Star Trek Voyager— Still a Marvelous Journey

While exploring the science fiction archives of Netflix, I noticed Star Trek Voyager among the offerings. Not only did I watch most of those Star Trek episodes first run, I've seen the original series (TOS) and the next generation (TNG) many times since those now venerable shows went into syndicated re-run status. But I had not seen much of Voyager since it originally aired on the now defunct UPN network. I'm surprised at how well it has held up. That is the beauty of futuristic science fiction, isn't it? Since no one knows exactly what our world or even our galaxy will be like in a few hundred years, this late '90's version is still worthy.

Basically, the plot of this version of Star Trek is that a new Federation ship, Voyager, is thrown some 70,000 light-years away from known space, while chasing a band of rebels. Due to the destruction of the rebel's ship, as well as heavy casualties on Voyager, the crews combine, under the leadership of Captain Janeway, and set off for home. Star Trek Voyager combines many typical science fiction themes, but the underlying one is even older— the journey. Like Odysseus, the crew of Voyager meets new friends and enemies along the way.

When it was in production, critics complained about many aspects of the show, and some of those criticisms are still valid. Yes, the first female captain to command a weekly journey into space sometimes makes "silly" decisions. But Kate Mulgrew does a good job of portraying a new captain, on a new ship, in a situation that she is certainly not prepared for, shepherding her crew as they make their seven-year journey through the Delta Quadrant. The other characters were interesting, as well. For the most part, Voyager was blessed with extremely good acting and good special effects. The scripts are more uneven, but some of them are quite good. I think that, taken as a whole, Voyager is better than any other Star Trek series, apart from the original, which is set apart by its iconic status.

Voyager was not without its faults, however, and critics seemed to love pointing out the flaws. Yes, they should have run out of shuttle craft long before they built the Delta Flyer, because those little rascals kept blowing up. Maybe those fancy replicators which remain off-line except for emergencies were used to replicate shuttle craft. Running out of shuttles would probably constitute an emergency. And, despite what some critics have said, Captain Janeway does not threaten self-destruction in every episode. I know, because I have watched most of them in the past couple of months. She does have more than one episode where she bellows, "All hands, abandon ship." Still, a weekly series calls for at least one crisis a week, so all that drama is necessary to keep viewers entertained.

One of the more interesting ploys by the producers of Voyager was eliminating one female cast member (the character Kes) and introducing a "sexy" gal in a catsuit instead (Seven of Nine.) But, if a science fiction show can intelligently use sex appeal, then the evolution of Jerri Ryan's Borg sex symbol must qualify. As her character assimilates human characteristics, the writers were able to explore many aspects of humanity. And fiction has long served as a means of discussing human behavior without taking it on too directly. While this series stars an ensemble cast, Seven of Nine was a character with plenty of room for growth, and the writers did not disappoint. Apart from a few two-part episodes, each 45 minute story can stand alone, but there were many "story arcs" which allow greater character development (of villains as well as principals) and more complex plots. By the time the series ends, and I did not want it to end, each character is like an old friend.

For fans who discovered Star Trek via the big screen reboot of a couple of years ago, or for anyone who missed Voyager originally, this series offers great science fiction entertainment, without feeling dated. It is available on DVD and via online services such as Netflix. Viewers will be treated to action, adventure, and fascinating people.

A Galaxy Unknown, and some of its sequels

My iPad is a fun way to read books, and I like the Kindle app better than iBooks. In part, that is due to the wider selection of titles, but it is also the actual reading experience of the Kindle that I enjoy. After I read a few books by Amazon published author D. A. Boulter, I sought another science fiction author who is not published by a "big" publisher. I began a series by Thomas DePrima, which begins with A Galaxy Unknown. This book has many reviews on Amazon, and the sheer number of reviews, along with the description, led me to purchase it.

DePrima's novel is far from original, but that is not necessarily a criticism. There are only so many plot devices, and space operas have certain limitations. Actually, I liked the blend of action and description. Other reviewers seemed to find the dialogue more annoying than I did, but the author's insistence on using specific height when introducing his fairly large cast of characters is quite annoying. Other descriptors, such as eye color, hair color, skin tone, and whether or not the character likes "fries with that" would be welcome. I read four books in the series, and the author never stops using height as his favorite method of description. Far worse, the author insists on retelling the story every time the characters do. Without all the repetition, A Galaxy Unknown would probably be a tight 100,000 word read.

Still, the main character has her charms. Yes, the heroine is a bit like Honor Harrington, but even at the outset of David Weber's series, Honor is taking her first command, whereas Jenetta Carver is a lowly ensign when the first novel begins. Of course, Jenetta is not going to remain lowly for long, and the breakneck pace of this first story is refreshing, if one judges space opera by Weber's lengthy and increasingly action-starved yarns.

As I read the second, third, and fourth books in the series, I became less enchanted with DePrima's space opera. Jenetta Carver is a fabulous heroine; and her permanent youthful looks and ever changing DNA, along with plenty of villains to defeat, keep her from being boring. I desperately wanted to like the sequels, because I did enjoy the first entry in the series, but the second volume just has too many admirals heaping too much admiration upon her. Yes, I know one must suspend disbelief to enjoy a good space opera. I have no problem with that, but Jenetta is too apt to be worshiped by her superiors as by her subordinates. I can only stand a page or too of hero worship at a time, especially when it is by older guys who should be both arrogant and curmudgeonly. 

Even the introduction of more characters and settings in the third and fourth books, including more villains, does not give Jenetta and her sisters sufficient challenges to create suspense. One of the main reasons to read fiction is to watch the characters solve problems, and this is the core issue with this author's work. Jenetta is too perfect. The reader knows that Jenetta will win the battles via her brilliant strategy, crew and superiors alike will worship her, and she will get another promotion by the end of the novel.

Of course, I could have quit reading before the fourth installment. No one made me buy books two, three, and four. Unfortunately, I did like the first book enough that I kept hoping that the author would regain some of the freshness of A Galaxy Unknown. Alas, it never happened, and I wasted eighteen bucks on the sequels.

Readers of Pam's Pages should realize this is merely the opinion of a five-foot nine reader, teacher, and author. Based on the reviews on Amazon, there are readers anxiously awaiting book eight in the series. I am looking for another new writer.

Scardown, a review

Elizabeth Bear is a powerful writer, and her Jenny Casey trilogy is entertaining, if a bit complicated for pleasure reading. The first novel, Hammered, got my attention. I do wish I had read this mid-trilogy yarn earlier, because I had to review some of Hammered to get reoriented for Scardown. The politics and "who's who" backstory is not rehashed, for the most part, in this second novel, which is actually a good thing, since too much backstory slows down even a rapid paced techno-thriller such as this.

At times the narrative shifts from character to character, but when Jenny Casey is center-stage, this novel shines. I especially liked the scene where Jenny is faced with a would be assassin, and she manages to pluck a killer bullet out of the air. Unfortunately she can't really enjoy the feat, since she is wounded will soon be on the way to a hospital. Okay, Jenny isn't a superhero, but she has the right stuff to be heroic.

This futuristic vision is gritty and troubled, but throughout most of human history, the planet has had problem upon problem. Certainly, much of what is happening now, with politics and science, inspires readers to believe that Utopia won't happen, but the Canada vs. China for world and solar system domination which sets the stage for this trilogy just might.

Scardown is a worthy read for fans of hard science fiction, but the characters have enough dimension to reward those of us who like the human elements as well.

Elizabeth Bear has a website and a blog, and from a cursory reading of those, I learned that we have very little in common, other than a love of cats and speculative fiction.

Entertaining Science Fiction

Last weekend I should have been grading papers, but I was pleasantly interrupted by an eBook, Darrell Bain's Starship Down. When I buy eBooks, I usually wait for a sale, then I load up a group of them onto my elderly PDA. Often, I read such books when I have a few minutes, since it is so easy to carry a number of them in my purse. Sometime on Friday, I began this recent science fiction release, and from the dedication and opening Starship Down got my attention. Every time I started to put it down to work on something else, the combination of characters and an organic plot would draw me back to the story. By Sunday morning, I had finished, allowing me to return to more mundane reading. 

While this novel is not perfect, including some stereotyping and a bit of a deux ex machina ending, it is an entertaining read. My favorite science fiction yarns involve space travel, an element of suspense, exotic worlds and beings, and characters who must overcome the odds, and by so doing, become greater than they were when introduced during the exposition phase of the story. Romance is always welcome, if appropriate to the characters. Bain manages to hit all of the marks on my checklist, although his romance tends to be more physical than emotional. Just like a guy, huh?


Starship Down is available in print as well as electronic versions, and is a memorable tale by an author who is really quite prolific. I've also read the book he co-authored with Travis Taylor, Human by Choice, and I read one of the Pet Plague series, and all were enjoyable. Bain's works always make me think and smile, and that's a good combination.

Current/Future

What will the future hold for mankind? Building has stalled in our community, for the most part, but this would seem to be a temporary situation. As each generation comes of age and needs living space, land which was once farmland is lost for that purpose. At some point, terra firma must be preserved as a breadbasket.

If that is so, where will future folks live? The image above is one possibility. At some point, mankind will have to expand, and the moon is the closest piece of real estate in the solar system.

Grand Master Robert Heinlein was among the sci fi writers who speculated that the lunar landscape will one day be home to people. His novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, is among the best of his work. Written some fifty years ago, this novel is pure Heinlein, with plot, science, characterization, and politics intertwined. Mannie and his computer friend, Mike, an artificial intelligence which predates most such inventions, are both entertaining and realistic. Some science fiction writers are optimists, seeing the future as a time when mankind finally outgrows its faults, Others see darkness, when in an effort to make a better world, the human condition deteriorates. Heinlein wisely avoids either extreme, but he does not see humanity as remaining static, either. In fact, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is, at its core, a novel about revolution.

As a fan and as a writer, I see mankind inching forward, forever dragging the baggage associated with our beloved imperfections. Still, I do believe that man will continue to build, somewhere, somehow.

Breaking News—

I am interrupting my more or less weekly schedule of blog entries to share a link to another blog, at Sci Fi Dimensions. This is a wonderful source of news, reviews, and other matters relating to the genre. I love it, even if they were not interested in reviewing Trinity on Tylos (and they weren't.) I just read a bit of news about a television channel there, along with their take on it.

Here's the link—

http://www.scifidimensions.com/main/2009/03/16/the-syfy-channel-youre-kidding-right/

Big Books

I tend to shy away from big books— not big words, which I rather like, but big books. Since mom recommended Gone With the Wind, which I put off until the lazy days of summer after my eighth grade year, I have had a love/hate relationship with big books. As a youngster, I didn’t want to commit myself to the 1066 pages of GWTW, but once I got into it, I was glad that mom had insisted. Indeed, I wanted to read more fiction by Margaret Mitchell and was disappointed when I learned that she did not publish any other novels.

While I was in college, I read Herman Wouk’s War and Remembrance, which was so long that the publisher divided into it two volumes. That, along with The Winds of War, taught me more about WWII than all of my history classes combined and remains on my “keeper” shelf. Bigger books can contain more ideas and more entertainment, so I do sometimes tackle a big book.

Science fiction authors often write a series of novels set in the same universe, and publishers, in hopes of attracting new readers, will package those books together in an omnibus edition, which often means a really big book.

I mentioned one of my favorite omnibus editions, Cordelia’s Honor, in a couple of previous entries. This single volume contains the two early novels in Lois McMaster Bujold’s award winning Vorkosigan series, and is still in print. Very few writer’s have as much to offer as Bujold does— her characterization, her world building, and her prose combine into very satisfying books. Cordelia’s Honor is a great place to begin reading her work.

Another omnibus published by Bean books is The Planet Pirates. I read this one some years ago, because I have enjoyed books by Elizabeth Moon and Anne McCaffrey. Although I managed to get through the entire big book, this book suffers from too many cooks in the authorial kitchen. Oh, and the cover is especially ugly. Fans of the authors (and there are three) will enjoy it, however.

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have written numerous volumes together, and the omnibus edition of their Liaden trilogy, Partners in Necessity, goes together quite nicely. Putting their books into a pigeon hole isn’t easy. While set in another universe, this series is more about characters and their relationships with each other. I enjoyed this big book quite a lot, so I’ll call it science fiction romance, but that doesn’t quite describe it either.

Currently I am reading The Complete Ivory, which is an omnibus of a trilogy by Doris Egan. Thus far, it reminds me of Lee and Miller’s work— not a space opera, but a romantic comedy set in another universe. While not a “page turner” there is enough world building and sufficiently engaging characters to keep me making steady progress through these 896 pages.

What I've Been Reading

With my knee keeping me from some of my normal activities, I've had more time to read. Alas, I didn't go on a book-buying spree prior to my surgery, so I have been reading items which have languished in my "To Be Read" pile. None of these are new releases, and most of them are in the science fiction or romance genres.

The best of the bunch is apparently no longer in print, The Changeling Plague, by Syne Mitchell. I read this author's debut novel, and I was sufficiently impressed to pick up this one. The Changeling Plague grabs readers and holds their interest with a good plot and engaging characters. I do wish I had not let it languish so long. Rather than write a mini review of it, I will point readers to a good review in the webzine Sci Fi Dimensions.

Kris Longknife, Mutineer, begins a series, and it is a decent space opera, reminding me somewhat of the early works of David Weber. Only somewhat, however. Nowadays, Weber writes too long on topics which are dull, but he once wrote action packed, thrilling yarns. Until the climax, Mutineer was entertaining, but toward the end, I kept saying, "no way" so I can't give it high marks.

I've seen titles by Sharon Shinn listed as favorites by lovers of science fiction romance and fantasy. Without so much as reading the back cover blurb, I began Jeanna Starborn, and I was struck with the beauty of Shinn's prose, and the plodding nature of the plot. As I read, I kept thinking that it was a tale out of time, one which belonged to couple of centuries back rather than in the future. Then, as I was toting this rather lengthy tome with me to an appointment, I read that it is a retelling of Jane Eyre as a science fiction story. And it is, which explains why it seems so odd. I'm still working on it, along with many, many student papers, but I can see why this effort garners both good and bad reviews. If you want a fast-paced futuristic, this isn't it. The novel is well written, but I will have to try another novel by Shinn before I make up mind about her role in the ever growing pantheon of science fiction.

Hooked—

Novice writers are told at conferences, “you have to have a hook, and you have to hook your reader from the very first page.” That’s great advice, but hard to do every time. Yet, for readers to get interested in a book, when there is so much entertainment competition, the advice is sound.

When I was younger (much younger) there were fewer ways to waste spare time; still, good books tend to make lifelong readers. As a reader (rather than a video vegetable) I have been thinking about the books that got me hooked on reading, and that goes way back.

Mama was a reader, and she made great recommendations to me, even as a child. In addition to series books such as “Donna Parker” and “The Bobbsey Twins” I read all of the books in elementary school library which had anything to do with space. That included a few nonfiction offerings about the space program along with such titles as The Space Ship Under the Apple Tree. Later, Mama bought a few classics for young adults, such as Big Red and Heidi, and I insisted that we add a few space orientated titles such as Mike Mars Flies the X-15. For my teen years, entertainment often came via weekly trips to the public library, where I checked out romantic suspense yarns by Phyllis A. Whitney and Mary Stewart.

My interest in science fiction continued, and it was Mama who recommended Peter O’Donnell’s Modesty Blaise series, along with Sangster’s Katy Touchfeather books. While these “spy stories” were not hard science fiction, I suppose they were forerunners of technothrillers, and I loved them. Our local librarian would order up special requests, and she saw that I got to read Planet of the Apes, which was the most memorable science fiction yarn I read as a teen. During my early adult years I read Heinlein, and I count Friday as one of my favorite reads of all time. Other faves by the grand master include The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land, and I Will Fear No Evil. My SF reads in that timeframe included some Arthur C. Clarke and Ben Bova, but Heinlein remains my favorite classic SF writer.

Years later, after children, I realized how much I missed reading technothrillers and science fiction, so I quit reading the bestseller list and began seeking out space opera. David Weber, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Elizabeth Moon became my favorite authors, and the only problem was that they couldn’t write fast enough. Since I like a bit of romance in my fiction, I added Susan Grant, Catherine Asaro, and Anne McCaffrey to my favorite author list.

Reading is like other addictions, but a positive one. Readers acquire a larger vocabulary, have a greater ability to concentrate, and have the most of the tools to be better communicators. I read, therefore I think, therefore I can write and speak articulately.

Mama, thanks for hooking me on a good habit.

A Brief History of SF

One of my main interests, in reading and on screen, is the various sub-genres of Science Fiction. However, it is important to know the past, so my "very brief" history of science fiction is now a short video.

Enjoy!

Flunking

“....brainpower is the scarcest commodity and the only one of real value. Any human organization can be rendered useless, impotent, a danger to itself, by selectively removing its best minds while carefully leaving the stupid ones in place.” (Heinlein, Friday 37)

Working for the government has, in my experience, been both rewarding and frustrating. The public schools once attracted bright people, but that is no longer typical. One of my former student teachers was the valedictorian at her high school and became a wonderful teacher herself, but she was atypical as well. As the “old” teachers move on, there will be a dearth of talent in the classroom. The better teachers at my children’s school are in their 60’s and 70’s, and there are some talented ones who are a couple of decades behind. Among the younger ones, a great teacher is a rarity. A quick look at the average SAT’s for the college of education vs. the school of business at the University of Georgia will provide a quick confirmation of the lowering of intellectual standards in education.

Why are the better students shunning teaching careers? Many point to low salaries, but that is often not true. I just saw a full page ad for a local school system’s job fair, and the salary range was $37K to $80K, numbers that might not be attractive in some areas of the country, but those are not too bad in northeastern Georgia.

No, there are many forces that drive the better students away, and the number one deterrent may well be their experiences in high school. My own children have had a roller coaster ride, with fine teaching talent one class period, followed by a hack who is working harder on a graduate degree than teaching the next class period. (Additional degrees add some $7K here in Georgia, so there are plenty of doctors who don’t have any medical training.)

Modern classrooms are mine fields, with behavior and mentally challenged students sharing the same teachers and classrooms as regular ed students, due to government mandates. If you don’t believe me, just google “least restrictive environment” and read up on it. Some teachers refuse to administer tests, instead having students do “projects” which are casually awarded a grade based on an oral report. Essays are unread, leading to a big shock when the post-secondary instructor actually evaluates student work. One must postulate that the reason state and federal governments mandate tests is that teachers no longer use them. Smart students who have just endured four years of this treatment are not going to rush to gain teaching credentials.

Kurt Vonnegut wrote “Harrison Bergeron” as a not-so-subtle warning about government seeking to make everyone equal. In this story, intellectual equality equals stupidity. Mr. Vonnegut’s and Mr. Heinlein’s cautionary narratives certainly ring true when one contemplates the woes afflicting modern educational institutions.

Private schools and virtual schools may give concerned and better informed parents a way out of this morass, but many students will never understand what they missed by being born in an era when the public schools flunked.

Not Another Remake!

Recently, I have noticed that many television and films in the science fiction genre are retreads of previous offerings. I’m not just talking about Battlestar Galactica, Flash Gordon and even more Star Trek, which is going to be revived with a prequel film later this year. Actually, I am also talking about middle-of-the-road and blockbuster science fiction on the screen. Recent genre films included I am Legend, which is based on the 1954 horror novel by Richard Matheson, and Beowulf, which is very loosely based on an Anglo-Saxon epic. Later this month, Jumpers will debut in theaters. This film is based on a series of books for young adults which began in 1992, but the plot deals with teleportation, hardly a new science fiction concept. Further out, Universal pictures is remaking The Wolf Man, and Fox is remaking The Day the Earth Stood Still. Warner Brothers’ planned feature film version of Justice League, based on an animated television show, which in turn is based on fifty plus year old comic book heroes, has been delayed due to the writer’s strike. Not long ago, Entertainment Weekly published an article, Is science fiction out of ideas? Maybe.

As a long time genre fan, I have often asked why? Yet, as a teacher of middle and high school students, I do remember that teaching science fiction; a topic I seldom used in the classroom, did not endear me to many students. The excellent ezine, Sci Fi Dimensions ran a pair of commentaries on this topic a couple of years ago. The tone of “Kids and Sci Fi” is quite sarcastic, but the author’s points are well-taken. Students just don’t get science fiction themes, and young people are the future. If they don’t enjoy science fiction stories and films, the genre will die off. Kevin Ahern’s “Meekly Going Nowhere” is a more thoughtful discussion of the lack of new ideas in science fiction.

Yet, a look at the highest grossing films of the past couple of decades would indicate that science fiction is healthy enough on the big screen. Video games often use this genre for settings and plot. Unfortunately, many of those are also retro in theme, and again, there is a dearth of new ideas.

Editors and publishers must look for new and entertaining ideas in the manuscripts which come to them. Serious science fiction has long suffered from a focus on dystopia, which is just not particularly entertaining. Some of the mid-sized publishers such as Baen Books are doing a better job of finding action/adventure genre stories, but Baen loves the “series” writer, and the problem with those is that the same characters and themes naturally repeat.

As I have stated previously, I do think some of the small publishers have picked up some of the more entertaining manuscripts lately. Tigra and The Key were both printed by small publishers, and either of these would make a fabulous film, without resorting to a remake of anything. Now if Hollywood would just take a look at Pam’s Pages, I could steer them away from yet another remake.

An Action Packed Page Turner

Best wishes for a wonderful New Year!


The stats indicate that Christmas shoppers tend to buy just about as much for themselves as for their giftees. I don't usually do that; but after the wrapping paper is in the trashbags and the kids go upstairs to play with all the stuff they got under the tree, I do shop for me. Often, I do it online, and this year was no different. I visited the sales at LL Bean and Land's End, and I took advantage of the end of year sale at Fictionwise. While cruising through bestsellers in Science Fiction, I came upon a real gem by Pauline Baird Jones, entitled The Key.

Fighter pilot Sara Donovan crashes on a mysterious planet and is rescued by an alien who is seriously hot. The Key is not hard science fiction, nor is it a sensuous romance, but that is a plus for me. Instead, it is action-packed, often funny, and blessed with enough suspense and engaging characters to keep readers turning the pages. I enjoyed it quite a great deal, and I believe my teenaged son would also enjoy it, due to the frequent "kick their trash" battle scenes. There are a few lapses in logic, but that is all part of the fun in space opera, so if you are willing to suspend your disbelief, Jones' saga is worth your time.

By far, this is the best space opera I've read since Tigra, which was my favorite entry in the genre in 2007. I read this as an eBook, but it is also available in trade paperback from Amazon. This novel further cements my belief that the most entertaining stories are not being put forth by the "big guys" in publishing.

The Amazon.com price for the trade paperback is $14.93, considerably less than a book would be with my current publisher, WCP, so kudos to L&L Dreamspell, a new publisher, which printed this wonderful read at a reasonable, if not cheap, price. I recommend this book for an entertaining way to stay inside out, of the cold.

Gloom and Doom

Once, at an English conference, I saw a session devoted to favorite science fiction authors and themes and gladly joined it, thinking I might enjoy a session beyond the best way to teach writing. It was led by a college professor, who promptly began a discussion about how SF sounds the warning bells for what is wrong with society. Most of the participants seemed to be current or former students of this prof, and they all brought up books and stories with dystopia as the theme— such as Brave New World or 1984. I sat there, thinking that is not the only vision of the future. I brought up space operas such as Star Trek and Star Wars, which postulate that mankind will conquer space just as he has conquered other obstacles, and learn by so doing, and they scoffed. Oh, not out loud, but you could see it in their eyes. The only possible future postulated by serious minds is bleak indeed.

Yesterday, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal online which postulates that the world is becoming a better place. I tend to agree with that assertion. There will be problems, some serious, some not so serious, as long as humans exist. However, the world is still a beautiful gift, and people can help each other, and some will even profit by so doing.

My family would never call me an optimist, but as I grow older, I see many reasons to be optimistic about the future of humanity.

Separating the Sheep and the Goats

The Judeo-Christian parable of “the sheep and the goats” pictures the final judgment in which sheep have followed the shepherd, so they will inherit eternal life, but the goats are rebels and will be cast into the lake of fire. In the real world, sheep graze on the grass growing on the ground, predictably, but those pesky goats will browse all over, eating whatever. Sheep tails dangle down; goat tails rise up. Perhaps the greatest difference is in behavior; however, the sheep flock together, but the goats are independent.

Sometimes I think writers are either sheep or goats. This may be especially true for genre writers, like science fiction and fantasy. Those who belong to the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) are among the sheep. For any of you who don’t know, there is a rather short list of accepted publishers, and “real” SF writers must flock to those. Using another publisher or another method to get a book out (such as ePublishing or small presses) makes the author a goat. Romance writers have similar issues with the RWA, but I know more about SF/F, so I’ll stick with that.

When I visited LibertyCon in 2006, I realized I’m a goat— big time. I’d been told to be there at six on Friday evening, when all of the con guests would be introduced, followed by a mass book-signing. Those guests who had been invited got seats at the head table and a formal introduction. The rest of us, fledging authors who asked to attend, formed the audience, and we merely got to stand and wave from our seats as our names were announced. After that, the con staff set up the room for the book signing. Again, the sheep were at the head table, but the goats were parked at the side of the room. The program director told us that he did that, rather than seat us at the back of the room, to give us a chance to snag an occasional autograph seeker. I was a bit surprised when one gal assigned to the goat section grabbed her preprinted name and taped it on the end of the sheep table. In fairness to her, she had co-authored a book with a prominent sheep, but apparently the con staff had never heard of her. Her behavior throughout the con was no doubt designed to make everyone aware that she was “somebody.” I didn’t attend this year, but I’ll bet the staff now knows she’s a member of the flock.

At LibertyCon, the panels were set by the staff, but guests, even goat-guests, had input into discussion panel assignments, and I was lucky there. I was seated beside a sheep on the first panel; he couldn’t have been nicer. He asked about my book and encouraged me to tell the audience how I managed to get a contract, which was the overall topic. Another panel was strictly goat territory: self-publishing pros and cons (no pun intended) so my co-panelist and I managed to conduct an informative panel, even though we’d never met prior to that event. You gotta stand on your own feet to be a goat.

Don’t misunderstand me. Being a goat isn’t all bad. Sometimes good sheep are stranded as their shepherd-publishers go looking for the next big thing, and being sheep, these authors won’t or can’t seek out a publishing alternative beyond the sheepfold. That’s sad, because many worthy stories are out there, waiting to be told. In my own reading and book buying, I embrace the works of small publishers and ebook publishers because some of the goat stories are fresh and more interesting than the same old stuff from the flock.

Playing God

I don’t know why, but some folks seem to be fascinated by the idea that a human can play God, or be mistaken for some deity or other. Recently, I reread one such book, Accidental Goddess by Linnea Sinclair. This science fiction romance was originally published by the now defunct LTD books using the pen name, Megan Sybil Baker, but it has been re-released in mass market paperback by Bantam. The story begins in a traditional science fiction manner, using the time travel theme. Readers will enjoy her winning characterizations and sufficient intrigue to keep the pages turning. Fans of fantasy will really enjoy the last half of the book, as Gillie has to reveal her powers, layer by layer, to save the Fifth Fleet, her new found love, and be true to her mission and herself. This novel has much to like, including an examination of what folks worship and why. Since the deity involved isn’t really a deity at all, it is just an accident in time and space, this exploration of humanity’s need for a god-figure shouldn’t offend anyone. Instead, it added a thoughtful aspect to a book which might otherwise be just another romantic comedy.

Author P.C. Cast takes a similar premise, but puts a classical spin on it in her debut novel, Goddess by Mistake. I understand that she rewrote this yarn for mass market publication, including a new title, but I read it in the original small press edition. Cast, an English teacher by trade, now has several books out with one of the larger publishers. I also read her novel, Goddess of the Sea, but I enjoyed the quirky and often quite humorous small press book more. For some readers, saying a book different isn’t a compliment, but for me it is, and Goddess by Mistake is quite different. As an English teacher who’d like to have a publishing career, I see Cast as having accomplished the goals I once set before myself, so bravo Ms. Cast!

Sarah Zettel is writing fantasy romance for the Luna line of books these days, no doubt due to a desire to get paid more for her writing, but her she began her career producing harder sci fi. Indeed, her third novel, Playing God, is infused with strong writing, terrific world-building, complex characterizations, and unique aliens. Zettel has a technical writing background, which lends authenticity to her science fiction. Her sophomore novel, Fool’s War, also examines religious concepts, and I liked it more than Playing God. The main premise of Fool’s War has more to do with Artificial Intelligence than being deified, but Zettel is a remarkable writer who makes me think, and I enjoy that.

Some video games are called “God Games” since the player gets to control just about everything. My hubby is inordinately fond of such games. His all time favorite is "Civilization." I am not sure what he does while playing it, but the game seems addictive. Daughter prefers to rule the lives of some artificial people known as the “Sims,” but being all powerful can keep her entertained for hours on end.

Of course, being a deity has been played for laughs on the big screen more than once. Remember George Burns in “Oh, God”? More recently, my children and I also enjoyed “Bruce Almighty” wherein one of the downsides of being deified is having to either grant or not grant all those prayer requests. I really can’t imagine having all that pouring in, which is why I never want to play God.

Reading about it is rather fun and sometimes even thought provoking, however....

Ready any bad books lately?

Over on the SRReader discussion board, someone posted a topic, “The Worst Book You Ever Read” which was interesting to me in a couple of ways. I could write on the worst book I began but was unable to finish, and there is an ever-growing pile of those. As I get older, I am simply less tolerant. Oh, it's selfish, I know, but I have a finite number of years on this planet, and I don’t want to spend many of my precious minutes reading something I don’t like. If I am being paid, such as reading the essays my students write, that’s one thing. But when I am reading for fun, I often set books aside before I finish and look for something that I find more entertaining. However, I have read a few bad books, in their entirety, for various reasons.

The worst book I actually read from cover to cover was Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, a novel required in my freshman English class in undergraduate school. At least I remember it as the worst. Some thirty-three years have passed since I read it; therefore, Joyce’s novel may not have been as bad as I remember, but I still tout it as a fantastic cure for insomnia. I do remember going to sleep almost every time I read a significant portion of that stream-of-consciousness experiment.

Recently, I read one of E. E. “Doc” Smith's classic space operas, which have been rereleased as eBooks, just as a research item. I chose Triplanetary, and it ranks high on the list of worst books that I actually read. One interesting aspect of this yarn was the love story. Our hero, his girl, and his superior officer have been captured and the young lady has been separated from the men. Our hero, Conway Costigan, fears for his lady’s well-being. The dialogue is a bit melodramatic: “We’ll do something,” Costigan declared grimly. “If he makes a pass at her I’ll get him if I have to blow this whole sphere out of space, with us in it!” Nowadays, I think he’d have more to worry about than the villain merely “making a pass” at his lady-friend.

His prose is also dated. For instance, Einstein proposed calling the medium through which light travels in the vacuum of space “ether,” and Smith embraces this term, using it over seventy times. Smith’s climactic space battle scene is filled with lines like this: "Crimson opacity struggled sullenly against violet curtain of annihilation." About a third of this scene was written in passive voice as well.

Still, Triplanetary was an interesting look back at what was SF entertainment in 1934. Obviously, the genre has come a long way from these tales from a by-gone era.

The Best of Pam’s Pages— Book Reviews

Last week’s post, an impromptu plug for a book I enjoyed quite a lot, prompted a comment from “Elizabeth” who is, I believe, the managing editor of Zumaya, which published the title Tigra, which was the subject of last week’s post. If you look back at last week’s post, in the comments, she thanked me for my review, which is too kind.

In fact, I hesitate to call my efforts here reviews, although some entries come closer than others. I have written reviews for three different internet sites, and I really enjoyed it, but I am not seeking reviewer status right now. On a SF message board which I read and sometimes post messages, one writer commented that the review is usually more of a reflection of the tastes of the reviewer than of the book, and while I like to think of myself as objective, the comment rings true. So, any comments I have made regarding books do reflect my tastes. That said, here are some links to past posts for books which I find worthy of keeper status:

•Linnea Sinclair’s Finders Keepers, a space opera with a romantic side, and the first title I read by this eBook author. My favorite is An Accidental Goddess.

•Quick takes, Catherine Asaro’s Skyfall and Neal Boortz’s Fair Tax Book are books which have no relation to each other apart from when I read them.

•Paranormal adventure awaits, Warprize and Tiger Eye.

•The superb Lois McMaster Bujold's debut novel, Shards of Honor.

•More short takes in romantic SF, which is one of my favorite genres.

All of these posts still point out some good reading, so do have a look at books I've enjoyed, and revisit some of my favorite posts on Pam's Pages.

Star Wars at 30

Yep, on May 25th, the movie that finally made it cool to love science fiction was released. At that time there was little fanfare, because no one in the industry had a clue what was about to happen. I didn’t see it until a few weeks after the release, in the middle of summer, having read an article about this movie which was sweeping the nation. Fortunately for me, I was dating a guy who was a rabid fantasy fan, and he liked science fiction well enough. We saw it in Athens, Georgia, our most frequent date spot, and rode home in his mom’s metallic green Buick Skylark. What a seventies ride!

The movie itself is very much a product of the seventies, despite the “timeless” labels that fans foist upon it. However, for a generation whose parents laughed at the ridiculous stories set in outer space and who had fought for a chance to see Star Trek on Friday night, the lovingly produced Star Wars was an affirmation that these stories could appeal to a mass audience. Lucas and his crew believed they were filming something which would at best be a cult classic, but instead they made a movie which would change the film industry.

I’ve been doing a bit of research for my panel at SFSC, and in so doing, I contrasted the list of all-time box office champs based on actual dollars earned with a list adjusted for inflation. Either way, Star Wars ends up in second place. However, the “actual income” list is dominated by special effects science fiction blockbusters, even when they aren’t called sci-fi. Indeed, the so called prequels, Episodes I and III are also on this list, along with ET and the first two Spiderman movies. Modern movie fans love the films that Star Wars spawned, and that is clear when you look at what is popular now, verses what films made a big splash prior to it.

There were comparatively few special effects in the original Star Wars, due to budget constraints, but it was clearly a space opera, and the movie lovingly embraced the themes and plot devices of bygone eras. Margaret Mead dismissed it as, “just another western” and it may have been, but it was a western dressed up with space ships, blasters, and comic androids, along with the most menacing villain that anyone had seen in quite a while. The opening sequence dispelled any notion that Star Wars was like science fiction films of the past.

Thirty years have gone by, and some people don’t understand why this film was so important. But a look back at the cheesy science fiction like “Lost in Space” or a look ahead at the current box office champ list yields an answer for even the sternest critic. Star Wars made science fiction a genre for everyman, and that’s only one reason that I love it.

Year Three

Have you noticed that people either go through life looking through the windshield, i.e. looking forward, or in the rear-view mirror, i.e. looking backward? One of my close relatives seems to have her eyes fixed upon that rear view, evidenced by her constantly talking about people I haven’t seen or heard from in thirty years. I find that somewhat irritating, so let me say that I won’t be looking backward at my blog. For that, just see the archives.

Looking forward, I know that I’ll be a guest at Sci Fi Summer Con, and that Chris Barber will be joining me for a promising panel topic, “How to Torment Your Characters” which should be entertaining for the audience and for us. I’ve been told that Living Jackson magazine has placed Trinity on Tylos on their book review calendar for later this year, and I hope that spurs some sales for local vendors who stock it.

I’m hoping that my career as adjunct instructor of English will continue, since I am enjoying that. One goal for 2007 is to brush up another manuscript or two and send out some queries. Sales of my current offerings have been slow, so I don’t feel much pressure to get something “out there.” My publisher has only a two year contract on Trinity on Tylos, so that book may be out of print by next February.

Our children are growing up, which will mean some changes in our household, including more financial pressures, which is another good reason to put publishing on the back burner and give more lucrative projects my attention for the next few months (or years.)

As for those of you who read Pam’s Pages from time to time, I appreciate your interest, and I do intend to keep posting on a regular basis. Due to these shifting priorites, the topics will probably venture beyond publishing with more frequency, but I am always reading books and trying to keep up with the publishing industry, so I won’t be abandoning either of those entirely. Science fiction is still one of my favorite genres in print or on the screen, so expect comments on that as well.

What you won’t read are more personal topics which might either bore or offend certain readers. One of my friends says I need to create an anonymous online persona for that, and I am quite intrigued with that idea. Just who will I become when I decide to start that more controversial, “tell all” exposé blogging experience?