Geekmas 2021: Books, mostly.

Greeting card by KENZIECARDS

It seems early to be posting my annual gift list, but Karli's mother has put up her Christmas tree, and my workplace has picked names for Secret Santa, which would seem to indicate that it is in fact time for the annual Geekmas posting.  Generous gift givers covered off virtually everything from last year's list, so this year I'm pretty much starting from scratch.

A lot of my past preferences for seasonal gifts aren't really a thing anymore - the switch to digital media and streaming has pretty much taken Blu-rays off my list of gift options.  Sad to say, my initial attempts to break new ground this year weren't productive.  Big Finish Productions, the home of Doctor Who audio plays, doesn't have a gift card system, and it looks like the only way you can give someone an Oculus virtual reality game or experience is if you already have an Oculus account, which seems like a lot of work if you don't own a VR headset yourself. 

So, as in past years, I went with the basics, and hopefully I've ended up with a reasonable range of options and price points. 

Books

 

After introducing his son to comic books, Douglas Wolk decided to undertake the monumental task of reading the entire modern Marvel Comics print run* since its inception with Issue #1 of The Fantastic Four in  November of 1961 - over 27,000 comics, and more than half a million pages. The result is All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told, a thematic examination of the Marvel Comics universe as a single extended narrative.  As someone who has been reading Marvel comics on and off for over 50 years, I'm very curious about this book, and frankly, if no one buys it for me, I'll be getting it for myself on Boxing Day.

 

Doctor Who: The Vault:  Also a little spendy, but from the sound of the descriptions and reviews that I've read, a comprehensive and detailed history of the series, at least up to the show's 50th anniversary.

The Apollo Murders, by ex-astronaut Chris Hadfield.  It's his first foray into fiction**, but reviews have been positive, and it sounds like an interesting read.  

2020 Hugo Award Winner A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine. I recommend that you get this one from Indigo, I got some very odd results from Amazon.ca - $134.29 seems a bit steep for a used paperback.

One graphic novel:  Hellboy: Strange Places - which, to be completely accurate, is actually the second omnibus edition of the Hellboy comics rather than a graphic novel. Tomato, tomahto - the nature of HB's comic book adventures is such that the omnibus editions read quite well as a collective narrative.

However, most of those options are a bit pricey, although the Chris Hadfield book is actually on sale as I type this.  If you're here looking for the literary equivalent of stocking stuffers or an affordable Secret Santa selections, here are some books that are available on Amazon.ca as standard mass market paperbacks for less than ten bucks:

The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. I was surprised by the realization that my little library was missing both of Bradbury's seminal short story collections, which collect the stories that established him as an author. 

A Journal of the Plague Years, by Norman Spinrad.  Although the Plague in Spinrad's episodic story is sexually transmitted rather than through aerosol droplets, it still seems like an appropriate cautionary tale for the current global situation.  Spinrad is a brilliant author whose work is virtually unknown outside of the science fiction genre, which is a shame - if you're looking for a place to start, I strongly recommend his 1969 novel Bug Jack Barron (which I already own, don't buy me a copy for Christmas.)

Finally, as I was shelving back issues of vintage science fiction magazines in the wake of our recent move,  I was reminded of how much I had enjoyed receiving a monthly selection of short fiction, reviews and commentary when I subscribed to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction*** back in the 70s. A little research confirmed that they apparently still sell physical subscriptions, six issues a year for $55.97 USD - which feels a bit expensive, so this one is reserved for the generous of heart (and wallet).

Clothing

Just as a change, a couple of clothing requests: a Doctor Who hoodie, and a Star Wars Millennium Falcon schematic t-shirt.  As with the previous Doctor Who item on this list, the hoodie**** is a bit more expensive - this may just be an ineluctable truth when it comes to Doctor-related merch, as per my initial Doctor Who gift search last year.  The Star Wars t-shirt is a more affordable option - I like the grey one, but maybe let's go with the pale blue option to match the AT-AT t-shirt that I already own.  XL for both, please!

And that wraps it up (no pun intended) for this year's gift list.  As always, almost all of the items are on Amazon™ , and I've linked to them - my only advice is to make sure that you don't select an overpriced third party seller by accident, as with the Arkady Martine book I mentioned above.

Oh, what the heck - if someone wants to get me a Blu-ray copy of The Force Awakens, I wouldn't say no, and I'll certainly find a place for it with the other optical discs that I still have tucked away in the living room.

 UPDATE: I'd like to thank my workplace Secret Santa for the Prepaid Mastercard - I appreciate the thought, and obviously I need to advertise this list a bit more.

- Sid

* He admits to skipping the romance comics and some of the Westerns that weren't part of the shared superhero universe.

** From what I've read, technically speaking it's actually science fiction - the story is an alternate history what-if from the era of the Moon landings.

*** I've always appreciated the nose-on-your-face directness of F&SF's chosen title - I mean, really, could there be any less ambiguity about what they are?

**** I keep wanting to call it a Whodie.

Just right.

Reading your posting on virtual reality in virtual reality.

- Sid

An open letter to the management of the Storm Crow.

To whom it may concern:

I've visited your location a few times since the introduction of the BC vaccine passport system has made indoor dining feel a lot safer - a couple of times with a friend, and today with my wife for lunch - and I'm sorry to say that I haven't been made to feel that my business was welcome.  

I realize that managing seating in any restaurant is a strategic challenge, and that it's sometimes preferable not to give people preferred seating in order to keep larger tables and booths available for bigger groups, but I really don't think that the hostess should make it quite so obvious that she's not enjoying having to find me a seat that fits into the plan.  Explaining that it’s difficult because you’re getting busy might work better if it weren’t such an obvious falsehood - I don’t think that 1:15 on a Saturday afternoon is exactly prime time for a pub restaurant, and when I went to the men’s room before leaving there was a plethora of empty tables.

Is it because it's only for two people?  I somehow got that feeling, to the point where it would not have surprised me at all if they had asked if we could leave and come back with four friends in order to make it worth their time to find us seats.  Please ask your staff to take a minute and remember that your motto is "We serve all kinds in here" - even if it's only two of us.

- Sid

Little bit of both, probably.

I was reading Marvel comics on my iPad in bed this morning, and you know, either the universe is not as interesting as it could be or we've been really lucky, given that a Norse demi-god, a supersoldier from WWII, a man in a suit of flying cyber-armour and a green Hulk are not currently defending us from DNA-rewriting biobombs being hurled at the Earth from Mars by an aeons-old destroyer of planets* .

- Sid

* And his sister. 

And Captain America's feet on the next shelf up.

"Oh, that's my Halo UNSC M6 blaster, two collectable Star Trek mugs that my friend Colin gave me, a Warhammer 40K Primaris Space Marine toy, and the skull of the last person who made fun of me for owning them."

(Seriously, though, I am a bit defensively self-conscious about my background during work-from-home Zoom meetings.)

- Sid

It's on.

Earth is in danger, and you have answered the call for help – a decision generations to come will be thankful for.

Keep this document close to hand. This is your access token, and if it were to fall into the wrong hands, the consequences could be grave.

Prepare yourself. We will be heading into uncharted territory and there is no telling what we will encounter. But rest assured – we will protect humanity no matter what it takes.  

We will be in touch.

I just booked two tickets for the 12:45 session of Doctor Who: Time Fracture on February 23, 2022 at Unit HQ in London, England.

- Sid

60: Fingers Crossed.

Oh my god - we're in the extremely early stages of planning a trip to England at the end of February.

None of this is a done deal - Karli needs to get approval from her manager for the time off, we have to do a lot of research in terms of requirements by both countries for COVID-19 testing, look at the accommodation scene in London, pick flights and, not the least of issues, make sure that there are tickets available for the Doctor Who Time Fracture immersive experience, which according to their web site has experienced some issues with flooding and has been shut down for a few weeks while they did repairs.  

And, let's be realistic, a renewed wave of COVID-19 in either country could completely eliminate any opportunity for travel, either because it's unsafe to enter the UK, or because Canada has been locked out due to rising cases. On the other hand, three months could see a global reduction in new cases, and a subsequent relaxing of the precautionary measures in place at the borders.

Over the years, I've had some unfortunate life experiences that taught me the sad lesson that it's not always wise to invest emotionally in future happiness.  Regardless, I'm letting myself get a little excited that my deferred 60th birthday celebration may actually happen after all.  Fingers crossed, everyone!

- Sid

"Get to the thopter!"

 Seriously, though, I did think that the dragonfly-inspired thopters in Dune were cool - not only that, but it was a plausible approach to a non rotating-prop aircraft, full points to the designers.

- Sid

Dune.

Last night we headed down to the Silver City in Richmond and caught the last evening showing of Denis Villeneuve's Dune in IMAX before the big movie machine switched the screen over to The Eternals, the latest Marvel would-be blockbuster.

It was an interesting comparative experience, because Karli came to the movie with no knowledge other than a brief introduction to the Dune universe that I'd given her a couple of weeks previously, whereas I've read all the Frank Herbert* novels in the series and am on my third copy of Dune, having worn out two copies over the years since I first read the book sometime in the mid-70s. 

As a result, my experience of the movie was comparative and anticipatory, whereas Karli judged it completely on its own merits.

For readers who haven't seen the movie, here's the same basic background that I provided to Karli - I don't think it's possible to discuss the film without having some kind of reference point.

The most precious commodity in the universe is spice, which is mined on the desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune.  House Harkonnen, one of the many royal houses in the Empire, has been in control of Dune for 80 years and has reaped incredible profits from its oppressive control over spice production.  The Emperor has decided to transfer control of Arrakis to House Atreides - apparently a gift from the Empire, but Duke Leto Atreides suspects that it's a trap. However, the Duke cannot refuse the Emperor, so House Atreides reluctantly relocates to Arrakis, where the Atreides forces hope to forge an alliance with the Fremen, the natives of Arrakis, and escape whatever ambush awaits them.  

The Duke is accompanied by his Bene Gesserit concubine, the Lady Jessica, and their son, Paul.  The Bene Gesserit are a powerful religious order not unlike the nuns of the Catholic Church, and Jessica has trained her son in the manipulative, mystical and militant skills of her order. Paul's frequent prophetic visions lead his mother to hope that he could be the Kwisatz Haderach, who will have the ability to bridge space and time with their powers.**

I have to admit to some issues with Villeneuve's treatment of the story. I was astonished by the degree to which explanation and backstory were stripped away from the storyline, to the point where I'm not even sure that the names of some of the supporting characters, such as Piter de Vries, the Baron Harkonnen's twisted Mentat, were ever spoken aloud - not to mention explaining what a Mentat even is, or that the Atreides Master of Assassins, Thufir Hawat, is also a Mentat.  However, I'm also sympathetic with the challenges of balancing explanatory narrative with the natural flow of a story, and Karli didn't seem to see any of these omissions as barriers to following the plot,

There were also a couple of alterations in sequence from the novel, alterations that seemed to serve no purpose. Most notably, Paul's testing by the Bene Gesserit Mother Superior is the first scene in the novel, whereas Villeneuve pushes their interaction to a later moment in the narrative. Villeneuve also choses to transfer the repetition of the Bene Gesserit mantra against fear in that scene from Paul to his mother.

One of the problems with adapting Herbert is that as a writer he relies heavily on internal monologues to reveal what his characters are thinking as opposed to what they're saying, an approach which doesn't lend itself to film, although it might have been interesting to see how the story played out with the addition of some of those unvoiced revelations.  As an example, the scene where the Fremen housekeeper, the Shadout Mapes, presents the Lady Jessica with a knife made from the tooth of a sandworm loses its significance when Jessica's unspoken speculations on the significance of the word "Maker" and the Shadout's unexpectedly extreme reaction to it are lost.

The question is, did I enjoy the movie, in spite of my issues with the adaptation?  

It's a challenging question, to be honest. I appreciated the film's scale and scope, the cast delivers excellent performances, the epic nature of the story is well represented, and the visual presentation of the film is undeniably monumental, but I found that it lacked the depth of the novel. To be fair, that's the great challenge of adapting any novel, let alone something like Dune:  finding a way to transfer a complex, layered written narrative to a visual medium. To Villeneuve's credit, I was able to lose myself in his interpretation of the story, in spite of its variations from the source material, and I look forward to the sequel  - which has reportedly been greenlit by Warner Brothers for a 2023 release.

As per Karli's useful format, some other thoughts:

Karli refers to Paul Atreides as "the chosen one" whereas I would never have described his role in that way.  It's interesting that there have been enough science fiction "Chosen Ones" over the years, ranging from Neo in The Matrix to several Star Wars Force practitioners, that the idea feels like a cliché.  That being said, there's an element of White Saviour to the story which is is more evident in a visual adaptation of the novel.

I found the soundtrack overpowering at points in the movie where I would have preferred silence and the sound of the wind on sand. (And when you're watching in IMAX, an overpowering soundtrack is OVERPOWERING.)

Villeneuve seems to have a minor landing gear fetish, there seemed to be a lot of lovingly detailed shots of landing gear unfolding and planting itself on the ground. That being said, I quite liked his version of the loosely described thopters from the book.

As far as I know, the last time Jason Momoa shaved his beard for a role was his 2011 appearance as Conan the Barbarian - let's hope it works out better for him this time.

Sorry, Karli, but Rebecca Ferguson just didn't work for me, although the vision of her as an illustrated Fremen madonna was intriguing.

Why does everyone want the Baron Harkonnen to fly around?  In the book, he's an obese man who uses suspensor technology to take some of the weight off his feet, he's not Superman.

Although, as Karli says, never trust a villain. Especially a weird gross floating one - it's good advice.

- Sid

* I tried a couple of the prequel novels by Herbert's son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson, and no offense, but they're not up to the standard set by Frank Herbert in the other books.

** I'm quite proud of this as an outline, because it appears to be quite informative but actually leaves out so much important information - much as the movie does, come to think of it.

"Never trust a villain. Especially a weird gross floating one."

(Contributed by Karli Thomas)

I went to see Dune with Sid yesterday. I’ve never read the book or seen the 1984 movie, so I was going in with a clean slate. Almost. Sid, as he does, has explained parts of the book in great depth to me.  Usually in those situations I retain some of the information, but science fiction isn’t one of my natural languages, so a lot of it just goes through my head and doesn’t stick.

Luckily, he had talked about Dune quite recently, and knowing the movie was coming and that I’d likely go see it with him, more details than usual stuck with me. It was quite helpful to have some of that background information planted in my brain, and it made it easier for me to keep up with plot points that might have otherwise tripped me up. Spice, okay, yep, got it. Bene Gesserit, check. Chosen one, yep, understood. Weird gross floating guy, wait, what? Sid didn’t tell me about him!

My overall opinion of Dune is that I quite liked it. I found it to be interesting and a compelling story. Visually, it’s a stunning film. The soundtrack was deep and booming and reminiscent of Arrival, one of Denis Villeneuve’s other otherworldly films.

I appreciated the casting. The acting was phenomenal across the board and I bought in for the whole experience. The one moment that took me out of the film and reminded me that I was watching a movie was the floating Harkonnen fighters floating to the ground during the battle scene. In a movie that is so CGI heavy, that was the one instance I thought “Well, that looks fake.”  It’s a petty complaint though. 

I thought that Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica was brilliant. I have many questions about her character and what the ultimate end for her and Paul might be. Sid is not revealing any spoilers and it’s likely that I won’t know until I see the sequel in 2024 (just guessing). I imagine that the conversation Duke Leto and Jessica had about her protecting Paul was some heavy foreshadowing.

Other thoughts: 

I love the font used to spell DUNE. I want that to exist on my keyboard so I can spell it the same way.

I hear people don’t like the character name Duncan Idaho, but I love it! It’s just fun to say.

I figured out about 45 minutes into the movie why it’s called Dune and felt sheepish that I hadn’t realized it earlier.

I appreciated that Duncan Idaho learned the Fremen ways and culture in such short time.

I liked that the Atreides group were basically all good people. 

Never trust a villain. Especially a weird gross floating one.

I was surprised by the duel at the end and its outcome. I thought that Paul's visions/dreams were leading us in another direction.

The Bene Gesserit: I am fascinated by them. Are they taking new recruits?

- Karli 

P.S. Interestingly, the font used for DUNE actually isn't a font, it's derived from Canadian aboriginal symbols.

- Sid