"He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice!"

"Nice" seems like the smart option here.

- Sid

Geekmas 2020: Back to Basics.

It's been a long year.

There have been a lot of challenges over the last twelve months, and it's been a difficult time for a lot of people.  As such, everyone seems to be looking forward to holiday cheer, and I've noticed that Christmas decorating has started much earlier than usual.

Although it feels like a better time to give than receive, I was asked to provide some guidance to people who wanted to do exactly that - give - so I sat down at the computer screen to see what I could do for prospective gift-givers.

It's a simpler list than usual - the results of my research weren't entirely helpful.  For example, I was a bit outraged to see that a Doctor Who TARDIS umbrella was $78 on Amazon.ca - it's an umbrella, for heaven's sake, how could it be worth almost $80, I really don't care if it's licensed by the BBC or not. Similarly, how can three pairs of Doctor Who socks possibly cost $83 CAD? (Plus $22 in shipping from the US.) Fifth Doctor action figure and the TARDIS for $197??  Okay, that's it, time to move on.

Finally, I decided that when in doubt, you should go with your strengths - so here's a list of books that I'm interested in:

Network Effect. by Martha Wells - the fifth Murderbot novel. Sadly, only in hardcover, although the March 31st release of the paperback doesn't really bring the price down that much. 

Nophek Gloss, by Essa Hansen.  Just on spec - I read an excerpt chapter on the Orbit Books site, and it seemed interesting.

A Little Hatred: Book 1 of The Age of Madness,  by Joe Abercrombie, or The Trouble With Peace: Book 2 of The Age of Madness, by (you guessed it ) Joe Abercrombie.  The Age of Madness is the sequel to The First Law Trilogy* - there's undoubtedly a Book 3 on the way if anyone wants to wait a year or so and just spend the money on a boxed trade paperback set. 

Left over from last year are Sharps, by K. J. Parker, along with the first volume of Parker's The Two of Swords.  Let's add How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It, which may or may not be a sequel to 16 Ways To Defend A Walled City, which I received last year. 

And, just for some variety, a couple of graphic novels:

Joker, written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Lee Bermejo.  As far as I know, Joker is one of the few comic book adaptations based on Heath Ledger's unforgettable interpretation of Batman's nemesis, telling a story that takes the reader deep into the twisted psyche of the Clown Prince of Crime.

Batman: Three Jokers, by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok - as with Nophek Gloss, just looks interesting.

And, last but certainly not least, Maus, the groundbreaking 1980 graphic novel by Art Speigelman which in many ways elevated the graphic novel as a storytelling medium - it's not just about superheroes in spandex.

Everything is available from Amazon, which, under the current pandemic conditions, seems like the route to take, although I dare say that most of the books listed would probably be available at chain bookstores if you were comfortable with that.

- Sid

*  And, sort of, Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country - Abercrombie is now on the second generation of the characters featured in the first five six books of his epic grimdark fantasy series, which is as gritty as A Song of Fire and Ice (AKA the Game of Thrones books), but perhaps less likely to kill off the main characters.  Perhaps.

Somebody get the horse a microphone.

When I originally posted about Time Fracture, the upcoming Doctor Who immersive experience taking place in London in the spring of 2021, the outlook was grim - not just for the universe and the Doctor, but for my odds of attending.  The planet was in the middle of a pandemic travel lockdown, and it seemed like only a miracle would let me visit England in the coming year.

Since then, two of the miracles from that posting have come to pass, plus an unexpected third miracle that may make it possible to see Time Fracture after all.

The first miracle: vaccines. There are at least three vaccines on the verge of distribution, and news reports indicate that the Canadian government has set up purchasing agreements that will allow for inoculations to begin in the spring of 2021.

The second miracle: Donald J. Trump lost the presidential election.  True, nothing to do with Doctor Who (probably nothing, but what a fun idea for a script!) but certainly a sign of changing times, an indication that the dark cloud hanging over 2020 might be starting to show a glimpse of blue sky.

The third miracle? On November 24th, Immersive Everywhere, the production company behind Time Fracture, regretfully announced their decision to delay the opening of the show by nine weeks.  Not only that, but the web site shows ticket sales extended into March of 2022, which seems insane, but that's what it says.

So, depending on the speed of vaccine approval, vaccination, and ticket availability, if the planets align, it's not impossible that we could be in London for my 60th birthday (or thereabouts).  Fingers crossed - the horse isn't singing quite yet, but I feel like an intern is showing it into the Green Room and asking if it wants anything.

- Sid