1. Find a famous person to latch onto and ride the coattails. Bonus points if that person is a relative!
2. Trace your favorite comic panels and use them with little or no alteration. I mean, the originals sell thousands of copies worldwide, right? Maybe you can borrow a little of their success!
3. Take distinctive character designs from popular manga and mash them together, or mask their blatant plagarism with minor alterations. How could Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist look cooler? Give him a facial scar! How could Kenpachi from Bleach look any cooler? Give him white hair and change his clothes! Who is more popular in horror manga than Alucard from Hellsing? L from DeathNote! Put Alucard's mouth on L and you'd have a bloodsucking, crime fighting machine that will fly off of shelves!
4. ????
5. Profit!
So, for those who haven't heard, Gene Simmons' son, Nick Simmons, recently got a comic published in which pretty much every panel is a trace from Tite Kubo's long running hit series Bleach. According to this livejournal community, Kubo has been made aware of the situation, but wether he or VIZ (who own the U.S. distribution rights to Bleach) plan to take legal action is still unknown.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Kirsten Dunst is a Japanophile? Not Really. She's Just Pretending.
If you didn't already hate her for her run as Mary Jane in Spiderman, now she's taking being an annoying tool in a whole new direction: cosplay, and molesting random passersby in Akihabra. All while performing an overproduced cover of a song with racist connotations about the very people she is invading. Talk about class.
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/music/watch/v19838048wrs3Dgdy
Her 'serious business' sex-face is pretty hilarious, though. Especially with the blue wig.
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/music/watch/v19838048wrs3Dgdy
Her 'serious business' sex-face is pretty hilarious, though. Especially with the blue wig.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Geeking Out at The Garden Show
8:30 am is not a time of day I see frequently. However, my mother wanted to go to the Rhode Island Flower and Garden Show. So, armed with a camera, I headed out into Providence.
It didn't take us long to get to the convention center (which was familiar territory, as it's the home of Digital Overload and attached to the Providence Place Mall via skybridge), but the line at the door was long, and full of old ladies who smelled like funeral homes, so we both had migraines before we even made it in the door.
Once we were in, the layout was confusing and poorly labeled. For example, all of the lectures were in one room, but finding it took nearly twenty minutes because the maps they handed out at the door didn't have the lecture room clearly marked. Everywhere we turned, the elderly stopped short in the middle of narrow hallways and made getting to where we needed to be all but impossible. And to make matters more frustrating, when we finally made it to the fifth floor for the lecture, it turned out to not be what was described at all. What was billed as a lesson in landscaping on a low budget turned out to be an hour long slideshow in which a professional landscaper gloated about his own personal backyard. The transformation was stunning, but after about ten minutes, we guesstimated that between the amount of plants he'd purchased, the ten foot waterfall he'd built, the well he'd dug and the amount of heavy machinery he'd rented, he was already pushing a quarter of a million dollars. We decided to leave and go check out the floor show.
Now, my mother and I usually go to the Boston Flower and Garden show, which is considerably larger and on a higher budget, so I tried not to get my hopes up. She had been to the Providence Show with a friend last year, and insisted that, though smaller, Providence was just as high quality.
Neither of us have a clue what the hell happened between last year and this year.
The main exhibition hall of the convention seemed extremely promising. We entered into a massive, darkened chamber full of strategically lit concept gardens that blew our minds for about twenty seconds, until the old couple in front of us tripped on their own feet because the lights were far too dim for a con catering primarily to housewives and the elderly. We were surrounded by old people who couldn't seem to operate their own feet, screaming children who didn't want to be there, pouting teens who were being dragged along by their excited mothers, and husbands who could not more obviously have better places to be.
There was no order to the movement through the exhibition floor, which would be fine if it wasn't so cluttered that two people couldn't easily pass through any of the walkways simultaneously. Claustrophobia winning out, we wriggled our way past the first fifteen feet or so of the massive room.
It was then that we realized we had already seen every concept garden they had.
This may have been the most depressing moment of the convention thus far. Concept gardens are easily my favorite part of garden shows, and this one was sorely lacking. I'm not sure what the overall theme was supposed to be, either. There were cactus topiary arranged to look like elephants, park benches covered in old records, buckets full of musical instruments dumped in piles of wildflowers, a beautifully rendered gothic cemetery covered in gerber daises (Poe is surely crying in his grave over that nightmare) and some of the most run-of-the-mill garden accessories I've ever seen outside of Home Depot. There was even a concrete lawn deer. I'm not kidding. My grandmother's neighbors have sported one of those eyesores for years. In fact, in high school, Tyler and I decided to wage war on their horrible lawn ornaments by loudly attacking them with makeshift spears. I have a hard time believing that that horrible thing has been there long enough to have come back in style (were they ever even in style to begin with?). We were one Mary-On-A-Half-Shell away from the average Tiverton, RI front lawn.
From this, we were unceremoniously dumped into a small playground for the surely bored children that had been dragged to this godforsaken place. It was small, it was shabby, but at least it wasn't boring anyone to tears simply by existing. Thus far, it was probably the best part of the convention.
Once we passed the playground, we had somehow been transported to a flea market. Now, don't get me wrong, no convention is complete without vendors. But for every booth selling something relevant to the theme of the convention, there were three trying to sell you car insurance, homemade tchotchkes, and some As-Seen-On-TV kitchen device. Of the easily 30+ booths there, we found one selling seeds, three selling plants, and two selling cement lawn ornaments. The only other pseudo-appropriate booths were home improvement vendors loitering near their demo hot tubs, vinyl siding, and windows.
As we turned to leave, however, I heard one of the depressed husbands who had been shuffling along beside us chime up in pure joy.
"Oh my God, it's Mr. Spock!" he beamed.
And there it was.
Part of what was easily an eight foot tall and twelve foot long sand sculpture we somehow had missed on the way in, wedged between the playground and the concept gardens, a sculptor was putting the finishing touches on a massive and startlingly detailed portrait of Leonard Nimoy giving the vulcan salute.
I must have spent twenty minutes watching the sculptors work with the biggest grin on my face. On one side of the sculpture, Mr. Spock accompanied Fred Flintstone, the Woodstock logo, and a surfboard in a Mt. Rushmore-eqsue tribute. The ends of the work were bookended by Rosie the Robot holding up the Apollo 11 and Big Bird leaning against a tower with 'Groovy' etched into its side. The reverse side proudly displayed the Beatles, James Bond, and more of the Sesame Street crew.
Freestanding from the main sculpture were several peace signs and hands, including a pair that were playing an etch-a-sketch, and an incredibly detailed rendition of Neil Armstrong. The rock behind him (also made of sand, of course), had the 'one small step' quote etched into it. The only element of the entire scene that wasn't carved in sand was the american flag beside the astronaut. The sign just outside the massive sandbox declared that the work was done by Steve Topazio of Sandtasia.
After a considerable amount of gawking, my mother finally dragged me off to another panel. This one, though boring as sin for me, was at least informative, and she got out her notebook and listened intently while I putted around online on my cell phone. Once that was over, we did the best thing we'd done all day: we left the convention center to go to Charley's Subs in the mall for lunch, and we didn't go back.
It didn't take us long to get to the convention center (which was familiar territory, as it's the home of Digital Overload and attached to the Providence Place Mall via skybridge), but the line at the door was long, and full of old ladies who smelled like funeral homes, so we both had migraines before we even made it in the door.
Once we were in, the layout was confusing and poorly labeled. For example, all of the lectures were in one room, but finding it took nearly twenty minutes because the maps they handed out at the door didn't have the lecture room clearly marked. Everywhere we turned, the elderly stopped short in the middle of narrow hallways and made getting to where we needed to be all but impossible. And to make matters more frustrating, when we finally made it to the fifth floor for the lecture, it turned out to not be what was described at all. What was billed as a lesson in landscaping on a low budget turned out to be an hour long slideshow in which a professional landscaper gloated about his own personal backyard. The transformation was stunning, but after about ten minutes, we guesstimated that between the amount of plants he'd purchased, the ten foot waterfall he'd built, the well he'd dug and the amount of heavy machinery he'd rented, he was already pushing a quarter of a million dollars. We decided to leave and go check out the floor show.
Now, my mother and I usually go to the Boston Flower and Garden show, which is considerably larger and on a higher budget, so I tried not to get my hopes up. She had been to the Providence Show with a friend last year, and insisted that, though smaller, Providence was just as high quality.
Neither of us have a clue what the hell happened between last year and this year.
The main exhibition hall of the convention seemed extremely promising. We entered into a massive, darkened chamber full of strategically lit concept gardens that blew our minds for about twenty seconds, until the old couple in front of us tripped on their own feet because the lights were far too dim for a con catering primarily to housewives and the elderly. We were surrounded by old people who couldn't seem to operate their own feet, screaming children who didn't want to be there, pouting teens who were being dragged along by their excited mothers, and husbands who could not more obviously have better places to be.
There was no order to the movement through the exhibition floor, which would be fine if it wasn't so cluttered that two people couldn't easily pass through any of the walkways simultaneously. Claustrophobia winning out, we wriggled our way past the first fifteen feet or so of the massive room.
It was then that we realized we had already seen every concept garden they had.
This may have been the most depressing moment of the convention thus far. Concept gardens are easily my favorite part of garden shows, and this one was sorely lacking. I'm not sure what the overall theme was supposed to be, either. There were cactus topiary arranged to look like elephants, park benches covered in old records, buckets full of musical instruments dumped in piles of wildflowers, a beautifully rendered gothic cemetery covered in gerber daises (Poe is surely crying in his grave over that nightmare) and some of the most run-of-the-mill garden accessories I've ever seen outside of Home Depot. There was even a concrete lawn deer. I'm not kidding. My grandmother's neighbors have sported one of those eyesores for years. In fact, in high school, Tyler and I decided to wage war on their horrible lawn ornaments by loudly attacking them with makeshift spears. I have a hard time believing that that horrible thing has been there long enough to have come back in style (were they ever even in style to begin with?). We were one Mary-On-A-Half-Shell away from the average Tiverton, RI front lawn.From this, we were unceremoniously dumped into a small playground for the surely bored children that had been dragged to this godforsaken place. It was small, it was shabby, but at least it wasn't boring anyone to tears simply by existing. Thus far, it was probably the best part of the convention.
Once we passed the playground, we had somehow been transported to a flea market. Now, don't get me wrong, no convention is complete without vendors. But for every booth selling something relevant to the theme of the convention, there were three trying to sell you car insurance, homemade tchotchkes, and some As-Seen-On-TV kitchen device. Of the easily 30+ booths there, we found one selling seeds, three selling plants, and two selling cement lawn ornaments. The only other pseudo-appropriate booths were home improvement vendors loitering near their demo hot tubs, vinyl siding, and windows.
As we turned to leave, however, I heard one of the depressed husbands who had been shuffling along beside us chime up in pure joy.
"Oh my God, it's Mr. Spock!" he beamed.
And there it was.
Part of what was easily an eight foot tall and twelve foot long sand sculpture we somehow had missed on the way in, wedged between the playground and the concept gardens, a sculptor was putting the finishing touches on a massive and startlingly detailed portrait of Leonard Nimoy giving the vulcan salute.
I must have spent twenty minutes watching the sculptors work with the biggest grin on my face. On one side of the sculpture, Mr. Spock accompanied Fred Flintstone, the Woodstock logo, and a surfboard in a Mt. Rushmore-eqsue tribute. The ends of the work were bookended by Rosie the Robot holding up the Apollo 11 and Big Bird leaning against a tower with 'Groovy' etched into its side. The reverse side proudly displayed the Beatles, James Bond, and more of the Sesame Street crew.
Freestanding from the main sculpture were several peace signs and hands, including a pair that were playing an etch-a-sketch, and an incredibly detailed rendition of Neil Armstrong. The rock behind him (also made of sand, of course), had the 'one small step' quote etched into it. The only element of the entire scene that wasn't carved in sand was the american flag beside the astronaut. The sign just outside the massive sandbox declared that the work was done by Steve Topazio of Sandtasia.
After a considerable amount of gawking, my mother finally dragged me off to another panel. This one, though boring as sin for me, was at least informative, and she got out her notebook and listened intently while I putted around online on my cell phone. Once that was over, we did the best thing we'd done all day: we left the convention center to go to Charley's Subs in the mall for lunch, and we didn't go back.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
what does the internet sound like?
There's a pretty interesting website, CodeOrgan.com, which converts website code into music. Type in a URL and go!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Spy & Pyro
The guys of Albino Blacksheep have done it again! If the embedded video is cut off, check it out here.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Robert Pattinson Allergic to Vagina; Teenage Girls Worldwide Mourn
JustJared has brought a particularly hilarious interview with the Twilight star to my attention. Normally, I couldn't give a shit less about this guy, but the headline caught my eye.
you can read the entire article at Details Magazine's website, but be warned, the only thing more NSFW than the language is the accompanying photos.
you can read the entire article at Details Magazine's website, but be warned, the only thing more NSFW than the language is the accompanying photos.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The Last Airbender
check out the trailers on the official site right here.
You can get a good look at Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Iroh, and Yue in Trailer #2 (and can I say how big of a fan I am of the firebender armor?)
however, if you want a peek at Appa, check out the Big Game TV Spot. It's literally about 2 seconds, but if you look carefully, he's in the top left corner at 00:09.
points of interest from the two newest trailers:
- HOLY SHIT IT'S APPA! spot on!
-Sokka and Katara look better than I expected. Also, the fairly legit-looking Inuit outerwear is a plus. (anyone who cries about their coats not being blue is getting a punch in the face).
I mean, look at her. LOOK AT HER. I don't even LIKE Katara as a character and I'm stoked.
- IROH! definitely the biggest design change. I'm not sure how I feel about the dreads. Zuko, on the other hand, looks pretty good. I'm glad they decided to take the facial scar down a notch so as not to risk him looking like a juvenile Bond villain. I'm hoping that they kept his season 3 hair in an attempt for consistency (although if it doesn't change every 5-10 episodes, what will the Ember Island Players make fun of him for?). So far, the Fire Nation is looking pretty good.
I mean, look at the Dragon of the West, doing his stuff in what I'm assuming is the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It's difficult NOT to be happy with that. And whoever that is on the left appears to be in Fire Nation attire, and if you look very closely, has sideburns. Zhao? I hope so!
-YUE. Damn. As a character, I found her to be a somewhat boring little MacGuffin, but her design was always great. I'm happy to see her translate well to live action.
Yes, M. Knight Shamalamadingdong is still directing it, but I have to say, I'm impressed thus far, and the killing blow to his films has always been the shit writing, not the directing. Ignoring the trademark poorly-planned twist endings, everything he's made thus far has been pretty visually interesting. Also, the original creators of the show are still attached to it as executive producers, so I'm hoping they managed to keep his screenplay in line. I'm going to go with 'cautious optimism' on this one.
You can get a good look at Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Iroh, and Yue in Trailer #2 (and can I say how big of a fan I am of the firebender armor?)
however, if you want a peek at Appa, check out the Big Game TV Spot. It's literally about 2 seconds, but if you look carefully, he's in the top left corner at 00:09.
points of interest from the two newest trailers:
- HOLY SHIT IT'S APPA! spot on!
-Sokka and Katara look better than I expected. Also, the fairly legit-looking Inuit outerwear is a plus. (anyone who cries about their coats not being blue is getting a punch in the face).
I mean, look at her. LOOK AT HER. I don't even LIKE Katara as a character and I'm stoked.
- IROH! definitely the biggest design change. I'm not sure how I feel about the dreads. Zuko, on the other hand, looks pretty good. I'm glad they decided to take the facial scar down a notch so as not to risk him looking like a juvenile Bond villain. I'm hoping that they kept his season 3 hair in an attempt for consistency (although if it doesn't change every 5-10 episodes, what will the Ember Island Players make fun of him for?). So far, the Fire Nation is looking pretty good.
I mean, look at the Dragon of the West, doing his stuff in what I'm assuming is the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It's difficult NOT to be happy with that. And whoever that is on the left appears to be in Fire Nation attire, and if you look very closely, has sideburns. Zhao? I hope so!
-YUE. Damn. As a character, I found her to be a somewhat boring little MacGuffin, but her design was always great. I'm happy to see her translate well to live action.
Yes, M. Knight Shamalamadingdong is still directing it, but I have to say, I'm impressed thus far, and the killing blow to his films has always been the shit writing, not the directing. Ignoring the trademark poorly-planned twist endings, everything he's made thus far has been pretty visually interesting. Also, the original creators of the show are still attached to it as executive producers, so I'm hoping they managed to keep his screenplay in line. I'm going to go with 'cautious optimism' on this one.
Ninja Sex Party (WARNING, NSFW)
Yes, I know, I'm pretty much over the whole 'ninja' thing, too. Have been for a few years now. These guys, however, are the exception. If you haven't heard them yet, you don't know what you're missing!
Comprised of Danny Y. Sexbang (the 'Y' stands for 'You') and Ninja Brian (who is either Chinese or Irish), the NY comedy duo have put out three music videos thus far, all of which are as funny as the songs are catchy. The only downside is that 'No Reason Boner' will most likely get stuck in your head at the worst possible times, so proceed with caution.
Also, you can find more content on their youtube page if you can't get enough.
You can hear singer Dan Avidan's more serious and worksafe project, Skyhill, here. Personally, I own a copy of their album, "Run With The Hunted," and absolutely love it.
Comprised of Danny Y. Sexbang (the 'Y' stands for 'You') and Ninja Brian (who is either Chinese or Irish), the NY comedy duo have put out three music videos thus far, all of which are as funny as the songs are catchy. The only downside is that 'No Reason Boner' will most likely get stuck in your head at the worst possible times, so proceed with caution.
Also, you can find more content on their youtube page if you can't get enough.
You can hear singer Dan Avidan's more serious and worksafe project, Skyhill, here. Personally, I own a copy of their album, "Run With The Hunted," and absolutely love it.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Yoda and Me
http://www.yodaandme.com/
this might be the funniest podcast I've ever heard. Thanks for the tip, zq!
this might be the funniest podcast I've ever heard. Thanks for the tip, zq!
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Best Books of 2009 That You Didn't Know About
I'm the first to admit that I'm not always up to speed with everything (I blame Facebook and their terrible, time-wasting applications that eat away at my life), but I've been doing a considerable amount of reading lately, and some of these books, though not very new, absolutely deserve some attention.
In no particular order:
I was sort of wandering aimlessly through Borders a few months back when a particularly garish book spine caught my eye. It was the kind of yellow that you generally only see on traffic signs, and to say it stuck out would be something of an understatement. Naturally, I had to pick it up and read the back (even if it did hurt my eyes a little).
Now the excerpt on the back of the book, as it turns out, is the first page. (You can read it on Amazon via their 'Look Inside!' feature.) I'll give you the synopsis from the inside jacket cover:
In no particular order:
"Monster" by A. Lee Martinez
I was sort of wandering aimlessly through Borders a few months back when a particularly garish book spine caught my eye. It was the kind of yellow that you generally only see on traffic signs, and to say it stuck out would be something of an understatement. Naturally, I had to pick it up and read the back (even if it did hurt my eyes a little).Now the excerpt on the back of the book, as it turns out, is the first page. (You can read it on Amazon via their 'Look Inside!' feature.) I'll give you the synopsis from the inside jacket cover:
Meet Monster. Meet Judy. Two humans who don't like each other much, but together must fight dragons, fire-breathing felines, trolls, Inuit walrus dogs, and a crazy cat lady - for the future of the universe. Monster runs a pest control agency. He's overworked and has domestic troubles - like having the girlfriend from hell. Judy works the night shift at the local Food Plus Mart. Not the most glamorous life, but Judy is happy. No one bothers her and if she has to spell things out for the night-manager every now and again, so be it. But when Judy finds a Yeti in the freezer aisle eating all the Rocky Road
No, really. The absurd humor absolutely abounds here, making the misadventures of Monster and Judy into something of the urban fantasy equivalent of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and Monster's partner, Chester - a gnome from a different dimension that possesses a large sheet of paper - is the perfect foil. The book is worth reading for their dialogue alone.
The book seems a little slow for the first half, so if you're looking for something full of bullets-flying, chaotic action, this probably isn't for you. But if you're a fan of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, absolutely pick this up. It just became available in paperback January 29th, so no excuses. Go get it.
I was actually amazed to find out that this was Carriger's first published work. Honestly, I'd have thought that someone this witty and brilliant would have gone to press so much sooner! And it seems an odd choice to start with a series, but I'm certainly not complaining.
"Soulless" is the first in the Parasol Protectorate series, which is an interesting victorian horror/mystery series with a splash of steampunk. I'm hesitant to even use the term 'steampunk' at all, as any and all technology that would move this novel from historical fiction to alternate history is often fleeting and blends in so well that it's nearly unnoticeable. No one runs around with goggles on their hats or stupid brass contraptions that shoot lasers. This simply isn't that kind of book. In fact, you can read the author's own thoughts on her particular brand of steampunk right here.
There are, however, werewolves. And vampires. The majority of whom are upstanding citizens, and properly behaved aristocrats. After all, this is London. Manners are manditory.
The Publisher's Weekly blurb from Amazon :
The romantic overtones of the novel do narrow the potential fanbase considerably. To be 100% honest, I'd categorize this as being pretty girly, and wouldn't recommend it to any of my guy friends, unlike all the other books listed here. But with that said, I'm not really prone to traditionally 'girly' stuff, and this is the closest thing to a romance novel I've ever read in my life, so if it sounds interesting to you, don't let me discourage you.
It's also worth noting that Carriger has a pretty entertaining blog, and keeps track of her progress on other projects, so if you find yourself taken with her first book, you can see how long you have to suffer without another one. She also has a whole section of her site where you can view bonus materials from the books, like concept sketches and chapters that didn't make the cut.
I was wandering through a local Borders that was closing it's doors (it used to be a Waldenbooks and was recently bought out, and having a tiny in-mall location across the street from a massive, two-floor Borders does seem a bit silly), and there wasn't much left in the sci-fi/fantasy section. There were a couple Laurell K. Hamilton books that I'd already read, a William Shatner Star Trek book (which I grabbed and read, it was better than I expected), and "The Sheriff of Yrnameer." The cover art was strikingly bizzare, but last time I picked up a book because of the cover, I found a real gem, so I figured, why not? If the endorsing blurb on the back from Stephen Colbert hadn't already sealed the deal, a similarly praising note from Seth Grahme-Smith (the author of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies") on the Amazon page for it certainly couldn't hurt. The praise wasn't unjustified. Publisher's Weekly had this to say:
I find it uncanny that every piece of criticism I've seen for this book compared Rubens to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett when the only author who might get compared to them even more, Martinez, couldn't be more different in terms of literary style. The descriptions in "Yrnameer" are kept to a minimum, but the imagery is still consistently strong through off-hand bits of dialogue and pop culture references. Rubens' background as a television writer absolutely shines in his pacing and humor, and his familiarity with the genre gives him the elbow room to poke fun without losing the story and falling into blatant parody. Dialogue is absolutely where Rubens is at his best, and there is never a shortage of interesting characters for our anti-hero to banter with. If Han Solo was your favorite Star Wars character, read this. It will make you smile. I promise.
So, having thoroughly enjoyed "Monster," I decided to give Martinez another shot. I had just gotten a Kindle, so I read the first chapter of a couple of his books for free (easily my favorite feature of the Kindle, since you don't have to sit at a computer or stand around in a bookstore to shop for books and read excerpts). This was the one that grabbed my attention first. You can read more here, but be warned, the synopsis provided by Publisher's Weekly contains spoilers!
Martinez paints an intriguing alternate history background in Empire City, the would-be utopia in which the crime noir is set. The residents are an intriguingly motley crew, from a talking gorilla with a penchant from classic literature to celebrity technophiles and furry mutant police officers. The protagonist, Mac Megaton, is a sentient robot who was built to destroy and conquer, but decided he actually liked people, choosing instead to become a taxi driver. Mac lives a quiet life, and he's close to getting his citizenship when his friendly neighbor and her two children are abducted. Dissatisfied with the local authorities' unenthusiastic search, Mac decides to try and rescue them himself, risking his citizenship and even his functionality.
Much more linear and action-driven than "Monster" but still full of the same brilliant humor, "The Automatic Detective" was a fast read that I absolutely couldn't put down. I can't really think of anyone who wouldn't like this, unless they don't like robots. Or fun.
The book seems a little slow for the first half, so if you're looking for something full of bullets-flying, chaotic action, this probably isn't for you. But if you're a fan of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, absolutely pick this up. It just became available in paperback January 29th, so no excuses. Go get it.
"Soulless" by Gail Carriger
I was actually amazed to find out that this was Carriger's first published work. Honestly, I'd have thought that someone this witty and brilliant would have gone to press so much sooner! And it seems an odd choice to start with a series, but I'm certainly not complaining.
"Soulless" is the first in the Parasol Protectorate series, which is an interesting victorian horror/mystery series with a splash of steampunk. I'm hesitant to even use the term 'steampunk' at all, as any and all technology that would move this novel from historical fiction to alternate history is often fleeting and blends in so well that it's nearly unnoticeable. No one runs around with goggles on their hats or stupid brass contraptions that shoot lasers. This simply isn't that kind of book. In fact, you can read the author's own thoughts on her particular brand of steampunk right here.
There are, however, werewolves. And vampires. The majority of whom are upstanding citizens, and properly behaved aristocrats. After all, this is London. Manners are manditory.
The Publisher's Weekly blurb from Amazon :
Prickly, stubborn 25-year-old bluestocking Alexia Tarabotti is patently unmarriageable, and not just because she's large-nosed and swarthy. She's also soulless, an oddity and a secret even in a 19th-century London that mostly accepts and integrates werewolf packs, vampire hives and ghosts. The only man who notices her is brash Lord Conall Maccon, a Scottish Alpha werewolf and government official, and (of course) they dislike each other intensely. After Alexia kills a vampire with her parasol at a party—how vulgar!—she and Conall must work together to solve a supernatural mystery that grows quite steampunkishly gruesome. Well-drawn secondary characters round out the story, most notably Lord Akeldama, Alexia's outrageous, italic-wielding gay best vampire friend. This intoxicatingly witty parody will appeal to a wide cross-section of romance, fantasy and steampunk fans.
The romantic overtones of the novel do narrow the potential fanbase considerably. To be 100% honest, I'd categorize this as being pretty girly, and wouldn't recommend it to any of my guy friends, unlike all the other books listed here. But with that said, I'm not really prone to traditionally 'girly' stuff, and this is the closest thing to a romance novel I've ever read in my life, so if it sounds interesting to you, don't let me discourage you.
It's also worth noting that Carriger has a pretty entertaining blog, and keeps track of her progress on other projects, so if you find yourself taken with her first book, you can see how long you have to suffer without another one. She also has a whole section of her site where you can view bonus materials from the books, like concept sketches and chapters that didn't make the cut.
"The Sheriff of Yrnameer" by Michael Rubens
I was wandering through a local Borders that was closing it's doors (it used to be a Waldenbooks and was recently bought out, and having a tiny in-mall location across the street from a massive, two-floor Borders does seem a bit silly), and there wasn't much left in the sci-fi/fantasy section. There were a couple Laurell K. Hamilton books that I'd already read, a William Shatner Star Trek book (which I grabbed and read, it was better than I expected), and "The Sheriff of Yrnameer." The cover art was strikingly bizzare, but last time I picked up a book because of the cover, I found a real gem, so I figured, why not? If the endorsing blurb on the back from Stephen Colbert hadn't already sealed the deal, a similarly praising note from Seth Grahme-Smith (the author of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies") on the Amazon page for it certainly couldn't hurt. The praise wasn't unjustified. Publisher's Weekly had this to say:
A down-and-out space faring rogue finds himself the protector of a bunch of peacenik artisans in this lighthearted, adventure-filled debut from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart writer Rubens. Space adventurer Cole is a liar and a thief and a cheat, and he owes a lot of money to Kenneth, an alien who wants to incubate eggs in the deadbeat's brain. Cole's escape from Kenneth lands him in the middle of a scheme to deliver a batch of freeze-dried orphans to the backwater planet of Yrnameer, which turns out to be under attack from Cole's archenemy, the outlaw Runk. Cole's ludicrous exploits keep the laughs coming as Rubens grandly ignores the niceties of world building and coherent plotting in favor of clever pop culture references and a rocket-fast, knee-slapping narrative.
I find it uncanny that every piece of criticism I've seen for this book compared Rubens to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett when the only author who might get compared to them even more, Martinez, couldn't be more different in terms of literary style. The descriptions in "Yrnameer" are kept to a minimum, but the imagery is still consistently strong through off-hand bits of dialogue and pop culture references. Rubens' background as a television writer absolutely shines in his pacing and humor, and his familiarity with the genre gives him the elbow room to poke fun without losing the story and falling into blatant parody. Dialogue is absolutely where Rubens is at his best, and there is never a shortage of interesting characters for our anti-hero to banter with. If Han Solo was your favorite Star Wars character, read this. It will make you smile. I promise.
"The Automatic Detective" by A. Lee Martinez
(Technically, "The Automatic Detective" came out in 2008, but it didn't make it to mass market paperback until 2009, so I'm including it. Deal.)
(Technically, "The Automatic Detective" came out in 2008, but it didn't make it to mass market paperback until 2009, so I'm including it. Deal.)
So, having thoroughly enjoyed "Monster," I decided to give Martinez another shot. I had just gotten a Kindle, so I read the first chapter of a couple of his books for free (easily my favorite feature of the Kindle, since you don't have to sit at a computer or stand around in a bookstore to shop for books and read excerpts). This was the one that grabbed my attention first. You can read more here, but be warned, the synopsis provided by Publisher's Weekly contains spoilers!
Martinez paints an intriguing alternate history background in Empire City, the would-be utopia in which the crime noir is set. The residents are an intriguingly motley crew, from a talking gorilla with a penchant from classic literature to celebrity technophiles and furry mutant police officers. The protagonist, Mac Megaton, is a sentient robot who was built to destroy and conquer, but decided he actually liked people, choosing instead to become a taxi driver. Mac lives a quiet life, and he's close to getting his citizenship when his friendly neighbor and her two children are abducted. Dissatisfied with the local authorities' unenthusiastic search, Mac decides to try and rescue them himself, risking his citizenship and even his functionality.
Much more linear and action-driven than "Monster" but still full of the same brilliant humor, "The Automatic Detective" was a fast read that I absolutely couldn't put down. I can't really think of anyone who wouldn't like this, unless they don't like robots. Or fun.
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