A good book for urban fantasy lovers: Casting Shadows by J. Kelley Anderson

 
Title: Casting Shadows
Author: J. Kelley Anderson
Genre(s) / Subgenre(s):  Fantasy/ Urban Fantasy
Publisher: World Castle Publishing (January 31, 2012)
Formats: paperback (232 pages) or electronic (Kindle Edition)


I’ve always liked stories that are a bit different from the average. Casting Shadows by J. Kelley Anderson is definitely a book that tells a story like that.

At the beginning, the main character Edward performs a magic ritual in a cemetery to summon an undead servant. He only does this because he is under a spell and a demon is trying to influence his deeds. However, the new servant, Vincent  will not be the merciless evil being that one could expect. He will be more like a friend, who always has Edward’s best interests at heart, but he also has his own will and his own views about things. He does his best to protect him from himself and from the evil forces that are at work in the ususally quiet little town of Hurst, Ohio.  A very powerful witch grandmother also appears, who tries to teach Edward  how to become a warlock. He also encounters several types of magical beings and learns that he has to become the champion fighting for mankind and he really needs to grow up for the task very quickly. His only connection to normal life remains his best friend, Michael who is a local police officer and who, fortunately, has a sense of humor.


Casting Shadows is a real page-turner, the  characters are well-drawn, likeable and more complex than the ususal fantasy clichés. The story is a unique mixture of what we have seen already and what we have not. There are also some great humorous scenes added. 

If you are interested in urban fantasy, do not miss this book.  It’s highly recommended.


Links:
The author's website
Amazon

Timecrimes: The movie about the guy who wanted to look at boobs and ended up as a time-traveller

Timecrimes (Los cronocrímenes, 2007) is a quite original Spanish sci-fi movie by Nacho Vigalondo.

At the beginning of the movie, the main character Hector, who has just moved to the countryside with his wife, notices, via using his binoculars, a woman getting naked somewhere nearby. As soon as his wife leaves the house, he goes for a walk, looking for the naked beauty. However, a man with bandages on his head attacks him and chases him through the woods. Hector takes refuge at a nearby science lab, and he unwillingly becomes the subject of a time-travel experiment.

Apart from a few less logical scenes, this is quite an exciting movie, which has aquired international success.  There is going to be an American remake of Timecrimes, in all probability by David Cronenberg.

The multiple award winnning movie was written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, whose latest  sci-fi movie, Extraterrestrial (Extraterrestre, 2011), is about a couple witnessing an alien invasion. I will surely watch that one, too.




Links:
Time crimes:  Wiki, IMDB

2011: Just What I Have Accomplished in 2011

In 2011:
- I restarted my English blog,
- blogging in Hungarian,
- reading & reviewing,
- more SF poems published (One in Aoife's Kiss and one in SOTN.)
- started tweeting,
- got some more poems accepted,
- wrote a short story,
 - and got a lot of story ideas for later use.


Plans for 2012: More writing and more reviewing. Improving my German. Hopefully, some travelling, too. There are going to be much more blog posts here about books, movies, etc. As for my writing, I have much more story ideas now, than ever before.

Cinderella's Secret Diary by Ron Vitale

Title: Cinderella's Secret Diary (Book 1: Lost)
Author: Ron Vitale
Genre(s) / Subgenre(s): speculative fiction / dark fantasy/ YA
Copyright: August, 2011
Formats: ebook (Kindle Edition), Paperback


Ron Vitale's novel about Cinderella is a young adult gothic version of the well-known fairy-tale.

At the beginning of the story the main character is a typical naive young girl, to such an extent that she is also a bit irritating at times, but soon she has to learn a bit more about life. Her marriage with the prince is not a very good one, and the queen is a frightening mother-in-law. The kingdom, which turns out to be England during the Napoleonic wars, is in great danger. Cinderella has lessons to learn about people, politics and love, while dark forces are also at work. As she gradually becomes a stronger, more mature and a much more independent woman, the story is also becoming darker and darker.

This is a novel about growing up, and also about magic, adventures, witchcraft and family conflicts.
The book comes with a beautiful cover image which is the work of Jennifer Whitelock, and the novel is the first part of a series.

By mixing the elements of fairy tales, dark fantasy and chick lit, Ron Vitale created a very entertaining book.

Links:
The author's website
reviews at Amazon

Good Contemporary SF: Best of Lightspeed Magazine

I have recently spent some time exploring the archives of Lightspeed Magazine, which is an excellent magazine of speculative fiction and it also includes podcasted stories.
I decided to share my best of list with you. (URLs added. All of this is free content.). Check these out if you still haven't.

These short stories will give you a very nice outlook on contemporary speculative-fiction literature. The selection is completely arbitrary and only reflects my personal taste. I only selected stories that give the reader something different form the classic (hard) sci-fi themes, as I like my sci-fi new and fresh.

These are the best 15 stories that I have found at the Lightspeed website:

- Transcript of Interaction Between Astronaut Mike Scudderman and the OnStar Hands-Free A.I. Crash Advisor by Grady Hendrix
A hilarious story about the sci-fi clichés about landing on alien planets and also about the extiction of humanity. It is worth listening to the audio (12:46 minutes), the actors did a great job with this one.

- I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno by Vylar Kaftan
A love story for space travel and physics fanatics. I haven't seen anything quite like this either.

- Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain by Yoon Ha Lee
A story about a female fighter and a beautifully crafted and magnificent weapon which can change history.

- The Observer by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
A story about a woman who was the subject of an experiment, which is meant to turn young women into fierce fighters.

- Saying the Names by Maggie Clark
This one is about a father and daughter conflict, but it is set in space and there is also encounter with an alien civilisation.

- Sweet Sixteen by Kat Howard
A story about coming of age and female role models.

- Amid the Words of War by Cat Rambo
An alien soldier becomes a refugee and then a sex worker in this story.

- Long Enough and Just So Long by Cat Rambo
Two women meet a 'male' AI/robot which is designed to be a sex robot but prefers freedom.

- No Time Like the Present by Carol Emshwiller
A teenage girl realizes that the neighbours, including her best friend, came from another time.

- Simulacrum by Ken Liu
A very emotional story about family relationships, esp about a father and daughter conflict, worsened by the man's addiction to virtual, artificial persons.

- Mama, We are Zhenya, Your Son by Tom Crosshill
A poor boy becomes the subject of a scientific experiment and almost destroys the whole city.

- Amaryllis by Carrie Vaughn
A Hugo Award Finalist short story, about issues related to motherhood, and all this is in a sort of post-apocalyptic setting and on a ship (and on sea).

- Ej-Es by Nancy Kress
A story about escapism, madness, cure, charity, colonization and destruction.

- Eliot Wrote by Nancy Kress
Again, a story with questions of personality, about human intelligence, about how the mind of a genius works and what is normal and the importance of all this.

- Jenny’s Sick by David Tallerman
A guy discovers that his girlfriend has developed a strange addiction and leaves her, but regrets this and is willing to help her later. Near-future setting, with unusual illnesses and cures.

A Free SF Ebook : Smaller Than Most by Kristine Ong Muslim

Smaller Than Most is a short collection of flash fiction, with some very bizarre and surreal sci-fi and fantasy stories by a very talented author, Kristine Ong Muslim. 

You can download the ebook from the Smashwords website.

Good Sci-fi Movies: Sleep Dealer (2008)

Sleep Dealer is a fascinating sci-fi movie from Mexico by Alex Rivera.

This is a film about a young man from a tiny village, who after the death of his father, goes to a big city to look for a job, with high hopes, and gets introduced to the a high-tech hell of the city dwellers. This is a world he always wished to know more about, but it's one, where with the use of advanced technologies, man is used to the extremes, man is humiliated and his only value is in making profit for the company.

The basic idea makes you think about the movie Surrogates, but it is somehow more realistic and gives you a much better picture of what uses the technologies that are described in cyberpunk novels could really have. It is not about an insanely comfortable lifestyle which allows you to do everything virtually by connecting to some network with some bodily implants. Since this is a Mexican movie, it is focusing more on the new ways of exploitation. It is about poor Mexicans doing all the work in the rich countries via connecting to the network from the distance.

Apart from the thought-provoking parts of the movie, it also has entertainment value. It is also a mystery story and there is also a touching love story in it.

Sleep Dealer is probably one of the best sci-fi movies of recent years. (Trailer.)

Links:

Official site, Wiki, Imdb.

Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There? by Whoopi Goldberg

Hyperion Books (October, 2010)


Whoopi Goldberg had a lead role in some of the best comedies of the 80s and the early 90s, so when I came across her book Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There? I immediately decided to get a copy.

This is a book of observations about the lack of respect that you can witness every day, with some humor added. She basically wrote a guidebook on what is acceptable behaviour and what is not at a lot of different places. The list includes for expl. cinemas, theatres, buses, trains, airports, airplanes, hotels, restaurants and workplaces.
The book is a bit didactic, sometimes overly didactic, but at times it is also a bit like watching stand up comedy. She is talking mainly about the US, but most of the thoughtless behaviours that she mentions are a part of everyday life at other parts of the world, too.

She notices that sometimes people just simply do not think that their behaviour can be irritating to others, even though there are many who simply do not care if they become a nuisance or not.
She also suggests giving the book as a present to your inconsiderate friends and family members.
We can all agree that for expl it's better to look at the people you are talking to than looking at your blackberry, but sometimes people need a reminder or two, so this can really be a good a advice and it is also good for the sales.

'Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There?' is recommended for both the funny and sad examples that the author collected and also because of her style.