Grasping for the Wind

A Day in the Life of a Literature Professor, or Why I Do What I Do

John Ottinger III — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:52:30 +0000

Rima Abunasser blogs at Jeff Vandermeer’s Ecstatic Days about how one can love literature but not feel compelled to be a writer of fiction. If you are like me and love literature but don’t feel compelled to write it, then this post is for you.

Several years ago, right after I earned my Ph.D., a friend rather bluntly told me that the only reason people became literature professors was because they had failed at being creative writers. I remember shooting back with something along the lines of, “Not all academics want to be creative writers.” Of course, my friend summarily discounted that statement with, “Yes, they do. If they haven’t tried writing, it’s because they know they’ll probably fail, and they’re cowards.”

I’ve had this exchange, or versions of it, often enough to merit giving it serious thought. Since graduate school, I have surrounded myself with writers, many of whom are now my dearest friends (and one of whom is my husband), and they are a boisterous, savvy, messed up, cuh-razy, brilliant, ignorant, frustrating, stupid, arrogant, elitist, humble, generous, kind, and downright weird group. I can’t imagine feeling closer to or happier with any other type of people. But you know what else I can’t imagine? Being a creative writer. Never. Nuh-uh. No frakkin’ way. Going for a swim in an active volcano? Maybe. Writing a novel? Thank you, but . . . no.

Read the rest.

Book Review: Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

John Ottinger III — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:23:51 +0000

# Genre: Comic Fantasy, Fantasy, Satire
# Hardcover: 400 pages
# Publisher: Harper
# Publication Date: October 6, 2009
# ISBN-10: 0061161705
# ISBN-13: 978-0061161704
# Author Website: Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett continues his pattern of taking something from the real world, twisting it to fit in the Discworld universe, and adding bits of wry British humor in Unseen Academicals.

This time, the subject in question is football (soccer to Americans). In this case, Ponder Stibbons, the only responsible academic at Unseen University (though even that is debatable) discovers that the faculty, in order to keep a certain flow of cash coming from a bequest, must compete in a football game every year. If they do not for a tem longer than twenty years, they lose the bequest. Of course, it has now been twenty years since Unseen University fielded a team, and the game of football has devolved into a mix of ultimate fighting and cricket that only the lower class play.

Meanwhile, in the night kitchen of Unseen University, a foursome of individuals (an intelligent goblin, the son of a successful football player, a gorgeous maid, and a rotund cook) find themselves caught up in the worlds of fashion and football to hilarious results.

The story primarily focuses on the goblin and his need to fit in. This is a theme that Pratchett visits often in his Discworld novel. The idea of race, community, and human nature is a predominant theme in his work. It is no different here. Nutt the goblin must make his mark in the world as the first goblin to live in Anhk-Morpork, just as the dwarves and trolls before him.

Though there are many laughs to be found in this novel, it does not quite live up to the standard set in previous novels by Pratchett. Though there is certainly a lot of clever wordplay, many of the jokes seem like they are one-offs, here and gone again, where previously Pratchett could be relied upon to have a strange connection between all his humor that made the story flow all the more smoothly.

Unseen Academicals is a bit choppier than usual. As Len Goodman of Dancing with the Stars might say, it lacked “elegance and grace”. Bits and pieces of the dance of words were wonderful to behold, but the entire work just didn’t have “star quality”. Sure, it was funny, sure it was Pratchett all the way in theme and structure, but the story just lacked cohesiveness. There are really three separate stories here that come together okay at the end, but don’t have quite the sizzle one expects in a Pratchett climax.

I do think this is a fun novel, and Discworld fans will of course buy it in droves, but new readers to Discworld should know that this is not Pratchett at his best. Read Men at Arms or Small Gods to get a sense of how great Pratchett can be. Still, I wouldn’t avoid the novel, and to be sure many less critical readers (this is not a judgment, merely an observation) will enjoy the slapstick comedy, clever wordplay, satirical discussion of many of the elements of football and organized sports. I do recommend Unseen Academicals as a good read when you need a pick me up.

The Week in Tweets 2009-11-07

John Ottinger III — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:15:00 +0000

The Week in Tweets 2009-10-31 #sf #fantasy http://bit.ly/2vSx6V #
@JohnAnealio @delrey finished death troopers and was mostly pleased with the result – review to come in reply to JohnAnealio #
New Print Magazine “Survival by Storytelling” Launches #sf #fantasy http://bit.ly/nZlqW #
Currently reading on mental_floss: The Mathematical Pi Song http://tinyurl.com/yevbadk #
Movie: Assassin’s Creed Lineage Part 1 #sf #fantasy http://bit.ly/cWJoe #
@MentatJack thats my next read, is it good? in reply to MentatJack #
Joel Shepherd on the Political System in Sasha #sf #fantasy http://bit.ly/3XQlZE #
why did I wake up at 4:30 AM on a Sunday? I even have an extra hour from DST and still I woke early? Weird. #
Currently reading on mental_floss: How Superman Defeated the Ku Klux Klan http://tinyurl.com/y8cepmz #
RT @Kate_Baker: New @Clarkesworld Magazine November issue! http://trunc.it/2yai7 featuring @catrambo & Jason K. Chapman & more. #
2009 World Fantasy Award Winners #sf #fantasy http://bit.ly/4Dlbo2 #
Book Review: Don’t Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker’s Guide the Galaxy by Neil Gaiman #sf #fantasy http://bit.ly/2YxA6r #
"Minimalists don't make good collectors" ( http://bit.ly/3hPlVN ) #
Excerpt: Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero by Dan Abnett (1) #sf #fantasy http://bit.ly/J3Asy #
XKCD: Movie Narrative Charts #sf #fantasy http://bit.ly/1KuKLr #
Free Fiction: Laurell K. Hamilton, Elizabeth Moon, Robert E. Howard #sf #fantasy http://bit.ly/NMbt8 #
Inside the Blogosphere: Best Book Endings in the Genre – http://shar.es/axM9o #
Expendibility: http://bit.ly/3sQd8Q #
@dsawyer effect an escape in reply to dsawyer #
Currently watching on mental_floss: Mini HoverDrone http://tinyurl.com/yc8lwn3 #
@SFSignal: 77 Free Speculative Fiction Stories by 38 Authors" ( http://bit.ly/2s8WeL ) #
RT @harrymarkov: RT @mattstaggs Use Finch icon today (http://is.gd/4M49l) & reply to @mattstaggs = chance to win signed copy of FINCH! #
anybody remember in which book Rand attempted to raise the dead? #
thenx 4 the RTs! @DayaPillai @JohnAnealio @daj42 @Twaverse @TArkenberg @charlesatan @markchitty @fabiofernandes @harrymarkov @J_Oliver #
thanx for the RTs! @nextread @DayaPillai @layersofthought @nethspace @shaunduke @LizDanforth @atfmb @IROSF @jesshartley #
anyone remember in which book Rand al'Thor attempted to raise the dead? #wheeloftime @dragonmount #
@aworkingtitle thx in reply to aworkingtitle #
@mikecane not all are famous, but most are. in reply to mikecane #
@dragonmount Faster pace, superb characterization and action-packed, emotional climaxes make for powerful read.#TGS in reply to dragonmount #
@dragonmount thnx. in reply to dragonmount #
RT @johnottinger Interviews – Grasping for the Wind http://bit.ly/1vmSOf #
I just found out that my dog (only 2 years old) has to have surgery. I'm an emotional wreck and we can't afford it. Life BITES. #
@Pyris not really. I'm borrowing some cash from my parents to pay for the surgery. I just hope she comes through ok in reply to Pyris #
thanx for the RTs @torbooks @BookobsessedGrl @books_express @42SFF @susiebj #
Darra (my dog) just went into surgery. I should hear how she is doing in a couple of hours. #
no word yet on how the puppy is doing – but I did hear about a potential job coming my way, so at least today wasn't a total bummer #
@shaunduke thanx, no rush. in reply to shaunduke #
Darra has come through the surgery okay – won't know how she is doing neurologically till tomorrow, but the prognosis is good. #
RT @dragonmount: It's on, @BrandonSandrson … http://bit.ly/NgMMD #
RT @sfsignal: RT @tordotcom: The Duel, part 1: Help Jason Denzel Defeat Brandon Sanderson at Magic: The Gathering http://cli.gs/TPpru #
@Paulskemp sorry to hear that about yours. Thanks for the commiserations, and you have mine. in reply to Paulskemp #
RT @charlesatan: DIY: A Portable Digital Map for Tabletop Role Playing http://bit.ly/4AmXmP #
Darra (my dog) is doing well. The vet says she is probably going to walk today. I get to pick her up tomorrow most likely. #
@Riesetheseries My review of "Hunt" http://bit.ly/5Ncsj #
@shaunduke I'm in! in reply to shaunduke #
Interested in finding someone who would like to do regular link list posts at Grasping for the Wind. #
RT @WilliamShatner: If you missed me last night on the Tonight show catch me on the show again TONIGHT. Check local listings. My best, Bill #
My prayers are with the families at of the victims as Ft. Hood. #
@shaunduke: that is the beauty of it! #
@shaunduke joking. I have no talent for fiction, sadly. in reply to shaunduke #
"The Wertzone: Belfast Report 02" ( http://bit.ly/3423P1 ) #
@mikecane vet said she was doing well and could likely come home tomorrow afternoon in reply to mikecane #
job interview by telephone tomorrow. I hope all goes well. It is a teaching job for science. #
just went and saw Surrogates in the movie theater. Was not impressed. #
what determines where authors appear when on tour? #
Airship Greets a Time-Traveling Mayflower in New York Harbor [Alternate History] http://ff.im/b4YjY #
Wanna Buy Gareth Powell's 'The Last Reef'? Name Your Price! http://ff.im/b5045 #
Lego http://ff.im/b50GW #
RT @arrroberts: I have a Neil Armstrong front door. One small step. #
alien smiley ::-) #
RT @Pyr_Books: 2moro is National Bookstore Day! Support ur local indie bookstore! Full list of stores here: http://tinyurl.com/yl2vpqe #
RT @johnottinger Advertise – Grasping for the Wind http://bit.ly/2t7evU #
Darra is home! She looks terrible (pics to follow on the blog) and walks like she is drunk, but at least she is home! #
Book Review: Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch http://bit.ly/3HGrMZ #
@Pyris thanx in reply to Pyris #
"Day in the Life of an Author" ( http://bit.ly/250iil ) This is hilarious – and so like my days during unemployment. #
"The finances of freelancing: some gritty systems details for the geeky at Tobias Buckell Online" ( http://bit.ly/rx4mE ) #
Check out this SlideShare Presentation : Publishing 2.0. What Would Apple Do? http://slidesha.re/2WCdYV #
#ff @martyhalpern @Pyris @BlueTyson @katiebabs @Nnedi @monstersyfyshow @charlesatan @FantasyDreamer @ComicBookdotcom @NghtstndReviews #
@J_Oliver it isn't rubbish, but this years awards show a defnitive bent. The books that won are awesome, but they do reflect a preference in reply to J_Oliver #
@J_Oliver no I agree with you, thre is not epic that should have won this year, but I don't like ther being only one type winning in reply to J_Oliver #
@J_Oliver world fantasy should reflect the "world" part more I think. I want to read all the books that won. they sound great, but aren' in reply to J_Oliver #
@J_Oliver aren't braod. Still good fiction is good fiction in my world, so if these are considered the best, then so be it. in reply to J_Oliver #
@J_Oliver i like gaiman, but you are probablty right. it won becasue he now wins everything – he is goldenboy in reply to J_Oliver #
@J_Oliver sad. will still read most likely. in reply to J_Oliver #
@J_Oliver in reply to J_Oliver #

Darra Returns!

John Ottinger III — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:43:47 +0000

So my puppy is home. She looks terrible and walks like she is drunk, but the doctor is very positive and as long as Darra takes her meds, she should be okay. She won’t be fully up to snuff for three months, but she is already much happier.

Images below the fold. FYI: They are not pretty so weak stomachs should stop reading here (my wife can’t look at her either). For those, here is a cute picture of her, telling you she only puts up with you for the food.

Here she is all shaved.

This is what her back looks like. She will get the stitches out in two weeks. (No bath till then. Ewwww.)

We are just so glad she is home.

Book Review: Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

John Ottinger III — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:23:34 +0000

# Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure
# Paperback: 375 pages
# Publisher: Pyr
# Publication Date: November 24, 2009
# ISBN-10: 1591027861
# ISBN-13: 978-1591027867
# Author Website: Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The adventure-filled story of Diving into the Wreck was first introduced to readers with a novella (of the same name) in the August 2005 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. That original novella (expanded and updated) serves as the first of the three part story of Boss, a female historian and diver who uses her ship Nobody’s Business to find and explore wrecked spaceships five thousand years into humanity’s future.

The novel is, in essence, a science fiction version of the tales of the scientists and divers who explore the world’s oceans, looking not for treasure only, but also a better sense of history. But as with our modern day explorers, the discoveries can lead in unexpected directions.

In the first part of the novel, (which is primarily the original novella) Boss discovers an ancient ship from Old Earth that by all science should not be in her sector of space, it being too far for these old military vessels to travel in the days before faster-than-light. Yet, somehow, this vessel is there and it exists. Assembling a team of divers, Boss leads them to dive the wreck, where they discover an ancient and lethal technology from Old Earth. As the section closes, Boss has learned a painful lesson about herself, and has given up wreck-diving completely.

The latter two sections of this novel conclude the open-ended (in terms of characterization) story from the original novella. Though Boss had left wreck-diving, she is soon embroiled in it again when she is asked to enter The Room of Lost Souls, a mysterious room aboard and abandoned space station where people have disappeared over many years. The Room serves as a Bermuda Triangle of that sector of space. Boss takes up the challenge, but finds herself pitted against the power and might of the space empire that rules her sector of space. Even so, she wrestles with her own demons, having once encountered the Room before as a young girl, and barely surviving the experience.

Author Kristine Kathryn Rusch has been publishing and editing for years. She has won many awards, including two Hugo’s and a World Fantasy Award. She is a skilled writer who draws the reader in with seemingly no effort. Diving into the Wreck is a flawless adventure, being both extremely exciting in plot and populated with interesting characters. At its center lies Boss, through whose perspective the entire story is told. The use if first person keeps the story intimate for the reader and also allows Rusch to keep her writing tight and clean, with no superfluous flourishes.

When the opportunity arises to create a love story between Boss and another diver, Rusch chooses not to, but yet still forges an intimate connection between them that provides another, powerful layer of motivation for Boss’s actions. Rusch sees humans as more than sexual beings, and does not have to resort to including sex to create a vibrant tale of danger and suspense. By doing this, Rusch connects readers with Boss at a much deeper level than mere physicality, ultimately creating a much more intense and powerful understanding of the character.

Like the protagonist, the novel is no-nonsense, eventful, occasionally mysterious narrative that contains all the best dialogue of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, the adventure of an Indiana Jones movie, and the philosophical and scientific chops of Issac Asimov himself. In many ways, the story is a throwback to when space fiction had the sense of wonder about the future that was so prevalent during the Space Race. This is missing in many new novels today, and Rusch’s tale of Boss and her company of wreck divers is a breath of fresh air in a world of writing that is increasingly more cynical and depressed. Diving into the Wreck is highly recommended reading for anyone who enjoys space adventure stories, superb characterization, and tight plotting. Rusch is one of the premier writers in the genre today, and her facility with writing is something all others should aspire to.

Excerpt: Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero by Dan Abnett (5)

John Ottinger III — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:53:42 +0000

Over a five day period,thanks to Angry Robot Books, I will be excerpting portions of Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero by Dan Abnett.

Part One is here.
Part Two is here.
Part Three is here.
Part Four is here.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Sir Rupert Triumff. Adventurer. Fighter. Drinker. Saviour? Pratchett goes swashbuckling in the hotly anticipated original fiction debut of the multi-million selling Warhammer star. Triumff is a ribald historical fantasy set in a warped clockwork-powered version of our present day ! a new Elizabethan age, not of Elizabeth II but in the style of the original Virgin Queen. Throughout its rollicking pages, Sir Rupert Triumff drinks, dines and duels his way into a new Brass Age of Exploration and Adventure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dan made his name in the tie-in SF and Fantasy fiction field, selling more than 1.2 million copies in English language of his Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 novels for Games Workshop’s Black Library imprint. They’ve also been translated into ten other languages. He’s also recently made the UK fiction charts with original Torchwood and Doctor Who novels. His comicbook scripts, for major publishers such as Marvel, DC Comics and the UK’s 2000 AD, have attracted critical plaudits and strong sales on both sides of the Atlantic.

The three novels for Angry Robot will allow Abnett to play to all his strengths as a writer. His penchant for wildly imaginative world-building and lovable characters comes to the fore in TRIUMFF, a ribald historical fantasy set in a warped clockwork-powered version of our present day … a new Elizabethan age, not of Elizabeth II but in the style of the original Virgin Queen. This will be published, in both the UK and US, in October 2009.

Next year will see two novels set in the same stunning future-war setting. EMBEDDED sends a journalist into the frontline of a distant planetary war… chipped inside the head of a combat veteran. When the soldier is killed, the journo must use all his resourcefulness to get safely home again, reporting on a live feed all the way. No one writes future war as well as Dan Abnett, and fans of tie-in series such as “Gaunt’s Ghosts” and his “Horus Heresy” novels will be blown away by this bold new move into original science fiction.

Dan’s website • Dan’s blog

Video Interview with Dan on YouTube – From Ghostbusters to Triumff (May 2009)
Video Interview with Dan, talking writing and favourite reading (August 2009)

A Fourth Chapter

“Oh bollocks,” said Triumff, and resumed his thrashing attempt at escape. Water churned from his milling limbs. The swordsman ploughed after him.

Almost at once, Triumff realised things weren’t getting any better. A second line of bubbles was arcing around in front to cut off his flight. A moment later, another submarine assassin rose from the depths.

“Give gim gis gay! Gile gop gis gloogy ged goff!” the second attacker instructed his partner.

“Garden?” asked the first.

Triumff stopped and looked back.

“He said…” he began, but then he paused. “Why the bastard am I bothering to explain it to you?”

He set off again, breasting the flood, churning up sheets of spray, breaking off perpendicular to the pincer manoeuvre of the snorkel-blowing killers.

Five yards from the pool-side, he pursed his lips and whistled the first two bars of the song about the Guinea Coast.

Something flat, hard and fundamentally aerodynamic choppered out of the colonnade shadows like a startled grouse. It struck the second assassin square in the visor with a painful, metallic clang. The assassin crashed backwards into the water as if he’d ridden a steeplechaser full-pelt into an overhanging branch.
The flat, hard, aerodynamic thing whirled around, back the way it had come, still making the sound of someone thrumming their lips with their finger whilst they exhaled hard. It landed neatly in Uptil’s outstretched hand. It was Uptil’s “come-back”, a traditional hunting weapon of the Beach folk. It was essentially a flat stick with an elbow, but in the hands of a trained caster it could not only do serious hurt, but also reload itself into its owner’s hand for another go.

Triumff reached the edge of the pool, grabbed his towel and shook the Couteau Suisse out of its folds. He pressed the trigger and got to the rapier by way of only a pencil sharpener and an egg spoon. He flourished the long blade twice to enjoy the bee-buzz it made as it cut the air, and then raised the hilt to eye-level in a salute.

“Vivat Regina,” he hissed, and threw himself at the remaining assassin.

The assassin had never, in all his long days as a paid cut-throat and hit-man, been attacked by a naked man with a rapier before. Come to that, he had never been asked to take on a contract wearing swimming trunks and part of a brass band on his head. The hooded man who’d hired him and his mate in a Cheapside tavern had paid well, in advance, and so he hadn’t really questioned the details at the time.

Now his mate was floating face-down in the municipal baths with blood clouding the water around his crumpled visor-work after a collision with what appeared to be a flying shelf bracket, and he had his hands full with what was known in the trade as a “contrary client”.

There was only one thing he could do, and thankfully (for his sake) it was something he was very, very good at.

He would have to fight him and kill him.

The rapiers flashed against each other in a series of blinding strokes, the cutlery percussion of the blows ringing around the gloomy hall. Almost from the first riposte, Triumff knew he was up against a professional swordsman. He just hoped that the odd venue (four feet of warm water) would be on his side.

It was an ungainly fight. Their upper bodies flew and twisted above the waterline, their hips and legs paddled like spoons in syrup to keep up. It was remarkably easy to outrun your lower body, and therefore fall over, and therefore die. Triumff did his very best not to do any of those three things.

It might be noted at this point that when either sober or desperate, Sir Rupert Triumff was a considerable swordsman in his own right. Currently, he was both. It was even money, whichever way you looked at it.

Uptil looked on, aghast, from the vantage of the bath-side. He yelled encouragement, advice, and a few of the ruder words in his considerable vocabulary, unable to do anything else of use, since the fighters were too close for him to risk another cast of his come-back.

Something caught Uptil’s eye. Something was moving in the shadows further down the colonnade. Fearing a third assassin, he tore himself away from the blistering duel and moved in to investigate. He raised his come-back, catching a glimpse of a robed figure scurrying away towards the bath-house exit, too far away to get a clean cast. Uptil ran after it.

Uptil didn’t like leaving Rupert at such a crucial juncture, but something forced him to give chase, something like a lingering impression that the robed figure had possessed the head of a cat.

Uptil didn’t know much about cats, since they didn’t have them in Beach. He was pretty sure, though, that cats weren’t generally six feet high, and wearing a silk doublet and a cape.

There was no sign of a robed figure in the entrance hall, feline or otherwise. The front doors were bolted shut, and the three bath attendants were bound, gagged and unconscious on the floor of the ticket office. Uptil checked along both sides of the hall, his come-back poised for launch. There was no sign of an intruder.

Someone started hammering at the bolted doors. Uptil walked forward, and drew back the bolts. As the doors swung open, he nearly exclaimed loudly. At the last moment he remembered the Ploy, and settled for a hasty yelp of inarticulate fear.

In the pool, Triumff parried low against the assassin’s backhand, and then struck in, slicing the end off his assailant’s snorkel. The man made a noise like an un-bled radiator, and rained several more blows at Triumff, who backed and parried again deftly.

“You in the water! Stop fighting! At once!”

The words rang out in booming echoes across the Bath House. Out of the corner of his otherwise intently occupied eye, Triumff saw Lord Gull, standing at the head of a detachment of the City Militia at the pool edge. The soldiers were all big, armoured dreadnoughts from a SHAT unit (Special Halberds And Tactics), one of the Militia’s Anti-Affray Departments. Gull looked more furious than usual. If they wanted the fight stopped, Triumff knew that they would be able to do it with just two or three strokes of a skilled pike-arm.

“You want me to stop the fight?” bellowed Triumff, side-slicing with his darting sword, “You want me to stop it? No sooner said…”

He punched up, driving his basket-guard into the assassin’s visored face, and then raked downwards, the length of the man’s torso, with a slick blow that was almost surgical. The assassin collapsed messily into the water, which changed colour rapidly.

“…than done,” Triumff finished, slooshing away from his dead foe, waist-deep in the water. “That’ll teach him to call me a gastard. Afternoon, Callum. How’s the ear?”

A long row of pike-heads pointed down off the pool-side at him, each one ready to thrust. Gull stepped forward between the hafts, and glanced disdainfully down at the carnage in the water. Triumff, smiling up at his captors, could see Uptil, crouching nervously at the back of the colonnade under the watchful eye of a SHAT team member.

“I’m not going to allow our personal differences to get in the way, Triumff, you piece of worthless offal,” said Gull. “As Captain of the Guard, I’ve a job to do, and that involves arresting you for Causing An Affray In A Public Place and Participating In A Breach Of The Peace. Not to mention what looks like a double charge of manslaughter.”

“They were knifemen. Look at them. Paid to do me in. You know that damn well, Gull.”

“Perhaps,” said Gull, with what was almost a smile. “We’ll ascertain that after the Coroner’s been in and Forensic Physic have poked about. Until then, Rupert Triumff, you’re coming with me to The Yard for questioning. You men, haul him out.”

Huge, mailed hands reached down. With a resigned curse, Triumff allowed himself to leave the water.

Movie Trailer: Prince of Persia

John Ottinger III — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:07:45 +0000

This looks good, even if it stars Jake Gyllenhaal (blech). It sure is heavy on cinematic effects, but I’m cool with that, since the plot has to be fairly simple if it stays to true to the videogames.

Video: R2D2 and C3PO on Sesame Street

John Ottinger III — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:39:42 +0000

In honor of Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary here is the guest appearance by R2D2 and C3PO in 1980.

[Via Mental_Floss]

Book Trailer: Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe

John Ottinger III — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:05:38 +0000

This has some awesome music. I really, really need to read these two books!

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Alex Bledsoes first novel,The Sword-Edged Blonde, drew rave reviews for its ingenious blend of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. Now Bledsoe returns with an all-new tale of mean streets and medieval intrigue.

Above Angelinas Tavern in down-and-dirty Neceda youll find the office of Eddie LaCrosse, a freelance sword jockey who, for twenty-five gold pieces a day, will take on any task short of murder for hire. Eddies on his way back from a routine investigation when his horse almost runs down a half-naked blonde in serious trouble. Against his better judgment, he promises to protect the frightened young woman, only to find himself waylaid by unknown assailants and left for dead beside her mutilated body.

Eddie isnt the kind of guy to just let something like this pass. But who killed Laura Lesperitt? Eddies quest for payback leads him to a tangled mystery involving a notorious crime lord, a backwoods dragon cult, royal scandals, and a duplicitous femme fatale who has trouble keeping her clothes on. As bodies pile up, attracting the unwelcome attention of the kings guards, Eddie must use all his wits if he hopes to survive…

TV Review: Riese the Series “Hunt”

John Ottinger III — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:53:24 +0000

In this first episode of the steampunk fantasy series Riese, the titular character is seen to run through the woods, fights off several pursuers, have a flashback, and arrive at a small town.

The first episode is rather short, being about 7 minutes in length (the remaining two are for the credits), but nonetheless establishes that Riese is an intriguing character. There is very little dialogue in this episode, so it is hard to say where the story is going, but the director and cast do a good job of leaving the watcher with more questions than answers, ensuring that the viewer will want to tune back in when episode two goes live.

Christine Chatelain plays the Riese character well, putting a lot of emotion into her characters face to make up for the lack of dialogue. The three pursuing characters, though only glimpsed, showcase the fact that this is neither a traditional fantasy, nor simply a Victorian steampunk tale.

The setting is well-chosen, showing a big open forest of older trees and the few panoramic shots give the viewer a real sense that Riese is alone in the wilderness.

Though the director relies heavily in the “shaky-cam” to depict the fight scene, there is still enough ability to see and understand what is going on, and all in all the scene well-directed. The cuts and moves between scenes are good, though there is perhaps a bit too much running. We have established that Riese is on the run, and I would have preferred less depiction of the actual action once the sense of it was made plain.

All in all, I’m looking forward to more episodes (preferably with more dialogue) of this unusual web series.

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