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Showing posts with label Funny. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Funny. Show all posts
MICRO REVIEW | Year Zero by Rob Reid
Like Ready Player One, Year Zero is the type of book that will hit the sweet spot for those of a certain generation. Year Zero revels in the music of the 80's and 90's and also the Napster era legal issues of the 00's. Some characters are even supposed to resemble names you might know from the late 80's to early 90's pop music. Reid certainly has the right pedigree to write such a book having started Rhapsody. There are plenty of laughs to be had as we meet a cadre of unusual aliens and odd situations.
There are some issues, which keep Year Zero from attaining its potential. The main character comes off very flat and doesn't go through much growth despite the outcome. Yet he knows himself well. However, many of the side characters are also very one dimensional as well and just seem there for a specific joke at times. Especially the space slut.
Besides the many in-jokes, the time exploring the other races of the cosmos was very inventive, especially a certain race whose name isn't worth mentioning. All in all, a very solid albeit light first novel, but don't going into thinking this is the next Hitchhiker's Guide or you'll be disappointed. The style actually reminded more of Christopher Moore in space mixed with some court room theatrics and a decent send-up of reality television.
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INTERVIEW | Jim Hines author of Libriomancer
Jim C. Hines has been one of favorite writers since long before I started this blog. It all started with a little book found at my local bookstore called Goblin Quest starring a little blue near-sighted goblin named Jig and his trepidatious fire spider companion Smudge. From there Jig's adventures got bigger with Goblin Hero and Goblin War. Hines's prominence then grew with a quartet of novels based on fairy tale princess stories starting with The Stepsister Scheme and his latest novel Libriomancer--out this week--is his first in the Urban Fantasy series Ex Libris, which is also his first hardcover release.
*****
MH: You've done your Quest Fantasy series, which turned into something of an Epic with the Goblin books, tackled the Fairy Tale genre with the Princess novels, and now you're after Urban Fantasy with Libriomancer. Is your plot to cover the breadth of Genre literature? HINES: YES! Though I'm finding this one-book-at-a-time approach to be painfully slow. This is why my next book will be 50 SHADES OF BLUE, an erotic romance about goblin detectives in the old west. It will be a picture book.
MH: That's a best-seller waiting to happen. Despite my reluctance on erotic romances that would certainly be something to behold. Smudge, originally scene in the Goblin books, reasserts his role as a sidekick/companion in Libriomancer. You mentioned in the introduction that a short story was the impetuous for Smudge coming back. Did you ever feel pressure on bringing a character you've used so much into a new world?
MH: I love that little fire spider too. Libriomancer is peppered with genre literary references from both classic and new works. How much were you bribed for those mentions? And did you go back and re-read a lot of books to get the little details right?
HINES: How much did they bribe me? Well, looking at my bills for this month, IT WASN'T ENOUGH! There were actually only a few instances where I deliberately snuck a friend's name in. Ann Crispin has done tremendous work through Writer Beware, and I remember loving her Star Trek novels when I was younger, so I asked if I could put her in as the author of Vulcan's Mirror. My friend Catherine did a quick consult for me on the idea for Rabid, so I listed her as the author for that one. Mostly though, I just looked for the books that fit, and the kind of books Isaac would want to use for various situations.
As for rereading, I wish I had time to reread every book I mentioned. I read some, skimmed through others, and queried the groupmind on Facebook and Twitter for a few.
MH: You're become known as a humorist Fantasy writer. What moment(s) made you feel that was the direction you should head and make your niche in? Were you know as a funny guy growing up?
HINES: When I started seriously trying to make it as a writer, I concentrated on serious stories. I wanted to be deep and powerful. The first time I made someone cry with one of my stories, it was a huge triumph. But none of that stuff sold. Finally, in a fit of annoyance, I wrote a quirky, humorous sword and sorcery story about a magic bunny knife. It won first place at Writers of the Future, and remains the highest-paying short story I’ve ever done. That was my first clue that maybe lighter stuff was a better fit for me. I still pushed myself to learn how to write dark and serious, but I have more fun when I can work humor into the story.
Growing up, I was mostly known as that skinny, geeky kid. But I did enjoy making people laugh. That hasn’t changed. When someone tells me a story of mine cracked them up, or a blog post made them laugh-snort their coffee, it makes my whole day.
MH: Labeling is something many reviewers seem at odds about, especially YA. I find the Jig the Goblin books YA friendly even going so far as to give them to my niece. If you could have had a say and had them published in the YA category would you? Granted the YA category barely existed when Goblin Quest came out.
HINES: If you'd asked me about the title 24 hours ago, I would have said no, but I just last night emailed several suggestions to my editor. I think my favorite is "Codex Born." I don't know if that will be what we use, but I like it. I'm currently about 25K words into the second draft of book two. I'm exploring Lena's character a bit more, as well as the history of the Porters and some of the enemies Gutenberg made along the way. I'm also pissing off my protagonist, which is what a good author is supposed to do, right?
MH: That's exactly as it should be. Just hope he doesn't pop out of the book one day. More on the history of the Porters and Gutenberg is definitely what I'd like to see. Do you have any celebration rituals when you finish or sell a new book?
HINES: I don't, and I really need to start some. Any suggestions?
MH: A bottle of wine and reading a good book seems like the way to go. Or how about dancing a merry jig? What is the greatest advice you've even been given as a writer?
HINES: Always ... no, never ... forget to check your references. Also, sit your butt in the chair and write!
MH: Now on to the important issues. What is your favorite hat?
MH: Now that is a swank hat. What books are you reading at the moment?
HINES: Lots of good stuff! I'm halfway through N. K. Jemisin's Kingdom of Gods, the final book in her Inheritance Trilogy. I've also been reading various works from the Hugo Voter Packet, and recently finished Marie Brennan's A Natural History of Dragons, which comes out in February of 2013.
MH: I love the cover for Brennan's book. I'll have to make time for it. And thanks for all your time. Is there anything you'd like to say to close us out?
HINES: Thanks for inviting me to do the interview. This was fun! For anyone who's read all the way to the end, you can check out the first chapter of Libriomancer at www.jimchines.com, or follow the links on that site to come hang out with me on the blog, Twitter, Facebook and such. Finally, always stock up on emergency cupcakes, never piss off a platypus, and try not to get too jealous of my hat.
MH: I'll try not to get jealous, but it is going to be hard.
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REVIEW | Redshirts by John Scalzi
John Scalzi never disappoints. He writes very solid and entertaining stories, but with Redshirts he's letting his geek flag fly at all-time heights. Even further than he did with The Android's Dream. If you've been a fan of Sci-Fi and Star Trek: TOS in particular then you understand the idea of being a red shirt means you're probably going to die or at least be relegated to a bit player. Redshirts shows us a future where being issued a wardrobe of red is a very bad thing.
It is true that Redshirts skewers early Trek and it does it very, very well. And it contains the best BJ joke you've probably heard all year. Yet Scalzi goes much deeper as things progress and just gets out and out strange in the last third. The story begins simply enough with new ensign level crew members coming aboard the Universal Union flagship Intrepid, which just always seems to be running low on crew. They quickly realize they are the expendable type, but something more seems to be going on then that. Improbable things keep happening and then things get meta and weird. Or is all meta weird?
The story is not without its faults. Very little character growth occurs and some of the characters aren't very indistinguishable from others. There are many instances of some clunky bits especially in the aforementioned final third. However, this hardly ever dampened the grin the story continual caused me to sport. Either way Scalzi has written the book he's probably been dying to get to for years and the Star Trek parody I've always wanted. And while it is in a similar camp as Galaxy Quest it's setup rather differently and explores the trappings of Sci-Fi in a very unusual manner. To go into it much more would ruin things. Suffice to say if the initial hook works for you I can't help but recommend this to most Sci-Fi fans, especially those of an older generation that are looking for more than a few laughs.
It is a much stronger showing then Fuzzy Nation, but still doesn't reach the level of detail or characterization that the Old Man's War books achieve. Redshirts is most definitely Scalzi's lightest and funniest novel to date. I give Redshirts 4 out of 5 hats. The story ends with 3 codas that are ancillary short stories closing off some loose ends brought up in the main narrative. The first was overly long and the third felt unneeded, but these parts are the more emotionally fueled sections.
P.S. If you haven't read/seen Stefan's Redshirts photo review get thee to Civilian Reader.
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Ha! So true.
I'll be at Book Expo America for the next few days so I thought I'd leave you with this in case I don't have time for other postings.
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VIDEO | SNL Does Game of Thrones
(via SFSignal)
I saw this live and laughed my ass off. I searched all over Sunday and yesterday for this clip, but apparently there are rights issues so check it out while it is still up. Enjoy!
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Cover Unveiled for Walter Moers' The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books
One author I'm always surprised to see not many people talking about regularly is comic fantasist extraordinaire Walter Moers. His continent of Zamonia is one of the most wondrous places we could ever visit. In his homeland of Germany Moers is one of the biggest authors. Very much the German Terry Pratchett although most would agree Moers is much crazier then Pratchett.
When I heard about a new Zamonia book called The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books coming out last year in Germany I've been waiting on news of an English translation, which we finally have. This book seems to be a sequel of sorts to the third and probably my favorite Zamonia novel, The City of Dreaming Books. In fact the cover above is just the same art from City so I expect some sort of change for the final. Here is the blurb:
It has been more than two hundred years since Bookholm was destroyed by a devastating fire, as told in Moers's The City of Dreaming Books. Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, hailed as Zamonia's greatest writer, is on vacation in Lindworm Castle when a disturbing message reaches him, and he must return to Bookholm to investigate a mystery. The magnificently rebuilt city has once again become a metropolis of storytelling and the book trade. Mythenmetz encounters old friends and new denizens of the city—and the shadowy “Invisible Theater.” Astonishingly inventive, amusing, and engrossing, this is a captivating story from the wild imagination of Walter Moers.The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books will be released in November from Overlook in the US and Harvill Secker in the UK.
To start your journey into the world of Zamonia I'd recommend reading the first in the series, The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear to enmesh yourself properly and from there you can go to any of the other novels, even The City of Dreaming Books. If you like the idea of Minipirates, Nocturnomath's with multiple brains, sentient books, a meek dinosaur society of book lovers, literary anagrams galore, and just plain craziness you're missing out sorely if you don't give Moers a chance.
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VIDEO | Trailer for the new Muppets movie
No this isn't another one of their little gag videos, which I've been loving this year. This is the official trailer for The Muppets, which is the new movie that will be out next month. Enjoy. And as I said on twitter the other day: Only those without souls dislike Henson.
VIDEO | Today's Moment of Muppet
VIDEO | The Muppets do Stieg Larsson
X-Muppets
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| Art by Rahzzah |
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In other news I'll most likely be at Patrick Rothfuss's signing tonight in Brooklyn barring any personal craziness that may ensue. This is the first chance I've had to get my first edition/first printing of The Name of the Wind signed and I cannot pass it up.
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VIDEO | A Long Time Ago, In a TARDIS Far, Far Away
Just because I've been watching a bunch of Doctor Who lately.
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I think this speaks nicely for itself. It has also inspired me to rewatch the original Labyrinth.
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REVIEW | Blue and Gold by K.J. Parker
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| Cover art by Vincent Chong |
"Well, let me see," I said, as the innkeeper poured me a beer. In the morning I discovered the secret of changing base metal into gold. In the afternoon, I murdered my wife."While Purple and Black went for the unusual style of letter correspondence Blue and Gold goes for the first person POV of an unreliable narrator. He is an alchemist. Maybe the best in the world. Maybe not as he contradicts himself from page to page. I'm not giving anything away by mentioning this. The main character reveals this himself on the second page.
"I'm Saloninus, by the way. And I tell lies, from time to time. Which goes to prove the old rule; never entirely trust a man who talks about himself in the third person."Saloninus is not a self-aggrandizing rogue you'll love to hate. There are lots of those out there in Fantasy nowadays. I simply fell in love with his voice as he pulls punches and still stabs daggers into many backs all in the name of survival and some would say selfishness. The story jumps around during many of Saloninus's many escape attempts while also mixing in directions on alchemical formulas and philosophical debates, which show off Parker's imagination and also research skills. At first I thought the recipes would bog down the story, but the voice of Saloninus is so strong he could have been telling you about his trip to the market yet makes every word said riveting.
Blue and Gold is the black comedy cousin to The Usual Suspects with its unique take on the science of alchemy and a murder that might not be. Sly humor is effused throughout with quips and outright lies that starts and finishes strongly. Blue and Gold surpasses the other short fiction I've read from Parker and is one of her most memorable pieces to date. I give Blue and Gold 8.5 out of 10 hats. Even once finished you'll question exactly what the true story is beneath all the deceit and slight of hand, but you'll do so with a big grin. I can't wait to see what Parker has in store for us next, especially with the The Hammer coming out early next month.
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Everything You Need to Know About Prester John with Action Figures and lolcats
This week sees the release of Catherynne M. Valente's The Habitation of the Blessed. This will be the first in the Prester John Trinity from Night Shade. I haven't gotten a copy yet, but will very shortly as it is on my must-buy list plus this video pretty much seals the deal.
Valente also just launched a site for the series, which has all kinds of useful info on the history Prester John, sample chapters, and the original short story that inspired the series. Hopefully she'll treat us to more videos in the future.
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Sci-Fi versus Fantasy versus Steampunk
I don't know about you, but my money is on Steampunk for the win. This webcomic comes from Not Invented Here, which has become my new favorite thing.
Via the Little Red Reviewer
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VIDEO | League of Steam
The League of S.T.E.A.M. is a fun little web series well worth checking out, especially on a lazy Friday afternoon. Think of them as a Steampunk style Ghostbusters and you'll just be about there. All of their videos can be found here.
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Wrong Bookstore
Confucius say,
"If you are in a bookstore and cannot find
the book for which you search, you obviously are in the
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