An Obtrusive Reader

Almost Perfect

2009-04-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

W. E. Pete Peterson has written an account of his time at WordPerfect Corporation, called Almost Perfect.

Apparently it was first published in 1994, but he has now released it free on the web.

The prose itself is simple - it feels like a student's writing. The story itself, however, is incredibly engaging. Because Mr. Peterson began at WordPerfect with no knowledge of computers, we learn as he learns, and you finish the book feeling like you know a lot about how the business worked.

Beyond that, the book is a very good read for anyone going into business for themselves or with a young startup company. Their inadvertent success is a lesson for the rest of us - especially anyone looking at a very young field.

I advise clicking over to Almost Perfect and giving it a read.

Interview With Chris Poirier

2009-03-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to interview Chris last week.

For those of you who do not know him, Chris is the author of Winter Rain, and the founder of the community cornerstone, Web Fiction Guide.

We talked about the origins of Winter Rain and WFG, choices as a web fiction author, and the upcoming WFG overhaul.

Here it is.

Web Fiction: Winter Rain

2009-03-03T17:09:00.000-08:00

Serial web fiction: Winter Rain.

As far as I'm concerned, Chris's choice of update length was golden. There is not a cliffhanger every chapter, there's a cliffhanger nearly every update (with roughly 10 updates per chapter).

The first few posts are amateurish and blocky, but the prose smooths out surprisingly quickly. Before the end of the first chapter, I stopped noticing any awkward construction, and by the end of the second, the prose becomes very smooth and very good.

The story is based on the Irish legends of wolves who are also men. This makes it a werewolf story - though it is devoid of most of the typical werewolf fare: full moons, silver bullets, monstrous wolf-men, etc.

Probably the most notable theme is the protagonist's anger issues. Tiergan's persistent anger is evident from very early, and the process is very well described. I say "process" because he is not an angry person - he does not walk around angry, rather, he becomes overwhelmed by emotion.

Whether or not that makes any sense, trust me that Chris writes Tiergan well, and the characterization and plotting more than make up for any early awkward prose.

In short, Winter Rain is recommended and engaging.

Interview With Gryfft

2009-03-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

Robert Gryfft is the author of Thomas Bleakly, P. I. and a contributor to (and co-founder of) Air Theremin.

I mined his brain about writing, blogging, and the future of web fiction.

Here's the interview.

Oh, and I promise that Gryfft isn't interrupting me - we had some definite lag going on.

Josh and Imp: Starting in the Middle

2009-02-07T09:05:00.001-08:00

Diana Nock has a short graphic work called Josh & Imp over at Jinxville.

It's a nice, surprisingly realistic slice of life from a superhero world. One of the best attributes of this graphic story is the framing. Nock avoided too much exposition by starting in the middle. This episode could easily be a slice from a novel-length work, but it is stronger alone than it would be as part of a larger work.

When authors trust their audience to have a certain level of intelligence, we all get a better paced story without dull exposition. We as people are accustomed to building background in our heads - how many times have you seen a movie from about 20 minutes in, but still understood the entire story line? Those first 20 minutes are often unnecessary, and Josh & Imp leaves them out to good effect.

Review: Mind and Body

2009-01-31T09:11:00.000-08:00

Mind + Body, by Aaron Dunlap is a fast-paced scroller.

I'm currently reading a novel, some webfiction, and lots of nonfiction, but I tore through this novel. It's 400+ pages in PDF, but it sure didn't feel that long. It's a simple mystery/action plot - a high school senior tracking down all the weird shit that happens to him after his Marine Corps father dies.

At first it felt similar to Doctorow's Little Brother - the teenager thrust into a conspiracy too large for him to see its end, a fairly straight-forward love interest, etc. The more I read, however, the less alike they felt. Mind + Body is definitely has less to say, making it simultaneously shallower and less preachy. Mind + Body is not afraid of its simplicity - the work is less punctuated by action and fights than it is driven by them. And it works.

Unfortunately the final product reads like a draft. There are a solid handful of sentences that just aren't finished. They require 1-5 words to finish the thought, but they're just MIA. Our first person narrator definitely feels his age (though articulate), which is a plus (he says things like "the internet told me"). In the first third of the book phrases are often jarring. I'm not certain if I got used to the character or if Dunlap got used to him.

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping, surprisingly real novel. It should be picked up by a publisher and marketed as a YA novel - it's good enough.

Extortion

2009-01-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

Florida does not allow the use of red-light cameras to enforce traffic violations. In order to use them, cities have to pass a city ordinance (that we all pretend makes running a red light something other than a traffic violation). On top of that, the DOT does not allow red light cameras to be mounted on their equipment or structures (i.e. many traffic light posts), so the city also has to erect a separate pole for the cameras.

To add to that, they price the tickets at just below what it will cost you to hire a lawyer, and if you take it to court and lose they charge you extra money. Essentially they are saying "If you just give us the money, it will be easy and we'll leave you alone. Otherwise we are going to make your life very difficult, make you take off of work, and try to charge you extra money."

I knew the mafia did stuff like that, but I didn't know local governments did.

Obama

2009-01-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about Obama again since the inaguration, and a couple of things occur to me. First off - he is way more of a badass than he is given credit for. Over at 3 Quarks Daily Evert Cilliers writes:

There was a much-revered Civil Rights matron and Illinois State Senator, Alice Palmer, who decided to run for Congress, so Obama figured he could run for her open State Senate seat. But she lost her Congressional race, and wanted to keep her safe seat. The community’s leaders asked Obama to step aside. The brash newcomer refused. He sent his aides to the courthouse to examine the signatures for her, to see if enough of them could be disallowed to knock her off the ballot. A few fake signatures for her were found, as well as for all his opponents, so they were all knocked off; he won his seat unopposed. The Chicago way – bringing a gun to a knife fight.

So he's not the perpetually positive, perpetually nice guy he is portrayed as. It's can be a little bit disappointing to discover you had the wrong impression of somebody, though I think this tidbit is actually a good thing. A little bit of ruthlessness can be awfully useful.

The other thing that occurred to me is that Barack Obama spent 12 years teaching constitutional law. Holy shit. When's the last time we had a president with that kind of time spent thinking about and studying the constitution? Not Dubya, certainly. Not Clinton, though he had a law degree. In fact, it looks like, before Clinton, the last president who had a law degree was Ford, and Nixon before him.

So from 1977 to the end of 2008, we had only one president with a law degree - Bill Clinton, though even he didn't have any sort of specialization in constitutional law.

How amazing will it be to have a president who can be considered an expert on the constitution. And how awful is it that this is something unusual?

Joseph Swetnam

2009-01-21T20:22:00.000-08:00

Check out Mr. Swetnam.

Books: A Game of Thrones

2009-01-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

Cross posted at Air Theremin.

A friend of mine has been trying to get me to read A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin for years.

I just went ahead and borrowed it from him, and I have to say -- this is some of the best high fantasy I've read. An unjustly long book at over 800 pages, it is also surprisingly gripping.

Each chapter is written from a 3rd person limited point of view, but each also follows a different character. The story isn't told so much as it just coalesces. There are characters to love, characters to hate, and many characters to be mildly confused by.

At first, I was mildly put off by the feeling of omniscience you gain from seeing so much that other characters have no clue about, but that feeling gave way to a certain level of awe at the grandeur of the whole thing.

If "grand" and "sweeping" and "epic" are what you are looking for, this book has them -- and promises more for later in the series. Ah, yes, like all fantasy books, it seems, this is but one novel in a series. I've just picked up the second, A Clash of Kings, and it is longer than the first. Regardless, I started today, and am about 160 pages in - around classes and work.

All-in-all, a great fantasy book. If you like the genre, you need to read this book - it avoids many of the clichés that riddle fantasy fiction. If you don't like the genre, well, unless your dislike is founded on the clichés... you might want to pass.

Punishing Victims:

2009-01-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

This is what I was talking about.

This 13-year old Somali girl was stoned to death because she attempted to report her rape by 3 men. Because their strict religious worldview has no place for victims -- a just world under Allah (or the Judeo-Christian god) does not allow for people being genuinely victimized. If any such event does happen, God/Allah will sort it out on Judgement day.

And yes, this sort of thing does happen in predominantly Christian countries. Here in the US we have better law enforcement, and so men do not stone women on the street. Still, the attitude is essentially the same:

A Broward jury, saying a 22-year-old woman got what she deserved, acquitted Georgia drifter Steven Lord on Wednesday of kidnapping and raping the woman at knife-point. The woman, who lives in Coconut Creek, had been reluctant to testify and was jailed for six days in June because of that. "We all feel she asked for it for the way she was dressed," said jury foreman Roy Diamond of Fort Lauderdale. The others -- three women and a man -- nodded in agreement

This from the Miami Herald.

Obviously there is a certain level of misogyny involved as well, but this too is part of the Abrahamic tradition - one in which women are not permitted to speak in church.

If you have feelings on this issue - if you think I'm horribly wrong - tell me! I'd be happy to read your responses.

Just World Theory, or How Religion Punishes Victims

2008-12-31T13:22:00.000-08:00

The just world theory, essentially, says that we like to think of the world as a just and fair place, and so rationalize any evidence to the contrary.

In an article for Santa Clara University, two ethicists put it thus:

According to the hypothesis, people have a strong desire or need to believe that the world is an orderly, predictable, and just place, where people get what they deserve. Such a belief plays an important function in our lives since in order to plan our lives or achieve our goals we need to assume that our actions will have predictable consequences. Moreover, when we encounter evidence suggesting that the world is not just, we quickly act to restore justice by helping the victim or we persuade ourselves that no injustice has occurred.

This theory is used to explain some sickening reactions to misfortune. You may have heard that a woman who was raped was "asking for it" by the way she was dressed, by where she chose to be, or any other reason. This is disgusting. It's sickening, and it makes me mad.

And it makes me think.

There is a real, concrete philosophy that acknowledges the just world theory - and agrees with it. That philosophy is called religion. Nearly all religions explicitly support the just world theory. They tell us that the world is just and orderly, whether or not it seems that way to us.

"Everything happens for a reason." You hear this a lot.
Does everything happen for a reason, or does the narrative of our lives always follow the events as they actually occur? We're resilient animals, and there isn't one path toward happiness. Good things make us happy, and bad things make us strong - regardless of what happens, we wouldn't be who we are if things didn't happen the way they did.

What I'm getting at, is that our focus on narrative makes it easy for us to find order where there is none. Perhaps that is ok. What is emphatically not ok is any belief system that encourages us to believe that there are no victims. That encourages us to believe that there was a good reason these particular people were targeted for tragedy. There is not. They were not. To believe otherwise is to punish people who have already had awful things happen to them.

What would it be like to be told that the man who raped you is going free? More than that, what would it be like to be told that, really, you deserved what he did to you? That, somehow, you caused this thing to happen - this event that was traumatic partly because of the loss of control you experienced.

I am lucky enough to have never been in this position, but if I ever am, I hope that your belief in a god does not lead you to feel that "everything happens for a reason."

Sometimes, This is How I Feel

2008-12-18T17:10:00.000-08:00

I'm not always sure what I'm doing is art.

Credit goes to Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre.

The Only Difference Between Men and Boys

2008-12-18T16:18:00.000-08:00

Cross-posted on Air Theremin

For your edification, Nicholas Ozment explains.

This work of short fiction is one of many posted on Every Day Fiction: "Short fiction in your inbox, daily!"

It's a cool concept, and I think I'm going to sign up. Who knows how many good stories I could discover that way?

Lies That are True

2008-12-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

Whatever happened to Jeffery Harrell?

He used to have a great page of stories online and a blog, both of which appear to be AWOL.

His book is here - and I may buy it, because the stories are wonderful.

This appears to be his twitter - which offers no clues to his site's disappearance.

If I can't get some information on the site, I'll have to take it off of my blogroll. Sad face.

Hell

2008-12-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

First off, hello again! I have been fairly busy and have not blogged here in some time, especially given my new status as a blogger at Air Theremin.

I've been having some conversations recently about religion, and a new opinion has blossomed from these talks.

If your religion features a hell, it is the most important thing about your beliefs.

We can talk for hours about loving thy neighbor and turning the other cheek and, eventually, basking in the presence of god; None of these things approach the importance of avoiding eternal agony.

How can you claim a peaceful religion if any sin or collection of sins committed over the course of one mortal life can be (and will be) punished by a sentence of perpetual, unending pain?

Furthermore, if you accept the existence of hell as true, what could be more important in your life than avoiding it? Yeah, paradise sounds good, but I'll settle for avoiding eternal torment.

Interestingly, this change in my thoughts has been accompanied by an increase in my understanding of Evangelicals and a proportional decrease in my approval of religious moderates.

If you believe, truly believe that your secular friend's soul is in danger - that if she does not accept Jesus Christ as her savior, she will burn in agony forever, then I would expect you to do everything you can to aid her salvation, up to and including alienating her as a friend.

What is your friendship compared with saving her from hellfire?

Which is why my opinion of moderates has also changed. You hear a lot of talk of tolerance, but is that really the best way to frame what is going on? Moderates tolerate your beliefs, but what does that say about any who believe in hell? That keeping social interaction smooth is more important to them than attempting to help someone avoid infinite suffering? If even one person could be helped to avoid such a ghastly fate, wouldn't the price in social capital be worth it?

So, those of you who believe hell exists - are you tolerant? Do you care so little for your fellow man? Or, deep inside, do you think that maybe hell doesn't exist after all?

Air Theremin

2008-09-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

I've been invited to blog with the folks at Air Theremin. They've got a nice little community going on, and I've accepted. You should check out the blog.

I plan to keep blogging here, but some of the stuff will be cross-posts.

-S

All The Books in the World

2008-09-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

A good graphic work here.

I've been getting more into comics and graphic novels, and this story was touching enough to share, if a little simple, a little flat.

-S

Women From Words

2008-09-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to call this - flash fiction perhaps?

Regardless, I was fairly disinterested to start, but found myself drawn in by c.vance's personification of each author's prose.

There were definitely bits that didn't fit, but overall I was impressed - or at least impressed enough to go back and browse the fare at Word Riot.

-S

Taxes

2008-09-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not generally a political blogger, but I've seen a particular lie repeated over and over as of late.

McCain has an ad out claiming that Obama is going to be a tax and spend liberal, with huge deficits. To be fair, neither candidate is going to balance the budget, despite the implication of the McCain ad.

This chart, published in the Washington Post, breaks down both of their tax plans.

Go back and look at it again - and pay special attention to the three bars that amount to 60% of the population. Not one of those income brackets gets even a 1% tax cut from McCain, while they all get between 2.4% and 5.5% from Obama.

So, it's your call whose plan you like better, just don't buy the lies.

-S

Little Brother Update

2008-08-15T13:42:00.001-07:00

I'm well into Little Brother now (I don't know exactly how far), and I admit to being somewhat underwhelmed at first. Hype can do that. The introduction is definitely not the strongest feature of the story, and I have some critiques about everything I've read so far, but...

Well, let me give you some background.
If you speak to me while I am reading, I may be grumpy. The grumpier I am when I respond to you, the more engaging the novel you've distracted me from.

I was pretty grumpy when my Little Brother reading session was interrupted.

So. When I put out a review griping about all the things wrong with the book (which I probably will), remember that I quite enjoyed reading it.

Doctorow, Finally

2008-08-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

I'm finally reading one of Cory Doctorow's novels, Little Brother. Anyone who has been paying attention to web fiction knows of Doctorow, and I'll soon be joining those of you who have read his work.

Sometimes We All Feel Ineffective

2008-07-29T10:48:00.001-07:00

When presented with issues that really matter, when presented with true human suffering, like genocide in Darfur the shipbreakers in India, or the downtrodden in Afghanistan, it's tough to know how to react. You may, like me, develop a literal ache in your gut.

Frankly, what is happening to so many of these people makes me angry - angry at those who have destroyed these people's lives, and angry at the rest of the world for not doing something.

And right there I stop in my tracks.

What, exactly, am I doing to aid these folks? Well, I've written letters to my representatives and I've always made a point to raise awareness, much to the annoyance of my peers. But really, what action have I taken that prevents a child from starving to death?

I haven't done one single thing to put food in the mouth of a child, or to provide clean water to a refugee. And, frankly, the amount of money I could donate is pitiful. While my $25 donation might make me feel better, and it might keep a child alive for a few weeks, it's really a drop of water in the desert. I'm not just fighting a losing battle, I'm fighting a hopeless battle. How, HOW do I make any long term difference?

Well, I came across something today that gives me a little hope. A company called Kiva is giving you and I the opportunity to fund entrepreneurs in the developing world.

This is all done by offering microloans. In this case, the loans are financed by you. That is, you provide as little as $25 in capital for a poor entrepreneur, and you will get that money back. Can you put 50 bucks on hold for a little while? Excellent.

The best thing about this plan is that it moves people toward a sustainable future, not continually based on aid or charity. My $25 might be part of making a family stable for years to come, and that, I think, is an admirable goal.

Tales of Ascension

2008-07-24T09:58:00.001-07:00

I've been reading Forever Peace, by Joe Haldeman, and I've been continually assaulted by the feeling that I've read something much like this before. No, I'm not thinking of The Forever War, by the same author, though that was an excellent novel, and one I heartily recommend.
I've realized that it reminds me of Technogenesis, by Syne Mitchell

As always, it's entirely possible that I am being far less original that I imagine, and far more derivative, or at least repetitive. However, an idea, new to me, at least, has been developing slowly in the stew of my consciousness. As usual, the idea relates to an unexpected commonality between disparate things. I suppose, as science fiction novels, the subjects of my stewing aren't really terribly disparate... but enough of this. Let me actually get to the point.

The Forever War, Technogenesis, and others (perhaps Childhood's End by Clarke, or Blood Music by Bear, and certainly The Changeling Plague, also by Mitchell) are what I would like to call "tales of ascension". Generally these novels could be considered singularity fiction, but I contend that these examples are something else as well, and something worth keeping in our collective mental libraries.

I call them tales of ascension because they are hopeful but deeply frightening stories of the future of the human race. The mechanisms are different, from disease to gengineering, to AI, to alien races, but the result is the same: a fundamentally changed human race. A changed humanity, and one that is greater than that which we currently experience. Often there is an ascension to a higher or group consciousness. Sometimes humanity becomes one undifferentiated unit. Sometimes we are provided the opportunity to move beyond the current boundaries of our bodies and brains. Regardless, the hopeful tone of this huge accomplishment is always tempered by the sheer scariness of the new. One real problem with ascension is that in order to move up, you must abandon your current position. Most of us experience that fear of change (regardless of its apparent positive impact) in our own lives, and I think it is this personal anxiety about change that informs our visceral emotional reaction to a species-wide change on such a high level.

When expanded to the species, however, the issue takes on philosophical overtones. What, for instance, can we call this post-ascension species? Are they still human? In many cases, the ascension is not presented as a sudden event, but rather as something gradual, affecting some before others, or phasing in through our natural generations. In these cases, how do the unchanged react to the ascended?

...

Well, I'm not a writer. YOU go write it. Let me know how it goes.

-S

State of Hypocrisy

2008-05-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

I have long condemned Crichton's novel State of Fear as a long, drawn out anti-environmentalist rant poorly disguised as a novel. "Paugh!" I said, (that's to be pronounced phonetically, with the 'augh' involving a stereotypically German level of phlegm.) "Doesn't he have the creativity to write a real work of fiction, instead of a redundant neocon editorial disguised as a thriller?"

Recently, a friend of mine has been actively pursuing my recommendations on novels, particularly the serious reading, as opposed to the fluff. For this reason, I've been confronted with my taste for Dystopian novels, cautionary tales, and social commentary. (Feed, The Handmaid's Tale, and, of course, Fahrenheit 451 number amongst my favorites, in case you were interested).

Pause.

Yes. While more sophisticated than Crichton's lambast of the environmental movement, each of these novels is, essentially, a rant (or social commentary, if you prefer) delivered via fiction. That is, the novel is a platform for these authors to express their political views. Now, this is somewhat less obvious in my favorite novels, since the politics espoused tend to be somewhat more transcendent than Crichton's 600 page jab. However, literary merit and staying power aside, Crichton and Bradbury appear to be utilizing their fiction in a similar manner - as a platform for their soapbox preachings about social ills.

Can then, the difference between my feelings toward Atwood and Crichton be reduced to mere political differences? My goodness, that makes my earlier criticisms somewhat hypocritical, does it not?

Well, yes and no.

My earlier criticisms are certainly less valid in light of my own literary preferences, but, the more I consider it, the less I think that hypocrisy was my problem (sheesh, rationalize much?). Instead, I appear to have misunderstood exactly what it was about the novel that raised my ire. Obviously it wasn't the politicization of fiction, since that's exactly what some of my favorite novels do. Instead, I'm becoming more convinced that I'm offended by the co-opting of science.

Part of why State of Fear is such a long novel is Crichton's extensive use of footnotes, charts, graphs, etc. They make the novel feel less like a novel, and more like a patronizing speech - thus my original complaint. However, I think my real problem is Crichton's pretension of scientific expertise. I don't think I need to really delve into why such a delusion is foolish as well as pretentious, but there's one part of his novel that really sums it up.

He finishes State of Fear with an afterward. In the afterward Crichton explains to us why the book's heavy-handed message is, in fact, true. So here Crichton is frankly and openly admitting that he believes the thematic basis of his book, a theme that he supports with what is essentially fake evidence.

In fact, Scientist Peter Doran wrote "... our results have been misused as “evidence” against global warming by Michael Crichton in his novel “State of Fear."

Hopefully this prolonged rationalization session has been successful. Perhaps I've convinced you, along with myself, that not only am I not hypocritical, but I'm also justified in my righteous indignation.

Take that, Crichton!

Collective Editing?

2008-05-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

Some good conversation going on here.

Basically, my take is that the "collective filter" idea as proposed by Lexy is spot on. However, it could be of great benefit to many individual writers (and therefore the web fiction community as a whole) for an editing process to be developed for writers of web fiction.

Yes, there is a certain level of community editing that occurs in the comments of the more successful serials, but small time authors never see it. And, anyway, those comments basically amount to copy editing, and what I'm suggesting is something different.

A good editor helps to fine tune and shape up writing in a multitude of non-grammatical ways. Editing can help an author recognize the relative strengths of his or her work, and how to push those, while minimizing the weaker parts of the manuscript.

Certainly, there are some examples of web fiction readership aiding an author in this way, but in my experience, this isn't the norm. Generally, the author gets some good copy editing alongside some crummy copy editing, and has to sort out the conflicting advice for themselves.

So, what am I suggesting?

I think an editorship collective could be an invaluable tool for web fiction authors. Perhaps the participants could be restricted to authors, or to writers, or other folks who put their words on the web, or perhaps anyone could participate. I certainly have neither the time nor expertise to coordinate something like this, but I would happily support any of you who chose to do so.

CatchMe Drafts

2008-05-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

Somebody shot this link my way. The author only has one story up so far, called "Off Guard," but it's a fairly intriguing entry. It's awfully short for a short story, but a bit long for microfiction (about 600 words). Regardless, it's an odd little tale, and I can't quite remember what it reminds me of.

I'm really not certain I agree with the point it makes about love and relationships, but, then again, I'm not certain the author does either, just the protagonist (antagonist? Like I said, it's a confusing little story).

Off Guard

Winnie and Walter

2008-05-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

Warily we wondered what worth was wrapped within "Winnie and Walter."

The entire story is like that. It doesn't seem very impressive until you read all 450 words of it. It's wearying.

Much credit to the unknown 19th century author who generated this gimmicky gem.

PU update

2008-05-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

Lexy now has a Forum up at Pages unbound. I haven't spent too much time there (I've been a leetle bit busy lately), but there do seem to be some good discussions happening already.

reCAPTCHA

2008-04-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Those of you who run your blogs independently should really consider replacing your normal CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) with reCAPTCHA.

reCAPTCHA uses people's responses to their CAPTCHAs to help transcribe old books to text format. Unlike the image formats that you often find old books in (the pdf copies and such), the texts resulting from reCAPTCHA can be copy & pasted and ctrl-F'ed (not to be confused with "F'ed up").

I bring this up for two reasons. First, I've been meaning to for a while, especially since I strongly support their goal, and seriously wish that all my books were compatible with the ctrl-F feature. Second, I just discovered that stumble upon uses reCAPTCHA, which pleases me greatly. I hadn't realized that reCAPTCHA was well enough known to catch the attention of the folks at Stumble.

I would use it myself if I didn't host this blog on Blogger. Speaking of which, how 'bout we switch over to reCAPTCHA, guys?

More on Spaghetti Sauce

2008-03-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know if he reads this blog or not, but shortly after my last post, Jeff Harrell over at Lies That Are True posted about Malcom Gladwell's spaghetti speech at TED.

At first, I was somewhat put off by the title of his post, assuming that it was a negative post criticizing Gladwell's message in his lecture, but I was incorrect.

Instead, what Jeff is doing is suggesting another positive change he would like to see. I'll leave you to read his post yourself, but I will mention that a certain Amazon.com service is the closest we've gotten to his suggestion in the retail world.

Synthesized Happiness, Intellectualism, and the Elite

2008-03-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

Watch it.

It'll be interesting to see how many people don't buy it. I do. 100%

In fact, I really love the TED conference. There's so much great stuff going on there, and they really do bring together the foremost minds of our time (as well as some of the most optimistic and proactive). In addition to synthesized happiness, you can see talks on Cheetahs vs Hippos, Spaghetti, sliced bread, and the history of violence. These are just some of those that I have watched and enjoyed, but there are many videos available, and I advise that you browse through them.

The ranty side of this post is brought on by the idea of a gathering of the elite. You may have noticed, as of late, that "elite" has become something of an epithet - particularly in the realm of politics, but in general as well. Somehow, believing that your years of training, thought, and research somehow give you a greater understanding of the intricacies of an issue is not OK. Your opinion couldn't be any more valid than mine, because we're all equal. Well, if you buy the Lockian philosophy that the US of A is founded on, all men were created equal (notice the lack of women...). What those men (or people, as I prefer) do with themselves after that is a matter of circumstance and their own volition - and that's if you accept the premise, which I'm not certain I do.

In other words, when I am getting surgery, I would prefer the surgeon who has been through med school and has years of experience - that is, the elite surgeon. The same thing goes for any other area of human interaction. That surgeon is not an elite mechanic, which is who I would prefer to work on my car. When we get together a lot of elites in fields relating to thought and ideas, I would expect some pretty good ideas to surface, and that is exactly what we see at TED.

Check Out My Body

2008-02-17T21:46:00.000-08:00

No-no-no-no-no... THIS body, by Shelly Jackson.

It's a great example of a non-gimmicky utilization of the unique capabilities of the web for fiction. What's really amazing is that it's done in basic HTML - the same stuff that could have been used to design the site back in the dark (preferable?) ages before CSS and Flash took over everything. Come to think of it, The text of My Body is copyrighted 1997, so maybe the site is quite old.

Dunno. I do know that you should check it out.

Am I Already Obsolete?

2008-02-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

Cell phone novels.

13 Bullets

2008-02-14T06:51:00.001-08:00

...which, incidentally, is the number of bullets held in the magazine of the glock 23, which is issued to FBI agents on graduation from academy (unless they want a 22).

13 Bullets is also the book that David Wellington feels is his best work. It's a vampire action/horror novel. Mr. Wellington claims to be reacting to the Anne Rice vampire archetype wherein the vampires are smooth characters in lace collars, and intensely sexual beings. This is the current norm in the genre, but certainly not in Wellington's novel.

Wellington's vampires are hunters - more like sharks than gentlemen. Like many vampires they look as though they were carved from marble, but unlike most, they have rows upon rows of sharp teeth. They don't puncture veins to get at blood, they rip off arms.

Like most good books, however, the vampires and the morbid atmosphere are secondary to the character relationships. I find the reason hard to pinpoint, but Wellington's novel reminds me of Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. (which, by the way, have the most consistently hokey, over-manipulated photo covers. *sigh*).

I think it is largely the protagonists of the series - both are sort of cops, but not. Both are fixated on getting the monsters, but simultaneously afraid of their own inner monster. They aren't the same person - not by a long shot - but they fill a very similar role. They're the same archetype, if you will.

Wellington might cringe at the comparison, since Anita Blake is the kind of vampire hunter who he is reacting to - one who, as the series goes on, is seduced by the monsters she was (and often still is) fighting. But it is actually this fact that provided the clincher for me in terms of character similarity. Anita Blake is horribly frightened that she might be as much of a monster as those she is constantly fighting, largely (though not entirely) because of her continually increasing involvement in the "monster world." Although the cause of the feeling is different for Wellington's Laura Caxton, she too becomes frightened of her own perceived lack of humanity.
Ironically, this precise worry helps humanize these leading ladies.
Well, OK, neither of them are very lady-like, but you get the idea.

Books That Make You Dumb

2008-01-25T05:03:00.001-08:00

OK, I don't like the title of Books That Make You Dumb so much, but that's because I feel that the study also goes to show which books make you smart.

OK, pretensions and condescensions aside, Virgil has compiled a very nice chart, backed by very nice statistical analysis (OK, it wasn't that complicated, but it must have taken a lot of work).... as I was saying, a very nice chart correlating favorite books with people's intelligence, or at least their scholastic aptitude.

He took the top 10 favorite books (as listed on facebook) of 1300 or so universities. He then used the average SAT scores of undergraduates at said universities to give each of the most popular books it's own average SAT score. Actually, he gives us a range, but you get the idea.

He uses this data to present us with three excellent charts - all with the same information; only the grouping is changed.

Two of the charts group books by genre, and here is the only place I quibble with Mr. Virgil (OK, Virgil is his first name, but I like to say it this way). A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is Children's Lit? What particularly makes Brave New World Sci-Fi, but A Clockwork Orange Dystopian? And Wuthering Heights is a classic, but Pride and Prejudice is Chick Lit? Really?

Anyhow, you know of my inability to praise without poking, but really, I love the study, and you should all definitely check it out.

Zombie Love

2008-01-13T01:10:00.000-08:00

Maintaining the morbid theme developed in my last entry, I present to you some good ol' zombie lovin' by Isaac Marion

I find it difficult to admit that I liked reading a touching story about zombies, but I did. I'm not really sure why the author chose the subject, but he made it work - and I do mean made it work. It almost feels as though the topic was a creative writing prompt, and Marion just ran with it.

Perhaps I will continue this theme by reviewing Thirteen Bullets in my next post - or maybe I'll review The Prestige. We shall see.

Cthulhu and Gaiman, sitting in a tree

2008-01-10T23:42:00.000-08:00

Arr apostraphe ell why eee aych.... yeah...

So Neil Gaiman has posted some Lovecraftian fiction here.

Or, at least, I wanted to call it "lovecraftian" at first. Unfortunately, the more I think about it, the less I am able to differentiate between what Gaiman has done and fanfiction. Perhaps that's why it is posted on his blog?

So tell me - is this truly fanfic, or is my head unable to catch something that my gut does? Perhaps it is merely that I generally dislike the fanfic I come across and tend to think of it as intellectually lazy that I fail to acknowledge the potential for genuinely innovative, clever, and appealing fiction within the... genre?

Go read the story and tell me what you think.

Update

2008-01-03T22:54:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone - I'm currently in training for my job (for the fourth time.... either this is a teeensy bit redundant or I've been working for two years without being properly trained. *sigh*).

Anyway, It might be a week before I post again. Things are pretty hectic (12 hour days, plus an excrement-load of stuff to get done before training ends).

-S

Secrets

2007-12-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my absence. I've been out of town visiting the folks, and internet access has been limited.

I just stumbled upon (and before I get any further, I've noticed some stumble upon hits lately, so those of you who enjoy this blog and are SU users, you should give it a thumbs up if you haven't already) The Secret History of Star Wars, which, like most "Secret History" books, makes me cringe to read the title.

I mean really, people.

Is it impossible for us to write a history book with a new take on a subject while resisting this thoroughly bizarre temptation to label its contents "secret"? (and yes, I know that punctuation is supposed to go inside the quotations, but, really, how much sense would that make here?)The Secret History of the Sword, a book which I love, suffers from the same defect. Let me explain it to you, especially you, the authors:

IT'S NOT SECRET!!!

It's merely little known - but I suppose that "The Little Known History..." isn't quite as compelling.

Regardless, don't let my ranting prevent you from reading the book. I'm not all that far in, but it seems to be a very well researched look at how the Star Wars movies came about. Since it's free on the net, and geeky in nature, I figured that it fell within the purview of the blog despite being nonfiction, and if you disagree, I really don't care.

Ten Car Train: E. B. Satt

2007-12-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

Update: Perhaps as a result of my good-natured (I hope) needling, "E. B. Satt" has abandoned said pseudonym in favor of good old Jason, over on Ten Car Train. I'm going to let the title of this post stand, but I figured I'd clear up any potential confusion now.

If you head over to Ten Car Train, you'll find some pretty cool stuff. You'll also find E. B. Satt - or Jason Sattler, or whatever else he's calling himself. I can't figure it out, but hey, I go by a handle too, so who am I to talk.

Anyway, Satt's stuff isn't just cool - it's excellent. OK, I lied, it's actually somewhat hit-or-miss, but some of it is really excellent.

Like his story A Single Drop of Water Helps to Swell the Ocean, or How I Need a Hand in Mine to Feel, which may be his best piece on the site (I'm not 100%, because I'm not entirely certain that I've read every one of them).

The stories are somewhat reminiscent of Jeffery Harrell's - over at Lies that are true (He's currently selling his book, so buy it, but he says the stories will be back up for free sometime at the start of 08).
The prose is soft, and somewhat conversational. That's not to say that it feels like dialogue, but neither does it feel like a diary. Still, you get the feeling that the narrator is talking to you, and that they're real.

I know I'm not the only person to be uncertain whether these were stories, or real life tales like those of Sedaris.

That's what they're like.
I'm not doing a good job articulating this, and I haven't even mentioned the tragic-but-commonplace themes of the stories. You should go read the stories and come back to me with your thoughts.

Oh, and if you like them, you might also check out A Softer World.

Guest Post

2007-12-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

Check out my guest post over at Novelr - a blog about blooks and web fiction that ought to appeal to those of you who are thinking about, or have already begun, writing your own web fiction.

Webcomics: Zebra Girl

2007-12-19T10:42:00.000-08:00

If you want amazing art, an intriguing story, and worthwhile characters, Zebra Girl is for you.

If' you're impatient with sporadic updates and infrequent newsposts, then not so much.

Starting off as a gag-a-day strip, but quickly transforming into a character driven story with a plot and everything that entails, Joe England's comic is definitely worth a read. At this point there are fairly extensive archives, as he's been at this since May 2000.

The art is black and white, with a high-contrast approach that I find myself partial to (If you like the art at Zebra Girl, Shades of Grey might be worth checking out - the art is less clean, but still very good). The art starts off better than that of most webcomics, but by the time you reach the most recent pages, it's clearly of professional caliber.

One thing that does bug me somewhat is Joe's insistence on representing himself as a rabbit; he also has a side story with more furry characters, most of which I skimmed over. This is just a matter of personal preference, but I do feel that it mars an otherwise excellent comic.

Overall, an excellent comic. Read it.

Pages Unbound

2007-12-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

Pages Unbound intends to be a central hub for readers of online serial fiction.

And it's well on its way, as far as I'm concerned.

Lexy says that a user rating system is in the works. Good. That's the one thing it needs but still lacks. I fully expect Pages Unbound to become the buzzComix of the web fiction world.

It seems, however, that I hold the minority opinion.

There has been lots of criticism leveled at PU (Isn't that a horrible acronym? Too bad - I'm using it anyhow) lately.

Essentially, the complaint is that PU, by allowing anybody to submit a story, forces the potential readers to wade through a bunch of drivel in order to even have a chance at finding something worthwhile. Therefore, PU should have an editorial process (which, incidentally, would just make it more closely resemble the traditional publishing industry, rather than the blogs from which this new medium has drawn its inspiration). Such an editorial process would help readers find the "good stuff," amongst the flak.

Hearing this made me very happy. Because that is the function this blog serves. One of them, anyway. I wade through the piles of amateurish, lowercase "i" prose, find the gems hiding inside, and present them to you, my loyal readers.

I even said as much here.

Oh, and a side note. I have changed my handle here to Sebatinsky. My linked comment above is written under the same name.

Dirty Red Kiss

2007-12-11T02:51:00.000-08:00

A Salinger for our generation, Dirty Red Kiss's Caulfield-esque narrator opens a window through which we can see humanity in a way that is beyond the capabilities of a more articulate, self-aware narrator.

Caulfield isn't the only protagonist that Derek Henkel's narrator reminds me of - he also bears a resemblance to Titus, of Feed, and Arel Ashe of Scorch.

What, you ask, could these four possibly have in common? Each book is set in a different moment in time, the protagonists are different ages and different genders. Feed and Scorch are both clear indictments of the consumerist west, while Catcher in the Rye and Dirty Red Kiss are both a bit more open ended. It seems as if there is nothing real or significant to tie these books and characters together.

I'm sure you'll not be surprised to find that I believe there is something they share. I would even go so far as to class them all as examples of an archetype, albeit one that I am proposing right now, for the first time: "everyman with the potential to rise above."

This is a fundamentally hopeful archetype, but one whose characters are usually tinged by sadness and uncertainty. They are normal, near average, and surrounded by friends and peers who are decidedly mainstream. Unlike their peers, they contain within them seeds of insight of creativity - seeds that we can only see because of our privileged position as readers. Perhaps, then, we are too rash to assume that they are alone among their peers? As much as our narrator may appear to be the only character with the potential to grow, it is mainly by their thoughts that we determine their potential.

It's for this reason that the "everyman with the potential to rise above" is fundamentally hopeful. No matter how poorly the protagonist's journey may go, their hidden seed of insight gives the reader hope that the most abject of us may yet go on to blossom.

So. Read it.

Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

2007-12-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect (or MoPI) is a novella length work of fiction by Roger Williams, available free on the net. Many of you who read this blog may already be familiar with MoPI, but I'll address this post to those of you who aren't.

MoPI is a work of singularity fiction, that is, fiction that deals with the world after an intelligent agent (named Prime Intellect in MoPI) has taken more or less total control over the earth and/or universe. In such a world, humans would have essentially unlimited lifespans, no ability to harm one another, and no desire left unfulfilled.

This brings us to Williams' first chapter. He makes the reasonable argument that with nothing left to achieve, and no meaningful goals to strive toward, many people will turn to pain and death as the only worthwhile things left to them. In his world these people are called "Death Jockeys," to the ranks of which our first protagonist, Caroline, belongs. I need not go into details, since Williams certainly does, but, essentially, Death Jockeys attempt to get themselves killed in new, innovative, and particularly painful ways.

That's the first chapter.

It is incredibly gory, grotesque, violent, and perverted. I am not an easily flustered person, and I felt queasy at various points. In fact, I almost did not continue reading past the first chapter, which, apparently, is a fairly common sentiment.

The rest of the eight chapter novel is very different. We get to see the creation/childhood of Prime Intellect, which is exciting, and we explore the backstory of Caroline, as well as that of Lawrence, our second protagonist and genius programmer. There are a few points of physical and sexual perversity in the remaining eight chapters, but if you made it through the first chapter, you shouldn't have any problem. Which is good. Because I don't know if I could have handled eight chapters of that level of violence.

Overall, I like the story quite a bit more than Wax Banks, who feels that the ideas of MoPI are "not original and have likely been presented more beautifully elsewhere." I, on the other hand, have not encountered anything quite like MoPI before, and while the potential beauty of the story is definitely marred by a certain roughness of narrative, it is full of worthwhile and relatively original ideas (that is to say, they are certainly not derivative).

That being said, I have two main reservations with the story:

1.) Is all that violence and nauseating sexual activity in chapter one really necessary?

Wellllll, yes and no. That is, I do think that I developed a greater appreciation for the gravity of the situation from our author's and protagonists' viewpoints. However, it also made the story feel disjointed, and, in a way "lied" to the reader by misrepresenting what the novella was about. In my opinion, it was a good lie, since I thought the actual subject of the story was far more interesting, engaging, and worthwhile than the first chapter would have you believe. But, by that same token, it was a bad lie, since it could (and, I'm sure, does) turn off readers who might actually enjoy the contents of the other seven chapters.

2.) Where is the competitive instinct?

When I first read the term "Death Jockey," in the context of this singularity story, I assumed we were talking about some kind of thrilling mortal combat, or potentially fatal race. That's because something of that kind provides the participants the chance to illicitly experience the same pain and death, but also a chance to prove themselves better than their opponents, and we all know that there aren't many things that people like more than feeling superior to other people (Think religion, clubs, arrogance, false humility, patriotism, fandom, etc).

While I think the second qualm is the more picky, it also seems to be the more legitimate. My issue with the violence could just be a difference of opinion with the author - he thinks it's necessary, I'm not so sure. The second point, however, seems less debatable. The absence of combat or competitive games of any type is difficult to ascribe to a conscious decision on the part of the author. They would seem to be more common and more popular than Death Jockeys, and yet there isn't a single mention of them (The same author does mention combat to the death, briefly, in another story set in the MoPI universe.).
I just can't bring myself to believe that we'd have more masochists than Jocks, more sadists than patriots, more... I'm out of synonyms, but you get the idea.

Overall, a very worthwhile story - you know your own ability to handle gore, so use your judgment. If all else fails, just stop reading Ch. 1 and skip to chapter two. You won't miss much.

Blooks

2007-12-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

I can't help but feel silly when I write the word, but "blook" is a term that appears to be gaining legitimacy: there's even a blooker prize.

A blook, apparently, is a book whose contents were based on a blog. At least, that's how the Lulu blooker prize defines them. It seems to me that a serial novel published in a blog would be a great definition. The above-linked blook, Plague Zone, is by David Wellington, who seems to be after print publication, so he fits the Lulu blook definition pretty well.
There are, however, plenty of examples of web serials that might be called blooks - and often so call themselves.

On the other hand, maybe we need a better word (or words) for all of these things. Any suggestions?

55 A Day

2007-11-25T01:35:00.000-08:00

Short Stories for Short People.

This is the reason I'm writing this blog. Simply wonderful examples of fiction you'd never run across in a bookstore are cropping up on the web all the time.

55 A Day is a nanofiction blog whose author invites all of us to submit stories of exactly 55 words. He even provides prompts, if they help remind your muse exactly what the hell she's supposed to be doing.
So, go ahead and submit something

You know you want to.

The Apostrophe

2007-11-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

As those of you who know me are aware, my last name contains an apostrophe, so the subject is particularly close to my heart. There's a great article over at I Love Typography, or, in this case, "I Love typograph'." It highlights a couple of the most common types of apostrophe abuse.

However, it doesn't touch on the one that bothers me most: the stubborn belief that the apostrophe is merely a comma stuck in the air. You see this phenomenon whenever the right type of person encounters a word word containing an apostrophe they have never seen before. They pause. That's right - they act as though there is a comma in the middle of the word, and pause.

Imagine what that does to my name.

Update:
The Apostrophe Vigilante!

NaNoWriMo

2007-11-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, that's a mouthful. It stands for the National Novel Writing Month, which, with an appropriately assessed amount of alliteration, is November.
Now, I realize that I'm a little late here, since it's already November 2nd, but, I figure, if you're going to write 50,000 words in a month, missing a day shouldn't throw you off too badly.

A friend of mine is taking the challenge, and I'm going to see if I can get her to post her progress in a blog. If I'm successful, links will be forthcoming.

Fight Club Jr.

2007-10-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

So, I stumbled upon this site, which claims to draw its inspiration from Palanhiuk's novel.

I think it's interesting to see how an inspiration can be so blatantly stolen from an existing work, but hardly resemble it by the time the 'thief' is done with it.

I recently encountered a similar phenomenon in art. This image was taken directly from this one. I was there when it was done (in fact, I even suggested the first photo as a starting point). Yet, I think we can all agree that the stencil, while owing its existence to the photo, is not derivative. Odd. It was derived from the photo, but, except in the most technical sense (and certainly not in the colloquial use of the word) it is not derivative of it.

Book-A-Minute

2007-10-17T00:58:00.000-07:00

So, I swear I was just about to go to bed when I stumbled across (yes, using the Stumble Upon toolbar for firefox, which is evil and devours all your time in witty goodness).... where was I?

Ah, yes: I stumbled upon "Book-A-Minute," in original classic flavor, and brand new Sci-fi/Fantasy flavor (someday I shall rant on the subject of the combined genre of Science Fiction and Fantasy).

Most of the condensations take significantly less than a minute to read, but they are hilarious. However, you really have to have read the books to find the jokes funny. I don't think that will be a problem for any readers of this blog (what is this, a compliment?!? No. It's not possible.), and the site has a large enough list of books to laugh at that you should be able to find quite a few to laugh at.

My favorites are probably The Xanth Series by Piers Anthony, and Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice.

Books: The Traveler

2007-10-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

I'm about halfway through The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks (Seriously, what's with that middle name? Is it a pen name, or were his parents just exceedingly odd?)

As the NY Times review of the book observes, Traveler reads like "a cyber 1984," which, as far as I'm concerned, is unfortunate. Y'know, since that book has already been written. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh. Traveler doesn't actually feel like 1984 merely updated for the internet age. It feels more like Hawks loved dystopian novels like 1984 as a young'un, and now, when he has a cool plot idea, he decides to set it in a big brother dystopia.

The problem is, it's getting more and more apparent that the current danger is not an oppressive governmental system. We've been amply warned of that, and are very wary of it. No, the worrisome direction in which we are currently moving is toward the cronyism of a government that is no more than a tool of big business. Sure, the government has done some crummy things lately as far as civil rights are concerned, but it's important to remember that we, the people, have an expectation that the government respects civil rights - there is no such expectation for multinational corporations.

Have any of you heard of CRM? It stands for Consumer Relations Management, and it's a concept so prevalent that it's introduced to business students in their basic marketing course. The idea is that the corporation should pursue a one-on-one relationship with their customers, offering them only the products and services that they are likely to desire. Sounds OK, no? Unfortunately, pursuit of this goal involves collecting LOTS of data about you and your purchasing habits - over the course of years - and then compiling it all into a data warehouse. That's somewhat concerning, but most (not all!) companies have privacy policies that preclude them selling that information to third parties. The catch? When a company with a CRM database goes bankrupt, there is a precedent of considering their consumer data an 'asset'. It is therefore sold to the highest bidder. Disconcerting, no?

To get back to the novel, despite the somewhat juvenile and arbitrary choice to house the story in a big brother dystopia, I'm actually quite enjoying the book. The story follows several different characters living "off the grid," which is quite an accomplishment in Hawks' dystopia (it's tough enough in today's USA!). My favorite, and probably the strongest character, is Maya. She is a Harlequin, a sort of modern warrior - she uses a sword and everything! Well, ok, she uses a shotgun too, but you get the idea.

As I pointed out earlier, I have yet to finish the book, so I don't know if these characters meet up, although I suspect they do. All in all, it's been a good and interesting book so far, and I suggest you give it a shot.

The Traveler

Webcomics: Questionable Content

2007-10-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

I've decided to write the first obtrusive post on webcomics about the comic that began my love affair with the damned things.

Questionable Content, or QC, Is a long running online comic by Jeph Jacques. He currently updates every weekday, and is rapidly approaching 1,000 comics, which is particularly impressive for a page style comic, rather than a strip format.

The comic itself is highly amusing, even for folks (like myself) who have zero involvement in the indie music scene which is the frequent subject of the characters' snarky comments. Jeph does a pretty good job of making each page amusing of its own accord, but there are also story arcs that are well worth reading. The art is quite good, and has come a long way from the first comics. Like many webcomics, QC is a testament to the artist's growth, and it records the gradual, but significant, improvements over Jeph's years of drawing.

In many ways, QC is the golden standard of webcomics. Like Something Positive, QC provides its author with his sole source of income, but unlike SP, QC is lighthearted, and entertains those of us who are not complete jerks (A jerk myself, I can sometimes enjoy SP, but I would fully understand if you didn't. Also, I think SP's popularity says something about the composition of the internet community...).
Jeph accepts donations for QC, but his main income appears to come from the sale of clever T-shirts, both comic related and not.

Now, if you people would just give *me* money, I wouldn't need a job.

Fiction on the Net

2007-10-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

I had intended for this blog to focus on books I've read, but I am coming to realize that there is an abundance of material on the net for me to comment on.

In fact, I am only now starting to see the web really begin to display the sort of revolutionary fiction you'd expect out of such a revolutionary medium. Keep in mind that the internet is the first medium for communication that is both a true mass medium and genuinely interactive. We're seeing a rise in egalitarianism as a result (the very fact that you are reading a blog is evidence of this.)

I see two main innovations in fiction on the net (so far). The first is that writers who appeal to a quirky, small, or otherwise non-mainstream audience are able to reach readers on a wide scale, and in a way that is not possible with the traditional print media. This is true of any successful writer with prose (or poetry, though I have less interest) on the net. However, someone who has caught my eye is Jeff Harrell, who, in a Vonnegut-esque fashion has titled his collection of stories "Lies that are true". His stories are here. I particularly suggest "When Alone Was Forgotten," "Cheshire Smile," and "The Slow Ones."

The other innovation I see is very similar to what many webcomics have been doing for a while - that is, using lengths and formats that would be inappropriate for print. A prime example of this is Lexy Erin's writing, particularly her superhero serial Star Harbor Nights, as well as the superior (and currently updating) Tales Of MU. Lexy's writing is certainly an example of an author reaching a readership largely unavailable through print, but she is also writing serials. Each "chapter" is roughly the length of a short novel chapter, but she is in the third book of "MU," and, while the writing would occupy three volumes, the pacing is quite different from that of your average novel. The day to day narratives that get lost in a novel are fully explored here, and, while I have no inside knowledge, I can easily imagine the entire arc of a novel-length plot, but with each smaller sidestory fully developed. I think the format lends itself to empathy with the characters, because it is easy to feel like you are living their lives alongside them.

Again, check out Lies that are true and Tales Of MU.

PS - Tales of MU can be a bit... involved, particularly in the more recent chapters - to the point that they're nsfw. I would say that if you're easily offend you should avoid it, but, frankly, if you're easily offended, I'm not sure why you're reading this blog.

I'm all for the free books. Are you?

2007-05-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

So, I have discovered a website.
I hadn't planned to make a plug on my first post, but these guys are pretty amazing.

WOWIO

They have free books - eBooks, yes, but still books. It works like this: you sign up with a non anonymous email address (meaning no hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc.) or with your credit card. Then you can download 5 free books each day. So far I have downloaded 35 books.
The selection is not excellent, but that is understandable given that this is a fledgling enterprise, not yet a year old. There is a pretty solid selection of political books, recent and otherwise, a growing selection of novels, and quite a bit of poetry (not my thing - I'll stick with prose, thanks). I personally found quite a bit to read in the way of fiction, because I am a fan of Vonnegut and P.K. Dick, whose books were well represented. I even found a new author, A. D. Nauman, who has a nice little Dystopian novel called Scorch
The books are nice, high quality PDF files. They have two full pages of ads at the beginning, and one more at the end. Right now Verizon appears to be their only sponsor, so expect to see a lot of black and red. Each book has your name on the very first page, and has a very small serial number on the bottom left of each page. They don't really mention this, but it's pretty easy to find if you look.
All in all, they've developed a system that is a pretty good deal for everybody. You get free books - five a day. That should do you, since even I can't manage five full sized books in one day. They make money (I assume) by selling ad space on these books. You have no real incentive to pirate, since your name is on everything, and you might as well just send your friends to the same link.

I've said a lot, but all you really need to know is "Free books!"