Past, Present and Future

Just a bit too much

Alternative history is a tricky thing; you can either use it to just make a great 'what if' story or to use it to make your particular point. The latter is the case with the rather unsettling 2004 film CSA. The premise that the Confederate States of America 'won' the Civil War is not a new one by any means, however this particular take of the idea goes to extremes to illustrate the plight of the slave in an ongoing Confederacy. I don't know, but it somehow annoys me that the black man (sorry, African American) in the US seems to believe that the US was the only place where slavery happened and only to the African. Slavery has existed for as long as so-called civilization and the slave trade that resulted since the discovery of America is just one more atrocity in a long line. As I remind others, 'my people were slaves unto Pharaoh'. Jews have looong memories. Anyway, back to the movie. If you actually ignore some of the history - it's a very clever, disturbing and thought provoking view of 'what might have been'. It also illustrates our ambivalence towards common day slave owning usage - ' Aunt Jemima' or 'Uncle Ben's' anyone? It's unfortunate that the echoes of that awful Civil War still resonate 150 years later and issues still need addressing. The 'history' of the film does leave a lot to be desired though. The British and French would be very unlikely to support the CSA after the emancipation proclamation and, if they did intervene, the Russians would probably have jumped in with the Union making a World War inevitable. With the CSA wining and taking over the US. we are in a whole new area where 'all bets are off' in determining the future. Would they have supported the Allies in WWI and then what of Nazi Germany. Would the outcome of the war against Hitler still be the same. How would the CSA develop the atomic bomb without the help of foreign scientists who would not be welcome in a right-wing Christians-only society - no Einstein that's for sure. Would slavery still be around now or would there be a more subtle form of indentured worker as took place in many British colonies such as Guyana. As you can see, alternative history is entered with a lot of risk.

The reading curse

This is getting a little worrying. It appears that whenever I am reading a book from a venerable well known sci-fi author - they tend to shuffle off this mortal coil into eternity. I was reading an Arthur C. Clarke book when he passed away; the same for Michael Crichton and now, it seems, for J.G Ballard. I was listening to one of his earliest works 'The Drowned World'  when I heard of his untimely demise yesterday. All I can say is - 'I'm sorry'. Ballard wrote in a very distinctive style and concentrated on the ability of mankind and specific individuals to cope with modern technology and with cosmic world changing events and situations. He was able to use the English language to great effect to evoke strange and other-worldly scenes and the often tortured inner workings of the human mind. You either loved or loathed his style, but you couldn't ignore him. He will be missed and I feel that his vision will always be reminding us of our temporary and ever changing status in the history of the Universe. On a much lighter note, the website Total Sci-fi has a poll to find the best TV Sci-fi theme and......Doctor Who was number one! Yay! Mind you, where was Blakes 7 or Survivors (original) or Stingray? I suppose we all have our favorites depending on our age when we first heard those haunting tones from our TV.

Missing in action

Love it or hate it, The US of A is a vital part of our modern world and the actions of the US are a foremost portion of any international news item. For all of the hateful rhetoric spewed out by so-called anti-US countries - many of the citizens of these states would give everything to live in the USA and take part in it's freedoms. Now the author of the Axis of Time trilogy (awesome books) has produced a rather strange take on our modern world. What if, in 2003 just before the second Gulf War, America vanished? Well, not vanished exactly. In a situation reminiscent of S.M. Stirlings' Nantucket books, a sort of energy bubble that kills all living things has covered almost all of the US and some of Canada, Mexico and Cuba. The implications of this cosmic act are far reaching and terrifying. The Islamic nations involved with the Iraqi 'issue' see this as an act of God and decide to wipe out the infidels in their midst and the Israels 'lose it' and Operation Masada goes ahead with terrible and disturbing effects. The actions shifts between a select few characters and they are portrayed well and you are drawn into each persons world very easily. The action sequences are amazingly well done and nothing Tom Clancy would sneeze at. The fact that there are a plethora of well known names scattered about and we KNOW what really was happening then, make this a most engrossing book and well worth the purchase price. I understand there will be at least one sequel - I can't wait.

Stormy weather

In the early years of the Second World War, the US did a deal with the UK to supply a bunch of destroyers in exchange for ports and basing facilities in the Caribbean as part of the Lend-lease agreement. Unfortunately, these destroyers were old and worn out WWI '4 stacker' ships that were pretty much useless. Even worse, for the US this time, was that many more of these old ships ended up in the Asiatic Fleet and went down fighting against an overwhelming and modern Japanese fleet. The author, Taylor Anderson, has taken the untold bravery and dedication of these destroyermen and crafted a rollicking roller-coaster of a tale. The first of three books (so far), 'Into the Storm', is a terrific read and one that really makes you want to run out and buy the next installment (when I have the money). This is a mixture of naval derring-do, alternative history and cool science fiction with a good dollop of mystery throughout. I would recommend taking your time to read carefully as there is a lot of detail and the research for this book must have been formidable. The characters take a while to grow on you and the inclusion of the almost required love story can sometimes make you wince. Remember though, that relations between the sexes was rather different in the 1940's. In my opinion, the romance enhances the story and doesn't get too soppy or silly - nearly, but not quite. The two alien (well, they aren't human) races encountered in this first book are presented well and provide a great backdrop for our 20th century heroes to operate against. Read this book! Have fun - I did.

The other view

Some of the most interesting sci-fi and fantasy stories are the ones that show us the lives and thoughts of the 'bad guys'. Think of Darth Vader, for example. The main draw of the new Star Wars trilogy was the story of how the Dark Lord came about. Maybe Ms. Rowling will give us a book about how poor Tom became the ultimate evil and nearly destroyed the world of Mr. Potter. In some cases, we also have the stories that show us the potential dark sides of our heroes and cultural icons. These stories can change our outlook toward characters we had already formed hard opinions about. Sometimes we also have preconceived images of the inherent 'goodness' or 'badness' of certain childhood figures. When I was a child, I was always advised by my parents to go to a policeman when in trouble or in need of help. The recent incident at the G20 demonstrations in London that resulted in a death of an innocent man has changed that view completely. The video that was taken of the incident indicates very clearly what happened when a over zealous thug in a policeman's uniform decided to lash out at anyone in range. This 'brave' man attacked a civilian ambling along with hands in his pockets from behind and without warning. At the least, going by the result, this was manslaughter, at the worst, murder. I will admit that this incident changed my view of the London 'bobby' and I may never look at them again without this incident foremost in my mind. There goes another innocent childhood view 'out the window'. George Dixon must be turning in his grave.   

Thank goodness thats over

If you haven't started seeing the US Life on Mars or still have to see the last episode - STOP READING. Now, for the rest of you poor people that stayed with the series till the bitter end, here are my views. Started bad - got better near the end - finished bad. It must have been hard for the writers to follow the original UK series without copying it exactly, but they dumbed it down so far that it became a parody of itself and near comedy. The acting was actually rather good considering the material but I never felt that sense of dislocation that Sam should have felt and made the UK version so compelling. It became difficult to relate to the character and care about his eventual fate. Mind you, when we got to the last third of the series, the writing seemed to firm up and the episodes became much more watchable and memorable and there were the 'wow' moments that should have been there in the beginning. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I was with the ending. It was so contrived and silly that it just ruined all the preceding episodes. I don't think that the US writers actually 'got it' and took a very easy way out - it was Bobby in the shower again. One comment from a viewer shows the trouble - they said, 'well, it WAS called Life on Mars'. You turniphead! According to the original UK writers the title came from the 1973 hit (duh!) and was chosen because of the time relevance and the line about the police picking on the wrong guy. In my opinion, Life on Mars US was a wasted opportunity to make a real splash in the US - ended up just a smelly puddle.