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Archive for May, 2011
Welcome to the introductory instalment of Dust Jacket, Nerd Culture Podcast’s official book review column.
Every 2 weeks, we’ll be taking a close look at a classic of Science Fiction literature, giving our thoughts and rankings. Our journey will take us through over 100 years of sci-fi stories, from the classic Victorian era tales of Verne and Wells to the most recent Hugo and Nebula Award winners. Along the way, we’ll be asking you to help contribute to our overall goal of creating the definitive list of Science Fiction novels.
Before we begin, a little introduction and explanation is in order. Consider this the Prologue edition, or Foreword, of Dust Jacket. I want to give you an idea of what you can expect each time you join us here in NCP’s Sci-Fi library.
THE SECRET ORIGIN OF DUST JACKET!
About a year ago, it dawned on me that the one area that my nerd culture knowledge was seriously lacking was sci-fi literature. Asimov, Herbert, Heinlein, Clarke; these were no more than names on book covers to me. I’d read a few classics of the genre, but not anywhere near as many as I should have if I wanted to call myself a true nerd.
So I did what any self-respecting nerd would do; I jumped onto Google and typed in “top 100 sci-fi novels.” Fortunately, Google delivered, in the form of SciFi Lists – http://trunc.it/frd97. I soon found myself with a list of more than 200 of the genre’s best just waiting for my perusal! Now armed with the knowledge I needed, I set off on a literary journey through the myriad universes that sci-fi had to offer. It’s no small undertaking, but I’m off to a good start, and I want to share my Journey with you, the Nerd Culture Podcast community.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM DUST JACKET?
Every 2 weeks, I’ll be posting a new review of one of the classics of the genre. I’ll be joined by Luke Walker, Nerd Culture’s official World’s Harshest Critic. Together, we’ll debate the pros and cons of each novel, what we loved and hated, and whether the book deserves its status in the sci-fi canon. Fair warning: no book is sacred. We won’t be holding back in our praise, or condemnation, of any of the titles we review.
WE’RE GOING TO COMPILE OUR OWN TOP 200 LIST
At the end of each review, both Luke and I will give the book a ranking out of 10. We’ll then use these ranking to begin compiling our own top 200. Each book will go onto Nerd Culture Podcast’s Greatest Sci-Fi Masterpieces Hall of Fame. We’re going to create our own definitive list…
…and we want you to help us!
JOIN US IN CREATING THE DEFINITIVE LIST OF SCI-FI MASTERPIECES
Send in your comment, criticisms and, most importantly, your ranking. Rate each book on a scale of 0-10 and we’ll include your ranking in our overall tally. I’ll average out the votes to give us a greater picture of what the nerd culture community loves. We’ll continually update the list as each book is reviewed and each vote is tallied, with the goal of creating the greatest sci-fi literature list ever compiled!
BEHOLD…THE FUTURE!
Join us tomorrow for the inaugural Dust Jacket review, where we’ll be looking at Brian Aldiss’ 1958 classic Non-Stop.
Calling all Zombie fans! May is Zombie Awareness Month and is the perfect time to follow the example of the good people at the Zombie Research Society and spread the message of the inevitable Zombie threat to your loved ones and the world.
Check out their site at – http://www.zombieresearch.org/ and arm yourself with knowledge. As they say, What you don’t know can eat you.
However, don’t follow the example of architect Robert Konieczny of KWK Promes in Poland.
Despite some early reports from internet users, his ‘Safe House’ is definitely not Zombie proof. At least without some substantial custom modifications.
The house features movable parts and folds in on itself completely at the end of the day to seal against outside threats.
The Safe House has just one entrance, on the second floor, connected by a drawbridge. For extra security, after crossing the bridge, visitors have to wait within a safety zone before being let into the rest of the house. During the day, the house opens to create a courtyard and let in light.
While this sounds awesome for natural disasters like cyclones, it is terrible for a Zombie epidemic. Where is the secure perimeter? Where are the weapons? There is also no mention of an alternate escape route like a tunnel or helipad, so what happens if they manage to break down the roller door in the front? And with only one exit, what happens when you need to get out to forage for food? You may get in and out once or twice but eventually they will notice the weakness in the defenses and you wont be able to get out again.
But it does look cool.
So be informed and spread Zombie awareness to all, before the Zombie infection spreads itself!
I absolutely loathe Horror – movies or novels.
When I was younger it was purely because I didn’t enjoy the sensation of being scared. I couldn’t (and still can’t) see how pants-wettingly scared = fun. My older sister told me about the movie ‘Poltergeist’ when I was quite small, and for months I couldn’t look at my wardrobe when I went to bed. I still haven’t seen the movie, and never intend to.
I still don’t enjoy being scared, but with older eyes I have become more desensitised. I can watch a horror or thriller without nightmares that night, but I still don’t enjoy it and will avoid it wherever possible. Apart from not enjoying fear, what I mostly hate about horror is that many Horror films now seem to have a very thin plot that is designed to thread together scenes of terror and gore. Some of these films are so bad, that it’s actually fun to make fun of them with friends.
Although, I’m sure there are stories out there I may enjoy if I gave them a chance. One of my favourite Doctor Who episodes is Blink, one of the most creepy ever. That episode, while I was creeped out, had me more engrossed in the story because the story was the focus and not the creepiness factor. I also admire the artistic quality of the film Let Me In, but I hated the story.
I guess to sum up, I’d have to say I don’t like watching gore for gore’s sake. Give me a fine story that I’ll be interested in, and I may give your Horror movie a go.
When considering what to settle down to watch for our evening’s pleasure, we usually choose from David W’s array of collected viewing material, this time I suggested that maybe he’d like to choose something from my small (but carefully selected) collection. I was surprised, yet delighted, when he chose K-PAX, having expressed reluctance to watch it in the past.
I first saw K-PAX at the movies years ago. It is not often I will walk out of a movie vowing to buy it as soon as it’s released on DVD, but this was one of those occasions. Having had to be frugal with my money, I would only buy a DVD if I deemed it ‘collection worthy’. This meant that it had to be something I would be certain to want to watch over and over.
K-PAX drew me into the story straight away, and kept me enthralled all the way through. I still enjoy watching it and pick up on new things each time I see it. Kevin Spacey does a wonderful job portraying PROT, who claims to come from the planet K-PAX. Jeff Bridges does an equally good job portraying the psychiatrist who goes out of his way trying to figure out the mystery of PROT while at the same time not realising how closed off he is becoming from his own family.
Light is used beautifully as a motif throughout the movie. I have always been fascinated by light and the way it reflects and refracts. From an artistic point of view it can be very beautiful.
At the end of the movie, we are still left with a few niggling questions but I don’t mind that. Things in life are rarely fully explained. I like that there’s a little bit of ‘what if?’ and ‘but how?’ left. I like a movie you can think about after you’ve seen it and keep working on the questions in your mind.
4 Lukes.
