tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92141679381900478222024-03-19T14:06:32.991+11:00Thoughtful SF&FMorva House has the best in Free Online SF&F for you.
<a href="http://www.google.com/reader/m/view/feed/http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Mobile version</a>Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.comBlogger341125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-47313567827520160382011-10-26T16:50:00.002+11:002011-10-26T16:50:37.744+11:00The blog has movedSetting up all over again over at <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://pespec.blogspot.com/"><b><i style="color: #073763;">Morva Shepley's Clockwork Moon</i></b></a></span>. See you there.Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-6988038472801264182011-09-04T17:28:00.000+10:002011-09-04T17:28:59.766+10:00Aliette De Bodard's Hugo NominationWe have three of Aliette de Bodard's stories on our list of suggested reading, (<a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/2010/03/after-fire-suggested-science-fiction.html">Here</a>, <a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/2009/06/dragons-tears-short-story-review.html">here</a> and <a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/2009/05/memories-of-my-sister-short-story.html">here)</a> and having followed her so far it was a great pleasure to see her name on the list of Hugo nominees for her story, "The Jaguar House, In Shadow."<br />
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The Jaguar House is set in a Mexico, Mexica, where an Aztec society still prevails alongside modern technology. All is not well in Mexica, however. There is a madman, an insane leader, stopping at nothing to suppress revolt. This leads to a chain reaction in which the leader of the Jaguar knights attempts to keep Jaguar House alive by going along with the madness. This doesn't impress the knights, and thereby hangs the tale. Ultimately, it is a sad story, and I can see how people were moved to nominate it for the Hugos.<br />
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You can read it<a href="http://aliettedebodard.com/bibliography/online-fiction/the-jaguar-house-in-shadow/"> here at Aliette de Bodard's site</a>, or have it beautifully read to you at<a href="http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2011/08/23/starshipsofa-no-200-aliette-de-bodard/"> Starship Sofa.</a> If you go to de Bodard's site, there is a bonus in the form of a link to another story set in the same universe.<br />
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Enjoy!Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-71559954954804491952011-08-23T15:25:00.000+10:002011-08-23T15:26:02.260+10:00Hugo winners<br />
Much excitement over the Hugos. Sean McMullen, who has been writing for years, made it onto the best novella shortlist for "Eight Miles". I really enjoyed "Eight Miles" when I heard it on podcast from <i>Starship Sofa. </i>This is what I wrote elsewhere about it:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>McMullen's story, 8 Miles, is a fun little adventure, set in Victorian
era England, about a balloonist who is hired by a rich man to assist in
some research concerning the effects of altitude upon a strange woman he
has in his care. Before long, the plot thickens as the balloonist
learns that his employer has ulterior motives for the research.<br /><br />It
is cleverly written in the style of 19thC adventures, with the quirky
habit of not only mentioning which tools, for instance, were used but who
manufactured or invented them. </i></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote>
<i> I enjoyed it all the more for
hearing it beautifully narrated by Simon Hildebrandt, who did a good job
with the voices of the different characters and brought the whole thing
to life. </i></blockquote>
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Here is the "<a href="http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2011/05/18/starshipsofa-no-189-sean-mcmullen/">Eight Miles" link</a><br />
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The actual winner of the best novella section was Allen M Steele with <a href="http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2010/12/21/aural-delights-no-168-allen-steele/"><b>"The Emperor of Mars".</b></a> I haven't read it yet so there's something to look forward to.<br />
<br />
Claire Brialey, whose writing I know of through ANZAPA, an amateur press association, won for best fan writers. Squee. Claire rocks!<br />
<br />
One of her fanzines, <i>Banana Wings</i>, which is reachable <a href="http://efanzines.com/BananaWings/index.htm">here at eFanzines,</a> was on the shortlist for best fanzine, right alongside zines like <i>Starship Sofa</i>, but <b><i><a href="http://efanzines.com/DrinkTank/index.htm">Drink Tank</a></i>, </b>which can be found at eFanzines, won.<br />
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<br />Another story I was familiar with through <i>Starship Sofa</i> was Rachel Swirsky's "The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window", (which is the main character's name, so it's not surprising that the narrator refers to her simply as "The Lady" in the recaps that begin parts two and three) which was spread out over three installments <a href="http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2011/07/06/starshipsofa-no-196-rachael-swirsky/">beginning here</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EQlHW83TTR8/TlM5FpP6ycI/AAAAAAAAAFo/LmMXKfsccRk/s1600/dr+rory+last+centurian.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EQlHW83TTR8/TlM5FpP6ycI/AAAAAAAAAFo/LmMXKfsccRk/s320/dr+rory+last+centurian.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rory, who became The Last Centurian in Dr Who</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My all time favorite <i>Dr Who</i> episode, "Vincent And The Doctor", did not win Best Dramatic Presentation - Shortform. A different <i>Dr Who</i> episode, <strong style="font-weight: normal;">“The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang,”</strong> did. <br />
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There are a couple of interesting titles on the shortlist, though, such as "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury". It might have been nice if Shaun Tan's "The Lost Thing", a beautiful little story which has won a swag of Australian awards plus the Academy award for best animation, had won, but Shaun Tan did win for Best Professional Artist.<br />
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Plenty of good reading and viewing to follow up on from the Hugo list. <a href="http://www.sfwa.org/2011/08/and-the-hugo-goes-to/">Check it out</a>.<br />
<br /><code></code><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-54275583372471498242011-08-19T13:50:00.001+10:002011-08-19T13:50:40.159+10:00Chris Adrian's new novelA while ago I posted a link to Chris Adrian's beautiful short story <a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/2009/07/tiny-feast-suggested-reading.html">"A Tiny Feast"</a>. This story was about the fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania, who, having stolen a changling from the human world, found themselves caring great deal about what became of it. They did not expect to care. As fairies they were not designed to care. But neither their care nor their power could help when the changeling had to go to hospital.<br />
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Chris Adrian works in emergency pediatrics where doubtless he sees these things.<br />
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A few days ago I heard that he had a new novel out called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Night-Novel-Chris-Adrian/dp/0374166412/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313725733&sr=1-1"><i>The Great Night</i></a>, about three broken hearted people and their encounter in a San Francisco park with Oberon and Titania who are also broken hearted after the death of their changling. When I realised that it was a kind of sequel to "A Tiny Feast" I wondered if I could cope with a whole novel of grief, but <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2011/3293358.htm">the reviewer</a> also says that the book was fun, so I'll be looking out for it in the libary.<br />
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(I would look forward to buying the book, but I'd need new bookshelves first. Of course, these days I could look forward to buying the ebook, but the right ereader hasn't come along for me yet.)<br />
<br />
CheersUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-10285198402764922472011-08-16T13:45:00.005+10:002011-08-19T13:02:39.673+10:00Computer games: Torchlight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AYnKXeW2AsU/TknmUXuIoSI/AAAAAAAAAFU/TikKwIHvXR4/s1600/torchlight.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AYnKXeW2AsU/TknmUXuIoSI/AAAAAAAAAFU/TikKwIHvXR4/s320/torchlight.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Torchlight</i> is a lot like Diablo but more appealing. The Torchlight of the title is kind of mining town that might be found in a cowboy western. The mine, though, has a substance in it called ember. This ember is a slow poison which is going to make your character first more powerful and then die. Your character then goes on various quests which mainly involve killing all the monsters in your path in order to reach some object or other. The harder the quest, the deeper into the mine you go, down to the remains of ancient cities and so on.<br />
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In<i> Torchlight,</i> you also get to have a pet. It's a smart pet. You can give it spells, which it will use to help you fight your way through the monsters, and small items of jewelry which help empower it. The best thing, gamewise, about the pet though is that it has a backpack, so when your own backpack becomes full you can place items into the pet's pack and then, when that is full of things you want to sell, you can send the pet back to town to sell everything while you continue on your quest. This is good because you don't have to fight your back up all the floors you've come down, and then fight all the way back down again to where you left off. All you need to do is send your pet, who can accomplish the trading mission very quickly.<br />
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Of course, you can use the portal scrolls to step back to town and return, but it's easier just to send the pet. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QMt9U7AnzGo/Tknnii5gOiI/AAAAAAAAAFY/iJ2jOZkeJ_8/s1600/torchlight+ferrt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QMt9U7AnzGo/Tknnii5gOiI/AAAAAAAAAFY/iJ2jOZkeJ_8/s1600/torchlight+ferrt.png" /></a></div>
Another thing you can do with the pet is feed it fish. When fed a fish, the pet turns temporarily into a monster with monster powers to fight the enemies. The pet I chose was the ferret, which is cute, especially with its backpack and goggles. <br />
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Cheers<br />
TerryUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-91328783605145929352011-08-12T10:09:00.001+10:002011-08-12T10:20:34.662+10:00Fantasy worlds: Diablo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fLwe9gRIeiQ/TkRxMlGuMyI/AAAAAAAAAEc/P4TwApynf88/s1600/diablo+pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fLwe9gRIeiQ/TkRxMlGuMyI/AAAAAAAAAEc/P4TwApynf88/s320/diablo+pic.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_274010510"></span><span id="goog_274010511"></span>The kids have been introducing me to a multiplayer computer game called <i>Diablo</i>. I have talked about <i>Oblivion</i> before, but it's not possible to play that in multiplayer mode, and I have mentioned <i>Sacred</i>, but that is not very satsifying when played as a group. For one thing, in Sacred only one person gets the bonus point when a quest is completed, and for another there are problems when the characters get too far apart.<br />
<br />
So we've been playing a game called <i>Diablo</i>. In this game, I've been playing the character who casts healing spells and long range explosions, and most of the time I run around wondering where everyone else has got to. The kids have gotten finding me and bringing me back to the rest of the party down to a fine art.<br />
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<i>Diablo</i> is a very simple game. You run around in a landscape a lot helping to fulfil quests which the kids know about, sometimes using portals to get instantly back to town, sell stuff, finish the quest, cache stuff in a chest, and jump back through the portal to start where you left off. <br />
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In <i>Diablo</i>, when your character dies all the stuff you were carrying at the time falls beside your body and you find yourself back in town. Then you have to run to where your body is and pick up all your stuff, i.e. the latest armour and weapons etc that you've found along the way, and find the party again.<br />
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Yes, it's a fantasy game a lot like D&D in that the group can provide various skill to help the party succeed.<br />
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The landscapes are not especially appealing, not that I get much chance to look at them, and there is no reason to become particularly engaged with the characters. It's a chewing gum sort of game, which is to say that it passes the time. <br />
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This is a highly rated game, according to reviews. To my mind it's fun but not addictive.<br />
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However, it is a particular kind of game style and by learning about it I was able to pick upon <i>Torchlight</i> fairly easily. More about that next time.<br />
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Cheers<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-88645574257115270442011-08-06T18:28:00.002+10:002011-08-12T15:17:39.660+10:00The Great Raven: Writing With A Day Job<a href="http://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2011/07/writing-with-day-job.html">The Great Raven: Writing With A Day Job</a><br />
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Joe Haldemann once remarked that the best way for a writer to make money was to marry someone with a job.<br />
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Combining a job with the joy of writing is difficult but it's what most writers have to do. <i>Wolfborn </i>author Sue Bursztynski works as a teacher in a high school, which does not mean that she has short hours and plenty of holidays in which to work. What she has is lots of extra work. However, in this post she also explains the plusses to what she does. My favourite bit of advice from this post was, "If you have a car, leave it at home." Time sitting on public transport is time to write.<br />
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CheersUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-6328687522104752022011-07-26T12:50:00.000+10:002011-07-26T12:50:17.375+10:00Read This: Nikei Love<b>Nikei Love, a short SF story by Marianne de Pierres</b><br />
<b>Reviewed by Terry Morris</b><br />
<br />
Once upon a time I read a short story about a famous classical composer who was brought back to life. He was reconstituted in some way which I don't recall and may not have been explicitly stated anyway. People seemed pleased to come and see him, and when he was asked to come up with a new musical composition he did see. He worked very hard on it and was finally ready to give a performance. At the end of his performance there was thunderous applause, but it wasn't for him. The applause was for the man who had brought him back for life, as if this man had written the music and done the performance. In a way, he had.<br />
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The reason I remember that story was because of the sudden voicelessness, the powerlessness, of the musician.<br />
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What about works of art that have their own opinions about their lives? The most famous one to my mind would be Blodwen, the woman who was made of flowers to be the bride of a Welsh hero but who chose a different lover, thus showing a bit more spirit than Pygmalion's statue who compliantly fell in love with her creator. <br />
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Marianne de Pierres writes in a kind of cyberpunk or biopunk genre. The characters walk the mean streets of the future where techonology is high but poverty abounds and treachery is everywhere. The narrator of "Nikei Love" is a creation who is not waiting around to be sent back to the vats but is making a bid for freedom and life.<br />
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"Nikei Love" is really a brief description of a world rather than the story of a character. It leaves a couple of questions behind such as why the narrator has to go into the vats before a new creation can be made and where the non-created Humans are. Are there any left or have they enhanced themselves into better business propositions?<br />
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If you haven't read any of de Pierrre's novels, sample <a href="http://rippingozziereads.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/nikei-love1.pdf">"Nikei Love"</a> for a feel of the kind of world and characters she writes about.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-39887747296191012422011-07-21T13:01:00.000+10:002011-07-21T13:01:11.877+10:00A Chance To Try New Writing - Free!Freebies! We all know what a joy those are. In this case, it's a kind of two in one deal.<br />
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Aspiring SF&F writers will know about Critters Writers Workshop. It's free, it's online and it helps writers improve their craft firstly by critiquing the work of others, and secondly by having their own work critiqued. This is how emerging writers find out if their latest efforts are ready for the big, wide world. Is it clear in communication? Is it new? Does it need polishing? Does it tell the story the author intended? They find out by running it through Critters. Believe me, when twenty people have critiqued your story you get a rough idea of what works and what doesn't, and with so many people commenting, you can work out criticisms are due to personal preferences and which are part of a trend you should take notice of.<br />
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Critters also has a store through which some members sell copies of their ebooks. Now, on Fridays (Friday, US Mountain time), on ebook is available to read free.<br />
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Hey, it's no harder than checking out a new author through your public library. In fact, it might easier given the funding (ie, the lack of it) of public libraries lately.<br />
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<a href="http://critique.org/c/store/index.cgi">Here's a Link :) </a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-12410506920850291152011-01-09T09:54:00.000+11:002011-01-09T09:54:26.612+11:00Travelling with HeinleinAudio books are great for long car journeys. A really exciting story makes a seven and a half hour car trip.<br />
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This time we went with plenty of audio books. We had a <a href="http://www.morrisgleitzman.com/books/fst_books.html">Morris Gleitzman</a> book called once. Morris Gleitzman is generally funny but with warmth that makes it possible to deal with great themes in light way.<i> Once</i>, however, turned out to be a tear jerker, especially for grown ups who could see pretty early where this story was going, and even supposing it had a happy ending there would have to be some trauma along the way.<br />
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<i>Once</i> turned out to be the story of a Jewish boy in Poland during WWII. He is in a Catholic orphanage and waiting for his bookseller parents to find out what has happened to the books in Europe. He is good at making up stories, but while they help him and help others survive mentally, they also get in his way.<br />
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Despite the grimness of the story, the kids, Masters 11 and 14, chose to keep listening to it right to the end and seemed to prefer it to anything else we had.<br />
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Another of the books we had was Robert Heinlein's <i>Citizen of the Galaxy</i>. I remember Heinlein's junveniles as being the better of his books, and although I couldn't recall the story in <i>Citizen of the Galaxy</i> I had a vague impression of adventures and obstacles overcome and a happy ending.<br />
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This time, it seemed the young hero did not have to endure a series of hardships so much as a series of tedious lectures before winning out. This itself lead to some discussion about writing and the nature of story telling and whether tastes have changed over the decades since the book was first published in 1957. Maybe back then the descriptions of how one of his created societies might actually work, or the lectures on how to live, were mindblowing. Maybe back then those descriptions offered a glimpse into something new and different, another way to think about things. Nowadays they just get in the way of the story.<br />
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Have a great New Year!Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-45307067171092947642010-09-29T12:06:00.000+10:002010-09-29T12:06:16.806+10:00Welcome to my houseWelcome, Gentle Reader.<br />
<br />
Above are tabs to other pages, and to your side are links to other houses. Please enjoy them.Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-31213237927819510402010-09-13T11:24:00.000+10:002010-09-13T11:24:51.496+10:00Islamic SF<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mor06-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0027P87LU&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>It seems to me that only a little while ago there was some debate over whether there was any Islamic SF about, and if not why not. From memory (I can't remember now where I came across that discussion) the debate was centred around the science in SF.<br />
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However, Canadian writer, Ahmed A. Khan, is looking at the question from the point of view of Islamic SF being any<a href="http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&pagename=Zone-English-HealthScience%2FHSELayout&cid=1252187938197"> SF that reflects, in a positive way, the values and teachings of Islam</a>.<br />
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You are free to agree or disagree with him, since according to his article he is trying mainly just to raise discussion. One tricky point is that many of the values of Islam are shared by other religions, and even atheists, so is it valid to label such stories as Christian or Islamic SF? However, he does also suggest some books to read if you're curious about what Islamic SF is.Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-69189581853893762542010-09-02T10:00:00.002+10:002010-09-29T11:15:53.555+10:00Hear This: "13 Ways Of Looking At Space/Time""13 Ways Of Looking At Space/Time" by Catherine M Valente is a one you have to let yourself become immersed in so as to appreciate it properly. It probably helps to be listening to the reading by Kate Baker, instead of reading the text and being able to skip over, or skim quickly through on the theory that you've got the gist and can keep moving along the actual point. It helps to be on a treadmill at the gym while you listen to it and so not able to go anywhere else, either.<br />
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There is a payoff. All the little sections that retell various creation myths in scientific language, and all the little bits about "the SF writer", her life and her growth, all come together in the end. All the bits that you might have skipped or skimmed over, have to be there in order to make up the layers that are pulled together to make a final, moving, conclusion. It is really quite a clever as well as emotional story in the end.<br />
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You will find it <a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/category/podcast/">here at Clarkesworld</a><br />
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Cheers<br />
Morva ShepleyMorva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-36269850413998381852010-08-30T10:00:00.004+10:002010-08-30T10:00:01.563+10:00Hear This: "Carlos Manson Lives"The good thing about downloading a podcast is that you can listen to it anywhere. Gardening, walking, and on the treadmill at the gym are three of my own favourites. The gym, of course, has a range of TV channels to look at while we tread or cycle our way through our routines. At the hour I go, though, the screens tend to be dominated by home shopping adds, often for home gym appliances. It's a laugh.<br />
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The sound, on the other hand, is dominated by MTV music. Usually the same song day after day. We're supposed to tune our earphones to the channel and get a good sound but it doesn't seem worth it. I've taken to listening to podcasts.<br />
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Today's short story is "Carlos Manson Lives", by Lucius Shepard. It is preceded by a long interview with the author, just him and the host nattering on about his life and the films they don't agree on. Hearing this interview really helped me to understand the story, which involves a culture I just don't have. You should be warned that there is a lot of use of the the f word, so if you don't like that then don't even bother.<br />
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The story is about a superstar songstress who gets high and has a strange encounter with someone who wants her to write a song about him. After listening to Shepard talk about his life, this all made some kind of sense.<br />
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The podcast comes from <i>Starship Sofa</i>'s, Aural Delights #148, (August 11, 2010) - you have to get to the site and tab and scroll to the bit you want. Aural Delights #148 includes a short interview, a meme really, with Ursual K Le Guin, an author I love for her Earthsea series but who is famous for lots of other things aswell.<br />
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I'm also looking forward to hearing the next installment of <i>The Barrens</i>, an H P Lovecraft tribute in fiction by F Paul Wilson, of whom I know nothing, but sometimes not knowing anything about the author is good for the story. <br />
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This has been my first dip into Starship Sofa, although I learned about it a few years ago from someone who likes to listen to it during his commute. I strongly recommend a good look at this site for all the little treasures you might personally come across.<br />
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By the way, <a href="http://www.starshipsofa.com/">Starship Sofa</a> (don't you love that title?) is a Hugo nominee this year. <br />
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Cheers<br />
Morva ShepleyMorva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-37317607967057890642010-08-28T08:51:00.000+10:002010-08-28T08:51:28.847+10:00Reading "The Immortals Quartet"<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mor06-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0375827005&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Tamora Pierce has written a number of fantasy series for young adults, all presumably in the same setting and involving heroes who fight and have magical abilities to at least heal themselves, which is pretty handy for when they get injured.<br />
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The <i>Immortals Quartet</i> is about Daine, a young girl with the power to communicate with most animals. Animals love her, and she understands them, and can even communicate with them from a distance. As the series develops, she gains the ability to ride in animals minds to see what they can see, and through this also becomes able to transform herself in to animal form. Since the animals all love her and want to please her and fight for her when necessary, she is sometimes too over-powered to be interesting. She is so powerful that you always know she is going to be safe.<br />
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In her world, the immortals are all the beings who cannot die unless they are slain. This includes things like flying horses, basilisks, any kind of mythical creature. All these beings have been banished from the land, walled off in their own world by strong spells. However, when an evil genius starts summoning powerful beings to do his bidding, the wall begins to break down. This creates a lot of work for Daine, who finds that she can also communicate with the immortals.<br />
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The series is all a bit of chewing gum for the mind. I liked the opening of the first book because of the no nonsense way it began the story and kept moving along. This was enough to keep me moving through the first three books - especially after one of my kids got interested in the series and brought the rest of it home from his school library. So if you're the sort of person who likes the idea of a young girl who can talk to animals in a magical world, and you're not in the mood for anything at all demanding, this is worth taking a look at. For me, I enjoyed it to the extent that I am now trying the <i>Lioness quartet,</i> which is good in the same relaxing sort of way - but I miss the communication with the animals, especially the horses.<br />
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Cheers<br />
Morva ShepleyMorva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-88448423232684779962010-08-26T10:00:00.001+10:002010-08-26T10:00:03.530+10:00Thoughts on computer gaming:Oblivion<i><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mor06-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000GKCI4A&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Oblivion</i> is a sister game to the <i>Morrowind</i> series. <i>Morrowind</i> is a fantasy, first person game, and I should probably like it more than I do, but it's one I quickly gave up on despite liking the name of it. I also liked the way the character was introduced by being processed through a prison facility answering a bunch of questions like what your name is, your race, and so on. However, once outside the prison, <i>Morrowind</i> proved to be a murky world to look at, and there seemed to be a lot of pointless walking around and I quickly gave up on it because I rarely have time for this sort of game and when I do I want to be able to get into it quickly. At least <i>Sacred</i> started quickly with a life and death struggle to get you on your toes right away. <br />
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<i>Oblivion</i> is set in a land next to <i>Morrowind</i>, the hues are grey and not as dark as<i> Morrowind's</i>. My saner half suggests that the monotony of the landscape makes it easier for players to keep watching their character for hours on end. In any case, I find the greys, being lighter, much easier to look at. That said, I should also add that there were a couple of things about <i>Oblivion's</i> landscape that I really loved. The first was the night sky. Being in a kind of fantasy medieval world, the cities do not throw out much light and so, of course, the night sky can be seen in all its glory. Maybe the moon, planet, or whatever, in the sky sometimes looked a little fake compared with the starscape, but on the whole I liked it. The other thing I liked was the plants that waved in the breezes.<br />
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The story of <i>Oblivion</i> is that the Emperor and his heirs have been assassinated, but before he died the Emperor gave you an amulet and told you that there was still one more heir, a secret bastard who might still have the power to wield the amulet and keep the realm safe from the evil about to pour through the gates of <i>Oblivion</i>. You are told to take the amulet to a certain person, and that is your first mission.<br />
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You don't actually have to hurry on this quest, though.<br />
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Before beginning the game, you get to choose gender (male or female), race - the usual Human, elvish races, and Orc, plus couple of others, one being a kind of lizard alien and the other a cat alien, and you can adjust their colour and appearance somewhat.<br />
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The game opens with you in a prison in the very cell through which the Emperor and his guards have an escape route. The sequence in the prison is a tutorial session that introduces you to some of the fundamentals of playing the game - how to steer your character, pick things up, sneak around etc. However, there were a few things that I found I really needed the kids to teach me. For instance, if you press escape you get your menu from which you can save and/or exit the game, but if you want to quickly save a game you can press F5. The game tells you to press Tab in order to see your items, but it took the kids to tell me that clicking on various parts of the resulting screen gives you all sorts of information. Click on the little circle that shows what weapon you are holding, and you can see a list of everything that you are currently holding. Clicking on various symbols will show a short list of different things in your pack eg, click on the shield symbol to see only what armour and apparel you have, or the potions symbol to see only potions and ingredients. If you click on the little circle, next to your weapon symbol, that contains your spell symbol, you get a list of the spells and magic you can do. Click on the metre that shows your health, endurance and magica strength, and you open a screen with a new set of symbols which will each show you something about your character and its abilities. Click on the compass section, and you can move between a world map and a local map, or click on the goblet symbols to see and/or choose from among your quests. The good thing about all this information is that no time passes in the game while you are consulting it. This means that in mid fight you can press tab and look for, say, health potions, which can be drunk during this time out so that you return to the fray stronger than you were, and maybe find a handy spell which would be really useful right about now. It's kind of cheating, but as in many games dying and having to repeat a chunk of the action gets kind of boring so cheating is probably the better option. The game is meant to be entertaining, right?<br />
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Now here is a thing that is part of what makes <i>Oblivion</i> potentially more interesting than a lot of games: While in the tunnels, the choices you've made effect the kind of character you will be. Did you sneak past enemies or try to kill them? What weapons did you use? Did you open locked chests? Well, of course you did. And you often killed the enemies because you couldn't get past them otherwise, even sneaking, and you used the most effective weapon available because it would be stupid not to, and you've unlocked and taken everything of value you could find, and you've looted all the bodies because even a newbie to the game knows that there is going to be some point at which you can sell all this stuff in order to raise the funds for something useful. Even the rats you kill can be sold for a gold each. As I understand it, the idea of the tunnel section is that you will find a class and birthsign that suits the style of game you are comfortable playing. I'm just not convinced that this actually happens, though. <br />
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However, once you leave the prison and sewer tunnels section of the game, the tutorial is over, and you find yourself entering the market section of a city. This is where you can sell all the stuff you picked up in the tunnels. To map out the city, walk or run (shift key, or capslock to run) all through it. However, I found the game was more interesting outside the city, particularly if a stayed off the roads and cut through the countryside exploring any abandoned forts I came to. If you like dungeon crawling, you'll probably like exploring the tunnels under the old forts.<br />
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In theory, you don't have to do the dungeon crawling/level grinding thing. You can wander through the country side collecting plants which can either be sold for a gold a piece in a town, or made into alchemical potions to be used or sold. Potions fetch more gold than a mere plant.<br />
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Sooner or later you might get around to delivering the amulet, and maybe even go off to find the heir who can use it. Despite the urgency with which computer characters speak of these things, the kids tell me it doesn't matter what you do or when you do it. It turns out that later in the game your mission will be to close portals. Even after the heir is rescued, there are something like fifty portals to be closed. It sounds boring.<br />
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Experimenting with the different characters and classes is one thing, but I don't think I want to close fifty portals. What I want in a game is find that the story is resolved in a satisfying way.Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-51450327815004676172010-08-23T12:09:00.000+10:002010-08-23T12:09:16.617+10:00Thoughts on computer gaming:01Becoming weary of the PC game <i>Sacred</i>, I've started looking around for another game that I might like to play. This has become a quest. What do I even want from a game?<br />
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Like choosing a book to read, the answer to that question depends on your mood at the time. However, what I'm thinking about here is a game like <i>Sacred</i> but way better, something that can be played for hours, not too demanding - if I wanted to do a puzzle I'd find a puzzle game or pick up a crossword puzzle - but not boring, either. Something engaging, something that makes me worry about my character and their world, but which is more than just one long level grind.<br />
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So I'm looking for a first person player in a fantasy world. Apparently I like leveling up, I like my character to become stronger as the game progresses. What annoyed me in <i>Sacred</i> was that nothing I did mattered to the world. If I accepted a mission and completed it, say to kill 40 goblins and end a blockade near a village, nothing changed. No soldiers were freed up for duty elsewhere, no advantage seemed to be taken of the food supplies now able to move. In short, nothing changed and the game moved relentlessly along its chosen story path. Still, I played it for some time because I liked the idea of the Seraphim acting in the Human world, or the idea of a Vampire suddenly turning good (why did I get the impression that this was due to accidentally drinking Seraphim blood? Was that mentioned in the game or did I add that in myself?) and I liked the idea of daemon thrown out of Hell and having to fight a demon here. I even liked the idea of the refugee orcs and goblins taking up farming out in the desert where they scratched out some irrigation channels for themselves.<br />
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So I'm looking for a fantasy game where the idea of the characters is just as intriguing but in which the actions I take have a perceptible influence, even change the outcome, of the story.<br />
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The main lesson I've learned so far is that I am not good at games, and without the kids handy to teach me how a game is played, I have no hope.<br />
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Fortunately, one was handy to help me play <i>Oblivion</i><br />
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Thoughts on <i>Oblivion</i> next time.Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-33364530540351641732010-08-10T12:34:00.000+10:002010-08-10T12:34:33.796+10:00Discovering Hungarian Writing Discovering Hungarian WritingDiscovering a webzine called <i>Words Without Borders</i>, the first thing I found was an article on Writing From Hungary. After skimming it, I went to check out the fiction, because fiction is what I like - especially with my coffee. I quickly realised that, being completely unfamiliar with Hungarian literature, I should in fact read the article first. That's why I'm linking to an essay this time instead of to some fiction.<br />
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The article's author, Judith Sollosy, quickly discounts any idea that she might provide a definition of contemporary Hungarian Literature. In short, CHL is what she is pointing at when she points at it and says 'that's CHL'.<br />
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Fair enough, as far as I'm concerned. I've been around long enough to understand both the need for definitions and the reasons for avoiding the provision of them. Whatever definition you try to give in cases like this, someone is going to argue about it and the whole thing can go for years. I remember when Australian literati were arguing about whether Oz lit could only be written by Australians - a tricky notion in a migrant community, or whether it should clearly show Australianess - another tricky notion in a migrant community with a global culture. Back then, certain of the literati believed that most Australians did not even want an Australian literature, which was bemusing to me because, coming from a rural background and therefore entering the academic world from a different perspective, the ordinary readers I knew were desperate for some Oz lit. They even passed travel books around in an effort to find something about the world they knew. Thank heavens that whole argument is now out of fashion. It was really boring.<br />
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But back to Hungary.<br />
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Sollosy has chosen fiction that, appears mainstream. Now this is an SF focused blog, so in theory I should justify my decision to put a link to it. Well, I could say the stories are sort of Gothic, or that they are sort of Magic Realism, but the truth is I simply found Sollosy's article exciting. It's exciting to think that there are writers out there who are having fun with words, doing away with traditional plot and structure, and yet getting away with it: They are being published. This gives me hope. It gives me Sense of Wonder. And that's all the excuse I need.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Judith Sollosy</span> :</b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://wordswithoutborders.org/article/writing-from-hungary-an-introduction/">Writing from Hungary: An Introduction </a></span>Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-67912705926074718252010-07-30T12:31:00.000+10:002010-07-30T12:31:20.557+10:00A Free Art ExhibitionHaving occasion to go into Melbourne CBD this morning, and finding myself at Flinders Street waiting for a train home again, I was able to do something that I really like to do whenever I get such a chance. Taking the De Graves Street exit, I went down to see what was on exhibition in thoroughfare there.<br />
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I was lucky. There was not one, but two exhibitions, plus a busker and his dog.<br />
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One of the exhibition was a series of little knitted teapots, although some looked more like bagpipes to me, and a few even looked like Daleks. They were pinned up on a board and each had its own title beneath it. Opposite this were some large, colour photos of children and rundown houses. What I enjoyed most, though, were a couple of works of nature and artifacts interacting. There was a kickbag (remember those?) with little plants, maybe herbs, growing in it, another was a wardrobe (why a wardrobe?) emerging from the soil or sinking into it. I didn't know whether these little scenes were representing nature taking over man made environments, or civilisation emerging through the undergrowth. Either way, I enjoyed the contemplation, not to mention the humor of putting these kinds of items together.Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-1596350111121869842010-07-09T10:55:00.001+10:002010-07-11T08:34:32.595+10:00"Truth" wins award<i>Truth<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mor06-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0374279373&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></i> a crime fiction novel, won the Miles Franklin Award for literary merit this year. This was a exciting news for a moment before it was eclipsed by emergence of a new Prime Minister, Australia's first female Prime Minister but, it turns out, just another politician all the same, so back we go the interesting stuff: A genre novel has won the Miles Franklin.<br />
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Miles Franklin herself was a good writer. She wrote books like <i>My Brilliant Career</i>, which was made into a film with Judy Davis in the lead, and <i>My Career Goes Bung.</i> That second title shows a sense of humour and knowledge of life. Her life as a writer was actually a difficult one, partly because as a woman of her time (1879-1954) she was always going to find those patriarchal barriers to publishing. Her name was actually Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin. You can guess why she chose "Miles Franklin" as her pen name - when she used a name at all.<br />
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Miles Franklin was one of those writers who were interested in social justice and was active in various causes, including feminism, but particularly the promotion of Australian literature. When she died, she left in her will a sum of money to be used for an award for Australian literature. This became the Miles Franklin Award.<br />
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This award is still going. It has its controversies. For one thing, the quality of being "literary" is firmly tied to the mainstream novel in the minds of the judges. (<a href="http://cityoftongues.com/2010/06/23/peter-temple-wins-miles-franklin-award/#comment-2221">Here's a link to a post</a> that skitters around the notion of a genre novel having literary quality, the comments to it are particularly interesting) This means that a genre novel has, until now, no hope of being considered. Don't get me started on this subject. I can personally think of one SF writer who wrote well enough to win the Miles Franklin. That writer was George Turner, who was a co-winner of the Miles Franklin in 1962 for his novel concerning alcoholism, <i>The Cupboard Under The Stairs</i>. His co-winner was the well known Thea Astley for <i>The Well Dressed Explorer</i>. Turner later took up writing SF and demonstrated literary quality in his own work while encouraging it in aspiring writers around him. A sloppy turn of phrase, or even a turn of phrase that distracted the reader from thinking about the story, would be noticed and picked up on by George. SF fans loved him. However, he didn't win any more Miles Franklin Awards.<br />
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Now Peter Temple's crime novel, <i>Truth</i>, has won the award for 2010. The only book of his that I have read so far was <i>White Dog</i>. A friend describes Temple's work as "blokey". It's about guys. <i>White Dog</i> certainly involves violence and a showdown that involves a fight with a white dog. It was very firmly set in Melbourne - in fact during one scene I got out the local street map to make sure the characters were driving the right way. It made more sense once I found that they had started in a one way street.<br />
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Literary award winning novels are often boring, to my taste, and so I often don't bother reading them unless I hear from someone else that it's actually good. However, after <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2010/s2934394.htm">hearing an interview</a> with Temple about <i>Truth</i>, I look forward to giving it a go when I find it in the local library.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-13563275846573367642010-05-25T13:15:00.001+10:002010-05-25T13:16:35.908+10:00Top five short stories<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/p/free-online-short-stories.html">From my list of short fiction</a> what would be my top five?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">A few are easy to pick. <b>Chris Adrian's</b> "A Tiny Feast' because it was so moving. The characters are powerful beings, Oberon and Titania, but childish in many ways. Being powerful, they don't have to grow up. There is nothing that can test their metal. They steal changelings into their keeping, and then forget about them. This time, though, the changeling is dying and there is nothing they can do stop it, and in their fairy way they care. The parallels with the rich and powerful of this world are obvious, but knowing this just makes the story sadder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Eva Sallis'</b> "A Life Sentence" is a remarkable story. Once you begin reading and realise that it's about a cockatoo, and a mad one at that, you begin to see that there is something Human about the cockatoo's sense of entrapment and rage. He remembers a time of being loved, when he rode freely on his Human's shoulders as they went about in the open, but then he was put in a cage, trapped, and in his rage at the waste of his life began to go mad. It was this story that set me on my quest to find out what other remarkable stories might be waiting out there online for us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Roger Zelazny</b>'s "A Rose For Ecclesiastes" is a story I have liked for years, and I was thrilled to find it online and be able to share it with you. It is about a man on Mars who falls in love with a Martian woman. This love is tearing him apart, for on the one hand it is wonderful, but on the other it represents a rebellion against the strictness of his father. It turns out, however, that the Martians, having their own sorrow, were only using him. What I like about the story, though, is its poetic use of language to tell the story. This was part of what was called New Wave, at one time, and represented a break with the traditional, rather dry way, of telling SF stories based on hard science. Then, if I recall rightly, there was another New Wave which represented a return to hard science fiction</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Nathan Crowder</b>'s "Deacon Carter's Last Dime" is maybe an odd one to choose because I think Crowder's most finely written story is actually "None Left Behind". However, I have a fondness for this story with its offer of redemption even for someone who, not understanding what he was being offered, fails to take it up. It doesn't have a happy ending, but it does show something wonderful about the way Humans can care for each other.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">What to put for my fifth? There are a lot on my list that I like for various reasons. I like Joe Haldeman's "Angel of Light" because it is so very different from any other work of his that I've read. Ruth Nestvold's "Mars: A Traveller's Guide" is funny and horrific at the same time, and also represents a number of other works about disasters in space. Then there are the stories by famous writers such as D H Lawrence, Robert Bloch or Cyrano de Bergerac, and the various authors of Hugo and Nebula award winners, and other stories that, like Crowder's story, I just feel fond of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I'm going to go with <b>Italo Calvino</b>'s "Daughters of Moon" because that's the kind of mood I'm in today. Maybe it's because one of my children has been learning to play the Tears For Fears song<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXuXikfIYHY"> "Mad World"</a>, a sad song bemoaning the apathy of the city and the inability of people in modern society to care or connect with each other, on the keyboard. "Daughters of the Moon" has some of the same themes, but at the same time is wonderful antidote them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I love this line from a review of one of Italo Calvino's books: "</span>Metaphysical conceits are a thing of the past. Now with moon shots and interstellar probes, a writer really in tune with his age has to think of scientific conceits, ..."<br />
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<ul><li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Adrian</b>, Chris,<a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/2009/07/tiny-feast-suggested-reading.html"> "A Tiny Feast"</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Calvino</b>, Italo, <a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/2009/05/daughters-of-moon-short-story-reveiw.html">"The Daughters Of The Moon" </a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Crowder</b>, Nathan, <a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/2009/06/deacon-carters-last-dime.html">"Deacon Carter's Last Dime"</a></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> <b>Sallis,</b> Eva, <a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/2009/03/life-sentence-short-story.html">"Life Sentence" </a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Zelazny</b>, Roger,<a href="http://morvahouse.blogspot.com/2009/04/rose-for-ecclesiastes-novella.html"> "A Rose For Ecclesiastes"</a></span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"></span>Morva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-25198002282976448332010-05-23T17:40:00.000+10:002010-05-23T17:40:28.357+10:00Lily Allen wins prizesI'm not surprised. Well, yes, in a way I am. Usually I like things that are not popular. I liked <i>Star Trek</i> back when SF was considered weird and not something that anyone would admit to. Robert Bloch, at an SF convention, remarked that fans had to hide their sf inside porn magazines to avoid being noticed. We laughed, but we knew what he meant.<br />
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(Now that I think of it, that convention had a theme song that was played whenever we were waiting for panels and things to start, "They're coming to take me away," although I think that was really an expression of the harassed feelings of the con organizers rather than a comment on fandom generally.)<br />
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I liked the TV series <i>Moonlighting</i>, because it broke the fourth wall, as Wikipedia puts it, which is to say that the characters addressed the camera, and were aware of the audience, thus playing with that suspension of disbelief that is the cornerstone of drama. It was fun, the way the <i>Threepenny Opera</i> (where the song, "Mack The Knife" comes from) is fun when the characters announce the Deus ex Machina that is going to come and save their protagonist. While I liked <i>Moonlighting</i> for its fun, I was given to understand that sensible people preferred <i>Remington Steele</i>, which I didn't dislike and therefore could not argue about.<br />
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Back to Lily Allen, though. When she sang "The Fear" in a little studio for TV, and the words were so clear, it just stunned my socks off. Maybe the song is about her own feelings, or about the angst of the 21st century, it's hard to tell. Perhaps it's both.<br />
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"22" is pretty grim as well. What are we to make of a song that tells us that at nearly thirty a young woman's life is already over? She hasn't got a guy, and her work is OK but not a career. It looks like the chances of anything great happening for her are gone. Depressing.<br />
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So I like Lily Allen's songs, but it's weird to find that other people also like them. It's a bit like when I liked Buffy, and it was very popular at the same time. It's like some law of physics is getting broken and a fine will have to be paid somewhere.<br />
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Here's a link to the usual music clip of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-wGMlSuX_c">"The Fear"</a> - I couldn't find the one I like on Youtube.<br />
Here's Louis Armstrong with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLIrS5dtTZI">Mack the Knife</a> - there's about a million covers of this song, but I like Louis Armstrong.<br />
Here's Lily Allen's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWjNFC-FinU">"22"</a>, in case you're not sick of seeing it at the gym everyday.<br />
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Oh, and the prizes Allen won are<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10132614.stm"> Ivor Novello prizes for songwriting.</a><br />
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Cheers<br />
Morva ShepleyMorva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-12816621936803963282010-05-21T14:10:00.001+10:002010-07-15T12:35:51.240+10:00"Dreams Of Babylon" : Suggested Reading<b>Read it here: <a href="http://www.bewilderingstories.com/contest2/dreams_babylon.html">"Dreams of Babylon" </a></b><br />
<b>by Slawomir Rapala</b><br />
<b>In <i>Bewildering Stories</i></b><br />
<b>Genre: SF</b><br />
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<i>Bewildering Stories</i> is a site that publishes free online fiction each week. The stories are chosen from all those sent to the editors, and some are written in response to contests but in any case the authors are not paid. These stories are labours of love. "Dreams of Babylon" was written in response to a <i>Bewildering Stories </i>contest concerning Time Travel.<br />
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"Dreams Of Babylon" is a group in the EU who, with the help of NASA and some technology developed by the Chinese, want to send a man back in time to meet Jesus Christ. The man they have chosen is a heavy smoker and alcoholic priest, Father Frank O'Hara, who once belonged to the IRA. That sounds colourful, but he doesn't, strangely enough, have a huge presence in the story. Most of this story is spent with long bits of dialogue among the other characters as they explain their plans and then explain what is happening or what has happened.<br />
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One of the strengths of this story is that it has enough conspiracy and counter-conspiracy to put Dan Brown to shame. With a bit more thought, this story could probably be turned into a fast paced action novel. The elements are already there, they just need room in which to be shown rather than told.<br />
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Cheers<br />
Morva Shepley<br />
http://Morvahouse.blogspot.comMorva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-75904372794131374512010-05-19T10:00:00.001+10:002010-05-19T10:00:03.668+10:00"Hailing Frequencies" : Suggested ReadingRead it here: <a href="http://www.wilywriters.com/blog/?p=1544">"Hailing Frequencies"</a><br />
By Matthue Roth<br />
In <i>Wily Writers Speculative Fiction Downloads</i><br />
Genre : Fantasy <br />
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Matthue Roth is, amongst other things, a slam poet. That, to me, makes his work worth a look. Happily, it turns out to be worth the effort. I've got a feeling I'd enjoy his novels - their titles have a light touch and the idea of <i>Losers</i>, a family of Russian immigrant geeks who try to take over the world sounds like a fun read.<br />
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"Hailing Frequencies" is about a moment in time when some alien spaceships have come to hover over the great cities of the Earth. Why? No one knows. What do they want? What are they going to do? No one can tell.<br />
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Victor has got his own problems. He can't find a job and his marriage is not going well. The presence of the spaceships is just enough to top off a bad week.<br />
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It is only near the end that we get a hint as to why the spaceships have come, but even then we can't be sure. That part of the story is up to us.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
Morva Shepley<br />
http://morvahouse.blogspot.comMorva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9214167938190047822.post-83434345995855059952010-05-17T10:00:00.002+10:002010-05-17T10:00:05.929+10:00"Dragon Is A State Of Mind" : Suggested ReadingRead it here: <a href="http://crosf.nosf.net/written-word">"Dragon Is A State Of Mind"</a><br />
By: Milena Benini <br />
In: <i>NOSF</i><br />
Genre: Fantasy<br />
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The best way to reach this story is to click the link above.This will take you to a list of Croation SF stories in English. On the list find "Dragon Is A State Of Mind." Clicking on this takes you to a PDF download of the story. If you are a stranger to reading PDFs, don't be nonplussed by the back to front ordering of the pages. In the top bar is a downward facing triangle, and clicking on this will take you to the next page without you having to bother scrolling backwards and forwards.<br />
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NOSF is a Croatian SF zine, and with its English supplement is reaching out to the English speaking world. It seems only fair to reach back.<br />
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"Dragon Is A State Of Mind" is definitely English, being an Arthurian story.<br />
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I remember going through an Arthurian phase myself, years ago. "Arthuritis", a friend called it. She was trying to compile an extensive list of Arthurian lit. Other friends were extending that list by creating their own Arthurian worlds.<br />
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These days on TV we have a series called <i>Merlin</i>, which I don't entirely like because it messes with the Arthurian world in a way that is clearly meant to assemble a bunch of teenagers together and watch them play out the resulting dramas, but doesn't add anything to the legend. In fact, I only keep watching because I'm wondering when the dragon under Uther's palace is going to collide with the fighting dragons of the original myth. Yes, there were dragons in the original story. <br />
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The story goes that Vortigern (<a href="http://www.grahamphillips.net/merlin/merlin2.htm">here</a> and<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin"> here</a> for more details, and indeed Googling "The story of Merlin and the two dragons" gets plenty of results) was trying to have a castle built, but every night the work of the previous day fell down. Frustrated, he asked around, and was eventually brought the boy, Merlin who, he was told, might be able to explain the problem. Merlin explained that there were two dragons under the earth who were fighting every night. Their fights were causing earthquakes, and these quakes were bringing the castle down.<br />
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Waiting for this story to connect with the plot in the TV series keeps me watching.<br />
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"Dragon Is A State Of Mind" also messes with the Arthurian legend, but in a way that I am happy to accept. The author, Milena Benini (<a href="http://www.readreactreview.com/2010/03/07/interview-with-a-croatian-feminist-anarchist-speculative-fiction-writer-and-avid-genre-fiction-reader/">here</a> for an interview, - she sounds like an interesting person,<a href="http://milerama.nosf.net/"> here </a>for her blog, but English speakers be warned that it's in Croatian) is clearly interested in the the nature of dragons, what they might have been and why they died out. She hints that they were sustained by human belief in them, but is sensible enough not to dwell on this idea and instead goes on to speculate on the fate of the last dragon.<br />
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"Fate is a harsh mistress," she says. I like that line. The story raises, without ever directly mentioning, a very interesting idea about the nature of Arthur himself.<br />
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It's a little sad, but enjoy it.<br />
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Cheers<br />
Morva Shepley<br />
http://morvahouse.blogspot.comMorva Shepleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06956649220337130363noreply@blogger.com0