Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction

Posted by Colin Harvey

We're so used to getting our fiction for free on the web, that it's easy to forget that the people who provide it often incur costs, and often bear them out of their own pockets.

One trend that was started some years ago by Strange Horizons is to have fund drives, whereby people pledge money in return for small prizes, or for the chance to go into a raffle.

So it is that the people at the excellent Flash Me! webzine have picked up this trend. If you're not familar with them, Flash Me! publishes micro-fiction, stories of less than 500 words, ideal for reading on the bus or the train. In this case they've pledged instant rewards for pledging certain amounts, while everyone goes into a prize draw.

One of the prizes is my novel The Silk Palace, while Bruce Boston's wonderful Stoker-nominated The Guardener's Tale, and Writers of the Future volume XXIII are also on offer.

Do go and pay them a visit. They deserve your support. And you may win a good book in the process.

Posted by Colin Harvey

You may -or may not- be aware that my article F&SF June 2008 Reviewed has been selected as the Editor's Choice for this week.

Although my novel Lightning Days was a finalist for the USA News Best Book Award for SF in 2006, and my short story 'The Bloodhound' won 3rd place in Ralan's Grabber Prize that same year, I've never actually won anything outright, so I'm absolutely delighted.

One of the things to learn when writing is to learn when to stop; that sometimes Less Is More. And that different readers react differently to their personal experiences. I could have written more about Rand B. Lee's 'Litany' in that review, but it would have been a reaction based on my own prejudices rather than any absolute qualities in the story, and it was already the longest paragraph by far -- adding to it would have unbalanaced the whole article.

That the story struck me as Zelzany-esque may have to do with its New Mexico setting, where Roger Zelazny settled in the 1980s, or the Greek references to kourabiedes, which evoked Kallikanzeros from his Hugo Award-winning novel '--And Call Me Conrad,' or it may be that the Archetypes reminded me of Zelazny's Trumps. Certainly while there was nothing obvious in Lee's use of language --controlled to Zelazny's free-flowing-- there was something there.

But to most people, Roger Zelazny is dead and gone, so such comparisons would have been pointless.

None of this may be obvious to most readers. And it was unnecessary. I won the vote on what was in the review, rather than a paean to a dead writer, no matter how good he was.

Posted by Colin Harvey

I've already confessed to my shameful reading of New Wives Tales, and it's reasonably accurate description of blokes (so kudos to Adele Parks for her research and the quality of her characterization), but not content with skiving off on Saturday, yesterday was a Bank Holiday in the UK.

I've just finished Greg Egan's Quarantine, which I'm reviewing for Strange Horizons, but rather than start Terenesia by the same author - which is for the same review -- I wanted something I could read in the sunshine outside. That ruled out F&SF, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow, as that's on my laptop, and contrary to those TV ads where you can read a laptop on the beach, the glare's just too much to cope with.

Instead, I baulked.

After all, it's not every day we get sunshine on a Bank Holiday.

So I snuck - yes, snuck, dear reader- out into the garden with Agatha Christie's Dead Man's Folly.

In many ways, it's an almost archetypal Christie; many of the characters are stock ones -- the rich husband, younger wife who's married him for his money, almost-mad-scientist, xenophobic yokels. And the plot is standard Christie, borrowed from at least two other books. But there are signs that Christie was alert to the changing demographics of Britain in the 1950s, and there is a wry self-pastiche in crime-writer Ariadne Oliver.

Hugely enjoyable. And now it's back to work.

Posted by Colin Harvey

It had to happen.

I've been reading sci-fi and fantasy for nearly forty years now, and for the last few months, I've been reading it almost non-stop. As well as writing it, I'm suddenly inundated with requests for reviews.

Ever since Chloe (our Springer) had a series of strokes at Easter, we've been more or less confined to the house, and given British weather (ie rain), that's meant we've been confined in the house. Nor are we noted for our spontanaiety, so it was something of a shock when Kate suggested on Friday night that we visit her parents the following day.

The forecast was good, so I thought, 'why not?'

Off we trundled at seven a.m., and because it was short notice, I forgot to take any of my regular reading material.

Instead, because the weather was nice enough to sit on the beach, and in my in-law's garden, a mile or so from the sea, I read one of Kate's books.

New Wives' Tales by Adele Parks is the story of the stay-at-home mum whose husband has forsaken her for the office ice-queen who's perfect in every way, including bitchiness, the mum's best friend who tries to stay friends with both of them, and the various men in their lives. It sounds awful, but it was curiously addictive, a little like being presented with a large jar of roasted cashew nuts (one of my weaknesses). I ploughed through it in just over 24 hours.

What actually redeemed it was Parks' characterizeration of the men, which started off seemingly cliched, but by the end felt unsettingly accurate. Whether that was the law of cognitive dissonance at work, I'm not sure, but if you find a copy, give it a try.

Nor was that the end of my slacking. More tomorrow.

Posted by Colin Harvey

First there were MySpace and Facebook; LiveJournal is a more science-based community. Now comes the next generation of social networks, both for readers.

GoodReads is a social networking site for readers. Members can post their opinions and reviews of works that they have read, include rating them. For readers it's attraction is that if you're interested in a book, you can obtain a variety of opinions on the same books. That part overlaps with amazon, but it's much more of a 'club' than amazon is.

Galaxiki is a much more curious site. It's "a web-based virtual and purely fictional galaxy project using wiki technology. The word Galaxiki is a portmanteau of the words galaxy and wiki. Galaxiki consists of over 1 million computer generated stars as well as their planets, moons and other orbital objects which are maintained by the Galaxiki Community."

It also posts links to sci-fi & fantasy books and videos, so in that respect, it might be viewed as a GoodReads for Astronomers. I'm not sure of it's long-term viability, but the world needs more variety -- why should Bebo and the like have it all their own way?

So pop on over to both and take a look.

Colin

Posted by Colin Harvey

By the time the BBC agreed to revive Doctor Who in 2003, it had been off-air for fourteen years, and the spin-offs had moved into novelizations from Virgin Books and audio programmes featuring Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant, among others.

The BBC moved quickly to retake control of the franchise, and any ‘New’ adventures promptly ceased. A few of the writers, Paul Cornell, Mark Gatiss and Gareth Roberts, were able to gain entrée into the world of screenplay-writing, and not only survived, but in fact prospered. Many more were not so lucky.

In a way this is understandable; the BBC had put a sizeable investment into the series. But the whole point of the Doctor is that he is nine hundred years old, and for every story on screen has had a hundred, even a thousand off-screen.

Given the limitations –budgetary, suitability for ‘family ‘viewing,’ whether they are even able to filmed—it would seem sensible for the BBC, which has an insatiable (if understandable) appetite for spin-off revenue, to actively embrace novel and audio adventures beyond the scope of the TV series.

However, Davies’ recent comments in the (London) Independent newspaper indicate that he has little time for views differing from his own, and the BBC have indicated to other writers that they wish to focus on the current (tenth) Doctor, and not ‘confuse’ the audience. This rather patronizing attitude may change when/if Davies’ moves on, and a new controller takes over the series. In the meantime, a similar situation prevails as when ‘talkies’ replaced silent films, in that established authors find themselves with novels they started before the show’s revival, and subsequently completed, that they are unable to sell.

Let’s hope that the various competing attitudes can find resolution.

Posted by Colin Harvey

By the late 1990's, a clear Who-vian sub-culture had appeared.

Even before Doctor Who went off-air in 1989, Virgin Publishing had applied to publish novelizations; the new line of books called The New Adventures, which featured the Seventh Doctor and Ace ran from 1991. From 1997, later novels featured other companions, notably Bernice Summerfield, who also appeared in a line of Audio CD's. Virgin Publishing also issued The Missing Adventures which featured past Doctors and their companions. These stories take place ‘between’ episodes of the television series.

Fan-fiction is nothing new -- many writers such as Amy Sissons have started as writers of fan-fiction, before gaining the confidence (or the credibility in editor’s eyes) to move onto their own work. Indeed, Star Trek had already shown that a franchise could be kept alive.

What is unusual is the extent of Doctor Who's decentralization ; unlike Star Trek, where Roddenberry retained control before handing over to an heir-designate, Doctor Who has long outlasted its original creators, while the very format -with the Doctor's ability to 'Regenerate' (and therefore change), and his near-immortality- means a much less centralized vision, and therefore both greater creativity, and a greater potential for anarchy.

The BBC finally realized the strength of the series by taking the spin-offs back in house in 1999. At that time, Big Finish Productions began running officially-sanctioned audio plays. The situation continued until 2003, when the BBC announced that it would relaunch Doctor Who on BBC1, in a prime-time Saturday night slot.

Posted by Colin Harvey

One of the pleasures of being a reviewer is that when the summer months come along, you can take your book outside with clear conscience, and work as you sunbathe (or sit under the tree, if you're one of those people that prefers not having wrinkles into your 80s to Vitamin A deficiency).

Books like Greg Egan's Quarantine --to be reviewed in Strange Horizons soon-- and Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic become so much more appealing when you're having to read them with sunglasses to shield your eyes.

OK, gloat over. Sorry about that -- not.

My friend Chris was commenting that a writer's life doesn't sound bad, and he's right. Certainly Kate has observed that I've never been so happy as I have the last year.

A big welcome to anyone who's come over from MySpace, by the way. This will become my default blog from now on, rather than over there. It'll be a little more focussed on books than the MySpace blog, but Chloe and Alice and --of course-- Keynsham will still get a mention from time to time. I'll also be posting more frequently than I was over there.

Until next time.

Abyssinia

Colin

Posted by Colin Harvey

By 1989, Doctor Who had become an embarrassment to the BBC. Yet, despite all their attempts at a mercy-less killing, the show refused to expire. So in the end, the BBC pulled the plug.

When they finally axed Doctor Who, the men in the suits doubtless expected it's viewers to quietly turn over and ogle Baywatch -or something equally banal- instead.

They should have been warned, by the refusal of the show's viewers to give up before.

Many of us did quietly consign it to the dustbin of oblivion. I'd never recovered from the departure of Sarah-Jane, so to me it's final axing was almost irrelevant.

But then an odd thing happened; over the next few years, I would catch sight of an occasional book, in the library, or a second-hand shop. An inveterate checker of publication dates, I'd discover that these were new books.

What had happened was that many of the fans had decided that if no one else would entertain them, they would entertain themselves. The fans began to write new stories, and many who had earned a livelihood from the show were happy to help out.

Soon, there was a whole new set of Who adventures, much to the surprise of the BBC.

Posted by Colin Harvey

Let's get one thing straight; I'm a fan of the new Doctor Who. I'm an admirer of Russell T. Davies. I haven't yet read any of the spin-off books -although I loved Paul Cornell's vignette for the (london) Daily Telegraph at Christmas, "The Hopes and Fears of All The Years"- although I surely will.

But lately, I've begun to hear another side. Not from the crusty old die-hards who resent any change, but the readers and writers of the last twenty years, some of whom may be the collateral damage of the Who renaissance.

To put this into context. By 1989, Doctor Who was an embarrassment to the BBC. It was self-inflicted in that the budgets never allowed the result to match the writer's vision, and the effects were awful - but who's fault was that, BBC? And the declining viewers were because the BBC themselves had moved the show around so often that it was often pitched against shows it had no hope of competing against.

So the decision to kill the show was in some ways the result of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

What no one at the BBC expected was what happened next.