Past, Present and Future

Switch off your brain

Why, oh why did I do it? Watched 2012 that is - actually I watched it twice - I'm a glutton for punishment. I have heard of 'suspension of disbelief', but suspension of higher brain functions? What an absolute waste of screen time and talent. Other than the whole '2012' thing, which is a load of doggie do, there is nothing in this film that relates to anything with any truth behind it. The acting is awful, the script didn't help and the story line (if there is one) is so bad it's not even good. Yes, the CGI is impressive but I felt so detached from anything on the screen - California and Vegas fall down a big hole? Yawn! Please don't waste YOUR time and money - oh dear! Too late.

On a better note (hopefully), The Day of the Triffids is coming from Auntie Beeb. I really, really want this to be done properly and stays true to the original ideas in the book. On first glance it looks very promising. I just hope that is doesn't take until the last episode to get my attention - like Survivors. In closing, here is a little video that I think is quite amazing. I don't expect a feature film from this as District 9 was developed, but this little short film is well watchable - enjoy.

'V'ery good?

Well, the first episode of the new 'V' surfaced and I wasn't too unhappy. The trouble is, that since the far off days of the 1980's, we have been bombarded with 'invasion from space' movies and TV shows until the genre seems completely saturated. In addition, how many people watching 'V' now ever saw the original?  I must admit that this new outing wasn't too bad or too derivative. The general premise seemed to hang together well and the script and acting was fairly well done. The special effects were as expected - neither mind blowing or too cheesy. I recommend that you see this first episode and then decide. Either, like me, you will give it a chance or, like many I suspect, will go elsewhere for entertainment.

I was also able to see another film that my son told me to watch - he has good taste (sometimes). The movie in question was Zowie Bowie's 'Moon". I know, I know, it's really Duncan Jones - wanted to see if you were paying attention. This film is a real 'tour de force', both for Mr. Jones and Sam Rockwell. Although filmed as a low-budget feature, it doesn't show. The sets, special effects and miniatures are top-notch and there is a feeling of realism about the whole thing. The story is very clever and never descends into techo babble or 'bad' science fiction. This may not be an Oscar contender, but is very rewarding of your time and energy.

I'm all mixed up

Sometime sci-fi stories are easy to classify and pigeonhole - other times there is no one thread to follow. The 'Time Odyssey' series by Artur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter is a prime example. The second and third books are definitely in a typical sci-fi mold, but the first is a real mish-mash of genres including 'hard' sci-fi and alternative history with a little romance thrown into the mix. Does this make them good or bad books? I'll be honest, they aren't the best examples of either authors work and tend to go rambling off in strange directions. I would advise at least a single read as they are a fairly good way to pass the time, however, there really is very little there that would reward a second read. It reminds me a bit of the Matrix series of movies - the first one avoided being bad science fiction, the sequels WERE bad science fiction. There were so many threads within the story that you would be confused very quickly. At least with a book, you can read the same section again and again to clarify things - with a movie (unless you own it) you don't have that luxury.

No big game news this post, however I am thinking of another game design involving the London-Melbourne air race of 1934 (the MacRobertson Trophy race). So far I have only looked at the maps and aircraft details, but I can see that a type of 'card driven' system would work. More news as it comes. In closing, I have a little video for you. Now, in the past, I have walked and climbed over some pretty nasty terrain - this little walk scares the brown stuff out of me.

You put your left leg in, you put your left leg out...

Yes, it's the 'knee jerk' genre again. I just finished reading 'One Second After' by William Forstchen and it certainly falls into the current US paranoia of the terrorist and anti-American sneak attack. it's also a 'but for the grace of God' book that warns us (or at least the USA) that they must plan for the worst now or face the terrible consequences. It's interesting how different authors contemplate the end of the World. In 'Dies The Fire', we see the story from the survivors view of forming new groupings and new societies. In 'The Earth Abides' (I'm reading that now), it's a view from a quite detached observer. The Forstchen tale describes the slow collapse of society after a devastating EMP attack on the US and other allied countries. It definitely gives you a rather scary and almost gruesome idea of the frailty of our so-called civilization. It's actually quite a good book and moves along very nicely. It reminds me a bit of John Birmingham's ' Without Warning'. Of course, the point of the book is to scare people into writing to their congressman to get him (or her) to protect them from this dreadful fate. I don't know why we seem to have a 'thing' for the end of the World as we know it stories. Hollywood has certainly made a lots of money from these ideas - the soon to be released '2012' seem to be just one more; albeit with lots of noise, explosions and ordinary people in peril. The visuals do look good and it may be worth wasting an hour or two on.

If you need a good laugh, I recommend this short film. It's very well done and very clever:

Not boldly gone

Before you even ask - No, I haven't seen the new Trek film. It's for a number of reasons such as cost and accessibility. It's going to be on disk soon anyway, so I will be able to see it again and again and again and.....you get the picture. My son has seen it and he is full of praise and even though he and I are not Trekkies (Trekkers?) it is still an 'event' when a new Star Trek adventure comes barreling along. From what I have seen and heard, this outing into the future has given the tired old franchise a much needed kick in the pants and could be the beginning for a new generation of fans. Talking about fans; I just finished watching the movie 'Fanboys' which has been in production for a while and just released. In many ways it is just a typical geek road trip with many of the cliches that one has come to expect. What makes it stand apart is the absolute way in which it's aimed at the strange world of the Trek and Star Wars feud. The pace of the film along with the well written script is non-stop and the inclusion of the many famous faces just adds to the fun and mayhem. Bill Shatner is always a joy to see when he mocks himself and the inclusion of Princess Leia and Lando make everything just so much more fun. Even if you are not a rabid fan of either of the franchises, you will still have a blast watching this. What films am I waiting for now? Terminator Salvation - was anyone really surprised when they announced that the 'Arnold' Terminator would be seen? Harry Potter: The Half-blood Prince - now the story gets really dark and beyond just a nice children's fable. Public Enemies - this looks absolutely brilliant and I can't wait to see what Johnny Depp makes of John Dillinger.

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.

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.

I need more

It was another visit to Chapters last week and another haul of new books - some from their bargain bin. It's amazing what you can find when you take your time and really look at what they have on their clearance shelves. The first book that I've finished was part of the Doctor Who hardback series based on the new Doctor Who characters. The one I chose would only be of interest to those of you that have kept up with the series and know what is going on - the rest of you - sorry. The book 'The Story of Martha' is a condensed version of her year traveling the Master dominated Earth. Obviously written for a teenage audience, it is still a fairly good read for us adult and young-at-heart fans who follow the adventures of this rather odd time traveler known as The Doctor. The stories (several authors) mesh quite well and give us some new, albeit short, glimpses of adventures unknown. My only real gripe with the book is that it is far too short. I would loved to have seen a huge 1000 page tome detailing the trials and tribulations of Martha Jones as she travels across a ruined Earth and spreading 'the word'. Unfortunately, the book is of a standard length to fit nicely on the shelf with my other Dr. Who books - pity. In general the stories in the series of books are very good and provide nice additional episodes to the Doctor Who universe. The quality is 'spotty' though and there are some real dogs. I think I have found a few good ones and mainly listen to them as audio books. If you are a Who fan then it's worth your while to check these out. New TV episode around Easter - I can't wait.

Just visiting

I'm just about half way through my latest read, 'The Coming' by Joe Haldeman and published in paperback in 2001. It uses a very tried and true premise that the aliens are on their way and details the reaction to that 'threat'. To be honest though, this book is more in the way of showing a future where global warming and climate change have subtly altered the geography and where the world seems on the brink of blowing itself to perdition (again). It's the old story of hoping that outside intervention will stop us from self-destructing - be it aliens or angels. I'm also re-reading 'Footfall' by the Nevin and Pournelle duo, which also shows the aliens arriving - however, not with good results. I often wonder why any alien culture would take the time to come here - after all, we use atomic weapons on ourselves! I would think that we are probably quarantined as a mad bunch of semi-intelligent ape descendants. If there are other space-faring societies out there, then where the heck are they? I would think that until a race has the ability to travel vast distances quickly at little cost, then they would not spend the resources to come to our little backwater planet on a whim. The premise of 'V' was that they came all the way here as we provided food for a hungry bunch of lizards - I can't see that really - it's silly. Would they come here to exchange information - what would WE have that could possibly interest a race that could straddle the stars as easily as we straddle our planet? However, the wish fulfillment that is sci-fi can bedazzle, frighten and enthrall us with all sorts of impossible possibilities and we should celebrate that. At least we should be ready when the aliens actually arrive..

The Red Menace

Of our two nearest neighbors in space, Mars is probably the best candidate for signs of life and a possible home for humankind. Venus is unfortunately the nearest thing to Hell that we can imagine - no lush forests or world-girdling seas I'm afraid. Ever since ancient times, Mars has had a fascination for us and probably was also true of the earliest hominids in Africa. That little red dot holds mysteries and questions that we are only now starting to unlock and answer. Of course, through writer's eyes, we have visited this mysterious planet many times and found many surprises. One of the best authors in this field is Ben Bova, whose 'Grand Tour' series has introduced us to our Solar System in many wonderful ways. I've read most of his stories, but only one of his Mars's books 'Return To Mars' published in 1999 and a sequel to 'Mars' from 1992 and now followed by 'Mars Life'. The nice thing about this second book in the series was that you didn't need to read the first one to get right into the story - not many writers can do that. The characters are very distinct and we really begin to care about their fates and the discovery of a saboteur in their midst adds a real feeling of menace. The story itself is a bit of wish fulfillment, but aren't almost all sci-fi stories that? The only real issue is that the romance factors are a bit forced and seem silly. However, many sci-fi writers have difficulty adding human emotions to their stories, laden down as they are with scientific facts and techobabble. Mr. Bova nails the science and the exploration, even does fairly well with the political issues, but his love interest sub-plots seem poor. Can't have it all, I suppose. The test of any story is, 'do I want to read more', and Ben 's yarn gives me that impetus to know more and see what happens next. So, excellent story and well recommended for you Mars crazed readers out there.