Recommended Reads for September 2013
Recommended Reads is a monthly feature in which the Skiffy and Fanty crew tell you about one thing they recently read that they think you might like too. Here goes:
Blog Posts
Blog Posts
On Genre’s Surrealist Tendencies
I just finished re-watching Groundhog Day (1993) (the Blu-ray 15th Anniversary edition, if you must know). One of the things that makes this film so fascinating, even upon seeing it more than once, is its remarkably bizarre narrative. You might say it is positively surreal in form, dragging us, and the main character, Phil, into repetitious situations without any way to ground ourselves in the real (pun not intended). There are no fancy explanations for Phil’s “curse,” and in the process of watching him struggle with his identity in this new world order, we get a glimpse into a part of the human spirit that perhaps gets lost in the day-to-day hustle of life, just as Phil does at the start. What may seem monotonous can be changed by human action: we can change what we do,
Blog Posts
My Superpower: Geoffrey Girard
My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome Geoffrey Girard to talk about how his Supreme Strategic Suspicions relate to Cain’s Blood… In Cain’s Blood, the teenaged clones of infamous serial killers (Bundy, Gacy, Berokowitz, Dahmer, etc.) cause all sorts of nasty havoc. I was somewhat puzzled by early reviews that focused on how “dark and violent” the book is. I’d never really thought about that. I just wrote about what might happen next, the most-likely thing in a given situation. When Scott Smith, the author of The Ruins, called the book “very dark,” I didn’t think much of that either, until I watched The Ruins for the first time in years and thought: “THIS guy thinks I’m dark!” It was the first time I stopped to consider what I’d ultimately created. And How.
Blog Posts
Confessions of a Comics Junkie: Rooting for the Underdog (or, Characters Marvel Forgot to Love)
Readers of my personal blog will recall that I recently got back into comic books. And by “got back into” I mean “I now have almost three long boxes full of comics.”[1] It’s an obsession. So sue me. One of the things that has been most interesting to me on this journey back into comics is discovering how much has changed since I was a lax reader in the 90s. I don’t mean in terms of the narratives, mind you (though those have changed, too), but rather in terms of the characters who have stuck around, moved to the background, or (supposedly) left us for good.[2] Things have really changed. The most alarming change for me was the realization that some of the characters I loved as a kid have since taken a sideline to more “popular” folks. Oh, hell, let’s face it. The characters I liked as a kid, and the characters I have since started to cling to in the now, will never be as popular as Wolverine or Batman or Captain America or Iron Man or most of the folks gracing our movie screens these days. They are, and probably always have been or will be, the underdogs. But they’re also the characters for which I can’t help rooting.
Blog Posts
Interview with Zachary Jernigan (conducted by Paul Weimer)
Zachary Jernigan is a quarter-Hungarian, typically shaven-headed male writer of fantasy and science fiction. His short stories have appeared in a variety of places, including Asimov’s Science Fiction, Crossed Genres, and Escape Pod. No Return, his first novel, comes out March 5th, 2013 from Night Shade Books. He kindly agreed to let Paul Weimer ask him some questions. Paul Weimer: Who is Zachary Jernigan? Zachary Jernigan: Zachary Jernigan is an entrepreneurial mastermind, founder of twelve successful Arizona fried chicken restaurants. Okay, that’s not even slightly true. Sorry for attempting to deceive you. I, Zachary (Zack) Jernigan, am not even slightly entrepreneurial, as my bank statements will reveal–though I do like friend chicken. In fact, I like anything fried. You could fry a sock and I’d probably eat it. The proof of this is in my waistline. When I’m not eating fried foods (and articles of clothing), making playlists on iTunes, or playing Mario Kart, I write science fiction and fantasy, both in the short and long forms. Since 2009, my short stories have appeared in such places as Asimov’s, Crossed Genres, Murky Depths, and Escape Pod. My
Question of the Week
? of the Week: What do you think of the Nebula Awards finalists?
If you don’t know already, the Nebula Awards finalists were announced a little while ago. It’s an interesting list, to say the least, and it has sparked some interesting responses across the blogosphere. But what do you all think about the list? Feel free to leave a comment. Here are our brief responses: Shaun Overall, I’m happy with the list, though there are certainly some anomalies there. A lot of repeat names, some works that I didn’t think would make it to such a list anyway and a few things I saw coming from a mile away. As others here will mention, there are an extraordinary amount of women and a fair shake of POCs here — something I can’t help appreciating because such things tend to drive certain people in this community up the wall. The only glaring omission is in a category that nobody really cares about anyway: dramatic presentation. For all its criticism of vision over substance, I find it difficult to understand why the genre community has completely neglected to include Cloud Atlas on the list. If any film deserves genre’s recognition, it’s that one. Such is life… Julia I’m quite excited about this year’s list. I think there is a wealth of strong work on the ballot. I look forward to seeing the winners, and I think that this year, no matter who wins, I’ll probably be really happy with the outcome. I would like to add that the fact that some people are being ridiculous and getting upset because non-white and non-male people are nominated makes me like this ballot even more. Paul I will be terse. I am very pleased by the Novel ballot. 4 out of the 6 are by women. An epic fantasy written by a woman, too. Interestingly, five of the six novel nominees are Fantasy, too. Only 2312 sits there defending SF. Adam I think it is one of the stronger lists of the past few years, especially in the short fiction categories. I would like to see more diversity in the short story category though, as far as the publications represented. Five out of the six stories come from either Lightspeed or Clarkesworld. Jen I’m *really* happy about this list of nominees – over half are women!! Yay women in SF&F! That’s about all I can reliably comment on though as I’ve only either read or watched 4 of the nominations. Now it’s your turn!