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San Francisco, 1:02 AM
Wed Nov 11
27 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #jonathanstrahan more →

    Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap

    3 New Anthologies Bring Werewolves, ADD-Afflicted Drinking Birds, And Awesomeness

    Space Opera Has Come Of Age — But Has It Left Humans Behind?

    Visions That Are Only Dangerous In Their Afterimage

    Why Is Space Opera Unsung?
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Klebert L. Hall Klebert L. Hall
    10/22/09

    In reply to Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap
    "Since when do pumpkins need to be steam-powered, anyway?"

    You might as well ask "since when do pumpkins need to be carved into Jack-o lanterns?".
    -Kle. #steampunk
     Reply
    Klebert L. Hall was starred Klebert L. Hall was unstarred
    Image of bonniegrrl bonniegrrl
    10/21/09

    In reply to Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap
    Isn't a steampunk pumpkin just pumpkin pie? #steampunk
     Reply
    bonniegrrl was starred bonniegrrl was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    10/21/09

    @bonniegrrl: Indeed. Stick a fork in it -- and eat it. #steampunk
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of einsteinsquandry einsteinsquandry
    10/21/09

    In reply to Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap
    I was unaware that Victorians needed steam to power their food and decorations. #steampunk
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment einsteinsquandry was starred einsteinsquandry was unstarred
    Image of pockifish pockifish
    10/21/09

    In reply to Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap
    ok, I for one like steampunk. But this is waaaay too much. I want my steampunk to make some kind of sense! (ie, goggles should only be used if they can be motivated by something other than "they are pretty!") So why should pumpkins suddenly require steam-power?

    and uhm, is it just me or does it look more fetish than steampunk? O.o #steampunk
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment pockifish was starred pockifish was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Space Hippy! Anekanta - Space Hippy!
    10/21/09

    In reply to Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap
    Do Victorian steampunks listen to death metal? #steampunk
     Reply
    Anekanta - Space Hippy! was starred Anekanta - Space Hippy! was unstarred
    Image of Cory Gross Cory Gross
    10/21/09

    In reply to Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap
    It doesn't have enough superfluous gears to be Steampunk. #steampunk
     Reply
    Cory Gross was starred Cory Gross was unstarred
    Image of Communist Pope Communist Pope
    10/21/09

    @Cory Gross: Also, shouldn't it have brass-and-leather goggles pushed up on its forehead? #steampunk
     Reply
    Communist Pope was starred Communist Pope was unstarred
    Image of aubreyf aubreyf
    10/21/09

    In reply to Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap
    s/nap/dirtnap/i #steampunk
     Reply
    aubreyf was starred aubreyf was unstarred
    Image of Presidentpez Presidentpez
    10/21/09

    In reply to Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap
    My mom mentioned Steampunk...it's over. #steampunk
     Reply
    Dirk Anger promoted this comment Presidentpez was starred Presidentpez was unstarred
    Image of Tk42OnE Tk42OnE
    10/21/09

    In reply to Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap
    If you guys hate "Steampunk" so much, why do you keep putting it on your site, even if it's to say it should take a nap?

    This is pretty much the only place I even see the term used, and it's almost always to say it sucks.

    Just sayin'. #steampunk
     Reply
    The Curse of Millhaven promoted this comment Tk42OnE was starred Tk42OnE was unstarred
    Image of The Curse of Millhaven The Curse of Millhaven
    10/21/09

    @Tk42OnE: Same reason they talk about Michael Bay. #steampunk
     Reply
    The Curse of Millhaven was starred The Curse of Millhaven was unstarred
    Image of Franklin Harris Franklin Harris
    08/20/09

    In reply to 3 New Anthologies Bring Werewolves, ADD-Afflicted Drinking Birds, And Awesomeness
    Anthologies like Eclipse and Fast Forward seem to be filing part of the void left by the decline of fiction magazines.
     Reply
    Grey_Area promoted this comment Franklin Harris was starred Franklin Harris was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    08/20/09

    @Franklin Harris: I spoke to Jeremy Lassen of Night Shade Books and he is definitely trying for some of that. They recently became the publishing partner of Electric Velocipede to help keep venues for speculative fiction short stories alive in print.
     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    08/20/09

    @Franklin Harris: That's my perception too... but on the other hand, you still need short fiction magazines to nurture new talent and provide stories for anthologies to reprint.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    08/20/09

    @Charlie Jane Anders: Isn't Eclipse all unpublished stuff?
     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of Franklin Harris Franklin Harris
    08/20/09

    @Charlie Jane Anders: Magazines are definitely better at nurturing new talent, but the anthologies we see now are increasingly publishing previously unpublished stories. I suspect one reason anthologies are supplanting mags is anthologies tend to offer more known talent for the reader's buck. But it could end up self-defeating is there's no place for new talent to become known.
     Reply
    Franklin Harris was starred Franklin Harris was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    08/20/09

    In reply to 3 New Anthologies Bring Werewolves, ADD-Afflicted Drinking Birds, And Awesomeness
    The first two volumes of Eclipse were truly great. What I really dig is that these are general Speculative Fiction, no themes. You ain't going to cotton to every single story, but I'll guarantee you'll find something you love that's not really "your type of story".

    And kudos to Jeremy and Johnathan for getting that piece of vintage SF art by Richard Powers for the cover. Nice touch.
     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of MosesMonster MosesMonster
    08/20/09

    In reply to 3 New Anthologies Bring Werewolves, ADD-Afflicted Drinking Birds, And Awesomeness
    And where might one find such gems? I'm going to blow a paycheck.
     Reply
    MosesMonster was starred MosesMonster was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    08/20/09

    @MosesMonster: Eclipse 3 comes out in October, as does Last Drink Bird Head Here's a link to the first two Eclipses: [nightshadebooks.com]
    ...or go to Amazon.
     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of RutherfordHamjelly RutherfordHamjelly
    05/05/09

    In reply to Space Opera Has Come Of Age — But Has It Left Humans Behind?
    Why do you guys black-list Jack McDevitt? If you want great space opera, why omit his "Hutch" and "Alex Benedict" stories? I'm constantly surprised of his omission. He deserves more credit.
     Reply
    RutherfordHamjelly was starred RutherfordHamjelly was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    05/05/09

    @RutherfordHamjelly: I didn't mention him because he didn't write a story in the anthology I reviewed. There are also several hundred other authors I didn't mention. Possibly thousands.
     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of TheHacker TheHacker
    05/05/09

    In reply to Space Opera Has Come Of Age — But Has It Left Humans Behind?
    That's Alastair, not Alistair! ZOMG!
     Reply
    TheHacker was starred TheHacker was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    05/05/09

    @TheHacker: Dang! I'll fix that.
     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of grendel_khan grendel_khan
    05/05/09

    In reply to Space Opera Has Come Of Age — But Has It Left Humans Behind?
    I've only read the first book in this series, but I think I'm in agreement: To justify a few moments of spacefaring adventure, way too many of the protagonists in these stories are presented as posthuman or transhuman oddities. Everything that made the BSG reboot good-the focus on characters and (sometimes to a fault) drama, instead of dithering on about quantum mechanics-is missing here. Is the New Space Opera really this clinical? It's not even an ironic sort of distance, like watching characters in a Cronenberg movie gradually become less human, and more monstrous (or returning to some primal monster state, maybe). This is sort of sci-fi at its most inaccessible to anyone who isn't an Aspergers-suffering uberdork, where the nuts and bolts of world-building takes precedence over classical storytelling. What's wrong with wanting Lensman-esque high drama and grand conflicts, but without the dated, fascist stuffiness?


    Also, make fun of it all you want, but shouldn't someone get shot with a damn blaster in Space Opera? If you're going to write a telenovella in space, however gussied up with fancy science talk, you can't skip the intergalactic equivalent of the sinister dude with a moustache and a gun. It's like picking up a short story collection called "The New Wild West," that's all about guys actually herding cattle, and never shooting someone over a poker game.

     Reply
    grendel_khan was starred grendel_khan was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    05/05/09

    @grendel_khan: To be honest, the stories I liked in this collection felt a lot like the old school Space Opera, Elizabeth Moon and Tad Williams in particular.


    Maybe I'm the kind of reader the DelReys were thinking of back in the 1970s (Grodd knows, I'm the right age). I read Science Fiction for the fun of it. I never avoid the Deep Thoughts and tricky new science, but I'm really there for the thrilling action and characters. In the end it's all about entertainment.

     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    05/05/09

    @grendel_khan: And by the way, love yer screen name.
     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
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