I don’t know what NBC is playing at, but a six-week break?! You’ve got to be kidding me! Heroes only just came back from the mid-season break over the holidays and already they’re taking another hiatus from the show. I don’t know whose ‘brilliant’ idea this was, but it stinks. At first I thought it might be due to March Madness, but checking the listings for next week proves that to not be the case. Of course, with only four episodes remaining in the season, I suppose they have to do something to drag things out until the summer recess.
How about some general observations and comments after this week’s episode?
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Tags: heroes, science-fiction, Speculative Fiction, tv
Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn trilogy has been likened in epic scope to fictional universes like Frank Herbert’s Dune and Dan Simmons’ Hyperion. And in terms of size, the universe that Hamilton has built in this series is huge.
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Tags: book-reviews, deus-ex-machina, naked-god, neutronium-alchemist, nights-dawn-trilogy, peter-f.-hamilton, reality-dysfunction, Reviews, science-fiction, Speculative Fiction
Tim Kring is really starting to stretch even my suspension of disbelief. I’m perfectly willing to assume that certain things are true within a specific speculative fiction universe for the sake of enjoyment. I’m not one of those people who like to critique and criticize to the point of complete deconstruction in order to make sure that every last bit of minutiae is spot-on perfect (though the more homogeneous and consistent the universe is, the more enjoyable it is). And there have been a number of objections raised by several reviewers that I’ve been willing to either grant out-of-hand or merely wait too see if Kring addresses them in an intelligent manner.
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Tags: heroes, science-fiction, Speculative Fiction, tim-kring, tv
If you could assign three colors to represent science fiction, what would they be?
If you could assign three colors to represent fantasy, what would they be?
If you could assign three colors to represent horror, what would they be?
And yes, there is a point to this.
Tags: Design, fantasy, horror, science-fiction, Speculative Fiction
I stumbled across a debate yesterday on the topic of escapism, worldbuilding, and speculative fiction. I had initially intended to contribute my own thoughts to this discussion, but after having perused a number of other opinions on various websites and blogs, I doubt very highly that there is anything I could add that hasn’t already been said a dozen different ways already. So, allow me a moment to rabbit trail from that discussion and go in a slightly different, but related, direction.
One of the claims often made about speculative fiction is that people immerse themselves in it as a way to escape from the realities of life for a little while. I’m comfortable with the notion that at least some people who read speculative fiction do, indeed, read it for this exact purpose. But I’d like to explore the question of why do people read this genre. Surely not everyone who enjoys speculative fiction seeks to escape real life, right? Because wouldn’t that mean that people were so ill-adjusted to real life that they can’t cope with reality?
An anecdote to provide a counter-example:
I’ve always enjoyed speculative fiction. I remember that some of my first real writing assignments in grade school were typically science fictional in nature. I also remember that most of my peers really enjoyed those stories, so I would often read them aloud in front of the whole class.
In writing those stories, I wasn’t trying to escape real life – I simply had a very active imagination. I spent hours with some of my best friends re-enacting episodes from the cartoons Silverhawks and Thundercats. I loved anything that involved advanced technology and travel through space, new worlds, alien races. I even had, for a while, an imaginary world of mice and cats, where the mice had very fast vehicles that raced through tunnels and where the cats constantly tried to capture the mice when and where they periodically emerged from one tunnel section to speed toward the next. I would tear through the neighborhood on my bike, imagining myself as one of these mice who was continually able to outwit the cats, albeit always by a slim margin. It wasn’t escapism – it was merely an imaginative kid having fun.
As I’ve grown up, though, my imagination has gotten no less active. I still find advanced technologies and magic to be endlessly fascinating. I think it revolves around natural human curiosity and ambition to see new things and do even more than we can currently. To some extent, I almost think that a fascination with speculative fiction encompasses the hopes and dreams of a better, more productive future. Could be I’m all wet, too, but I think I’m at least partially right.
Sure, I suppose there’s a bit of escapism involved in even my interest in speculative fiction, but it’s certainly not my primary attraction to the genre (I don’t even think it’s particularly high on the list). Mostly, for me, it’s just fun and enjoyable and brings the kid in me out to the surface – and I suspect I’m not alone in this.
So, what is it about speculative fiction that most attracts you to the genre? What do you love about it? And is there anything you hate about it?
Tags: escapism, fantasy, human-behavior, musings, philosophy, science-fiction, Speculative Fiction, worldbuilding
In case folks missed it, Flashes of Speculation got another update yesterday. Four new stories got posted up, so go give ‘em a read and leave some comments and feedback for the authors.
FS is always taking submissions, as well, so if anyone has any speculative fiction stories under 1000 words, feel free to send them my way. I haven’t done such a good job promoting FS lately, but I’d be curious to see if interest in the site – both from contributors and readers – can be revived.
Tags: flash-fiction, flashes-of-speculation, Speculative Fiction
The final installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is set to be released on July 21st. This is music to my ears, especially considering that I wasn’t expecting it until next summer. Rowling says that two more characters will die in this one. You won’t find any predictions from here as to which ones, though. Rowling has been deliberately tight-lipped about it, refusing even to provide hints as to whether Harry himself will survive his trial with Voldemort. But the cast of characters she has created is broad, so there is hope yet that not only Harry, but Ron and Hermione, as well, may yet live to tell the tale.
And now we wait. The end is near. Who will die? And who will triumph?
Tags: books, fantasy, harry-potter, j.k.-rowling, magic, voldemort
Some time back, I read a review of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I don’t remember where I read it, but I do remember the reviewer being disappointed in how easily the Jedi were dispatched by the clone army. The comment made was something to the effect that the Jedi were destroyed far too quickly and easily for ones who, individually, were more than a match for an army. This is a mental image that has stayed with me ever since.
I can just visualize a camera shot, focusing in on the grim but determined expression of a lone Jedi warrior. The camera pans out to reveal several Stormtroopers, so it’s clear that battle is afoot. But as the camera continues to pull out, it also begins to ascend, giving a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield, and you realize that the Jedi is facing a legion of the Emperor’s best. Thus begins a battle sequence – the Jedi lights his saber and rushes headlong into battle, his robes blowing in the wind. He has a blinding speed powered by a mastery of the Force, the ability to brush his enemies aside with barely a wave of his hand, and the capacity to anticipate every move of the soldiers he is destroying. Blaster bolts illuminate the field with an almost blinding intensity, and at the center of it all, a lightsaber moves with such speed that it looks almost like a solid orb of light. When the battle is done, a thousand Stormtroopers lie dead on the killing fields with the sole survivor being the Jedi Master, robes singed, wounded certainly, despite his power and advantage. And the expression on his face as he clips his lightsaber to his belt again is one of bitter sadness. It would make for a powerful and moving action sequence, the way it plays out in my mind.
It’s a battle sequence I would love to see realized but which I suspect never will – George Lucas simply hasn’t the imagination, the vision, or the ability as a screenwriter to see it happen. I don’t even know if this was ever what he envisioned his Jedi warriors to be, these almost godlike people who roamed the galaxy as peacemakers and diplomats, where possible, and fighters and warbreakers where not. But it’s an inspiring vision, nonetheless. Perhaps a fan film will someday add to the voluminous universe Lucas created (or a remake of Episodes I-III) and do a Jedi battle the way it should be done.
We can only hope.
Tags: george-lucas, jedi, palpatine, science-fiction, sith, star-wars, stormtroopers
NBC’s hit show Heroes is back and the writing is as good as ever. I love what this show is doing, and I’m really beginning to like the direction it seems to be heading in. It’s taken 12 episodes, but as Suresh’s closing voiceover states, the chaos of the various story arcs are beginning to approach something like order, as each character explores their abilities and forge new alliances.
I’ve discovered that I’m not one of those people who enjoys endlessly speculating about what sorts of things could be, especially in a genre such as this. In Heroes, we’re still learning the rules of this universe, so it’s difficult to make any kind of predictions, simply because we don’t really know that much about it yet. But it is fun to ask questions, and these are a few of the questions and observations that arose in my mind while watching this week’s episode:
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Tags: heroes, science-fiction, speculation
As of today, I’m finally about halfway through Peter F. Hamilton’s 6-volume Night’s Dawn trilogy. I finished up The Neutronium Alchemist – Part 1: Consolidation, so I’ll be ready to crack open the next volume over the weekend. This is a series that I am enjoying quite a bit – it’s a fascinating and expansive universe, to say the least – but I can’t say that I’m completely enamored with it. It’s not one that I would consider omg-can’t-put-it-down good, though I am curious to see where he’s headed with things. Hamilton has somewhere between six and ten different story arcs running at any given time, all of which overlap with one another from time to time. It’s a lot to keep up with and may, in fact, be taking a little away from my overall enjoyment of the series.
Another novella that I’m keeping tabs on right now is Kealan Patrick Burke’s Saturday Night at Eddie’s, hosted as a free serial at Subterranean Press. It’s dark, with a hint of the macabre, and an air of mystery that keeps its readers guessing. It’s voiced beautifully, which only adds to its appeal. So, go give it a read. The first three chapters are up right now, with more to come.
Tags: books, kealan-patrick-burke, neutronium-alchemist, nights-dawn-trilogy, peter-f.-hamilton, reading, subterranean-press
