hurt the Executive Officer Kane, Sigourney Weaver the Warrant Officer, and Victoria Cartwright, the Navigator Lambert.
The Nostromo (shades of Conrad here) is a deep space mining vessel returning from a long expedition when it picks up a signal from a nearby planet. The computer, Mother, awakens the crew from hypersleep to investigate.
Nostromo lands on the planetoid, and Captain Dallas, Navigator Lambert and Executive Officer Kane investigate the alien ship found on the surface. They find the preserved body of a giant alien, the “Space Jockey”, with a burst ribcage. Kane descends down a hole, and finds a field of alien eggs. One of the eggs hatches, and a facehugger bursts out and attaches itself to Kane. The beginning of Prometheus closely parallels this sequence. Dallas and Lambert bring Kane back to the ship, and Ripley refuses to admit Kane, as he is compromised, but her decision is overridden by Ash.
Kane is taken to the medical quarters, where Ash seeks a way to remove the facehugger, while trying to preserve the creature. His behaviour is odd, as he seems to care more about the creature’s well being than Kane’s. After a few hours (days?) the facehugger detaches on its own, and Kane appears to be none the worse for wear, though he is insatiably hungry.
It is during a dinner we are treated with what would now be expected if you have any background in the alien universe, as the gestating embryo inside of Kane erupts from his chest during the meal and escapes. Wounded during the escape, it drips an acid so strong it eats through several floors of the ship.
What follows is a game of And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie’s novel that has became a very effective cinematic plot engine…a game of who is going to get it next.
The suspense is handled well, and the cinematography is and lighting is equally fitting. The design work by H. R. Giger is phenomenal, and no doubt affected/infected and entire generation…
Review: Home Is the Hangman/We, in Some Strange Power’s Employ, Move on a Rigorous Line
Home Is the Hangman/We, in Some Strange Power’s Employ, Move on a Rigorous Line by Roger Zelazny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a flip book, with Home is the Hangman by Roger Zelazny and We,in Some Strange Power’s Employ, Move on a Rigorous Line.
It has two wonderful covers, the Zelazny by Martin Andrews; the Delaney by Wayne Barlowe, a wonderful image of the pteracycle from the book in the midst of skysweeping, from a pivotal scene in the story.
“We”, is a story about power on all levels. Our protagonist is “Blacky” Jones, who works for the Global Power Commission (as nearly all individuals do) and has recently been promoted to “section-Devil” from being an ordinary demon. The demons are power engineers who lay tremendously huge cables all across the world, according to a formula that requires a certain number of outlets per a certain number of people. The machines that lay the cable have names like Iguana, Gila Monster, and Salamander.
Having come from laying cables in places like Tibet, Mongolia, etc. the crew is assigned to lay cables to a place near the border of Canada, where a group of “Angels” live in a place called High Haven, that has no power, nor do they wish it.
In this world there is no choice but to comply. While the benefits of this are constantly extolled -work is not arduous, many of the demons have other skills as well, poets, etc.- but there still exist pockets that resist the global wiring.
Blacky is more than willing to let the inhabitants of High Haven to continue without having power forced upon them, but the other section-Devil, Mabel, ostensibly his superior (Blacky has just been promoted, and is waiting for his transfer to the Iguana, and his own command. Mabel is the commander of the Gila Monster.)-prefers to always follow the book, and cares little for the Angels desires.
The leader of the Angels, named Roger Z____y in a nod to Roger Zelazny (also the subject of the dedication), recently taking control of the Angels away from Sam, and taking his girl Fidessa as well. With the arrival of Blacky, Fidessa is attracted to him, as she chooses to be on the winning side of a power struggle, and senses Blacky will defeat Roger.
The story is well written, poetic and delivered in a similar style to Zelazny himself. Seeing as how Roger Zelazny is my favourite prose stylist, this was a big selling point to me. This is the first Delaney story that I have read, I know his writing is poetic, and I hope to read more soon.
Home is the Hangman
A Roger Zelazny story I have read before, in the collection, or fix up, My Name is Legion. In this tale, our hero, whose real name is not revealed but calls himself John Donne, a man who was involved in setting up a giant computer network that monitors all human activities, and elected to have himself erased and not part of the computer’s data bank. He is hired to investigate the return of a space exploration robot, the Hangman, who has achieved sentience. Things are not as they seem, and many questions are raised as to what contributed to the Hangman achieving sentience, and the responsibilities of its makers in its actions. There is some in depth philosophy here, and the usual deft turns of phrase you would expect in a story by Roger Zelazny.
The Duellists – Ridley Scott Re-watch
I have recently decided to re-watch all of Ridley Scott’s directorial efforts from the beginning, which will include the few of his movies that I haven’t yet seen.
The Duellists is one of those movies. It has been on my radar for a long while, specifically because of my love of sword play in movies. I often say that if a movie has a sword in it, I will probably go to see it in the theatre.
Last night I had the pleasure of watching Ridley Scott’s first cinematic effort, and I was quite pleased. Set during the Napoleonic era, beginning in the year 1800, it follows the path of two Hussars, D’Hubert (played by Keith Carradine) and Feraud (played by Harvey Keitel).
Feraud is a man on the surface consumed by honour, a man who duels at the slightest provocation, but this is masking some inward wound that is never revealed. His mind will twist any behaviour into an insult against his honour, which requires him to respond. His human connections are slight over the course of his life, the steadiest being the man who acts as his second. But as far as relationships, he is cold, and unresponsive.
D’Hubert is a moral man. He too is bound by honour, but he is not blinded by it. Over the course of the movie he suffers many setbacks because of his service to honour, but he does not use them as an excuse, nor shift the blame. He is a man who at his heart is much moved by love, and can be tender and introspective. He makes a number of overtures to Feraud, willing to let the matter lie, but Feraud will not accept any result but the death of one party or the other.
The action of the movie begins in 1800 in Strasbourg, when Feraud kills the son of the mayor in a duel, and D’Hubert is sent to arrest Feraud. Feraud happens to be in the house of a madam at the time, though it seems he is not servicing physical desires, he seems to be there to enjoy a musical performance, one of the few hints at human emotion we are shown regarding Feraud.
Feraud and D’Hubert end up fighting, D’Hubert being reluctant as he has little reason to fight, but Feraud is overwhelming in his insistence. The duel ends in a draw, as Feraud’s housekeeper interferes and the fight cannot continue. D’Hubert is dismissed from his post on the General’s staff back into regular service for his role, which he does not protest.
Thus begins the narrative backbone of the movie, which is episodic, the two soldiers meeting at various points along the paths of their lives, always ending up fighting each other. The widely disparate duels are bridged by voice over narration by Stacey Keach, which works surprisingly well in this movie, you are kept in place, even though you are jumping in time and physical space. Even so, I found the pacing a bit awkward, but I don’t believe there was much alternative – the movie is just under two hours long, and to film all the connecting bits which really are not of much importance to the overall drive of the story, would result in a movie that was overlong and glacial in its pacing.
The duels are fantastic, choreographed by William Hobbs, who also choreographed the 70’s Musketeer movies, Excalibur, Ladyhawke, Rob Roy, etc. (yes, almost every movie with a sword in it, it seems). Fantastic. Usually they fight with sabers, which is wonderful. Usually as in the Musketeer movies the actors are fencing with Rapiers, and I prefer the heavier sword, not seen as often in film.
The cinematography is lush, influence by Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. The film was shot, out of necessity, entirely on location, so the buildings look fantastic, as they are all real.
Keith Carradine is marvelous in this picture. I already liked him as an actor, but this movie made my respect for him increase dramatically. Keitel is very fine as well in his role, something very different than he is usually seen in, but he embodies his role perfectly.
This is the first major movie of Pete Postlethwaite, who was always a fine, fine character actor. Also of note are Tom Conti, Alun Armstrong, and Albert Finney, among others, all uniformly excellent.
Just another day at the office (a.k.a. The Salt Mines of First Draftville)
I am breathing down the neck of 80,000 words of my first draft of my first novel. It has taken me years to get to this point, due to frequent self doubt, procrastination, and various life events. I am in a happy place now – I have sorted out many of my most troubling stumbling blocks, and while I am working toward a more thorough and consistent use of my time, I am succeeding in putting words down on the page.
Review: Onspec #96,
Onspec #96, by Tina Callaghan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a fantastic issue. I have been reading a fair number of science fiction magazine back issues lately, mostly Analogs and Asimov’s, and I have noted that in most the percentage of stories that I like sits at about 50% give or take, many stories not really holding up over the years. I think the quality of writing in science fiction magazines, as well as the quality of the examination of the “human” aspect of the story, as opposed to the science, has increased exponentially. I think also that often it was too easy (and still is) to fall into the trap of judging a story based on who wrote it – just because the author is important to the genre historically, it does not follow that every story by them is a masterpiece – and I have been finding it is a lot of the midlist writers who have remained consistently good, as they are never guaranteed a sale, they always have to bring out their A game.
Which leads me to this issue. Wow. This one is marvelous. Many of these writers are early in their careers, but I am hard pressed to pick a favorite story in this issue, as they are uniformly strong. Powerful writing, diverse styles, and many of these stories I feel I will revisit later.
“Endless” – Tina Callaghan
When this story started, I admit I wasn’t on board. I like horses, but have never had any interest in horse racing. Zippo. Nada. Couldn’t see how this story could go anywhere interesting. By about the third paragraph, I was loving the writing, immersed in the characters, and developing an interest. By the end I was immersed in this magical little tale. Well done.
“Sin and Toil” – Brent Knowles
This is my least favourite story in the issue, though the writing is good, I find this one a little to on the nose as far as its politics and the moral of the tale are concerned. A sci-fi story about humanity dealing with the one percenters, and for me it was too pat. The story itself is well written, I did find it interesting, but I was a little put off, and once I withdrew from the story, I never fully entered it again.
“Nennorluk Goes Deep” – Chris Tarry
Fantastic writing, magnificent description and evocation of setting (Newfoundland). Really well developed and interesting characters, the setting is phenomenal, and once I was immersed in this story, I did not want to leave. Makes you really care about the characters.
“Gauntlet” – Shedrick Pittman-Hassett
This one is well written, a post apocalyptic setting with a race through the Gauntlet to deliver cargo which is not wanting to be delivered. Not the most original, but paced well, and it zips along.
“Runt of the Litter” – Chadwick Ginther
Foul and fun! Well written, a very earthy spin and Loki and the Norse pantheon. Great dialog, fun characters, no redeeming social values. You know how Loki is the best part of the Thor movies? Well, this Loki could teach that Loki a thing or two. I also heartily recommend Chadwick Ginther’s novels set in the same world…Thunder Road and Tombstone Blues.
“Moron” – Davyne DeSye
Loved this story. A well written treatment of telepathy, with a fantastic, loving, and slightly abnormal relationship between the two main characters, who care for each other deeply. A heartwarming story that goes exactly where it should. I am put in mind of another, older story that I read lately, Rand B. Lee’s “Heart in Winter” which also deals with telepathy and has a similar backwoods vibe to it, but this story is much stronger and ultimately more satisfying.
“Unforeseen Soup” – Dave Cherniak
I quite liked this story, though it took me a few paragraphs to adjust myself to the setting. This is a Tim Burtonesque story, an interesting little world, with interesting characters, and the world is subtly twisted. Sometimes, you just have to root for the witches.
Review: The Kick-Ass Writer – Chuck Wendig
The Kick-Ass Writer: 1001 Ways to Write Great Fiction, Get Published, and Earn Your Audience by Chuck Wendig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an entertaining and enlightening book. Includes sections on plot, character, setting, etc. and includes chapters on traditional publishing vs online publishing vs a hybrid model, and also a section on online presence and finding an audience. Chuck’s writing is very witty, and makes what could be a dry, academical topic vibrant and reward – though be warned, if you are put off by mild profanity, this is not the book for you. A lot of fun, and it contains some very good advice, and useful points for writers, no matter at what stage of their career.
Joseph Morgan Ives 