Happy Holidays!
Feed by Mira Grant
I was a little leery about getting into this book, but I am so glad that I did. What a great zombie book! Instead of dealing with what happens when the zombie outbreak happens, its dealing with how people go on living when the outbreak is controlled but not gone, and it does it very, very well.
Science Fiction Classic–A Canticle for Leibowitz (Part 2–Analysis)
In part one of my review of A Canticle for Leibowitz I provided a plot summary and pointed out how the story focused on the cyclical nature of history. Within that broad theme Miller looked at two more specific recurring conflicts–that of science and religion, and of Church and State, and did so in a somewhat atypical way.
Miller addresses the seemingly inevitable tension between science and religion in a fairly unique way for a work of fiction. What sets his approach apart is his unwillingness to make the conflict one of black and white, and his rejection of demonizing either. One of the foundations of the story in Fiat Homo is the “Simplification”, where those of learning and knowledge (science writ large) were vilified, hunted down, and killed after the first nuclear war, presumably by those who turned to their faith in the aftermath of the Flame Deluge. Read More
Science Fiction Classic–A Canticle for Leibowitz (Part 1–Summary)
In the process of writing my last article my mind wandered, as it is wont to do, down a myriad of paths suggested by what I was writing. One of those paths was the cyclical nature of end-of-world prophesies, which in turn reminded me of a classic genre piece that revolves around the cyclical nature of human society: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. This novel was the only one he wrote and published during his lifetime, yet its inclusion in the NPR Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey at number 35 shows how well received it was by those who read it. Because Miller wrote just this one book, however, there are probably many sci-fi aficionados who have never heard of the book. As one who enjoyed the book tremendously I thought I’d bring it to the attention of those who might not have read it.
In this first article I’ll provide a quick synopsis of the book to entice you to read it and to provide some background for a second article in which I’ll briefly discuss how Miller addressed two themes in the book that are relevant to today’s world: the give and take between church and state, and the dynamic tension between science and religion. I’ll also cover how I see them being cyclical in Miller’s eyes00.
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TalkCast 112 – Kristi Petersen Schoonover
Kristi Petersen Schoonover
This week’s SFSN FaceBook Poll result: The ultimate Joker was Mark Hamill.
Our guest tonight is author Kristi Petersen Schoonover. We talked about, her writing style, what makes her stories so unique and briefly about her upcoming book, Bad Apple. Also check out our review of her current novel, Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole
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Fiction Friday – Bob Bois
Avenging Angel by Bob Bois
Bob Bois is a horror writer living in the mysterious hills of Central Massachusetts. Many of the flash fiction pieces he posts on his blog, Sitting in Darkness, have grown into larger, more detailed stories that are being sent out for publication. Born and raised in Salem, MA, Bob is currently at work on a collection of short stories set in his hometown. Bob writes some very dark fiction, so if that’s not your cup of tea, head for the Sunday comics.
In this week’s Fiction Friday offering, State Police Lieutenants Linda Einhorn and Martin Sutherland are faced with a plethora of bodies, murder victims, left in the most unusual poses for a diabolical reason:
Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole by Kristi Peterson Schoonover
The subtitle of this book says it all: Tales from Haunted Disney World. Each of the the short stories ties into this theme. This book is hypnotic and in many ways it’s not what I expected (to be completely honest, I am not sure what I did expect given the title and concept).
The stories span everything from albino adoptees to haunting childhood memories of a mother’s final days. It explores ideas like what happens to closed attractions at the eerily magical theme park to the religious implications of, of all things, Epcot Center. The book keeps you wondering where each story leads, what brought these characters to this point in their lives, and why Disney World ties each of these lives together in such interesting ways. What this book doesn’t do is disappoint you by giving into the temptation of cheap thrills. Its is a series of well crafted tone poems, each one designed to chill you in a way you do not expect.
My favorite story in the is collection is a whimsical morality tale aptly entitled “All This Furniture and Nowhere To Sit,” a tale of a man whose wife hoards collectibles. He sees his life devolving and is powerless to break the spell that holds his wife, home, and wallet in perpetual terror as the house terrifyingly brims to overflowing and he loses control of everything he holds dear.
Kristi shows an precision in her writing that sometimes gives you just a quick glimpse of the picture she is painting, just enough to let the reader form the inevitable conclusion she is drawing you into. Her literary choices are very clean and clear; little is ambiguous. The terror she brings to the reader is on the surface almost pleasingly simplistic, but as you are ensnared in the web of her adroit storytelling you begin to be caught up in the complexities and the stories become even more chilling. It is very cool to read horror fiction that gives you something that you can work with as a reader. These stories don’t just beat you over the head with a bloody arm, instead they hold that arm out to shake your hand. Seriously, who else could write a horror story about Flash Mountain?
You can purchase Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole
For the purposes of full disclosure, this book was a review copy sent to SFSN. No other remuneration was given or implied.
TalkCast 111 – Lance Henriksen and Joe Maddrey
Legendary actor Lance Henriksen and writer Joe Maddrey
join us to talk about their new book, Not Bad for a Human: the uncensored, unabashed and amazing story of Lance’s life and times. We discuss the process of putting the book together. Lance also told us about his “Alimony Movies”, Aliens, Millennium, Pumpkinhead, and a new project called Bring Me The Head of Lance Henriksen. Check out the Millennium fan site, Back To Frank Black. Also, get your limited edition copy of Not Bad for a Human while supplies last!
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Fiction Friday – Aftershocks by Craig D.B.Patton
Craig D.B. Patton
Craig D.B. Patton is a member of New England Horror Writers and a graduate/survivor of the Borderlands Press Boot Camp. He has lived most of his life in New England, the exception being 11 wonderful years in Chicago. It was while there that he figured out he was a writer. He has written mostly short stories, poems, several Christmas pageant plays,
Craig D.B. Patton
and a bit of Twitter fiction. Currently, he is working on his first novel and, in his own words, “ …since it is the first draft of my first novel, trying not to let the stench overpower me while I learn. All of my work can be labeled as speculative fiction. All of my stories are true, including the parts I make up.” Some of his stories have been published in Shroud Magazine, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Pocket Books), and other markets. His first published poem recently appeared in A Sea of Alone: Poems for Alfred Hitchcock (Dark Scribe Press), and more are forthcoming in The Terror at Miskatonic Falls (Shroud Publishing) and Illumen.
Movies I Wish You Had Seen – Dark City
Dark City 1998
So, here is the problem. Most of you readers have probably seen this movie, but not in its true form. I happened to catch this move on TV and was disgusted by the way it was hacked, the inability to see half of it and the incredibly garbled audio. At that point I shut off the tuner and flipped on the ole DVD and saw a good movie, it’s called Dark City and when seen as it should be it’s a visual feast, an aural treasure, and an emotional thrill ride. This is a really good movie.
This cast is amazingly complex. Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, Kiefer Sutherland, and William Hurt are the mainstays of this cast. Each of them carries, with intense precision, this film from an obscure art film into mainstream Sci Fi with emotion and depth to what could have easily been cardboard cutout characters. Read More
