Past Present and Future

A long way to go

I'm going to continue down my list of books again this post. Before I do, some Dr. Who and Sarah Jane news. Dr. Who's current season has two to go before the Christmas special and, so far, it's been an interesting season which some surprises and some amazing acting thrown in. Sarah Jane will grace our screens in October and I can think of no better way to remember Elisabeth Sladen that sitting down to watch her amazing character save us all again.. Now - onwards:

#6 1984

The classic dystopia and a window into our darkest desires and fears. Orwell's look at the excesses of state control and the ease in which people become accustomed to it still can chill us to the bone. So much of this seminal book has permeated itself into our lives. We all fear big brother and the thought police. The changing of language meanings and the ever more intrusive surveillance of our lives just reinforces the visions of the hideous world he showed us. I wonder how this book would have fared if the original title was used - 1948.

#7 Fahrenheit 451

If all you have seen is the movie, then this book will be a revelation. Tautly and poetically written as only Bradbury can, this fairly short novel will leave it's mark with you. Much as 1984, the description of the world in this book is almost familiar to us. With the rise of the e-book and social networking along with the endless barrage of TV adverts asking us to spend our lives watching the 'idiot's lantern', Fahrenheit 451 seems less of a fantasy and more a reality.

#8 The Foundation Trilogy

Ah, Mr. Asimovs magnum opus. Yes, it can seem rather dated and simplistic with poor character development, but what great stories. These tales would make a terrific mini-series and I would love to see someone with the gumption to do it. I really recommend these books to anyone starting their journey into science fiction and even for us jaded older readers. A word of warning though - keep away from the later additions to this original trilogy - written for money, they dilute and weaken the story line.

#9 Brave New World

Huxley's rather odd and scary book is brimming with clever ideas and amazing characters. Set in a weird future where everyone is programmed from birth to their position in life and the ideas of family, love and self determination are absent. The only escape from their over-structured world is to see the savages on the fringes of society - in other words - us! This is a books that will draw you in and leave you with a nasty taste in your mouth! there is no revolution and ultimately,no change in society. Huxley misses no punches and minces no words here.

#10 American Gods

Now, I like Neil Gaiman's stories very much, he has a wicked sense of humor and a very direct and disarming way of showing us his characters. His tales are clever and usually have a number of twists and turns until we reach a solution and end. His writing for a recent Doctor Who episode 'The Doctor's Wife' was amazing TV and a great story. I have a confession though - I haven't read this particular tome yet and I really must get around to it.

The final countdown

Here we start to go down the list of top 100 sci-fi and fantasy books. First though, my thoughts of Torchwood series four - now that it's done. A clever story with a neat ending and a cool twist setting things up for series five. However (you knew that was coming), ten episodes was for too many - if this had been a five part series it would have been just perfect. It's typical US programming though and shows why some series just die from lack of interest. It IS still worth the watching and fairly intelligent TV.

OK, Onwards:

#1 Lord of the Rings:

What can one add to the grandeur and wonder throughout this 3-part chronicle. A long and sometimes hard read that is rewarding just in the reading itself. Without Tolkien's writings, fantasy would be a lot poorer today and many of the (over)used characters such as Orcs, halflings and warlike elves would be sadly missing.

#2 The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy:

Ah, Mr. Adams, the world is a sadder place without you. Whether you read the trilogy in five parts or watch the wonderful BBC production or the less great movie, these are stories to savor. I somehow believe that the Universe is really just as these books portray. These are stories for all ages and I defy you not to laugh out load now and again. I must read the sixth book by Eion Colfer soon.

#3 Ender's Game:

A true classic of the sci-fi genre. The images and characters of this book will stay with you long after you finish the reading. Orson Scott Card may have written many books, but this one is the one he will be remembered by - no shame there. I would love to see this one filmed.

#4 Dune (all of them!)

I must admit that I always found Dune hard to read - the later tomes even more so. I find that just sticking with Dune itself is enough for most people. One of the greatest and best imagined space empire/opera books ever written and a model for the rest. Ignore the dire filmed versions and just let you own imagination provide the visuals - you will be well rewarded.

#5 A Song of Fire and Ice:

I must admit that I have never been interested in or have read the books. However, after the TV mini-series my interest has been piqued. The audio books are waiting for me to dive in...soon, very soon.

More to come..........

Watching me, watching you

I finally saw the 2009 movie Watchmen for the first time last week and I've seen it a couple of times since. Now, as you may have  gathered, I'm not a big comic reader and I wasn't too familiar with the background so I wasn't sure that I would 'get it'. This was a terrific superhero film and I did, indeed, get it. The background story was beautifully sketched out right at the start and the music from Bob Dylan was an inspired choice. The acting was OK, nothing special, but the effects were good and the story worked very well and the movie never dragged or felt like it was over long - for a three hour+ movie, that was impressive. I subsequently got hold of the comics and was very impressed with how close the movie was to the printed page - kudos for all involved. A excellent piece of entertainment and worth repeated viewing.

I suppose that I should re-watch some other comic derived films and compare them to the original works - could be interesting. Lets see - Tank Girl, Judge Dread, Fantastic Four, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and so, so many more. Here come many sleepless nights.

I recently found this list on-line and wanted to share my thoughts with you on the books listed and, over the next few posts, I will let you know what my view of these books is. Now, I havn't read them all and some were read many moons ago, but I give it my best shot. So....watch this space. No really, watch this space                                             !

Just add water

Over the past few days I've been immersed in the reading (audio book) of 'Trillion Year Spree' by the amazing Brian Aldiss. This is a very detailed and partisan history of the wonderful genre we call science fiction. Unfortunately, it's also a very dry, wordy and slightly pretentious book that takes much patience to stay with and needs close attention paid to every word and reference. However, if you stay with it, there is a wealth of information, trivia and a hidden treasure trove of forgotten and lost stories.

The main thrust of the book is to delineate the beginnings of sci-fi and to show it's development and growth in the last 150 years or so. Brian's assertion that Mary Shelly's Frankenstein from 1818 is the first definitive and recognizable science fiction novel is not new, but he presents the best arguments for this claim. There are many mentions of other gothic stories and, of course, the many other fantastic tales going back to the ancient Greeks. I must admit, I tend to agree with this theory and also see Frankenstein as a true 'modern' tale of sci-fi. If you have any interest in the history and development of sci-fi, then this is THE book to read - just don't expect an easy time of it.

In other news, I've just finished listening to this engrossing BBC audio presentation of 'The Dalek Conquests'. This clever and beautifully produced 2-CD set serves up the current history of the Daleks up to the ninth Doctors final confrontation where Rose utterly destroyed the Dalek fleet menacing Earth and, accidentally, creating the Torchwood history of Captain Jack Harkness. This audio offering takes us from the depths of the Utah desert to the initial meeting between the first Doctor and the Daleks on Skaro. The mix of narration and original audio throughout creates an atmospheric and exciting series of tales. If you have any Doctor Who interest, this is a real 'keeper'.

TTFN

Welsh power!

It's been a while - sorry about that - family stuff and a hospital visit will tend to put a crimp in best laid plans. Anyway, time to report on near half-way time in the ongoing Torchwood saga.

The latest series in the Torchwood universe is a collaboration between the US and the original BBC team headed by Mr. RTD and is a ten part journey though a very strange world. Mainly, it's a mix of the original Torchwood, the X-Files and any number of other conspiracy based tales. Does it work?

I'll have to say, in general, yes it does work fairly well. The issue is with the US need to stretch things out to fill a certain number of programmes rather than create a taught and exciting TV experience. This means that the episodes tend to fluctuate wildly between non-stop action and a waste of an hours viewing. Us usual, there seems to be this need to add in graphic full-frontal sex scenes. We KNOW that the writer is gay and that Jack is omni-sexual and John Barrowman is also gay. However, throwing a gay sex scene into the mix did nothing for character development or for moving the story along. It seemed to just be there for titillation. Actually, not being gay, I found it rather tasteless, distracting and unnecessary. Why do writers and directors do this nonsense?

The story, other than the above, is indeed intriguing and clever. The characters have seemed to grow into the roles and seeing Gwen and Jack in action is always fun. There are the Dr. Whoequse moments of terror, humour and outright weirdness that make viewing a joy (mostly). I just hope that the pay-off is not as contrived and plain silly as the end of the US version of Life on Mars.

Do I recommend this season of Torchwood? Yes indeed I do, even with the issues that seem to crop up in any US funded sci-fi show. One day we may see some decent sci-fi book or series filmed well. I'm still holding out for a Foundation mini-series.

In closing, I found this amazing image recently. I seems it's not only me that thinks that Rob Ford may be a Slitheen - scary thought.

Free trade?

I'm always on the look out for deals on favorite TV shows or movies and, as of last week, that great site RedFlagDeals.com showed the Blu-ray version of the Classic Prisoner series for less than $24 on Amazon.com - $24 silly dollars! Even with shipping, this comes out to less that $33. I've always loved this amazing and confusing series and this price was just to good to pass up.

However, I do have a real issue with this. I don't mind having to order from the US, but why should I have to to get the best price. The current cost of this boxed set from Amazon.ca is $79.99! Although the cost at the US side has gone up to $38.99, the difference is staggering. I had contacted Amazon about this before and received a rather condescending and rambling answer that basically said 'tough'.

Obviously 'free trade' and open borders to commerce mean very little when it come to the little guy. The rather 'hit and miss' application of fees and tariffs also seems to be just another tax grab aimed at separating me from my money and punishing me for daring to shop outside Canada. Silly price differences like this are why people will shop on-line and order from outside Canada.

My 'new arrival' should be here tomorrow - I can't wait.

Can't go back again

Although family matters have taken up most of my time, I haven't neglected my reading or viewing. Recently the BBC broadcast the classic Nevil Shute story 'On The Beach' from 1957. It was a masterful production and brought to life (no pun intended) the many characters from the story and was a reminder of the writer's talents.

Following the broadcast, I decided to hunt up the two movies derived from the novel; the first with Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner from 1959 and the second with Armand Assante and Rachel Ward from 2000. Both well made in their way, but quite different in execution and in the end effect. Overall, both movies kept close to the original story and deviated only in fairly minor places.

However, the original 1959 movie seemed a 'tighter' film and kept the story moving and interesting - the final scenes were poignant and frightening at the same time with no happy ending in sight. A sobering and fascinating experience. The later 'made for TV' movie was certainly more up-to-date and relevant to our modern society, but seemed to lack a direction. It was a much longer film, but it just seemed like wasted screen time. In short - it was plain boring. An unpardonable sin in my eyes.

Whereas the original film had no sense of happiness in the final moments, the newer one had an happy ending of sorts that was totally at odds with the intent of the original story - a typical Hollywood sell-out. So, my verdict. Read the book, it's amazing, see the original movie and only see the new one if you have time to spare and have nothing better to do.

More questions than answers

I want to know! That was my agonized cry at the end of the first half of the recent series of Doctor Who. We find out who River Song is, we find out some truth about Amy and her pregnancy and we get some more clues about the fate of the Doctor himself.....but. The answers we are given just seem to create more questions and confusion reigns. I love it!

This last series has been far darker and, in general, more adult that before in the hazy far off days of Tennent et. al. Although there are still the stories of whimsical fun and child-like fantasy, there is an undertone of something nasty in the woodpile. I think that is the essence of Doctor Who, the scary things hinted at but not seen and the sense of unease and unexpected terror.

I'm still not totally taken with Matt Smith, but he is growing on me. It always fascinates me when I can find little interesting 'bits and pieces' of Who history that have obviously influenced the current writers. We must remember that the current incarnation chose his clothing from a hospital storeroom; however this just echoes the same situation with the third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) when he turned up. I really, really recommend this radio show from the BBC where the wonderful Jon Pertwee talks about his career - what a wonderful talent he had.

Splitting the current series in two does make some sort of sense; however I understand that there will be a break from the traditional series in the next year or two. I suppose you can have too much of a good thing.

TTFN

Dune lite

Been a while I know, but here is my little review of Hellhole by Herbert and Anderson. First off, I did enjoy the read and look forward to the next installment in the series....but. As the blog title says, it really seems like a Dune derivative and loses many points for that in my opinion. It's not surprising given the author's prior outings. It is a pity though; I feel that the story could have been better than it was. There are a lot of characters, but not so many that the reader gets confused (Turtledove take note) and the science part of the story is not overdone or over explained.

However, the story is rather predictable in many places and  the aliens are not as interesting as we are led to believe. One of the issues that I have with far future stories is that the nature of society and the Human race doesn't change at all. I suppose that the real challenge is to show an almost incomprehensible society in a way we can understand - this book doesn't do that. This is more a library borrow read rather than a book to spend money on.

In other media, I've just finished the first nine episodes of HBO's Game of Thrones and I'm fairly impressed. I've never read the books, but now I suppose I should. The story is clear and well told with enough surprises and threats for all. Watching Mr. Sharpe - oops, I mean Sean Bean in action is always fun and exciting. Unfortunately, as with many HBO historical or fantasy stories, there seems to be an insistence on full frontal nudity and extended sex scenes in excruciating detail. Don't these filmmakers realise that less is more? For some reason, the filmmakers feel that we are to dumb to realise that it's a adult series without such scenes. Other that that, an amazing treat and worth watching.

 

Smoke gets in your eyes

I know it's been a while, but what with game design and various home disasters (car, roof and PC), it's been a rather busy time. I did manage to finish the first books of another Harry Turtledove's multi- volume series and I'll share with you - what a nice guy I am.

Up front, I must say that our man Harry seems to be getting more and more desperate for ideas as each series seems rather more 'out there' than the last. This newer series 'The War That Came Early' is a fairly good read and the premise is reasonable; it's the execution that seems suspect.

Starting with 'Hitler's War' and 'West and East', the premise is that the handing over of Czechoslovakia (the Sudetenland) by the tremulous British and French goes very wrong and the Nazis launch Plan Green and invade, launching WWII a year earlier than in our real history. There is also a sub-plot where Franco is not the Nationalist leader in Spain but another candidate. The ideas are not new, but Mr. Turtledove does provide his usual excellent descriptions of military and political issues along with a large number of personalities affected by events.

Overall, the books are a fun and enjoyable romp through a world beset by danger and conflict from France to Poland and far beyond. The number of characters does seem a bit excessive and confusing in many places, but a good reader will be able to keep them straight. I do, however, have some major issues with these books and the writers recent tomes. Far too much repetition and the stories are obviously drawn out to create more books and more sales. Readers do not need to be hit over the head with the same information again and again - we are not stupid! maybe he is just trying to show off his knowledge. There is one overriding issue that I and others have found - smoking. Yes, I know that soldiers smoke and campaigns can run on tobacco as much as bullets and petrol, but enough already! I don't think there is one page that doesn't mention smoking in one form or another; either lighting up or discussing the merits of one cigarette over another - does this man have shares in the industry? I'm sorry, but it really detracts from the story and is very, very annoying. It almost make the stories unreadable and I have to actually force myself to keep going - sorry Harry.

I am now just working through a new book by the authors of the new Dune stories entitled 'Hellhole'. It's rather  a long read and I'm about half-way through - a report as soon as I can.