Powers

Powers by John Olson proved to be an interesting ride.

It starts out in the swamps around New Orleans. A young Gypsy girl named Mariutza finds her life up-ended when the Badness comes after her and a man she calls Purodad, who she believes is her grandfather. Purodad is killed and his final words send Mariutza out of the swamps to find a mythical hero from her childhood bedtime stories.

In the meantime, Jazz Rechabson, a musician, finds himself caught in the middle of an unimaginable adventure. He's having odd visions of death, of destruction, of all sorts of different things. Can he sort through them all and figure out what's happening to him before he is killed like the people in his visions?

I've met John a few times at ACFW Conferences and he's a really cool guy. I've really enjoyed his books in the past, most notably the books he wrote with Randy Ingermanson, namely Oxygen and The Fifth Man. And I also enjoyed Shade, of which Powers is a sequel.

Because I read Shade a few years ago, I was ready to be plunged into the odd world of the Standing once again. I was already familiar with some of the concepts and ideas, but I have to admit, I kept feeling like I was missing something. Maybe if I were more familiar with Gypsy culture and heritage, I don't know. A little confusion isn't a bad thing; I'm not a big fan of authors who feel the need to bash the readers over the head with the blunt end of their premise. I also felt like I missed some connection between the main plot and the involvement of the FBI. Maybe I missed a vital paragraph somewhere, I don't know.

But I did enjoy the book. John crafted a stunning and fun world to visit, one based on an obscure Biblical passage. I get the feeling there might be another story lurking in the wings. If so, I'm all for it. Bring on more of the Prophet and the Princess, John! It should be fun!

Law & Order - Post-mortem

Well, I guess that's a wrap on one of my favorite appointment shows, namely Law & Order on NBC. And much to my disgust, the show went out with a whimper, not a bang. And yes, I guess the pun is somewhat intended.

In the now series finale apparently entitled Rubber Room, a disgruntled individual was posting pictures of guns and a video of a pipe bomb exploding on the Internet. The police, with the assistance of the District Attorney's office, put on a frantic investigation to stop whoever it was. While I'm tempted to post spoilers, I won't. Maybe some of you have it on DVR and are waiting to watch it.

While the episode was certainly exciting and definitely played on a hot-button topic (education, teachers' unions, school shootings), once it was over, I felt a little disappointed. For starters, while there was a lot of "Order," there didn't seem to be much "Law" (or would that be the other way around?). Yes, ADA Cutter was involved, trying to get subpoenas from the grand jury to go fishing for suspects. And yes, Sam Waterston had a great Jack McCoy moment where he threatened legal action against a representative of a teachers' union, capped with a roared, "Get out of my way!" But for a show that was built on a half-and-half structure, half police procedural, half legal drama, the latter half was missing.

Also problematic for me was Lt. Van Buren's contribution to this episode. I get that this was S. Epatha Merkerson's final episode, so they wanted to somehow cap off the whole cancer plotline, but honestly, this fell flat. There was no closure to it at all, which is a problem since the cancer plotline has been causing the whole season to drag. One of the interesting quirks about this show has been the fact that they didn't allow the principle characters' personal lives to spill over too much unless it directly impacted the on-going investigation. So, for example, it worked in last week's Immortality, which centered around cancer treatments developed from stolen cells. But it hasn't fit most weeks. And it's not that I wish ill on the character, but the way the whole cancer subplot was resolved seemed like a total cop-out.

For my money, I wish they would have ended with last week's Love Eternal. I seriously cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard at an episode of any TV show, including the ones that are supposed to be funny. Love Eternal had just the right blend of insanity, enough that I was left chuckling for hours after I finished watching it.

I mean, how can you go wrong when you blend in a fashion reality TV show, bizarre sex games, a divorce daisy-chain, and a classic Law & Order courtroom trap to catch the real killer.

And then there's this gem (pun definitely intended):



The whole "turning dead people into diamonds" thing was classic, especially the ending where ADA Rubirosa received diamond studs made out of the murder victim as a thank you.

Part of the reason why that tickled my fancy so much is because the whole cremated diamond business is real. I've seen brochures at funeral homes. I can't imagine anyone actually doing that, but there you go.

So I guess that actually describes the whole situation with Law & Order pretty well. It didn't deliver when it should have and when it did, it was at the wrong times. I suppose in the end, it's okay that it's gone. I just wish it could have gone out on a better note.

There are two other attendant issues that go with this. Should they get two hours to do a proper series finale? Maybe. I wonder what that would look like, though. It's not as if crime will grind to a halt if Jack McCoy decides to retire. I think it'd be somewhat challenging to craft an actual capstone to this series.

And will I check out the impending Law & Order: Los Angeles? Probably. I mean, even if I think it's an ill-advised spin-off, it's still Law & Order. I gotta get my cha-chung fix somewhere.

Mass Effect: The Movie?

Before I stumbled off to bed, I headed over to the Entertainment Weekly website to see if they had any articles up yet about either the Chuck season finale or the Law & Order series finale (I'll have some thoughts on that tomorrow). Instead, I found some news that both thrills and horrifies me.

Apparently Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to make Mass Effect into a movie.

This thrills me from the stand point that the Mass Effect games are already very cinematic, telling an epic story that's very well written with some great characters. Writers of any genre or medium could learn a lesson from the folks at BioWare on how to put together a gripping story. But the fact that Mass Effect is already so cinematic and so epic, I have a hard time believing that anyone could do the story justice. How are you going to cram 30+ hours of game play into only two hours of movie? Yes, granted, they'd cut out a lot of the side missions, but the side missions are what gives the games their depth.

Also troubling is the fact that part of what makes the Mass Effect games great is the fact that a lot of what happens is left in the hands of the player. Granted, the story isn't completely open ended: they do funnel players through the story and there really is only one big ending with two distinct flavors, but still.

What's truly troubling is the lousy track record that Hollywood has when it comes to adapting video games to the big screen. I seriously can't think of even one adaptation that was any good.

Oh well. As much as I may be wary, I suspect that if/when this project sees the light of day, I may just go. Because I mean, c'mon. It's Commander Shepherd.

Musiter

It's rare that I get to get in on the ground floor of something, so if I get the chance, you know I'm going to jump on it. So when I saw an announcement for Musiter, I hopped on over to check it out.

You know how Twitter works, right? Okay, I'm a little hazy on the details myself. I have yet to "tweet" and don't have any plans to do so any time soon. But I do know that each "tweet" has to be less than 140 characters.

Well, an on-line friend of mine over at Red vs. Blue has started a musical version. Lauren (aka OboeCrazy) is the creative genius behind Musiter. Musicians can submit YouTube videos of themselves playing short snippets of music 140 notes or less. She posted the first video of herself playing a Bach piece. Normally I'd share the video here, but instead, click on the Musiter link above and check it out yourself.

And you musicians out there, make sure you join in what I'm sure is going to be an Internet phenomenon. I personally have nothing to contribute. Not unless I want to do some horrendous chanting. But I'll be checking back often to see what Musiter has to offer.

The Word Unleashed

Last night, right before I drifted off to sleep, I finished The Word Unleashed by Steve Rzasa, the second book in what I'm assuming is a trilogy called The Face of the Deep.

The story picks up where the first book left off. Baden Haczyk has found a "text-in-violation," a Bible. Apparently in this semi-dystopian future, Kesek, the thought police for the Realm of Five, keep everyone under their brutal thumb. The rule of law in the Realm says that any printed religious text is illegal as are most religions. Baden's discovery of the Bible in the first book landed him in a world of trouble, especially since it thrust him into the center of a conflict between Kesek and the rightful king of the Realm.

In this, the second book, Baden finds himself in the center of controversy yet again. Christians are clamoring to hear his Bible read. They want the Word shared. But his mysterious new friend, Jason, wants to take the Bible to a place called Alexandria where it can be hidden away and kept safe. Baden is torn; should he share what he's found or should he get rid of it as soon as possible?

As torn as Baden is, the situation in the Realm is getting worse. Kesek has kidnapped King Andrew II and are making moves to consolidate their control of this interstellar Realm. But opposition forces are already at work, mostly led by members of the Verge family, in a desperate attempt to overthrow the nascent tyrannical leadership of Kesek and restore freedom to the Realm.

I'm not sure what to make of this book, to be honest. On the one hand, Rzasa has done his homework in terms of world building. His Realm has a certain gritty realism, especially when it comes to his technology. It's easy to tell that he's given a lot of thought to how interstellar travel works along with a lot of attendant technology.

At the same time, though, I felt oddly detached from the story. I don't know why that is exactly; I kept trying to pinpoint the exact factor that created this distance but never could. I think part of it is phraseology and word choices. There were times when Rzasa's descriptions didn't ring quite right (and no, I can't get more specific than that; they just left an odd taste in my mind, to mix my metaphors a little).

I think part of it also stemmed from the apparent lack of deep motivation for E. H. Gironde, the leader of Kesek. He wants to overthrow King Andrew II and everything he stands for but I had no idea why aside from an almost cartoonish megalomania.

That's not to say that I didn't like this book. I did. It's just not one of my "new favorites." I'll be interested in seeing where the story goes from here since, in my opinion, it almost seemed like Rzasa had wrapped up the plot in its entirety. It'll be interesting to see where the Word goes from here.

CSFF Blog Tour: By Darkness Hid Day Three

And here's the rest of my interview with Jill Williamson, author of By Darkness Hid (this month's selection for the blog tour).

Me: How would you characterize the current Christian speculative fiction market from where you’re sitting?

JW: Well, I like it a lot better now than I did when I first tried to get published. It seems that publishers are more flexible than they were. Willing to push the envelope a bit with subject matter. I still wish they’d take more chances, but it makes sense that they have to do smart business. Christians are so diverse. I find atheist readers more forgiving. And I think that’s what publishers face. They have to publish books that will offend the least amount of people. But then a book like The Shack comes along and does great, even when it offends all kinds of people. It’s weird. I don’t know if anyone knows what they want until they read it.

Me: What themes do you think can be best explored by speculative fiction? What can speculative fiction do that other genres can’t?

JW: Spec fiction can explore any theme. Nothing is off limits. For example, the AIDS epidemic weighs heavily on my heart. I’ve toyed around with a contemporary story for years, but it never felt right. But when I started trying to put that in a fantasy world—and drew a map, of course—things started to work. I can deal with the topic in a more tactful way. When you create a different world, people are willing to explore topics they might not read about in a contemporary story.

Me: What can those of us who enjoy speculative Christian fiction do to help the genre?

JW: Tell people about the books you love. Give your favorite books as gifts. Blog about them. Email a spec fiction author and tell them why you liked their book. Post a review on Amazon.com.

I had no idea how important online book reviews were until this past year. Books fail without them. And a book can never have too many reviews. Online reviews don’t have to be written in any special way, either. Just be honest.

Also, buy Christian spec fiction novels new when you can. I used to shop exclusively off www.half.com for books. I could get any book for a few dollars. Then I became a writer and learned how hard it is to be a writer! So, if you have a favorite author, buy their books new to support them. Authors don’t make anything off a used book. If authors aren’t making anything, neither is the publisher. If the publisher isn’t making anything, they aren’t going to want to publish more books from that author.

Me: What advice can you give to hopeful Christian speculative fiction authors?

JW: Write, write, write. Finish your first draft. Don’t agonize over perfection until you’ve got a finished draft to agonize over. Besides, the beginning of the story might change once you know the end, so don’t waste time poring over every sentence until later. Save that for the rewrite stage. But don’t get stuck there either. Finish that book, send it out, then write a different book.
And try not to be impatient. Work on making each book the best it can be. When you finish a book, send it out. While you’re waiting to hear back, write another one! I wrote six novels before my first book was published. I’ve heard the same from many authors. So, try to have fun. I know it’s discouraging to wonder why you aren’t getting published. But God is in control. Randy Ingermanson once said it takes about a million words to get published. That was almost spot on for me. A million words is ten 100,000-word novels! Or ten full rewrites. I think the ten-novel way is a lot more fun.

Me: Of course the big news is that you were nominated for a 2010 Christy Award in the Visionary category. How did you find out you were a nominee? What were your initial thoughts? Did you expect the nomination at all?

JW: I was trying not to think about it. I'm such a dreamer, I tend to let my imagination run away with me and then I get really crushed when things don't pan out the way they did in my head. I certainally didn't expect to be nominated. But I really, really hoped I'd be.

I found out from an email from Jeff [Gerke, the publisher of Marcher Lord Press]. I remember seeing the email in my inbox. I'll sometimes get get 10 emails from Jeff in a day, but this one said, "Don't Freak," in the subject line. Naturally, my heart stopped, a chill flashed over me, and I slowly moved the cursor to click on the mystery note.

Now, you have to understand this about me. My husband is a youth pastor. His superhero identity is Sarcasmo. For the past 13 years, I have been falling for his jokes time and again. So, while Jeff's email looked mysterious, and my body was reacting as if it were somthing important, my head way saying, "It's probably nothing."

Jeff had forwarded me the email he recieved from the Christy Award people telling him, "Congratulation on the following nominee for the 2010 Christy Awards! By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson."

So I cried. The thing is, I wrote for years trying to get published, wondering if I stank at writing or if I was writing the wrong thing or if I should go back to making wedding gowns. Then By Darkness Hid got published. But the insecurities didn't go away. They morphed into different insecurities, which were possibly worse. There was so much pressure to do well with my first book. And maybe it was only pressure I'd given myself, I don't know. But to see my name on the Christy Award website...I'm very proud and thankful. It was a good cry.

Later that day I jumped up and down and giggled and tried to explain to my husband that this was a big deal.

Me: What’s coming up for Jill Williamson?

JW: Well, I’ve got book three to finish. From Darkness Won should release April 2011. After that, who knows? I’ve got several other YA novels finished that I would like to show publishers. I have a few more speculative YA ideas rolling around in my brain. And I might have to start on that AIDS-inspired fantasy novel. Now that I have the map drawn, I’m kind of excited.

+++

And there is one big thing on the horizon for Jill. When the nominees for the 2010 Christy Awards came out, Jill was one of the nominees for the Visionary category. No offense to Karen Hancock or Tom Pawlik, but I know who I'm rooting for.

And Jill . . . I'm waiting for book three. Don't cause another gamma radiation surge. My poor house can't take it.

Go and see what the rest of the tourists have to say:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Sarah Flanagan
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

CSFF Blog Tour: By Darkness Hid Day Two

So, as promised, here goes the interview with Jill Williamson, the author of By Darkness Hid. Huh. I just realized we might have a problem with similar initials on this interview. Would anyone be terrible offended if I referred to myself as "Me" for sake of clarity?

Me: What’s your background? What did you do before you started writing?

JW: I worked in the fashion industry. That was my childhood aspiration. I went to college in Manhattan to finish my fashion degree, then my husband and I moved to Los Angeles so I could work in fashion and he could work in movies. After about three and a half years in our “dream jobs” and we’d both had it. It was The Devil Wears Prada for me, and Brad’s experience wasn’t much better. We had a talk one night and decided that it was okay to pursue other things. Brad went back to school to become a youth pastor and I tried to start my own wedding gown manufacturing business. The gowns were beautiful—and I still have two in my closet—but I discovered that fashion was not my calling. I wanted to work with Brad and the youth group.

Me: What made you want to write Christian fiction?

JW: A few years after I gave up on fashion, a new Harry Potter book came out, followed by another barrage of debates within the church community as to whether or not the books were evil. The debate inspired me to write my own teen novel that all Christians would love. Yes, I was a bit naive. I have since learned that no one likes every book, especially those with faith elements in them. But that’s how I got started. I was inspired to try and write fast-paced adventure stories for teens that glorified God.

Me: What’s your all-time favorite book? Speculative fiction book? Christian fiction?

JW: It’s impossible for me to choose one book as a favorite. One of my favorites is To Kill a Mockingbird. That story amazes me in so many ways. Even the title is perfect.

I read a few Christian romance novels that some ladies at my church were passing around. But the first Christian speculative fiction novel I ever read was Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness. It opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for me.

Me: What’s your favorite speculative genre to write? To read?

JW: I like to write medieval fantasy the most. It’s so much fun to create a new world with maps and languages and creatures. I like to read urban fantasy, though. Weird stories that take place in our backyards. It’s a lot of fun. And honestly, I read mostly young adult novels.

Me: If you could collaborate on a story with any author, who would it be and why?

JW: Umm. I don’t know how I’d do at something like that. I’m used to being the boss in my job. I might be able to write something with Jeff Gerke since I’ve been taking advice from him for the past two years. He’s brilliant about story and picking up on things I’ve totally missed. He could come up with the idea and I could draw the map.

Me: What is the "Jill Williamson" writing process? Outline first? Fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants?

JW: I brainstorm first. I try to come up with an original premise. Then I try to come up with five sentences that encompass my beginning, my three act structure, and how the story will end. I spend some time coming up with character’s names and backstories, so I know who these people are. If it’s fantasy or science fiction, I must draw a map. If it’s contemporary, sometimes it helps to draw a floorplan of the main location. Then I’m ready to start writing. I try to write the whole story as fast as I can. In a month or less if possible. Then I can take my time fixing things and rewriting.

Me: What books and/or courses influenced your writing the most?

JW: Craft-wise, I learned the most from Randy Ingermanson’s Fiction 101 and Fiction 201 and from the book Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King. I also learned tons from reading fiction novels.

Part two of the interview will be posted tomorrow, so be sure to stop back. In the meantime, swing by the other tourists and see what they have to say:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Sarah Flanagan
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

CSFF Blog Tour: By Darkness Hid Day One

If you haven't noticed by now, I read. A lot, as it turns out. So it's rare that I find a book that gets me genuinely excited. Oftentimes, I'll read a good book and think, Huh. That was pretty good. But that's the end of it. There are a few, though, that really catch my attention and make me sit up and take notice.

By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson was one such book. When I first read it, my immediate reaction was "WANT. MORE. NOW!" This was followed by a burst of gamma radiation and I wound up smashing most of my living room. Er . . . wait, maybe that never happened.

In all seriousness, I did want to read more and immediately. As a matter of fact, my first review of this book ended with an admonition to Williamson to "get cracking" on the sequel. And crack she did . . . that didn't sound good either.

At any rate, the sequel came out just a month or two ago, namely, To Darkness Fled. And I gobbled that one up as well.

I think part of what made me love By Darkness Hid was Achan's journey. Williamson hit just the right rhythm of rising him up and then smacking him down again. His was a story of hopes and frustration, played out in ever-widening circles, inevitably leading him upward to the final surprise at the end. But of course, that's only a stepping stone to a larger journey, a more desperate adventure.

You may have noticed by this point, I haven't really said much about the plot or did much of a review. That's because, like I said, I've posted one already. If you're interested, you can go back and click on that link to see what I said when the book first came out. You can even read my review for the second book too.

So what do I have in store for the rest of the blog tour? An interview with author Jill Williamson! So come on back tomorrow!

In the meantime, go check out what the other tourists have on their minds:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Sarah Flanagan
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

Requiem for Two (Once Great) Shows

It occurred a little while ago that while I complained about the cancellation of Law and Order by NBC, two of my other "appointment shows" bit the dust this week as well. Both Heroes and Scrubs have been canceled by their respective networks as well. Given how much I used to love both shows, I should be more broken up. But oddly, I'm not. Both shows, I think, had lived past their expiration date.

Let's start with Heroes. The first season/volume was simply phenomenal. All the twists and turns, the weird plot (which yes, was ripped off from The Watchmen; so what?), the myriad questions, Horn-Rim Glasses and the Haitian and Sylar and . . . wow! The mind boggles at how crazy that inaugural season was! You had this feeling that anybody could die at any moment. I'll never forget the episode where Peter Petrelly goes to see Mohinder Suresh, only to find him pinned to the ceiling by Sylar's telekinetic power.

But things went south for this show pretty quickly. The final showdown in New York fizzled; rather than the blockbuster, epic battle between good and evil, we got good doing pathetic hit and run attacks on a vastly overpowered Sylar. The subsequent seasons consisted of the writers trying to nerf both Peter and Sylar. The unpredictability dried up as the heroes from season one basically became entrenched figures.

Darren Franich at EW made the interesting point that Heroes always felt like it was one step away from recapturing its initial greatness. But so long as they kept tinkering with time travel, so long as they kept fiddling with backstories and forcing precognition on just about everyone (I mean, seriously, everyone got this power at least once! I'm still waiting for my turn), they were never going to take it.

I saw this afternoon that NBC might give Heroes a movie slot to wrap things up. Bad idea. I think the last season finale worked well as a series finale. Let's not poke the half-dead bear here. Let's just put it out of its misery and let it stay dead.

On to Scrubs. This had been on for what, nine years now? NBC did a pretty good job of trying to kill it during its seventh season, what with messing up the episode order (their idea of using the fantasy-themed episode still rankles; it was so obviously meant for earlier in the season!) and letting things deteriorate. But then ABC picked it up and the show got some of its stride back. Not all of it; some of the mojo was permanently gone. But I thought they did a good job building up to a very touching ending, the JD stands outside the hospital and watches future home movies business. Very cool. Very appropriate. Cue sunset, that's a wrap, people!

But no! ABC decided to squeeze hard and see if a spin-off popped out. And it sort of did, a Scrubs set at a medical school instead of a teaching hospital. Okay. Most of the cast disappeared, but Dr. Cox, Dr. Kelso, and Turk stuck around, along with some med student they introduced in earlier season (I can't remember her character's name, just that JD called her Jo). Throw in a crop of lackluster and uninteresting med students and, well, that's just a recipe for a failed spinoff.

I think part of the problem was that they tried to hold on to too many of the original cast. I'd buy one of the aforementioned doctors heading off to teach at med school. I'd even throw in the Jo-wannabe. But not all three. Let Dr. Cox go to med school and then introduce some new faculty.

But hey, what do I know? This one thing for certain: my fall TV schedule is a lot lighter for next year and that's not a bad thing at all.

Arivaderchi, Law and Order

Well, I guess that's that. According to Michael Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly, the original Law and Order is over and done. After twenty years of being on the air, the show that created the iconic cha-chung! sound is going off the air.

I'm kind of upset about this. Sure, Law and Order has been floundering for the past few years, but I really thought they had gotten most of their stride back this season. Lt. Van Buren's cancer plotline has been a bit off, but otherwise, I thought everything was clicking pretty well.

What's more frustrating to me is the fact that they canceled this but are developing some sort of spin-off called Law and Order Los Angeles. Now I'm all for spin-offs in general, but only if they work, and L&O spin-offs don't have the best track record. SVU did okay (although I'm getting sick of the fact that every week seems to contain some sort of activist message, usually prefaced by a statistic), but Criminal Intent got banished to basic cable. And let's not forget the abysmal Trial By Jury and Crime and Punishment.

Well, at least Sam Waterston went out with it. I'm pretty sure if he had left, the show would have died. I just wish it could have lasted one more year to dethrone Gunsmoke.

Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

You know how some books are like partaking in fine, gourmet food, rich and savory? Yeah. That wasn't the case with this one. This one is more like greasy fast food.

I've been reading Star Wars novels for a while now. What I've really enjoyed lately are books that delved into the extended universe, especially those that fill in the blanks about the Star Wars universe's history. Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn is one of those books. It follows the further exploits of Darth Bane, the Dark Lord of the Sith who formulated the infamous Rule of Two. If you've ever wondered why, in the Star Wars movies, there are only two Sith (Darth Sidious and finally, Darth Vader), it's because of Bane. This is the third book in the series.

Darth Bane is faced with a nasty problem. He's been the Sith Master for so long, he's worried his body is giving out on him. He's been hoping that his apprentice, Darth Zannah, would challenge him for control of the Sith but it hasn't happened. So Darth Bane searches out the holocron of Darth Andeddu, an ancient Sith sorcerer who supposedly unlocked the secret of eternal life. Darth Bane thinks this is the only way his Sith order can survive.

Darth Zannah, in the meantime, has realized that her time has come. Bane has always taught her that the time would come when she would challenge him to single combat, winner takes all. She's been patient but now she has to seek out an apprentice of her own, someone she can train in Sith ways.

But things become complicated when an old enemy of Bane's seeks him out for revenge. Who will wind up in control of Bane's Sith?

Like I said, this isn't fine literature by any stretch of the imagination. The craft isn't top knotch; there's a lot of telling as opposed to showing. The ending was a bit predictable, although Karpyshyn did manage to keep things twisting just enough to keep me on my toes. I'm not saying that the book was awful, but it was just sort of . . . well, average. A fun, quick read but pretty insubstantial.

Wordcount Wednesday

So not really a "wordcount" update this week. I did some work on Failstate this week, fixing the third/first person perspective issues I had with the first fifty pages, mostly changing pronouns and verb tenses. I spotted whole chapters that need to be either shredded or eliminated or something.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Failstate:



I've got a lot of work to do...

The Superlative Stream

Pay attention, freehead. There's something important going on in Kerry Nietz's The Superlative Stream.

Sandfly and HardCandy have survived their trip to Betelgeuse system, searching for what Sandfly calls the superlative stream. They've ridden in a ship called DarkTrench to seek it out but when they arrive at Betelgeuse, they don't find what they're looking for. Instead, they find a solitary planet, one that hadn't been there before, a planet populated by an enigmatic race that HardCandy thinks might be jinn. Will Sandfly figure out what's really going on? Will they ever find the superlative stream?

This is a great continuation of Nietz's series, following a future where Islam has come to dominate the world. Sandfly and HardCandy are "debuggers," people implanted with special cybernetic devices that allow them to interact with machines and repair them. Nietz's world is vibrant and alive, filled with its own terminology and logic. It might take a bit of getting used to for the uninitiated, but it's a wild story, focused around a being Nietz refers to as A-A^3 and who shows up in some rather unusual ways.

The story is engaging on many levels. Even the flashbacks to HardCandy's past fascinated, allowing us to see how the "Abdul" society operates as a whole and treats certain people. When I went into this book, I honestly had no idea how this book would play out. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

There was only one thing that rankled me about the book and that's the ultimate identity of the jinn. I guess it's a personal foible of mine but it fell a little flat once I realized who and what they were. Not that I was upset with their identity. It just seemed a little predictable.

But this is shaping up to be a great series. I'll be waiting to see how it all ends in what I assume is the third book.

Iron Man 2

I just got back from watching Iron Man 2. I really enjoyed the first movie when it came out and so I was looking forward to watching this sequel. I'm not saying that I'm disappointed with what I saw, but I don't think it was nearly as great as the first one.

Part of the problem is that this movie seems to contain two or three stories, none of which are really developed much past 75%. We have Ivan Vanko (played by Mickey Rourke), a Russian physicist who wants to take down Tony Stark for something that Stark's dad did to his dad. At the same time, Stark is catching flack from the government regarding who owns the Iron Man suit and who should use it. He's also struggling with health issues from the quasi-nuclear reactor in his chest. And popping up every now and then is Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. and some daddy issues that Stark supposedly has to deal with. Most of the plots intersect at one time or another but, truth be told, the whole thing was a bit too much for one movie. They could have probably expanded Tony's issues with his father and combine it with Vanko's beef with the Stark family. The health issues could have waited until the inevitable Iron Man 3 and could probably be coupled with the government hounding Stark for access to his tech. But that's just me Monday-morning quarterbacking and I'll gladly admit it. All I'm saying is that the story seemed to lack some depth because it had so much territory to cover.

I've read in some reviews that the effects were overdone and seemed to rely more on flashy effects than the first one. I'm not so sure that's true. Yes, there is an extended battle sequence at the end of the movie and there are some more flashy effects in the middle, but I didn't think it was as bad as some reviewers thought.

Part of the "problem" might be the fact that Marvel seems so intent on setting up future movies. There were cameos by two props in Iron Man 2 to help gear up for future franchises and the on-rushing Avengers movie. The first cameo made me laugh out loud. The second . . . well, I'll just put it this way: make sure you stay through all the way to the end. Sit through the credits for a small tag ending that has absolutely nothing to do with Iron Man.

So is it worth it? Sure. It's a fun movie, not as good as the original but very few sequels can claim that. But it's got me ready for the next few Marvel movies. My inner geek is content for now and I think that's what really matters.

Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity

Several months ago, I spotted Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen on a shelf at Target and was intrigued. It's one of those times when my curiosity got the better of me and I wound up buying the book without any real conscious decision on my part. In some ways, I suppose I was hoping to get some insight into why some girls become "loose." I don't know if I actually got the insight I was hoping for.

Cohen recounts the story of her teenage and young adult years, revealing how she lived her life in constant pursuit of self-worth, which she believed would only come from a boy. If a boy loved her, she reasoned, she was worth something. That hunger drove her to give herself to dozens of guys over the years, constantly seeking the one boy who she thought would finally complete her.

Complicating matters was the constant use of alcohol and drugs, her narcissistic mother, her lackadaisical father, her crumbling sister, any number of factors. It isn't until Cohen graduates from college, going through at least two supposed relationships, and discovers a love for writing that she finally seems to break the cycle of addiction (for the most part) and moves on.

For the most part, Cohen's writing is engaging and, for me, heart-breaking. It compelled me to keep reading, hoping that I would see some glimmer of hope. None was forthcoming. Cohen's life seemed to be in ruins from an early age and didn't seem to improve. Even when she finally gets what she wants, namely a boyfriend who supposedly loves her for her, her life continues its downward spiral as she sabotages things with her neediness. The void in her life still needs to be filled and still wreaks havoc on things.

Upon further reflection, though, Cohen's book, while engaging, is somewhat lacking. For starters, Cohen seems to place the blame for her self-destructive behavior on others, primarily her parents. While she acknowledges that the need lies within herself, she doesn't seem to take much personal responsibility for her actions.

More problematic for me is the fact that the ending kind of peters out. One day, she meets the right man, and that somehow magically breaks the hold that sex held on her. It's too simplistic, nearly a deus ex machina, and while she acknowledges that she still struggles with her problems, it seems too easy.

So I'm not sure what insight I gained. On the plus side, this was an easy read. I completed it in a little over a day.

Adopted for Life

I've mentioned this before, but adoption is a subject that's near and dear to my heart. So I was naturally interested to see what Russell D. Moore had to say in his book, Adopted for Life.

It's an interesting book. Moore argues that for the Christian, adoption should be a priority, either in opening our homes to children in need or by supporting those couples who do, either financially or spiritually. He bases his case on the numerous passages that call on God's people to care for the "fatherless" and the fact that, spiritually speaking, we are all adopted children in God's family. It's our common experience, and every adoption in the temporal world is a reflection of the greater reality of the Gospel.

I really appreciated what Moore had to say about adoption. He opens his home and his family, explaining the emotional process he went through when he and his wife adopted two boys from Russia. His is a story that anyone can appreciate and he gears his book not just for those who have adopted or hope to soon. He also wants his story to be read by those who know families built by adoption.

His book isn't all happiness and sunshine, though. He gets rather sharp in his words on certain subjects, such as people's attitudes toward transracial adoption or the ignorant and hurtful words that people sometimes have toward adoptees, such as the woman who asked him if his two boys were "really" brothers or not. There were times when Moore got a little repetitive and, I'll admit, I skimmed some of the last pages. But all in all, it was a good book.

Like I said, adoption is a subject that is near and dear to my heart because my wife and I are engaged in trying to build our family through adoption. As I've said before, we are home study approved and hoping to meet the right birthmother soon. If you know a woman who is considering adoption, please pass along our e-mail to her. We can be reached at johnorjill [at] live [dot] com (substituting the appropriate symbols for the words, of course).