I'm curious to see what becomes of the Republican Party after this election season.
All this talk of the party being "destroyed" is hyperbole and nonsense. It will change, but I'm not sure how or how much. (I suspect very little and mainly in terms of primaries/caucus rules. In other words, the bare minimum. I mean, how much did they change after Romney lost in 2012, even after the party leaders all loudly and boldly proclaimed that they HAD to change to compete in today's America? Almost not at all.
So what does history tell us about it?
The Democratic Party split during and after the Civil Rights Movement era, with many of its longtime supporters becoming Republicans because that party was willing to accept and even endorse their extreme views (the "Southern Strategy" of Nixon realized in full during Reagan years). So those people had a place to go when the Democratic Party no longer suited them.
But who will leave the GOP if it splits this fall--the Trump crowd or the Establishment crowd-- and where will they go?
The GOP was ideally situated to take in all those disaffected conservative former Dems in the 1960s-80s. But there's no obvious destination like that available for either half of the current GOP. Will one side or the other form a third party? Or will they both keep trying to control the party and put it into perpetual civil war, like the northern vs southern Dems prior to the actual Civil War?
I'm betting on the latter, because (as these endorsements of Trump and Cruz by Establishment Republicans is showing us) the alternative is to willingly forfeit power to the other party, and that is the one thing they will never ever do. Even at the cost of their own integrity.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Space: 1999 How the First Season Could've Been Epic
One of the frustrating things about watching TV series that aired before, say, 1990 is that there was rarely much effort made by the show runners (or whatever they were called back then) or the writers to create much of a narrative thread that could link the episodes.
Sometimes there was a thematic linkage, such as the whole "fleeing the Cylon tyranny/searching for Earth" thread that ran through Battlestar Galactica (1978-79) or the "strange cosmic British beings are lording it over us but we're protected by the Mysterious Unknown Force" thread of the first season of Space: 1999.
But upon rewatching the first season of Space: 1999 in broadcast order (and I'm currently seven episodes in), the frustration is even greater, because the possibilities of what they could have done with the show are so obvious. It's a wonderful show (in the first season) but they could have made it so much better...but they largely ignored every opportunity and instead made each episode a stand-alone story that mostly ignored everything that had come before. Lessons learned in one episode are entirely forgotten a couple of episodes later, and threads that could have been picked up on and woven into more complex patterns are dropped entirely.
Case in point: Three episodes that together could have formed a truly fascinating storyline if they'd 1) been aired in the proper order, story development-wise, and 2) been slightly re-written to reflect lessons learned and opportunities presented in previous episodes.
As the episodes aired originally, we had 102: Force of Life, in which one of the Alpha techs, Anton Zoref, is possessed by a being of light and compelled to try to break into the main reactor to siphon its energy. He has a loving girlfriend who tries to save him but fails. Then there was 104: War Games, in which aliens play out a dream in Commander Koenig's mind of the utter destruction that would result if the Alphans blindly attacked ships approaching the base, falling prey to their own baser instincts. And then came 107: Alpha Child, in which an Alphan woman gives birth to the first child born on the Moon, after the father (not Zoref) has died, and Koenig recklessly orders Alan Carter and his Eagle squadron to open fire on ships that have taken no directly hostile actions. The child ages extremely rapidly.
Now just rearrange those three episodes and slightly change the stories and you have something terrific: a "You Alphans need to grow up" story trilogy.
First, we would do the 102: Force of Life story. It goes pretty much as it aired--but in the final scene, we show Zoref's girlfriend discovering she is pregnant. Next, several episodes later, we do the "Alpha Child" story, and the reason the child grows up so quickly ties into the energy being that possessed his late father, Anton Zoref. (The aliens who come to get him are connected to this story as well; I won't develop it further here, but I think the possibilities are obvious.) And finally we'd have the "War Games" story, where those aliens have seen what happened with the previous story (reckless Koenig ordering futile military actions) and as a direct result of that, they do the "War Games" shtick that we saw in the original episode--and Koenig learns the lesson.
I'm sure there are more story points from season 1 that could also be drawn together, resulting in a truly epic first season of Space: 1999. But that's enough for now.
Leave your own thoughts about this in the comments, and be sure to check out my own stories below.
--Van
Van Allen Plexico is an award-winning SF/adventure novelist and non-fiction writer and podcaster, as well as an associate professor of Political Science and History.
You can read Van's own interstellar saga of politics, religion and cosmic warfare in "The Shattering" from White Rocket Books, available here. The third volume of the Legion trilogy recently won Novel of the Yearin the 2015 Pulp Factory Awards.He's on Facebook as Van Allen Plexico.
Follow him on Twitter: @vanallenplexico
The White Rocket Podcast and White Rocket TV can be accessed athttp://www.whiterocketbooks.com
But upon rewatching the first season of Space: 1999 in broadcast order (and I'm currently seven episodes in), the frustration is even greater, because the possibilities of what they could have done with the show are so obvious. It's a wonderful show (in the first season) but they could have made it so much better...but they largely ignored every opportunity and instead made each episode a stand-alone story that mostly ignored everything that had come before. Lessons learned in one episode are entirely forgotten a couple of episodes later, and threads that could have been picked up on and woven into more complex patterns are dropped entirely.
Case in point: Three episodes that together could have formed a truly fascinating storyline if they'd 1) been aired in the proper order, story development-wise, and 2) been slightly re-written to reflect lessons learned and opportunities presented in previous episodes.
As the episodes aired originally, we had 102: Force of Life, in which one of the Alpha techs, Anton Zoref, is possessed by a being of light and compelled to try to break into the main reactor to siphon its energy. He has a loving girlfriend who tries to save him but fails. Then there was 104: War Games, in which aliens play out a dream in Commander Koenig's mind of the utter destruction that would result if the Alphans blindly attacked ships approaching the base, falling prey to their own baser instincts. And then came 107: Alpha Child, in which an Alphan woman gives birth to the first child born on the Moon, after the father (not Zoref) has died, and Koenig recklessly orders Alan Carter and his Eagle squadron to open fire on ships that have taken no directly hostile actions. The child ages extremely rapidly.Now just rearrange those three episodes and slightly change the stories and you have something terrific: a "You Alphans need to grow up" story trilogy.
First, we would do the 102: Force of Life story. It goes pretty much as it aired--but in the final scene, we show Zoref's girlfriend discovering she is pregnant. Next, several episodes later, we do the "Alpha Child" story, and the reason the child grows up so quickly ties into the energy being that possessed his late father, Anton Zoref. (The aliens who come to get him are connected to this story as well; I won't develop it further here, but I think the possibilities are obvious.) And finally we'd have the "War Games" story, where those aliens have seen what happened with the previous story (reckless Koenig ordering futile military actions) and as a direct result of that, they do the "War Games" shtick that we saw in the original episode--and Koenig learns the lesson.
I'm sure there are more story points from season 1 that could also be drawn together, resulting in a truly epic first season of Space: 1999. But that's enough for now.
Leave your own thoughts about this in the comments, and be sure to check out my own stories below.
--Van
Van Allen Plexico is an award-winning SF/adventure novelist and non-fiction writer and podcaster, as well as an associate professor of Political Science and History.
You can read Van's own interstellar saga of politics, religion and cosmic warfare in "The Shattering" from White Rocket Books, available here. The third volume of the Legion trilogy recently won Novel of the Yearin the 2015 Pulp Factory Awards.He's on Facebook as Van Allen Plexico.
Follow him on Twitter: @vanallenplexico
The White Rocket Podcast and White Rocket TV can be accessed athttp://www.whiterocketbooks.com
Saturday, March 12, 2016
How Star Trek Might Have Ripped Off Space: 1999...?
But it occurs to me now that ST:TMP has a whole lot in common with a first-season Space: 1999 episode: "Ring Around the Moon."
Here is a summary that covers both stories pretty evenly:
A giant computer brain travels across the universe, seeking knowledge, on a mission that is no longer relevant.
It attacks human ships and destroys them.
It teleports a key female crew member away and returns her as an automaton in order to gather more information from the humans' computer, potentially at the cost of her human life.
It uses force field projections/tractor beams to push away and pull in a human ship.It is finally defeated by revealing to it the truth of its mission, even though it doesn't want to believe the truth and tries at first to resist receiving that knowledge.
As an addendum, I'd point out another episode in that first season of 1999 dealt with the massive danger when a Voyager spacecraft from Earth returns, thinking it is doing good but actually causing great destruction. Sounds familiar, eh?
A direct ripoff? Probably not. But a strong argument can be made that the '79 Trek film borrowed at least as much, by accident if not on purpose, from good old Commander Koenig and Space: 1999.
--
Van Allen Plexico is an award-winning SF/adventure novelist and non-fiction writer and podcaster, as well as an associate professor of Political Science and History.
You can read Van's own interstellar saga of politics, religion and cosmic warfare in "The Shattering" from White Rocket Books, available here. The third volume of the Legion trilogy recently won Novel of the Yearin the 2015 Pulp Factory Awards.
He's on Facebook as Van Allen Plexico.
Follow him on Twitter: @vanallenplexico
The White Rocket Podcast and White Rocket TV can be accessed at http://www.whiterocketbooks.com
Friday, March 04, 2016
Link to the Pulp Factory Awards Ballot
Voting for the 2016 Pulp Factory Awards (for material published in 2015) is now underway through March 15. Awards will be given out in Chicago at the Windy City Pulp Con on April 22.
To vote for this year's winners, click on this link:
http://bit.ly/
BEST PULP NOVEL
BEST PULP COVER
BEST PULP SHORT STORY
BEST PULP INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS
BEST PULP ANTHOLOGY
After March 15th, the committee will tally all of the electronic votes and the winners will be announced at the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention from April 22 – April 24th, 2016.
Questions and concerns should be directed to PulpAwards@gmail.com. This will insure a more prompt response than reaching out to individual committee members.
Thank you for your interest, and looking forward to your votes!
Saturday, February 06, 2016
2016 New Pulp Awards Ballot!
VOTING IS NOW OPEN FOR 2016 PULP ARK NEW PULP AWARDS!
The Pulp Ark New Pulp Awards, as announced earlier this year, are continuing in 2016 and will be awarded at the River City Comic Expo June 11-12, 2016 in Little Rock, AR.
With nominations now closed for the 2016 Pulp Ark New Pulp Awards, voting is open from February 5th, 2016 to 5:00 PM CST February 21, 2016.
“It’s time,” says Tommy Hancock, Coordinator of Pulp Ark and the Awards, “to pick the best of the best from 2015. And we have always prided ourselves on being the Pulp Award that has always been open to public voting and we continue that practice this year. Anyone of age can vote, but we do ask, as always, that this be treated fairly and justly. Of course, we are aware of ways votes could be made that are either not valid or simply a result of someone begging everyone in their family and graduating class to vote for them. What we ask is that those who vote and encourage others to vote do so with the right intent and consideration for all involved.”
Voting is open to all who wish to vote that are 18 years or older. All voters are subject to being asked to provide verification of age or identity if necessary throughout the voting process and the determining of winners. Refusal to do so if requested will result in the voter’s ballot being voided.
If you nominated in a particular category and do not see your nomination on the final ballot, it is because either the work/nominee was not appropriate for this year’s ballot due to not having been published or first published in 2015 OR it did not meet qualifications for another reason, such as a nominated work being a comic book or audiobook only, not a work of prose.
Voting opens on February 5 and will be open until 5 PM CST on February 21, 2016. All who wish to vote are asked to cut and paste the ballot from the Pulp Ark Award Facebook page or any other source where the ballot is posted. Then, the voter is requested to vote only ONCE for each category and to EITHER only list the nominee they are voting for under each category or to highlight the nominee (s) they are voting for in RED. Once they have completed their ballot, voters are asked to email the ballot to PulpArkNewPulpAwards2016@yahoo.com. Each ballot must contain a link to a Facebook page, a Twitter account, an email profile, or some other verifiable source by which the identity of the voter can be affirmed.
In the past, the Pulp Ark Awards were physical plaques presented to each winner. The final form of the 2016 Awards has not be determined at this point, but a physical award of some sort will be given to each winner.
The Ballot for the 2016 Pulp Ark New Pulp Awards is as follows-
BEST NOVEL NOMINEES
The Green Lama: Crimson Circle by Adam Lance Garcia-Moonstone Books
The Green Lama: Crimson Circle by Adam Lance Garcia-Moonstone Books
Circling the Runway by JL Abramao-Down and Out Books
A Favor For a Fiend by Kelly A. Harmon-Pole to Pole Publishing
Helldorado: Bad Times Book Four by Chuck Dixon-Bruno Books
Ravenwood: Return of the Dugpa by Micah S. Harris-Airship 27 Productions
Baranak: Storming the Gates by Van Allen Plexico-White Rocket Books
The Dame Was a Tad Polish: An Armadillo Mystery by Nick Piers-Pro Se Productions
Jezebel Johnston-Devils Handmaid by Nancy Hansen-Airship 27 Productions
The Man with the Iron Heart by Mat Nastos-Nifty Entertainment
Lie Catchers by Paul Bishop- Pro Se Productions
BEST COLLECTION/ANTHOLOGY NOMINEES
Legends of New Pulp Fiction by Various-Airship 27 Productions
Legends of New Pulp Fiction by Various-Airship 27 Productions
Hides the Dark Tower by Various- Pole to Pole Publishing
Asian Pulp By Various- Pro Se Productions
Amazing Tails # 1 by Various- Outpouring Comics
The Ninth Circle by Various-Pro Se Productions
From the Dragon Lord’s Library Volume 2-18thWall Productions
Something Strange is Going On by Various-Flinch Books
Lazarus Gray Volume Five by Barry Reese-Pro Se Productions
BEST SHORT STORY NOMINEES
Spring Heeled Jack by I A. Watson from Sherlock Holmes consulting Detective volume 7-Airship 27 Productions
Spring Heeled Jack by I A. Watson from Sherlock Holmes consulting Detective volume 7-Airship 27 Productions
The Face of the Yuan Gui by Sean Taylor from Asian Pulp-Pro Se Productions
Bounty Buddies by Arthur Gibson from Amazing Tails #1- Outpouring Comics
Dragonfly Shadow by J. Patrick Allen from the Dragon Lord’s Library Volume 1-18thWall Productions
The Lady Wore Vengeance by Tommy Hancock-Legends of New Pulp Fiction-Airship 27 Productions
A Round for the Holly King by Nikki Nelson Hicks- Third Crow Press
Trouble Takes a Holiday by Arthur Gibson from Amazing Tails #1-Outpouring Comics
Big Trouble in Little Cheyenne by Tony Wilson from The Legends of New Pulp Fiction-Airship 27 Productions
The Tomb of the Veiled Prophet by Rick Lai from Tales of the
Shadowmen Volume 12: Carte Blanche-Blackcoat Press/Hollywood Comics
Shadowmen Volume 12: Carte Blanche-Blackcoat Press/Hollywood Comics
Gridiron-Second Down by David Boop from Legends of New Pulp Fiction- Airship 27 Productions
Immortals From Lazarus Gray Volume 5 by Barry Reese-Pro Se Productions
The Pride of Jim Hardy by Terrence McCauley from Legends of New Pulp Fiction-Airship 27 Productions
BEST NOVELLA NOMINEES
Shadows and Phantoms by Barry Reese-From Adventures of Lazarus Gray Volume Five-Pro Se Productions
Shadows and Phantoms by Barry Reese-From Adventures of Lazarus Gray Volume Five-Pro Se Productions
After the Wind by Wesley Julian-Wesley Julian
The Astonishing Tales of Sherlock Holmes: the Shrieking Pits by Nikki Nelson Hicks-Pro Se Productions
American Hercules : the Lion of Nemea by Mark Bousquet-Space Buggy Press
Night Hawk: Burning Skies by Ron Fortier-Moonstone
Tales from the Flip-Side: the Adventures of Big Daddy Cool and the Bombshell Kittens by John Pyka-Pro Se Productions
Lady Action-The Sands of Forever by Ron Fortier-Airship 27 Productions
Gentleman Rogue by Percival Constantine-Percival Constantine
Domino Lady: Money Shot by Bobby Nash-Moonstone
Badge City: Notches by M. H. Norris-Pro Se Productions
Ripper’s Ring by Steven R. Southard-Gypsy Shadow Publishing
BEST COVER NOMINEES
Jake Istenhegyi:The Accidental Detective, Volume One by Jeffrey Hayes-Pro Se Productions
Jake Istenhegyi:The Accidental Detective, Volume One by Jeffrey Hayes-Pro Se Productions
Asian Pulp by Adam Shaw-Pro Se Productions
Amazing Tails #1 by Johathan Meyers and Rusty Gilligan-Outpouring Comics
From the Dragon Lord’s Library Volume 2 by Morgan Fitzsimons-18thWall Productions
Baranak: Storming the Gates by Mark Williams-White Rocket Books
The Quest of Frankenstein by Mark Hoffman-Blackcoat Press/Hollywood Comics
Charles Boeckman Presents Johnny Nickle Volume Two: Trouble Follows by Adam Shaw-Pro Se Productions
Bass Reeves: Frontier Marshall by Marco Turini-Airship 27 Productions
The Dark Leopard: Mouse Trap by Rock Baker, Jeff Austin, and Marc Haines-Pro Se Productions
Legends of New Pulp Fiction by Doug Klauba-Airship 27 Productions
Lazarus Gray Volume 5 by Chris Batista-Pro Se Productions
Nighthawk: Burning Skies by Douglas Klauba-Moonstone
BEST ARTIST NOMINEES
Mike Fyles
Mike Fyles
Doug Klauba
Morgan Fitzsimons
Mark Williams
Rob Davis
Pat Carabjal
Gary Kato
Bret Blevins
Jeffrey Hayes
George Sellas
BEST AUTHOR NOMINEES
I. A. Watson
I. A. Watson
Chuck Dixon
Arthur Gibson
Wesley Julian
Mark Bousquet
Frank Schildiner
Tony Wilson
Jim Beard
Nikki Nelson-Hicks
Barry Reese
Nancy Hansen
BEST NEW WRITER NOMINEES
John Pyka
John Pyka
J Patrick Allen
Andy Fix
Loreli McCole
Any and all questions should be emailed to PulpArkNewPulpAwards2016@yahoo.com
Monday, December 21, 2015
The White Rocket Podcast - Episodes List
UPDATED APRIL 29, 2016: Now it should include every episode.
A chronological list of some of the more popular topics we have covered on the White Rocket Podcast so far.
All are easily available at http://whiterocket.podbean.com and http://www.whiterocketbooks.com and the most recent episodes are on iTunes.
My eternal thanks to all of my guests and co-hosts on these episodes.
001 Prometheus (movie review)
002 Stephen King's The Dark Tower
003 Bobby Politte on Superhero Novels
004 James Bond in all media
005 Jeff Deischer on Superhero Novels
006 & 007 Marvel Cinematic Universe
008 Richard Stark's Parker novels & films
009 & 010 Movies of 2012 review
011 A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones
012 Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander novels & film
013 10 Favorite Movies Countdown with John Ringer
014 James Clavell's Asian Saga (Shogun, etc) novels & films
015 Steig Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo novels & films
016 Legion I: Lords of Fire (audiobook sample)
017 Awards Season
018 Babylon 5 (20th Anniversary)
019 War/Action Films of Alistair MacLean (Navarone/Ice Station Zebra etc)
020 Ian Healy Interview on Superhero Novels
021 Justified (tv series)
022 The Book Cave team interviews Van
023 DragonCon Memories with Keith RA DeCandido
024 Lucian: Dark God's Homecoming (audiobook sample)
025 Alabama Phoenix Festival
026 Star Trek & Star Trek Into Darkness
027 & 028 Warhammer 40,000 & Horus Heresy (w/Josh Reynolds)
029 Creating Audiobooks (Chris Barnes)
030 Jack "King" Kirby
031 Jim Beard interview
032 Space: 1999
033 Barry Reese interview
034 Hawk: Hand of the Machine (audiobook sample)
035 Larry Niven interview
036 Movies of 2013 review
037 & 038 Star Trek original movies
039 Ready Player One
040 Downton Abbey
041 Windy City Pulp Con Interviews
042 & 043 Novel Writing
044 The Cosmic Marvel Universe
045 Animated Superhero Shows
046 Guardians of the Galaxy movie review
047 Battlestar Galactica (original series)
048 Andrew Gaska interview (Space: 1999 graphic novels)
049 The X-Men Movies
050 Anniversary Show
051 Marvel Cinematic Universe - Phase 3
052 David Wright interview
053 Frank Herbert's Dune novels & films
054 Avengers Assemble!
055 & 056 Sean Connery & George Lazenby Bond Films
057 Legion II: Sons of Terra (audiobook sample)
058 & 059 Roger Moore & Timothy Dalton Bond Films
060 Graham McNeill interview
061 Conan the Barbarian films
062 Krull & The 13th Warrior
063 Pierce Brosnan Bond Films
064 Daniel Craig Bond Films
065 Hugo Awards Controversy
066 Bond Villains
067 Avengers: Age of Ultron (movie review)
068 Roger Zelazny's Amber Novels, pt 1
069 Bruce Boxleitner & Mira Furlan interview
070 Superhero Smackdown
071 Parsec Awards Submission Show
072 Sci Fi Literature Jeopardy
073 Game of Thrones Season 5 review
074 Legion III: Kings of Oblivion (audiobook sample)
075 DragonCon Classic SF Track (w Gary Mitchel)
076 & 077 Roger Zelazny's Amber Novels, pt 2 & 3
078 Peter F Hamilton interview
079 Conventions
080 Thundarr the Barbarian
081 Roger Zelazny Memorial Panel
082 Harlan Ellison at Archon 2015
083 SPECTRE (movie review)
084 The Star Wars Phenomenon
085 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (movie review)
086 Daredevil (DragonCon panel)
087 & 088 Questions for Van About Everything
089 What are we Reading (w/John Ringer)
090 & 091 James Bond Opening Action Sequences Ranked
092 Where Do We Get Our Inspirations and Ideas? (Windy City Con)
A chronological list of some of the more popular topics we have covered on the White Rocket Podcast so far.
All are easily available at http://whiterocket.podbean.com and http://www.whiterocketbooks.com and the most recent episodes are on iTunes.
My eternal thanks to all of my guests and co-hosts on these episodes.
001 Prometheus (movie review)
002 Stephen King's The Dark Tower
003 Bobby Politte on Superhero Novels
004 James Bond in all media
005 Jeff Deischer on Superhero Novels
006 & 007 Marvel Cinematic Universe
008 Richard Stark's Parker novels & films
009 & 010 Movies of 2012 review
011 A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones
012 Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander novels & film
013 10 Favorite Movies Countdown with John Ringer
014 James Clavell's Asian Saga (Shogun, etc) novels & films
015 Steig Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo novels & films
016 Legion I: Lords of Fire (audiobook sample)
017 Awards Season
018 Babylon 5 (20th Anniversary)
019 War/Action Films of Alistair MacLean (Navarone/Ice Station Zebra etc)
020 Ian Healy Interview on Superhero Novels
021 Justified (tv series)
022 The Book Cave team interviews Van
023 DragonCon Memories with Keith RA DeCandido
024 Lucian: Dark God's Homecoming (audiobook sample)
025 Alabama Phoenix Festival
026 Star Trek & Star Trek Into Darkness
027 & 028 Warhammer 40,000 & Horus Heresy (w/Josh Reynolds)
029 Creating Audiobooks (Chris Barnes)
030 Jack "King" Kirby
031 Jim Beard interview
032 Space: 1999
033 Barry Reese interview
034 Hawk: Hand of the Machine (audiobook sample)
035 Larry Niven interview
036 Movies of 2013 review
037 & 038 Star Trek original movies
039 Ready Player One
040 Downton Abbey
041 Windy City Pulp Con Interviews
042 & 043 Novel Writing
044 The Cosmic Marvel Universe
045 Animated Superhero Shows
046 Guardians of the Galaxy movie review
047 Battlestar Galactica (original series)
048 Andrew Gaska interview (Space: 1999 graphic novels)
049 The X-Men Movies
050 Anniversary Show
051 Marvel Cinematic Universe - Phase 3
052 David Wright interview
053 Frank Herbert's Dune novels & films
054 Avengers Assemble!
055 & 056 Sean Connery & George Lazenby Bond Films
057 Legion II: Sons of Terra (audiobook sample)
058 & 059 Roger Moore & Timothy Dalton Bond Films
060 Graham McNeill interview
061 Conan the Barbarian films
062 Krull & The 13th Warrior
063 Pierce Brosnan Bond Films
064 Daniel Craig Bond Films
065 Hugo Awards Controversy
066 Bond Villains
067 Avengers: Age of Ultron (movie review)
068 Roger Zelazny's Amber Novels, pt 1
069 Bruce Boxleitner & Mira Furlan interview
070 Superhero Smackdown
071 Parsec Awards Submission Show
072 Sci Fi Literature Jeopardy
073 Game of Thrones Season 5 review
074 Legion III: Kings of Oblivion (audiobook sample)
075 DragonCon Classic SF Track (w Gary Mitchel)
076 & 077 Roger Zelazny's Amber Novels, pt 2 & 3
078 Peter F Hamilton interview
079 Conventions
080 Thundarr the Barbarian
081 Roger Zelazny Memorial Panel
082 Harlan Ellison at Archon 2015
083 SPECTRE (movie review)
084 The Star Wars Phenomenon
085 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (movie review)
086 Daredevil (DragonCon panel)
087 & 088 Questions for Van About Everything
089 What are we Reading (w/John Ringer)
090 & 091 James Bond Opening Action Sequences Ranked
092 Where Do We Get Our Inspirations and Ideas? (Windy City Con)
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Ranking the Films of 2015
2015 movies I have seen, ranked in order of how much I
enjoyed them:
1 Ant Man
2 Avengers: Age of Ultron *
3 Star Wars: The Force Awakens *
4 Spectre *
5 The Martian
6 Inside Out
7 Bridge of Spies
8 Minions
9 Hotel Transylvania 2
10 Mad Max: Fury Road
11 A Walk in the Woods
12 Woman in Gold
13 The Man from UNCLE
14 Monkey Kingdom
15 Spy
* All three of these had numerous issues that gave me problems, and could have been better, but what was there I still loved. They all represented properties I've loved most of my life, and all three attempted to bring something special in this particular film (Ultron; good old-fashioned Star Wars fun; Blofeld/Spectre organization). They only partially succeeded.
2015 Movies I haven’t seen yet but want to see, listed in the order they came out:
Blackhat
Ex Machina
Shaun the Sheep
Jupiter Ascending
Mr Holmes
Furious 7
Tomorrowland
Jurassic World
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
The Transporter Refueled
Steve Jobs
Where to Invade Next
The Hateful Eight
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Bernie Van Buren????
Here's a fun parallel that occurred to me as I was studying my ruler that has the presidents on it:
Then:
George Washington was a very popular 2-term president. When he left office, his vice-president, John Adams (whose son would also one day be president), was elected--but lost his bid for re-election to a Democrat and served only 1 term. He in turn was followed by a popular Democrat with "Jefferson" in his name (Thomas Jefferson) who served two full terms and remains popular, despite revelations about sexual improprieties. A bit later, the son of the earlier one-term president is elected (John Quincy Adams). He is followed by a controversial Democrat (Andrew Jackson).
When his second term ended, he was immediately followed by an intellectual older guy with unruly white hair (Martin Van Buren)...
Now:
Ronald Reagan was a very popular 2-term president. When he left office, his vice-president, George Bush (whose son would also one day be president), was elected--but lost his bid for re-election to a Democrat and served only 1 term. He in turn was followed by a popular Democrat with "Jefferson" in his name (William Jefferson Clinton) who served two full terms and remains popular, despite revelations about sexual improprieties. A bit later, the son of the earlier one-term president is elected (George W Bush). He is followed by a controversial Democrat (Barack Obama) whose second term is about to end.
...And Bernie Sanders is running now....! Ha!
...
Friday, October 02, 2015
When was the Last Time Auburn & Alabama Both Went 3-2 to Start a Season?
If (big if) Alabama loses to Georgia on Saturday, and if (hopefully not big if) Auburn beats San Jose State, both programs will stand at 3 wins and 2 losses to start the season.
This is pretty amazing considering how both teams were expected in pre-season to be very highly ranked and to contend for conference and national titles.
So it got me to thinking: When was the last time both teams started out 3-2?
I've done the research. Here are the somewhat interesting results-- and it wasn't as long ago as you might have thought:
The last time both teams started 3-2 was actually 2007.
Alabama lost to Georgia and FSU, but beat WCU, Vandy and Arkansas.
Auburn lost to South Florida and Miss State, but beat Kansas St, New Mexico St and 4th-ranked Florida.
But here's where it gets really interesting: In all the years before that, going back to 1970, both teams had quite a few 3-2 starts... But... there were no other years where both teams had a 3-2 record after five games. 2007 is the only one since at least 1970.
Looking all the way back to 1970 (who has the time to dig further back than that?) we find that both programs have started with a 3-2 record about the same number of times:
Auburn started 3-2 after five games in:
1973
1977
1980
1984
1991
1999
2003
2007
Alabama started 3-2 after five games in:
1970
1976
1997
1998
2001
2006
2007
There were a few other seasons since 1970 when it very nearly happened:
If Alabama could have pulled out a win over Vanderbilt in 1984, both teams would have started 3-2 that season. As it was, Alabama lost to the Commodores and began at only 1-4.
Similarly, Auburn's 1-point loss to Baylor in 1976 prevented both teams from beginning that season at 3-2.
A 1-point overtime win over Florida in 1999 was all that stood between both teams beginning 3-2 in 1999.
Both teams began 1998 poorly, but Auburn had it worse at 1-4.
But 2007 was the only time BOTH teams started at 3-2 since at least 1970.
--Van Allen Plexico is one-half of the AU Wishbone, along with co-writer/co-host John Ringer. Their AU Wishbone podcast program is available via iTunes and on the War Eagle Reader and via the War Eagle Sports Radio app. Their best-selling books on Auburn football can be found on Amazon:
Friday, September 25, 2015
I will also have a booth in the Dealers' Room this year.
Fri 4:00p Illini A Pulp Stories: Remo Williams, The Phantom and Beyond (M)
Fri 5:00p Illini A Game of Thrones: Does Cersei Deserve Our Hatred or Sympathy? (book and tv) (M)
Sat 11:00a Salon 4 What's the Future of Science Fiction?
Sat 2:00p Cahokian Roger Zelazny: A Retrospective and Memorial (M)
Sat 5:00p Cahokian The Future of Comic Book Movies (M)
Sun 12:00p Illini B What Was Your Favorite Childhood Sci Fi Toy? (30 min)
http://www.archonstl.org/
Friday, August 07, 2015
My DragonCon 2015 Schedule
(It's all "tentative" until it's actually happened.)
Van Allen Plexico - DragonCon 2015
FRIDAY
-------------------
Schwarza-Panel: The Sci-Fi Movies of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Description: Total Recall turns 25 and the Terminators are still terminating. Come to this panel if you want to live.
Time: Fri 11:30 am Location: M303-M304 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Debbie Viguié, Van Allen Plexico, Mike Faber, William Stout)
-------------------
Pulp Fiction
Description: Pulp has enjoyed a renaissance in the last few years. Why? And why do authors choose to write in this genre?
Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, Bobby Nash, James Palmer, John G. Hartness)
-------------------
DC Marvel Trivia
Description: Contestants test their knowledge of Marvel and DC Comics.
Time: Fri 04:00 pm Location: International South - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico)
SATURDAY
-------------------
Thundarr the Barbarian and Friends: Saturday Morning Sci-Fi
Description: Lords of Light in a world of savagery, super-science, and sorcery—30 years of Thundarr!
Time: Sat 08:30 am Location: M303-M304 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, James Palmer, Bobby Nash)
-------------------
In Memoriam: Roger Zelazny
Description: 20 years after his passing, we discuss his work's impact on the field.
Time: Sat 01:00 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, James Palmer, Atlanta Radio Theatre Company, S. M. Stirling)
-------------------
Sci-Fi Jeopardy
Description: Host Van Allen Plexico tests your knowledge of the field. There will be prizes!
Time: Sat 08:30 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico)
-------------------
Books to Film: Books that SHOULD Be Filmed
Description: But haven't. Our panelists suggest books that really ought to be filmed. Is your favorite among them?
Time: Sat 10:00 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: James Palmer, Van Allen Plexico)
SUNDAY
-------------------
The History of Pulp Fiction
Description: What is pulp? Where does it come from? Where is it going today?
Time: Sun 10:00 am Location: Augusta 3 - Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: James R. Tuck, Bobby Nash, Van Allen Plexico, John G. Hartness)
-------------------
Starship Smackdown!
Description: What's your favorite starship? How'd it fare against other ships? The merits of each done in a bracket system.
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, James Palmer)
-------------------
Autograph Session: Earth Station One
Time: Sun 02:30 pm Location: International Hall South - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Mike Faber, Bobby Nash, Van Allen Plexico, Dr. Scott Viguié, Michael Gordon)
-------------------
Peter F Hamilton Speaks
Description: Van Allen Plexico talks to our Guest of Honor, Peter F Hamilton about his work.
Time: Sun 04:00 pm Location: Regency VI - VII - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Peter F Hamilton, Van Allen Plexico)
-------------------
Sci Fi Literature Match Game
Description: A fannish version of the favorite game show.
Time: Sun 05:30 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, Gray Rinehart, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Teresa Patterson)
MONDAY
-------------------
James Bond: Thunderballs, Views and Kills
Description: Once more around the world to celebrate the anniversaries of Thunderball, A View to a Kill and Goldeneye.
Time: Mon 10:00 am Location: M303-M304 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, Dr. Scott Viguié, Bobby Nash)
Van Allen Plexico - DragonCon 2015
FRIDAY
-------------------
Schwarza-Panel: The Sci-Fi Movies of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Description: Total Recall turns 25 and the Terminators are still terminating. Come to this panel if you want to live.
Time: Fri 11:30 am Location: M303-M304 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Debbie Viguié, Van Allen Plexico, Mike Faber, William Stout)
-------------------
Pulp Fiction
Description: Pulp has enjoyed a renaissance in the last few years. Why? And why do authors choose to write in this genre?
Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, Bobby Nash, James Palmer, John G. Hartness)
-------------------
DC Marvel Trivia
Description: Contestants test their knowledge of Marvel and DC Comics.
Time: Fri 04:00 pm Location: International South - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico)
SATURDAY
-------------------
Thundarr the Barbarian and Friends: Saturday Morning Sci-Fi
Description: Lords of Light in a world of savagery, super-science, and sorcery—30 years of Thundarr!
Time: Sat 08:30 am Location: M303-M304 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, James Palmer, Bobby Nash)
-------------------
In Memoriam: Roger Zelazny
Description: 20 years after his passing, we discuss his work's impact on the field.
Time: Sat 01:00 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, James Palmer, Atlanta Radio Theatre Company, S. M. Stirling)
-------------------
Sci-Fi Jeopardy
Description: Host Van Allen Plexico tests your knowledge of the field. There will be prizes!
Time: Sat 08:30 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico)
-------------------
Books to Film: Books that SHOULD Be Filmed
Description: But haven't. Our panelists suggest books that really ought to be filmed. Is your favorite among them?
Time: Sat 10:00 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: James Palmer, Van Allen Plexico)
SUNDAY
-------------------
The History of Pulp Fiction
Description: What is pulp? Where does it come from? Where is it going today?
Time: Sun 10:00 am Location: Augusta 3 - Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: James R. Tuck, Bobby Nash, Van Allen Plexico, John G. Hartness)
-------------------
Starship Smackdown!
Description: What's your favorite starship? How'd it fare against other ships? The merits of each done in a bracket system.
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, James Palmer)
-------------------
Autograph Session: Earth Station One
Time: Sun 02:30 pm Location: International Hall South - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Mike Faber, Bobby Nash, Van Allen Plexico, Dr. Scott Viguié, Michael Gordon)
-------------------
Peter F Hamilton Speaks
Description: Van Allen Plexico talks to our Guest of Honor, Peter F Hamilton about his work.
Time: Sun 04:00 pm Location: Regency VI - VII - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Peter F Hamilton, Van Allen Plexico)
-------------------
Sci Fi Literature Match Game
Description: A fannish version of the favorite game show.
Time: Sun 05:30 pm Location: Embassy A-B - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, Gray Rinehart, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Teresa Patterson)
MONDAY
-------------------
James Bond: Thunderballs, Views and Kills
Description: Once more around the world to celebrate the anniversaries of Thunderball, A View to a Kill and Goldeneye.
Time: Mon 10:00 am Location: M303-M304 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, Dr. Scott Viguié, Bobby Nash)
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Van's Con/Festival Appearances - Summer/Fall 2015
I've been slack on letting everyone who is interested know when and where I will be in the weeks and months ahead. So here are my upcoming appearances at conventions and literary festivals through the rest of 2015:
AUGUST 1HOOVER, AL (metro B'ham) Hoover Library
Sci Fi and Fantasy Festival
Bobby Nash and I will be doing panel discussions and the Barnes & Noble will have some of my books (including several of my most popular SF books and an AU book) for sale and for me to sign. This is a big library and we expect a good crowd.
Link for more info: http://www.hooverlibrary.org/sci-fi-fantasy
SEPTEMBER 3-7
ATLANTA, GA
DragonCon
The granddaddy of the Southeastern conventions. My 18th visit overall and 8th time as a guest. It looks to begin on Thursday night when I moderate the James Bond anniversary panel, and continue straight through till Monday afternoon.
Link for more info: http://www.dragoncon.org/
OCTOBER 2-4
COLLINSVILLE, IL (metro St Louis) Gateway Convention Center
Archon
My tenth appearance as a guest of "the Midwest's premiere SF &
F event."
This year I'll have a booth in the Dealers' Hall and be selling lots of stuff besides my own books.
I also expect to be on a number of panels again with other great guests.
Link for more info: http://archonstl.org/index.html
OCTOBER 10-11
HUNTSVILLE, AL (Civic Center)
Rocket City Lit Fest
I'm a "Special Guest" of this brand new literary festival and it looks to be awesome. I will have a booth in the vendor area with all my books available including hardcovers.
Link for more info: http://www.rocketcitylitfest.com/
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Civil War in the Executive Branch: A General Idea
Here's an interesting story idea that I will never write, but someone who does political thrillers might find worthwhile:
The President is given no power by the Constitution to remove a Vice-President from office. Unlike any other type of official appointed by the Prez, the V-P cannot be "fired." Only Congress can remove a V-P via impeachment process.
And Vice-Presidents have historically had their power limited in part by Congress (and other Cabinet heads) practically revolting when Presidents have even tried to delegate any real power or major projects to their V-P.
So-- what if you had a
situation where the President and V-P had a political and/or personal
falling-out, and the President became very controversial and unpopular
with (maybe a newly elected) Congress (and maybe even with several of
his/her own Cabinet officials)... and so the V-P, with the support of
Congress and part of the Cabinet, started taking on more power and
openly rebelling against the President?
The President would be stuck, at least until the end of the term (at which time he/she could simply not choose to have that person run with them again). Congress would refuse to impeach the V-P and the V-P could be up to all sorts of shenanigans.
You'd have a civil war inside the Executive Branch, with the V-P supported by the majority of the Legislative Branch.
Imagine, for example, a fictional version of Barack Obama as the President.... and imagine that Joe Biden turned out to be a sort of Ted Cruz in disguise. And that fact doesn't get revealed until a few months into the term, at the earliest. Oh the fun that could be had, story-wise...!
That's just sort of a jumping-off point. Do with that what you will. But hurry up-- I want to read it!
--
Van Allen Plexico is an award-winning SF/adventure novelist and non-fiction writer and podcaster, as well as an associate professor of Political Science and History.
You can read Van's own interstellar saga of politics, religion and cosmic warfare in "The Shattering" from White Rocket Books, available here. The third volume of the Legion trilogy recently won Novel of the Year in the 2015 Pulp Factory Awards.
He's on Facebook as Van Allen Plexico.
Follow him on Twitter: @vanallenplexico
The President is given no power by the Constitution to remove a Vice-President from office. Unlike any other type of official appointed by the Prez, the V-P cannot be "fired." Only Congress can remove a V-P via impeachment process.
And Vice-Presidents have historically had their power limited in part by Congress (and other Cabinet heads) practically revolting when Presidents have even tried to delegate any real power or major projects to their V-P.
The President would be stuck, at least until the end of the term (at which time he/she could simply not choose to have that person run with them again). Congress would refuse to impeach the V-P and the V-P could be up to all sorts of shenanigans.
You'd have a civil war inside the Executive Branch, with the V-P supported by the majority of the Legislative Branch.
Imagine, for example, a fictional version of Barack Obama as the President.... and imagine that Joe Biden turned out to be a sort of Ted Cruz in disguise. And that fact doesn't get revealed until a few months into the term, at the earliest. Oh the fun that could be had, story-wise...!
That's just sort of a jumping-off point. Do with that what you will. But hurry up-- I want to read it!
--
Van Allen Plexico is an award-winning SF/adventure novelist and non-fiction writer and podcaster, as well as an associate professor of Political Science and History.
You can read Van's own interstellar saga of politics, religion and cosmic warfare in "The Shattering" from White Rocket Books, available here. The third volume of the Legion trilogy recently won Novel of the Year in the 2015 Pulp Factory Awards.
He's on Facebook as Van Allen Plexico.
Follow him on Twitter: @vanallenplexico
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
The "Missing Insurgency" of Babylon 5's Final Seasons
The "Missing Insurgency" of Babylon 5's Final Seasons
by Van Allen Plexico
One thing I think J Michael Straczynski got wrong--or at least didn't explore nearly enough--in the "President Clark/Earthwar" segment of the Babylon 5 storyline was the way that Earth basically welcomed Sheridan and his alien allies after they defeated Clark's military forces defending Earth and overthrew his regime at the end of the fourth season of the show (which aired 1993-1998).
Considering at least two major factors, I think many (if not most) people living on Earth at the time would've been at least very skeptical if not downright hostile to Sheridan and company. Possibly skeptical enough to create an "insurgency" against Sheridan and his Earth allies that could've lingered for many years.
Those factors are:
Factor 1) Earth had only recently suffered another attack from space by hostile forces in the form of the Minbari invasion, culminating at the Battle of the Line. That traumatic event occurred in 2248. Sheridan's campaign of "liberation" from Clark happened late in 2261, only thirteen years later. No matter who the attackers/liberators were, it's hard to imagine everyone or even a majority of the people on Earth switching over to their side against the Earth defense forces.
It's not like Clark was making life hard for most people on Earth. Sure, he was giving aliens (and people who disagreed with him) a hard time, but it's not like he wrecked the economy (as far as we know) or instituted some deeply unpopular legislation or took the planet into a pointless war. As far as could be told, being a run-of-the-mill human living under Clark was not all that horrible in one's daily life--assuming one toed the Clark/Nightwatch line. (Of course, if you were an alien, or someone branded a "sympathizer"/"enemy of the state" or a political dissident, things were infinitely worse for you.)
So it's difficult to imagine a huge number of people rallying to the Sheridan banner under those circumstances--especially when Sheridan's invasion must have actually appeared to many people on Earth to be proving Clark correct in his prophesies about the aliens "coming to get us!" And speaking of the perceptions of the people of Earth with regard to Sheridan v. Clark, that takes us to:
Surely some portion of the Earth's population--and likely a very substantial portion--would've been all too willing and eager to buy into the Big Lie and the Easy Answer (Sheridan is evil; aliens cause all our problems), especially with (what was apparently) the only major news outlet on the planet (ISN) beaming out that message round-the-clock. Even after Sheridan's victory over Clark, there still should've been a vast number of humans who were utterly convinced that John Sheridan and his army represented an evil, conquering force that should be resisted unto death.
Instead, as we saw, Sheridan's forces were actually "greeted as liberators" (to borrow the words of a guy who, like Clark, was at one point an ambitious Earth vice-president, and who also helped lead an invasion under the stated banner of liberation-- Dick Cheney). It was as if the entire populace of the planet cast aside everything they'd been told about Sheridan and his compatriots in an instant, once Clark was dead and his forces were defeated. Cheney could only wish things had gone so smoothly in Iraq.
Furthermore, in the episode "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars," we see a later era in which Sheridan is debated by a roundtable of several supposedly influential members of the media--and debated not in terms of whether Sheridan and his actions were "good or bad," but whether he deserved all the credit history had given him. In other words, "Just how great of a hero was he really?" and not "Was he a hero at all, or a villain?"
Surely ISN could've found at least one unreconstructed Clarkist (Clarkite? Clarkian?) who would've been thrilled to argue that, to borrow the phrasing of Delenn on that episode, "Morgan Clark was a good man" and then added, "that alien sympathizer Sheridan with his extra-constitutional invasion caused all these problems we face today." Not only would that have been fun and interesting to see-- it would've been very likely for some if not many to hold that belief. (Even in a society with apparently only one news media outlet! Yes, we are looking at you, ISN. Of course we are. You're the only channel on our future-TV, apparently. Thank goodness you're "Fair and Balanced!")
It may have been that JMS simply didn't have room or time to explore this aspect of the story. Still, one feels he might have dropped at least one or two references to it into the series or the spinoffs or at least into the tie-in novels that came afterward--particularly the Psi Corps or Centauri novels by Greg Keyes and Peter David.
Perhaps one day someone will novelize the entire Babylon 5 saga from start to finish, in a Game of Thrones-sized series of books, and the situation on the home front can finally be given the attention it deserves. And perhaps our own experiences in the years since Babylon 5 was produced can inform that story and make it even more true-to-life than it already was.
-
Van Allen Plexico is an award-winning SF/adventure novelist and non-fiction writer and podcaster, as well as an associate professor of Political Science and History.You can read Van's own interstellar saga of politics, religion and cosmic warfare in "The Shattering" from White Rocket Books, available here. The third volume of the Legion trilogy recently won Novel of the Year in the 2015 Pulp Factory Awards.
He's on Facebook as Van Allen Plexico.
Follow him on Twitter: @vanallenplexico
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
The Shattering: Chronology Chart
The "Shattering" saga represents everything from science fiction that I have always loved, combined in one massive web of interconnected series. These books and stories include everything from Kirby-esque cosmic space-gods to Warhammer 40K-esque massive colossus walkers and Baen-style futuristic military combat to Dune-style far-future universe-building with political and religious systems and hierarchies.
All of that, of course, is the tapestry against which our very (mostly) human heroes and their (human and alien and godlike) villains engage with one another, while the galaxy burns all around them.
The series stands at five novels and one novella thus far, as of summer 2015. Those works are included in the chart below.
Here's a quick and handy annotated overview of the "eras" of the Shattering saga's universe, along with where each of the existing (or soon to exist) books and stories fit into it.
This is therefore a chronological listing according to the internal timeline of the story.
(No real spoilers here. Spoiler details for the various books and stories have been omitted. This is intended as a general reference chart when attempting to place the various works in the proper order.)
+++++
(The age before Mankind goes into space)
FIRST PAX MACHINA
(Unexplained collapse of Pax Machina)
(Mankind gains limited interstellar space travel)
FIRST TERRAN EMPIRE
(Mankind colonizes and establishes the Seven Worlds)
(Mankind loses interstellar space travel)
FIRST DARK AGE
(Mankind regains interstellar travel)
(War among the Seven Worlds)
* Baranak: Storming the Gates (forthcoming)
SECOND TERRAN EMPIRE
(Demon invasions)
(Collapse of Second Terran Empire)
(Rise of the Terran Alliance and the Outer Worlds)
TERRAN ALLIANCE
* Lucian: Dark God's Homecoming
(Collapse of galactic civilization)
SECOND DARK AGE
(Rise of the Young Empires)
THE YOUNG EMPIRES
* Legion I: Lords of Fire
* The Legion Chronicles 1: Cold Lightning
* The Legion Chronicles 2: Red Colossus (forthcoming)
* Legion II: Sons of Terra
* Legion III: Kings of Oblivion
(The Twilight War)
SECOND PAX MACHINA
* Falcon: Revolt Against the Machine (forthcoming)
(The Great Revolt)
* Legion IV -- ? (forthcoming)
(The Shattering event)
SHATTERED GALAXY
* Hawk: Hand of the Machine
* Hawk 2 -- ? (forthcoming)
+++++
Next time I'll present a list based more on "order the stories were written/suggested reading order(s)."
You can find all these books (for the Kindle and in paperback and hardcover) at the White Rocket Books site: http://www.whiterocketbooks.com and on Amazon.com, or through your local bookstore.
All of that, of course, is the tapestry against which our very (mostly) human heroes and their (human and alien and godlike) villains engage with one another, while the galaxy burns all around them.
The series stands at five novels and one novella thus far, as of summer 2015. Those works are included in the chart below.
Here's a quick and handy annotated overview of the "eras" of the Shattering saga's universe, along with where each of the existing (or soon to exist) books and stories fit into it.
This is therefore a chronological listing according to the internal timeline of the story.
(No real spoilers here. Spoiler details for the various books and stories have been omitted. This is intended as a general reference chart when attempting to place the various works in the proper order.)
+++++
(The age before Mankind goes into space)
FIRST PAX MACHINA
(Unexplained collapse of Pax Machina)
(Mankind gains limited interstellar space travel)
FIRST TERRAN EMPIRE
(Mankind colonizes and establishes the Seven Worlds)
(Mankind loses interstellar space travel)
FIRST DARK AGE
(Mankind regains interstellar travel)
(War among the Seven Worlds)
* Baranak: Storming the Gates (forthcoming)
SECOND TERRAN EMPIRE
(Demon invasions)
(Collapse of Second Terran Empire)
(Rise of the Terran Alliance and the Outer Worlds)
TERRAN ALLIANCE
* Lucian: Dark God's Homecoming
(Collapse of galactic civilization)
SECOND DARK AGE
(Rise of the Young Empires)
THE YOUNG EMPIRES
* Legion I: Lords of Fire
* The Legion Chronicles 1: Cold Lightning
* The Legion Chronicles 2: Red Colossus (forthcoming)
* Legion II: Sons of Terra
* Legion III: Kings of Oblivion
(The Twilight War)
SECOND PAX MACHINA
* Falcon: Revolt Against the Machine (forthcoming)
(The Great Revolt)
* Legion IV -- ? (forthcoming)
(The Shattering event)
SHATTERED GALAXY
* Hawk: Hand of the Machine
* Hawk 2 -- ? (forthcoming)
+++++
Next time I'll present a list based more on "order the stories were written/suggested reading order(s)."
You can find all these books (for the Kindle and in paperback and hardcover) at the White Rocket Books site: http://www.whiterocketbooks.com and on Amazon.com, or through your local bookstore.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Van's Thirty Favorite Films of All Time list, updated May 2015
My completely revised and updated Top Thirty Favorite Movies list,
as of May 2015:
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. Star Wars
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron
4. Avengers
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
7. The 13th Warrior
8. Casablanca
9. Last of the Mohicans
10. Ice Station Zebra
11. Gandhi
12. Babe
13. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (US)
12. Serenity
13. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
14. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
15. Lawrence of Arabia
16. Dead Again
17. Ocean's 11 (2001)
18. Payback
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
20. Henry V (1989)
21. The Crow
22. North by Northwest
23. Die Hard
24. V for Vendetta
25. Captain America: Winter Soldier
26. Thor: The Dark World
27. Cloud Atlas
28. Iron Man
29. Thor
30. John Carter
Just missed the cut:
Gladiator
Highlander
Patton
LA Confidential
BE SURE TO PICK UP OUR UNAUTHORIZED GUIDES TO MARVEL'S AVENGERS:
ASSEMBLED! and ASSEMBLED! 2
http://www.whiterocketbooks.com/index_assembled.htm
Friday, May 08, 2015
A quick, early scene from BARANAK: STORMING THE GATES
[Here is a brief, first-draft scene from my upcoming novel in the Shattering series and the Above series, BARANAK: STORMING THE GATES. I'll leave it at that and let it speak for itself. Hope you enjoy. --Van]
Scarcely had I passed through the opening of the cave before complete darkness surrounded me and swallowed me up. The entrance itself didn't entirely vanish, but it seemed to recede to the point that it was now far away in the distance, as though it would take quite a bit of a walk to reach it and leave the cave. This made me feel extremely uncomfortable and I turned, facing back in that direction. I contemplated leaving immediately.
Then a warm breeze blew past me, gravel crunched, and voice echoed out of the void at my back: "Greetings."
"Who's there?" I called, turning. My pistol was out and in my hand.
Only darkness, all about me.
"Who are you?" I demanded. "What do you want?"
"You have a strange manner," the voice said after a few seconds. It was smooth and low, deep and rich, and it held an unmistakable edge of menace. "You come uninvited into my home and seek to interrogate me. Is this what passes for civilized behavior among your kind?"
The warm air wafted by again, as from the bellows of some mighty forge. It smelled sour. I began to suspect that it might be breath.
"You are quite right," I said, still searching the darkness, hoping my eyes would adjust faster and give me any indication of who--or what--I was dealing with. "My apologies. I did not intend to intrude or trespass."
"Then why came you here, if not intentionally?"
"I was directed here by a--by an acquaintance," I said. "I was told I might find answers."
"Ah," the voice said. "Yes. That is entirely possible. Or," it added after a brief pause, "you might find something else. Other things entirely."
"Perhaps I am supposed to ask you my questions?" I said after a brief silence.
The warm air again, pungent and moist. My nose wrinkled involuntarily and I turned my head slightly to one side, seeking to avoid breathing it in.
"You could," the voice said. "I would not object in principle." A pause, and then, "Of course, understand that if I do not like your questions, you will not be leaving my domain, my world. You will be consumed."
This took me aback. Not the threat--that seemed almost de rigeur. But--"Your world? This world I've come to--it belongs to you?"
"This world. Here. This pocket universe, I believe the Dyonari call it. It is my world."
I had no idea what any of that meant. I looked around and could see nothing but darkness. Even the cave mouth had now vanished. "Ah, yes." I nodded, and I'm afraid the sarcasm was clear in my voice as I added, "And a lovely world it is."
"Talk like that will lead to the consumption I referenced in my previous utterance."
"Sorry."
"Yes, yes. Now--the questions, eh? I will allow... two, to start. More if I feel so inclined after those. And if you have not yet been consumed."
What was this creature? How could it possibly answer the questions that plagued me? It all seemed ludicrous. And yet, so did everything else that had occurred in the time since I'd taken Comet and ridden into the night. Again--what had I to lose?
I nodded in the darkness. "Very well." I kept the blast pistol ready as I searched my mind for the most efficient single question I could ask. For a moment my thoughts were a jumble, and I could hear impatient-sounding gravel-crunching from a short distance away. Then my thoughts snapped almost miraculously into clear focus. I said, "Why was my father killed?"
I anticipated counter-questions such as, "Who exactly was your father?" or "How the hell should I know? I'm just a creature living in a cave slash pocket universe." But the voice uttered neither of those things. Instead it issued no sounds whatsoever, for a time long enough that I began to suspect it had slinked back into the depths of its cave--its mini-universe, if it was to be believed. I was just about to give up and begin walking in the direction I hoped led back to the entrance, when: "I cannot say with absolute certainty, but in all likelihood it was because he might have actually succeeded."
I might have taken an involuntary step backwards; certainly my jaw dropped open. Blinking rapidly, I closed my mouth and sought words. At last I found a few.
"Succeeded in what?"
The creature--if creature it was--issued a sort of groan. "Are you sure you want that to be your second question? Because I find it boring, and it will probably be your last."
"No--no, not at all," I said quickly. "I was simply musing out loud. I have a better second question, of course."
"Ah. Excellent."
And then I faltered and mentally cast about--for of course at that moment my mind became a blank canvas and I an artist bereft of all paints and brushes.
*****
That was a brief scene from the upcoming BARANAK: STORMING THE GATES.
If you enjoyed it, you will probably very much like the novel to which it is a sort of prequel: LUCIAN: DARK GOD'S HOMECOMING. Many, many readers have enjoyed it.
You can find it here, in paperback and on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Lucian-Homecoming-Van-Allen-Plexico/dp/0615606423
Thanks for reading. (BARANAK should be along later this year.)
Scarcely had I passed through the opening of the cave before complete darkness surrounded me and swallowed me up. The entrance itself didn't entirely vanish, but it seemed to recede to the point that it was now far away in the distance, as though it would take quite a bit of a walk to reach it and leave the cave. This made me feel extremely uncomfortable and I turned, facing back in that direction. I contemplated leaving immediately.
Then a warm breeze blew past me, gravel crunched, and voice echoed out of the void at my back: "Greetings."
"Who's there?" I called, turning. My pistol was out and in my hand.
Only darkness, all about me.
"Who are you?" I demanded. "What do you want?"
"You have a strange manner," the voice said after a few seconds. It was smooth and low, deep and rich, and it held an unmistakable edge of menace. "You come uninvited into my home and seek to interrogate me. Is this what passes for civilized behavior among your kind?"
The warm air wafted by again, as from the bellows of some mighty forge. It smelled sour. I began to suspect that it might be breath.
"You are quite right," I said, still searching the darkness, hoping my eyes would adjust faster and give me any indication of who--or what--I was dealing with. "My apologies. I did not intend to intrude or trespass."
"Then why came you here, if not intentionally?"
"I was directed here by a--by an acquaintance," I said. "I was told I might find answers."
"Ah," the voice said. "Yes. That is entirely possible. Or," it added after a brief pause, "you might find something else. Other things entirely."
"Perhaps I am supposed to ask you my questions?" I said after a brief silence.
The warm air again, pungent and moist. My nose wrinkled involuntarily and I turned my head slightly to one side, seeking to avoid breathing it in.
"You could," the voice said. "I would not object in principle." A pause, and then, "Of course, understand that if I do not like your questions, you will not be leaving my domain, my world. You will be consumed."
This took me aback. Not the threat--that seemed almost de rigeur. But--"Your world? This world I've come to--it belongs to you?"
"This world. Here. This pocket universe, I believe the Dyonari call it. It is my world."
I had no idea what any of that meant. I looked around and could see nothing but darkness. Even the cave mouth had now vanished. "Ah, yes." I nodded, and I'm afraid the sarcasm was clear in my voice as I added, "And a lovely world it is."
"Talk like that will lead to the consumption I referenced in my previous utterance."
"Sorry."
"Yes, yes. Now--the questions, eh? I will allow... two, to start. More if I feel so inclined after those. And if you have not yet been consumed."
What was this creature? How could it possibly answer the questions that plagued me? It all seemed ludicrous. And yet, so did everything else that had occurred in the time since I'd taken Comet and ridden into the night. Again--what had I to lose?
I nodded in the darkness. "Very well." I kept the blast pistol ready as I searched my mind for the most efficient single question I could ask. For a moment my thoughts were a jumble, and I could hear impatient-sounding gravel-crunching from a short distance away. Then my thoughts snapped almost miraculously into clear focus. I said, "Why was my father killed?"
I anticipated counter-questions such as, "Who exactly was your father?" or "How the hell should I know? I'm just a creature living in a cave slash pocket universe." But the voice uttered neither of those things. Instead it issued no sounds whatsoever, for a time long enough that I began to suspect it had slinked back into the depths of its cave--its mini-universe, if it was to be believed. I was just about to give up and begin walking in the direction I hoped led back to the entrance, when: "I cannot say with absolute certainty, but in all likelihood it was because he might have actually succeeded."
I might have taken an involuntary step backwards; certainly my jaw dropped open. Blinking rapidly, I closed my mouth and sought words. At last I found a few.
"Succeeded in what?"
The creature--if creature it was--issued a sort of groan. "Are you sure you want that to be your second question? Because I find it boring, and it will probably be your last."
"No--no, not at all," I said quickly. "I was simply musing out loud. I have a better second question, of course."
"Ah. Excellent."
And then I faltered and mentally cast about--for of course at that moment my mind became a blank canvas and I an artist bereft of all paints and brushes.
*****
That was a brief scene from the upcoming BARANAK: STORMING THE GATES.
If you enjoyed it, you will probably very much like the novel to which it is a sort of prequel: LUCIAN: DARK GOD'S HOMECOMING. Many, many readers have enjoyed it.
You can find it here, in paperback and on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Lucian-Homecoming-Van-Allen-Plexico/dp/0615606423
Thanks for reading. (BARANAK should be along later this year.)
Monday, May 04, 2015
Re-Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies After Avengers: Age of Ultron
Here is my current personal ranking of the Top Ten Marvel Cinematic Universe films, post-Avengers: Age of Ultron:
1. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Several issues of an epic run of my old-time favorite comic book come to full life on the screen. Astonishing how high Marvel has raised the bar on what we expect from their movies in a decade or so.
2. Avengers
Better than any of the others, but "less" than A:AOU in nearly every measurable way (other than number of Loki jokes, obviously).
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
I love everything about this movie except the way the Nova Corps is portrayed and handled, and the way the Collector was used. The Xandar stuff sort of disappointed me. But the Celestials stuff and the Infinity Gems stuff make up for it. And Groot and Rocket are priceless.
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
A mini-Avengers movie. It says a lot about how great the top three are, that this movie is only at number 4. Because it is excellent.
5. Thor: The Dark World
Better than the first Thor in most ways. Bigger, bolder, more fun. My main disappointment was that the fantastic Christopher Eccleston didn't get to do more, or be more expressive.
6. Thor
My favorite of the first run of solo origin movies. So very Kirby/Simonson!
7. Iron Man
Seems so "small" now, after everything that has come since. But it is so much fun. And after waiting a lifetime, I finally got to see my favorite character come to life. And instantly go from "third tier" to the biggest Marvel hero of all. I still can't fathom that. (You couldn't FIND an Iron Man toy when I was a kid and wanted them!!)
8. Iron Man 2
Lots of plot problems (and villain problems) but the fun that Downey and Sam Rockwell have in it makes up for quite a bit.
9. Captain America: The First Avenger
Chris Evans hadn't sold me on his portrayal of Cap yet. (Does he ever do so later!) And the Red Skull is criminally (no pun intended) underused here.
10. The Incredible Hulk
No, the prison video from the Thor 2 Blu Ray notwithstanding, I still haven't forgiven Iron Man 3.
1. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Several issues of an epic run of my old-time favorite comic book come to full life on the screen. Astonishing how high Marvel has raised the bar on what we expect from their movies in a decade or so.
2. Avengers
Better than any of the others, but "less" than A:AOU in nearly every measurable way (other than number of Loki jokes, obviously).
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
I love everything about this movie except the way the Nova Corps is portrayed and handled, and the way the Collector was used. The Xandar stuff sort of disappointed me. But the Celestials stuff and the Infinity Gems stuff make up for it. And Groot and Rocket are priceless.
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
A mini-Avengers movie. It says a lot about how great the top three are, that this movie is only at number 4. Because it is excellent.
5. Thor: The Dark World
Better than the first Thor in most ways. Bigger, bolder, more fun. My main disappointment was that the fantastic Christopher Eccleston didn't get to do more, or be more expressive.
6. Thor
My favorite of the first run of solo origin movies. So very Kirby/Simonson!
7. Iron Man
Seems so "small" now, after everything that has come since. But it is so much fun. And after waiting a lifetime, I finally got to see my favorite character come to life. And instantly go from "third tier" to the biggest Marvel hero of all. I still can't fathom that. (You couldn't FIND an Iron Man toy when I was a kid and wanted them!!)
8. Iron Man 2
Lots of plot problems (and villain problems) but the fun that Downey and Sam Rockwell have in it makes up for quite a bit.
9. Captain America: The First Avenger
Chris Evans hadn't sold me on his portrayal of Cap yet. (Does he ever do so later!) And the Red Skull is criminally (no pun intended) underused here.
10. The Incredible Hulk
No, the prison video from the Thor 2 Blu Ray notwithstanding, I still haven't forgiven Iron Man 3.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Some of the GOOD parts--! Excerpt from LEGION I: LORDS OF FIRE, by Van Allen Plexico
THE SHATTERING,
LEGION I: LORDS OF FIRE
by Van Allen Plexico
from White Rocket Books
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Lords-Fire-Shattering-Book-ebook/dp/B00B6T21TM
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Lords-Fire-New-Shattering/dp/0692021426/
The entire party stood only a short distance away from the eye, that great gash sliced into the fabric of reality, and stared up at it with a mixture of awe and trepidation. Beyond just its disturbing appearance, it seemed to radiate an almost palpable sense of danger, of menace—like the eye of some horrific predator, waiting to pounce. It gave even a hardened soldier like Tamerlane the chills. He tried to look away from it, but found it kept drawing his attention back to it. In this universe of swirling fog and dim, pale light, there was nowhere else to look.
“Through there?” the Inquisitor asked, his bloodshot eyes flashing
toward Tamerlane. “You’re saying the
Emperor passed through that—that blasphemy?” He didn’t seem to truly believe it.
Tamerlane motioned again to Keefe, who held the small tracking device up
before her face and turned in a slow circle.
Once she’d completed a single rotation, she lowered it again and nodded
to the colonel.
“If His Majesty found the level of the Above we’re in now not exciting
enough—and how could he not, since all this gray fog is so exciting—then I
could very easily see him continuing on to a different level,” the colonel
stated, “regardless of whatever assurances he made.”
“The Emperor is quite…headstrong,
yes,” Stanishur reluctantly agreed.
“But, even so—” His gaze returned to the eye before them and he
shuddered. His two assistants exchanged
troubled glances.
“The walls of our universe were determined to be thinnest at the
location where the Emperor’s yacht was stationed—above NM-156,” Nakamura
explained. “It follows that the walls
between this part of the Above and those levels even higher would also be thinner
here.”
“That they might even be torn in places,” Tamerlane added, nodding
toward the eye.
The Inquisitor blinked, taking this information in, then looked back at
the eye, his expression still conveying great dislike and distrust of the
phenomenon.
“So the Emperor hadn’t found the sword yet, maybe, and he got bored with
all the fog here, and simply kept going—right through there,” Tamerlane concluded.
“It’s either that, or else someone… or something… came along and gave him no choice in the matter.”
“Let’s hold off on idle speculation for now, Colonel,” Nakamura
interjected. He was already walking
toward the eye. “Come on, everyone. We know what we have to do. Let’s keep moving.”
Somewhat reluctantly, or at least with less enthusiasm than up until now,
the rest of the party followed him. The
three Inquisitors came last, and their discomfort was obvious and profound.
When he reached the threshold of the eye, Nakamura turned back and
addressed the team.
“I don’t plan on traveling too far on the other side, wherever it might
be,” he said, his calm and even voice in stark contrast to the malignant red
swirl of the eye.
Tamerlane and the others nodded readily at that.
“Alright,” the general said, his jaw firm and his expression one of
resolved determination, “here we go.”
He stepped into the black pupil of the eye, and the darkness swallowed
him up. Less than a second later, he was
gone.
Tamerlane repressed a shudder, then started to follow after him.
Nakamura’s tether wire dropped to the ground, cleanly severed.
Tamerlane shouted a profanity and rushed forward. Before he could cover the three additional
steps between himself and the eye, however, a shape formed within the black and
separated itself, moving out into the pale light.
It was Nakamura. His face was
drenched in sweat, and he was not happy.
“What happened?” he demanded, before Tamerlane could ask the same of
him. “Who cut my cable? And what’s been keeping you?”
Tamerlane was taken aback. He
glanced quickly at the others, then down at the severed end of the cable on the
ground, then back at Nakamura, who was fuming.
“General—what do you mean? You
only just—”
“I waited for more than a minute, but no one else came through, so I
started back—but the opening on the other side is different,” he said, his
voice strained and angry. “The eye
there—it’s not an eye. Just a kind of
doorway. And it drifts around. With my cable cut, I had to chase it. And the sounds…” He shuddered.
Tamerlane paled. This was not
like Nakamura—not like the virtually fearless soldier that Tamerlane had sworn
his allegiance to as a young boy.
Nakamura had been all but a father to him for the better part of his
life, and never once in that time had he seen the man so unnerved.
“The time differential,” Ling interjected. “Time must move faster on the other side.”
“No,” Keefe argued, shaking her head.
“We’re in the Above. Time moves
slower. Passing into an even higher
level should only make time slow down even further—not speed up, as the general
experienced.”
Tamerlane scratched at his chin, considering what they were saying. He looked at Nakamura again, and was relieved
to see that the man had calmed himself somewhat.
“I take it there was no sign of the Emperor and his party,” Inquisitor
Stanishur stated as he and his two assistants moved up alongside the others.
“No,” Nakamura answered, “but I didn’t have the tracker with me.”
“Then what do we do now, sir?” Keefe asked.
Nakamura breathed deeply of the strange not-air through which they all
moved, then nodded toward the eye. “We
go through,” he said. “Together. All at once.”
The three Inquisitors made holy signs with their hands.
“What about your wire, General?” Tamerlane asked, nodding toward the few
inches of severed end dangling from Nakamura’s belt.
“Since I assume no one here cut it,” Nakamura replied, “I’m guessing the
eye did it. I’d guess that’s what
happened with the Emperor’s wires, too.”
“We should detach them,” Tamerlane suggested. “Leave them on this side.”
No one objected audibly, but the looks exchanged by more than one of the
others clearly displayed their feelings about such an idea.
“No, no,” Nakamura said quickly, seeing the discontent brewing within
his team. “The colonel is quite
right. We would lose them anyway. Better to leave them here, anchored somehow,
so that we will have them when we return.”
As the others somewhat reluctantly began to disconnect their wires and
passed the ends to Tamerlane, who was using a tie cable to bind them together
neatly, Nakamura stopped Torval from detaching his from his belt. “You remain here with the wires,” he said to
the lieutenant. “We’re going to need you
to maintain the connection and show us the way back out.”
If there were objections to that plan, no one voiced them. Thus, moments later, the entire group—minus
Torval—was gathered tightly together, directly in front of the black tear in
reality.
“Hold hands,” the general ordered.
“Everyone.”
Each member of the group awkwardly reached out and clasped the hand of
the person on either side. Once that was
accomplished, Nakamura gave the order and they all walked into the darkness.
Disorientation; disconnect. A
sense of falling. Equilibrium gone. Stumbling into one other. The world turned upside down.
Through. Out the other side.
Darkness.
Tamerlane felt the person to his right—Keefe—going down to her knees,
wobbly, and pulled her back up. The
human chain never broke.
He looked up then, at their utterly different surroundings, and more
disorientation followed. He reeled; the
gray fog of the previous environment had been replaced by a nightmare vista of
bold colors, all swirling about madly.
He felt as if he’d been dropped into a bucket of paint—a bucket where
all the different shades were being mixed together slowly. The very atmosphere around them felt wet; not
wet with simple humidity, but thick and dense as if actually comprised of
water. Their movements were sluggish,
too, as though they were deep under the sea.
And the sounds—like hundreds or thousands of voices, echoing endlessly,
forming no understandable words yet conveying an overwhelming sense of bleak
uneasiness.
Nakamura had already turned around and was pointing back in the
direction from which they’d come.
Tamerlane looked and, sure enough, on this side of the tear there was no
eye. Instead he was looking at a solid
black rectangle, perhaps five meters high and three wide. It didn’t stay in one place but seemed to
shift about, ever so subtly, as though drifting in the currents of some dark
ocean.
Nakamura grasped Ling by the arm and pointed at the doorway. “Your job now is to keep that thing in sight
at all times,” he growled. “Do you
understand?”
Ling nodded. “Absolutely,
General.”
Approaching Keefe, Nakamura demanded, “What does it tell you now?”
The young woman already had the square tracking device held up and was
turning slowly. “That way,” she said,
pointing into the nightmare swirl of colors.
“The signal is much stronger now.”
“Good.” He motioned to the
others. “Let’s move.”
With Torval waiting back on the other side of the eye and Ling remaining
behind on their side of it, the party was now reduced to seven: Nakamura and
Tamerlane, Keefe and Landau, and the three Inquisitors. With Keefe in the lead, the tracker held up
where she could keep one eye on it, they marched into the depths.
“Radiation levels are much higher here, General,” reported Landau after
only a few steps, his voice filled with concern. “And the kinds I’m picking up—I have no idea
if our shields are able to protect us from it.”
“Not our main problem at the moment, Lieutenant.”
“But, sir—this could kill us within a few hours!”
“Then that’s a matter for a few hours. Our concern at the moment is
locating the Emperor and bringing him back.”
He motioned ahead. “Keep going!”
They walked on for several minutes in silence, with only those awful
disembodied voices to keep them company.
Tamerlane was looking around in wonder, his eyes repeatedly drawn to the
swirling, cascading layers of color that they were passing through—and that he
wasn’t entirely convinced wasn’t passing through them, too. Something about
it bothered him on a deep, instinctual level.
It was as if the entire environment had been poisoned by some foul and
alien presence. The longer his eyes
dwelt on the swirling colors around them, the more he felt he could perceive
faces within, staring back out at him.
Staring with malevolent intent.
It made no sense on a rational level, but a powerful feeling of
hostility directed at him and the rest of the party grew stronger within his
mind with every step they took.
“Are you alright, Ezekial?” Nakamura asked, after glancing back at him
and seeing the extreme discomfort reflected on his face.
“Yes, General,” he replied, sobering.
“There’s just something about this place—”
“I know,” Nakamura said. “It’s
hot, for one thing.” Sweat was again
trailing down the sides of his face.
Tamerlane nodded. The heat had
built slowly, from the moment they’d crossed over, and now it was starting to
get to him, too. “But, beyond that,
there’s something…”
“This is no part of the Above I’ve ever heard about,” Landau observed,
frowning deeply.
Tamerlane couldn’t have agreed more.
He looked back at Stanishur and his two young assistants. “What about you, Inquisitor? Does scripture speak of this place?”
The cadaverous man was looking all around, his expression more dour than
usual. “I—I cannot say,” he reported
finally. “Certainly it does not match my
own understanding of the nature of the Above, but I am only a mere mortal, and
cannot—”
“Let’s stay focused,” Nakamura interrupted. “We find the Emperor and the Guard, and we
drag them all back out of here. That’s
it. We can leave the theological implications
of bad weather in the Above to the Ecclesiarchy to sort out at a later date.”
“There is another possible explanation,” Stanishur intoned from behind
them. “Though it is not one I truly care
to consider.”
The soldiers all turned to face him.
The gaunt figure in black gestured toward the eye. “Taken along with the time flow problem—time
should move slower here than outside, not faster—I am beginning to suspect that
we are no longer in the Above at all.”
The others all frowned, some of them glancing at one another.
“What?” Keefe asked, puzzled.
“Then where else could we be?” Landau chimed in.
“Of course,” Tamerlane said, nodding slowly. “I think I’ve known it all along.” He turned to Nakamura then. “And I think you have, too.”
The general only nodded. “It
doesn’t matter, though,” he growled. “We
have a job to do. For the Emperor. So we keep going until we find him.”
“Wait,” Keefe said, her eyes widening and panic creeping into her
voice. “You—you’re saying this isn’t the
Above? Then—you’re saying we’re in the Below?”
Stanishur reached out with a bony hand and laid it on her arm; it was a
surprisingly tender gesture from the dour Inquisitor.
“That is correct,” he said. “That
eye through which we passed—it was no tear in the layers of the Above. I was right in calling it a blasphemy, but it
was something much, much worse than that.”
He faced the others, his eyes burning and his teeth gritted. “It was the gateway to Hell.”
Someone groaned. Others
unholstered their weapons.
“General,” Landau said, his voice frantic, “we’ve got to get out of
here!”
“Have you forgotten that your Emperor is down here somewhere?” Nakamura
barked back. “We can’t leave him. We have to find him—before something else
does.”
Keefe screamed. Tamerlane whirled
about, looking to where she was pointing.
Something was coming through the swirl of colors, emerging into the open
where they all could see it.
Keefe’s gun was in her hand. She
fired.
“Wait!” shouted Nakamura, surely wanting to be cautious—but, an instant
later, they could all see that the time for caution was past. More shapes were emerging all around them,
closing in.
Hideous shapes.
The first one solidified into a snake-form, almost transparent and
glowing from multiple eerie light sources deep inside its repulsive body. It moved forward rapidly, closing on Keefe. Whatever it was, her shots didn’t seem to
bother it—and now it had formed teeth.
Many teeth.
Screaming, Keefe fired again, while next to her Tamerlane raised his
heavy quad-rifle and opened fire as well, using two of the barrels—one firing
high-velocity slugs, the other a particle-beam cannon. The creature roared in anger and perhaps in
pain, though the full effect of their efforts was hard to tell, given its
amorphous body.
Now the other shapes solidified into monstrous forms and advanced from
all around them.
“Demons!” Landau cried, and nobody contradicted him. “Demons of the Below!”
by Van Allen Plexico
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Lords-Fire-Shattering-Book-ebook/dp/B00B6T21TM
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Lords-Fire-New-Shattering/dp/0692021426/
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