Two shiny new books - one for each of my names!

My new book - and only one - with Hutchinson on it - has hit the bookstores. Cry of the Nightbird: Writers Against Domestic Violence is now available. This is a fundraising effort for the local YWCA, and as such, the Y will receive more needed funds if you purchase the book directly from the YWCA Sonoma County website. Click on online store once you're there to find the book. I am co-editor and also have two mini-memoirs in its pages.

I would also like to give a shout out to my co-editors, poet, Michelle Wing, who founded the reading series the book was born from, and Kate Farrell, who is no stranger to editing and publishing meaningful anthologies. Which brings me to our fabulous publisher, Carol Hightshoe of Wolfsinger Publications.

My friend, Sonja Bauer, did the cover art.

On Thursday, I'll be celebrating its launch at the Hurt to Hope Gala and book launch in Santa Rosa, where I will read one of my pieces, "My Body Remembered."

On Wednesday, Oct. 22, I'll be reading "The Curse of Having Been a Man," by candlelight in a Santa Rosa mausoleum again. No, I didn't have an operation. It's a fantasy piece about an elephant. ;) Those readings are so fun! In case you're local, here's the details from the parks page.


Also, the anthology with my story, "The Visitor," is now available at your favorite online bookstore. It's a story about first contact. Or is it? Is Charles Colby just going crazy from solitude? Was it something he ate?

The best part? I share a TOC with a ton of the great voices in science fiction, such as Isaac Asimov, Philip K Dick and Ray Bradbury. Here's the Amazon link for the electronic version.

Also, I've updated my Ann Wilkes page on Amazon and created an Ann Hutchinson page. I tell you, maintaining an online presence is work!

Ann Wilkes on Amazon

Ann Hutchinson on Amazon

One of these days I'm going to create an Ann Hutchinson page at www.clevercopy.net. I looked into getting annhutchinson.com and it was way out of my budget.

The reason I can't afford the URL for Ann Hutchinson is this famous woman, Anne Hutchinson, who defied the puritans and dared to practice and even - gasp - preach her own grace-based religion. She was excommunicated and banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638. You can read more about her at greatwomen.org.

I also need to change the banner for this blog. A fan, Gregory Gunther, did the one you see now out of the goodness of his heart, without even being asked. My kind of fan! Not sure I can pull off a new one myself, but I won't be tackling it today.

My one steady journalism gig just went a little sideways this week. Now I'm writing for the paper without a contract. I'm still not sure whether this is good or bad. I don't have to write as many articles, but I may experience a cut in my monthly check.

Other ODDysseys

Science fiction has taken a back burner for me for the last two years. I haven't written any new sf or fantasy for about a year. I did, however, sell a reprint. My story, "The Visitor," is in the new Fantastic Stories Presents: Science Fiction Super Pack #1, edited by Warren Lapine, which should be released any day now. I'm sharing a TOC with Philip Jose Farmer, Robert A Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Andre Norton, Poul Anderson, Frederik Pohl and Cynthia Ward. Way cool!

I may not have been writing science fiction lately, but I am, indeed, writing  -- and editing. I'm a freelance correspondent (read mostly hyperlocal news blogger) for the local paper and I'm doing writing and editing for hire at www.clevercopy.net.

And I just handed off this lovely thing to the publisher (WolfSinger Publications) on Fri., July 4.

I had a voice part in Emerian Rich's podnovel, Artistic License, which has just launched. You can hear the intro and first two chapters on iTunes now. That was fun. I also did an interview and a reading over at Horror Addicts. It was the June 14th episode.

My husband and I are now teaching private dance lessons - we're doing a dance demo at an event where our favorite band is playing on Saturday.

In March, I launched a new website, which I'm hoping will rake in some bucks, in addition to serving the musicians, dancers and live music-lovers in my county: www.socodancebeat.com. I now have a web and graphic designer on board and hubby helping with data entry.


Given all the other projects that I have going, helping everyone to promote their indie film or passing along sci-fi news here, didn't seem the best use of my time. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this blog. Especially after seeing how many hits I'm still getting when I haven't posted since March.

And the anthology, Cry of the Nightbird, is the first thing I have published in my new, married name. Where to promote that? I looked up the domain, annhutchinson.com. It's available, but for $595. I'm guessing that's because of the semi-famous historical figure by that name. And what if I start doing events? Or some other new venture? Then annhutchinsonwrites.com won't work either. Promotion is exhausting, isn't it?

I don't want to lose my followers here, but I'm not sure when I'm going to write any new sf/fantasy again and without anything of my own to hawk, it's hard to justify the time this blog takes. I think I'm going to look into ways to archive it and link it to a new blog that's more of a hub for all things Ann Hutchinson (and Wilkes). That sounds conceited, doesn't it? I'm just trying to work smarter and manage my time better. If anyone has any ideas, or wants to take over this blog before its ranking plummets, let me know quick. It may be getting completely overhauled soon.

8 bits of sf/f news to start your weekend off geeky

There is so much news this week in the world of science fiction, I had to take time out from my various other projects and do a blog post.

1) Reported on SFWA on St. Paddy's Day, March 17:  SFWA and SFF Net sever ties

2) For folks in Australia, a new Web TV show is in development called Tomekeeper Preludes. Visit their Facebook Page to learn more. Here's a visual.

3) Stephen King's The Shining - a play. This is a bit of a tease since it's only in Omaha and already sold out, but maybe it will give other folks some good ideas to do something similar. And if you have friends in Omaha, they're still collecting donations for the theatre through the 22nd of March.

Stephen King's The Shining Play from David M. Weiss on Vimeo.

4) This isn't sf or fantasy, but it doesn't get a separate post and it benefits kids. And it's my blog, damn it. Radio Silence, the magazine of literature and rock and roll, is launching a digital, monthly magazine. It's available as a free app for iPhones and iPads, and desktops from web browsers. Editor-in-chief, Dan Stone, says that most of the pieces will include media features like podcasts, films and songs. The March issue has a memoir by Lucinda Williams.

5) Orbit is an indie film in development based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." The press release is below and you can also visit the crowd-funding page to help it along.

Masterwork into Deep Space

Crowdfunding campaign launches to reimagine Poe’s 1843
“The Tell-Tale Heart” against science fiction backdrop


Los Angeles, CA - Filmmakers Don Thiel III and Nicholas Camp announce the launch of the Indiegogo campaign that will support ORBIT - a science fiction reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

Inspired by sci-fi classics from the 1960s and 1970s, ORBIT depicts one man’s madness set against the isolated backdrop of deep space. Co-directing and producing the film, Thiel will serve as Director of Photography while Camp will lead editing efforts. Special attention will be paid to practical effects and elaborate set design. Despite its futuristic environment, the “tense, creepy, visually stunning sci-fi thriller” will draw directly from Poe’s original piece.

“When writing the script, I realized that I didn't need to alter Poe’s story for a single moment to justify the space setting,” Camp says. “The space station will even amplify the narrator’s motivation for madness since it’s isolated in the depths of space, orbiting around a mysterious planet.”

This is Thiel’s second time envisioning Poe’s work in an anachronistic setting. His 2011 short, The Raven, set in 1950s Hollywood, has garnered film festival acclaim, including selection by Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo Del Toro to receive Best Short Film at the 2011 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.

“I think the great thing about [Edgar Allan] Poe’s work is that it’s timeless,” Thiel says. “He may have been writing in the 1800s, but the themes and characters and the world he created are really applicable in any time period.”

The crowdfunding campaign, which launched on February 19th on Indiegogo, aims to raise $20,000 to directly support production costs. Reward incentives range from digital downloads and behind-the-scenes access (Black Cat level) to a $5,000 package that includes a walk-on role in the film, premiere tickets and memorabilia, including a framed storyboard (That Hideous Heart level).

Production of the film will take place in Los Angeles and is scheduled to begin this spring.

6) Wired posted a video that shows some behind-the-scenes of the special effects of the latest reboot of RoboCop.

7) Speculative fiction author, Lucius Shepard passed this week. Here's an obit at SFWA.

8) In Canada, March is National Read an E-book Month. What are you reading?

The Dune movie that wasn't . . . but launched careers

REPOSTING - OPENS TOMORROW

 
Jodorowsky's Dune
Director: Frank Pavich
Producers:  Frank Pavich, Stephen Scarlata
Sony Pictures Classics


Reviewed by Clare Deming

Most fans of science fiction are familiar with Frank Herbert's Dune, in at least one of its forms. First serialized in Analog magazine from 1963 to 1965, the novel won both the Hugo and Nebula awards in 1966 and has garnered a reputation as one of the greatest sci-fi novels of all time. Several sequels in the Dune universe followed, both by Frank Herbert and his son, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson.

Photo by David Cavallo, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

The original film adaptation by David Lynch was released in 1984, to mixed reviews. More recently, the Sci Fi Channel aired two miniseries encompassing both Dune and some of the sequel material. There are currently attempts to produce an updated cinematic feature under way.

What I was not aware of as a fan of Dune, was that in the mid-1970's, Chilean-born director Alejandro Jodorowsky had attempted to create his own ambitious adaptation of the book. The project ultimately failed for financial reasons, but Frank Pavich's documentary, Jodorowsky's Dune, follows the story behind the failed undertaking and the legacy that it left behind that arguably influenced later films such as Star Wars, Alien, and Bladerunner.

Jodorowsky spent his early years studying surrealism in France, and his films became known for their visual style and spiritual themes. He has compared his films to the psychedelic experience of using LSD.

Alejandro Jodorowsky, Sardaukar and Jean
Moebius Giraud, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Pavich's documentary is mainly a series of interviews with those who worked on the production of the picture, including Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, and H.R. Giger. At the heart of the film concept, the script and a book of complete storyboards provide a tantalizing glimpse of what could have been. Through the film, a few animations based on the storyboards help to share Jodorowsky's vision.

Jodorowsky himself is the subject of many of the interviews, and was spirited in describing his work on Dune. His enthusiasm, even decades later, is remarkable, and at times, his fervent outbursts were tinged with madness:

"In that time, I say, if I need to cut my arms in order to make that picture, I will cut my arms. I was even ready to die doing that." -- Alejandro Jodorowsky

He relates several tales about how he recruited the talent for the music and cast, which would have included his own son, Brontis, David Carradine, Orson Welles, Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger, and Pink Floyd.

I was astounded by the spectacular artwork displayed in the film, particularly the full color depiction of a starship blasted open by pirates. While Jodorowsky admits that he planned to take liberties with the source material, if his vision of Dune had been completed, it certainly would have been a spectacle unlike anything at that time.

This documentary likely has little appeal to the average viewer, but for those who have a special interest in the history of science fiction film, or in the source material itself, it was an interesting movie. I was particularly intrigued by the project's influence on later films, particularly the Alien franchise, in which a structure nearly identical to the Harkonnen palace concept art appears in Prometheus.

Jodorowsky's Dune was an Official Selection at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and is scheduled to open in New York and Los Angeles on March 7, 2014.

SIMON451 student contest and paying the bills as a novelist

First my news. I'm the new Santa Rosa TOWNS correspondent for the Press Democrat. I started this PT, contract gig on Monday.  Most published authors still need a day job. Many of us are able to freelance or do some other related job during the week, but unless we're turning out NYTs best sellers constantly, we still need to work. I continue to look for FT employment, but the local job market is flat. Like so many other people who are not finding work, I'm having to make work.

I'm writing resumes and cover letters for a fee, got on board with WriterAccess and have been producing an anthology as a fundraiser for the local YWCA. In addition, I'm putting together a website that will list where all the live music is in the county and teaching beginning dance with my hubby in the hopes that it will support our $70/wk habit (dancing to live music).  I'm also trying to get a grant to create a new book festival here to replace the abandoned Sonoma County Book Festival.

The big question, really, is where do I fit my novel writing in? I'm so busy trying to make a buck and churning out the creative juices toward that end, that the novel is suffering. I have no idea how people keep full-time jobs and write novels. But, then again, they probably don't go out dancing three or four times a week, workout three times a week, and walk or bike ride three times a week. I guess it's all a matter of scheduling and discipline. Toward that end I devised a master schedule and a master time sheet to track all of my various projects. Let's see if I can actually follow it next week.

I'm determined to send the requested synopsis and first chapter for my novel tomorrow. Won't let myself do anything else first. And as I type this, I'm remembering my five-year-old grandson's basketball game at 9 am. See how that happens? Have you ever watched five-year-olds play basketball? It's adorable! Oh, well, after that I'll hunker down and not let myself go dancing unless I get it done. That will light a fire under me for sure!

****
Very exciting news for college students from Simon & Schuster's new sci-fi imprint SIMON451:

SIMON451: NOVEL-WRITING CONTEST FOR STUDENTS

New York, N.Y., January 31, 2014 – Simon451, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is pleased to announce a writing contest for students. Submissions must fall in one of the following categories: science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian or dystopian fiction, apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic fiction, or alternate history in literature. We are looking for full-length novels only; novellas and short stories will not be considered.

The contest is open to legal residents of the United States who are at least eighteen years of age and are currently enrolled in college at the undergraduate or graduate level, and who possess a student ID card valid as of February 2014 . The submission period runs from February 1, 2014 – March 15, 2014, during which entrants are asked to provide a 250-word synopsis and the first fifty pages of their novel via the online entry form in accordance with the full contest guidelines.

Complete contest rules and guidelines can be found here. Ten finalists will be chosen and contacted by April 15, 2014, at which time they will be asked to submit their complete novels for consideration. The winner will receive a publishing contract with Simon451 and a trip to ComicCon in New York City to participate in the public launch of the imprint.

Big news in the SF/F world and my part of it

You may have been wondering what happened to Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys for the past month. Well, fearless, but not tireless, editor/writer Ann Wilkes, has been wrestling with new ventures. Though she absolutely loves boosting the signal for sci-fi indie films and interacting with her fans, the reviews have been bogging her down and her passions have shifted somewhat.

(This is where the blog shifts entirely into first person - you can say you were there.)

I'm not a fast reader, which is probably part of why I'm such an excellent editor. That said, I would like to occasionally read something - gasp - not science fiction. Or maybe not new science fiction. There are some serious holes in my reading of the classics. I got a Kindle Paper for Christmas and would just like to bury my head in it for a while. I bought a book - can't remember when I last did that! - and found myself mentally critiquing it, even though I'm not going to be reviewing it. That's a hard habit to break, but I'm looking forward to some long-awaited pleasure reading. I'll try my best to turn the critic off. If I don't like a book, I just won't finish it - period.

I have also trotted out a novel I hadn't touched since 2008, which was nearly finished. I've had a request for first chapter and synopsis from a sf/f publisher. I have to get that ending nailed down with a view to the sequels the publisher will need, so that I can write the synopsis. The latter half of the novel needed some work. The book basically died the death of chapter-at-a-time critiquing. I would get so sick of it by the middle, that I would abandon it. I only had to fix some commas and such in the first half. I did, however, enjoy rewriting the sex scene for the second half. Much steamier than its predecessor. :)

I'm also looking forward to hearing my voice on Emerian Rich's horror podnovel. I recorded my part in September. Read more about Artistic License by Emerian Rich.

I'm considering doing a site where local music lovers can find out where all the live music is on one page. Kevin and I are always scouting this venue and that, email lists and Facebook events to find the best live music to dance to. I have thought of doing this for two years now, but finally have some ideas for getting paid for my time. My husband Kevin and I are also considering teaching couples dancing on a private and group basis. People ask us about it from time to time. People actually come up to us, and with a finger pointed at us, say, "You're those dancers!" We get around. ;)

At the video/CD recording party for Gator Nation Nov. 2013

Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys will not be a thing of the past. However, it may change to match the life of its founder, Ann Wilkes. It will still cover science fiction, but will make detours into my other "ODDysseys" and contain more of my own writing news. I won't be posting any more reviews, as I said, but will keep it truly geeky. No worries there.

Now for the big news in the greater world of science fiction: Simon & Schuster has launched a sci-fi imprint. No shit! Here's the press release about Simon451:

SIMON451: NEW SCIENCE FICTION IMPRINT AT SIMON & SCHUSTER

New York, N.Y., January 14, 2014 –Simon & Schuster’s adult trade imprint announced today that it will launch a new imprint called Simon451, dedicated to publishing literary and commercial speculative fiction across categories such as science fiction, fantasy, dystopian, apocalyptic and the supernatural.

Simon451 will publish in multiple electronic and printed formats, with a focus on digital-first publishing and ebook originals. Its editors will develop new authors and branded series, and bring established authors to new audiences with the ability to move quickly and nimbly between digital and print publication, taking advantage of marketplace opportunities as awareness builds for authors and series. Simon451 will experiment with publishing serialized novels and original short stories, and will also re-issue classic backlist titles in ebook.

“Within the science fiction and fantasy genre, e-books and online communities are becoming the primary means of reading and discovery,” says Senior Editor Sarah Knight, who is spearheading the new imprint. “With Simon451 we aim to give those readers what they want, when and how they want it.”

The inaugural Simon451 list will launch in October 2014 with the first volume of the EarthEnd Saga series by actress Gillian Anderson, best known for her role on ”The X-Files,” and co-writer Jeff Rovin. Brit Hvide of Simon & Schuster acquired worldwide rights from Doug Grad at The Doug Grad Literary Agency to a trilogy of titles from Anderson and Rovin, the first of which is entitled A Vision of Fire.

“This is a very exciting endeavor, and I’m thrilled that Simon and Schuster has taken us under their wing,” says Anderson. “Together, we will make the most of what I hope will be a compelling series of adventures.”

Other launch titles include the Paris-set dystopian novel The Undying by Ethan Reid; these books and more will be featured in events and promotions at New York Comic Con, October 9-12, 2014. To sign up for the e-newsletter or find information regarding submissions, please visit www.Simon451.com.

The imprint’s name, “Simon451,” pays homage to Ray Bradbury’s seminal science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which has influenced countless readers, writers and publishers, and which Simon & Schuster published in e-book for the first time in 2011, along with other works by Bradbury.

Simon & Schuster, a part of CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonsays.com

I'd write an article about it, but I want to write that novel ending, finish my profile at WriterAccess, get groceries and go on a bike ride. My theme for this year? Don't let people "should" on you. It's actually been my motto for a while. I'm just applying it more fully to SFOO now. I hope you'll hang in there with me and follow SFOO's possibly less-frequent sci-fi news and news of my writing endeavors. If you hear about something that would be good to share here, send me an email. Once I tell all the media folks I'm no longer doing reviews, I'll actually be able to find your email! Seriously. I even get requests to review romance novels, cook books and self-help books. What really bites is getting invited to pre-screenings of awesome-looking, yet non-sci-fi movies. First because they're in LA. Second because I can't take advantage since I'm not able to review it here.

Here's wishing all SFOO fans and my personal fans a fabulous new year filled with limitless possibilities and fantastic voyages! 

  

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Aussie Indie goodness

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes looks pretty intense. Too bad we have to wait till July to see the next Planet of the Apes movie.


And here are some still portraits from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.


Filming for the Indie flick Arrowhead is going on in the outback this winter. Arrowhead reached its Kickstarter goal, but the filmmakers want to generate more buzz via Kickstarter to make the most of the launch and recoup some of the funds they personally invested. Here's the teaser and a 10 minute proof of concept that got the initial funding. The film is slated to premiere on TV in Australia in September 2014. No word yet on a US release date.

Arrowhead Show Reel from Arrowhead: The Movie on Vimeo.


Arrowhead: Signal from Arrowhead: The Movie on Vimeo.

Vonnegut story to film project, literary freebies and gift ideas

Screenwriter Derek Ryan has teamed up with folks connected with such projects as District 9 to produce Kurt Vonnegut's "2BR02B" short story as a short film. "2BR02B" explores the effects of population control on a future earth where no one is born unless someone volunteers to die. And this in a world where, barring a random accident, where people no longer age or die. And to make it worse for the parents, they're having triplets.  You can read the story for free at the Gutenberg Project. I also just found an audio version of 2BR02B at LibriVox.

This film is still in the crowd-funding stage. I'm giving it my thumbs up as a good investment. I wouldn't post it here unless I thought it a worthwhile project. You can also visit their Facebook page for more information.



****

Phoenix Pick’s free ebook for December is A. A. Attanasio’s Last Legends
of Earth. This novel has a five-star rating on Amazon. Publishers Weekly calls it an "Epic love
story, intricate, wildly imaginative and touching."

Set in the artificial planetary system of Chalco-Doror, which is no more and no less than a vast cosmic machine, The
Last Legends of Earth is a love story, a gripping saga of struggle against alien control, and an examination of the machinery of creation and destruction. Above all, it is world-building of the highest and grandest order, on a scale rarely seen in science fiction since the great works of Olaf Stapledon.

Visit Phoenix Pick's online catalog and enter 9991563 to receive this title for free through the end of December 2013.

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I've had quite a few emails from folks wanting me to include their stuff in my holiday gift guide. And which one would that be? I'm kind of fed up with the commercialization of Christmas, but there were a couple items I thought folks would be interested in, whether as a gift or a personal indulgence. Ho ho ho.

The Who's Who of Doctor Who: A Whovian Guide to Friends, Foes, Villians, Monsters, and Companions to the Good Doctor. I'm guessing it will have to be a late gift, though, as it publishes on the second of January according to the publisher's email, although their website says available 12/12. You can probably pre-order from the publisher's page and definitely from Amazon.

If you're more of a Star Wars fan and good with your hands (or know of someone that fits that description), there's this Star Wars Origami book: Star Wars Origami: 36 Amazing Paper-folding Projects from a Galaxy Far, Far Away.... 

Or you can give the gift of audiobooks from Audiobooks or Audibles. And you know about LibriVox, right? LibriVox has a ton of titles that are in the public domain that you can download for free. Think you have a great reading voice? They're always looking for more volunteer readers.

Or you could help crowdfund a worthy indie film and gift the perks. ;)

Organic English and the IT factor

Let's talk about English. If learning all of its many quirks and inconsistencies is not enough, it's constantly evolving. Into a better language is yet to be determined. If only we could go back and do damage control and make it easier to learn for those who didn't grow up with it. Not to mention those who are stymied by its many contradictions and crazy grammar rules. At least everything is gender-neutral. That is we don't have a male and feminine form for all of our nouns. However, I suspect that that would be a far easier thing to learn than memorizing all of our homophones, homonyms and the many pronunciation exceptions.

The most interesting changes to the Oxford dictionary since the inclusion of OMG and LOL is the introduction of because as a preposition and the word "selfie" for a photo you take of yourself. Still, my word, "procrastinatable", hasn't made the cut.

Here's the Atlantic article about the word "because" as a preposition, filled with examples. I'm making you go check it out there because ranting.

Now, this is where I launch into my pet peeve. I have long wanted a word in the English language for "it" that isn't derogatory when used for people. I know there have been some attempts in this direction, but none of them have stuck.



If you don't see the need for this new pronoun, ask yourself the following questions:

• What do you call an unborn child of unknown sex? 
• How do you refer to someone whose gender is unclear without being offensive? Or what do you call someone who is agender? More about agender can be found in this recent SF Gate article.
• Wouldn't you rather have one word you can use rather than having to use he/she?

You can't just use "them" when you're referring to one person of unknown or irrelevant gender. Not if you want to be grammatically correct.


You've announced the requirements for the candidate for office. You can either keep saying he/she must this and that, be incorrect and say "they", when you're referring to one candidate, or keep saying "the candidate must" this and that.

You've just learned you will be meeting with the VP of Marketing of the company at which you are applying. Congratulations.

I ask you, later that day, if you've met him or her yet, because you haven't told me the President's gender. Or, worse still, you tell me, "No. And I don't know if it's a man or woman. His/her name is Robin."

So, do we go with heshe? That's too long. And women won't like being second any more than men would for shehe. What can we do with two letters that's not already taken and wouldn't be confused with an existing word when spoken? Ba? Ga? Va? Wa? I'm using the "ah" pronunciation of the a here. Or Zo? Vo? Gu? Xo? What's your idea?

On the other hand, can we, through use, remove the derogatory connotation from that perfectly useful pronoun? Maybe that's easier. How do we reclaim the word "it" so we can use it for humans?

Exodus Code - the Barrowman's deliver!

Torchwood Exodus Code
John and Carole E. Barrowman
BBC Books Sept. 2013

Review by Ann Wilkes

This nineteenth novel written in the Torchwood world created by Russell T Davies for the BBC show of the same name (2006-2011) was written by Torchwood star John Barrowman (Captain Jack) and his sister, Carole E Barrowman.

Torchwood Exodus Code begins with madness. Jack falls from an airplane without a chute in 1930 Peru, survives (Captain Jack is from the 51st century and - unlike other humans from that time or any other - can’t stay dead) and gets prepared for sacrifice to the mountain. The Cuari tribe have been expecting a god to fall from the sky.

All the while, his mind is slipping. Reality is shattering. He’s flooded with tastes and smells and unnatural reactions to sensations.

For a beat Jack realized the chamber was inside his head and outside it. Behind him and in front of him. He laughed at the absurdity and let himself sink back into the rock. The silver veins threaded themselves across every muscle, every limb, every part of him. Closing his eyes again, he could see himself being folded into the rock.

The sensation was wonderful, yet Jack heard himself thinking that this was not a good wonderful. It was a bad wonderful. It was the wonderful at the end of a thrilling journey. It was the wonderful after intimacy. It was the last hurrah, the final chapter, the kiss goodbye, the beginning of the end.

Jack lifted his arm and tore it away from the wall, snapping the threads.

He heard a sob. It tasted like ginger.

Back in present day Cardiff, Gwen Cooper encounters a madwoman in the aisles at a grocery store who tries to end her suffering by tearing off her own ear. Gwen is also succumbing to a madness that is affecting clusters of women around the world. And it has to do with heightened and crossed senses. Like synaesthia on steroids with some delusion and hallucination thrown in. Torchwood, an organization that investigates alien threats and defends the world against invasion, having suffered grave losses and being org-non-grata with the government, has been, for all practical purposes disbanded. Only Gwen and Captain Jack Harness are left.

When Gwen realizes there’s something wrong on a worldwide scale, she contacts Jack through a computer she’s stashed away down the street while her baby sleeps in her crib. She has the baby monitor. It will be ok, she thinks. She then hears footsteps on the stairs of her house. She’s worried Rhys will get to Anwen and realize she’s not home. Then he'll really be done with her.

Gwen stopped typing. Her hands frozen in mid-air. What if it wasn't Rhys?”

Gwen comes completely unglued and attacks and nearly kills her own husband. Jack comes just in the nick of time. Gwen is put on a ward with other women suffering the same “masochistic madness”. Jack and Rhys try to figure out what’s going on, but without Torchwood computers, it’s slow going.

Meanwhile, something is happening in the Earth’s oceans. Tremors, which are inexplicably not setting off tsunamis, are opening hydrothermal vents in the ocean floor and spewing toxins. Jack enlists the help of an old friend with a arsenal of special tech equipment aboard a ship in the Atlantic.

All the characters in the story come to life. I could picture all of them. Felt I knew them. Exodus Code is the first tie-in novel I’ve ever read. Well, that’s going to have to change. What a ride! It was like getting to experience a two-part episode of Torchwood with more detail and drilling down deeper into the minds of the characters and the forces at work against them.

No real familiarity with the show is necessary to enjoy this book, but being familiar with the characters makes it come alive. It’s a swashbuckling adventure meets sci-fi meets mystery. You are in Captain Jack's muddled head as he tries to unravel the puzzle. If he doesn’t figure it out soon, the world will end. No pressure.

The Barrowmans make a great writing team. The pacing, plot and scenes were very tight. Loved this book cover to cover. More please.

Win a Plantronics Gamer Headset - Odds are Goods at ScifiODD!

The Minister of Chance is in its final countdown before production of the short film The Prologue with Paul McGann which reprises the role of Durian. Tim McInnerny will play The King. 

The audio series remains free to download via www.ministerofchance.com and thery have exciting perks on the Make The Film page. Search "minister of chance" in the Google search box to the right on this blog to read my many reviews. It's a fabulous sonic movie that will surely be a hit feature movie.

Here's another look at the next Hobbit movie.



This is on my watch list. Coming out in December.



Now the giveaway for my gamer readers. Want to win one?

Leave a comment here about your favorite game to be entered to win. I'll put your name in a hat and have my cute little granddaughter pick a name. She can't read yet, so it's fair. ;) She'll pick the name from the comments on Tuesday next week and I'll post the winner on Wednesday morning.

For more information about this sweet gamer headset, read Plantronics' press release.

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Finally, of interest if you're local, I'll be reading a ghost story 

by candlelight in a mausoleum tonight at 7PM. Santa Rosa Memorial Park on Franklin Ave. 

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Darwin Elevator grabs readers with unique post-apocalyptic premise

The Darwin Elevator
Book 1 of The Dire Earth Cycle
Jason M. Hough
Del Rey 2013

Review by Clare Deming

In this debut novel by Jason M. Hough, humanity has fallen on hard times after the mysterious arrival of an alien space elevator in Darwin, Australia. While first heralded as a promising technology, the elevator's appearance is followed by a plague which turns the majority of those affected into feral sub-humans, if it doesn't kill them outright. Only the protective Aura encircling the elevator can prevent the disease from infecting and transforming the population.

The underlying cause of the disease is unknown, but a few rare souls are immune to its effects. By the time the novel opens, nearly all of humanity has either died from the plague, been converted to a sub-human, or found refuge in the disease-free ring of land and space encompassed by the elevator's Aura.

Skyler Luiken is one of those fortunate immunes, and since he can travel outside the Aura without a sealed suit, he makes his living as a scavenger of earth's former civilizations, recovering items requested by those restricted to Darwin. His small team runs into trouble when the elevator loses power at the same time that Skyler's ship crosses the Aura on their return from a routine mission. His ship is subjected to a search and his crew draws the suspicion of Russell Blackfield, prefect of Nightcliff, a fortress built to guard the base of the alien elevator.

Humans also live on a series of orbital habitats, tethered along the elevator. They grow food for all mankind, while Nightcliff fortress oversees the exchange of this food for air and water from below. One of the Orbitals, scientist Dr. Tania Sharma, has developed a theory that the alien Builders are set to return in the very near future. Together with Neil Platz, the entrepreneur who built many of the human additions along the elevator, Tania launches a secret investigation into the aliens' imminent return.

Tania's research leads her to recruit Skyler to retrieve data from abandoned astronomical facilities. In the course of his missions, Skyler draws more scrutiny upon himself and his crew from the overbearing Russell Blackfield. Tension builds as repeated malfunctions in the elevator and political wrangling both threaten the fragile economy of Darwin. At the same time, the sub-humans are becoming more aggressive and dangerous to those outside the Aura, or even on its periphery.

The world that Hough has built in this book was very easy to visualize, and the plot kept me guessing with abundant tension and action that never became exhausting. After a few unforeseen surprises in the plot, I was truly enjoying myself. The vivid characters presented a realistic mix of cultural backgrounds, with both male and female personalities shining in their roles. For me, Russell Blackfield's actions became a bit over-the-top as the novel progressed, but it did not detract from the rest of the story.

The Darwin Elevator shows marvelous skill for a new author and was one of the best books that I've read all year. It is the first volume in The Dire Earth Cycle, but fortunately you don't have to wait for the next book - the remaining two volumes have already been released. I have the second book, The Exodus Towers, in my hands already.

Gravity - Doesn't fall flat

Gravity
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Written by Alfonso Cuarón and Jonas Cuarón
Released Oct 4, 2013

Reviewed by Ann Wilkes


Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney was much better than I expected. Honestly, after seeing the preview, I expected something like Castaway with Tom Hanks. One of those soul-searching, endlessly long waiting games. The trailer doesn't leave much to go on.

Debris hits the International Space Station after the Russians decommission one of their own satellites with a missile. Two astronauts, who were EVA, Ryan and Matt, survive the accident, but with the ISS trashed, they're on their own. Mission control, due to a chain reaction from the debris hitting other satellites in the same orbit, has gone silent. Matt and Ryan, stranded in space, with no help from below, did anything but wait for rescue. The suspense in this flick was non-stop.

Though there were a lot of "no way" moments, the story was a good one and the acting drew me in and made me forget the plot holes. But I'll still list some. ;) I didn't buy Matt's rationale for letting go when he did. Maybe they only paid Clooney for x amount of scenes. Seriously. Don't want to spoil it for you, but when you get there, you'll know what I mean. In fact, if you want to talk more and don't mind the spoilers because you've already seen it, or you just don't mind spoilers, read more in my comment below.

It was also way too full of coincidences, but I'll let that go for the sake of a good yarn. The distances seemed a bit far-fetched, or rather, not far enough fetched. Also, I wanted to yell at Ryan to calm down and quit using so much oxygen. Don't they teach astronauts any meditation or other calming techniques for when they need to reserve oxygen? And then Matt should have been making sure she's conscious now and then, but not making her talk more. Yeah, maybe that was to calm her down, but she still used more oxygen doing most of the talking.

Sandra Bullock delivered a believable, touching performance of an IT specialist on her first space mission. Though she admitted to being close to losing her cookies most of the mission, when spun at high speed in free-fall, she amazingly held it together. Hmmmmm.

Clooney played the cool veteran, enjoying tootling around with his suit jets, making fun of their fellow space walker (before the accident, obviously).  Post-accident, he kept Ryan focused and remained calm, if not a bit too lackadaisical. Stereotypical hot-dogging pilot, only in space. Not sure he was the pilot, but you get the idea. Not too complex. Ryan, on the other hand, has an interesting backstory.  I won't spoil that for you.

In the final analysis, I'd say this is a worthwhile movie and definitely one to see on the big screen. Don't forget to check out my comment below if you don't mind spoilers. I'm hoping to actually get a lively discussion going on that point. Come back here after you've seen the movie and weigh in.

Channel Zilch is a wild and funny ride

Channel Zilch
Doug Sharp
Panverse Publishing 2013
Review by Ann Wilkes

I loved Doug Sharp's sense of humor in Channel Zilch. He maintains levity throughout, even through dire straits (literally), guns in faces and threatened torture. Mick Oolfson, former NASA astronaut, reduced to spreading manure from his plane, The Flying Cow, is approached by a wealthy entrepreneur with a zany plan to go to space, make money and then buy a ticket home.

The plan is to steal the Enterprise shuttle before it heads to its next display gig and get it to Kazakhstan, strap it onto the Energia and launch into space . . . to broadcast a reality show: Channel Zilch. This guy, Manuel Chin, tells him about how he's got a ticket to use the Energia rocket because the Russian guy who's in  possession is a huge 60s rock and roll fan and Chin pays with old Turtles, Herman's Hermit's and Monkees albums and the chopper Peter Fonda rode in Easy Rider.

Crazy, Mick says. But the more he hears, the less crazy it sounds. And then there's the gorgeous, but totally geeky daughter who is completely screwed up emotionally that knows just how to push all of Mick's buttons.

She shoots me a narrow-eyed, nostril-flared gaze that curls my toes, with a tight little smirk like I'd asked her the color of her panties. I see her fingers twitch and the light grid on her belly comes to life--flipping between

xxx
and
???
Pop Chin emits a guffaw. "Do not let my daughter pull your chain. Heloise has an unfortunate propensity to toy with men's psyches. What do you call this charming avocation, my dear?"

Heloise looks at me mock-sweetly and bats her lashes.

TESTOSTERONE SURFING

And here's some of Sharp's delicious sarcasm as delivered by Mick.

Right. Mustn't let the other Maritime Byproduct Moguls steal your killer business plan to branch out into media by launching a space shuttle. I ask, "What sort of aggressive security steps are you talking about? Just because I'm an astronaut doesn't mean I'm part ninja. Nunchuks are hilarious in microgravity."

He signs on and the adventure begins. They actually steal the shuttle, right under Mick's old nemesis' nose and manage (mostly) to hide the huge bulk that is the Enterprise from satellites and Navy Seals all the way to Kazakhstan. Just when I thought it couldn't get any more interesting, Chin gets them safely away from their pursuers with the help of the Russian Mafiya. As you can imagine, getting in bed with the Mafiya leads to more unpleasantness.

Mick is yanked around on Heloise's chain, driven to distraction by the nutty star of Channel Zilch and working long hours with little sleep while always pursued and occasionally attacked by the NASA creep who got him canned. Non-stop action with non-stop sweet sarcasm.

Now you want to read it, right? Find it here.

This Week in Santa Rosa and Space

Tomorrow, Saturday 21st, is the Sonoma County Book Festival. I'm in charge of volunteers, so I'll be there all day, mostly at the info booth. In addition, I'll be reading a story that all the editors love, but none will publish. I've changed strategies and sent it to a literary journal this time, though it is speculative. Seriously, it makes people cry. They all love it. It just doesn't fit into their little boxes. You can hear seven minutes of it tomorrow at 12:30 at the Redwood Writers' Reading Circle in front of Bertolini Student Center near the Santa Rosa Junior College Quad. I'll be joined by fellow Broad Universe member Michelle Murrain and fellow Redwood Writer Robbi Bryant.

***

JP Aerospace has a mission that you can watch live on Sunday. Pillownauts! Pillows exploring space. Wackiest thing since ping pong balls in space. Did you know that JP Aerospace does more experiments than NASA? Yeah, I know, these days that isn't saying much. But they are in a constant state of motion. Keep an eye on them. Never heard of them? They're building airships for space exploration. No joke. I wrote about them in my article "Airships: Not Just Flying Billboards" over at Strange Horizons.  They are the real deal. Anyhow, here's the link for more information and where to watch live.

I don't think John Powell will mind me posting another picture to entice your interest.

And you can read about the essay contest for selecting the pillow parents here.


***

In other space news, the second, to-date, private space company supplied the International Space Station on Wednesday. Read more about Orbital Sciences Corp. and its Cygnus capsule here.

Cool stuff I'm doing and cool books I'm not reading

Well, I did finally find, or rather hubby did, the sequel to that not-so-fantastical The Last Policeman series. But, meanwhile, I'm struggling to find any reading time at all with my September events in full swing. If you're in the Santa Rosa, CA area on September 21st with a few hours to spare, I desperately need some room monitors for the Sonoma County Book Festival. And if you're going to the Kendall Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival on September 28th, I just might be taking your ticket.

I'm reading a pretty decent book by Doug Sharp, Channel Zilch, published by Panverse. Really want to throw my Pandigital e-reader across the room, though. It shouldn't take three to five swipes to finally get the page to turn. Very frustrating! And I actually requested a collection of shorts by a newbie that's self-published. Then, of course, there's Gardner Dozois' tome, The Year's Best Science Fiction. I'm feeling a little like Burgess Meredith's character in that classic Twilight Zone episode. Uninterupted reading time would be lovely. Then I might even get to writing as well.

Speaking of Gardner, if you're not FB friends with him, you're missing out. He writes hysterical little bits on the celebrations of the day. My favorite of the ones I've read is the "leave a zucchini on the doorstep and run" day. I just tried to find it, so I could quote from it, but couldn't. Anyway, very entertaining stuff.

I promised a piece to a friend for a domestic violence awareness thing and signed up to do an exquisite corpse and a voice part for a podnovel. I really need to learn my limitations. But there are so many delicious opportunities out there. If only they all paid. ;)

Want to join me for the Exquisite Corpse? It's in San Francisco on October 2. We write a play together and then see it performed by improv actors on the spot. How cool is that? Leave a comment here and I'll tell you more.

Now, since I mentioned it, I just have to slip it in here (and not for the first time).



If you're a Twilight Zone fan, you'll love my short fiction. They are very much like Twilight Zone episodes. Some of it's available online still. Check out the list on my website at www.annwilkes.com.

In SF News...
Apex magazine is losing its Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor as Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas (respectively) step down. Lynn, who took the reins from Catherynne M. Valente two years ago, told Locus that she needed a break and looked forward to taking up other projects after that.

So, how many Harry Potter fans out there have read her trilogy apparently written for charity entitled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? Any good? Well, if so, you'll be glad to hear J.K. Rowling will be writing screenplays for them for Warner Bros. Check out the article at Tor.com.

Transmissions from Colony One - Worth a listen

As I'm never tired of saying (though my fans may be tired of hearing), I LOVE Minister of Chance. It's a fantastic "sonic movie". Well, I just got turned onto another radio play yesterday that's about the first Mars colony. I listened to the first nine episodes of Transmissions from Colony One yesterday and the finale is available now. You can hear it for yourself (all free) here.

The story follows the 16-member crew of the first manned ship to reach Mars. And it's a colony ship. Well, I had a few quibbles with how that all went down. I know it takes a while to get to Mars, but wouldn't we send a smaller crew there and back first? The whole crew seems to be twenty-somethings. They act like college kids, making jokes and talking about crushes. I don't know if they're meant to be 20-somethings, but the actors look fairly young and that's how they come off. There are eight of each gender, so I'm guessing they're planning on starting the colony with that gene pool. Hmmm. They do expect supply ships, but there is no mention of further manned ships coming.

The acting wasn't bad and the detail to the science was just the right amount in my opinion. I can't speak to how accurate the science is, but it kept it plausible and authentic for this layperson. The main thing that was missing for me was the tension. How long did it take to get there? And by episode nine, it's day 11 on Mars. Everyone, for the most part is still getting along and friendly.

OK, maybe, but here's the real kicker:  As they were landing, they lost contact with earth. It's day 11 and no one's freaking out. They are only just starting to notice weird stuff and are mostly ticked at the commander for hiding something from them. It's a pretty big deal to sign on for a one-way trip to Mars. Having communication with earth would seem to make it more bearable. Take that away, with no explanation for why it's gone and for how long? I'd be majorly freaking out. That's all I would be thinking or talking about.

Commander Sam Flynn has his suspensions which he is keeping to himself. He even lies about stuff to keep them from investigating on their own. He tries to keep his people focused on the mission, which is vital to their survival, but how many people can really compartmentalize such a huge thing like that and carry on as if nothing's amiss? In episode 10, Earth, he reveals his findings, after being called to account by his communications officer, Kaia Osen, in the previous episode.

I'm still interested in this series and intend to head over to tfco.us to listen to the season finale. The sound effects and acting are well-executed. The banter and interpersonal relationships add a nice touch.

Space exploration fascinates me. However, whenever anyone asks if I'd say yes to going myself, I say, "Hell, no!" I can't handle living in the country, let alone, outer space. I'm too much of a people person and like my city life handy. Not to mention the ocean, the forests, the mountains and the lakes. Nope. Let someone else go. I'll be an armchair tourist from the comfort of my home in beautiful wine country.

What's speculative and what's just inevitable?

I finished a book a couple weeks ago that I received from Quirk. Every book I've read by them has been speculative. I've read a couple of their mash-ups and started a third (see post on July 18th re: William Shakespeare's Star Wars). The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters (I reviewed his mash-up, Android Karenina), aside from the fact that an asteroid is headed for the earth, is not speculative. The earth could one day be in the path of an asteroid that size. So, is that really speculative? Yes, and no. This is how Wikipedia defines speculative fiction:

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as related static, motion, and virtual arts.[1]

The footnote goes to an explanation and brief history by Margaret Atwood. An asteroid that size colliding with the earth is not something that's happened in human history. None of us can really know how we would deal with the knowledge of the end of the earth if we haven't lived through it, so I guess, in that sense, it's speculative, dystopian even. And it's a great "what if".

Soft Apocalypse, which I read and reviewed a couple years ago had the same focus, although the apocalypse was slow and the world wouldn't be entirely wiped out. I did enjoy reading The Last Policeman. It was refreshing to read a book that only had one POV. So many authors cram anywhere from three to even twelve into one novel. I think Dan Simmons' The Terror (review here) must have had a dozen. It has advantages and disadvantages. Certainly, when you only have time to read a book in snatches, the single POV is more manageable and an easier read. The Terror, btw, is slated to be an AMC mini-series or TV movie (depending on who you ask) next year. 

I enjoyed the Detective Hank Palace's reactions and personality enough to read more in Countdown City: The Last Policeman II (as soon as I can figure out what I did with it). I have to say, though, they are more detective novels than speculative fiction, which is why I'm not reviewing either of them here. I reviewed Rob Sawyer's Red Planet Blues, which was also a detective novel, but that one was set on, well, Mars, and involved a lot of not-yet science, so it more than qualified.

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For those of you who live in or near San Francisco, a local landmark tourist attraction, Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, is shutting its doors after today. Better hurry! Too bad it isn't next Thursday. Then Kevin and I could visit during our honeymoon. Ah, well, that will leave more time for dancing!

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Here's the Phoenix Picks free ebook for August. Coupon code, 9991670 is good through August 31.

Carolyn Ives Gilman’s Hugo and Nebula nominated novella, The Ice Owl.

Set in the same universe as Arkfall (although a totally independent
story), The Ice Owl tells a tale capturing that moment when we start to
lose our childhood…when we start to realize that our parents and the
“grown-ups” are just as flawed as we are…everyone struggling to deal with
their own demons.

*** 

With all the wedding plans, this little gem got buried. It's still available on demand, so I'm still posting it. Maybe we'll watch it next week - when we're not dancing. ;) It's got Russell Tovey, the werewolf from Being Human. The original, Brit series, not the rubbish Americanized version. He's great!

Europa Report - an intimate look at space exploration

EUROPA REPORT
Release Date: Aug 2, 2013
Director: Sebastián Cordero
Review by Emily Bettencourt

The exploration of new galaxies, trips to new planets, and the existence of alien life are all concepts that have a well-earned place on the shelf of science fiction classics. I was somewhat doubtful that Europa Report could deliver the space journey story in a new way.

The film, directed by Sebastián Cordero, is billed as a documentary-style science fiction thriller, which charts the journey of a privately funded spacecraft exploring the icy surface of Europa, Jupiter's moon. After a catastrophic technical failure and a loss of communication with Earth, the astronauts must complete their mission alone, and survive both the toll of deep-space travel and the discovery they make on Europa.

It's the documentary styling that makes Europa Report unique. It doesn't quite fit into the found-footage genre, but the film does rely heavily on a sense of realism provided by fixed onboard cameras—a rare move in a genre dominated largely by sweeping camera angles and grand storytelling. The onboard camera footage provides both a window into the daily lives of the crew members and a means for them to tell their own stories, in the form of recorded video logs.

This realism is also where much of the tension in the film has its origins. The cameras record every aspect of the crew's daily life, which gives viewers access to even the most tedious details of their routines—a trick which could be grating, if done poorly, but one which Europa Report handles remarkably well. The psychological and physical costs of deep-space travel are not so difficult to imagine when the viewer has such direct access to the astronauts' daily lives. 

Another of the film's strengths is its cast, comprised equally of familiar and unfamiliar faces, all of whom delivery a cohesive and powerful performance. Some more familiar names may include Michael Nyqvist (of Millennium Trilogy fame), Daniel Xu, and Christian Camargo, as well as Sharlto Copley, Karolina Wydra, and Anamaria Marinca. Although some characters have more screen time than others, the actors work well to deliver an impressively convincing portrayal of a group of people trapped in a tiny space, alternately cooperating and annoying each other.

The third area in which Europa Report excels is in the science and the attention to detail that went into it. The filmmakers worked with NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratories, SpaceX, and more in order to most accurately depict what a mission to Europa would look like—from the surface of the moon itself, to the spacecraft necessary to get there, to the life that they may or may not find on the surface. The structure of the spacecraft's design comes from NASA research and development archives, and the creature models were created with the help of leading astrobiologists. As a result, the world that Europa Report inhabits is full of rich detail, creating a plausible, mind-blowing experience.

However, I did have one major nitpick. The film's documentary style is framed by sets of interviews, with staff and scientists from the company that funded the Europa mission. However, the film itself seemed to be an attempt at an in-media-res telling, but with little logic and in no particular order. The sequences of events felt choppy and disjointed. Catastrophic events happened to characters that I had not yet become attached to. This may be a style that some viewers have no difficulty following, but I found myself confused in many places and, unfortunately, my confusion remained at film's end.

Europa Report certainly succeeds at being a unique approach to the space odyssey story, with its documentary-style film-making and the sparse, even bleak storytelling. Despite its (in my opinion) flawed chronology, it was still an interesting, at times heartbreaking, and often armrest-gripping flick that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys the space exploration genre.

Monsters! Robots! Monsters vs. robots!

 
Pacific Rim

Review by Lyda Morehouse 

Release date: July 12, 2013

Director: Guillermo Del Toro

On the drive to the theatre to see Pacific Rim, I told my friends, “You know what I want this movie to be?  Monsters! Robots! Monsters vs. Robots!”

One-hundred and thirty-one minutes later, I nodded sagely and pronounced gleefully, “There were monsters! There were robots!  They fought!”

What I loved about Pacific Rim is that Guillermo Del Toro didn’t even pretend that wasn’t exactly the sort of movie he set out to make.  Before we even see the movie title credits we’re thrown into a montage that explains everything we need to know: for reasons unknown (and who cares!?), alien monsters started rising out of a rift/wormhole in the Pacific and humanity bonded together to create giant robots to stop them from stomping Tokyo (and Sidney, San Francisco, etc.) to smithereens (never mind that our giant robots do at least as much damage, because: Monsters! Robots! Monsters vs. Robots!)

The story rather foolishly, in my opinion, follows our handsome, indistinguishable dude-hero, Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) as he falls from grace as a jaegger, a monster/kaiju hunter (aka robot driver), when a mission goes horribly wrong.  Eventually, and as a surprise to no one but our hero, Raleigh is called back to action when the kaiju mysteriously power-up and he is needed.  Having lost his jaegger partner, he’s paired up with Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), a sexy badass with a mysterious past and a controlling father-figure.

For my money, Mako would have made a better main character.  I found her back story compelling and her moment of honor and revenge was by far the most emotionally satisfying and visually awesome (swords!) part of the movie.  My only other disappointment of the movie was that Mako didn’t get to beat her own apology out of the indistinguishable jackass rival-character.

There were side plots involving somewhat mad scientists and Ron Perlman being awesome in gold-plated shoes.

My only true caveat about Pacific Rim is that I think it appeals most to either serious or casual fans of the kaiju genre (which is all the Godzilla films as well as some others.)  I fall into the casual fan category, but, on the flipside, I’m a big shonen manga/anime fan. I will happily watch hours and hours of movies and TV shows that involve fight scene after fight scene where our clichéd hero powers-up and shouts things like “Thundercloud formation!”  (an actual moment in Pacific Rim, by the way, but not done by our hero.)  I’ve been told by people much more knowledgeable about such things than I, that there are not only a ton of homages to the original Godzilla films, but also moments that will feel gleefully familiar to fans of Mazinger Z, Mobile Suit Gundam and Zeta Gundam, Evangelion.

But, all that being said, I went along with one friend who was bored almost to tears by Pacific Rim, because it wasn’t her thing. The idea of “Monsters! Robots! Monsters and Robots!” was not enough for her.  She wanted decent dialogue, a bit of humor, characters to care about, and maybe, you know, a story.

Eh, whatever.  We agreed to disagree about Pacific Rim. Because: Swords! Acid spitting kaiju! Elbow rockets!  Wing-sprouting monsters!

And . . . did I mention?  There were monsters!  There were robots!  They fought!