Waterstone Media

Stories Matter

Leviathan Wakes

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I don’t know if you ever have the sensation where you finish a book or a movie, and you leave it, utterly silent, thinking only to yourself, That was really good.

That’s how I felt when I finished Leviathan Wakes, the first book in The Expanse series. For those who don’t know, it’s the book that the sci-fi channel’s hit new show is based on. I’ve written about the show here, and am really excited to see the second season once it hits DVD.

So, I came into this book with pretty high expectations already, which is usually a recipe for disaster. Not this time, though. The book held up with flying colors.

Leviathan Wakes is a hard book to pin down at times. It’s sci-fi throughout, but borrows liberally from horror, political thrillers, mysteries, military fiction, and even noir. I think that’s one of the reasons I love it so much.

The two main characters, Holden and Miller, are wonderfully fleshed out. Holden is a noble fool, almost naive in his innocence. Miller feels like he could have stepped right out of a classic noir film, divorced wife in tow. The way the story brings them together and forces them to interact is beautifully done.

It’s not a flawless book. Particularly near the end, there were some moments where I thought to myself I don’t think that would work. . . But I’m okay with it for the sake of the story.

What I love most about it is that it is a story about humans. The ideas within are cool, but unlike a Neal Stephenson novel, ideas take a back seat to the people who are trying to work their way through the story.

I certainly realize that it’s early in the year, but so far, Leviathan Wakes is my favorite sci-fi of 2017!

Passengers

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This is a fairly spoiler-free review in that nothing written is specific. That being said, an intelligent movie viewer will be able to pretty easily make predictions based on what I’ve written, so if you really don’t want the movie spoiled, I might wait until you’ve seen the movie to read below.

From the very first trailer, I was excited to see Passengers. A new, original, sci-fi film starring A-list actors with what looked like a sweet spaceship? Take my money, please.

I don’t think I’m alone in wanting Hollywood to take more chances. I understand the economics of why they don’t, and while I generally enjoy the latest Marvel romp or series reboot, I’ve been really wanting more truly original content from Hollywood as of late. My favorite movies of 2016 were Hell or High Water and Arrival, both stories original to Hollywood.

Needless to say, I was excited by Passengers. If you discount superhero films, we really haven’t had a ton of major sci-fi releases, and I was pumped.

If I had to sum up my thoughts, it would be this: Passengers takes one of the most original and thoughtful beginnings I’ve seen lately, but doesn’t quite have the courage to dive deep into what it starts.

The movie begins with a series of events that, if you’re a lover of sci-fi, will probably strain your disbelief a little. But I’m okay with that, because it sets up a great situation. It’s dark, morally ambiguous, and explores larger societal issues. It was an absolutely fantastic beginning, and I was hooked.

Unfortunately, just as the movie begins to really dive into these issues, the third act becomes typical Hollywood fare, abruptly changing tone from a thoughtful, slow sci-fi piece to an action-filled cliched finale.

I don’t think Passengers deserves its 30% on rotten tomatoes. I still thought it was fine, but I was disappointed because it so easily could have been great.

What worries me more is that it looks like it will be a box office flop, further encouraging studios not to make original sci-fi films.

I hope that’s not true.

Ryan

Arrival

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This weekend I went to go see the new Amy Adams sci-fi move Arrival. I left the theatre believing I had seen one of the best two movies of the year.

It’s hard to say too much about the movie without spoiling it, but the premise is deceptively simple. Aliens come to earth, and Amy Adams is a linguist who needs to figure out what it is they have to say while the world outside goes crazy.

I have to admit I came into this movie a little biased. I’ve gotten a little tired of the big-budget movies continually rolling through the theaters, and I was excited for a slower, more cerebral movie. I’ve seen some reviews that suggested people were looking for a more action-filled third act, but I loved every minute of it.

First, what I loved. Like all of the best sci-fi, this isn’t a movie about aliens. This is a movie about a person, specifically, the linguist played by Amy Adams. It’s a movie about choice and time and free will, and all of these things are beautiful to me.

One common complaint I’ve seen is that people were confused by the movie. The story is not linear, which certainly could contribute to the confusion, but I didn’t have any trouble understanding it. Perhaps I just wasn’t looking deep enough.

Regardless, this movie has been one of my favorites this summer. If you’re looking for a solidly crafted, slower sci-fi film, give it a chance.

A New Vision

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It’s hard to believe, but after four years of speculation and campaigning, it will all (hopefully) be over in the U.S. tomorrow. We will have a new president.

Don’t worry. This isn’t a post about the election, at least, not exactly.

Like pretty much everyone I talk to, I’m upset about the election and the choice we are asked to make. While I have had conversations where people are genuinely enthused about a candidate, more often than not, votes seem to be based on who you don’t want to have in office.

I’ve been thinking about this a bit, and I’ve specifically been wondering if there is anything fiction can give us here, specifically science fiction.

There’s a famous saying that gets thrown around in all sorts of contexts: “Begin with the end in mind.”

The great thing about science fiction (and maybe even fantasy, although I haven’t encountered much that would qualify) is that it provides a vision of what the future could look like. What might a society of the future look like?

The obvious and low-hanging fruit is Star Trek (more the classic series and TNG than the reboot). Every episode, we see what it might be like to live in a society that has moved beyond the concept of money, a benevolent federation that seeks to explore and promote peace and dialogue.

It’s certainly not perfect, but the series explores the concepts and gives a reference point. Another great example is the foundation series by Asimov.

Sci-fi is rife with examples of futuristic societies, and I love the idea of looking at these fictional possibilities and think about how we can start to work towards them today.

Does anyone else have examples of well-imagined future societies that inspire them?

My Thoughts on Seveneves

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For those of you who pay attention, you’ll notice that I’m often way behind on all the popular books. It’s true – I try my best, but I just can’t keep up with everything I want to read.

Anyway, this week I finally finished Seveneves. I’ve been wanting to read this book for a long time, and I was excited when I finally got the chance.

Seveneves is by Neal Stephenson, and in a lot of ways, is reflective of a lot of his work. The man is a genius with an incredible imagination. His stories are always combinations of technical know-how and rational speculation, and this book is no different.

It’s hard to write about a book like this without spoilers, but I’ll try. The book begins with a simple premise: what would humanity have to do if the moon blew up? What follows is a long, detailed look at a possible outcome.

For fans of Stephenson, everything we love about him his present. Technically detailed, realistic sci-fi injected with a mega-dose of imagination. Many readers might consider it dry (and in many parts it is), but it’s very interesting to see one man so thoroughly explore this problem. As the story moves farther away from the first page, the more imaginative it gets.

The critiques of the book are fairly unanimous: this isn’t a character driven story, but a technically driven one. It’s a huge book that feels like it could have been split into more. There’s a lot of backstory and dry technical information.

None of the critiques are untrue, and I would agree that Seveneves certainly isn’t for everyone. If detailed descriptions of orbital mechanics sound like torture to you, it might make sense to avoid the book, but if a hard, scientific look at a purely speculative problem sounds fascinating, you won’t find anyone who does it better.

Seveneves, in my mind, is a triumph of knowledge and imagination. It’s certainly not for everybody, but I’m an unashamed Stephenson fanboy, so I’ll acknowledge my bias, but his fiction is still in a league all its own to me.

Ryan

Release of Primal Dawn

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Top of the morning, everybody!

I know this has already gone out on all the channels, but I wanted to make sure it could be seen here, too. I’m really excited to announce the official release of my newest story, Primal Dawn.

Primal Dawn is a new endeavor for me, a short sci-fi story about first contact. It’s an idea I’ve had bouncing around in my head for quite a while, and after finishing the Nightblade trilogy, was looking for a bit of a change of pace.

The story comes in at about fifty thousand words, so a little less than half of a full Nightblade novel. This was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you all enjoy as well. If you’re interested in learning more, the link is below:

Primal Dawn

Take care all!

Ryan