The Case Files of Douglas Brodie
The Great Indie Project 2015
The History of Science Fiction
Book Review: Kill School by Gregory Lynn
This is the fourth book review in my #GreatIndieReviewProject and once again it's a solid read that would hold up against many traditionally published work. Have you ever read a book and thought, "that was good, but it was so close to being very good"? Because that pretty much sums up my reaction to Kill School. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the story as it stands but I think it actually has the potential to be much better. One of its strengths is certainly the goblin Hobbes himself who is just inherently likable (usually of benefit for a viewpoint character) but there are a couple of points where the events seemed a bit unclear to me and I also think it misses a trick on emotional development. What's It All About Then? Hobbes is a goblin of unusual size. He's good natured, but not particularly quick witted and when a fight between him and another rather bullying goblin ends in death, he quickly finds himself manipulated into attending a school for goblin assassins.
Read More…- The Case Files of Douglas Brodie
- The Great Indie Project 2015
- The History of Science Fiction
Movie Review: Big Hero 6
Disney does superheroes, sort of. That's basically what Big Hero 6 is, but it's worth taking a moment to clarify what it isn't. It is not a Marvel animated movie, nor is it a Pixar movie. Approaching it expecting either of those things will likely end in disappointment. Generally Big Hero 6 follows a traditional Disney story arc. It executes it well and uses the trappings of superhero stories effectively but you can see its origins in The Lion King and other Disney classics. What's It All About? Hiro Hamada is a super smart kid with a talent for electronics who lacks direction.
Read More…- The Case Files of Douglas Brodie
- The Great Indie Project 2015
- The History of Science Fiction
Book Review: Excession by Iain M. Banks
Iain M. Banks highly advanced human (and AI) civilization, The Culture is rather unusual amongst modern science fiction in that it is presented as something close to a post scarcity utopia. Excession deviates from that presentation by showing that maybe the almost godlike (by human standards) Minds aren't quite as morally perfect as they might at first seem. Perhaps they simply haven't been presented with something they wanted badly enough before. Excession is definitely rather different to the previous Culture novels but that change is quite refreshing. An Out of Context Problem [amazon template=image&asin=0553575376]The motivating event in this novel is the Excession itself, described as an Out of Context Problem, which is defined as something that is so far outside of a society's norm that it can't be predicted or anticipated. In this case, given the vast technological sophistication of the Culture itself that means the Excession is a completely alien object of unknowable power levels. Which makes it in a sense a Deus ex Machina only it creates the problems rather than solving them.
Read More…- The Case Files of Douglas Brodie
- The Great Indie Project 2015
- The History of Science Fiction
Greed is Good Part 2: Doug the Werewolf (1st Draft)
Doug the werewolf is a snappy dresser. I mean, he doesn't use being a werewolf as an excuse to wander round in torn jeans with a beard down to his ankles. No, Doug wears suits and ties, he looks presentable anywhere.
"What do you do anyway?" I asked him by way of greeting. He stared at me. He has an excellent range of glowers. I considered shutting the door on him, but I remembered what had happened to my last door and decided against it.
Read More…- The Case Files of Douglas Brodie
- The Great Indie Project 2015
- The History of Science Fiction
Greed is Good Part 1: Mostly Very Dull (1st Draft)
Being a wizard is mostly very dull, at least when I'm not being chased by werewolves or attacked by zombies, and consists of lots of reading accompanied by cautious use of magic. Why so cautious? The more you learn about magic, the more you learn what can go wrong which, it turns out, is almost everything.
Look, even casting the simplest of spells you're messing with the bindings of the universe, to say it is potentially disastrous would be understatement. Fortunately that sort of business is normally self-limiting because it takes a lot of time to learn how to channel the power to cause real damage. By the time you do you're so terrified you don't want to do anything.
Read More…- The Case Files of Douglas Brodie
- The Great Indie Project 2015
- The History of Science Fiction
Book Review: About Last Night by T. Paulin
I admit it, I was attracted to About Last Night initially because of the cover. Not only does it not have the yawnsomely traditional Urban Fantasy look to it but the subtitle claims it's a "twisted" urban fantasy series. So, something new then! Somewhat at least. At first glance the setup of the book is very familiar. We've got a relatively young guy in a dead end job who accidentally discovers that the paranormal is real. But, there's a bit more going on, because this city has a publicly acknowledged zombie infestation, which is separate from the paranormal stuff. In Which I Whine About The Whining [amazon template=image&asin=B00KTV547Y]The first problem I ran into while reading this story was just how negative the viewpoint character Eli is.
Read More…- The Case Files of Douglas Brodie
- The Great Indie Project 2015
- The History of Science Fiction
Book Review: Without Bloodshed by Matthew Graybosch
The latest book in my #GreatIndieReviewProject series is Without Bloodshed by Matthew Graybosch, a science fantasy story which mixes libertarian idealism with heavy metal, violence and a healthy dose of sex. Who Should Read This? Do you like rock and or heavy metal music? Do you appreciated some fantasy in your science fiction? Are stories better with a healthy dose of political intrigue? Are you okay with some sexuality in your reading material? If some or most of these apply to you then you should give this one a shot. Did You Like It?
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