Question of the Week: Which skiffy or fanty character would you cosplay as?
It doesn’t matter if you’ve never dressed up. Everyone has a character they’d love to be, even just for a few hours at a fancy dress party. Here are ours: Shaun Doctor Who (David Tennant or Matt Smith). Why? Because I’d look damn good in a bow tie or Tennant’s coat! They’ve both got a wonderful sense of style (the characters, that is), and Doctor Who is a wonderful show. What better reasons could there be? I rest my case. Jen So I’m totally not sexy enough to pull the character off, but I think I would have to cosplay as Blink, from the Marvel Universe. Granted, the people at Marvel are total bastards and killed her off almost immediately after originally introducing her in the standard timeline, but she was seriously epic in the Age of Apocalypse timeline and was later reintroduced in the Exiles series… She’s a pink-skinned elfin-eared teleporter, a la Nightcrawler, who can charge bolts that she shoots at people. Oh, and I love her. If you were to cosplay any skiffy or fanty character, who would it be and why?
Question of the Week: Which science fiction novel would you start middle school kids on and why?
Since our latest episode is a little on the dark side, we thought it would be a good idea to have a happier question for you all to think about. We’ve also brought in a friend to sweeten the deal: Shaun The hard thing about choosing books for middle school kids is that a great deal of books for their age group that are fantastic in nature are actually fantasies, rather than science fiction. There isn’t enough science fiction written explicitly for their age group, let alone for the two groups around them (children’s lit and young adult). If we were talking high school, the doors would be wide open for all kinds of stuff, from John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War to Tobias Buckell’s Xenowealth novels (Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, and Sly Mongoose). But because this group is a young group, content is a big issue. I have no doubt that they can handle more adult material than we’d like to think, but they are still younglings. With that in mind, I would have to pick The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. The novel may not be meant for middle school kids, but it’s hilarious, fun, and all kinds of weird. Whether they’ll get all the jokes is irrelevant, because the characters are funny enough on their own. The big question, of course, is whether Adams is a good gateway into the SF genre as a whole. I don’t think I can say… Jen Honestly. I have no idea! I started reading science fiction earlier than middle school, but I think the same books are appropriate. However, they’re a little outdated. To be honest, though I haven’t even read the series yet, I would start with The Hunger Games. I’ve always been of the opinion that to get a kid interested in something for the first time, you have to play to their interests. Not only is The Hunger Games a new series of books, it is also being made into a series of movies. Double win to a teenager (especially if that hot guy from Beastly and I Am Number Four is in it, then you’ll get every girl in America reading the series). I see no reason to throw them straight into the complexities of Ender’s Game or something by Heinlein. I started with Ray Bradbury and Madeleine L’Engle (although I was never a big L’Engle fan) and these are still great authors to begin a science fiction journey with, but to snag a kid so late in the game (yes, I’m calling middle school late) – appealling to them on a less “literary” level might be a good way to go. Patrick Hester Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I think the story is accessible to kids because it’s about kids, their relationships and a lot of themes involved with growing up that they’ll relate to. Plus, the kids are the smartest people in the story (for the most part), which I think they’ll like too. So, what do you think would be a good SF book to start middle school kids on? Let us know in the comments!
Question of the Week: What mythological or folkloric tradition would you like to see more Fantasy based on?
We’re on a bit of a fantasy kick these days. With places like the World SF blog covering speculative literature published elsewhere around the world, it’s becoming pretty obvious that there’s so much more out there that traditional outlets aren’t covering. But Western myths and folkloric traditions are still the dominant theme in a lot of fantasy, which is why we’re asking the question in the title. Here’s what we think: Jen I think it’s fairly obvious to American readers that most of our fantasy is based on western European mythologies and folklore, predominantly the folklore of the British Isles and, to a lesser extent, Greek and Norse mythology. Even the vampire legend had to be transplanted from Eastern Europe before it was popularized (although vampires are a broader tradition and not unique to even Eastern Europe). Anyway, what I’m saying is – BOOOOOR-ing! Boring isn’t really the right word. I still continue to enjoy these traditions in the fantasy that I read, but I’d really love to see the American fantasy community branch out a bit more – break out of their Western European comfort zone! I’ll grant you that Neil Gaiman and Charles de Lint have done a great job incorporating non-western mythologies; it seems to be lacking for the most part. And though writers that are born within those non-western traditions/cultures do incorporate them, they aren’t necessarily things you see on the American market. So, the mythology/folklore I would like to see more of is… crap… I’m going to go with South American. Things out of the Mayan and Aztec and tribal mythos would be very neat to see. If anyone can tell me some fantasy that already uses these traditions – point me in that direction! I want chupacabras and Quetzacoatl and whatever else they have! Can you tell it’s a tradition I know next to nothing about? Well I want to learn! Shaun Honestly, I would like to see accurate portrayals of tribal myths/folklore/belief systems/etc., particularly those from the African continent. The problem I’ve seen in SF/F is that a lot of work that tries to use non-Western mythologies or folklore does so with an implicitly Western viewpoint. By that I mean that such works rarely explore the myth without somehow Westernizing it, either by using a Western POV character or trying to change the dynamics of the myth itself to make it accessible to a Western audience. Accessibility is problematic, though, since one can easily cross over the line into “too accessible,” which inevitably means that your attempt to represent a non-Western myth has failed miserably. African, Native American, South American (Amazonian, perhaps?), Chinese, Southeast Asian, South Pacific-an…whatever it may be, I want to see it brought out in its entirety, without unfair reduction. Worldbuilding should be totalizing, not half-assed. What do you all what to see? Let us know in the comments below!
Question of the Week: What is your favorite forgotten or unknown fantasy series?
Since we just talked about fantasy in our latest episode of the show, we think it would be fun to see what you all consider to be your favorite forgotten or relatively unknown fantasy series. Let us know in the comments! It doesn’t matter how obscure it is, because either way, we really want to know. But first, here are out favorites: Shaun My mother actually introduced me to one of my favorite series of fantasy novels, which also happens to be a series that very few people have heard of or read: the Duncton Wood series by William Horwood. The books focus on the lives of a complex society of moles, including their mythologies and interactions with other mole communities. They are epic in scale, brilliantly characterized, and simply some of the best books I have ever read. They’re also not typical animal fantasy novels. The moles don’t carry swords and do ninja flips like they do in the Redwall novels or The Chronicles of Narnia. Horwood takes the characters seriously as animals, and then develops a culture out of that framework. I’d definitely recommend them to anyone who likes fantasy. Jen Damnit, Shaun! You didn’t tell me the question was going to be a doozy when you texted me that the question was up and ready for me to answer! Forgotten or Unknown?! I figure you have to have buried your head under a rock to have missed most of the series I have read. Regardless, I think… errgh. It has to be a toss-up between Barry Hughart’s Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Patricia Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and any series by Sean Russell (but particularly his Initate Brother duology). I actually somewhat credit the Initiate Brother with my stationery obsession. Hughart’s and Wrede’s series turn fairy tales on their heads in such brilliant (but entirely different) fashions that you can’t help but be impressed and the Initiate Brother books are epic in scope and blast all of that stupid Leo Grin’s arguments out of the water. It isn’t often that you find an entire series that you can read over and over again (just wait until we have to answer this question about scifi, because I totally have my answer), but I’ve done that with all of the aforementioned titles. Go find them. Read them. You’ll thank me later. There you go! So, what’s your favorite forgotten or unknown fantasy series?
Question of the Week: Who would win — trolls or singing frogs?
It’s about time we ask a silly question, and what’s more silly than deciding the victor in a fight between trolls and singing frogs? Here are our answers: Shaun Trolls are dumb. Really dumb. Singing frogs, on the other hand, are adept manipulators. See here for evidence: See? If you honestly think a troll (or even trolls) can outsmart a singing frog, then you are totally looney tunes. Jen Singing Frogs. Obviously. Here’s my rationale: In the grand scheme of things, the trolls could probably eat all the frogs and there you have it, but realistically speaking, the frogs probably out breed the trolls. So, really, all the frogs have to do is keep squirting out tadpoles and let the trolls kill themselves off (by getting tricked into staying out in the sun by gray wizards). Anyway, you know trolls totally have a weakness for singing (because I say they do) and the frogs could probably just sing them into a mesmeric daze until the sun comes up – gray wizards not necessary! Either way, the singing frogs win! Now we want your opinion! Who do you think would win: trolls or singing frogs? Let us know in the comments!
Question of the Week: What was your best conference/convention experience?
There’s a good reason for this question: if you haven’t already noticed, we’ve been hanging out at the Eaton Conference in Riverside, California; if you have noticed, then I’m not contributing anything interesting and will move on. The entire conference was absolutely amazing and we thought it would be a great idea to see what other kinds of experiences folks have had at conferences or conventions. Thanks to John Ottinger and Patrick Hester for their responses! Now for the answers: Shaun There are so many to list. Really. I’ve walked through an anime convention with cat ears and a tail, my brother alongside me in the same garb. I’ve run RPG campaigns at conventions which turned out to be slightly insane and a whole lot of violence and fun (you should ask my brother about the time he played Rifts with us and kept getting knocked out every two seconds). Heck, I’ve even met the guy who created Evangelion and watched Star Wars fan films in scary back rooms! But I have to say that, thus far, my experiences at the Eaton Conference have been the best. Not only did I get to meet a great deal of people I greatly respect, whether as scholars (John Rieder, Carl Freedman, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., De Witt Douglas Kilgore, and others) or authors (China Mieville, Greg Benford, Karen Tei Yamashita, etc.), and hang out with one of my bestest best friends of best-ness, but I also got to meet the person I was actually presenting on: Nalo Hopkinson. My first encounter with her involved me essentially embarrassing myself: I quite literally went up to her, stopped for several seconds, and blurted out “Hi, you talk to me on Twitter.” I got the impression that she deals with such things quite often, as she took it in stride as Jen rescued me from my bumbling self. More normal encounters followed (to be honest, by the time the conference was over, I had mostly normalized, which is kind of a little late to get over your fanboy nonsense) and I had a lovely conversation with her after my presentation about her work, general nice things, and other writers. It was awesome! Similar things happened with other authors, such as China Mieville, who also had to deal with my fanboy nonsense until early Sunday, in which I was apparently coherent enough to hold a conversation. The only exception was Karen Yamashita, who actually teaches at my alma mater (UC Santa Cruz); for some reason we had quite a lot to talk about already, since we had both experienced the amusing antics of one of my previous professors. Overall, though, I think the experience was a good one, because I haven’t been in a single space with so many people who I have read, loved, and so on. Needless to say, the experience was pretty much all kinds of awesome. Unfortunately, the second person I was talking about in my paper wasn’t there (where were you, Tobias S. Buckell?), but since I basically stalk him on Twitter anyway, I can at least pretend he was there in spirit. That said, one day I will have my bumbling fanboy moment with you, Mr. Buckell. One day… Jen I realize we’re coming off of a very exciting weekend at a conference, but my best conference/convention memory is actually from my childhood. My father started attending a gaming convention called “Conquest” when I was fairly young. He went for the dungeons and dragons and when I got a bit older he started running gaming sessions for my friends and I. Those were some very formative experiences for me and I remember them very fondly. Anyway, eventually my parents started taking a whole crew of us up to the convention and let us run wild. I think we were the only kids in these early years, as my father was one of those early adopters of role-playing games and, likewise, an early attender of gaming conventions. Anyway, the most memorable moment for me is actually running through those halls (it was at a hotel up near San Francisco that looked vaguely castle-like) and generally creating havoc – creating our own live d&d adventures. The specific moment though was probably when we decided it would be fun to stop the elevator between floors and open the doors. I have no idea what I read on the wall, at that moment, but I do remember knowing, with absolute certainty, that it was written by a geek and that they had written it for US. Second most memorable experience was driving around with a dear friend of mine during a Dundracon and imagining that all the corporate buildings that surrounded the hotel were straight out of Stephenson’s Diamond Age. I miss you, Anicka. I’ve had a number of cool con moments since then, but they’ve all been very personal moments that didn’t necessarily require a con for them to have occurred. The things that make Cons special though are those moments that do require the convention to bring together a geographically disparate group that are all so strongly tied together by whatever that con happens to be about. That meeting of minds is truly Epic. Patrick Hester Hmmm… Well, there’s favorite and then there’s memorable. Memorable first. I grew up in Fresno, California. Fresno… There’s not a lot to do in Fresno when you’re growing up. I spent a lot of time in the comic book store or at the Fresno State Student Union (where all the kids hung out…) shooting pool or bowling ($3/hr all you can play…). Anyway, I saw a flier that Creation was coming to town to do a Star Trek convention. This was when The Next Generation was hot. I really wanted to go so I talked a friend of mine (who had a car, which I did not) to drive me (it was further out in the country than I could go on my mountain bike, which was
