Tag Archives: Review

Balticon 53

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Table tent and ribbon

As I wrote the post title I was struck by the number. The 53rd convention from BSFS. I know I’m the “new guy” to many, having only really started at Balticon 27 but this convention has always seemed like my ‘home con’ if that could even be such a thing (that’s 26 years for those that don’t want to ‘math’). I’m not joking about the ‘new guy’ thing either. I know at least one person that has gone to every Balticon. Part of my recounting of number of visits to the convention stems from how many people I didn’t see there this year. I came up with a dozen folks off the top of my head that, through various circumstances or choices, simply didn’t make it to the con this year. It felt oddly empty. Logically it wasn’t, but it felt that way.

I will say that I was very impressed with the con team this year. Registration *always* has problems with my wife and daughter. I don’t know why – but the mistress of registration remembered me and it was much smoother this year than in years past. The con added a ribbon option this year for people that wanted to have a clear definition of what pronoun they prefer. I think this was an excellent option for those that were interested in having one or felt they needed it. While I did not use one myself (moving rapidly toward the land of the dinosaur) I did find it useful from time to time. Thankfully I didn’t see anyone abusing it. The art show was bigger than I’ve seen it in some time. There was a lot of great work on display there – and I ended up coming home with two new pieces. Programming was very strong. They got information out early, had the schedule posted ahead of their normal time and were quite active at the con itself… more on that in a minute.

It was an adventure to get to the hotel. The interstate we take to get there was shut down and all traffic diverted off to side roads. We managed to avoid the worst of the traffic, but it sent us off into the wilderness for a while. A longer ride there than normal.

I started the weekend off with 3 panels on Friday night. I felt like the panels were decent and that I contributed without being super awkward or out of place. Writing military campaigns was my weakest of the day. Genre in the age of binge watching was decent, but uneven. Bad movie adaptations could have been better (I’m not a fan of throwing it to the audience right away). On the upside I was told one of my statements / arguments actually inspired a panel for next year.

Saturday brought all kinds of weird with it. At loose ends with no panels for the entire day I could do as I pleased. I took some time to wander the con and check things out. I got to spend a lot of time in the art show. I checked out the vendor tables. I got to sit and chat with my friend Jay and get started on an upcoming project (totally a secret for right now). While we were sitting and working, Jay needed to go and be on a panel. I decided I would be supportive and headed to the panel with him.

I’m not going to recount all the details here, but that particular panel was not good. Jay told me I was ‘not contractually obligated’ to stay, but I felt as if I was abandoning him to a terrible fate. It devolved so quickly that I bailed out after about 15-20 minutes. Apparently my fears were not unfounded. I was told it got worse after I left.

This is the part where I explain how the programming team was active during the convention. I was approached later in the day by the head of programming (after being pointed out by the con safety team and flagged down). I gave my view of the events of the panel. The head of the convention was called over. I was asked to recount my view of things again. The problematic individual was subsequently pulled from all panels for the remainder of the weekend. I’m not going to call that person out. I was a witness and not directly involved with the event in question. I gave my view on matters and that was enough for the incident in question. I’m certain there were lots of hurt feelings over the whole thing. I hope the person in question gives the whole thing some thought and uses it as a learning experience rather than fuel for some kind of grudge.

Quick tips from my point of view about convention panels:

1: Being the moderator of a panel does NOT mean you’re the primary speaker

2: The audience is there for ALL the panelists generally, and sometimes for ONE in particular – and that might not be you

3: There are panelists that know more than you and people that have different experiences than you – let them speak ( please note that the gender of said individual plays no part in that statement)

4: Stay as focused as you can (difficult, I know) on the actual topic of the panel and the stated level of expertise it’s aimed at

5: Panelists are volunteering their time. Being angry at them, talking them down, demanding they defer to the moderator is generally the path to a really bad experience

That list is not all inclusive, but relevant to the past weekend.

Saturday night featured a riot in the streets of Baltimore – in front of the convention hotel. No, I’m not joking. Thankfully I was able to avoid any issues with that, but a handful of other con goers were not so fortunate. To my knowledge, everyone came out the other side OK and relatively unscathed.

My Sunday at the con featured two more panels. I got to talk about traumatizing your characters in your writing (and why you don’t necessarily need to) AND I got to talk about the future of energy. The trauma panel was really interesting and I’m glad I got to be part of it. It was really well moderated and the discussion was far ranging with many different opinions and story telling tidbits.

The future of energy panel was an up and down thing for me. I’m going to do a separate write up for the actual content from my point of view because it was far more interesting than I initially thought it might be. I’m also going to see if I can use some of the notes from my fellow panelist Jim. He had some great points and information. I hope the audience enjoyed the panel as much as I did.

There was also shopping, chatting with friends that were there, games in the game room and a fantastic dinner out with amazing ice cream immediately following.

I had a nice, relaxing weekend. The convention itself felt a little like things might be shifting or changing, but that’s something to think about for next year. This was a really good con.

Endgame – Part II

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I recently posted about a small moment in the juggernaut movie that is “Endgame” that my daughter related to.

I was not the only one that noticed this scene. Others were not impressed but did not have the same perspective I did. While my post has one specific spoiler moment, these posts have many. In my last post I was not trying to claim victory for the MCU. They’re a business (stupidly successful) and will do what makes money. IF they’re as smart as this long movie arc says they are, you’ll see more and better.

Given how politics have played out recently, I know we need more attention to this sort of thing. We MUST do better. I think we will. For my daughter’s sake, I hope we do.

Tor – long way to go for women:  https://www.tor.com/2019/04/29/avengers-endgame-shows-us-a-universe-that-still-cant-do-right-by-women/

io9 – deserved more:  https://io9.gizmodo.com/avengers-endgames-women-deserved-more-1834388344

Gun with what?

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Gun, With Occasional Music

Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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.



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Nerd Pub and Robots

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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.

Backstage and a long title

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Backstage: A Novel of Secret Agendas, Slow Burn Romance, and Imaginary Cats

Backstage: A Novel of Secret Agendas, Slow Burn Romance, and Imaginary Cats by Joan Wendland

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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.

Go, check out this author’s work!



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The Kid Who Made No Money

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I took the family to see a movie. There are lots of movies coming out – and a lot of really good stuff to see. We went to see “The Kid Who Would Be King”. Yes, it’s a retelling of the Arthurian legend BUT it was new, it had at least one amazing actor and had enough of a budget to have really good special effects.

Guess what?

It bombed at the box office. It makes me more than a little sad to think that once again, just like Mortal Engines a movie that was not tied to a massive franchise, wasn’t a sequel and wasn’t a direct remake of something we’ve seen in our time dismally failed at the box office. I still hear people complain about movies and the lack of enjoyable new stuff that Hollyweird produces and yet once again there was a complete failure to show movie types that’s what anyone actually wants (by going to see a good film!).

IF you have a kiddo around the 10 – 14 year old range OR you just love movies aimed right at that age group you should definitely check this film out. It was a fun retelling of the King Arthur legend and had the bonus of giving some total ‘gross out’ information that turns out to be quite real (Merlin’s diet info is REAL)!

Mortal Engines

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People have a lot to say about what the movie industry has to offer these days. Most of the time what I hear is, “Hollywood is out of new ideas…” in some form or variation. I will split semantics on this one. I am slowly coming to believe that they’re not out of ideas at all. They’ve got lots of ideas, just nobody with the guts to put something new out there. IF by some crazy chance somebody manages to push through an original and interesting idea that gets made into an actual feature film, the marketing team has no idea what to do with it. They attempt to cram it into a box and force it to fit some concept of ‘what will sell’ that may or may not actually have anything to do with the movie.

I believe that last bit is what happened to the film Mortal Engines. The movie is based on the book of the same title by Philip Reeve. I read the book back in 2009. That was actually before I started posting my book reviews here but those old words are still hanging around on Goodreads. I was excited to see this film in theaters. It’s new. It’s not a sequel. It’s not a remake. It’s NEW!

When I saw the box office results I was very disappointed. For all the people out there that clamor constantly for something new and different this was a staggeringly poor turnout.

 “…second straight flop for Universal… following “Mortal Engines. That $100 million film debuted last weekend with $7.5 million film in ticket sales.”

That’s dismal. I’m not in the industry and even I see that as dismal. On paper this movie had everything going for it. One of may favorite directors was on board (I’m trying to look past the Hobbit fiasco). Great actors were involved. There’s action, there’s a revenge plot, there’s romance. The characters are diverse. There were so many good things…

I’m not sure why it hasn’t been more successful. The visuals and special effects were excellent. The acting was good. I enjoyed it. I will buy the DVD when it comes out. I think it’s a movie that is worth seeing – above and beyond the simple fact that something new needed to be supported so that the people funding films put more new things out. The only thing this will do is push the number crunchers back to Dukes of Hazard 3 Accessible Parking and that is just depressing.

I put this movie directly into the same category as Jon Carter of Mars. That movie should have been a big box office hit with multiple stories to follow up and the people selling it just couldn’t figure out how to get it to you. Mortal Engines is a good film and if you get the chance to catch it you should.

Philcon 2018 – A Review

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This was previously published in Watch The Skies (November 2018)

I was once again happy to be a participant at the convention put on by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society this year. I was given a number of different panels to be part of and as a bonus got to talk a couple of folks who had never been to Philcon along for the ride. Having friends along was a difference maker this year. It helped me to see the con with fresh eyes. It’s very easy after years of participation to become jaded and treat an event like this as work.

Attendance this year felt like it was slightly more. I have absolutely no basis for this observation other than feeling. I could (and likely am) totally wrong, but part of why I might have felt this way could be that I saw other con tracks that I don’t normally see. I paid more attention to the Anime track. There was more than one costuming related panel and there were even events for kids. I know the Anime track has been solid for years, but having somebody along with me who was interested in it gave it a fresh look.

My panels were well attended – except for one. Everyone who does panels at cons will eventually get a clunker. Having a friend walk to the panel room with me was the only reason I wasn’t there alone. Eventually the person that suggested the panel be on programming arrived. We had a nice chat and then she left early (can’t compete with the masquerade after all).

There were also a number of artists displaying their work in the art show. I recognized many of them and their work, but there were also one or two that I hadn’t seen before. I hadn’t been familiar with the artwork of Gary Lippincott, but I have realized my mistake after looking at his amazing water color work in person. Do yourselves a favor and go check out his work.

As always it was wonderful to see various members of my ‘convention’ family that I don’t get to spend enough time with. Jokes about alien abductions just don’t play as well anywhere else as they do there.

It was a fun filled and fast weekend. I was on the way home almost before I realized it. I hope to be invited back again next year. IF I go, I want to bring more friends. That, after all, is how we’re going to keep the things we love rolling along.

Save Against Fear

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I spent the weekend at a local game convention with my daughter. It was time well spent. The folks at the Bodhana Group really put together an excellent weekend. This year was the second time in their location at the Harrisburg Mall. It was also the second time I got to attend the convention.

Great stuff – it’s local to me, affordable and filled with activity. Added bonus, I was only an attendee. I wasn’t part of the team putting the show on, I wasn’t working or speaking or any of the other things that I’ve come to associate with conventions. I was simply attending and enjoying the time with my daughter.

More Great Stuff – we had the chance to put in for door prizes each day, could pick up tasty tasty treats from the bake sale and got the chance to participate in the “play to win” promotion. Play to win is a super cool idea. Game companies donated a number of games to the convention. You could check out a game and play it. When you did, put your name on the list and you’re entered for a chance to win. Call them out on social media and get an additional chance to win. We came home with two FREE games this weekend just because we took the time to sign them out and test drive them. Combined with the door prize I won I think the winning balanced out what we paid to attend this year.

Even more great stuff – it really was a fantastic little convention. The people attending were nice and friendly. We got to play games with new folks and both learn and teach new games. We got to meet and talk to game designers. Test drove 3 different games that are still in development. Couldn’t pick them up as they’re still in development, but signed up to be notified when the games come out so we can get them then. All kinds of fun.

Really, the only down side to the whole thing involves the location. Being at the mall is excellent. It’s a ton of free parking, easy access and short walk to the food court when we chose to break for something to eat. Close to the house and easy to get to any time. The space itself is one of the large stores that hasn’t been rented out yet. It’s not pretty. It is as unfinished and worn out as you might think. The temperature was all sorts of out of control. It got hot enough in there to make a number of folks not feel well on Saturday afternoon – and I don’t know if the HVAC system was something the con could control or not, but it was a real issue. Also – just on a personal level – I HATED the chairs that were provided. To be fair, they DID provide chairs and tables for around 400 people. NOt easy. I still hated them.

If you’re in the area I highly recommend looking this convention up next year. They’ve already announced it – and as soon as registration goes up I’m signing up to go again!

Wrinkle

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A Wrinkle in Time (Time, #1)A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s difficult to offer up a ‘review’ of a book deemed by many to be a classic of genre fiction.

I did not read this book when I was a teenager. I read it recently, partly for a book group and partly so I would have the book version in my mind before I watched the movie adaptation.

I suspect that IF I had read the book when I was a teenager the impact would have been vastly different than reading it as an adult. I understand why so many people relate to it. I understand why it’s considered a classic. It’s a good book. I wasn’t overwhelmed – but I think I missed the ‘sweet spot’ as far as the age to read this book.

What I am going to do is give it to my daughter and let her know that it’s worth HER reading it. It is a classic. If you haven’t read it, it’s a quick read and worth the effort.

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