Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The book was surprisingly good, though it certainly wasn’t what I thought it was. I don’t know why, perhaps the last major motion picture that was released, but for some reason I thought this book had an element of the supernatural to it. It certainly doesn’t. Its definitely a gothic romance. Thus, when I say surprisingly good, I mean that it surprised me that I liked it. This is clearly the kind of book that they would (and apparently actually did) assign in English class, both for the beautiful prose but the fact that the thing is chock full of all kinds of literary references and techniques. Setting reflects theme. Characters are dynamic and yet comprehensible. The plot moves forward at an interesting yet methodical pace. I could argue that Ms. Bronte’s work could be released today and would actually be competitive on the market. To be sure, certain elements might seem a little stereotypish today, but even then, they’d still be successful. Despite the antiquity of the language, I found it intellectually stimulating and, like all truly great books, it made me think and had a little bit of it linger with me long after I was done reading it. I highly recommend this book.

The Philosophy of Super Heroes

The Philosophy of super heroes was a very interesting book. It is a collection of articles that explore philosophy and how it affects or is affected by super heroes. I think that the articles that did their homework interested me the most. That is to say, that some of the authors had a cursory knowledge about what they might have seen in movies, but some of the others had done quite a bit of research into the deeper lore of what they were examining. The first third of the book is a lot easier to read than the latter.

The three most interesting articles for me was the exploration of why Spiderman does what he does, why Superman does what he does, and the religious overtones of Daredevil’s Catholocism. The author postulated that the reason Superman acted heroically was as a way of connecting with people. And this makes sense really. He is the last of his race. And, when you think about it, being surrounded by people that look exactly like your people, but who are fundamentally different and also fragile, could make you hesitant to establish any kind of connection with them. By taking a direct hand in the world, by connecting with people by making a positive difference in their lives you can become a part of the whole. The exploration of “With great power comes great responsibility” was a fascinating breakdown of what makes something ethical or not. I can see why Jennifer enjoys Kantian philosophy so much. It took me a while to get around to reading it, but I’m glad that I did. I highly recommend it.

Movie: Zombieland

It is quite fun. It is also quite gross at parts, but I think that this thing is a great deal of fun. It also shows how good ideas are kind of timely. A year ago, I was challenged to write a novel about Zombies. I realized that at the time there was a large void in the Zombie genre for protagonists that weren't morons. That was why I wrote Grenademan Vs. The Zombies. Before Zombieland, the main movies that did this were Army of Darkness (a classic but nearly 20 years old) and Shawn of the Dead (which was more of a parody.)

It is true that, like Shawn of the Dead, Zombieland has a bit of a comedic element, but despite that, Zombieland retains more of the true roots of the genre in my opinion. At no point do we really consider the scenario that they're in a joke. It certainly has humorous elements, particularly when they decide to spend some time at Bill Murray's mansion.

The heroes are human and flawed. And despite that, they don't behave like morons, which I greatly appreciate. They give an explanation about where the zombies came from, but it is shoved far into the background of the story where, quite frankly, it belongs. This isn't a story about the zombies, but instead the way it changes the people involved. It is a story of coming to terms with loneliness and the value that building societies can bring.

I greatly enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it. Not for small children though.

Dying Lights by Mark Argyle

I originally posted this review in 2003 on rpg.net I also fixed the spelling.

The basics: Dying Lights is a game that gives you everything that you'd want in a complex space board game like Twilight Imperium, but with half the complex rules and several highly innovative features that help game play rather than enhance it.

The Story: I am a bit odd when it comes to board games, card games and the like. The story in these games is just as important to me as it is in the RPG, which is to say-everything. And the story of Dying Lights does not let me down. The rule book devotes 1/6th of its space to telling the intriguing tale, and helps set the proper mood of the game.

Basically, a bunch of jedi-like psi monks go about mucking with things that they only think they understand in order to create a utopia. As one might expect, this goes horrifically wrong and they end up corrupting the Galaxy's collective unconscious as well as psychically activating all the inhabitants of the galaxy. The practical upshot of which is; the galaxy goes nuts and several cracks in the universe appear, bleeding out all the spiritual energy in the universe.

The inhabitants rapidly come to the conclusion that in order to survive, they have to kill everyone else because the remaining psi power leaves enough for only 1/10 of the people living.

Game play: The thing I like most about the game is the proverbial shot gun tied to the heads of the players. While it has LOADS of flexibility (which I like) it also forces the players to act.

There are three campaign rounds in each turn. At the end of each turn, you loose psi (1 the first, 2 the second, 3 the third etc). Each player starts with five, and while there are ways to get psi in the game (not as easy as it sounds), you can see right away that it forces you to take action.

The game takes place on terrain cards laid out in a somewhat similar fashion to Twilight Imperium, with another set of cards that represent 'Fleet trees' or as the game calls them "Battle Groups". You then move these around on the battle ground and combat ensues.

I won't include all the details of the combat, but it is relatively simple and straight forward, yet also manages to include elements such as tech upgrades, fighters and heavy weapons. An aspect of the game I really like are the 'experience' cards that allow the Admirals of each fleet to gain traits like 'heroic' or 'ruthless' that affect play. The game plays for 2-6 players and the basic set (which I got) seems to support all, although supposedly you can 'customize decks' by manipulating cards, though this is by no means a collectible card game. Everything you need is in the box.

In short, I liked it. It is a game that has a lot of potential and at the same time plays relatively quickly.

Ruled Britania by Harry Turtledove

A while ago I tried reading a series of books Mr. Turtledove wrote about aliens invading during WWII. It was, quite simply, boring beyond imagination, at least for me. So when a friend handed me a book called "Ruled Britania" by the same author I took it with a bit of trepidation, but I was wrong.

The book is excellent and flows quite well. The first 40-50 pages are somewhat slow, but once the action starts, it keeps up right until the end. The basic plot of the story is a 'what if' (for which Harry Turtledove has become known as the absolute master) in which the Spanish Armada wasn't defeated in 1588, and instead successfully invaded England. A rich english aristocrat, Elizabeth's former spy master, sets about commissioning Shakespeare to write a place called 'Boudicea' to inspire the people of England to revolution. Of course, at the same time, the governor of England commissions him to write a play about King Phillip the II, to commemorate Spain's dying King. Shakespeare has to do both at the same time in an otherwise extremely difficult situation.

The thing I found most fascinating was the fact that many of the minor characters (but not all) were quite real as well. Mr. Turtledove did a very good job of making them seem quite real. For example, the Spanish are somewhat brutal, but they are hardly mustache twirling Snidely Whiplashes. Added to this fact is Turtledove's use of Lope De Vega, a Spanish playwrite (and in this case soldier as well) for the Spanish perspective and you get a rich and deep plot.

I highly recommend it if you like historical fiction.

The Unincorporated Man by Dani Kollin & Eytan Kollin

I like the book though I don't necessarily agree with its politics. The basic premise of the book is a self made billionaire sees that the system is on the verge of collapse, has terminal lung cancer, so he makes a self contained cryogenic unit and buries it in a mountain where it lies for several centuries. What remains is a perfect libertarian paradise where the government magically works perfectly, there is no tax and the government can provide no service that is not also competed against in the free market. There is no war, little crime and plenty of food. Medicine has removed all sickness and people essentially live forever.

There is only one fly in the ointment. Anyone who is born automatically has themselves incorporated, with their parents getting 20% and the government getting 5%. Beyond that, almost everyone has to trade between 6-14% to receive an education from a university, which also owns a part of you until you pay it off or buy your stock back. Reaching a majority, and thus controlling your own destiny, is the goal of essentially everyone in this civilization.

Thus when our billionaire wakes up, the corp that finds him wants to lay claim to him and incorporate him. Through a bit of trickery, he manages to get free and thus a massive legal battle ensues wherein he is trying to keep his soul and not become incorporated.

The book does indeed feel Heinleinian, and I like Heinlein, though the background government sure isn't Starship Troopers that's for sure. The best part of the book is the struggle for individuality and the right to be free, despite blatant attempts by the authors to turn the non billionaires who like the idea into cartoon characters.

David Weber does the same thing in the Honor Harrington books, but does so with so much class that you don't mind. That, and the main bad guys AREN'T cartoon characters. Overall its a good read, but given how good this idea is and how ham fisted they were with their politics, I'm betting I won't be as entertained by their next book.

The Aphorisms of Kherishdar by M.C.A. Hogarth

Let me first of all say that I was given a free copy to review, and that M.C.A. Hogarth is a friend of a friend. Having said that I was reviewing this from a clear perspective, and if I didn't like it, I would simply not write a review on it. I did like it, and a lot of things about it as well.

What's the difference? Well, let me clarify. First, from a pure componented perspective, I liked numerous elements separate of the work as a whole. I like the fact that this story followed the patron model. The author wrote a series of stories, which about 50 paid for because they wanted to see more. Thus, without their interest and input, more would not have been made. I think that in the modern world of the internet, this is the ideal method rather than giving substantial amounts of money to middle men who take a cut and give nothing in return. There are those channels which are good, but there are many who are not. And I favor direct patronage as the highest model.

The second was the fact that this was social science fiction, but it wasn't just that, it was well done. Science fiction is always a method of looking back at ourselves through a prism that is simply not possible in the real world. I learned a lot by watching the Naked Mole rat in the zoo. What the hell? You ask.

Let me clarify. A common criticism in science fiction is that aliens are not sufficiently alien. They should be tentacled horrors rather than humanoid. And yet...did you know that Naked Mole rats have a hive structure? Yes, that's right. They aren't a herb, but have a queen just like certain kinds of insects. Thusly, I have come to find humanoid aliens potentially more plausible than something that would have to evolve an entirely different way of using technology than ourselves. I don't consider the latter impossible, just not as likely as a humanoid. And the aliens Hogarth presents in his story are in many ways like us. There is a distinctly asian feel to their culture, but they are not simply ancient Japan or ancient China with the serial numbers filed off.

No, I argue that the reason the culture feels this way is because it is obviously ancient. Let me give you an example of what I mean. If someone from the 15th century were somehow magically transported to the present day, they would be generally very rude by our standards. They would not do this intentionally, but dozens of elements of etiquette that we take for granted in our society are simply instilled in us by birth. As time progresses society has ways of working things out.

The thing I like so much about the Aphorisms is that it portrays what is obviously on the surface a very static society while at the same time answering any questions I had about how they manage to avoid ossification and thus ultimate destruction. It has a vibrancy beneath the surface that thus legitimizes its longevity.

In other words, Hogarth has created a society I can actually believe in, doing so in the actual format that an alien would write it no less. This feels not a book written by a 21rst century writer set in an alien world, it is written by a distant alien and translated into English.

But the best element of the book is the actual skill of the writing itself. Hogarth knows how to write and does so quite impressively. I highly recommend the book to hard core sci fi readers or those who are interested in philosophical musings in fictional form.