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Hello & Welcome
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I’m currently rebuilding the website as the old one got totally messed up when i was playing around with things (no idea what happened).

So i thought that while it was a total clusterfuck mess of SQL, i would take the opportunity to give it a whole new life and everything.

So if you go clicking on things you might find that very strange things happen. Don’t moan, i know a lot of things are broken, i’m working on it, it takes time.

I’ve got tons of old posts and pages from three websites that i’m working through and will be gradually posting all the stuff i want to keep on here while fixing all the broken things as i go through, one post, one page, at a time.

On top of doing all that, i will, of course, be continuing to add more new content and my latest posts will always appear directly below.

Or, if you prefer, you can also follow me on Twitter and Pinterest where i put a link to all new posts.

Enjoy


The Shepherd’s Tale — Joss Whedon and Zack Whedon

The Shepherd's Tale -- Joss Whedon and Zack WhedonThis is a comic that is purely aimed at those of us who loved Firefly and Serenity and always wanted to know what Shepherd Book’s back story was.   It used to be available on Kindle, which i managed to get, but for some reason only the expensive hard back is now available.

While this comic goes through Book’s earlier life, it does so in such a way that is just totally messy and disjointed.   I can’t understand how anyone could sit down and think that this was a good way to tell Book’s story.   It starts at the end, where Book gets killed on Haven, and then keeps jumping back in time a few years at a time, but each jump is so harsh and disjointed it just leaves you having to go back over things several times to try and make some sense out of it.

To be fair, i would normally put a book this bad on “The Bookshelf of Infamy”, but as a total Firefly and Serenity fan looking at the only thing that tells of Shepherd Book’s past, albeit in a really badly presented way, i’m willing to spare it that utter shame and give it a hairline pass with 2 stars — but that’s an only just scraped into the bottom of 2 stars.

The annoying thing is that the Whedon’s obviously know how popular Shepherd Book was and how much everyone wanted to know more about his past.   Shepherd Book fully deserved a full length novel.   Even if the Whedon’s couldn’t be bothered to write it themselves, they could at least have just dumped all their notes onto a really good writer and let them have at it.

Shepherd’s back story deserved much better than this.

Joss’ Page Zack’s Page

#scifi #zackwhedon #josswhedon

With a Golden Risha — P. Djèlí Clark

With a Golden Risha -- P. Djèlí ClarkAvailable in the periodical, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly — Issue 23.

To begin, a risha is to an Arabian oud as a plectrum is to a guitar.   If you want to know more you can read all about ouds and rishas by clicking here.

So, with that out of the way, let’s get to a review.

Great book.   This is early Djèlí introducing steampunk elements into his fantasy.   Our story begins with our oud player, Saleh, getting rescued by a philosopher pirate (captain who’s not a captain), Usman, and the rest of the crew of the airship The Beggar.   Then we’re off on a 537-kindle-loc-point adventure to find treasure, amongst which is a magical golden risha with which Saleh gets to play his oud.

I really enjoyed this book and hopefully, one fine day in the future, Djèlí might even sit down and write some more stories with Saleh and Usman.   There’s got to be some great stories to be told about a philosopher pirate captain and his side-kick minstrel oud player.

And so, next up in my Djèlí reading list will be The Things My Mother Left Me

P. Djèlí Clark’s Page

#fantasy #steampunk #pdjeliclark

Angels of Ashes — Alastair Reynolds

Angels of Ashes -- Alastair ReynoldsYou’ll find this in the collection, Zima Blue and Other Stories.

It’s one of those sci-fi stories that goes on about quantum babble and how there’s a universe for every possible outcome of every possible situation.   To be honest, i think this theory is no different than the theory of god, both total nonsense made up by people who really don’t understand Nature and how it works.

Then Alastair has our protagonists in this book starting a war over whether god is right or quantum babble is right — which is just silly when all intelligent people already know that they’re both utter nonsense, which i hope is the point that Alastair is making in this story?   Although, thinking about it, he has wrote some other really bizarre stuff that makes no sense in other books, like the sheep in Inhibitor Phase; so maybe Alastair really is a die-hard quantum babble-ist and thinks that quantum babble-ists everywhere should rise up and start a war against the god grovellers?   Who knows the true thoughts of fiction writers?

But, whatever, have a read, it’s a fairly good story.

Coming next in the Alastair Reynolds reading list, from the year 2000, will be Merlin’s Gun.

Bye for now.

Alastair’s Page

#scifi #alastairreynolds

Fantasy Pick — P. Djèlí Clark

Fantasy Pick -- P. Djèlí ClarkAvailable in Every Day Fiction – Aug 2012.

A good, little, short story which wasn’t the kind of “fantasy pick” i was expecting from Djèlí.

The “fantasy pick” of the title is about sport stars, the GOATs, those greats that we love to stand upon pedestals to cheer and worship, what we expect of them and at what cost.   It also raises some questions as to modern medicine and at what point that will be considered performance enhancing and how far the fans are willing to put up with this.   Will the fans even care about the player’s overall welfare and what it ultimately costs them as long as they are getting entertained?

At least that’s what i got out of it.   Good stuff.

Next in my P. Djèlí Clark reading adventure will be What the Sea Wants.

P. Djèlí Clark’s Page

#fantasy #pdjeliclark

On the Oodnadatta — Alastair Reynolds

On the Oodnadatta -- Alastair ReynoldsYou’ll find this in the collection, Deep Navigation.

A rather enjoyable short story, and a definite must read for any weirdos out there who are considering cryonics.

You never know who is going to end up buying out the corporation you originally contracted with, and once you’re frozen you won’t get any further say whatsoever as to what level those contracts will be honoured.   Maybe your new corporate owners will find a better use for your frozen bits in 20 or 30 years time.

Cremation is much cheaper and you know you’ll only be good for plant fertiliser afterwards.

Next up in Alastair’s writings will be Viper, a short story from 1999.

Bye for now.

Alastair’s Page

#scifi #alastairreynolds

In Praise of Shadows — Junichiro Tanizaki

In Praise of Shadows -- Junichiro TanizakiI’m currently reading The Power of Chowa, wherein Akemi mentions this book in passing.   When i read the name of the writer i was sure i had some of his books in my pile of books waiting to be read, and sure enough, one of those books was this one.

So i put aside The Power of Chowa for a while and gave this a read to fully understand the impression that Akemi was trying to give.

And wow, this is definitely one to put on the shelf next to The Book of Tea.   Both books have wonderful passages of ranting, but it’s intelligent ranting fuelled by a genuine passion for something truly precious; and in between the passages of ranting one gets some wonderful, thought provoking passages of delightful, descriptive writing: this book is like a painting in words.

Written in the 1930’s — concerning Japan’s modernisation — it’s news to me to read how, even before WWII and the surrender to the USA, Japan’s desire to ape American culture was already underway.   But, that aside, i do feel that Junichiro fails to appreciate that even in the west we have lost so many of our own shadows.   It seems that most of my life, here in Europe, we have been hell bent on illuminating everything to ridiculous levels, banishing all shadow wherever it may lurk.

The never ending pursuit of cleaning out the dirt and dust and any corners where it may lurk: banish the shadows for your own health’s sake!   The continued insistence on ridiculous levels of cleanliness and sterility within and without our homes, which has lead to ever lower immune function and plenty of allergies along with it.

And it’s not just the shadows, it’s any semblance of quiet we will blast sound into.   Where now can we truly be quiet and stare into the night sky and see the stars as they truly are?   When was the last time you truly experienced the peaceful quite and shadows of the real world without modern technology to protect and coddle you?   Or are you one of the new people, ever terrified of what unknowns may be lurking there where you hear and see nothing but vague outlines and impressions?

I agree with Junichiro, we have lost something truly precious.

The only thing i would say about this book is that, for me at least, the “Afterword” would be better placed as a “Foreword”.   I just feel that it would focus ones attention on certain things a lot more if they had been pointed out before hand instead of afterwards.   I will definitely be reading this again at some point before i die and when i do i will definitely read the “Afterword” first.

Junichiro’s Page

#japan #junichirotanizaki

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Currently

Fiction

With the rise of the machines on the horizon . . .
 
. . .me thinks it’s a good time to re-read Asimov.

Nonfiction

The Art of Peace -- Morihei Ueshiba Back to the Zen.

Nonfiction

More Zen.