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Apr 262010
 



Last night I finished Horns by Joe Hill, an author I discovered a year or so ago, though he’s apparently been a fairly big deal in the world of comics for some time now as the author of the Locke and Key series. I haven’t read Locke and Key, though I loved his first collection of short stories, 20th Century Ghosts, and liked, though didn’t love, his first novel, Heart-Shaped Box. I think he has a lot of promise as a speculative fiction novelist – a good narrative voice, strong characters, and the ability to create a wonderfully creepy vibe that keeps the reader immersed in his stories. When I read last year that he had a new novel releasing in the spring, I was eager to check it out.

The book has a groovy premise – a guy wakes up after a night of drunken carousing to find that he’s grown horns and inherited the powers of a demon. When he touches someone, their deepest, darkest sins and desires are revealed, and in his presence, people confess to their most depraved fantasies. He can command snakes. I mean, did you hear that? He can command snakes. For me, a life-long lover of fantastic fiction, this was basically one of those, ‘you had me at hello’ moments.

And I liked it, I really did, though probably not as much as I could have, or as much as I wanted to.

The protagonist, Iggy Perrish, is a likeable guy. He always tries to do the right thing:  He goes to church regularly, is faithful to his high school sweetheart-girlfriend, volunteers for charities,  and seems to be liked by pretty much everyone. He’s the stereotypical ‘boy next door,’ and I guess maybe when it comes down to it that’s really my biggest criticism. Iggy is too nice. In the book he’s believed to have committed a horrible crime by everyone around him, even though his character has never so much as crossed the street without the light.   It’s never clear, exactly, why the Devil chose him to get this little gift, other than to get the chance to set things right. No real evil is done and no real evil is revealed, except in the thoughts (and sometimes deeds) of the people around him. To the end, horns, fire and all, Iggy remains a great guy, looking out for everyone around him, using his powers for…well, I won’t reveal that, but you get the point. I’m not sure I can exactly put my finger on it, really, but the entire time I was reading it, the book seemed like it was almost there, brushing the edges of greatness, on the verge of revealing some hidden secret about the nature of mankind and our relationship with evil and how the Devil works. Instead I was left wondering, why? What was in it for Lucifer?  Why, of all the wrongs done to innocent people, of all the good guys who somehow can’t win, why was Iggy Perrish chosen?

I give Horns four stars because it was a good, fun read,  but I wish I could have given it five.  It could have been great.

Spring at Arcadia Farm

 Gardening  1 Response »
Apr 092010
 

Here are a few photographs from yesterday, when I went down to Arcadia to finish up the final paint job in the first bedroom we are renovating.  A spring cool front had come through the night before along with some passing showers, washing away the dust and pollen and leaving the air crisp and clear.  The azaleas, which for most of the year are fairly unassuming shrubs, have burst into color, like torches of purple and red flame staked into the ground.  I walked around for a good half hour, breathing in the clean air and marveling at the loveliness of the place.  The photos only give a glimpse of the gardens’ beauty:

2010 Hugo Nominations Announced

 Uncategorized  1 Response »
Apr 052010
 

From AussieCon4 – home of the 2010 World Science Fiction Convention:

BEST NOVEL (699 nominating ballots)

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (Tor)
The City & The City by China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan UK)
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson (Tor)
Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra)
Wake by Robert J. Sawyer (Ace; Penguin; Gollancz; Analog)
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade)

BEST NOVELLA (375 nominating ballots)

“Act One” by Nancy Kress (Asimov’s 3/09)
The God Engines by John Scalzi (Subterranean)
“Palimpsest” by Charles Stross (Wireless; Ace; Orbit)
Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow (Tachyon)
“Vishnu at the Cat Circus” by Ian McDonald (Cyberabad Days; Pyr; Gollancz)
The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker (Subterranean)

BEST NOVELETTE (402 nominating ballots)

“Eros, Philia, Agape” by Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com 3/09)
“The Island” by Peter Watts (The New Space Opera 2; Eos)
“It Takes Two” by Nicola Griffith (Eclipse Three; Night Shade Books)
“One of Our Bastards is Missing” by Paul Cornell (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three; Solaris)
“Overtime“ by Charles Stross (Tor.com 12/09)
“Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” by Eugie Foster (Interzone 2/09)

BEST SHORT STORY (432 nominating ballots)

“The Bride of Frankenstein” by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s 12/09)
“Bridesicle” by Will McIntosh (Asimov’s 1/09)
“The Moment” by Lawrence M. Schoen (Footprints; Hadley Rille Books)
“Non-Zero Probabilities” by N.K. Jemisin (Clarkesworld 9/09)
“Spar” by Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld 10/09)

BEST RELATED WORK (259 nominating ballots)

Canary Fever: Reviews by John Clute (Beccon)
Hope-In-The-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees by Michael Swanwick (Temporary Culture)
The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children’s and Teens’ Science Fiction by Farah Mendlesohn (McFarland)
On Joanna Russ edited by Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan)
The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of SF Feminisms by Helen Merrick (Aqueduct)
This is Me, Jack Vance! (Or, More Properly, This is “I”) by Jack Vance (Subterranean)

BEST GRAPHIC STORY (221 nominating ballots)

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Written by Neil Gaiman; Pencilled by Andy Kubert; Inked by Scott Williams (DC Comics)
Captain Britain And MI13. Volume 3: Vampire State Written by Paul Cornell; Pencilled by Leonard Kirk with Mike Collins, Adrian Alphona and Ardian Syaf (Marvel Comics)
Fables Vol 12: The Dark Ages Written by Bill Willingham; Pencilled by Mark Buckingham; Art by Peter Gross & Andrew Pepoy, Michael Allred, David Hahn; Colour by Lee Loughridge & Laura Allred; Letters by Todd Klein (Vertigo Comics)
Girl Genius, Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm Written by Kaja and Phil Foglio; Art by Phil Foglio; Colours by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
Schlock Mercenary: The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse Written and Illustrated by Howard Tayler

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION – LONG FORM (541 nominating ballots)

Avatar Screenplay and Directed by James Cameron (Twentieth Century Fox)
District 9 Screenplay by Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell; Directed by Neill Blomkamp (TriStar Pictures)
Moon Screenplay by Nathan Parker; Story by Duncan Jones; Directed by Duncan Jones (Liberty Films)
Star Trek Screenplay by Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Directed by J.J. Abrams (Paramount)
Up Screenplay by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter; Story by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, & Thomas McCarthy; Directed by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter (Disney/Pixar)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION – SHORT FORM (282 nominating ballots)

Doctor Who: “The Next Doctor” Written by Russell T Davies; Directed by Andy Goddard (BBC Wales)
Doctor Who: “Planet of the Dead” Written by Russell T Davies & Gareth Roberts; Directed by James Strong (BBC Wales)
Doctor Who: “The Waters of Mars” Written by Russell T Davies & Phil Ford; Directed by Graeme Harper (BBC Wales)
Dollhouse: “Epitaph 1″ Story by Joss Whedon; Written by Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon; Directed by David Solomon (Mutant Enemy)
FlashForward: “No More Good Days” Written by Brannon Braga & David S. Goyer; Directed by David S. Goyer; based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer (ABC)

BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM (289 nominating ballots)

Lou Anders
 Ginjer Buchanan
Liz Gorinsky
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Juliet Ulman

BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM (419 nominating ballots)

Ellen Datlow
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder
Sheila Williams

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST (327 nominating ballots)

Bob Eggleton
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio
Daniel Dos Santos
Shaun Tan

BEST SEMIPROZINE (377 nominating ballots)

Ansible edited by David Langford
Clarkesworld edited by Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace, & Cheryl Morgan
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal

BEST FAN WRITER (319 nominating ballots)

Claire Brialey
Christopher J Garcia
James Nicoll
Lloyd Penney
Frederik Pohl

BEST FANZINE (298 nominating ballots)

Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
CHALLENGER edited by Guy H. Lillian III
Drink Tank edited by Christopher J Garcia, with guest editor James Bacon
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
StarShipSofa edited by Tony C. Smith

BEST FAN ARTIST (199 nominating ballots)

Brad W. Foster
Dave Howell
Sue Mason
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne

THE JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER (NOT A HUGO AWARD) (356 nominating ballots)

Saladin Ahmed
Gail Carriger
Felix Gilman *
Seanan McGuire
Lezli Robyn *
* Second year of eligibility

I’ve only read a few of the nominated works this year, but I will say that I hope Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente wins best novel.  I read it about six months ago, and I still think about it from time to time.  I love Valente’s lyrical writing style – it’s almost like reading prose poetry, and it’s very much a part of what makes the novel work so beautifully.  It’s also…different.  As in, defies categorization different.  It could be called fantasy, I suppose, but it’s not sword and sorcery by a long shot.  It’s something else entirely – otherworldly and dark, sensual and seductive, pawing at the edges of reality.   Palimpsest is a story that leaves its mark on you, and I won’t forget about it any time soon.

I also enjoyed Rachel Swirsky’s “Eros, Philia, Agape”, a sad, haunting story that reminded me of Asimov’s “Bicentennial Man.”  Good science fiction is not only about imagining what technology will be like in the future, but how that technology will impact us as human beings, and what the power of becoming gods in our own small universe will mean.  A very good read, particularly if you like stories about AI.

Of course, in the Graphic story category, I have to go with “Batman – Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” by Neil Gaiman.  With what seems like no effort at all, he takes a story we think we all know, and creates something both beautifully new and poignantly familiar.  I can admit I cried at the end of this one, and that’s a rare thing for me these days.