February the Fifth

I wanted to do this without making comparisons to other books, I really did, but when it comes right down to it, my first impression of Derek Haines' new book February the Fifth is the one that stuck with me. February the Fifth is like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy meets Sir Apropos of Nothing, which is to say, my kind of twisted.

You have the young fool who has no business being a success at anything, yet ends up being very important to the future of the Twelve Sun Systems of Gloth. You also have the Supreme Potentate more-or-less stealing a ship in order to find the truth on a distant and wholly unremarkable planet. And, just to make things interesting, several puns revolving around the Gregorian calendar. If you're anything like me, this all adds up to a fun and humorous story, perfect for making people question your sanity while you're giggling over it on the bus.

I say go check it out! Get February the Fifth at Amazon or at Smashwords.

Cat-Bird Stole My Afternoon, And I Don't Care

I have just devoured Dog-Man And Cat-Bird.  I was supposed to be grocery shopping, and I don't care.  I was supposed to be baking buns, and I don't care.  Hell, I was supposed to be doing my own writing, but again, I don't care.  Because for the past 14,000 words, all I've cared about was Cat-Bird.  All I wanted to know was how and what now and oh god, why can't you see what's really going on here?  Yes, ok, I yell at characters in the hopes they'll figure it all out before it's too late.  I do it to the TV.  I do it to my characters too.  It's only because, even for a little while, I really care about them.  And like I said, I cared.

And now for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about here, I'm talking about the first story in Chuck Wendig's new short story collection Irregular Creatures.  Now that you know about it, go buy it.  If you already knew about it but haven't bought it yet, what's stopping you?  No Kindle?  Amazon doesn't like your method of payment?  Do what I did, contact the Man Himself through his website, send him the monies through PayPal and he'll send you a PDF.  Nothing easier.  And I'm not just saying this because he has those incriminating photographs of me...

Ok, I'm done.  For now.  Chances are I'll report back as I read the rest of the stories though, which I am very much looking forward to doing.  Until then, happy reading and writing, folks.

The Aesthetics of Technobabble

I have a confession to make: I love technobabble.  It doesn't much matter what the subject is, I find technical jargon fascinating.  Though I don't really need to understand in order to enjoy it, I can usually follow the gist of what's being talked about.  Sometimes I can even relate it back to other subjects, and by sheer repetition and unconscious cross-referencing, learn something.  Basically, it's fun.

This, naturally, accounts for my taste for science fiction.  In fact, I've been making a point of reading some vintage scifi, partly for fun and partly to gain a sense of the history of the genre.  In particular, and in all honesty the inspiration for this post, I've been reading 'The Complete Venus Equilateral' by George O. Smith.

Due to its publication history, it's not laid out like most novels I've read.  Essentially, it's a compilation of stories, most of which were originally published in the periodical 'Astounding Science Fiction' and each followed their own story arcs.  So each 'chapter', if you will, is a short story which just happens to tie directly into the one before.  What does this have to do with technobabble?  Well, these stories are full of it.  Oh, granted it's laughably out of date by now, seeing as these stories were written mainly in the early 40's and centred around radio tubes, but the whole premise leans heavily on the technical.  The whole thing is really about a bunch of electrical engineers in space.

However, even with my love of technobabble, I'd still probably find the whole thing terribly dry if it weren't for the way Smith wrote the characters.  Just reading the way these fellows interact makes me believe they're real.  Curious, jocular, and continually teasing each other; I could easily imagine myself with these guys, trying to find the next new advancement in technology.

Out of date as it is, and as much as it tests the limits of my suspension of disbelief (for example, the idea of anyone living on Venus), I'm really quite enjoying 'Venus Equilateral'.