Genrenauts: The Shootout Solution
Written by Michael R. Underwood
Published by Tor
Writing metafiction is a difficult needle to thread. Fiction about fiction can easily become maze-like and incomprehensible, and it makes the reader very aware of the author. By its very nature, it doesn’t suspend disbelief. Metafiction done well can be cathartic and clever. Done poorly, it just feels like a writer bragging about their MFA in literature. So I was a little leery approaching Michael Underwood’s “Genrenauts” novellas, but after finishing the first one, he’s managed to pull off something extraordinary.
Leah Tang is a standup comedian struggling to make her big break while holding down a boring day job she hates. When a strange man offers her a dream job, she is skeptical at first, but jumps at the chance.
She joins the Genrenauts. An elite, highly secret team that travels to parallel worlds and fixes problems before they bleed over into our world. Leah’s first mission is to help a desert town in Western World. But the Genrenauts don’t save the day. They put stories back on track, which is a much more difficult proposition.
Underwood’s concept of genres as alternate realities is fun and has a lot of possibilities to it. He gets to show off his own savviness with tropes and conventions, but giving these discussions to the characters rather than the narrator softens the rough edges. It makes for a quick novella read that gives old tropes new tricks. Making genres living, breathing worlds might not have worked in a longer book, but it sets the stage quickly and lets the reader get right to the plot without too much fuss here.
The other real strength is the Genrenauts team, whom the reader only gets introduced to here. Leah is the newbie on the team, and there are a lot of first impressions, but the characters seem to all have a lot of hidden depths. Putting them up against genres that often rely on stock, pulpy characters is an interesting dynamic.
Genrenauts: The Shootout Solution is a quick, delightful introduction to a novella series that is built on a great premise. I can’t wait to see what adventures the Genrenauts have ahead of them, and what other adventures they’ll have to fix. Genrenauts is available in ebook from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, MichaelRUnderwood.com.
Hugh Likes Fiction: The Shootout Solution’ by Mike Underwood
January 30, 2017
Hugh Likes Fiction Genrenauts, HLF, Michael R Underwood, Novella, review, Tor Leave a comment
Hugh Likes Fiction: Heartless
January 13, 2017
Hugh Likes Fiction, Uncategorized Audible, audiobook, Gail Carriger, Heartless, HLF, Hugh Likes Fiction, review Leave a comment
Heartless: The Parasol Protectorate, Book Four
Written by Gail Carriger
Narrated by Emily Gray
Audible.com
Although I am not big on Romance, I’ve had a soft spot for Gail Carriger’s “Parasol Protectorate” series for a long time. It might have to do with her delightful sense of humor, or the richly detailed world of her supernatural Victorian London. Whatever the case, I’ve been savoring the series, and I recently devoured the fourth entry, for the first time in audio.
Alexia Maccon, Soulless, Lady of Woolsey, and Mujah to Queen Victoria, is never one to let little details interfere when she sets on a course of action. So when a ghost gives her a cryptic warning of a plot against the Queen, she isn’t going to let a little thing like being eight months pregnant stand in her way. Scheming scientists, maladjusted werewolves, and zombie porcupines aren’t going to have much of a chance, either.
Carriger does it again with her fast paced comic misadventures in Victorian supernatural society. Her grasp of character and timing is once again on display as she navigates Alexia through mystery, society expectations and steampunk hi-jinx.
Emily Gray’s performance is spot on, and deftly juggles the wide-ranging accents and character foibles of the large cast. Her narration is a perfect balance of high society wit and action-comedy timing.
While this isn’t the best place to jump on to the Parasol Protectorate series, Heartless is a worthy entry. I heartily recommend readers pick up this one, or work their way up to it. You can find it on Audible, in a variety of formats on Amazon, or of course at your local bookstore.
Podcast: CCR31: Maniac
January 12, 2017
Podcast CCR, Chrononaut Cinema Reviews, hugh, I'm not sure what I just watched, JRD, Maniac, Opopinax, Podcasts, review, Rich The T T Leave a comment
Join the full Chrononauts crew as well look at 1934’s “Maniac!”
Click HERE to listen!
And click HERE to watch the film on Youtube!
Chrononaut Cinema Reviews is presented by http://skinner.fm and Way of the Buffalo, and is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.
This podcast was originally posted at Skinner.FM on January 11, 2017.
Hugh Likes Comics: The Unstoppable Wasp
January 9, 2017
Hugh Likes Comics Agents of GIRL, Comics, HLC, Hugh Likes Comics, Marvel, review, The Wasp Leave a comment
The Unstoppable Wasp #1
Written by Jeremy Whitley
Drawn by Elsa Charretier
Colored by Megan Wilson
Published by Marvel Comics
I have never been a fan of The Wasp. Originally created by Lee and Kirby as a sidekick/love interest for Ant-Man in the ’60’s, I always thought of her as emblematic of the problems that plagued female characters in that era. She was a hanger on, a love-struck fool always in need of rescue, whose powers were weaker and less awesome than her male peers. As time when on, Marvel addressed these tropes and even turned fellow Marvel damsels Jean Grey and Sue Storm into powerful badasses in their own right. But Wasp always seemed trapped in her roots. Even when her role was expanded and she led the Avengers, she was still ‘the girl.’ A fashion designer and socialite, she never really escaped the gender expectations placed on her by male writers.
Which is exactly why The Unstoppable Wasp #1 is such a breath of fresh air. The book stars Nadia Pym, teenage genius, escapee from a Russian super-soldier program, and long-lost daughter of original Ant-Man Hank Pym, because comics. Having studied her father’s work, she has come to America to live the life she never could before. But the thing about Nadia, even more than her intelligence, is her joyfulness. This is the exact antithesis of a grim and gritty superhero punch-up. The Wasp sparkles with light and energy. Nadia, despite her terrible upbringing, isn’t a brooder. She wants to make friends with everyone she meets. She wants to have adventures. She wants to dance with giant robots. This comic is fun, and beautiful and smart. It fits in right along with titles like Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel. (Who guest stars in this issue.)
Written by “Princeless” creator Jeremy Whitley, The Unstoppable Wasp is a delight. It carries over the positive messaging from his creator-owned work and sets its sights on a very important goal: encouraging girls to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. There is even an interview with paleontologist Rachel Silverstein and and PhD Chemistry student Marina Chanidou in the back in lieu of a letters column. The script never gets bogged down in its message, and remains fun and engaging throughout.
Elsa Charretier’s drawing is similarly great, with kinetic, detailed panels and clever layouts. One of the things I love in particular is how she draws Nadia. She’s always moving, practically bouncing from frame to frame, and she’s always, always smiling. She is assisted by Megan Wilson’s bright, sunny palette, which contrasts The Wasp’s black and red suit with light, vibrant colors. This is not a world of shadows, and the coloring does a lot of legwork establishing tone.
The Unstoppable Wasp #1 is a great start to another fun, engaging, and smart Marvel book. If you love comics, pick it up. And be sure to share it with any budding young lady adventure scientists in your life.
The Unstoppable Wasp #1 is available from Comixology or at your local comics shop.
Hugh Likes Music: Chronicles of Time
December 23, 2016
Hugh Likes Music Chrono Trigger, Gaming, HLM, Hugh Likes Music, review, Soundtrack, Video Games Leave a comment
Chronicles of Time
Various Artists
ChroniclesofTime.net
I’m one of those writers that writes to music. I prefer atmospheric, instrumental pieces that catch the ear but also fade into the background, and one of my favorite sub-genres to pick from is video game soundtracks.
Which is why this year’s “Chronicles of Time” has been getting heavy rotation on my writing playlist. This massive collaboration consists of eighty-one tracks drawn from artists and bands all over the nerd-core and O C remix communities. A love letter to Yasunori Mitsuda’s soundtrack to the SNES classic “Chrono Trigger,” it spans five discs, a spectrum of genres, and every piece of music in the game.
And the collaborators have brought their A-material. Tracks from artists like Carless, Mustin, Super Guitar Bros, and XPRTNovice bring an eclectic but polished sound to the collection. The stylistically diverse covers and remixes bring everything from heavy metal to jazz guitar to dance-club remixes and hip hop to the masterful compositions.
The album is available at chroniclesoftime.net as well as iTunes and Google Play. All proceeds benefit Doctors Without Borders. Chronicles of Time is a treat to listen to, and makes great writing music. I heartily recommend it.
Hugh Likes Comics: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Again!
December 19, 2016
Hugh Likes Comics, Uncategorized Comics, HLC, Hugh Likes Comics, Marvel, Marvel Comics, review, Squirrel Girl Leave a comment
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe!
Written by Ryan North
Drawn by Erica Henderson
Published by Marvel Comics
I frigging love Squirrel Girl. North and Henderson’s irreverent take on the Marvel Universe is the highlight of my pull list, and when I heard they were doing a graphic novel, I had to get on-board immediately.
A parody of a classic but ultra-serious Punisher story, USGBUTMU! features all of my favorite things about North’s writing, and my favorite things about the Marvel Universe. Mad science, morally gray villains, and Tony Stark’s utter disregard for lab safety.
When a device confiscated from a mad scientist accidentally creates a duplicate of Squirrel Girl, she couldn’t be happier with the result. But duplicate Squirrel Girl Allene soon decides to save the Earth for Squirrels, and banish humanity to the moon. After getting the Squirrel Girl and her friends out of the way, she quickly and efficiently goes about beating up and capturing anyone who could stop her.
Essentially a long-form version of a Squirrel Girl issue, North and Henderson use the extra room to really shine. With a story just as silly and smart as the Squirrel Girl ongoing series, this graphic novel is a delight for fans, and a wonderful introduction to readers new to the character. North’s writing remains sharp and absurdist, and Henderson’s art and coloring more than keep pace. With gems like a unit of squirrels attempting to operate an Ironman suit, and Squirrel Girl using sorting techniques to plot her enemies’ downfall, this is just the perfect mix of crazy comedy I enjoy.
Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe is available from Comixology, or your local comics shop, and makes a great gift.
Podcast: CCR30: The Mad Monster
December 4, 2016
Podcast CCR, hugh, JRD, Opopinax, Podcast, review, Rich The T T Leave a comment
The Chrononauts tackle a George Zucco-fronted Wolfman knockoff and come away more confused that scared.
Click HERE to listen!
And click HERE to watch The Mad Monster on Youtube!
Chrononaut Cinema Reviews is presented by http://skinner.fm and Way of the Buffalo, and is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.
This podcast was originally released on November 30, 2016 at Skinner.FM.
Hugh Likes Video Games: Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow
October 31, 2016
Review Castlevania, Dracula Season, Halloween, HLV, Hugh Likes Video Games, review Leave a comment
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow
Published by Konami
Nintendo DS, 2005
The sequel to 2003’s “Aria of Sorrow,” Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow” was the first installment of the series for the Nintendo DS. A savvy reader might point out that ‘Dawn’ isn’t the best name for a sequel, but since it appeared in the first year of the system, it was one of many games that glommed on to the ‘DS’ suffix.
The game once again follows teen reincarnation of the Lord of Darkness Soma Cruz to a maze-like castle in which he will again come to terms with and try to overcome his destiny. When he is confronted by a cult leader searching for the Lord of Darkness, Soma’s power of Dominance unexpectedly returns, forcing him to confront his past life once again.
On the whole, “Dawn of Sorrow” doesn’t bring much new from its GBA predecessors. The main game puts you back in the shoes of Soma, with the ability to Dominate and use the powers of various monsters to fight and to solve puzzles. You can also collect extra souls to power up your abilities and weapons, which is nice, but mostly this game is more Aria of Sorrow with prettier graphics. The game does have a ‘seal’ system, in which bosses have to be sealed away to be beaten. This involves drawing a symbol on the touch screen after the fight. It is a bit annoying, forcing players to keep a stylus tucked in their hand during the fight, but hardly the most egregious tacked on touch-screen gimmick of its day.
The game also features a return of the standard Castlevania extras such as unlockable characters and Boss Rush modes. The extra mode is a real treat in this version, as it allows the player to switch between characters in a fan-service nod to Castlevania III.
The game still holds up relatively well, with well-designed, highly detailed sprites. The castle feels nice and big, and it isn’t too hard to navigate with plenty of warp and save areas. The game had a little trouble running in my New 3DS, however. It would occasionally freeze or glitch, and the system wouldn’t be able to read the game card. This wasn’t enough of an issue to prevent normal play, however.
“Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow” is an incremental but worthy installment in the Castlevania franchise, and is well worth your time if you’re looking to explore Dracula’s castle this Halloween. It doesn’t break a lot of ground, but it is a fun and challenging adventure. You should be able to find a used copy at your local game store.
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Hugh Likes Podcasts: Six Stories Told at Night
October 24, 2016
Hugh Likes Podcasts, Uncategorized Blythe Haynes, Canada, Folklore, HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, K T Bryski, Metafiction, review, Storytelling 1 Comment
Six Stories Told At Night
Produced by K. T. Bryski
Performed by Blythe Haynes
KTBryski.com
“Six Stories Told at Night” is masterfully written and produced Canadian meta-fiction. It is the story of Sam and Joelle, two college-age friends in Toronto. Joelle is an artist and folklorist who suddenly disappears. Concerned, Sam goes to her apartment and finds a note. Joelle claims to have left for Fairyland, the place all stories come from. Sam struggles to find her, using Joelle’s notes and their own personal history as a map. But getting to Fairyland isn’t the same as getting in, and Joelle has already told her all the stories she knows.
The product of a grant from the Ontario Arts Council, the podcast examines some famous Canadian folktales and the nature of storytelling. Each episode tells a different Canadian folktale, and also follows Sam as she searches for Joelle and recounts a little bit of their history. It is effectively and subtly done, always connecting the historical tale to modern characters in a way that doesn’t feel moralistic.
The audio is well-mastered, with editing by Bryski and original music by composer Alex White. Blythe Hayne’s performances are both fantastical and evocative as she switches between anxious, clipped Ontarian Sam and the languid, artistic Joelle, and between the present, and the past. Haynes’ voice is as subtle and varied as the story, and the two are an excellent match. “Six Stories” is a creation perfectly tailored for audio podcast, and it shows in the way that Haynes’ and Bryski’s work mesh so seamlessly.
The tales themselves are a collection of chilling ghost stories and supernatural encounters. They are a perfect treat for a chilly autumn night. You can subscribe or listen online to “Six Stories Told at Night” at KTBryski.com. I highly recommend it.
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Hugh Likes Video Games: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
October 7, 2016
Hugh Likes Video Games Castlevania, HLV, Hugh Likes Video Games, Nintendo DS, review Leave a comment
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Konami
Nintendo DS, 2006
Welcome to Dracula Season, my annual celebration of my favorite defunct game franchise, Castlevania! This is the second installment of the franchise on the Nintendo DS, Portrait of Ruin. Like the other handheld titles of the era, this is a 2D side-scrolling exploration game. The twist in this one is that the player controls two characters that share the screen, Johnathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin.
A sequel to the somewhat obscure Sega Genesis title “Castlevania Bloodlines,” Johnathan is the son of one of that game’s protagonists, John Morris, and the grandson of ‘Dracula’ character Quincy Morris. He’s a more physical character, while Charlotte is a magician. Players can switch between the two, and choose to go solo, or have the other character onscreen as an AI partner. Two players can also team up over a wireless connection. Both collect equipment, sub-weapons, and spells as they explore Dracula’s Castle.
But the count is not at home. Rather, the castle is being manipulated by Brauner, a vampiric artist whose daughters were killed in World War I. He’s taken control of the castle with the aim to destroy the world. Players have to enter Brauner’s paintings in order to disrupt his hold on it.
Portrait of Ruin is visually stunning, and puts the DS’s graphics processor through its paces. The concept of entering the paintings is cool, and adds some visual flair and variety to the maps. The unusual maps and layouts challenge players in ways that call back to “Symphony of the Night.” The story is interesting but easy to follow, even for someone like myself who hasn’t played the Genesis prequel.
It would have been nice to have more paintings later in the game rather than reusing the first four, but this is a small nitpick. Portrait of Ruin is a worthy successor to the Castlevania line, and while it is no longer in print, you can probably pick up a used copy at your local games shop for a steal.
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