I read this book once back in the 90s and wanted to bring it to one of my book groups for discussion. Thankfully they were more accepting of my choice than I have been of my own choice.
The first time I read this it stuck with me enough to make me want to read it again. This time through I can’t tell if it’s the fact that I’ve grown or changed in my tastes or if political times have changed and the things I thought were ‘cool’ at the time seem less so now.
There’s a lot of really interesting stuff in this future noir story. The main character might be considered trans… but might not be. I’m not sure. He is certainly broken and living in a gray area. There are animals that have been elevated to become a servant class – smart enough to work and understand things, but not enough to become full first class citizens. There is constant drug use and abuse (although this might be a remnant of the 1980s). There are babyheads, and I’m not sure what the hell or why. I’m really not.
This is also a dystopian story. It is a society where asking questions is frowned upon. Watch your color screen with soothing music and be happy. If you’re not happy, take more drugs and stop asking questions.
As much as I might have enjoyed this once upon a time, something has changed. There is a lot to discuss in this story so I definitely recommend it for that. If noir / odd is your thing, this book is for you.
I put this book into the same category as Throne of the Crescent Moon. It is not a medieval fantasy from the Euro-centric place that it normally comes from. The middle eastern setting is excellent. I very much enjoyed the characters, the setting and the action of the story.
I knew this was a series. The story has an end point in this book, but it is not a happy ending. In fact it’s quite the opposite of a happy ending. The story has reached a stopping point, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to go for more. The book did not do the heinous crime of just stopping in the middle, but it didn’t wrap up in a way that made me think, “hey I need to dive directly in for more…” We’ll see if I to to the next one or not later.
I wanted to read this on my own, but it is also a book club selection. I look forward to the discussion.
Last week I had the opportunity to sit and chat with fellow fans on a YouTube show called Nerd Pub. Being on the show was a very interesting experience. I don’t think I’m cut out for video. As slow as I am with writing, I still think it’s a better place for me to express opinions. If you have some time on your hands you should head over to their channel and subscribe (click here).
Let’s drop fuel into a vat of acid and chat…
One of the things we chatted about was the Netflix show “Love
Death + Robots”. This is a series of animated stories based around that theme.
I recommend this, there are some good stories and amazing artwork. I was blown
away by the art of these shows. There was more than one time while watching
that I forgot I was watching animation. It’s that good. Be prepared – these are
violent, sexual and graphic. They do not shy away from any of it.
The stories you say? Sort of an ‘oh by the way…’ moment on that one. One of my favorite stories was ‘Lucky 13’ by Marko Kloos. It’s edge of your seat military science fiction action combined with love and superstition. Great stuff.
I’ve read may of the other authors work as well. You’ll find Ken Liu, Joe Landsale, John Scalzi, Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds and others. For anyone that hasn’t read their longer fiction – you should. Go find them. A number of these short stories are also available on line for free.
We talked some on the video about this being the next ‘Heavy Metal’. I understand why people would want to give this new series that title, but this is an anthology. There is no Loc-nar to follow through each story. There is no connective tissue between the stories. It is easily on the same graphic / sexual level but it’s just not quite the same. I’m willing to call it ‘inspired by’ or ‘in the tradition of’, but I am not ready to give it the crown yet. Give it longer than a month before we declare it the next coming.
While we’re giving things, let’s hope that Netflix digs up
another set of stories and gives us another series of animated stories like
this. I’d watch every single one.
As it turns out, I am terrible at self promotion. I have now added to my list of things to take care of here on the site ‘update where people can find your work’.
I thought of this because I have been asked to participate in a podcast. I”m a bit nervous about being recorded. Not something I’ve really done before. I suspect I’ve been recorded at conventions I’ve been a speaker for, but not with the purpose of being ‘featured’ if that’s even really a thing. I look forward to the experience and then breaking down how it all went on here later.
IF you’re so inclined, you should check out the podcast! The homepage for them is here.
I posted this initially on my Facebook page, but I am not really a fan of that place. Safer to keep a copy here where I can come back to it with less issue.
The convention has been canceled. This
is the last event the company behind Regeneration Who, Potterverse
and Intervention had scheduled to my knowledge. This cancellation is
unfortunate and difficult to process for many. I am still trying to
decide how I feel about the whole thing. Instant reactions are not
often the best reactions.
Running an event like this – any
event really – is a lot of work. It’s a lot of logistics and
arrangements and contracts and… you get the idea. It takes a team
of dedicated people. Events like these can be really magical to those
involved and to those making it happen. The key part of that is
‘magic’.
It is exceedingly rare to see events
create and capture that kind of magic over and over again. Magic is
fleeting, it is ephemeral. The misty parts at the edges of your
memories about all the great things going on tend to cover up those
hard working corners and the dusty bins containing all the pain and
the sweat and the frustrations. Sometimes the best possible thing is
to allow the magic to float and drift and remain as a fleeting
vision. Perhaps that vision will inspire others and another beanstalk
will grow from the magic beans acquired at something we created.
As part of the children’s program team
(and then head of the department) it was always my goal to create a
place where any of the young fans could create, express and enjoy all
the things that their imaginations wanted. When asked to provide a
job description for my position to the leaders of the con I told them
simply, “Children’s
Programming is the creation of a lavish 8 year old’s birthday party
that needs to be sustained for an entire weekend. It really isn’t
more difficult than that.”
It
was more difficult than it sounds. The ideas, the planning, the craft
testing and the clean up were a lot of work. It was worth it.
Teaching young fans how to imagine and create with their fandom and
then act in a way that will allow others to join and follow in their
footsteps was vital. Regeneration Who 5 would have been my 14th
convention doing this. Over the years of work there was always the
hope that we were doing it right, but it was just hope. This year I
got the best result I could have hoped for. I was approached by a
young fan I knew that had attended many of our events and spent a
great deal of time creating and imagining things in our program room
to ask me a question. This young fan had passed their 18th
birthday – and could they now become a staff member and join the
team to help create the magic.
That
was the goal. Achievement unlocked. Level up. I could not have been
happier.
Now,
particularly given current circumstances, I think it’s time to allow
others to carry on the magic. I don’t believe I will be part of con
staff any more. I want to keep a little of that magic and let the
fuzzy edges soften things. I want to see what others come up with. It
will take an awful lot to make me reconsider at this point. Change is
inevitable. Magic is fleeting.
Things are a mess right now. I have no answers for any of that. There are a lot of angry and hurt people out there. Hold on to the magic and give time the chance to soften the edges. Keep some of the magic within yourself but pass a spark on to others so they can enjoy it too.
Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the team. Thank you to my team – you were amazing (and totally made me look good!). Thank you to all the folks with kind words and encouragement. Please share this post if you feel the need to. I look forward to seeing you out and about in the magical world of fandom.
I wrote a review last year about Black Panther and said that it wasn’t for me. I didn’t mean that I didn’t like it, I meant that the representation of the film and the story was not aimed at me. I was not the demographic that film was intended to hit. Some people didn’t understand what I was saying and thought I didn’t like the movie. I do like it.
Why did I put all this about Black Panther up front?
WOW!
Once again I am NOT the target demographic of a super hero film. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that my daughter IS the target and that we got to go and see this movie together. I think this kind of hero is exactly what my daughter should be looking for in a film. If you’ve seen the trailers, you see the part where this woman gets knocked down but keeps getting back up. That alone makes it worth while to me. A good story and crazy good special effects AND tying in to the MCU? Bonus.
I have read / heard about some people attempting to bring this movie down because it was featuring / lead by a woman. That is one of the single worst statements on Fandom today. I’ve written about it here before so I won’t digress into all that. You know what? I LOVE that this movie is not aimed at me. It was super. It was fun. It was heroic ~ and exactly the sort of thing that would have fired my imagination for a long, long time as a kid. I am considering taking my daughter to see this movie again. We will own it and likely shelve it right next to Wonder Woman. I hope we rewatch it many times.
I am working my way through the “Read Harder” list for this year and one of the tasks is “A epistolary novel or collection of letters”. I hadn’t given it much thought when I happened to remember seeing this book many years ago. I immediately went back searched down a copy. I remembered being very into the book, but did not remember much more about it.
Now that I have had the chance to read this again I remember all the bits that made it memorable. This is a one sitting book. Partially because it is not long. Partially because you’ll just keep wanting to find out more.
It is very art heavy ~ that is part of what made it so memorable to me. I could picture it in my mind’s eye even when I couldn’t remember anything else about it.
Worth reading. IF you’re going out there to find a used one, be sure (if you can) that the letters folded up inside (and part of the story) are still there.
Now I need to decide if I want to read the others. There was no ‘series’ when I first found this book. I’m uncertain if I want more or if I want it to stay just as it is…
Disclaimer land again: I have a bias. Know this up front. I didn’t get the book for free or anything like that, but there is a personal connection here. The author herself and I had a chat at a convention and she pointed me at this one. Go, buy it. Check it out and see what you think, but most importantly, make sure the author gets paid.
On to the work itself. I actively struggled with the title. After having attempted to just search it up under “backstage” I understand why there’s a need for differentiation. Personally I would have cut it down to Backstage: Imaginary Cats or some significantly shorter name.
Then I started reading. This book put me very much in the mindset of ‘The Adjustment Bureau’. The main difference is the main character is working for the bureau rather than against it. IF you enjoyed the idea of people toying with the way the world functions you’ll probably get into this one.
The invisible cat thing is actually a great call back in the story. I hope that part carries on.
Disclaimer land: I have a bias. Know this up front. I didn’t get the book for free or anything like that, but there is a personal connection here. Go and buy Myke’s works. All of them. Even the ones I told you I don’t like. Don’t believe me, what the hell do I know? – go see for yourself. Make sure the author gets paid.
Armored Saint is by far my favorite of Myke’s work. I don’t know what made him desire to write this character from this point of view but it is really well done. I absolutely believe the people in this book. The characters grow and interact and have reactions that I understand. Heloise is real and fantastic.
The world building is evident without being over the top. The things people do and how they act, including religion, are based in a coherent place. This is actually important to the story and brought about an event that I really didn’t expect. It was refreshing to be able to say “didn’t see that coming” and really mean it.
The one thing that bothered me about the entire book was the end. It just seemed so abrupt. I was ready for the story to start… and then we were done. I did the only sensible thing and went out and bought the next one and that’s rare for me.
The author was also kind enough to answer my question about that ending. Check out his interview over at Watch The Skies.
When you’re done with the interview – go read his book!
It happens to bloggers all the time. “Hey, I’m back!” because real life has a way of stamping down on free writing and laying out words with no real return. I have no doubt that I’ll be back here for a bit and then real life will come crashing in again and make a hash of things. It’s happened an awful lot over the years. I don’t apologize for it anymore. It happens.
I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I’ve posted before about the slump I hit at the end of last year. It’s been a struggle to get past that. I think I’m doing it. I’ve got 2 stories out for consideration right now and a third, based on an invitation I received, is due in this week. The writing is moving along.
Reading is making a comeback too. It
has been more of a struggle to stay invested in the work of others
than ever before, but I’ve found a couple of things worth reading.
I’ve also picked up a few shows and taken the time to watch them. I have to say that Netflix has figured out the formula. I can watch when my schedule permits and otherwise just ignore the TV. It’s not easy to just ignore an addiction. Breaking the habit is hard to do. To that end I have dropped all but the most basic television connection. I keep the most basic just to allow better reception of local channels (PBS in particular) and have watched maybe one show in the past month via scheduled broadcast. The funny thing is – I don’t even have to do that. The show I watch has all their episodes posted on line. It’s just something of a routine when a lazy Saturday morning happens to come about.
In generally getting things back in
order and attempting to catch up with everything I’ve gone slack on
I’m also going to attempt to get things around the old Pretend Blog
into better shape. I know the six of you that read here will be
thrilled.
Next up – catching up on my book reviews and Goodreads posts. After that – I should really update the part where I promote myself better!
