Amazingly, I’m finding the time to write a blog - I’ve missed this for several months now. Basically, work has taken over my life, but I’m making the effort to get back into my game design and writing work. What a monster: effectively, I’m designing - on top of SAP - a multiple contract control module for driving pricing and sourcing for a multi-billion dollar company. Love the work, but DAMN, it sucks at times because of the no-life aspect.

Steven Brust is on my short list of authors I wish were more prolific. His works are knifeplay - a series of deft knowledgeable cuts that intend to win the fight, and when he has time, a bit of flourish to make you enjoy that you’re losing to a master. Brust writes so that you read for the enjoyment of reading, something that is so rarely done nowdays.

I stumbled on Brust early: To Reign in Hell sold in a base PX in Germany around ‘86 or so while I was in the military. Since then, I have bought paperbacks the week they were printed and when I could afford them, hardbacks. The reason why I point this out: I’m biased, so don’t look for objectivity in my review.

Dzur, now out in hardback, is a story of Vlad Taltos’ homecoming: he’s been away, slowly spiralling up the ladder of heroic power until he’s attained near-unkillable status and is faced with the results of his actions from many books ago. His wife is in danger due to his “gift” of South Adrillanka, and she’s trying to get out of the Jhereg game. Others in the organization, perceiving her as an easy mark, are hungry for her territory.

So Vlad decides to place himself between a rock and a hard place, in this case, between the sorcerous Left Hand of the Jhereg and the organization’s Right Hand, which, like his swordplay, grants him an opportunity to deftly make his desires known. Brust allows Vlad to philisophically take stock of what it is to be a Dzur, which helpfully allows for a good discussions, observance of action/inaction and foremost, leads to a wonderful resolution that’s true to character as he has changed over the course of the Jhereg series.

Readers familiar with Brust will enjoy the revelations and returns of Kragar and Kiera the Theif, as well as some opponents. New readers will enjoy the best description of a succulent meal that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. The writing is strong, and readers will enjoy the comfortable witty dialogue between Taltos and his familiar Jhereg.

What’s weak about this book? As ever, it’s too short, and took far too long to get on the shelf. Brust has been incredibly careful to not over-commit on the stories - which a lesser writer would transform into a formula. And while some of the Jhereg series smacks of formula, the core of the book is true character reactions to true-to-environment scenarios.

After every book, Vlad has jumped up the power scale: first in organization, then in connections, then in magical power (spell breaker then Lady Teldra). Only once did I feel the character didn’t deserve the reward at the end of the book. Brust, as an author, now is faced with pretty much the “all powerful” character problem: what does he have to write to invoke threat?

For the insiders: the book doesn’t have Aliera and Morrolan, and leaves the resolution between Morrolan, Vlad and Lady Teldra open. It appears that the consequences of that will be a story until themselves.

End of the line: you’ll like or love the story, you’ll want more due to it’s brevity, and you’ll wonder if Brust is going to be able to keep this up. If he does, I’ll be there.

Find me a dead cloud
and a sharp piece of science
I want to see the skeleton
of weather
And let me map
all maps we have mistaken for the world
And learn by heart the timetable of dice
And in our clutching, self-invented steps see
An accidental grace
A choreography
– Alan Moore (1990)

The above comes from a failed (but incredibly successful book) called Big Numbers.

And from my favorite: Robert Frost’s Departmental (1936)

An ant on the tablecloth
Ran into a dormant moth
Of many times his size.
He showed not the least surprise.
His business wasn’t with such.
He gave it scarcely a touch,
And was off on his duty run.
Yet if he encountered one
Of the hive’s enquiry squad
Whose work is to find out God
And the nature of time and space,
He would put him onto the case.
Ants are a curious race;
One crossing with hurried tread
The body of one of their dead
Isn’t given a moment’s arrest-
Seems not even impressed.
But he no doubt reports to any
With whom he crosses antennae,
And they no doubt report
To the higher-up at court.
Then word goes forth in Formic:
“Death’s come to Jerry McCormic,
Our selfless forager Jerry.
Will the special Janizary
Whose office it is to bury
The dead of the commissary
Go bring him home to his people.
Lay him in state on a sepal.
Wrap him for shroud in a petal.
Embalm him with ichor of nettle.
This is the word of your Queen.”
And presently on the scene
Appears a solemn mortician;
And taking formal position,
With feelers calmly atwiddle,
Seizes the dead by the middle,
And heaving him high in air,
Carries him out of there.
No one stands round to stare.
It is nobody else’s affair
It couldn’t be called ungentle
But how thoroughly departmental

I’ve no idea why Frost and Moore come to mind this morning, but damn these poems are a hell of a lot better than anything you see on the net or in publishing today.

Charles Stross’s award winning Accelerando is worth it just to get to page 338 for the line:

The Rapture of the Nerds has been followed by the Resurrection of the Extremely Confused, except that they’re really not resurrectees - they’re simulations based on their original’s recorded histories, blocky and missing chunks of their memories, as bewildered as baby ducklings as they’re herded into the wood-chipper future.

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In Stross’s future singularity event, the sins of the present - the effluvia of our societies’ politics, laws, politeness and evil we perpetrate on each other - are the jailcells we built for ourselves. In today’s literature of transhumanism and singularity, The Rapture of the Nerds is envisioned as either utopic and dystopic. Stross tackles that duality and creates a believable construct to weave his multi-generational story on.

I measure the success of books by the amount of times I’ve given them away. I don’t believe in lending things - if something is good enough to posess, to have and to hold, the best thing to do is to give it to someone you care for - or give it to someone who has the potential to enjoy it. I’ve given away Snowcrash, Crytonomicon, Lord of the Rings, Amber series, Brust’s Jhereg series books many times. I look forward to giving away Accelerando and other Stross’ stories to friends and enemies alike.

You can download Accelerando for free here. I would encourage you to buy it only because it’s $7.99 (aka “cheap”) and giving your money to an author and publisher is better than 2 cups of Starbucks. It’s not an easy read - as a singularity is the point where tractable changes occur so fast the rate of change is inifinite - the background of the story is constantly changing. That fact alone had me re-reading sections for the fun of it keeping the point of change in my mind.

At the same time - the first (of two three scenes - feh, with the number of children, you’d think these characters would have more fun propigating) - was one that really blew my mind, only for the reference of insect mating.

Other books that inspire me along these lines are: Joe Haldeman’s Forever War and Walter Williams’ Aristos. Please add to the comments those you recommend as well.

With the success of Battlestar Galatica’s re-imagining , and with the cat-out-of-the-bag that Paramount turned down JMS’s Star Trek: re-boot(PDF), it’s only a matter of time that someone tosses G. Lucas are fixes the problems with Star Wars.

So, here’s my take on the holy trilogy - I mean trilogy in the Piers Anthony style, of course. The man couldn’t count to three without six numbers.

Gender Switch Switch Luke and Leia. Make Leia the hotheaded badass girl-jedi from the yokel desert planet and Luke a competent rebel leader, who’s stoic and strong.

Turn up the PAIN! The galaxy is under the Emperor’s crushing heel! StormTroopers on Tatooine invade houses looking for rebel terroristas and kill entire families. Prisoners are tormented by banthas. The economy is grinding to a halt while he builds up a great war machine. Communication and Jail monitoring are growth industries. Use this study for research material.

Turn up the Angst! Make Han Solo a gambling addict. And a wookie-addict. And he shoots first. Make Obi-wan a memory junky, who spins tales of a galaxy long long ago, where truth and justice reigned. C-3PO is a nerd of epic proportions that instead of being mr. polite, he’s rude and condescending to the fleshy ones.

Evil is inherited… I’m not talking about Luke and Leia, I’m talking about that damn robot. If Darth Vader built C-3PO, lay some pipe. If C-3PO killed someone, or worse, betrayed Luke to Darth, now wouldn’t that be some pipe laying? Since the probability of a robot being built and then magically involved with the builders’ kids is stretching it… either use it or lose the whole builder thing.

No more Mr. Nice Jedi Let’s see these guys open some serious smack down on the evil. Not an arena fight where the Jedi get slaughtered. Have each and everyone of them destroy an army. By themselves. Wearing the gore of their victims.

Good guys wear black Instead of having Darth slowly transform into evil, let’s have him be good. Very good. Since the Jedi are corrupt, in his eyes, creating a better school is good.

Bring in the Noir Remember the line “Darth Vader hunted the Jedi down” according to Obi-wan? Let’s have Darth hunt each Jedi down. Darth vs. Mace, Darth vs. the funky tentacle head chick, Darth vs. the funky Conehead dude. What if jedi were a bunch of super badasses and one by one stopped showing up to club house meetings? Fear tha Dark Side, biatches! Not this sneaky stormtrooper crap suddenly turn on them - that’s not worth my time. And then show Darth killing the children… now that’s evil!

Ewok-ocide! If Ethiopean spears didn’t work against the Italians, Ewoks wont work against stormtroopers - because we all know Italians are dumber than Stormtroopers. Lets have the gritty rebels politically manipulate the kyute wuvvable Ewoks so that the stormtroopers have to commit troops to genocide, so that they can get the job done. “We had to make a choice - kill some furry anklebiters or let the Emperor rule the Galaxy! It was a tough choice, one that will haunt me to the end of my days…”

I’d pay good money for that last one… not the angst, but the killing of Ewoks. That’s pure popcorn-munching statisfaction!