Category Archives: novel

A Wish Come True.

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As you may already know, when I found Babylon 5 I also found its creator J. Michael Straczynski.

I did get to meet him almost 10 years ago at Phoenix Comicon, at the 20th anniversary celebration for Babylon 5 (B5), where I attended the “Promise Panel”, where he told, for the first time in public, the background story of Michael O’Hare who played the lead, Commander Sinclair, in the first season, and his struggle with mental illness.

If you don’t know the story, and want to, just go on Youtube and search “straczynski promise panel”. Please be aware that this contains spoilers for the B5 series if you have not seen it.

Having followed him for quite a while, I know a bit about his writing career.

He has worked as a journalist, writing for much else:

  • animated TV, like The Real Ghostbusters long ago
  • Live TV, like Jeremiah and, of course his epic science fiction series Babylon 5. There is a new secret Babylon 5 related project, not known in which format, but it has been made and should  be presented at the San Diego Comicon next year. Then there is the possibility of a reboot series of Babylon 5, not a remake but a re-imagining. This could be very interesting if it is given the green light. Then there is the Neflix series Sense8 that he co-wrote with the Wachowskis
  • Comic books like Superman Earth One, Spiderman, and some originals of his own
  • Film, like the Clint Eastwood directed Changeling, a historical drama
  • Novels, both genre and more general
  • He also wrote an autobiography

I have had the wish to meet Straczynski in Europe after he was involved in Sense8, so I did not have to go to the US to do it.

I, and others, have suggested to invite him to Fedcon in Bonn, but for some reason unknown to me, it did not happen.

Today I saw an announcement from the Danish book fair (Bogforum) that they are going to have Straczynski as a guest at this year’s fair in Copenhagen in November this year. I also saw the announcement by Straczynski himself on his Twitter feed.

Now my wish comes true. Straczynski visiting, not just Europe, but within 20 minutes drive from my home.

I am excited.

A Little July Activity.

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This is summer time, so not too much indoor scifi activity.

I got to watch a single film in the Harry Potter franchise:

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. This film is not bad, but it does not quite measure up to the “original” films from the books..

I started re-reading (well listening to the audio book version) another book in the Anne McCaffrey’s “Dragonriders of Pern” series:

The Skies of Pern. I did not quite get to finish it, as this is done near bed time, and sometimes the evening activities stretched a bit longer than planned. But that is fine, it is a good finalization of the main story. There are several more books in the series, and I want to do at least a few of them after finishing this one.

Activity July 2021.

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There has been limited activity on the scifi realm this month, well it is summer time, and outdoor activities have taken precedence, but this bit was done:

July:
Read:
J.M. Straczynski: Together We Will Go.

Not a genre book, but very well written and very unusual. tears, laughter, a mystery and very complex characters make this an excellent read. 9/10.

Film:
Theory of Everything (about the life of Stephen Hawking). 8/10

TV:
Superman & Lois:
S01 continued.

Modest, but a bit more will happen in the fall/autumn.

The Expanse TV Series

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A few years ago I started watching The Expanse on Netflix, then it was moved to Amazon. Unfortunately Amazon (Prime/Video) was not available in Denmark at that time, so I only got to watch a bit of the series.

Now I do have access to Amazon Prime, so it is time to revisit The Expanse.

Because I had forgotten large parts of the story, I started all over again. That is a good move, I think, because even if I recall some stuff, I can enjoy what I (re-)discover in the series.

Another reason is that at the latest Fedcon in 2019 we had a string of star guests from The expanse, whetting the appetite for the series when it became available.

Many have compared The Expanse to my favourite story on TV, Babylon 5, so I am looking forward to diving deeper into the story. It just might have the same re-watchability.

Until now I have watched seasons 1 to 5, and I am enjoying it very much. Excellent story telling and beautiful visuals.

A final season 6 has been announced, here is to hoping that it will be up to expectations.

Long time no see

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It has been a while since I last had an entry here, things have been a bit hectic.

I became a supporting membert of the Anticipation Worldcon 2009, and with that came the right to vote on the Hugo Awards.

So for a month I was – among other things – busy reading 4 of the nominated novels, listening to the short stories, and a few other things.

Also, I have been more active building some radio equipment, and have had a successful attempt of receiving the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

I went to see the new Star Trek movie with a friend in Denmark, and finally I have been active learning more Tai Chi and Qigong.

Some of those activities will result in some new entries in the near future. Right now I am taking it a bit easy – and watching the new “Torchwood” series : “Children of Earth”. The first episode looks very promising, so let us hope that carries through the whole story.

To read or not to read …

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That is the question.

Since the job requires a lot of reading, mainly technical, I have been reading less than I did when I was growing up. At thet time I was considered a “book worm” – eating stories by the page …. most of it science fiction. The first major fantasy work I read was the classic “Lord of the Rings” (no introduction necessary).

After moving to The Netherlands and having my present job I got to read less, but found more science fiction on video/TV, in the beginning Star Trek TNG, later much more.

I did read the occasional Star Trek and Star Wars book, but not much more, and sometimes had a series of books.

The first series I “discovered” was Raymond E. Feist’s “Riftwar Saga” which I loved. After one or two more sequel series the interest waned, and I have not read the later ones.

About 5 years ago a friend in Denmark introduced me to Anne McCaffrey’s writing. As a birthday present I received “Dragonflight”, “Dragonquest” of the “Dragonriders of Pern” series and the first of the “Acorna” series. Out of those I like the “Pern” series the best, but the other one is not bad at all. This lead to another bout of reading for me, then another hiatus.

In between all this came the “Harry Potter” series and I found that it appeals to the child in me as well as the more grown-up.

About a year ago I was talking to a friend I had not seen for a while. When I mentioned the blog and he heard the keyword “science fiction” he interrupted me and asked “You interested in books ?” well – yes, a few days later he arrived with 5 shopping bags full of books in the scifi and fantasy genre. I ended up with about 70 new titles – a considerable increase of my sf/fantasy book collection, some of which I may never get to read.

It looks like I am going to take a bit more time to do some reading, probably some short stories and an occasional novel. (Remember what I said the other day – time is a limited resource). Actually I have started this, having read a few novels lately. Some of the podcasts I am listening to are scifi/fantasy stories/plays, so I do get some fiction “reading” done. Listening to a podcast while walking to and from work sure beats trying to read a book in the traffic 😉 .

Jekyll – a BBC TV miniseries

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The miniseries – written by Steven Moffat is a modern day story based on the famous classic story “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. Jekyll is not really an adaptation, but a rather a present day continuation of the classic story.

The brilliant research scientist Dr. Jackman, wonderfully played by James Nesbitt, has the experience of blackouts in his life, where an alternative personality totally take control, as well as some visible physiological changes take place. The resulting Mr Hyde is (not unexpectedly) a darker, more violent personality.

The story is very well told, with some rather unexpected twists and turns, the least surprising element being that the original “Jekyll/Hyde” story is not fictional at all, and the assumed to be fictional Dr. Jekyll was a historical person, and Dr. Jackman, abandoned by his mother as an infant, is a descendant of the original Dr Jekyll – well – really of Mr Hyde, since Dr Jekyll had no (official) descendants. Even the old photos of Dr Jekyll show a stunning resemblance with Dr Jackman.

The story features an unknown organisation, claiming to have waited for more than 100 years to find and “cultivate” a “Mr. Hyde”. Also we get a revelation of what really caused Mr. Hyde to appear.

At the end of the story, when we should think the story is over, there is a wonderful revelation showing that the story never really ends.

Moffat writes a wonderfully dark story – without being totally overtaken by the darkness, this is first class drama.

This is classic style science fiction – a good continuation of the classic story. A story that has entered into our cultural heritage, these days essentially everyone knows the reference to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – it has entered as a phrase in English and many other languages.

Eastercon/Orbital2008

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Recently I registered for the Eastercon/Orbital2008 in London (Heathrow) .

I have been reading Neil Gaiman’s “Stardust”, since he is one of the guestes of honour at the con.
I like the story. For the signing I intend to bring the script book for the Babylon 5 episode “Day of the Dead” that he wrote.

In the pile of books I got just before Christmas I found China Miéville’s “Perdido Street Station”, since he is another guest of honour at the con. I have got through the first couple of chapters, but have not yet been caught up in the story. I have decided to work my way through the first part, and then decide if I want to continue. …. I know – I try not to judge a book by its first chapter , but I am afraid it is not really my type of story. The initial chapters are a little too much Dystopian for me.

The Golden Compass

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After a pause the posts begin again. Time has been a bit crazy, both at work and at home.

Yesterday I went to see “The Golden Compass” at the movies.

The movie is based on the first novel in Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy “Northern Lights” – also known as “The Golden Compass”, a fantasy adventure story.

The orphan girl Lyra , played by Dakota Blue Richards , sets out to save a friend kidnapped by the Gobblers, something that happens frequently, the children never returning.

Since I have not (yet) read the novels, I can not compare the movie with that, this may come later. After all a movie is never the same as the book it may have been made from.

I liked the movie , found the story captivating. The spiritual (some may say religious) aspects of the film were well treated and came through with a good balance. just that you know – I distinguish between (organized) religion (dogmatic beliefs in texts) – and spirituality (wisdom coming from within – the soul ?)

From the creepy Christopher Lee – and Nicole Kidman for that matter, to the support characters it is well played, including the very young Dakota Blue Richards. Special effects are made to tell the story, not effects for the sake of effects, making the film a pleasure to watch.

The universe Pullman has created is rather different from ours – yet has so much in common.

Very recommended for young and old alike.

“The Demolished Man” by Alfred Bester

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Back online after a few days (travel and a visit to a friend)

On a long trip by car I listened to Alfred Bester’s novel “The Demolished Man”.

The story depicts a society where the police has telepathic detectives (“esper”s) solving crimes – or even act to prevent crimes.

The “Esper’s Guild” divides telepaths into firsts , seconds and thirds according to the strength of the telepaths.

Ben Reich, who is very critical of the Esper’s Guild, decides to eliminate a financial competitor and attempts to escape the telepathic detectives by hiring another telepath to block his thoughts.
After many twists and turns the prosecutor (a computer) dismisses tha case because of insufficient evidence.
In the end he is, after all punished by the Esper’s Guild (in spite of the aquittal) , and has his mind wiped and reprogrammed – a process called “Demolition”

The story has some nice twists and turns , and a surprising “inner journey” which I like.

The story was published in 1953 and exhibits some of the predudices opf the time, eg relating to women’s “place” in society , but if you can see through that´, the story works on its own premise , though seems a bit dated in our day and age. Also – Venus is depicted as a habitable world , something which is now known to be incorrect.

In any case I enjoyed the story, notwithstanding those weaknesses

Also – in the Series “Babylon 5” JMS (J.M. Straczynski) pays hommage to the story by naming his villain telepath (“Psi-Cop”) Alfred Bester.

I would rate the story 7/10.

Wikipedia entry for “The Demolished Man”