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Monsters in Space! The Sequel: Star Dragons (and Dragon Variants)
Monsters in Space! The Sequel: Star Dragons (and Dragon Variants)
“How could such an environment lead to this? Is this a dragon? It barely seems to qualify. Unlike others, it shoots a strange, destructive light from its mouth… It baffles the mind.”- From the journal of a traveling scholar. Star Dragons, born from the deep cosmos, are a rare draconic breed. Some think they are crossbred between a true dragon from another realm and something truly alien. …
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The Le Guin Prize and the lost continent of imaginative fiction
The 2025 Ursula K Le Guin Prize for Fiction is about to be awarded. It’s for works that are categorised as ‘imaginative fiction’ – they have elements of science fiction and fantasy, but also of literary. What does this look like? Everyone has their own description. Here’s mine: they bend reality, maybe slightly, maybe a lot. It might be a dystopian element, a touch of magic, the supernatural or…
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Obscure #NonSpoilerReviews “The Outsider”
“The Outsider″ by @StephenKing (Part Two)
What I don’t love about this book:
Speaking of X-files, at a certain point, just like in that show, I became wearied by Detective Anderson’s agent Scully-Esque constant insistence on there being a “rational” explanation even after some serious supernatural shit has gone down.
I know this is a seemingly weird position for me to take because often I’ve written about how I am such a person who is always seeking a rational answer to things, and decrying magical thinking or reasoning is bullshit. I, however, have never claimed that I would make a good fictional character. I would be that smug jerk who dies right at the beginning of the horror story saying something like, “c’mon guys, demon vampire ghosts aren’t real!”
Want more? Get my full review here:
https://www.writinginobscurity.com/2020/10/the-outsider-by-stephen-king-fiction.html
Obscure #NonSpoilerReviews “The Outsider”
“The Outsider″ by @StephenKing (Part One)
I’m a huge Stephen King fan—I know, shocker—so I’ve resisted doing the obvious thing and jumping in on a review of one of his books early on after starting this blog. But I feel like now is the time. So today, we’re talking about “The Outsider” by Stephen King.
What I love about this book:
Stephen King has mastered a variety of small American townie voices that always seem to populate his novels. It’s genuinely impressive, and one of his literary talents I don’t think gets enough praise, and sure—he’s thought of as the master of the macabre and horror, but his skill with character voice is nearly peerless.
King, in my experience, is a master at setting up a story. He develops that plot through the middle with fascinating and diverse characters, ramping up the tension—then introduces elements at the end like a giant cosmic space turtle or we’re going to defeat the evil clown with tongue biting, metaphorically, or maybe not. What I’m trying to get at is endings are not really known as his thing. It’s a cliché to point that out—so why go on about this in this section? Because “The Outsider” has an actual end, one that I found satisfying, too.
This book isn’t just a partnership between Detective Ralph Anderson and Holly Gibney—a character he established in other books of his—but none-the-less I enjoyed their inverse X-files partnership a whole lot. I was always a big fan of that show, and this novel really scratches that itch, unlike many actual X-files novels that feel vaguely parody-like to me.
Want more? Get my full review here:
https://www.writinginobscurity.com/2020/10/the-outsider-by-stephen-king-fiction.html
You’ve got to love this band! Jimkata, is a three-piece synth-based pop band, that transcends that label, mixing in echos of Motown, modern-rock and funk, within that framework. It’s a formula that definitely works, as demonstrated by Roots Down (seen / heard here), a single that was released back in March. This track is full of dance-beat goodness, but not the thump-thump of the modern DJ driven spinners, replacing that instead with a genuine beat that compliments the music perfectly. The band’s vocals are very pleasing.
If you are looking for information on the band members, all I can say is that the three piece is made up of Evan Friedell, Aaron Gorsch and Packy Lunn, friends since middle-school. They’ve been making music together since at least 2009, with their most recent long-player (aside from a “hits” album) 2016′s In Motion. Coming up (perhaps even released by the time you read this) is the band’s 2021 release Bonfires. Hopefully that will include Roots Down.
The band’s web site is fairly complete, aside from a sketchy biography and a missing link to their bandcamp.com site. Otherwise the social and streaming links are there.
Check out this fun-loving three piece band that is destined to get you moving. Pick up some Jimkata music now!
Obscure #NonSpoilerReviews “The Ark”
“The Ark″ by @stealthygeek (Part Two)
What I don’t love about this book:
Our main character, Benson, for the most part, is a likable gumshoe to be following around, but his follow-through feels inconsistent to me at times. So when they discover the body of a murdered crew member, floating out in space outside of the ship, he personally goes out in a maintenance pod to retrieve it. Then there is the bit where he alienates the owner of his favorite restaurant and another time where he storms onto the bridge to demand answers from the captain, to get the truth, damn it! So you’d think, this here is a guy that will do anything to get the job done right. Except he also sleeps with his girlfriend at a crime scene. Then there is the time he calls off a manhunt half-way through because, eh, he doesn’t feel like they’re going to find anything.
Want more? Get my full review here:
https://www.writinginobscurity.com/2020/09/the-ark-by-patrick-s-tomlinson-fiction.html
Obscure #NonSpoilerReviews “The Ark”
“The Ark″ by @stealthygeek (Part One)
Today we’re going to escape Earth for a new beginning in a new solar system—sounds pretty good given everything going on right now—in this science fiction/detective mystery “The Ark” by Patrick S. Tomlinson. Don’t worry—people are still shitty generations later and in space.
What I love about this book:
It’s an interesting concept because the plot is essentially a murder mystery baked into a science fiction setting. You might think that blending the two genres might weaken both elements, but Tomlinson has the chops to do both justice.
I was pleasantly surprised that “The Ark” is pretty consistently hard science fiction despite having one of those high-concepts that could easily shift into soft science fiction. You’d think a murder mystery in space would be more focused on the more psychological elements, typical of crime fiction, and shared by soft science fiction. Tomlinson does address the psychological motives, so it isn’t unaddressed, but he also never takes his hand off the wheel when describing the science and engineering behind “The Ark.”
Want more? Get my full review here:
https://www.writinginobscurity.com/2020/09/the-ark-by-patrick-s-tomlinson-fiction.html
