Shows I no Longer Follow

• Stargate Universe - I've discovered that I simply do not care about any of the characters. Worse, I actively hate most of them.
• The CSI Franchise - It's time for something new.
• Criminal Minds - No one else wants to watch it with me. Too 'dark'.

Shows in Danger:

• No Ordinary Family - The lack of plot advancement in the face of obvious opportunity even to the point where the characters must either be morons or actively ignoring what is in front of them is getting ridiculous. Oh well, it likely won't see a second season anyway.
• Bones - Quit jerking us around. Get Bones and Seeley together already. The only thing worse than when the main characters finally get together is when they never do. . . IMO. (You hear me Nathan?)

Edit: Seems I'm behind the times yet again. SYFY has already decided not to renew Stargate Universe for another season. Maybe now we'll get that third SG1 movie? Or the Atlantis movie?

Virga: Cities of the Air by Karl Schroeder

Mini Review

Virga: Cities of the Air by Karl Schroeder is a great adventure in World building, not unlike Larry Niven's Integral Trees. The story is, however, dragged down by the immorality of its characters, by its over-reliance on coincidence, and by a very odd concept that a bullet can both remember it's journey and transfer that memory to the person it hits.

***/5

Editing The Past

Well, looks like the PC revisionists are at it again. At least they waited 100 years after the passing of Samuel Clemens before they took a hatchet to his work.

For those not in the know, apparently the publisher NewSouth Books has released a version of Mark Twain's classic novel, Adventures of Huckelberry Finn, in which all instances of a certain word which begins with the letter 'N' have been replaced with the word 'slave'.

I hope they have included an attribution to a second author, Alan Gribben, much as they have done with the novels of the new mashup genre. But I digress.

Why am I once again defending the use of the 'N' word? Because that's the word the author used. What's more, that's the word his characters would have used. Don't forget, this book was first published over 115 years ago. It is not only period correct, it was written in that period! In fact, initial criticism of the book wasn't that it contained the 'N' word, but rather, at least in part, that it portrayed a black man as a sympathetic and fully human person. Go figure.

Denying the realities of history is like poking out an eye. Sure, you might not see anything on that side anymore, but that doesn't mean that nothing is there.

It is even worse to push such ignorance on others. Want to know why the youth of today are so dumb? Look to those who are taking a black marker to history.

Wait a few more years and the word 'slave' will no doubt be replaced with 'freedom challenged person' or whatever PC term is popular at the moment. At least that would be synonymous with the word it is replacing (the first substitution, not the original).

Here are some famous quotes to close with:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

- George Santayana

". . . he who does not know the past can never understand the present, and he certainly can do nothing for the future."

- John Diefenbaker

"Freedom includes the right to say what others may object to and resent. . . The essence of citizenship is to be tolerant of strong and provocative words."

- John Diefenbaker

"Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it."

- Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain)

More Bad News for Canadian Book Lovers

Last week DB Media, the Canadian branch of Direct Brands Inc., closed down due to bankruptcy. What does that mean? DB Media was a direct marketing company that operated Columbia House Canada and, more relevant to this blog, Doubleday Canada Book Club. DB media had operated for more than 70 years in Canada and was known as the largest direct marketer of books in Canada.

Not suprisingly, they blame the internet.

Which is ironic, because I actually was looking at joining through their website last year. I have an alternate theory based on the two reasons I ultimately did not join. They were:

1. The book club really didn't have enough selection for me. I barely found enough books to fit my introductory order of $1 books (plus $14.95 for shipping). I just could not see how I could justify fulfilling the obligation to buy 4 more books at cover price, plus shipping and taxes, over the next two years when I have better selection and prices elsewhere.

2. I was a former member of clubs like BMG and Columbia House movie club. Enough said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Canadians are out of work, with no severance pay, just weeks before Christmas. Nice move guys

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!

(mini-review)

Excellent fun!

I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Deluxe Edition by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. If you have not read this one yet, and you have read the original Jane Austen novel, I highly recommend it.

Here's hoping that this nascent genre has not reached its pinnacle with its first specimen. . . and further, that such works do not cause Jane Austen to rise from the dead in outrage.

Rating:
****/5

A Lazyman's Catch-Up Post

Look at that - another gap in time.

Mini-Reviews:

Ventus by Karl Schroeder - This book actually takes place in the same universe as Lady of Mazes. And it's almost as good. I really enjoyed this Fantasy/Science Fiction cross-over.

****/5

Tuck by Stephen R. Lawhead - A Great ending to a great series.

****/5

The Winds of Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley - After a clumsy intro, this obvious potboiler actually gets interesting. But it is too short. The author even admits she wrote this one because she needed some fast cash.

***/5

If I pay thee not in Gold by Piers Anthony and Mercedes Lackey - The first half is slow and plagued by heavy foreshadowing. The second half is just not very compelling and ultimately results in an unsympathetic protaganist.

BTW the conclusion of the book's title statement is (spoiler):

I'll have freaky three way demon sex with thee.

**/5

Distant Early Warnings Ed. Robert J. Sawyer - Warning, avoid! Okay, there are a few good stories in there, Sawyer's work notwithstanding.

Note to RJ: If you have to come up with justifications not to include better authors than yourself in a compilation and then put two stories of your own in there, chances are your compilation sucks as much as your stories.

**/5

The Green Trap by Ben Bova - Abysmal.

0/5

On T.V:

Warehouse 13 - I finally gave this show a chance. I like it!

Sanctuary Season 3 - Why did they change the music? And why did they change it to something so inferior?

Stargate Universe Galactica - I may abandon this show soon for the same reason I abandoned Battlestar Galactica. I just don't like any of the characters.

Proofreading an Old Favorite, Wildside by Steven Gould!

I just finished a long overdue re-read of Wildside by Steven Gould. While this is not my favorite novel by Mr. Gould, it is the book that first introduced me to his work, and that's not to say that it isn't one of my favorites. It's a great read! Look for a review soon. . .

Also, it gave me a chance to try out a few ebook formats.

That's right, I read it in an electronic format. You see, over on his blog, Steven Gould announced that he needed some volunteers to proofread Wildside since he had to scan and OCR the text before composing the ebook. I jumped at the opportunity of course (no pun intended). What happened to his original computer file I don't know, but he has already released Jumper and Reflex as ebooks, at very reasonable prices I might add.

I recieved copies in both Mobi and EPUB formats, but since I haven't bought a handheld reader yet, I read them on my computer. I think I prefer the EPUB format over Mobipocket. There is a handy plugin for Firefox that lets you read .epub files and lets you change the background colour, font, margin width, etc. The Mobipocket reader is available as a free download, and it looks slick, but it just wasn't as convenient for me.
And now to start proofreading Helm. . .

Update: Get it here.