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reading (etc) Wednesday
Jul. 5th, 2023 12:58 pmReading: I'm once again finding myself unable to settle to a book. However, I am slowly reading my way through The Far Reaches, an Amazon collection of six short stories by six prominent SFF authors (James S. A. Corey, Veronica Roth, Rebecca Roanhorse, Ann Leckie, Nnedi Okorafor, John Scalzi). They're free if you have Amazon Prime, and currently $0.99 each otherwise. So far they're fine; not exactly mind-bending and a bit over-inclined to hit you over the head with their Important Human Themes, but interesting enough reads. The strongest is Roanhorse's "Falling Bodies," about a young human man from an alien-colonized earth who was adopted and raised by a well-meaning colonist; it's also the bleakest. (I haven't yet read Roth's or Scalzi's; they can be read in any order.)
Listening: I finished S2 of Old Gods of Appalachia. The ending isn't (nearly) as strong as the earlier sections, being pretty much just a boss fight; I've decided I'm listening for the odd moments, dropped threads, and above all the atmosphere more than for the plot.
It's unfortunate that the show has two main writers (Steve Shell and Cam Collins) with strongly disparate styles and no overall editor to join them together a little more seamlessly. It's also unfortunate that I really like one writer (Shell) despite seeing his weaknesses (can be overwrought), while Collins' work doesn't do much for me. I recognize that Shell by himself probably couldn't hold the plot together, but Collins' writing doesn't spark. There's no magic. And listening to her episodes drives me bats because she has a problem I associate with very new writers, called I Don't Know How to Get This Character Across A Room. To illustrate, it's the difference between these two passages.
Sometimes you might want something more like passage 2, but mostly you don't. And Collins consistently gives us 2. There's lots of detail, often logistical, that doesn't add anything to the narrative. And I usually love detail! But Collins's detail doesn't illustrate the characters or the emotional tone, or contribute to atmosphere, or anything. I keep longing for a red editorial pencil.
Having said all that, I'm still listening and I'm supporting the show on Patreon. I think Old Gods is telling neglected stories in worthwhile ways, is doing its best to include yet more marginalized stories (e.g. Black and Native American Appalachians) without appropriation, is making a serious effort to be queer-inclusive and will probably get even better on that front now that Steve Shell is publicly out as bi, and is just plain entertaining.
Watching: Rewatching Our Flag Means Death again, dear me.
Also watching Twitter collapse, does that count?
Gaming: I gave up on my gaming group, threw away the character sheets that had been in the trunk of my car getting ever more faded and water-spotted, and naturally that's when the GM said, "Hey, should we all try to get together again?" So we had a session this past Saturday that went pretty well even though there were only three of us, and we're going to try to meet every other week and with luck we'll actually be able to do this time. We're playing Fallout, which wouldn't really have been my first or second or third choice but it's fun enough, and clearly the GM has Plans for us.
Listening: I finished S2 of Old Gods of Appalachia. The ending isn't (nearly) as strong as the earlier sections, being pretty much just a boss fight; I've decided I'm listening for the odd moments, dropped threads, and above all the atmosphere more than for the plot.
It's unfortunate that the show has two main writers (Steve Shell and Cam Collins) with strongly disparate styles and no overall editor to join them together a little more seamlessly. It's also unfortunate that I really like one writer (Shell) despite seeing his weaknesses (can be overwrought), while Collins' work doesn't do much for me. I recognize that Shell by himself probably couldn't hold the plot together, but Collins' writing doesn't spark. There's no magic. And listening to her episodes drives me bats because she has a problem I associate with very new writers, called I Don't Know How to Get This Character Across A Room. To illustrate, it's the difference between these two passages.
1) There was a knock on the door. It was Mabel.
2) There was a knock on the door. Bill set his teacup down on the side table, got out of the chair, and crossed the room. After opening the door, he saw that it was Mabel.
Sometimes you might want something more like passage 2, but mostly you don't. And Collins consistently gives us 2. There's lots of detail, often logistical, that doesn't add anything to the narrative. And I usually love detail! But Collins's detail doesn't illustrate the characters or the emotional tone, or contribute to atmosphere, or anything. I keep longing for a red editorial pencil.
Having said all that, I'm still listening and I'm supporting the show on Patreon. I think Old Gods is telling neglected stories in worthwhile ways, is doing its best to include yet more marginalized stories (e.g. Black and Native American Appalachians) without appropriation, is making a serious effort to be queer-inclusive and will probably get even better on that front now that Steve Shell is publicly out as bi, and is just plain entertaining.
Watching: Rewatching Our Flag Means Death again, dear me.
Also watching Twitter collapse, does that count?
Gaming: I gave up on my gaming group, threw away the character sheets that had been in the trunk of my car getting ever more faded and water-spotted, and naturally that's when the GM said, "Hey, should we all try to get together again?" So we had a session this past Saturday that went pretty well even though there were only three of us, and we're going to try to meet every other week and with luck we'll actually be able to do this time. We're playing Fallout, which wouldn't really have been my first or second or third choice but it's fun enough, and clearly the GM has Plans for us.
