I have a friend, let's call her... I don't know... Marianne, you know, like on Gilligan's Island, and I think that she needs an intervention. Why? Well, week after week she tunes into the SyFy Channel's SyFy Saturday feature, hoping for the best, and gets disappointed. The question really is WHY?
I know what you are thinking: Why is she disappointed? The commercials are awful, with bad acting, effects, and direction oozing out of the screen like viscous ichor from the wounds of any number of cheesy monsters on the SyFy Original Movie list, but still she perseveres. "One of these days the film won't suck, and with my luck it will be the day I am not watching," she laments loudly. The problem is, I know better.
Thankfully, I have turned that negative energy to good purpose! Having determined that there is really no way of stopping the redoubtable Marianne from watching this dreck, I have convinced her to write reviews of these cruddy schlock-fests. These funny and popular articles will, hopefully, shame the executives at SyFy into making better movies... OK, so who is deluded now: Mongolian Death Worm is this month's movie... Yikes!
Still, I have faith that quality will improve with movies like Stonehenge Apocalypse and a few others coming down the pipe. The gods know it cannot possibly get worse:)
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Gaming: The Three C's Chaosium, Cthulu, and Coherency
H.P. Lovecraft, secure in the safety of his home in Providence nearly a hundred years ago, might have shuddered in horror himself at the prospect of a future where the cyclopian architecture and creatures from beyond space and time would be part of a large game played by eager fans. The horror of this future is paralleled only by the fact that he could have used those royalty checks, even then.
On a slightly more serious note, I would like to take a moment to talk about one of my favorite roleplayng games, Chaosium Call of Cthulu 6th edition. Now, the people who know me, especially those in the currently running Call of Cthulu 1920's Arkham campaign so ably run by BJ Pehush, know that up until about 3 years ago I was firmly a d20 man. Every system had to be a d20 product, with rules that I could easily remember from the Wizards of the Coast d20 System Reference Document. Then I tried Call of Cthulu d20... and I absolutely hated it. I came to the realization at that point that while I love d20's for Fantasy systems, modern and science fiction games really just don't translate well. Thus when Chuck's D&D/Space 1889 combo campaign came to a close, and BJ announced an interest in running Call of Cthulu, I suggested using the Chaosium ruleset, and thankfully he agreed.
What makes the Chaosium system different, though? Well, for starters it is a percentile system as opposed to a flat d20 system. Before you get your hackles up, though, I would advise you to keep an open mind. The system uses percentages for all skills, adding in additional percentage points as you succeed in skill challenges. In addition, only a few of the base statistics get used, and they generally correspond to a related percentile (Luck, Power, Sanity, etc).
What does this mean for the player? First it means a simpler way of character improvement. With no levels, no big power ups, no increases in hit points, no feats, no talents, no skills, etc, the player is really only worried about determining which skills he succeeded in using, and marking them off to see if he can improve them at the end of the session. Second, it means that everyone is on a fairly equal footing, having roughly equal chances of succeeding at any given skill test if there are no skill points attributed to it, and that anyone can make an attempt at any skill and possibly succeed! Third, it means that no matter how far you progress, battles do not get longer, nor do enemies scale up by any great degree. Even though a farmer is nowhere near as scary as a Deep One, the farmer can kill you just as easily with his shovel in the right circumstances.
Well, sure, fine, that is all well and good, but what does that mean for the Game Master? The most important change from a d20 game to a game like Call of Cthulu is one of attitude. Without the need for experience points and leveling up, players feel like their characters are constantly in motion and evolving so long as they participate in making skill checks. In addition, all of the creatures are fairly well balanced, and the only differences between 'weak' and 'powerful' creatures is the tactics that the players will need to use to combat them. Lastly, the players know the fragility of both body and mind in the game, and are less likely to complain at the horrors facing their party: A good game of Call of Cthulu usually has bodies and crazies littering the landscape and you are lucky if none of them are yours.
OK, so the mindset and ruleset of Call of Cthulu are very different from Chaosium to d20 and back again, but really, why should you bother investing in a new system? Unlike d20, which has become an arms race of "Who got the best powerups from the most recent books" (yes, I'm looking at you D&D 3rd and 4th editions), the only person who ever needs to buy more than the main rulebook is the GM. That's right, your shelves need not be cluttered with copious volumes of supplements unless you absolutely want them to be since they have no effect on character creation, skill use, or anything else for the players. Most of the fantastic supplements produced by Chaosium are in the vein of gazetteers, adventures, and creature books, and the only things that the players will get out of them is a knowledge of the background in the Call of Cthulu universe.
As gaming systems go, Chaosium Call of Cthulu 6th edition is definitely a keeper, ranking highly in my esteem and showing us why reading books and looking in dark rooms is scary again!
On a slightly more serious note, I would like to take a moment to talk about one of my favorite roleplayng games, Chaosium Call of Cthulu 6th edition. Now, the people who know me, especially those in the currently running Call of Cthulu 1920's Arkham campaign so ably run by BJ Pehush, know that up until about 3 years ago I was firmly a d20 man. Every system had to be a d20 product, with rules that I could easily remember from the Wizards of the Coast d20 System Reference Document. Then I tried Call of Cthulu d20... and I absolutely hated it. I came to the realization at that point that while I love d20's for Fantasy systems, modern and science fiction games really just don't translate well. Thus when Chuck's D&D/Space 1889 combo campaign came to a close, and BJ announced an interest in running Call of Cthulu, I suggested using the Chaosium ruleset, and thankfully he agreed.
What makes the Chaosium system different, though? Well, for starters it is a percentile system as opposed to a flat d20 system. Before you get your hackles up, though, I would advise you to keep an open mind. The system uses percentages for all skills, adding in additional percentage points as you succeed in skill challenges. In addition, only a few of the base statistics get used, and they generally correspond to a related percentile (Luck, Power, Sanity, etc).
What does this mean for the player? First it means a simpler way of character improvement. With no levels, no big power ups, no increases in hit points, no feats, no talents, no skills, etc, the player is really only worried about determining which skills he succeeded in using, and marking them off to see if he can improve them at the end of the session. Second, it means that everyone is on a fairly equal footing, having roughly equal chances of succeeding at any given skill test if there are no skill points attributed to it, and that anyone can make an attempt at any skill and possibly succeed! Third, it means that no matter how far you progress, battles do not get longer, nor do enemies scale up by any great degree. Even though a farmer is nowhere near as scary as a Deep One, the farmer can kill you just as easily with his shovel in the right circumstances.
Well, sure, fine, that is all well and good, but what does that mean for the Game Master? The most important change from a d20 game to a game like Call of Cthulu is one of attitude. Without the need for experience points and leveling up, players feel like their characters are constantly in motion and evolving so long as they participate in making skill checks. In addition, all of the creatures are fairly well balanced, and the only differences between 'weak' and 'powerful' creatures is the tactics that the players will need to use to combat them. Lastly, the players know the fragility of both body and mind in the game, and are less likely to complain at the horrors facing their party: A good game of Call of Cthulu usually has bodies and crazies littering the landscape and you are lucky if none of them are yours.
OK, so the mindset and ruleset of Call of Cthulu are very different from Chaosium to d20 and back again, but really, why should you bother investing in a new system? Unlike d20, which has become an arms race of "Who got the best powerups from the most recent books" (yes, I'm looking at you D&D 3rd and 4th editions), the only person who ever needs to buy more than the main rulebook is the GM. That's right, your shelves need not be cluttered with copious volumes of supplements unless you absolutely want them to be since they have no effect on character creation, skill use, or anything else for the players. Most of the fantastic supplements produced by Chaosium are in the vein of gazetteers, adventures, and creature books, and the only things that the players will get out of them is a knowledge of the background in the Call of Cthulu universe.
As gaming systems go, Chaosium Call of Cthulu 6th edition is definitely a keeper, ranking highly in my esteem and showing us why reading books and looking in dark rooms is scary again!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Book Review: Roadkill by Rob Thurman
I will admit right off the bat that I have a love/hate relationship with Rob Thurman's books. While I absolutely adore the story, characters, and writing, and I absolutely hate waiting for the next book in the series! Yes, I am totally being serious, and no I don't think I am being unreasonable. If Cal Leandros can be petulant about these things, then so can I. Seriously, though, I have been very impatiently awaiting the arrival of Roadkill since I finished Deathwish, and I have to say it was well worth the wait.
For those who have been following the series from the beginning, and you know who you are, Roadkill picks up 6 months after the events chronicled in Deathwish. Things have mostly returned to normal for Cal and Niko Leandros, and for the most part Cal is even happy (shocking gasp of indrawn breath). Much like the Dude and the Taxi Driver in The Big Lebowski, though, Cal is about to have his happy place totally blasted out from under him. Hired by sociopath-cum-granny witch Abelia-Roo of the Sarzo Clan of the Rom (Romany Gypsies) from whom Niko and Cal learned the valuable lesson of asking lots of questions before one completes a bargain (see the novel Moonshine for details), the duo of monster-killers and paranormal investigators finds themselves hot on the trail of Suyolak, the Plague of the World. Apparently, each Clan of the Rom has some sort of supernatural millstone tied around its neck, and Suyolak is the responsibility of the Sarzo (it is implied heavily that Cal is the Vayash Clan's similar responsibility). Why? Well, in addition to be the greatest Healer ever to walk the Earth, he is a sadistic sociopath with a desire to end all life in plague and death. Fun guy, right? Lay on top of this world altering crazy a series of nicely interconnected sub-plots about the nature of relationships, and Cal slowly changing as he abuses the gifts of his heritage, and you have for a great read.
Now, I have to admit that I am going to do some fan-boyish gushing right about now, so man up and get ready for it. While I am sure that most people will argue this point, I think that while the Plague of the World conflict was important, I feel that the development of Robin & Ishiah's relationship, Rafferty & Catcher's relationship, Cal & Delilah's relationship, and Cal & Niko's relationship were of far more importance than the impending end of the world. OK, so in order of sub-plot importance:
Cal & Delilah: At the start of the story we discover that the Kin, Were-Mobsters of the Fuzzy Nostra, have found out about Delilah's 'bit on the side' and are not happy. Delilah accompanies the gang on their roadtrip, but everyone seems to be of the opinion that she is just waiting for the opportunity to kill Cal to keep in the good graces of the Kin. Cal, however, feels that people are always giving him chances and that not doing the same for Delilah would be hypocritical. Interesting things develop all through the book.
Rafferty & Catcher: The healer who helped the gang back in Nightlife finally returns in a big way with his 'stuck in Wolf form' cousin. We learn a lot about these two, and I think that Catcher is probably one of the best characters in the series so far. A smart tree-hugging peacenik college student werewolf who is damaged during the process of healing and stuck in Wolf form, Catcher (named after the book his parents fell in love over) is fighting a losing battle to keep his human consciousness in his Wolf body, he still remains the most intriguing and insightful of the group. Rafferty is trying to overcome his guilt and keep the last member of his family from going over the edge, but may push himself over first.
Robin & Ishiah: The puck is considering monogamy for the first time since Pompeii. That's right, you heard me, MONOGAMY. This subplot was likely meant to lighten the fairly heavy load carried by the story, but was pretty much just as dramatic as everything else. Thankfully Rob Thurman is great at te witty turn of phrase and internal dialog or this would be a real downer of a book. Robin is on the trip to determine if he really wants to go the monogamy route or if this thing with Ish is worth it.
Cal & Niko: The brothers Leandros do a lot of developing in this story themselves. It has seemed over the course of the other books that the relationship here was pretty much static and set in stone, however the events of Deathwish have forced Niko to start allowing both himself and his brother to evolve their relationship into a more adult one, rather than just big smart brother and little student brother.
So with all this development go on, how do they have time to have an adventure? Enter the subtle craft of Ms Thurman. She weaves all these various threads together deftly into a wonderful tapestry. The only thing that one can really complain about is that the message of the book appears to be: Anyone can become a monster with the right incentives and pressures. Too bad this had not been read by George Lucas before he wrote the prequels so he could see the way these things are done properly!
THAC0:3
Unless you absolutely hate modern fantasy, there is no way you can go wrong with this one. Tight writing, great scene economy, wonderful character development, and a taut and suspenseful story make this the absolute best story of the series so far, and it will be difficult to top this masterpiece.
For those who have been following the series from the beginning, and you know who you are, Roadkill picks up 6 months after the events chronicled in Deathwish. Things have mostly returned to normal for Cal and Niko Leandros, and for the most part Cal is even happy (shocking gasp of indrawn breath). Much like the Dude and the Taxi Driver in The Big Lebowski, though, Cal is about to have his happy place totally blasted out from under him. Hired by sociopath-cum-granny witch Abelia-Roo of the Sarzo Clan of the Rom (Romany Gypsies) from whom Niko and Cal learned the valuable lesson of asking lots of questions before one completes a bargain (see the novel Moonshine for details), the duo of monster-killers and paranormal investigators finds themselves hot on the trail of Suyolak, the Plague of the World. Apparently, each Clan of the Rom has some sort of supernatural millstone tied around its neck, and Suyolak is the responsibility of the Sarzo (it is implied heavily that Cal is the Vayash Clan's similar responsibility). Why? Well, in addition to be the greatest Healer ever to walk the Earth, he is a sadistic sociopath with a desire to end all life in plague and death. Fun guy, right? Lay on top of this world altering crazy a series of nicely interconnected sub-plots about the nature of relationships, and Cal slowly changing as he abuses the gifts of his heritage, and you have for a great read.
Now, I have to admit that I am going to do some fan-boyish gushing right about now, so man up and get ready for it. While I am sure that most people will argue this point, I think that while the Plague of the World conflict was important, I feel that the development of Robin & Ishiah's relationship, Rafferty & Catcher's relationship, Cal & Delilah's relationship, and Cal & Niko's relationship were of far more importance than the impending end of the world. OK, so in order of sub-plot importance:
Cal & Delilah: At the start of the story we discover that the Kin, Were-Mobsters of the Fuzzy Nostra, have found out about Delilah's 'bit on the side' and are not happy. Delilah accompanies the gang on their roadtrip, but everyone seems to be of the opinion that she is just waiting for the opportunity to kill Cal to keep in the good graces of the Kin. Cal, however, feels that people are always giving him chances and that not doing the same for Delilah would be hypocritical. Interesting things develop all through the book.
Rafferty & Catcher: The healer who helped the gang back in Nightlife finally returns in a big way with his 'stuck in Wolf form' cousin. We learn a lot about these two, and I think that Catcher is probably one of the best characters in the series so far. A smart tree-hugging peacenik college student werewolf who is damaged during the process of healing and stuck in Wolf form, Catcher (named after the book his parents fell in love over) is fighting a losing battle to keep his human consciousness in his Wolf body, he still remains the most intriguing and insightful of the group. Rafferty is trying to overcome his guilt and keep the last member of his family from going over the edge, but may push himself over first.
Robin & Ishiah: The puck is considering monogamy for the first time since Pompeii. That's right, you heard me, MONOGAMY. This subplot was likely meant to lighten the fairly heavy load carried by the story, but was pretty much just as dramatic as everything else. Thankfully Rob Thurman is great at te witty turn of phrase and internal dialog or this would be a real downer of a book. Robin is on the trip to determine if he really wants to go the monogamy route or if this thing with Ish is worth it.
Cal & Niko: The brothers Leandros do a lot of developing in this story themselves. It has seemed over the course of the other books that the relationship here was pretty much static and set in stone, however the events of Deathwish have forced Niko to start allowing both himself and his brother to evolve their relationship into a more adult one, rather than just big smart brother and little student brother.
So with all this development go on, how do they have time to have an adventure? Enter the subtle craft of Ms Thurman. She weaves all these various threads together deftly into a wonderful tapestry. The only thing that one can really complain about is that the message of the book appears to be: Anyone can become a monster with the right incentives and pressures. Too bad this had not been read by George Lucas before he wrote the prequels so he could see the way these things are done properly!
THAC0:3
Unless you absolutely hate modern fantasy, there is no way you can go wrong with this one. Tight writing, great scene economy, wonderful character development, and a taut and suspenseful story make this the absolute best story of the series so far, and it will be difficult to top this masterpiece.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
SF News: Is Marvel Killing The Comics Industry?
Many times I have heard the chorus of laments from local retailers when Marvel announces a new program or concept, but never have they been as loud as they were over the last few weeks. Why? Well, primarily it is because your Friendly Neighborhood Comic Store Owner is getting squeezed by forces against whom he cannot hope to prevail.
For those who have no idea what I am referring to, it is the fact that Marvel, in cooperation with Diamond Distribution, has begun offering its comics in electronic format. Cheaper, easier to store, and more easily portable than traditional comics, these new electronic comics are available on iPhones, iPads, laptops, and smartphones. Given the ubiquitous nature of these devices, this new offering is rapidly gaining ground against actual comic book sales.
What can your Friendly Neighborhood Comic Store Owner do to make up the lost sales? Sadly, there really isn't anything to be done for it. Given the fact that other than the initial investment in software to convert comics into electronic format is very small, this means that over time more and more of the smaller presses will change to electronic format as well. This means that the only physical books that will likely be available will eventuallly be Graphic Novels and compilations. Of course, Barnes & Noble and Borders are consuming more and more of that particular market segment, so that is of little help for the small business entrepreneur.
For those who have no idea what I am referring to, it is the fact that Marvel, in cooperation with Diamond Distribution, has begun offering its comics in electronic format. Cheaper, easier to store, and more easily portable than traditional comics, these new electronic comics are available on iPhones, iPads, laptops, and smartphones. Given the ubiquitous nature of these devices, this new offering is rapidly gaining ground against actual comic book sales.
What can your Friendly Neighborhood Comic Store Owner do to make up the lost sales? Sadly, there really isn't anything to be done for it. Given the fact that other than the initial investment in software to convert comics into electronic format is very small, this means that over time more and more of the smaller presses will change to electronic format as well. This means that the only physical books that will likely be available will eventuallly be Graphic Novels and compilations. Of course, Barnes & Noble and Borders are consuming more and more of that particular market segment, so that is of little help for the small business entrepreneur.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Gaming: Warhammer 40000 Kill Teams
I have long been a fan of this obscure little derivation of the the main line Warhammer 40000 tabletop wargame. I have run Kill Teams on and off for years, mostly using the 4th edition rules, while creating and adapting new and interesting scenarios for players and teams to work their ways through. The sad thing is that this is all about to change.
With the release of Warhammer 40000: Battle Missions, we finally have a 5th edition version of Kill Teams. The rules are, at best, lackluster, and they really don't have the feel of the old game at all. Are they fun? Yes, but for the most part, you generally tend to feel as though you are playing a very strange, abbreviated form of the main game's ruleset instead of a different, squad-based game. Is this a bad thing? No, it is just different.
I am sure that you are wondering why I am bringing this up, though. Well, here is the thing: I think that the old rules were good but not great, and the new rules are interesting but not as much fun, so I am about to embark on a project to make a new Squad-Level, Kill Teams-esque, game that takes everything that I love about both systems, and makes it easier to play a game with two or more players.
Project: Warhammer 40000 Special Ops
Goal: Create a small scale squad-based game that pits one or more players against each other or mission specific obstacles.
Timeline: I hope to have a working prototype available for use by mid-late May with a Rulebook available by the SFSNNJ King of Games Day.
Why am I doing this? Well, as I said before, I think that there are a lot of great things to be said for both the new and old Kill Teams rules, but I think that a more coherent game can be made using rules that are easier to understand and more cinematic. Will it succeed? Who cares! This is mainly for my personal and professional development as a game designer, and will likely get stuck in the same file as my new Renegade Legion rules, but it keeps my knife sharp, as it were.
Do you want to help? If so, please feel free to get in contact with me through the SFSNNJ's website (http://www.sfsnnj.com), and let me know what you would like to do. Testers and commentators are always welcome, as are folks who wish to contribute missions and scenarios (once I have the basic framework of the system down).
With the release of Warhammer 40000: Battle Missions, we finally have a 5th edition version of Kill Teams. The rules are, at best, lackluster, and they really don't have the feel of the old game at all. Are they fun? Yes, but for the most part, you generally tend to feel as though you are playing a very strange, abbreviated form of the main game's ruleset instead of a different, squad-based game. Is this a bad thing? No, it is just different.
I am sure that you are wondering why I am bringing this up, though. Well, here is the thing: I think that the old rules were good but not great, and the new rules are interesting but not as much fun, so I am about to embark on a project to make a new Squad-Level, Kill Teams-esque, game that takes everything that I love about both systems, and makes it easier to play a game with two or more players.
Project: Warhammer 40000 Special Ops
Goal: Create a small scale squad-based game that pits one or more players against each other or mission specific obstacles.
Timeline: I hope to have a working prototype available for use by mid-late May with a Rulebook available by the SFSNNJ King of Games Day.
Why am I doing this? Well, as I said before, I think that there are a lot of great things to be said for both the new and old Kill Teams rules, but I think that a more coherent game can be made using rules that are easier to understand and more cinematic. Will it succeed? Who cares! This is mainly for my personal and professional development as a game designer, and will likely get stuck in the same file as my new Renegade Legion rules, but it keeps my knife sharp, as it were.
Do you want to help? If so, please feel free to get in contact with me through the SFSNNJ's website (http://www.sfsnnj.com), and let me know what you would like to do. Testers and commentators are always welcome, as are folks who wish to contribute missions and scenarios (once I have the basic framework of the system down).
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Book Review: Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
This Friday, the Modern Masters group will be reading the novel Coalescent by Stephen Baxter, but I wanted to give the folks at home a brief glimpse into the inner workings of the book and get everyone warmed up for what I expect to be a very interesting discussion.
Coalescent is a book of multiple views, times, and expressions, wherein nothing is as it seems and physics and biology are walking hand in hand with the metaphysical. Now I am sure that no few of you are wondering, what that actually means. Well, I shall endeavor to show you in as simple a way as I can: Imagine a piece of paper and draw a dot in the center, call it Rome, then draw a series of arrows in and out, labeling them with the names of characters, now connect those lines so they loop in and out of Rome, and you have a tenuous idea of what I mean.
As for the book itself, the story starts with the death of George Poole's father in Manchester, UK, in the modern day. George is assisted in cleaning out his father's old house by a childhood friend, Peter, who is a bit of a nutter, and in the course of their cleaning they stumble upon a picture of George and his sister standing with another girl who looks like a somewhat feminine version of George. The discovery of his long lost twin's existence sets George off on a journey to discover the truth behind his parents' decision to send her off to a religious group called the Puissant Order of Holy Mary Queen of Virgina (or more simply, the Order) in Rome. George begins his investigation in the present day, but soon finds himself looking at his family line in a whole different light, and with the help of his strange friend Peter, he makes some very startling discoveries.
Meanwhile, 1600 years prior, Regina is a young girl in the nominally Roman province of Britannia, living first with her parents, then her Grandfather along Hadrian's Wall, then the family of her former slave, then in a hardscrabble community, next with the infamous Artorius and Merlin, then, finally, in Rome where she rejoins her now aged mother and helps form the Order. We watch as she shapes herself and her family with some very bizarre and crazy notions that make them better at survival, and then we witness the actions of the Order through the ages.
Back in the present, we see another side of things, as we follow the narrative of several characters from the Order, and learn what strange things this secretive group has really been getting p to over the past millennium and a half. Lucia, an oddity among the sisters of the Order, has gone through puberty and is now capable if bearing children. Her coming of age and the machinations of this clannish little enclave encapsulate the most powerful sections of a book that has already seen more than its fair share of drama, tragedy, and oddities.
Yet in the future, we find out that humanity is locked in some sort of titanic struggle in space, a struggle that is hinted at early on in the ramblings of wacky pseudo-scientist Peter McLaughlin. We see the eventual evolution of the Order, or the Coalescents as Peter nicknames them, as well as the baseline human society. Obviously this is a concept and subject explored at greater length in the ensuing books of the series.
THAC0: 8
Well written, with a massively diverse cast from various periods in history, Coalescent broaches some interesting concepts and pushes the envelope of Sociology. The only real downside is that you have to have a lot of patience to wade through the incredibly slow moving beginning of the book to get to the wonderful and intriguing sections further in, much like the Hive later in the novel.
Coalescent is a book of multiple views, times, and expressions, wherein nothing is as it seems and physics and biology are walking hand in hand with the metaphysical. Now I am sure that no few of you are wondering, what that actually means. Well, I shall endeavor to show you in as simple a way as I can: Imagine a piece of paper and draw a dot in the center, call it Rome, then draw a series of arrows in and out, labeling them with the names of characters, now connect those lines so they loop in and out of Rome, and you have a tenuous idea of what I mean.
As for the book itself, the story starts with the death of George Poole's father in Manchester, UK, in the modern day. George is assisted in cleaning out his father's old house by a childhood friend, Peter, who is a bit of a nutter, and in the course of their cleaning they stumble upon a picture of George and his sister standing with another girl who looks like a somewhat feminine version of George. The discovery of his long lost twin's existence sets George off on a journey to discover the truth behind his parents' decision to send her off to a religious group called the Puissant Order of Holy Mary Queen of Virgina (or more simply, the Order) in Rome. George begins his investigation in the present day, but soon finds himself looking at his family line in a whole different light, and with the help of his strange friend Peter, he makes some very startling discoveries.
Meanwhile, 1600 years prior, Regina is a young girl in the nominally Roman province of Britannia, living first with her parents, then her Grandfather along Hadrian's Wall, then the family of her former slave, then in a hardscrabble community, next with the infamous Artorius and Merlin, then, finally, in Rome where she rejoins her now aged mother and helps form the Order. We watch as she shapes herself and her family with some very bizarre and crazy notions that make them better at survival, and then we witness the actions of the Order through the ages.
Back in the present, we see another side of things, as we follow the narrative of several characters from the Order, and learn what strange things this secretive group has really been getting p to over the past millennium and a half. Lucia, an oddity among the sisters of the Order, has gone through puberty and is now capable if bearing children. Her coming of age and the machinations of this clannish little enclave encapsulate the most powerful sections of a book that has already seen more than its fair share of drama, tragedy, and oddities.
Yet in the future, we find out that humanity is locked in some sort of titanic struggle in space, a struggle that is hinted at early on in the ramblings of wacky pseudo-scientist Peter McLaughlin. We see the eventual evolution of the Order, or the Coalescents as Peter nicknames them, as well as the baseline human society. Obviously this is a concept and subject explored at greater length in the ensuing books of the series.
THAC0: 8
Well written, with a massively diverse cast from various periods in history, Coalescent broaches some interesting concepts and pushes the envelope of Sociology. The only real downside is that you have to have a lot of patience to wade through the incredibly slow moving beginning of the book to get to the wonderful and intriguing sections further in, much like the Hive later in the novel.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
SF News: It's an Animated World
Seems strange that more and more shows on TV are going animated. TBS is introducing The Neighbors from Hell while FX is leading off with Archer. SyFy has had a number of animated series (Tripping the Rift, Outer Space Astronauts) and there are rumors of a few more in the works. Last week, Lucas announced that Clone Wars would likely run another season or two, oh and a new animated series from the demented mentalities that brought us Robot Chicken is in development. There are rumors of even more bizarre SF related projects in the works, such as serial adaptations of Buck Rogers, John Carter of Mars, and a few others. The question is: does animation make things any better?
Some folks have taken the position that an animation series is cheaper to produce and maintain, but that has been belied by the actual continuing costs of most animated series. The average cost of an episode of Stargate Universe is allegedly less than the average cost of an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but does that make one better than the other? Well, maybe that is a bad example, given how much I despise The Clone Wars, but still, it is a valid question. Could SF on TV be heading towards more and more animation, and is that really such a bad thing?
Some folks have taken the position that an animation series is cheaper to produce and maintain, but that has been belied by the actual continuing costs of most animated series. The average cost of an episode of Stargate Universe is allegedly less than the average cost of an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but does that make one better than the other? Well, maybe that is a bad example, given how much I despise The Clone Wars, but still, it is a valid question. Could SF on TV be heading towards more and more animation, and is that really such a bad thing?
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