tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49096473065103674132024-02-19T01:49:12.999-08:00Satancakeslike Babycakes but slightly more evilsashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-26223363853787505772010-07-14T19:06:00.000-07:002010-07-14T19:06:29.324-07:00Book: Powers by Ursula LeGuinNebula winner in 2009. A slave is freed, then has adventures. Live in forest for a while, then with his original people in a marsh.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-10465100753079261062010-07-14T18:44:00.000-07:002010-07-14T18:44:05.475-07:00Book: A Dog in a Hat by Joe ParkinA story of bike racing in Europe in the late 80s. A great, if not always convincing, series of anecdotes.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-43746558805004866852010-07-14T18:42:00.000-07:002010-07-14T18:42:48.992-07:00Book: Shadowbridge by Gregory FrostFantasy, metafiction. An interesting idea: A mostly water-covered world with stretches (spirals) of bridges on which people live. Oddly reminiscent of William Gibson's Bay Bridge colony. This is book 1 of 2. I'll read #2, but the ending of this one was slightly sour tasting.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-30927875491892333562010-06-22T08:35:00.000-07:002010-06-22T08:35:26.723-07:00Book: The God Engines by John ScalziA short (novella-length), dark take on a universe populated by living gods, who motivate space ships and are disciplined by, well, physical discipline. <br />
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The work is in very sharp contrast to Scalzi's often aw-shucks tone on <a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com">Whatever</a>, his blog, and substantially darker in tone than most of his other fiction. <br />
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Not that I insist on dark work, but if you're gonna do it, guts and blood and faith shattering is probably the way to do it. <br />
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Recommended.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-59985888813637651332010-06-22T08:29:00.000-07:002010-06-22T08:29:11.789-07:00Book: 2010 Nebula AwardsAs with most of these collections, some very excellent stuff and some not so great. Oddly, the ones I was most eager to find more of were the young adult books. Maybe I'm regressing?<br />
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In the Jane Austen/monster mashup category was "Pride and Prometheus". Interesting mostly for focusing on Mary Bennett, who's rafrely given much narrative space.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-13369253786471391752010-06-22T08:26:00.000-07:002010-06-22T08:35:55.164-07:00Book: The Bradbury Report by Steven PolanskyIf the US starts creating clones of everyone to be used for replacement organs, what happens when a clone escapes?<br />
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Angst, apparently. <br />
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A few interesting ideas here, not hugely well explored. Not to mention pretty unappealing characters.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-75993765895950125932010-06-22T08:22:00.000-07:002010-06-22T08:36:02.386-07:00Book: Economics for the Rest of Us by Moshe AdlerSubtitled "Debunking the Science that Makes Life Dismal", this book is a pithy assault on modern (and classical, as I understand it) microeceonomics, and how the theories pushed by mainstream economists provide grist for the policies that insist a few homeless are small price to pay for an "efficient" housing market, or that people unemployed in a recession are just asking for too much. <br />
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Not gonna blow the lid off economic orthodoxy, but definitely a useful perspective on some of the economic dogma that underlies many policies.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-63745403270718114672010-06-10T09:52:00.000-07:002010-06-10T09:52:10.341-07:00Movie: A Serious ManI love the Coen Brothers. I didn't love this movie. I was tickled by the jewish references, but overall, forgot this film as soon as I saw it.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-17171123319295609112010-06-10T09:50:00.000-07:002010-06-10T09:52:27.653-07:00Book: Rushing to Paradise by J.G. BallardNo one has the patience for torturing his characters like Ballard. <br />
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This book could be read as a backhanded swat at environmentalists (and in a way it is), but seems to me to be more of a out some bugs in a jar and see what happens kind of thing. Makes me want to read more Ballard.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-17334274178155868622010-05-25T07:39:00.000-07:002010-05-25T07:39:43.802-07:00Book: The Steel Remains by Richard MorganMorgan is best known for his Takeshi Kovacs series of far-future sci-fi stuff. <br />
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I was surprised to realize that this is a fantasy. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it carries over the grit and cartoony chaos of the Kovacs stuff. It's not often that your (male) main character is not only gay, but actually gets to have sex. <br />
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The plot is occasionally confusing, but pretty much comes back together at the end. There's no indication of it on the book itself, but according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Morgan_%28author%29">Wikipedia</a>, it's the first of a trilogy. <br />
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Nomadic horse clans are the new elves.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-72731216491868401802010-05-24T08:13:00.000-07:002010-05-24T08:13:06.883-07:00Movie: ZombielandEnjoyable. No attempt to answer any of the questions of why or how, but an entertaining action-comedy anyway. <br />
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These guys are pretty good shots.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-3137750568123805252010-05-24T08:10:00.000-07:002010-05-24T08:10:18.091-07:00Book: First Contact by Evan ManderyQuirky!<br />
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Occasionally amusing. Fundamentally pretty disposable. Chock full of Simpsons references.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-32716897842587988322010-05-16T18:56:00.000-07:002010-05-16T18:56:11.621-07:00Movie: Encounters at the End of the WorldWerner Herzog's Antarctica documentary. He spends way more time interviewing the strange characters he meets than I expected. Still, he manages to draw out some interesting stories. He does spend a little too much effort trying to raise the emotional significance of the events his interviewees are describing. Still, there is some incredible footage in the film, and he makes liberal but apposite use of the footage from the Shackleton expedition. <br />
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The penguin scene is amazing. And the seal calls are mind-boggling. <br />
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Overall, more restrained than I expected, but not devoid of Herzogian craziness.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-82278784362728661512010-05-16T18:51:00.000-07:002010-05-16T18:51:31.325-07:00Book: Feed by Mira GrantWe all know what happens when the zombies attack. But what happens later, after they're beaten back (but not eliminated)?<br />
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This book examines that question. Set 20 years after the zombies come, it's the story of George and Shaun Mason, intrepid bloggers and pokers of dead things with sticks. They get selected to be embedded in the presidential campaign of a Wisconsin senator, and find much travails in the process. <br />
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The plot is uneven, and the villain (as well as some of the other characters) is not hugely believable, but the world's pretty compelling, and the main characters are great. <br />
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There's an interesting parallel in how they learn to live with the zombie infestation (caused by a virus), and how we've learned to live with AIDS. Not the same thing, obviously, but at least one story of a kid born infected rang true. <br />
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Recommended.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-42219040462806380142010-05-16T18:42:00.000-07:002010-05-16T18:42:02.157-07:00Book: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi NovikNapoleonic wars, with dragons.<br />
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Pretty much exactly as one would expect.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-74745266848423880932010-05-16T08:28:00.000-07:002010-06-22T08:36:34.762-07:00Nebula winnersAs I think is correct, <a href="http://satancakes.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-windup-girl-by-paolo-bacigalupi.html">the Windup Girl</a> by Paolo Bacigalupi won Best Novel. <br />
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I haven't mentioned reading it, but <a href="http://www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-online/2009/08/novelette-sinner-baker-fabulist-priest-red-mask-black-mask-gentleman-beast-by-eugie-foster/">“Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” by Eugie Foster</a> won best Novelette. I actually heard this story on Escape Pod, and it definitely rose above the standard fare.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-43256675566871126912010-05-05T11:01:00.000-07:002010-05-05T11:01:50.433-07:00Book: WWW: Wake by Robert SawyerThe last (I think) in my reading of the Hugo Best Novel nominees. I had mixed feelings about this one. The main character (a teenage girl whose sight is restored by technological intervention) is well-drawn and pretty compelling. The awakening of the web (or whatever's going on here) is less convincing. <br />
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It's the first in a trilogy. I'm reserving judgment, but I don't think it rises to the level of Windup Girl or The City & The City.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-82204828483701973082010-05-03T07:43:00.000-07:002010-05-03T07:43:19.884-07:00Book: Julian Comstock by Robert Charles WilsonSince I made it a point to read all the Nebula Award nominees, I might as well read all the Hugo nominees as well. This is one that was nominated for the latter, not the former. <br />
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The setting is the late 22nd century, after the collapse of the hydrocarbon economy (caled here "the Age of Efflorescence") has devastated the world. North America is united as a United States where the power rests on a triumverate of the Dominion (a sort of State Christianity) the Army, and a Caesarian presidency. Technology seems to be around the level of the mid 19th century. <br />
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The narrator, Adam Hazzard, is explicitly naive, and his naivete colors the tone of the book, making it read almost like a Young Adult novel. Hazzard grown up friends with the title character, who's the son of the president's murdered brother. The two (along with Comstock's faithful retainer Sam) are forced to run from their village, and end up having adventures, up to and including Comstock assuming his uncle's position. <br />
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The portrayal of a post-industrial society is somewhat interesting, but I felt it was let down by the cheeseballness of the narration, as well as the clumsy foreshadowing.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-71036657619558657212010-05-03T07:32:00.000-07:002010-05-03T07:32:29.705-07:00Book: Santa Olivia by Jacqueline CareyA pretty respectable near-future dystopia. <br />
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A superflu causes the US to create a buffer zone on the border with Mexico. A town (Santa Olivia) that's left in the zone (as recreation for a military base close by) is the setting for the story of a girl's coming of age. <br />
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The girl's the daughter of an escaped military experiment, and therefore pretty tough. <br />
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The ending's a touch ex machina, but the story's still an interesting take. Plus, since it's Carey, there's the requisite perviness.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-20581191097357930912010-04-27T22:35:00.000-07:002010-04-27T22:35:30.090-07:00Book: A Fictional History of the United States (with big chunks missing) By T Cooper and Adam Mansbach (editors)I got this book because my friend Paul LaFarge had a piece in it. Plus, playing with history appeals to me. Unfortunately, few of the stories in the book really play with history. They're mostly a series of (a)historical fictions masquerading as metahistory, or critical history. <br />
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Paul's stands out as the one real alternate take on the history. He muses on the "discovery" of America. It was possibly the Icelanders, or the Danes, or the Chinese. Or maybe the Libyans. <br />
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The other stories in the book vary pretty drastically in tone and quality. Standouts are Alexander Chee's explanation for how many Native Americans were actually descendants of Chinese explorers is one particularly good one, as is Kate Bornstein's tale of Huck Finn as a transvestite prostitute. <br />
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Overall, though, neither the critique of history it sets out to be, nor as entertaining as a well-done satire could have been.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-40839002233587075252010-04-22T17:31:00.000-07:002010-04-22T17:31:50.172-07:00Book: Reappraisals by Tony JudtA collection of reviews and essays by someone I've never read before. <br />
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Interspersed among biographical sketches of various postwar Jewish intellectuals are a few essays of real interest. His takes on Belgium: that most of its citizens' allegiances are to their subregion (starting at Wallonian/Flandrian and devolving from there) rather than the nation; and Israel: that the Yom Kippur war was the moment at which Israel started down the path of international pariah. <br />
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He seems to claim to a hope that Liberals can anchor the left end of the political spectrum without the center shifting drastically rightward seem badly out of date, however.<br />
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He does throw down a deliciously nasty assault on Althusser, though.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-43457156432517217602010-04-19T19:46:00.000-07:002010-04-19T19:47:20.031-07:00Book: Muse and Reverie by Charles De LintDe Lint is possibly my favorite of the "urban fantasy" (meaning fantasy set in contemporary times) authors.<br />
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This collection, set in Newford, his main universe, has its moments, but would be a poor entry into his work. De Lint also has the unfortunate tendency to belabor his stories with a moral.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-37586909804799383022010-04-19T19:42:00.000-07:002010-04-19T19:42:43.115-07:00Book: Palimpsest by Catherynne M. ValenteOne of the Hugo nominees I had not read. <br />
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The fascinating story of a communicable disease, sort of. People are afflicted (?) with a map of a fragment of a city (known as Palimpsest)in a parallel dimension (or in another world, or something) as a mark on their skin. The map is a sexually-transmitted disease. But everyone has a different fragment of the city. When you fall asleep after having sex with someone with a map, you enter the city in your dreams. But the things that happen to you there (like losing fingers) have an effect in the "real" world.<br />
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When you first enter the city, you're grouped with 3 other people. You can only enter the city permanently by finding the other three in the real world.<br />
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The way people deal in the everyday world with the effects of the disease is quite interesting. Palimpsest is drawn mostly in fragments (perhaps echoing the marks on the characters' skin). <br />
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One rare element is man-on-man sex. Tastefully drawn, to be sure, but much more rare, in general, than its lesbian counterpart (which also appears).sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-8143006632565937712010-04-19T19:32:00.001-07:002010-04-19T19:42:55.515-07:00Book: Skin Tight by Carl HiaasenEarly Hiaasen, with all the stuff that makes him great.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909647306510367413.post-56549926050905767372010-04-16T15:17:00.000-07:002010-04-16T15:19:58.142-07:00Five dollar friday: Chaos RoyaleI like the idea of A Tiny Revolution's <a href="http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/003246.html">Five Dollar Friday</a>. Each Friday, I'll donate $5 to someone creating stuff and giving it away on the internet.<br />
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This week's donation: <a href="http://chaosroyale.com/">Chaos Royale</a>. A guy, or group, or something who creates really grimy, loud, thrashful dancy-type stuff. It's music from a really scary future. It makes my head explode, in a good way. <br />
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Recommended.sashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02679797284602182775noreply@blogger.com0