Tag: Star Trek

When Redshirts Fight Back

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews, Science Fiction9 Comments

Redshirts by John Scalzi has one of the most fantastically brilliant premises I’ve ever run across.  As soon as I figured out that it really is about what I think of when I hear “redshirts,” I knew I had to read it.

Ensign Andrew Dahl and his friends are newly arrived on the starship Intrepid, and swiftly realize that there are strange things going on.  There seems to be a strangely high number of casualties among the crew, events frequently defy the laws of physics or logic, and everyone gets awfully nervous about the subject of landing parties.  Dahl eventually connects with Jenkins, a crewmember who became unhinged after his wife was killed aboard the ship, and has taken to hiding in the crawlspaces–but who seems to have a firmer grasp on what’s really going on than anyone else.  Jenkins has figured out that their lives are dictated by the scripts of a TV show–a bad one–and Dahl and his friends conclude that the only way to escape a meaningless death is to go back in time and find their writers.

Two brilliant things here: this book takes all the weird absurdities of the original Star Trek and sci fi shows like it, drags them out to be even more extreme, and then has characters actually realize how irrational it all is.  Second, this is so meta–characters inside of a story have to deal with what it means to be characters.  I’m not sure if it’s applicable philosophy,  but it’s certainly intriguing philosophy.

Two criticisms: this will sound nitpicky, but Scalzi has a speech tag problem.  For non-editors, those are he said, she replied, he asked, etc.  Generally authors drop them when they can without losing clarity.  Scalzi keeps them, particularly in ‘s a scene near the beginning with two characters swapping dialogue back and forth and a speech tag at the end of every line.  It may be a deliberate stylistic choice, but it still made me twitch.  Second, and this is very ironic–I couldn’t keep Dahl’s friends straight.  They’re all redshirts, all with carefully crafted paragraph-long backstories, and I struggled to remember who was who, or see any depth in most of them.  Again, maybe deliberate–or Scalzi fell into the same trap he’s parodying.  We’ll say it was deliberate…

I did really enjoy Dahl as a character, as well as Jenkins.  In some ways I think I felt for him the most.  And then there was Kerensky, one of the TV show regulars.  He’s the regular character who gets injured or threatened but pulls through–again and again and again.  He’s also incredibly arrogant and very entertaining.

The main story comes to a close with a strange number of pages left in the book, because it’s followed by three codas.  The first is supposed to be the blog of one of the TV show writers.  I had trouble with this story.  The writer is very argumentative, and I’ve never liked narrators who come across as hostile to the reader.  The second is…harder to explain, but suffice to say it’s in second person (so the main character is “you”) and I couldn’t get into that somehow.

The third story, though, is about the actress who played Jenkins’ deceased wife, and I really liked her story.  She’s trying to grapple with this revelation about the characters of the Intrepid, and with larger life questions and…really fascinating.

All in all, for whatever its quirks and misfires, this book is still worth reading for that so fantastically amazing premise.  If you’re a Star Trek fan, at least.  I mean–the redshirts figure out what’s going on and try to save themselves.  And it’s fast-paced and funny and–well, how could that not be fantastic? 🙂

Author’s Site: http://scalzi.com/

Other reviews:
Stainless Steel Droppings
Little Red Reviewer
Tia’s Book Musings
Anyone else?

Becoming a Geek Celebrity

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews13 Comments

I seem to be meeting a lot of geeks lately.  That sounds a little odd, but it does make sense–I’ve connected into a few different social circles that seem to attract geeks (and by the way, they all defy the stereotype about socially awkward, reclusive geeks).

It’s great fun, because we all have some of the same touchpoints, and the important ones are not the same as the important general pop culture ones.  You know–Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly, certain board games, certain authors.  There are certain people too.  Neil Gaiman is apparently The World’s Coolest Author; not just because of his books, but he personally seems to be amazing.  George Takei is the Geek King of Facebook (follow him if you want to be in on all the geek memes).

And lately, Wil Wheaton is emerging as the Geek Celebrity.  Not for anything in particular–just for being a geeky celebrity.  I mean, besides a recurring role as himself on The Big Bang Theory, he has an online show focused on playing board games.  Really.

All this made me curious.  How did Wesley Crusher become the Geek Celebrity?  So I read Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton.  It would probably make him happy that I read it more because I’m curious about who he’s become lately than because of Wesley.  I never actively disliked Wesley, but I was never much of a fan either, so that wasn’t that big a draw.

Just a Geek is a memoir, but one that covers a very narrow period.  It’s a couple of years from roughly 2001-2002, and charts how Wheaton went from a washed-up celebrity trying to escape Star Trek to coming to terms with Wesley Crusher and publishing his first book.  This was published in 2004 so it’s hardly the complete story of how he got to the present (obviously), but it does describe the turning point.

Some sections of the book are lifted directly from Wheaton’s blog, and the feel of the entire book is much like that.  You do get the sense of Wil Wheaton sitting down to tell you about his life and his experiences.  In some ways, what has stuck with me the most is the raw honesty of it all.  He talks about being depressed or angry or disliking something, in a way that people (at least in public forums) usually don’t.  He talks about deep positive emotions too, especially being incredibly moved by Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas, stepping back on the bridge of the Enterprise–D.

If his intent was to convince people that he’s a regular guy, that’s definitely how he comes across.  We usually see only a couple of visions of celebrities, and this is neither.  Wheaton is not the self-destructing celebrity on the cover of Us Weekly, or the serene dispenser of wisdom that shows up on Parade.  He’s just a normal guy who’s a bit geeky.  Despite the title, the geekiness didn’t feel like that big of a focus to me–it was mostly “life as a struggling actor.”  But he did get an introduction from Neil Gaiman, so there are obviously geek connections here.

In a way I’m sorry to say that the most memorable parts did turn out to be Star Trek related.  The journey and personal growth are interesting, but my favorite parts involved other Star Trek celebrities; it happens in a few places.  Unless you’re really interested in Wil Wheaton, I wouldn’t read this without a working knowledge of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the actors involved (which, if you’re really interested in Wil Wheaton, you probably have anyway).  It’s not a consuming focus but it is spread throughout the book, and there isn’t always much context provided.  In a way, Star Trek IS the context of the book.

Since Wheaton is honest, I suppose I’ll be strictly honest too on my assessment.  I enjoyed the book.  It gave me what I wanted, which was some idea of how Wil Wheaton became a geek touch point beyond the Starship Enterprise.  But I didn’t love it and I don’t think I’ll run out to read something else by him.  I’m just not enough of a fan of his writing or of him–and it’s a very personality-driven book.  I should note there’s no reason for that.  It’s just one of those things, what-does-and-doesn’t-speak-to-you.

But I will be hoping for another Big Bang Theory cameo, and I will recommend the book–if you’re a geek.

Author’s Site: http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/

Other reviews:
Stainless Steel Droppings
Just a Writer Geek
Reading by Candlelight
Anyone else?

Saturday Snapshot: Bumper Stickers

On By cherylmahoneyIn Saturday Snapshot20 Comments

My current car is the first one I haven’t shared (well, borrowed from parents, really), so when it became mine I decided to personalize!  Then I spent a few months not able to commit to any bumper stickers I saw in shops.  Is any random joke really that clever to stick on my car for years?  Finally I went online, and here’s what I ended up with…

When I bought “I’d rather be sailing the high seas with Captain Jack,” I of course meant Captain Jack Sparrow–and mostly I do still mean him, because he’s one of my favorite characters ever.  But if Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who invited me on a voyage, I’d go with him too!

As to being haunted by the Phantom of the Opera…that seems to say it so well.  He’s lived in my head for years.

The “Perform Random Acts of Shakespeare” one has prompted people to ask me if I’m in theatre.  I’m not–but I like Shakespeare.  And I quote him frequently.

The Starfleet emblem should be pretty self-explanatory.  And as to “Coexist” I do believe in coexisting, on a lot of levels; I wanted something different than the blue sticker everyone else has.  And space–it’s pretty amazing.

I felt like I could commit to all of these, because the most recent interest represented here is the Phantom–and that’s going on eight years.  So I’m pretty sure I’m not going to wind up turning away from any of these and regretting the sticker!

Anyone else have a cool bumper sticker?  Or do you remember seeing a fun one?

Check out At Home with Books for more Saturday Snapshots!

Favorites Friday: Fantasy Worlds

On By cherylmahoneyIn Favorites Friday12 Comments

I recently read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, about a future where most of humanity spends most of their time in a massive virtual world (stay tuned for a review!)  Made up of thousands of planets and universes, there’s a tantalizing mention that many fictional worlds have been created within the virtual universe.  Which got me thinking about which fictional universes I’d most like to visit…

Star Trek is an obvious first choice.  It’s such an idealized future, both in terms of technology and humanity’s advancement, that it would be an amazing place to live.  I’m not so sure about being a tourist there, because I don’t know precisely what I’d like to see–the universe in general is amazing, but isn’t so much big on the landmarks.  If I was just visiting, I’d be most interested if I could hang out with the known characters (by which I mostly mean Kirk, Spock and McCoy).  It’s a very much character-driven fictional universe for me, and they’re wonderful characters who also live in a really nice universe.  So either meeting them or having a whole life there sounds…well, fascinating!

I find more appealing a vacation on Pern, Anne McCaffrey’s dragon world.  I’d like to come by long enough to fly dragon-back and visit the Harper Hall for a concert.  If I managed to discover that I have musical ability, I could see living at the Harper Hall (the Harpers are, after all, the storytellers), but that’s a big if.  It would be a great place to visit, though, and then come home to my air conditioner and indoor plumbing.

I’d also like to visit Discworld, but only with a friendly native guide.  I love reading about the corrupt city of Ankh-Morpork, but I know I’d get into an enormous amount of trouble if I was actually there.  For one thing, I’m not paid up with the Thieves’ Guild!

I’d like a long trip to Diana Wynne Jones’ Time City, where residents seem to be able to get the best bits of every period of history, from the ancient world on up to 100,000 AD.  I’d just be so fascinated to find out about the whole sweep of history.  I could see myself spending a very long time in the library (or equivalent) and being perfectly happy.

On first thought I have doubts about going to any of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ worlds–I guess the significant one is Barsoom (or Mars).  It is, after all, a rather violent place.  I think I’d only want to live there if I could be a Burroughs heroine, because nothing really bad ever happens to them; and, of course, they all get brave, noble Burroughs heroes!

Much as I love Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books, I don’t think I’d much like to live there.  There’s magic, but it’s magic in a rather gritty, historical-fiction-type world and, well, see air conditioning and indoor plumbing above.  I’d love to visit long enough to meet my favorite characters, but the world itself doesn’t particularly draw me in.

There are lots of other worlds I love reading about, and lots of characters I’d love to meet (which I guess would mean visiting their worlds, but it’s not the world that counts there), but that covers at least some of my top choices for worlds to visit or take up residence in.  I know as soon as I post this I’ll think of somewhere else!

It’s funny how in some books, the setting is just the background, and in others, it’s really an integral part, as interesting as anything else.  The worlds I’m most drawn to, besides being reasonably pleasant places (for contrast, the world of The Hunger Games? Never want to go there), are also immensely detailed and elaborate worlds.  Perhaps I can imagine living there because I can believe in them as places, and because there are plenty of details to be fascinated by.

Your turn!  Where would you go if you could?

Saturday Snapshot: Book Loot

On By cherylmahoneyIn Saturday Snapshot30 Comments

Last weekend I went to my library’s Warehouse Sale, so I thought–why not show off the treasure?

That’s 17 books, for a total price of…$19.50.

I LOVE the Library Warehouse Sale.  It’s literally a warehouse full of books.  The library opens it up every two months or so, and I usually try to make it over to spend a couple of hours wandering the shelves.  The selection is good and the prices are amazing, between 50 cents and two dollars.  I shop used book stores a lot, so I have a pretty good idea how much all of this would have cost somewhere else…I’d say a fairly conservative estimate puts the value around a hundred dollars, for the same copies elsewhere.

Definitely a good deal, and plenty of hidden treasure in among all those shelves!  At the top I have five new-to-me original Star Trek books; I’ve been hunting, not very successfully, for good ones to try, so these were excellent finds.  Under those, AVI and Vivian Vande Velde with two books I know are excellent (and in like-new condition), and Aria of the Sea somehow lured me in even though I almost never buy unread books (barring a series like Star Trek, or a reliable author like Burroughs).

I have the complete Grimms, but no Andersen, so that lovely old copy was a great find.  I’ve been hunting (not very successfully!) for a copy of Huckleberry Finn ever since my copy fell apart–I swear I saw them everywhere until I actually needed to buy a copy.  This one smells amazing, all old book musty, and when I saw there was a matching copy of Tom Sawyer I couldn’t resist them both.

I poked through the picture books for treasures and decided to expand my James Stevenson collection, resulting in the five you see up there.  He wrote and illustrated the Grandpa and Uncle Wainey series, and is wonderfully clever.  I appreciate good stories regardless of target age group.

And the behemoth at the bottom, How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.  I already had the abridged version and know he’s excellent, so I thought I’d just go for the complete one.

So there you have it–book loot!  I can always rely on the Library Warehouse Sale to overfill my bookshelves, and let me check off a few more favorite books I’ve been meaning to buy.  Anyone else have favorite places they go to look for bookish treasure?

And check out At Home with Books for more Saturday Snapshots!