Forrest J. Ackerman, RIP

I wrote to friends that sf and horror fandom (heck, the whole genres, from books to movies to videogames) might not exist as they are now without Forrest J. Ackerman (aka "Uncle Forry"). He really was that influential.

Ackerman passed away last week at the age of 92. I never met the fellow-- which I think puts me in the minority-- but from all accounts he was the best of us ("us" being anyone who enjoys a good story or is excited, even passionate, about their favorite things).

In his home, the "Ackermansion," he amassed a legendary collection of memorabilia (much of which was sold, I'd heard, to cover his growing medical expenses) and published FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, one of the earliest horror-specific entertainment periodicals. He is closely associated with Ray Bradbury, having been an early fan and supporter of the great writer's work.

The passing of a tremendous talent is always cause for sorrow and reflection. But the passing of a man whose enthusiasm, generosity and greatness of spirit made the careers of so many talents possible is, if anything, an even greater loss. Many modern fans may never have heard his name, read his work or realized what role he's played in science fiction-- but there are not many who will be regarded by historians as more vital to the creative fields he so loved and nurtured.

RIP.

Odds and Ends

Hey folks,
Took a short break from blogging the London trip, partly to give Kat a chance to organize the photos. 900 shots takes awhile to manage.
In the meantime, I'll talk about a couple new things...

ANDROMEDA STRAIN on A&E. Based on the book by Michael Crichton, this new four-hour mini takes the story far beyond the Wildfire Lab and poor Piedmont, AZ. A satellite crash is followed by the deaths of everyone in a tiny Arizona town, save two: an old alcoholic and a colicky baby. Cause of death: near-instant coagulation of a victim's blood.

The Army cannot handle this biohazard, so Project Wildfire is activated by Gen. Mancheck (Andre Braugher). A team, led by Dr. Jeremy Stone (Benjamin Bratt), includes an ex-lover (Christa Miller), a military doctor with whom Stone has clashed before (Rick Schroder), a married biochemist (Viola Davis), and a Chinese expatriate doctor with a shady past (Daniel Dae Kim); they have a super-secret and ultrasophisticated laboratory under the desert, where they will try to save the world from this fast-acting and universally lethal organism.

Trouble is, the Army is keeping secrets of its own, not the least of which is a conspiracy between a presidential advisor and an ambitious colonel to secure samples of Andromeda, while a brazen reporter (Eric McCormack) struggles to unlock the mystery of the Andromeda Strain... and survive the conspiracy's murderous intentions when he gets too close to the truth.

The miniseries is well-acted and moves at an appropriate pace. Suspension of disbelief becomes a bit difficult when time travel and suboceanic thermal vent mining and other bits of weirdness are invoked-- Crichton has become a "kitchen sink" type of science fiction writer of late, and this mini plays into those tendencies-- such that the clean, linear storyline (and climactic race against the clock) are souped up with lots of explosions, teams of killers stalking busybodies, and more.

It's definitely watchable, but re-watchable... not so sure.

CAST:
Dr. Jeremy Stone - Benjamin Bratt
General George Mancheck - Andre Braugher
Dr. Charlene Barton - Viola Davis
Major Bill Keane, M.D. - Rick Schroder
Dr. Tsi Chou - Daniel Dae Kim
Jack Nash - Eric McCormack
Dr. Angela Noyce - Christa Miller
President Scott - Ted Whittall

WRITING- I'm getting a bit done here and there. I have two competing storylines that are taking up my thoughts these days. Gonna have to figure out which one I can ride to victory, so to speak. Lucky for me, neither one's been done in the urban fantasy genre.

Speaking of which, I'm pretty damned sick of vampires and werewolves. I know they're popular but c'mon, there are OTHER supernatural critters out there! Argh.

INCREDIBLE HULK- Just read the novelization last week (I know, I'm spoiling the movie for myself, big deal), but if they make the movie Peter David novelized, it'll kick ass. That's all I'm sayin'. Get the taste of Ang Lee's HULK out of your mouth and go see this. Should be awesome.

That's all I have for now. More London blogging soon!

Review Mania Coming!

I have a TON of reviews to get written by tomorrow-- SFRevu's February issue goes live on Friday and I have a lot of stuff to do between now and then.

Such as reviews for:
MAGIC OF TWILIGHT by SL Farrell;
RUSH OF WINGS by Adrian Phoenix;
LAST DAYS OF KRYPTON by Kevin Anderson;
SMALL FAVOR by Jim Butcher (not out till April, but we want to be early);
DARK WRAITH OF SHANNARA by Terry Brooks et al (another April release but a very fast read--graphic novel sequel to Wishsong of Shannara);
STAR WARS: DARTH BANE-RULE OF TWO by Drew Karpeshyn (like that first name!);
and a few more I can't recall off the top of my head.

Plus an interview we did in November with Jane Yolen, who's probably wondering why it hasn't run by now.

In short, I have a lot of writing to do. Ah, the adventurous life of a sci fi reviewer...

New Wild Cards Site Live!

This just in-- Tor has launched its official Wild Cards site! The home page includes an introduction from George R.R. Martin, with pages for the new characters, the writers (and links to their websites), Q&A, and a whole lot more. If you're a long time fan or a newcomer to the series, this site has LOADS of stuff you'll want to see. (And if, like me, you subscribe, you can open the link to GRRM's description of how Wild Cards came to be... which is a great story.)

Check it out!

INSIDE STRAIGHT: the next generation of Wild Cards

I've been a fan of the Wild Cards books since they started coming out in 1987. The premise is simple and elegant: an alien virus is let loose in 1946, killing nine out of ten infected, transforming nine out of ten survivors in a random but bizarre fashion, and leaving that final one-in-a-hundred seemingly untouched... yet endowed with some amazing superpower.

There have been 17 books (from three publishers) in the series, edited by George R.R. Martin (visit his site!) and Melinda Snodgrass (visit her site!). The series grew out of the authors gathering to play a superhero roleplaying game and finally deciding that, being writers, they'd better make some money out of this time-consuming hobby. Publication of the titles trailed off, with the last two releases in 2002 and 2006.

Now, however, the Wild Cards are back.

INSIDE STRAIGHT is the new mosaic novel (collection of interwoven short stories) by this writing group, which includes a handful of new writers amid the veterans. It begins with an assassination in Baghdad, zips to the other side of the world for the debut of a wild cards-based reality show, and ends on the bloody killing fields of Egypt.

Although there are cameos from established characters (such as Golden Boy), the stories introduce a number of terrific new characters:

• Jonathan Hive (aka Bugsy), a blogger who can turn into a cloud of green wasps;
• Lohengrin, a knight armored in "ghost steel" who answers the call of duty wherever it leads;
• Rustbelt, an ironclad Minnesotan who faces a monstrous injustice... and makes a momentous decision;
• Amazing Bubbles, whose career lies in ruins after her wild card turns;
• Drummer Boy, a superstrong and six-armed joker who fronts a rock band;
• Curveball, the "girl next door" who plays to win;
• Lilith, a mysterious British ace; and
• Stuntman, a kid who never quite measured up to his athlete dad's expectations, but has an opportunity to become the first American Hero.

Also featured is John Fortune, stripped of his uncontrollable powers by his father Fortunato, who now wants to gain back what he's lost. He has a shot at it, thanks to an amulet given to his mother Peregrine (a famous wild card known for her beauty and her huge white wings). Putting it on opens a world of possibilities... and takes him into the path of terrible danger. Backed by Bugsy and Lohengrin, Fortune chooses to embrace his destiny and heads for Egypt, where the Living Gods (jokers who resemble the Egyptian pantheon) have asked for his help.

You see, as mentioned, the adventure begins with an assassination. The Caliph, ruler of a multi-state Muslim empire, is murdered and a joker terrorist group is framed for the crime. This leads to a horrifying retaliation against Egypt's joker population, a situation that at first seems to be a background element but takes center stage very quickly. (Long-time readers of the series will get an Easter egg, of sorts, as the Caliph is a well-established character from a long time back.)

Up front is the debut of reality show American Hero, pitting 28 aces (divided into four teams) against each other and judged by aces Digger Downs, Harlem Hammer and Topper. Situations are created and the teams must react--with failure meaning each losing team has to "discard" a player. (Yes, the card imagery is still in full force herein.)

The show provides a snapshot of aces in 2008 America. Many of them are celebrities because of what they are (that is, superpowered), not who they are; Bugsy blogs about this at length in the very opening of the book. This becomes an extremely important point, as the entire book turns upon one question:

What is a hero?

As the book splits between the trio (or quartet?) in Egypt and the dwindling cast of AH in Hollywood, the importance of the question grows more clear by the page. Each character has a moment of truth, when they can be a hero or not. Some of these are exceptionally poignant, as a handful step up; the others either fail this test of character (one spectacularly so) or opt out entirely.

A small group of ace volunteers joins Fortune, Bugsy and Lohengrin in Egypt, as two armies converge on Aswan and the masses of joker refugees taking shelter there. There's a Magnificent Seven quality to this final act, which ends in desperate battle and none left unchanged (and several dead) before it's all over.

It's an ambitious book with a lot to say. Wild Cards as a series hasn't shied away from social commentary (in the context of alternate history), but this is perhaps the most head-on tackling of real world issues and the theme of heroism that the series has yet attempted. In a way, it harks back to "Witness" by Walter Jon Williams, one of the very first WC tales. That was about the Four Aces, a team assembled by an altruist and set loose on the world stage in the 1950s; now, the stakes are higher, but the underlying problem is the same: can wild card powers solve world crises? Can those with power stand aside and do nothing while terrible things happen?

What is a hero? By the end of this book, the true heroes are revealed--and a new age dawns for the children of the wild card.

What can I say? I loved this book.

Look for the SFRevu review in January 2008.