Waterstone Media

Stories Matter

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

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

Primal Dawn & Baby Kirk

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Hey Everybody!

First of all, a warm welcome to all the newcomers to this email list!  It’s been quite a while since I wrote (which I’ll explain below), and this list has grown substantially.  My sincere gratitude for allowing me into your email inboxes!

This email is going to be longer than most I send out, but it’s because I have both business and personal news to share.  I’ll do business first, so those of you who only want that can read it first and skip the rest of the email.

Primal Dawn!

I’ve hinted at this a little, but as of yesterday, my newest work, Primal Dawn, is available for pre-order on Amazon. Check it out here.  It officially releases on Sept. 26.  Primal Dawn is a shorter story, sitting somewhere between a novella and a short novel, depending on who you ask (about 50,000 words).  It’s a sci-fi story about first contact, with an advanced race coming into contact with a far more primitive one.  But, not everything is as it seems.

The cover and synopsis and link to the book are below:

Tev is a hunter, one of the best in his clan. Trained since birth in the art of tracking and killing, Tev has never met a challenge he couldn’t overcome. But when a mysterious fireball falls from the sky, Tev will question everything he has ever known. For the first time in his life, he isn’t the one doing the hunting.

He is the prey.

Primal Dawn is the first short novel of the Primal Series, spanning centuries of conflict following first contact. Each novel tells a complete story in the ongoing saga of two cultures learning to explore the vastness of space together.

Also, for those of you who are curious, I’m a little over halfway through the first draft of a new book set in the world of Nightblade.  I’ll have more on that later.

 

Welcoming the newest member of Waterstone!

The really big news in my life is that a few weeks ago, my wife and I welcomed our little baby girl into the world.  Baby Kirk came in at 7 lbs, 7 oz, and arrived exactly on her due date (I like to joke that my wife really is a rule-follower!).

There were some minor complications after she was born, but everyone is happy and healthy now, even if I’ve forgotten what a full night of sleep felt like.  But, because of her, I haven’t been as active writing and interacting as I’d like.  I expect that as I figure out this whole fatherhood thing, that will improve.

In any case, as always, I’m grateful for all of you.  Thank you for your support, and I hope you are all doing well as well!

 

With sincere gratitude,

Ryan

A Review of SyFy’s The Expanse

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Recently, a good friend of mine introduced me to a show on SyFy called The Expanse.  And it is some of the best science fiction I’ve encountered in any medium for quite a while.

I do need to make a few disclaimers here.  First, I do realize the TV series is based off of a novel series, which I haven’t yet read (although I do plan on it).  Second, I’m not quite 100% done yet.  I’m almost there, but this review is based on the first seven of ten episodes.

This series is great, and if you are a fan of science fiction, it’s definitely worth watching.  There’s a few reasons I think it’s fantastic.

The first part about the series that I love is the sense of gritty realism.  Space travel isn’t pretty, and living in space is less so.  Often, science fiction presents the future as some sort of shiny perfection (here I think of the Star Trek series).  I don’t think this is a bad thing, and it may even be good.  But recent science fiction, like Battlestar Galactica, has broken this mold, I think for the better.  Our exploration of space doesn’t have to be in perfect starships, and we can’t allow that expectation to damper our love of exploration.

Gritty sci-fi recognizes a simple truth.  Humanity will bring it’s problems into the stars with it.  We will always be flawed beings, and The Expanse and similar types of shows bring that out beautifully.

That brings me to my second point.  Oftentimes, science fiction is about ideas.  And to me, this is one of the great parts of sci-fi.  I love that it is a medium for discussing new and big ideas.  But great stories are about people, and The Expanse focuses on a group of singular characters.  They are all flawed, but they are all interesting.

In general, I love the transition in television towards high-production, long story arc shows.  It brings the best of novels and movies together for a type of storytelling we have yet to plumb the depths of what this new medium is capable of.
I haven’t gotten to the end of the show yet, but I expect I will in the next few days.  In general, I love the optimistic potential of sci-fi, but I also appreciate shows that are willing to bust that mold, and if they do it well, like The Expanse does, I think we can all learn from them.

 

With gratitude,

Ryan