I’m looking forward to the further adventures on Honor Harrington in this new medium.
Category writing
The Missing— a brief film review
When I was growing up, I loved westerns. There was much to like about them: horses, good guys in white hats, horses, bad guys in black hats, horses, guns, horses, beautiful settings, more horses…. you get the picture, I am sure. My early favorites were “Fury” which was a show about a horse, “My Friend Flicka” which was about a horse, and the Roy Rogers show, which was mostly about the horse named Trigger. At least, that is how I remember it.
Then, I grew up and westerns were not in favor in Hollywood anymore. My early love of science fiction is all intertwined with my love of westerns. Once, I was amazed by a very intelligent woman who said she despised Star Wars. I laughed, and said, “It’s just a western!” As she gaped at me, I went on to explain that Star Wars owes much to westerns, from the bar scene (just a saloon) the greenhorn (Luke Skywalker) being guided by an older and wiser mentor, the gunslinger (Han Solo) and the Millennium Falcon, which doesn’t have much on a good horse.
Westerns have never been as popular as they were in my youth, but they have grown up. Recently, hubby and I were looking for something on Netflix that we hadn’t seen, and “The Missing” with Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett caught my eye. The description reminded me of an oldie but goodie, “The Searchers,” so we we popped some corn and got involved in Ron Howard’s take on the quest to foil white slavers in the old west. We enjoyed this suspenseful tale. The film has some fabulous scenery, very wicked bad guys, a very heroic mother (Blanchett) and too much mysticism for my taste. Oh, and there were several horses, but lately, filmmakers seem to think they are like cars or motorcycles, just transportation.
This plot could have been told in a science fiction setting, with space ships instead of horses, but it works reasonably well as a western. Check it out on Netflix streaming.
Honor Among Thieves— a Star Wars novel
Thus far, my favorite Star Wars novel is Steve Perry’s Shadows of the Empire, which takes place between the film The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. Familiar characters from the film are necessary, but Shadows also introduces the memorable Dash Rendar, and by fleshing out what happened between Han Solo’s freezing in carbonite and Luke and Leia’s rescue, Perry’s novel seems quite organic.
There have been quite a few Star Wars based novels published since Shadows, but with the upcoming new Star Wars movie, it is natural that a new story, with the original characters, come to market, along with a zillion tee shirts. So, we have James S. A. Corey’s Honor Among Thieves, which takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, as Han continues to try to raise money to pay Jabba the Hutt, and Leia is involved in leading the rebellion, which is not just a war, but a fund raiser. Someone has to pay for all those X-wings. Anyway, a valuable spy sent a message indicating that she needs to be recalled, and Han needs the money, so he’s off to make contact, pick up Scarlet Hark, and pocket another reward. Nothing in their universe (a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away) is simple, however, and Han’s little errand gets complicated really quickly.
(spoiler alert)
One of the best ways to create suspense is to raise the stakes, and they are quite high in this novel. No, there is not a Death Star (twice is one too many IMHO) but a device that kills hyperspace travel is high stakes indeed, and Han, Leia, and Luke end up converging in an effort to wrest control of the hyperspace dampener from the Empire.
To be honest, I didn’t like Honor Among Thieves as much as I did Shadows of the Empire, but I did like it. Readers who want to revisit a young farm boy Luke, the pivotal Princess Leia, and the roguish Han Solo should pick up or download a copy of Honor Among Thieves. Before you know it, you’ll be right back in the groove, wondering when Darth Vader will swoop back into the action. This is a great way to get in the mood for the new film.
Reviews for Trinity on Tylos
Recently, my science fiction novel, Trinity on Tylos, got a mention on the Goodkindles site. While preparing the copy, I did a web search for reviews, because I wasn’t too sure how many of those are still available. Surprisingly, I found a few, which were done based on the first edition, published by Whiskey Creek Press. Although they got the title wrong, I got a fairly good review from “The Romance Studio” site. Apparently that title is difficult, because the folks over at Books for a Buck misspelled it, too, but it is a decent review. And, the one by Harriet Klausner appears on several sites, including Bookreview.com. The best review I received was over at Fallen Angels Reviews, of course. While searching, I also noted that my efforts to publicize it have resulted in pirated copies online. Oh, here’s another one! And another one! I guess I should be flattered that someone thinks it is worth stealing. 🙂 Check it out!
Comic Book or Space Opera? Guardians of the Galaxy is both
Netflix streaming is my media of choice these days, but sometimes my husband decides to find a “family” flick for us to rent on DVD and last night we settled down in front of the home screen with popcorn and Guardians of the Galaxy. I’d heard it was good and thought our young adult son would like it, but wow, did my husband like it, too.
When I was growing up I read masses of material, but not comic books. (Actually my beloved mother once said, “Tobacco Road and comic books are the ultimate in trash.”) I’ve related that story several times and an English teacher friend quipped, “Pam, you are old enough to read Erskine Caldwell.” Maybe I am old enough to read comic books, too, but the inclination just isn’t there. However, I can and do watch films based on comic books, and I also really liked Guardians of the Galaxy.
However, unlike most such stories, the main character isn’t a super hero. Not really. He’s a regular guy from earth who was kidnapped as a child and his sole connection to his past is a Sony Walkman cassette player and a homemade cassette entitled “Awesome Pop Tunes.” Those truly awesome tunes from the seventies form the basis for the movie’s sound track. They are not just sounds, but are a basis for the character’s development, and the result is …well…awesome.
Since the film is set in space, there is quite a lot of fantastic world building (and character building, too) with CGI that is simply amazing. This film has a great cast, including Chris Pratt as the earth-born “Star Lord” character; Zoe Saldana, of the new Star Trek, as the main female lead, and Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as voice actors for CGI characters. Even Glenn Close convincingly plays a minor character. This film’s plot is all over the place, which is great for a space opera. Those need to have multiple settings, and this film has several. The space battles are amazing, the color palette is magnificent, as the attention to every detail.
Guardians of the Galaxy is great entertainment and those who are not fans of the Marvel comics series can enjoy it, although there are plenty of small references to please such fans. Grab it on DVD or Blu Ray and have fun!
Visions and Revisions 