Science Fiction

Books to Buy

~ Cheryl ~ 2 Comments

Time to expand my collection of Lovecraft scholarship. A book on the master of tentacled ickiness by French novelist, Michel Houellebecq, has recently been translated into English. The Independent, no less, has a review.

Yet Lovecraft is not easy to dismiss. Encountering the stories in adolescence, I thought they were silly, but I have never forgotten them. Houellebecq makes a very good fist of explaining what makes them memorable. He points out that Lovecraft’s obsession with touch contributes to an immersive quality in his horror – his monsters are felt and seen.

Which reminds me of how disappointed I was to discover that the plush nightgaunts that were on sale at Finncon where not in the slightest bit tickly.

Temeraire on Film

~ Cheryl ~ 4 Comments

I had this sneaking suspicion, when I read the first three chapters of Naomi Novik’s Temeraire, that here was a series that was going to be massively commercial. I had no idea. Now comes the news that Peter Jackson, no less, has bought a movie option on the books. Well, you know what they say about movie options, but Jackson does seem to have taken a personal interest in the project. The Guardian has more details.

I note that the Guardian article describes Temeraire as a “monster”. Good job there’s no name on the article, or someone was likely to get eaten.

Choosing the Future

~ Cheryl

In a rare exercise of trust in public opinion, the British government is asking its subjects what they would like the future to be like. And no, this does not mean, “Should Tony Blair resign?” or “Should we declare war on America?” They probably wouldn’t like the answers to those. No, they are asking, “How should technology shape our future?” This will be done through a project called Science Horizons, which will present a variety of possible views of the future and ask Jo(e) Public what (s)he thinks of them. You can find out more from this BBC article, and from the official web site.

The obvious question here is whether anyone behind this project has bothered consulting people who make a living out of considering what the future might be like. But have a sneaking suspicion that if you asked them they would say, “No, we don’t want any science fiction writers involved, this project is only about things that might actually happen.” Still, they do manage to quote Bill Gibson in one of their documents, so there’s hope yet.