fiction

Check out “The Elevator”

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Victoria Shockley, who we interviewed previously, has her new children’s novella, “The Elevator” coming out soon.  You can find out more here: http://victoriashockleywrites.wordpress.com/.  Here’s her blurb:

“Gorb the gnome operates an elevator in an upscale hotel. When three businessmen get stuck in his lift, their only chance of escape is to work together. But with a clashing of personalities, that proves difficult.

Gorb has a plan. Will his tale about the fantastic  kingdom of Eggslandia be enough to inspire the  group to collaborate and find a way out?

The Elevator and its story within a story share a  lesson in the importance of teamwork.”

Sounds like something to check out.  Give it a look!

– Steven

Science Fiction: The Old Ways Are Best. For Now.

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I speculated some time ago that though we needed to have more inspiring science fiction, and that we may have had some kind of “imagination gap,” that we also had to ask what the best form is to deliver it (books, webcomics, etc.). I consider it a legitimate question since the first goal after creating the good fiction, is to get it out there.

Lately I’ve been editing Serdar’s “Flight of the Vajra” (which I can say, our friendship aside, is quite good). Sitting down to my first SF novel in awhile has made me think about my former essay and opinions. Specifically that the newer forms (webcomics, serial fiction, etc.) right now are not the best way to deliver the revolutionary/return-to-imagination SF I’m talking about.

Yes I said that.  Me the technophile and neophile is thinking we might need to take it back a notch and keep it old school for awhile.

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A World Of Elseworlds

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We're in an age of remakes, sequels, and one-offs based on existing properties, mostly Superheroes.  I hear talk of an "originless" Fantastic Four film, and if you're a fan of DC comics I've seen a lot of direct-to-video films.  None of these involve the usual origins stories as their known to their target audience.  Many of them don't exactly involve a continuity of much kinds except well-known tropes and character backgrounds.

Years ago DC comics started doing things called "Elseworlds" – books of alternate ideas, histories, pasts, and futures of various characters.  These Elseworlds series mixed familiar and unfamiliar elements, and for my money, were often fascinating.  Batman as a priest fighting a corrupt theocracy?  A sword-and-sorcery Justice League?  Sign me up.

I think some of our beloved figures are entering an age of "mild" Elseworlds.

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