I’ve been melded!

John over at SF Signal invited me to join one of their weekly Mind Meld columns. The topic:

Q: Which SF/F/H book do you love that everyone else hates? Which SF/F/H book do you hate that everyone else loves?


Other contributors include Farah Mendlesohn, Jeff Carlson, Shaun Duke, Adam Roberts, Jay Garmon, Paul Graham Raven, Paul Kincaid, Robert Sabella, Jonathan McCalmont, Fred Kiesche, John Klima, Joe Sherry, Derek Molata, and Dominic Green.

People who frequent the SFFWorld Forums might be able to guess one of the books in the response to the second part of the question.

Reviewer Time Interviews Me

Harry over at Temple Library Reviews claimed me as his latest victim in his Sunday Reviewer Time feature.

So click on the image or this link (or the word "victim" above) and learn a bit more about the man behind this particular blog. I know my millions and millions of readers have wanted to know.

SF is dying...again

It seems Mark C. Newton's article and response have caused something of a stir - the latest internet kerfuffle as some might say.

It's been a rather hot topic at SFFWorld lately.

I may (or may not) have a more considered response or thoughts to this, but I'm not sure if I'll post here or at SFFWorld or Mark's blog.

Me Interviewed

Apparently, I’m one of the “recognizable personalities of the vast and broad sf&f community” so I've been interviewed. Peter Dowd (aka PeterWilliam in the SFFWorld Forums) asked if I’d like to be part of his Sunday Night Spotlight series wherein he interviews FSF bloggers.

Aside from being a Boston fan, Pete’s seems a good chap with a predilection for omnibuses. So, if you wan to know a little bit about me, head over to the interview on his blog.

RGP Goodness - D&D, Talisman, & Pathfinder

Are any of my faithful readers into RPGs? I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons first edition. If I recall correctly, in addition to the red player’s manual, there was a blue Game Masters book and other assorted goodies and it all came in a boxed set. That was when it was published by TSR (Tactical Rules Studies). We then moved onto Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, when the books were large 8.5 x 11 hardcover books:

At the time, my friends and I also played Gamma World, and I split time with one of my friends as GM for that.

For whatever reason, a friend moving, things going on in our lives, we moved away from D&D and RPGs to Talisman, which I've breifly discussed in the past - it captured the fun fantasy aspect of RPGs and the game could be started and completed in one day. Recently, I received an updated version of Talisman much to the chagrin of Mrs. O’ Stuff, and have started playing again.

I’ve also been playing D&D again, this time a mish-mash of 3rd Edition versions of Planescape, Dark Sun and magic systems based in some of the fantasy novels we’ve been reading. The “We” being my brother-in-law and a few of his friends.

At BEA, and through some posts by Matt Staggs, I’ve become aware of a new, impressive catch-all RPG that looks great: Pathfinder. The core book seems to contains all you need to get going on your adventures. Considering the book is 576 pages, it should contain a lot of stuff. The folks I met at the Paizo at BEA were terrific and the sample galley they had of the Pathfinder Core Rule book looked really impressive.

Midwinter Wheel Turning

Ever since Neil Gaiman jumped from comic writing to novel writing, other writers associated with Vertigo comics have made the jump. Writers like Mike Carey and the latest writer to make the jump, Matthew Sturges whose debut novel Midwinter I recently reviewed:

Part of what made the novel so enjoyable for me was that we only see a snapshot of the world of Midwinter – just a portion of the Seelie and Unseelie worlds, and their relation to a greater Mutliverse including a reasonable facsimile of our own world. Some of the scenes Sturges laid out and depicted where quite cool, not the least of which involves the afore-mentioned Pontiac Le Mans shuttling through a fantasy-esque landscape. There’s a depth to this world, and it seemingly has connections to many other worlds. One of the most enjoyable scenes, and one I found to have a great deal of mythic resonance which I always enjoy, was the Thule Man. The Thule Man is literally a giant boogeyman come to life and along with characters names like Silverdun and Queen Titiania and places such as the City Emerald and the Uncontested Lands, Sturges added layers of mythic resonance that permeated the novel in a great way.

The Wheel of Time keeps turning, and at least the “fallout” from the recent announcement about the three volume final edition. Not long after the announcement at Tor, Brandon Sanderson put up his take on matters. What he says makes a lot of sense, is well-reasoned and gives a hint at the monumental pressure he must be feeling on many levels.

To borrow and modify a phrase from Jordan himself, “What if the creator tapped you on the shoulder and said ‘Hey, do you want to finish my masterwork?’” He’s got the weight of one of the fandom’s largest and most passionate groups of fans waiting on him. Is it annoying that what was promised as a single volume conclusion has come to be, essentially, a concluding trilogy? Yes, especially because readers will be forking over thrice the amount they thought. On the other hand, Robert Jordan was never really accurate with his book estimations. Where does that leave people? Some angry, some frustrated, and some understanding.

Detective Wizards, Vampire Hunters, and Werewolves Oh My! (Redux)

The latest discussion making the rounds (at least on my blogroll) is about the whole Urban Fantasy/Supernatural Fantasy/Wizard Detective/Vampire Hunter/Monster Hunter/P.I. In Fantasyland glut of novels that are selling like hotcakes nowadays.

I wrote up a Spotlight blog post back in February, (and we've got pretty active discussion on the topic at SFFWorld) but what spurned this latest go-round is John's newest ask the bloggers feature at Grasping for the Wind: Ask the Bloggers: Urban Fantasy and the Next Big Subgenre.

Larry at OFBlog chimed in and, as is often the case, he makes sense and gets me thinking again. What I didn't say in my original post (and did mention in my response to Larry's linked post) is this: When the Urban Fantasy label was thrown around, oh, maybe 3 to 5 years ago, I think a lot of what we meant was stuff like Charles de Lint, some of what Neil Gaiman was doing, some of what Emma Bull was doing. Stories with more of a mythic flavor that didn't quite mold to the detective story or a series of stories centered on a primary protagonist. I know many of de Lint's stories are told in and around the setting of Newford, but outside of a small collection of stories, most didn't center on a "hero" or protagonist on whom the overall story is centered, from what I've gathered.

Aidan's recent article "Fantasy Oversaturation?" also brought to light this sub-genre in his article. Which also got me thinking of how my reading tastes have shifted over the past few years. As I say in my response to Aidan's article, I find myself drawn to Science Fiction and the Dresden/Marla Mason/Vampire Hunter stuff more in the past couple of years than Epic/Secondary World Fantasy. More consideration for thought as to why, though.

Thoughts?

Larry's post does have a great discussion going.

The SFX Top 100 List (a meme?

Some of my fellow FSF bloggers have already posted this list, which all but turns this thing into a meme*, so here’s the SFX top 100 with my snarky comments.

*feel free to do this at your own blog, if you so choose.

100. James Herbert
Meh…I’ve heard decent things about him.

99. Gwyneth Jones
Meh…I’ve heard decent things about her.

98. Sara Douglass
Cliched but somewhat entertaining.

97. Charles Stross
Should be higher from all the raves I see about him. I’ve only read a bit, but liked it.

96. Terry Goodkind
I thought he didn’t write fantasy.

95. Brian W. Aldiss
Reputation alone should place him higher, never read anything from him.

94. Ken MacLeod
See my thoughts on Stross

93. Olaf Stapledon
I’d think a Golden Ager would be higher.

92. Michael Marshall Smith
He won the Philip K. Dick Award, I read his novel The Straw Men and liked it.

91. Jon Courtney Grimwood
Haven’t read him, but seems well regarded.

90. Christopher Priest
I’ve only read The Prestige, but liked it a lot.

89. Jonathan Carroll
Should be higher, what I read by him I liked, especially the classic The Land of Laughs.

88. Scott Lynch
Much as I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies, this seems a bit premature.

87. David Weber
Haven’t read him, but I do have a collection on the to read pile. Seems popular with the Military SF crows.

86. M. John Harrison
Light was good, Virinconium started out well, but that’s all I’ve read, outside of his bloggish ramblings.

85. Jacqueline Carey
Kushiel’s Dart was good for half a book, I loved her Banewreaker duology, but like Lynch this seems a bit high, but her quantity of output is pretty impressive.

84. Kim Stanley Robinson
I tried to read Red Mars three times and wanted to poke my eyes out each time.

83. Theodore Sturgeon
An acknowledged master, but I haven’t read him. Seems low.

82. J.V. Jones
About right, I suppose. Read only two of her Ice books.

81. Joe Abercrombie
I like Joe (and how he’ll both downplay and up-play his own writing), so I suppose this is about right if Scotty-boy gets on the list, too.

80. Joe Haldeman
Should be higher, though I’ve only read two of his seminal works.

79. Simon Clark
Who?

78. George Orwell
What?? What???? 1984 is one of the greatest pieces of fiction of all time.

77. Samuel R. Delaney Delany
He should be higher.

76. Charles de Lint
About right, I suppose. I loved The Little Country.

75. Julian May
Haven’t read her, but this seems about right, based on what I've heard/seen.

74. Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tarzan and Jon Carter should place him higher, though I’ve yet to read him.

73. Robert Silverberg
Living legend, should be higher.

72. Susanna Clarke
One interesting novel (IMHO one of the most overrated novels of all time) and one collection, switcher with any half dozen lower rankings.

71. Stanislaw Lem
Solaris was one of the most painful reads for me, but I suppose this is an appropriate ranking

70. Larry Niven
This seems pretty low.

69. Alfred Bester
See Stapledon.

68. Katherine Kerr
Haven’t read her, but her Deverry series is long and well regarded enough to get a higher ranking.

67. Jack Vance
What?!? He should easily be a top 10 writer.

66. Harry Harrison
Sure.

65. Marion Zimmer Bradley
I guess.

64. Richard Matheson
Wa-a-a-y too low.

63. Dan Simmons
Hyperion is an enduring modern classic, his horror output is equally impressive. Relatively low.

62. Elizabeth Haydon
Better than Douglass.

61. Terry Brooks
I’m not his biggest fan, but relatively speaking, he should be higher.

60. Richard Morgan
About right.

59. Stephen Baxter
About right.

58. Jennifer Fallon
Whatever.

57. Mercedes Lackey
Never read her.

56. CJ Cherryh
I tried a couple of her books (Downbelow Station and The Dreaming Tree) and neither worked for me. Ranking seems about right based on what others have said, though.

55. Harlan Ellison
Very low.

54. Jasper Fforde
Never read him.

53. Octavia Butler
Another lowballed ranking.

52. J.G. Ballard
Sure.

51. Robert E. Howard
Somewhat low.

50. Sherri S. Tepper
Never read her.

49. H.P. Lovecraft
Way too low.

48. Mervyn Peake
Gormenghast just doesn’t work for me.

47. Jules Verne
Sure.

46. Alastair Reynolds
Sure.

45. Neal Stephenson
Loved Snow Crash and didn’t like Cryptonomicon.

44. Clive Barker
Sure.

43. Jim Butcher
I guess, I love The Dresden Files, but some of the other authors should be before him.

42. Tad Williams
See Butcher.

41. Kurt Vonnegut
See Delaney Delany

40. Trudi Canavan
Never read her.

39. Michael Moorcock
Living legend, should be in the top 10

38. David Eddings
Never read him, never will, but higher than Moorcock, Orwell and half a dozen others up above?

37. Alan Moore
Scripted on of Time’s 100 greatest novels, should be higher.

36. Orson Scott Card
About right, I gues.

35. Stephen Donaldson
About right I guess.

34. Gene Wolfe
Should be much, MUCH higher. Top 10. This ranking is the final straw for this list holding any kind of validity for me.

33. China Mieville
Sure.

32. Raymond E. Feist
Very Popular, I liked the first few RiftWar novels as well as the Empire collaboration with Janny Wurts.

31. Lois McMaster Bujold
Very Popular, I’ve enjoyed the Vorkosigan novels I’ve read.

30. Roger Zelazny
Should be higher, top 15 maybe?

29. Anne McCaffrey
Who hasn’t read her Pern novels? I guess this is about right, once you adjust some of the earlier aberrations.

28. Steven Erikson
I guess this is about right, once you adjust some of the earlier aberrations.

27. William Gibson
I haven’t read him, but seems slightly low.

26. Guy Gavriel Kay
I guess this is about right, once you adjust some of the earlier abberrations.

25. CS Lewis
I guess this is about right, once you adjust some of the earlier abberations.

24. Diana Wynne Jones
I guess this is about right, if a bit too high, relatively speaking.

23. John Wyndham
I guess this is about right, once you adjust some of the earlier abberations.

22. Philip Pullman
About right, I guess. Maybe lower?

21. Robin Hobb
See Pullman.

20. Stephen King
About right.

19. Ray Bradbury
Should be a tad higher.

18. Arthur C. Clarke
See Bradbury.

17. Robert Jordan
Important, but top 20? Then again, this is a popularity contest.

16. JK Rowling
See Jordan.

15. Robert Heinlein
About right.

14. Frank Herbert
About right.

13. Peter F. Hamilton
A bit high.

12. David Gemmell
About right, considering my Jordan/Rowling thoughts.

11. Ursula K. LeGuin
About right.

10. Robert Rankin
Who is this? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a book by this author and he’s ahead of Gene Frakking Wolfe and Jack Vance and George Orwell and Steven Erikson and Michael Moorcock...?

9. HG Wells
Sure

8. Philip K. Dick
Sure, maybe a bit high.

7. Iain M. Banks
Sure, maybe a bit high. He’s British, this list is from a British magazine, but I’d switch him out with I don’t know, Jack Vance?

6. Isaac Asimov
Sure.

5. George RR Martin
Sure.

4. Douglas Adams
A bit high, but again, this is a British popularity contest.

3. Neil Gaiman
I love his work, but see the Adams comment.

2. JRR Tolkien
This may be the first of these types of lists where he hasn’t been Numero Uno.

1. Terry Pratchett
I’ve read what I like. Best selling British Writer, British Popularity Contest.

Kull Review and Malzan Thoughts

I posted up my review of Kull: Exile of Atlantis by Robert E. Howard a short while ago. This was my first exposure to Howard's Kull stories and I enjoyed them, even if some of what was in the book consisted of fragments and unfinished tales. The book itself, and I only have the ARC, is a really nice volume. A very evocative cover by Justin Sweet, with color plates at the end of the book make for a book that was made with a great attention to detail and care. Again, this is only the ARC, so I can imagine how great the final product will look.

I'm focusing all my reading right now on The Bonehunters, something that seems to happen whenever I dive into The Malazan Book of the Fallen. I plow through a good chunk of the book at each reading session, but at 1200+ pages this book will take me a while. I enjoy the story and immersing myself in Erikson's world with each volume I read, so I don't mind too much even though I'm usually reading two books at a time. More often than not, I read Book 1 at work on my lunch and Book 2 while at the gym on the cardio machines and at home. However, with The Bonehunters I especially don't want to pull away from Malazan, so The Bonehunters is essentially Book 1 and Book 2 at the moment. I'm really enjoying the book, especially the scenes with Icarium and Karsa. From what I've seen, most fans of Malazan enjoyed Memories of Ice the most, but so far I think House of Chains was the book I enjoyed the most. Not that I didn't enjoy Memories of Ice, because I did, but I think Karsa is the character I find the most fascinating so far, and to a lesser extent Kruppe.

I finished Neuropath about a week or so ago, but I'm finalizing a review with Mark from SFFWorld. We decided to try something different with this book and give it a two-pronged review. That will probably go up at SFFWorld this week, too, we just want to put a couple of finishing touches on it.

The Last Wish: Review at SFFWorld

I posted my review of Andrzej Sapkowski's The Last Wish yesterday. Reviews on this book were floating around last year when Gollancz published it in the UK. Here in the US, Orbit just released their edition of the book. This wasn't a novel, as I thought it would be, but rather a collection of stories chronicling Geralt the Witcher's encounters with various monsters and legends out of fair tales and folklore. I liked the stories quite a bit and look forward to following Geralt's adventures.

As reviews started appearing on the blogosphere, there was some heated discussion about the book with varying opinions by some of my blog-o-pals. Considering I really enjoyed the book, I obviously don't completely agree with some of them.

We also shook up the main page at SFFWorld again, bringing my review of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother up top, and also featuring Mark/Hobbit's review of Stephenie Meyer's The Host as well as his latest review Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan and my aforementioned review.

Empress Review & SFFWorld goodness, Book Ramblings, Lost/Battlestar

I posted my review of Karen Miller’s Empress today. It started out fairly strong (if predictable), but by the end, the novel turned into the book I've disliked the most so far this year. Not all protagonists can or should be likeable, but when you hate the protagonist by the halfway point of the novel, it doesn’t make for a good reading experience. In addition, the novel itself was uneven, predictable, repetitive, and choppy.

I also posted an interview Pat and I conducted with Kay Kenyon. He’s had it posted on his blog for a bit now, and now it’s up at SFFWorld.

Owen (kater in the SFFWorld forums and one of the mods) posted a cool interview with Brandon Seifert creator of the independently online published Witch Doctor comic. The interview also has some great, great sample artwork.

My addiction to the Dresden Files keeps growing with each book*; I finished Summer Knight last week. I usually read two books at a time, one at work and the gym the other at home. I couldn’t be pulled away from Summer Knight.

Mark posted a stellar review of Richard Morgan’s forthcoming and anticipated Fantasy novel, The Steel Remains. My copy arrived not too long ago and I’ll be getting to it shortly. In the past year or so, I’ve received so many enticing books from various publishers I simply don’t know which book to read next, although I do have a very loose system. Some of the books are Advance copies while some are publication copies I’ve received, and it is really impossible to get to all of them.

*One of those advances is Backup, the Non-Harry Dresden novella being published in October by Subterranean Press with artwork by Mike Mignola**. I’ve still got the final installment of Greg Keyes awesome Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone on my plate, or what Aidan calls the Pile o' Shame, although my pile is a little different than Aidan's defintion. The pile includes collections from Gaiman, Wolfe, Swanwick, Steele, the first of Strahan’s Eclipse anthologies, all the Malazan books up to and including Reaper’s Gale, two of Paul S. Kemp’s Erevis Cale novels, two Culture novels from Iain M. Banks, Peter David’s forthcoming Tigerheart, Jeff Somers’ Digital Plague, the second Marla Mason novel by T.A. Pratt, the final novel in the Star Wars New Jedi Order megaseries, and a forthcoming novel from Greg Bear (City at the End of Time) that looks very interesting. I’ve read some of Bear’s work and enjoyed it, this looks like a good opportunity to “catch up” with him. This whole paragraph isn’t a complaint by any means, just a rambling.

Lost and Battlestar Galactica both continue to make me wish their hour-long episodes didn’t end so quickly. Although Lost didn’t give us any concrete answers this past Thursday, it was enticing and answers seem closer to the horizon. I know the creators really enjoy Stephen King’s work and this week’s episode seemed to hold some thematic similarities with The Dark Tower. I also think BKV’s handiwork was evident in this episode. Battlestar had some more good Baltar stuff with Roslin becoming more of a hardass. Both shows don't clearly paint their heroes - Ben Linus started out as a villain and now he looks like he might be the hero. Roslin seems to be thrust more and more into the antagonist light.

**which only fuels the question – What if Harry met Hellboy? That would be a very cool multimedia crossover, wouldn't it?

Little Brother

I just finished Cory Doctorow's newest/forthcoming novel, Little Brother, earlier tonight, and it just might be the best book I've read this year. Granted it is only April, but the book was fabulous and very thought-provoking. I'll be posting a review of this when the pub date gets closer, but this book should be on everybody's reading list for this year. It is that good and that thought provoking, one of those books that makes you look at the world around you and question that same world.

Also, BSG tomorrow at 10PM. I'm excited.

Things You Probably Didn't Need To Know About Me

Things You Probably Didn't Need To Know About Me
Source: the source of all of my memes, the Hornswoggler, the great Antimucker!

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
Nothing, aside from the seats themselves.

2. When was the last time you threw up?
Probably about two years ago when I got really drunk on B&B, Jack Daniels, Rum, Beer and Vodka. I was stressed and decided I could drink all of the straight from the bottle.

3. What's your favorite curse word?
Fuck.

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today?
My wife, a co-worker, and probably the guy at Dunkin Donuts because he finally got my order correct.

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Pulling into the parking lot at work, which is last time I will have done that for this job. Today is my last day here; I start a new job on Monday.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Checking my work e-mail for the last time here.

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?
Probably saying goodbyes to people here who I like.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
Yes.

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?
“This fucking cell phone sucks!”

10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
Edy’s French Silk

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee.

12. What are you wearing right now?
Jeans, Green Polo Shirt.

13. What was the last thing you ate?
Bagel and cream cheese.

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
No, but I did get a free SoCo hat at the bar last night..

15. When was the last time you ran?
I can’t recall. If I need to get somewhere that fast, I’ll probably get in my car.

16. What's the last sporting event you watched?
NJ Devils game, as they beat the Maple Leafs. Damn Canadians and their improper plurals.

What happened to 17?
It doubled and became 34.

18. Who is the last person you emailed?
A colleague at SFFWorld asking him to look over a review I just finished writing.

19. Ever go camping?
No, I'm spoiled by the simple luxury of running water.

20. Do you have a tan?
No.

Ok, now what happened to 21, 22 & 23????
New Brunswick, New Brunswick/Linden, & Linden

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
I don’t drink soda.

25. What did your last IM say?
I haven’t IM’d in over five years, I couldn’t possibly say.

26. Are you someone's best friend?
Yes.

27. What are you doing tomorrow?
Writing, food shopping, and going to my Godson’s “Rock ‘n Roll” party.

28. Where is your mom right now?
At work dealing selling dental tools.

29. Look to your left, what do you see?
A shelf with engineering proposals.

30. What color is your watch?
Black Band white face with NJ Devils Log.

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Kangaroos.

32. Would you consider plastic surgery?
No.

33. What is your birthstone?
The most boring birthstone of them all; the Topaz.

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
Yes.

35.How many kids do you want?
Not sure.

36. Do you have a dog?
Not yet.

37. Last person you talked to on the phone?
My wife when my cell phone crapped out back in question #9..

38. Have you met anyone famous?
I’ve met a couple baseball players; however, the most famous person I probably met was Sebastian Bach former lead singer of Skid Row.

39. Any plans today?
Finish of my last day here at the “old job,” pick up some Guinness on the way home, eat pizza with Mrs. Blog ‘o Stuff and probably watch the NJ Devils game.

40. How many states have you lived in?
One

41. Ever go to college?
Just about every day for five years. (Rutgers University 1997)

42. Where are you right now?
My workstation/office/cubicle at work.

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
Bills.

44. Last song listened to?
Clenching the Fists of Dissent by Machinehead.

46. Are you allergic to anything?
I was allergic to mosquito bites when I was a wee lad, but I think I got over that. Nothing else, well except maybe stupid people.

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
My Godzilla Feet slippers.

48. Are you jealous of anyone?
Who isn’t?

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
The poor soul.

51. What time is it?
About that time.

52. Do any of your friends have children?
Just about all of them.

53. Do you eat healthy?
If I could eat steak every day I could, so no I don’t

54. What do you usually do during the day?
Work, write, eat sleep.

55. Do you hate anyone right now?
Not that I personally know.

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
Hello. There, I just did.

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
See question number 17.

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
We here in Jersey call it Great Adventure, but yes. At least once a year it seems, plus I had a season pass with some friends right after we were graduted from high school.

60. How did you get one of your scars?
I fell down some stairs when I was a wee lad, which explains the scar on my forehead. I tried to use a whip when I was a teenager and scarred my chin. (J/K)

RIP Gary Gygax

It has been many years since I've really played a good round of Dungeons & Dragons, aside from a recent attempt with my brother-in-law, but those rounds and adventures will always be a fond remembrance. Those rounds of dice rolling, character generation, and late night monster fighting helped to set me on my path to geekdom.

So it is with sadness that I mention the passing of Gary Gygax, the "father of the role-playing game."

SPOTLIGHT: Detective Wizards, Vampire Hunters, and Werewolves Oh My!

The wizard detective, the vampire hunter, the werewolf D.J, these are but three of the popular characters in one of increasingly popular subgenres of speculative fiction. Some call it supernatural fantasy, others urban horror, while others call it urban/dark fantasy. No matter what it is called, readers know what it is and have been gobbling up many of the titles over the past ten years or so as the this subgenre has exploded (yeah, next I’ll tell genre readers that the sun rises every day). Just check out this fairly extensive discussion at SFFWorld. For my part, I’ve read some of the authors but by no means have I read all of them, nor would I completely consider myself an expert on the subgenre. However, I am finding myself drawn to books of this ilk more strongly. Writers like Neil Gaiman, China Miéville, and Charles de Lint wander into this territory, but they are not exactly the authors to whom I’m referring. What follows is just a brief overview of some of the writers/series.

Laurell K. Hamilton
When and why has the subgenre proven so successful? The character and set of books that kickstarted this trend would arguably be Laurel K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. These books were able to catch on to the genre-reading public in no small part because of the success of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and perhaps more so, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV). Although the Anita Blake books may not have been the earliest in the latest trend, they have proven extremely popular. Vampires have always fascinated people and between Rice’s success in humanizing them and the strong, powerful female protagonist, Hamilton’s series is in retrospect a no brainer for success. Of the Anita Blake novels, I read the first four or five before being pulled away. Readers have criticized the later books for being little more than erotic fantasy with an overabundance of sex, but the early books are very good and are considered by some as a benchmark in this subgenre.

Jim Butcher
Another ingredient for the success of this subgenre probably has something to do with the presence of these creatures in the “modern/real” world and people possessing arcane abilities in modern society. Another highly popular example of this would be Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. Harry Dresden is the only practicing wizard listed in the Chicago yellow pages and as such, he is on retainer to the Chicago PD’s Special Investigations division. Cases involving werewolves, vampires, ghosts and other things that go bump in the night are his purvey and when the Police can’t wrap their heads around such a case, they call in Harry. I’ve only read three of these books but they could turn out to be a favorite series if the books continue to entertain me in the same fashion. The series is in the double digits with little sign of slowing down, so the good part is that there are plenty of books for me to read. The world Butcher has created for this milieu is incredibly detailed, and very well thought-out. He’s got the White Council, which is the governing body of the practice of magic, several Vampire Clans, a faerie world (Nevernever) two which Harry travels. A sure sign of the success of this series is that it started out in Mass Market Paperback and with the 5th or 6th book, jumped into Hardcover for the initial release of each book.

A short-lived series on the SciFi channel might have helped to raise the awareness of this already popular series (the first book, Storm Front, is probably in its 20th printing by now), but got the Axe. After a slow start, the series really gained momentum but the ratings apparently weren’t to SciFi’s liking, despite being somewhat comparable to those of Eureka and the abysmal Flash Gordon.
SFFWorld’s Hobbit reviewed many of the books in the series, beware spoilers though: (1) Storm Front (2) Fool Moon (3) Grave Peril (4) Summer Knight (5) Death Masks (6) Blood Rites

Glen Cook
Before Anita Blake and Jim Butcher; however, Glen Cook was writing a little series about Garrett (Glen Cook Wiki entry), a Private Investigator in a “Fantasyland” called TunFaire. I personally haven’t read the books, but one member of the SFFWorld forums whose opinion I can trust (KatG) consistently recommends this series. From what I’ve gathered, the series functions very much like a hard-boiled detective story with goblins, orcs, and wizards thrown in the mix. Based on my enjoyment of Cook’s Dread Empire and Black Company, I’ve really got to check out these books, of which there are already 11 books.

Carrie Vaughn
A werewolf in modern times should be able to fit in, shouldn’t she, especially if wizards and vampires can? Well, Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville is doing her best as a radio talk show host in the series that bears her name. The first book, Kitty and the Midnight Hour published in 2005 to some positive reviews, including my own review. The fourth book is out this year and the Science Fiction Book Club put the first three books under one cover in one of their popular omnibus editions. The subsequent books seem to follow the trend of pleasing readers.


Liz Williams
Liz Williams has a very strong series going with her Detective Inspector Chen novels. At least based on the first novel, the series seems to be working with a buddy-cop/police procedural template whilst mixing elements of magic and Chinese/Asian mythology. Night Shade Books is publishing this series, which is helping to make their already impressive list of authors even more impressive. Also, the first book Snake Agent was one of the launch titles for Night Shade’s Mass Market Paperback line. This is a very promising series as I said in my recent review of Snake Agent.


Tim Pratt
Tim Pratt (writing as T.A. Pratt) is two books into his Marla Mason series. I’ve only read a short story from that world, but what I saw I liked. The short story had a very Lovecraftian feel to it and I’ve got the first book, Blood Engines, on my To Buy pile. Here’s a nice review from Robert over at FantasyBookCritic.


Kim Harrison
Kim Harrison is another popular writer who seems to churn out a new book every year in her Rachel Morgan/The Hollows series. On the surface, the series blends elements of post-apocalyptic fiction with the “wizard detective,” or in this case, the “witch detective.” Morgan is similar to Harry in that she is an adjunct of sorts to the local law enforcement. I think the post-apocalyptic elements to this series sound interesting so I will eventually check out the books. My friend’s wife really digs this series, so I may just have to borrow the first book. Here is a recent discussion at SFFWorld.


Other authors worth mentioning include:
Kelley Armstrong – Women of Otherworld
Rachel Caine – Weather Warderns & Morganvilee Vampires
Simon Green – Nightside
Justin Gustainis – Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigation
Charlaine Harris – Sookie Stackhouse
Charlie Huston – Joe Pitt Casefiles (My review of Already Dead)
C.E. Murphy – The Walker Papers
Rob Thurman – series begun with Nightlife

Wikipedia helped me sort out a couple of things with this little article as did the folks in the SFFWorld forums, including the participants in the Supernatural Fantasy: Ghosts, Vampires, Werefolk and Wizards tread.

I was asked by John DeNardo, of SF Signal, to participate in one of their regular MIND MELD roundtable discussions. The subject for this go-round was Which SciFi Movie Ending Would You Change? As the introduction to the article states, I’m a “luminary.” Cool! I’ve been popping onto SF Signal on a daily basis for a while now as there is always something interesting in their great coverage of the genre.

Thanks to John and the folks at SF Signal for letting me join in the fun. My response is the last of the group, the title of the movie I chose lies hidden within this post. Well, sort of.

Me, a luminary!

Just in time for Hallowe’en, I posted my review of the H.P. Lovecraft collection, The Horror in the Museum. Well, the stories are re-writes/ghost-writes/co-written by Lovecraft, but most were still pretty damned good. As I say in my review, my only other foray into Lovecraft’s writing was Black Seas of Infinity, which I thought was a superb collection edited by Andrew Wheeler.

The Yankees named Joe Girardi their new manager today after the unsurprising firing/non-acceptance of contract by Joe Torre. As much as Don Mattingly was my favorite player, I think Girardi is the right choice as manager. I liked him as a player and probably more as an announcer on YES. Granted, the way Joe Torre was not brought back was sloppy, I think Girardi is a step in the right direction. The best news out of Yankee-land is Alex Rodriguez opting out of his contract.

Somehow the fact that a film version of Stephen King’s The Mist is coming out in November slipped by me. I liked the story a lot when I first read it years ago. Even more so, I enjoyed the Cool Audio version of the story released more than a decade ago. On the good side, Frank Darabont wrote and directed it, who also had a hand in The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption. On the other, Thomas Jane (who I thought was great as Mickey Mantle in 61*) was also in the King clunker, Dreamcatcher.

The more I watch Reaper, the bigger my crush grows on Missy Peregrym. I like the show and make sure I see it every week, it reminds me a little bit of Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters is one of my favorite, most quotable, and most quoted movies.

Review, stuff

I posted my review of Hurricane Moon by Alexis Glynn Latner the other day, but since sffworld.com was a little wonky yesterday, I couldn't retrieve the review to mention here. It was an interesting book, but didn't completely work for me.

Rutgers seems back on track after taking down the #2 team last Thursday. On one hand this is great, on the other this tells me they "should" be undefeated. Their two losses were to teams that were not of the same caliber as USF. Granted, Cincinatti is doing some pretty good things, butstill frustrating nonetheless.

The more commercials I see for Beowulf, the more I want to see it. What I do find ironic is that the script for the movie is written by Neil Gaiman and that Todd McFarlane Toys has the license to do the "officially licensed" action figures from the movie.

I have to say, one of the cool things about doing these book reviews is getting early looks at some forthcoming books. Case in point, I received a nice big fat ARC from Del Rey of Peter F. Hamilton's next Epic Space Opera, The Dreaming Void. Another, equally cool, perk is receiving the same e-mail from Simon Spanton Pat did, with the synopsis of Richard K. Morgan's foray into Epic Fantasy, The Steel Remains.

MEME: Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time

MEME: Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time
(gacked from SFSignal)

Below is Snarkerati's list of Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time. A great topic for a meme!
You know the drill...copy the list and BOLD the movies you have seen. Post yours in the comments, or on your own blog (a link back here would be appreciated!)

1. Metropolis (1927)
2. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
3. Brazil (1985)
4. Wings of Desire (1987)
5. Blade Runner (1982)
6. Children of Men (2006)
7. The Matrix (1999)
8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
9. Minority Report (2002)
10. Delicatessen (1991)
11. Sleeper (1973)
12. The Trial (1962)
13. Alphaville (1965)
14. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
15. Serenity (2005)
16. Pleasantville (1998)
17. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
18. Battle Royale (2000)
19. RoboCop (1987)
20. Akira (1988)
21. The City of Lost Children (1995)
22. Planet of the Apes (1968)
23. V for Vendetta (2005)
24. Metropolis (2001)
25. Gattaca (1997)
26. Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
27. On The Beach (1959)
28. Mad Max (1979)
29. Total Recall (1990)
30. Dark City (1998)
31. War Of the Worlds (1953)
32. District 13 (2004)
33. They Live (1988)
34. THX 1138 (1971)
35. Escape from New York (1981)
36. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
37. Silent Running (1972)
38. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
39. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
40. A Boy and His Dog (1975)
41. Soylent Green (1973)
42. I Robot (2004)
43. Logan's Run (1976)
44. Strange Days (1995)
45. Idiocracy (2006)
46. Death Race 2000 (1975)
47. Rollerball (1975)
48. Starship Troopers (1997)
49. One Point O (2004)
50. Equilibrium (2002)

More than half. Not bad, I guess.

Fire and Blood

Knacked from the Hornswoggler & Aidan. I can live with that, though I thought I would be a Stark.

Your Score: House Targaryen

63% Dominant, 63% Extroverted, 63% Trustworthy

Ancient. Noble. Passionate to the point of insanity. Transcending lesser beings, you are of House Targaryen.

You are a dominant personality—in fact, you are the most dominant of all eight house types. You will not suffer yourself to be ignored. You will not suffer yourself to be ruled. The phrase "I will not suffer myself to _____!" was practically made for you. You are willful, arrogant, and exceedingly dangerous to screw with. With a temper like yours, anyone stupid enough to saunter into your line of fire won’t soon forget their mistake.

You are also extroverted, which means that everyone in the world knows exactly what your intentions are. Unlike your cohorts (who hide behind smiles and courtesies and court politics), you think of it as your birthright to come riding in on an enormous dragon, breathing fire and fucking your siblings. Hey, what you lack in subtlty, you make up in style!

Finally, you are trustworthy. Your absurd amounts of power and borderline psychosis are not used unjustly. Unlike many, your general aims are just and true. You we bred for rule, and the fact that you cannot rest until you are doing so is not your fault. If you make up your mind, it becomes reality. Never one for empty threats or vainglorious lies, you can only speak the truth. And the truth is "fire and blood."

Representative characters include: Daenerys Stormborn, Rhaegar Targaryen, and Viserys Targaryen

Similar Houses: Baratheon, Lannister,and Tully

Opposite House: Frey

When playing the game of thrones, you play it to the death.

Link: The Song of Ice and Fire House Test written by Geeky_Stripper on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test