Review: The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Lloyd James

Complex and believable characters and an intricate religious system lie at the heart of The Curse of Chalion. The people of Chalion practice a “Quintarian” philosophy; that is, they worship the five gods: the Father, the Mother, the Son, the Daughter, and the Bastard. To the north of Chalion lies Roknar, whose people deny the Bastard his divine status. This religious schism leads to war, with Chalion victorious, but at a great cost: the heirs of the royal household are cursed thereafter, dooming them to torment and ruin.

Lupe dy Cazaril, a former page, castle-warder, and soldier, returns to Chalion after a harrowing ordeal as a Roknari galley slave and acquires the position of tutor to Iselle, sister to the heir of Chalion. Cazaril soon finds himself in the middle of the political machinations of the royal court, and to save his pupil from an unpleasant marriage, he realizes that he must be willing to sacrifice his own life to protect Iselle’s future. But Cazaril’s service to Iselle does not end there, for he must also find a way to break the Golden General’s curse that’s plagued her family for generations.

One of benefits of hearing, rather than reading, a high fantasy novel like this one is that the actor handles all of those tricky fantasy-world pronunciations for you; in this, and every other aspect of this recording, narrator Lloyd James excels. Subtle tonal shifts distinguish James’s characters, enabling him to voice males and females of all ages, of upper or lower castes—all with equal acumen. Different accents succeed in making foreigners indeed seem foreign, including a wonderful Roknari dialect spoken by the groom Umegat.

Bujold’s science fiction has always adapted well to audio; I present as evidence, the Miles Vorkosigan novella “Borders of Infinity” (download it free at www.dendarii.co.uk/MP3). Now, with The Curse of Chalion, Bujold proves that her fantasy does as well.

Originally appeared in Amazing Stories

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Review: The Draco Tavern by Larry Niven

The Draco Tavern by Larry Niven
Tor, 2006, $24.95

The Draco Tavern is a hangout for interplanetary travelers – a sort of Mos Eisley Cantina but without all the droids and blasters. Which is not to say it doesn’t have it’s fair share of drama—It’s got just as much as Mos Eisley, but it’s of a much more intellectual variety. Rick Schumann established the Tavern near the Mount Forel in Siberia, after the Chirpsithtra—humanity’s first alien visitors—set up a spaceport there.

Schumann is the first-person narrator of these tales, which all take place in or around the Tavern, and whose topics run the gamut from religion to interspecies commerce, from the nature of predators and prey to the possibilities of immortality.

Each of the stories is very short—most would be considered vignettes—and as such there is not much room for character development that goes much beyond the surface. Despite that, however, there is much to like about these tales; they are thought-provoking and mostly do exactly what speculative fiction sets out to do—evoke a sense of wonder while making the reader think. The stories are uniformly well-crafted, and though none stands out they work together taken as a whole; the only questionable inclusion is "One Night at the Draco Tavern," which is not a story, but is instead a transcribed skit that was put on an SF convention.

That one minor flaw aside, the book is full of strong, idea-driven SF that’s sure to satisfy Niven’s fans and readers who like their SF hard.

Originally appeared in Shimmer Magazine

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Unreality TV

Speaking of television, one of the things that really annoyed me about Bionic Woman’s pilot was the accident which causes the Jaime (Bionic Woman) to become bionic. She and her boyfriend are in their car, driving along, when a semi slams into them. The semi impacts with the car on the passenger side (where Jaime was sitting). Now, this truck must have been going 60 MPH or so, and the impact was such that it sent the car tumbling end over end for what appears to be miles. Jaime is severely injured, and ends up losing an eye, an arm and a leg, or something like that, but after watching that accident, I couldn’t believe that anyone could survive that. Forget losing limbs, she’d be paste. Oh, and her boyfriend walks away pretty much unscathed (or at least unscathed enough that he’s well enough to perform her bionic surgery!).

All of which just goes to emphasize that when you’re working with elements of fantasy or science fiction (i.e., things that are not possible), it’s all the more important to make the mundane, everyday stuff believable. I’m gladly willing to suspend my disbelief, but only so far.

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New SF on TV

Here are some quick opinions on the new slate of SFnal network TV programming:

Reaper – B+

Kind of a been-there-done-that premise is enlivened by some interesting tweaks to the deal with the devil concept, but it’s the humor that really makes the show work.

Pushing Daisies – A

The premise–a man has the ability to bring the dead back to life temporarily (or permanently with consequences)–is a cool one, but what’s really going to make this show great, I think, is the relationship between the male and female leads who are obviously in love with each other but can never have a physical relationship–they can’t even touch.

Bionic Woman – F

This was really just ghastly. Everything from the writing to the acting to the directing was just terrible. If I kept watching this show, I’d need some bionic eyes to replace my own, which will have been gouged out.

Chuck – B-

Amusing and fun high-tech spy-thriller type of thing, with liberal doses of humor. The first two episodes were enjoyable, but I have a hard time imagining this show holding my interest for long.

Journeyman – C

Kevin McKidd is great, but the nonsensical time travel and passive protagonist make me yawn. I haven’t given up on it yet, but I’m not hopeful for its future.

Moonlight – D+

There’s no particular reason this shouldn’t be good, I just didn’t think it was.

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F&SF in Best American Short Stories

In Best American Short Stories 2007, edited by Stephen King, F&SF has one story reprinted and a few honorable mentions.

In the book:

  • The Boy in Zaquitos by Bruce McAllister

Honorable Mentions (100 Other Distinguished Stories)

  • Billy and the Fairy by Terry Bisson
  • Counterfactual by Gardner Dozois
  • With by Good Intentions by Carrie Richerson
  • Another Word for Map is Faith by Christopher Rowe

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F&SF in Year’s Best Science Fiction

Here’s the F&SF-relevant info from Gardner Dozois’s Year’s Best Science Fiction:

In the book:

  • Damascus by Daryl Gregory
  • Okanoggan Falls by Carolyn Ives Gilman

Honorable Mentions:

  • Pop Squad by Paolo Bacigalupi
  • Hallucigenia by Laird Barron
  • El Regalo by Peter S. Beagle
  • Billy and the Fairy by Terry Bisson
    • Billy and the Spaceman
    • Billy and the Unicorn
    • Planet of Mystery
  • Dazzle the Pundit by Scott Bradfield
  • Parsifal by James Cambias
  • The Song of Kido by Matthew Corradi **
  • Animal Magnetism by Albert E. Cowdrey
    • Imitation of Life
    • Immortal Forms
    • Revelation
    • The Revivalist
  • Czesko by Ef Deal *
  • Counterfactual by Gardner Dozois
  • Senora Suerta by Tananarive Due
  • Killers by Carol Emshwiller
  • Abandon the Ruins by Charles Coleman Finlay
    • Passing Through
  • Terms of Engagement by C. S. Friedman
  • How to Talk to Girls at Parties by Neil Gaiman
  • Kansas, She Says, Is the Name of the Star by R. Garcia y Robertson
  • Thirteen O’Clock by David Gerrold
  • Gardening at Night by Daryl Gregory
  • From the Mouths of Babes by Trent Hergenrader
  • Poor Guy by Michael Kandel
  • By the Rules by Matthew Hughes
    • A Herd of Opportunity
    • Shadow Man
  • Shambhala by Alex Irvine
  • Just Do It by Heather Lindsley *
  • The Boy in Zaquitos by Bruce McAllister
    • Cold War
  • Iklawa by Donald Mead *
  • The Protectors of Zendor by John Morressy
    • The Return of the O’Farrissey
    • The True History of the Picky Princess
  • The Moment of Joy Before by Claudia O’Keefe
  • Republic by Robert Onopa
  • Holding Pattern by Steven Popkes
  • Intolerance by Robert Reed
    • Less Than Nothing
    • Misjudgment Day
    • Pills Forever
    • Show Me Yours
    • Starbuck
  • Journey into the Kingdom by M. Rickert
    • The Christmas Witch
  • Boon by Madeline Robins
  • Horse-Year Woman by Michaela Roessner
  • Another Word for Map is Faith by Christopher Rowe
  • Pol Pot’s Beautiful Daughter by Geoff Ryman
  • A Daze in the Life by Tony Sarowitz
  • The Cathedral of Universal Biodiversity by Gary Shockley
  • Memory of a Thing That Never Was by Jerry Seeger *
  • Diluvium by Steven Utley
  • The Lineaments of Gratified Desire by Ysabeau Wilce
  • Penultima Thule by Chris Willrich
  • Bea and Her Bird Brother by Gene Wolfe

* Slush Survivor
**Story by one-time slush survivor

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F&SF in Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror

Since all the cool kids are posting the honorable mentions from Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror (edited by Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link & Gavin Grant) that their magazines accrued, I thought I’d do so as well.

But first, reprinted in the book are:

  • Pol Pot’s Beautiful Daughter by Geoff Ryman
  • Another Word for Map is Faith by Christopher Rowe
  • Journey into the Kingdom by M. Rickert
  • The Lineaments of Gratified Desire by Ysabeau Wilce

Honorable Mentions:

  • Hallucigenia by Laird Barron
  • El Regalo by Peter S. Beagle
  • Billy & the Fairy by Terry Bisson
  • Parsival by James Cambais
  • Perfect Stranger by Amy Sterling Casil
  • John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner by Susanna Clarke
  • Animal Magnetism by Albert E. Cowdrey
  • Czesko by Ef Deal *
  • Killers by Carol Emshwiller
  • Passing Through by Charles Coleman Finlay
  • Terms of Engagement by C. S. Friedman
  • Damascus by Daryl Gregory
  • The Boy in Zaquitos by Bruce McAllister
  • The Moment of Joy Before by Claudia O’Keefe
  • Intolerance by Robert Reed
  • Show Me Yours by Robert Reed
  • With By Good Intentions by Carrie Richerson
  • The Christmas Witch by M. Rickert
  • The Horse Year Woman by Michaela Roessner
  • Memory of a Thing That Never Was by Jerry Seeger *
  • Penultima Thule by Chris Willrich
  • Bea & Her Bird Brother by Gene Wolfe

* Slush Survivor

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Robot Chicken vs. Flight of the Conchords

While on the subject of TV, why didn’t anyone ever tell me how freaking awesome Robot Chicken is? That show’s hilarious. It’s stop-motion animation random sketch comedy at its best. Don’t believe me? Check out this clip on YouTube and find out what happens when President Bush discovers his midichlorian count is very high…

And while you’re at it, also be sure to check out Flight of the Conchords, another great comedy show. FotC is about two New Zealand musicians trying to make it in the Big Apple. Every episode features some of the bands’ songs, which are presented as music videos within the context of the show. You can see (I think) every song/video from the first season here. Several of their songs are SFnal–including a great parody of Lord of the Rings (it was required they parody LOTR, being from New Zealand).

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Beauty and the Geek

I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I’ve become hooked on watching Beauty and the Geek. For those that don’t know, B&tG is a reality show in which 10 female “beauties” and 10 male “geeks” all live in one house together, pair up into teams (one beauty/one geek on each), and compete in challenges designed to help the beauties become more than just a pretty face and help the geeks become, um, not socially retarded.

One thing that surprised me is how real the geeks appear to be. This isn’t one of those situations where you have people acting unlike themselves in order to get cast on the show; these guys are the real deal. And man, the producers really got a nice cross-sampling of geeks. This season they have a filker and a LARPer.

As if there were any question which one of these groups I most identify with, further evidence was provided in this week’s episode. During one of the one-on-one’s (when the beauty or geek talks candidly directly to the camera, out of ear-shot of the other contestants), one of the geeks was wearing a shirt (“Viva la Relativity!”) that I not only own, but was actually wearing right at that moment.

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