Big Dumb Object

Another Awesome Robot T-Shirt

2012-02-08T07:09:05Z

Hello big robot.

StarShipSofa Online Writers Workshop

2012-02-03T23:22:16Z

StarShipSofa are hosting an Online Writers Workshop featuring Ann VanderMeer, Nancy Kress and Peter Watts.

The topics covered will be:

Unlocking Your Creativity by Ann VanderMeer
Why Science Fiction is Too Important To Be Left to the Scientists by Peter Watts
Creating and Maintaining Tension by Nancy Kress

Go here to get more details a tickets.

New Model Army - Adam Roberts

2012-01-31T07:09:44Z

New Model Army by Adam Roberts starts with a great idea at its core: what would happen if a fully democratic fighting force, enabled by modern technology, took on the regular British Army? The new fighting forces are called New Model Armies, they use wikis and continuous comms, they have no hierarchy, they vote democratically on everything, including tactics, and always follow the majority. They're not guerrillas as such, but at a moments notice they evaporate to nowhere. And they're contracted by the Scottish government to force what turns into the War Of Succession.

The story follows a single character, who tells the story from their perspective in the past tense, through battles and loses and victories.

The ideas are intriguing. The reaction of the British Army is disbelief and they try and discredit the enemy as terrorists. The point made by the NMAs is that they are truly democratic, they don't put a cross on a piece of paper every four years and pass their decisions to a representative, everyone takes part, there are proposals and counter proposals for everything, things are decided and the majority is followed. Often when the idea of everyone voting on an issue is discussed in the real world current politicians dismiss it as unworkable. You can see their reluctance to even have a referendum on big issues. The attitude is "we're in, we won, see you in 4/5 years". It's about power not democracy. This novel felt like a rallying call against the status quo. With of course a look at the drawbacks. Later in the novel the main character confronts an American soldier and tries to goad him, the only point that succeeds is about what real democracy is. Which is the point. The American is fighting for democracy, yet the enemy is more democratic than him.

The middle section of the novel becomes more personal, following the lead character as he returns to an old lover. This section does personalise the story, adding some background to the main character's life, however I was itching to return to the big ideas.

Well, I got what I was wishing for, because finally the novel, as is said in SF parlance, "goes off on one". Which I feel slightly contradicted about. On one hand I love it when a story has the guts to go crazy, take the big idea and go bigger than anyone expected, to go a bit abstract and bonkers. On the other hand I wanted a more concrete resolution to the novel, with more of the blanks filled in and maybe a bit of the aftermath, it felt like the start of something, not the finish. On balance though I think I come down on the "glad it went bonkers" side.

The story also wins point from me for setting the main part of the tale in Southern England, where I now live. Purely personal, but sometimes it's nice when a location you know gets turned into a war zone. I'm pretty sure that anyone who has had the joy of interacting with the twosn of Basingstoke or Reading will probably enjoy those scenes too.

All in all a truly thought provoking Science Fiction novel with big, big ideas and moments that made me want to jump up and scream for the revolution.

Week Notes 22nd Jan 2012

2012-01-22T18:59:27Z

This week in Big Dumb Object land:

Reading New Model Army by Adam Roberts, so far, loving it.
Watching some more Fringe. Still in season three, and it continuous to be impressive.
Still thinking about how great Sherlock was.
Watching the last ever series of Hustle ;-(

TODO list:

Watch Alcatraz

The Islanders - Christopher Priest

2012-01-17T07:25:29Z

The Islanders by Christopher Priest pretends to be a guide to the islands in The Dream Archipelago. A travel guide for would-be explorers of the thousands of islands which band the world of the story. Of course, this being Christopher Priest, nothing is quite what it seems. There's an introduction from a (as then) unknown writer and then the first few guide entries are functional descriptions of the islands: geography, climate, currency and confusingly the multiple names for the island depending on the local patois. So far, so intriguing.

The entries progress to different types, not just the quick functional entries but other kinds of stories. There are first person accounts, letters, third person accounts. As the entries progress a common history and story of the islands emerges. Certain characters reappear, their stories told from different perspectives, often with contradicting facts. Sometimes I read an entry and then doubted my memory as something seemed to be wrong. If it was any other writer you might assume that it was an error, but with Priest you can be sure it's intentional, seeding doubt and adding differing sides to every tale.

The writing varies with the style of the entry, from the functional descriptions to some wonderful poetic descriptions of the islands and the characters feelings. Sometimes it felt like dancing, quick, quick, slow.

There are a lot of themes, they swirl around, in and out. The two that stand though are love and art, with several stories of romantic entanglements and love lost, stories of people searching for who they want to be, of art and the sacrifices for it, of the circumstances that created great art, often sad. There's a lot to think about, it's not plot driven, but there are plots within the stories and a greater arc for each of the characters. You could describe the novel as a collection of short stories, but if so you'd have to qualify it as highly interconnected stories that form a greater whole and you still wouldn't really be giving a true picture. It's more than a collection, it is a novel, because all the parts build on each other, clarifying (or confusing) the picture, creating something more.

The novel is also knowing and self-referential. There's a point where an artists novels are described, and that one of them was not successful because it doesn't have a traditional plot. There's a mention of Priests own novel The Affirmation, said to be written by one of the characters. Not done in an irritating manner, but instead leaving me to wonder what else I'd missed, and what other layers there were to be peeled back.

If you've enjoyed Christopher Priest's other books you will definitely enjoy The Islanders. If you're after a straight-ahead-thriller, this isn't it, but if you want an intoxicating, slowly revealed puzzle of a novel, with true heart and soul, you'll like it. I liked it a lot.

Arctic Rising - Tobias Buckell

2012-01-10T08:10:43Z

With his new novel Arctic Rising, Tobias Buckell may well just have invented a new sub-genre : near-future optimistic global warming thriller.

Set in the Arctic after the ice-caps have melted, Arctic Rising is fast moving and styled as a thriller, one incident leads to another and another, things escalate, we're swept along with the heroine as her world changes. The first half of the novel especially succeeds in this regard, with short sharp chapters and threat and an enigma. The second half of the novel changes somewhat, the focus panning out from the personal challenges in the story to encompass global aspects. The novel climaxes with a set of sequences that brought to my mind James Bond films, not ridiculous but expansive and explosive. On the surface this second half worked for me as a thriller, I can easily envisage a film adaptation, fast paced, panoramic, visually explosive, however I found myself wanting some more poetry within the prose, maybe a pause to revel in the majesty of the Arctic and what was happening. But that's a personal preference for how I like my novels, anyone who is distracted by descriptive discursions and wants instead a taut thriller will more than likely dismiss my criticism.

The optimism comes from imagining how the Arctic would exist once the ice caps had melted, and for that region the world envisaged is a positive one: shipping lanes are open, trade thrives, natural resources are easier to get to, the economies of North Canada and Greenland boom. For that region there is no downside. The effect on the rest of the world is mentioned, somewhat in passing, with regard to another main character who used to live in the Caribbean but who's home island is submerged due to rising sea levels. Sad, yes, but because the focus is, enjoyably, on the booming Arctic when the plot depends on us understanding the downsides of the melting ice-caps and the emotions characters feel with regard to that, I was not convinced. The intensity and anger at global warming displayed by some of the characters felt unreasonable to me, given the upsides created in the Arctic region. Maybe that's just me revealing my adapt-to-survive tendencies? The native Caribbean character does however continue with Tobias Buckell's tradition of creating enjoyable dread-locked action heroes who you'd want on your side of a fight.

So in the end, Arctic Rising is a modern Science Fiction thriller, aimed, intentionally or not, at a modern thriller reading market. I enjoyed it, but my disappointment was that I didn't get to linger longer within the creation of a thriving Arctic region, the intricacies and the wonders within it.

Current BSFA Nominations - One Week Left

2012-01-07T22:28:26Z

The current nominations for the BSFA Awards are online. Take a peek and nominate anything you like that's not on it.

I have a story you could nominate if you like it: Trails which was published at Daily Science Fiction.

Most Wanted: 2012 Edition

2012-01-03T22:12:52Z

Things that I currently most want in 2012:

Duncan Jones' SF film Mute. Or the other SF film he was planning to make, either will do.
The Dark Knight Rises. More Nolan magic please.
Intrusion by Ken MacLeod. I wasn't keen his last novels but before that there's been some moments of brilliance, so anything new I'm looking forward to.
Alcatraz. A new TV series with JJ Abrams name attached to it? Yes please. Plus Jorge Garcia. Bizzarely it will be shown by Watch in the UK, a channel which no one watches.
More Fringe. I might even make it to season four soon.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T06:23:50Z

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a happy new year and that it brings you love and peace and happiness.

A Review Of 2011

2011-12-27T17:13:40Z

The Dumbies may be dead but from their ashes rise the ZUI Review.

Slightly impractical but wondrously cool may I present my yearly review in full-on Zoomamation.

If all you see is a big list and you're wondering what the fuss is about, get a new browser.

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:22:07Z

Happy Christmas to everyone.

I hope you have a lovely day and that Father Christmas brings you everything you wished for.

The Dumbies Are Dead

2011-12-23T07:01:55Z

Usually around Christmas I do a yearly review disguised as an award ceremony, The Dumbies. The Dumbies started as a joke and managed six years. However I'm now bored of the joke and cut-and-pasting the same text and hence they will be retired, to be replaced with a standard yearly review. Probably.

The Dumbies are dead.

Most Wanted : Christmas Edition

2011-12-21T20:12:36Z

Things I most want right now:

The Doctor Who Christmas special
Father Christmas to bring me some books
A holiday to watch loads of episodes of Fringe (yes, still catching up)
A holiday with lots of time to read some books
A happy Christmas for all my friends and family
Goodwill and peace on Earth

Origin Of A Superhero

2011-12-12T07:12:17Z

How I Broke Through Writer's Block (This Time)

2011-11-29T08:27:07Z

I've had a bad year for writing. Well, that's me exposing the insecure writer immediately, it's more accurate to say that I've had an unproductive year. Well, once again how do you measure these things? I've had an uproductive year if you measure productivity by the number of stories completed.

It's felt at times as if I've slipped right back to the start. Actually step two in the writer's life, which seems to me to go like this:

Start writing. Oblivious to how crap you are. Writing comes easy due to low quality control. Churn out tonnes of rubbish.
Learn more about the art and craft of writing, realise you know nothing and that you were writing crap all along. Paralysed by doubt. Constant thoughts of how you will never write a novel as good as your favourite author.
Realise that you have to forget all of that and write the best thing you can and keep writing. Remember all that stuff about just writing a draft and finishing which seemed silly at step 1 because it was all so easy. Aware that there's always something new to learn but strive for continuous improvement whilst finishing stuff.
Forget everything in step 3 and go back to step 2.

Parallel to this is the selling stories bit:

Get rejections and rejections and rejections.
Sell first story to small webzine, ecstatic. Think that this is the start of something.
Get rejections and rejections and rejections.
Sell a story to a slightly bigger webzine.
Get rejections and rejections and rejections.
Sell first professional rate story
Get rejections and rejections and rejections.
....presumably carry on ad infinitum until you get a million pound book deal.

So anyway, this year I've been in step 2 of the writing cycle and step 7 of the selling cycle (which is more like an inifinite line than a circle/cycle). To say I haven't learnt anything is of course nonsense, I'm always learning, this year explicitly as I read: Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway and even did the exercises; Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell; The Art Of War For Writers by James Scott Bell and a few books on talent and getting good and practicing. Unfortunately the initial effect of reading these books were to grind my writing (and SF reading) to a halt as I looked at my stories and saw their faults. I must have spent several months trying to rewrite a story I wrote a few years ago. Still haven't succeeded. I set myself a deadline of submitting to an anthology (Ian Sale's Rocket Science) and struggled for ideas. I thought maybe I'd pull a story out of nowhere as the deadline approached because I'd done this previously. Nothing came. Well, some ideas came but they were distant from Hard SF so I rejected them and now lie unloved in my notebook: four different starts to a story about the Moon/Mars. The deadline passed. I felt a failure.

Then the looming monster of NaNoWriMo, which I publicly rejected, but decided to write four short stories instead. Surprisingly the first one came out in a pleasurable canter. What I decided to do was to return to the universe of an unfinished novel and write stories to help me explain it. Previously I may have been tempted to hoard the ideas, dole them out slowly, not "waste" them on a short story, but I decided to go for it, threw everything into it and wrote. I like the output (now) but more importantly it got me writing.

I know that more ideas come to me whilst I'm writing. I really do know that. But if you break the habit it's hard to get started again. One pleasurable story in and something changes and everything seems okay again. Which is just weird. I never finished the other three stories, the second one is still in progress, rolling on at a few hundred words a day, written in the early morning darkness of a winter, stretching past 5000 words and baggy as a baggy thing. But I'm enjoying writing it and I'm confident that I can edit it into something cool. Probably. Until the doubts creep in again.

I can only assume that all this never changes?