Oi! The Minister of Chance - more please!

The Minister of Chance
Radiophonic Serial
Writer, Producer, Director: Dan Freeman
Starring: Julian Wadham, Jenny Agutter, Lauren Crace (as Kitty), Paul Darrow, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann.

Radio shows rock! You don't think so? You haven't heard The Minister of Chance. It's not just visual sound effects that have come a long way. I got totally lost in the story like I was there. The Minister of Chance is a new British science fiction audio series which is sort of like Nazi Germany taking over a backward planet instead of France. But these invaders will politely send you to the dungeon or to the labor camp and wonder why you're not honored to do it. The invaders believe in magic, not science. Their leader is the Witch Prime and their standard salutation is "Happy Spells".



While smuggling food to a scientist who is part of the resistance, Kitty encounters the Minister of Chance. The atmosphere and humor will whisk you away to a world you've never imagined. You'll laugh at Kitty's protestations as she follows the Minister of Chance through a door that wasn't there a second ago and across the frost bridge into another realm. A far cry from slinging ales at the pub where she worked. The Cockney does get a bit thick at times for those unaccustomed to it, but it's so worth it for the flavor that it adds.

The witty, sarcastic dialog and the acting are flawless. I should know. I've listened four times. :) It's space opera at its best. Right up there with Dr. Who. Jonathon Barnes recently interviewed Julian Wadham, who plays The Minister of Chance, over at his Pantisocracy blog.

You can download an MP3 of the first episode, "The Broken World", for £1.49 via credit card or paypal. And please tell your friends. This is a production of Radio Static and depends on your patronage, rather than, as their press release states, "the BBC, the Government, or any other criminal organization." Episode Two: "The Forest Shakes" will be released on April 14th. Can't wait!

After Hours: Tales from the Ur-Bar -- Who can resist a drink poured by Gilgamesh?

After Hours: Tales from the Ur-Bar
Edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray
DAW 2011

Reviewed by Clare Deming

In After Hours: Tales from the Ur-Bar, editors Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray have taken the clichéd tavern meetup of fantasy stories and role playing games and turned it on its head in an entertaining anthology that revolves around a time-traveling bar. Benjamin Tate establishes the origins of this Ur-Bar in the first story of the collection, "An Alewife In Kish". In ancient Sumeria, perhaps in the city of Ur, Kubaba has been cursed to live an immortal life spent tending her drinking establishment. While the origins of her curse and the nature of the magic are never really elaborated, that is not the point. When her bar is visited by Gilgamesh, she strikes a deal that allows them both to achieve their ultimate desires.

With Gilgamesh, known as Gil to many of his patrons, at its head, the Ur-Bar evolves a second meaning as the earliest or original Bar. Popping into different time periods, the bar brings Gil in contact with many people and cultures in its travels. There are a few common elements to each story - mainly that Gil runs the bar and makes at least a peripheral appearance in every tale. I found that he was a remarkably consistent character for being written by such a diversity of authors. Other recurring elements include a stone tablet that contains the gods' original beer recipe. Gil himself has a mystical quality, which comes into play in some of the stories. Whether he can mix that most exemplary (and maybe magical) drink, or if it's just to talk, Gil helps his guests with their problems.

The stories follow "An Alewife In Kish" in chronological order, from the Vikings to ancient Rome, on to Europe and America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and even into one possible future. The tales are set in a bar, but are only peripherally about the drinks - rather they are about the relationships that evolve as a result of entering the Ur-Bar and interacting with its other patrons and inhabitants. At the end of the volume, there are biographies for all the authors. I have highlighted some of my favorite stories below:

Maria V. Snyder pours us some "Sake and Other Spirits" in ancient Japan. Azami has fled from life as a samurai's wife and works in the Ur-Bar, but a water vampire is killing travelers and complicates her escape after her identity is discovered.

An orphan boy peddles junk and causes strife between rival bars in "The Tavern Fire" by D.B. Jackson. Set in Boston in the 1700's, this story ties a true historical event into the narrative.

Seanan McGuire highlights some lesser-known properties of mixed drinks in "Alchemy of Alcohol", complete with drink recipes at the end. The Summer King hopes that Gil's alchemist can help him revive the Winter Queen, but family disagreements lead to broken bottles amid a magical battle.

While Prohibition may have impeded Gil from operating his bar in America for a short time, Paris during the '24 Olympics makes an exciting setting in "Paris 24" by Laura Anne Gilman. An epee fencer from the U.S. team seeks a little excitement, but instead has to think about what he wants out of life when a world war hovers in the near future.

"Steady Hands and a Heart of Oak" are needed by British sappers, but a stiff drink from Gil can also help. Ian Tregillis shows several futures and a man's struggle to decide upon the best one amid war-torn London.

I found Jackie Kessler's tale – "Where We Are Is Hell" - to be the most unique story. A ghost trapped between heaven and hell finds her way into the Ur-Bar, where speaking to Gil helps her remember what was important in her life.

What does the future bring for the Ur-Bar? Zombies, apparently. In "Izdu-Bar" by Anton Stout, we see a glimpse of the world after the zombie apocalypse. The bar is on lockdown and no one is to be admitted after dark. However, when the bouncer's greed overcomes his common sense, will a drink be able to save him?

This was a light-hearted collection of stories which I think would be easy for most readers to relate to, as the majority of them have a historical setting that is readily identified. As with all anthologies, the theme is present throughout, but I felt that there was enough variety to keep me entertained without causing me to feel like I was reading the same story repeatedly.

I Saw the Devil - a bit of a stretch

I SAW THE DEVIL
Written and Directed by Kim Jee-woon

Premiered March 4, 2011

Reviewed by Emily Bettencourt

The sinking feeling started when I sat down to watch I Saw the Devil and realized that the running time of the film was 144 minutes — nearly two and a half hours. From what I'd read and heard, I Saw the Devil didn't seem like the type of film that would have enough content to warrant that runtime. Still, I'd had good experiences with Korean horror/thriller films (the Vengeance trilogy and dramas such as IRIS and Time Between Dog and Wolf), so I tried not to dwell on that.

Unfortunately, I found myself more than a little nonplussed.

I Saw the Devil is a film about a detective named Soohyun (Lee Byunghun) who becomes obsessed with vengeance after his fiance, Jooyun (Oh San-ha), is tortured and murdered by a serial killer named Jang Gyeong-chul (Choi Min-sik). The film was directed by Kim Jee-woon, who is known in South Korea and globally for being a director capable of tackling a wide variety of genres. I was hoping that I Saw the Devil would be handled with the same grace as the two films of his that I'd seen previously, especially considering that one (A Tale of Two Sisters) is of a similar genre. Unfortunately, the film failed to impress---despite being compared to other such iconic cult films as Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, it lacked both the attention to aesthetics and the stomach-clenching tension that I've come to expect from South Korean horror.

The film is supposed to center around Soohyun's slow transformation into a monster as he pursues his quest for vengance, calling into question the legitimacy of the "an eye for an eye" approach to life, but really it just felt tedious. Soohyun's wife dies within the first five minutes of the film---the entire remaining two hours and twenty minutes is dedicated to Soohyun's pursuit of the killer, and his game of catch-and-release. The idea in itself is good, and could be executed well, but by the end of the film I was basically thinking, "Okay, I get it, you're angry. Can this movie be over yet?" The depiction of a quest for vengeance isn't a new idea, especially in the South Korean cinematic realm, but the idea of a catch-and-release game is---however, I think Kim Jee-woon was a little overambitious in terms of time, turning what could have been a deeply psychological and tense film into a seemingly endless cycle of monotony.

In terms of performance, Lee Byunghun and Choi Min-sik are both extremely capable actors; they've both handled a wide variety of roles and done so with skill, but Kim Jee-woon didn't give many chances for expression. Given more expansion, I think Lee's character could have been extremely sympathetic; however, with the exception of a few brief, terse conversations, usually by phone, Lee Byunghun doesn't do much talking. His character is very stagnant. As a viewer, I didn't get the impression that he was changing as a person---it just seemed like he got really angry after his fiance died and stayed angry throughout the course of the film. That said, Choi Min-sik delivered a brilliantly creepy and skin-crawly performance (as he's done before in the role of serial killers, Mr. Baek in Oldboy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance being the ones that come to mind), seamlessly filling the role of an unhinged sociopath.

Overall, I think that I Saw the Devil is worth seeing, but probably not worth buying a ticket to see. And if you're expecting something like the Vengeance trilogy, don't get your hopes up.

2010 faves, new publisher and publishing forum

The results from the SF Crowsnest's readers poll are in. Check out the Hyper Hundred Best sci-fi novels of 2010.

Thery're top ten includes:
Some of the books in the top ten include:
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
• Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie.
• The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi.
• Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds.
• Kraken by China Mieville.
• Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.
How many have you read?

Better late than never are my top ten faves from last year with links to my reviews:
The Evolutionary Void by Peter F. Hamilton
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
www:WATCH by Robert J. Sawyer
Mad Skills by Walter Greatshell
Soulless by Gail Carringer
Mozaart's Blood by Louise Marley
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith
Are You There? And Other Stories by by Jack Skillingstead

There's a new e-publishing company that looks like they know what they're doing. Auriga Press handles novels of 100K words or more, mostly as digital releases. Explore their cool new website to learn more.

The Gatekeepers Post, a "Social Media Book Publishing Community," launched on Feb 1st. Frankly, it frightens me. Where do you begin. It seems to be a very busy place, but I've been too busy to really search through its many nooks and crannies to see if it only looks busy. The press release claims it is "A cross between Huffington Post and Publishers Weekly, the outlet features some of the most important and respected voices in book publishing."

And here's the name-dropping portion:
"The support from the industry has been overwhelming," says Rivera, "I'm proud of the high caliber of Gatekeepers and guest bloggers who'll be joining us." Veteran agents, major editors, librarians, publishers, publicists and authors such as New York Times bestseller Alisa Valdes Rodriguez will be lending their voice to the community as well. Book publishing heavy weights such as Andrea Barzvi of ICM, Keith Ogorek of Author Solutions, Harvey Klinger of the Harvey Klinger Agency, Bill Gladstone of Waterside Productions, Glenn Yeffeth of BenBella Books, Steve Wilson CEO of Fast Pencil and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein of Gotham Group have also joined.

And the promise:
A steady stream of book-centric reviews, headlining news, articles, and op-ed pieces, will be incorporated within the outlet along with forthcoming special events such as virtual panel discussions and online conferences.

Why not head on over and check it out? You might want to give me a heads up before you go in and let me know when you come out, so I know if I need to send a rescue party.

Pang: The Wandering Shaolin Monk makes comic history

Pang: The Wandering Shaolin Monk
Volume 1: “The Refuge of the Heart”
Ben Costa
Iron Crotch University Press (July 2010)

Review by Lyda Morehouse

If you’ve ever applauded your way through one of Jackie Chan’s “Drunken Master” films, but secretly wished that along with the subtitles there were pop-up bubbles with information about Chinese customs, history and/or language, Pang is a graphic novel for you.

This volume collects 188 pages of the on-going web comic Shi Long Pang, which you can find at shilongpang.com. The story takes place in 17th century China and follows the title character, Pang. Pang himself is drawn in a simple style, which reflects his “uncarved block” personality (with apologies for making a Taoist reference for a Shaolin monk). In this way, Pang stands out in a visual simplicity among the vividly colored, complex and sometimes cluttered panels. However, I think that contrast is not only perfect for this sort of character and story, but also highlights the intensity of the times in which Pang lives.

Costa tells a serious, epic story about the Three Feudatories War, while simultaneously following the personal and sometimes gently humorous tale of Pang – a rotund, sheltered monk, who finds himself thrust into the center of the conflict. Pang is very likable from the moment he enters the picture. Like a bumbling hero in a Golden Harvest film, he’s the moral center of any argument and (as a bonus!) surprisingly cool/capable in a fight.

Pang is one part sweet, one part serious, and a whole bundle of awesome. A great read. I devoured the whole thing the moment I sat down with it. In fact, now I plan to take the time to hunt through the archives at the web comic, so I can start to follow along in real-time with the continuing adventures.