A Curious Statistical Anomaly

We’ll be heading to Readercon this weekend. Readercon is one of the few conventions that I attend each year. SFRevu has a table in the dealers’ room — our semi-annual book sale to clear out our basement actually so if you’re there stop by the table for a chat.

Here’s my schedule:
Friday: 12:00 PM G And They Lived Happily Ever After, Until They Died: Retelling Russian Folktales. Patricia McKillip, Gayle Surrette (leader). Ekaterina Sedia’s The Secret History of Moscow, Catherynne M. Valente’s Deathless, Patricia McKillip’s In the Forests of Serre… it appears we’re in the middle of a renewed interest in fairy tale retellings—and specifically, postmodern, genre-challenging fairy tale retellings—based in the folklore of Russia. Is there a specific element to Russian stories that makes them particularly fit for contemporary adaptation?

Saturday: 7:00 PM ME The One Right Form of a Story. Judith Berman, Marilyn “Mattie” Brahen, John Langan, Meghan McCarron, Gayle Surrette (leader). Quoth Mark Twain: “There are some books that refuse to be written…. It isn’t because the book is not there and worth being written—it is only because the right form of the story does not present itself. There is only one right form for a story and if you fail to find that form the story will not tell itself.” Anyone who has adapted a fairy tale for a poem or developed a short story into a novel might disagree, yet many authors have also spent years chasing stories that evade capture until they’re approached in just the right way. What makes some stories easygoing and others stubborn? Is the insistence on a story “telling itself” a red herring? And what does “form” really mean here?

Hyperion and I look forward to meeting our readers and making new friends.

Wicked – The Musical
Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Winnie Holzman
Directed by Joe Mantello
Synopsis: Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two girls meet in the land of Oz. One–born with emerald green skin–is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good makes for a great musical.
The cast features Dee Roscioli as Elphaba, Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda, Randy Danson as Madame Morrible, and Mark Jacoby as the Wizard.

Yesterday, Hyperion and I went to the Kennedy Center to see a performance of Wicked along with several other members of WSFA (the science fiction club we belong to). The play is based on the book, Wicked by Gregory Maguire.

Wicked tells a different story than that told by L. Frank Baum in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Maguire posits that the Wicked Witch of the West was not evil — she was simply misunderstood and feared. One of our group had read the book. Hyperion and I have it but didn’t want to read it before seeing the play. My understanding from the person who read the book is that the play is very close, except their endings differ.

The play was wonderful, mesmerizing, and quite an emotional experience. Elphaba is on stage for most of the play. Glinda also has a big part but did get a few more off-set breaks than Elphaba. The staging was superb — the scene changes were all during the play and done smoothly and cleverly. For the big climax after the song, Defy Gravity, Elphaba rises into the air with the lights all on her face and it was impossible from our seats to see how it was done because the lighting was so good at hiding what we, the audience, wasn’t supposed to see.

The sets had a feeling of steampunk to them and would match the time period of L. Frank Baum. Hyperion said he noticed one of the men in the chorus wore a skirt for a time — which we imagine was a nod to the Oz character Tip. I’m sure we missed many other small background items because we were lost in the story of Elphaba and Glinda — their meeting, growing friendship, and their parting.

I’d highly recommend seeing Wicked if the play is in your area. Especially, if you have fond memories of the original story and movie. The amazing thing is that there is very little in the play that goes against the original work.

The cast was amazing and the acting more so. The musical numbers were well choreographed, and my only complaint was that the crescendos were way too loud. During intermission, I noticed the speakers were only two rows in front of us and above so we were nearly sitting under the speakers, so naturally they were loud.

It was a magical two hours and I’m so very glad we decided to attend when the outing was suggested at a club meeting.

I’d love to hear if you’ve read the book or seen the play. Next up is trying to fit in reading the book by Maguire.

The Ballad of Gregoire Darcy by Marsha Altman. Ulysses Press (May 10, 2011). ISBN: 978-1-56975-937-0. Pages 424 plus Bibliography and Acknowledgement. Trade Paperback. $14.95 (Amazon: $10.91 / Kindle: $9.99).

Previous books in the series: The Darcys & the Bingleys: A Tale of Two Gentlemen’s Marriages to Two Most Devoted Sisters (Sourcebooks); The Plight of the Darcy Brothers: A Tale of The Darcys and the Bingleys (Sourcebooks); and Mr. Darcy’s Great Escape (Sourcebooks).

With The Ballad of Grégoire Darcy, Marsha Altman has changed publishers — however, the writing and story crafting are as well executed as ever. This book moves forward the lives of Jane Austen’s original characters as well as those that have been added over the last three books. Since the end of Pride and Prejudice, children have been born to Darcy and Elizabeth, Bingley and Jane, Charlotte and Mr. Collins, Carolyn Bingley and her husband Dr. Maddox, Mary Bennet, and to Lydia and Wickham and also to Lydia’s new husband. The children now are of an age to be looking forward to going away for the education (if they are boys) and to be finished if they are girls.

The world is changing rapidly and the society that Austen wrote about, while still in existence, is being changed by the rise of the middle class and the movement to gain government funding for public education. This book is purportedly about Grégoire Darcy, though it also moves between the lives of the other characters — the changes in Grégoire’s life impacts others as they have an impact on his life. The first change was when Darcy made him promise to stop whipping himself and found him a place in a Benedictine cloister where Darcy believed he’d be safe.

Grégoire has devoted his life to the church. Now-a-days there are many ways of serving — of helping to make the world a better place — but in this age the church, as it had been for many many years, was the first such thought for those who wanted to dedicate their lives to a higher good. The problem for Grégoire is that his desire is not politically motivated but from a deep commitment to God and his religion. It’s his desire to help that leads him to use his funds to help those in need within the range of his abbey. When the church learns of his funds, they punish him for hiding it from them and demand he turn control over to the church, which he cannot do for Darcy can deny the church access. His punishment nearly causes his death — which moves the bishop to want to declare Grégoire a saint. Meanwhile, Grégoire’s abbot is trying desperately to find a way to save him from this fate, for the abbot comes from a family highly placed in the church and he knows the political maneuvering that goes on in Rome. Luckily, Grégoire is rescued from this conflict of interests because Darcy, worried when he hadn’t heard from his brother, sends a trusted family member to check on him. Grégoire is returned to England — near death and excommunicated from the church — and into the care of Dr. Maddox.

It’s from this point that Grégoire struggles to understand what has happened to him and how to reconcile his beliefs and his desire to serve God to the facts of his excommunication. He now questions everything and feels that he has no compass to guide him. Meanwhile other family members are also having their own problems.

Altman manages to move from one part of the story to another and to weave together a coherent tale of the duties, joys, sorrows, and importance of family using the various threads to explore the variations on a theme. When a continuation of the Pride and Prejudice story grows through the addition of characters and a second generation, the author usually narrows the focus of the books to a single story line and will then follow with bringing another character up through the same time period. Altman manages to balance the narrative by time-slicing — moving in order between the various plot lines to bring them all to some conclusion by the end of the book. This is great news for the reader for you don’t have to wonder what is happening to one group while reading about another — you just need to keep reading and you’ll find out. On the other hand, it’s a difficult task for a writer to balance the narrative between plot lines and to keep it all coherent with smooth transitions for the reader. Marsha Altman gets an excellent grade for this — though I can’t help wondering if with the increase in family she’ll be able to do this much longer.

However she does the next book, I know that I will read it. I will most likely enjoy it. And, I’m already looking forward to it. She’s managed to keep the integrity of the original characters and allow them to grow and change with the times while telling interesting and historically relevant stories. Who could ask for more?

SFRevu June 2011 now Online

Senior Editor: Gayle Surrette
Editor Emeritus: Ernest Lilley
Associate Editor, US: Paul Haggerty
Associate Editor, UK: John Berlyne
Columnists: Drew Bittner / Sam Tomaino

Editorial License:
Editorial Matters – June 2011 by Gayle Surrette

Now Reading:
Fort Freak by George R.R. Martin

Columns:
US Books – SFRevu Staff
UK Books – John Berlyne
Graphic Novels/Manga – SFRevu Staff
Media Watch – SFRevu Staff
Zines & Short Fiction – Sam Tomaino
Blu-ray & DVD Reviews by Charles Mohapel
News – SFRevu Staff
Convention Calendar

UK Book Reviews:
Equations of Life (Metrozone) by Simon Morden

US Book Reviews:
The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs by James P. Blaylock
The Crippled God: Book Ten of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
For Heaven’s Eyes Only: A Secret Histories Novel by Simon R. Green
Fort Freak (Wild Cards) by George R.R. Martin
Hunt the Moon: A Cassie Palmer Novel by Karen Chance
Hybrids by Whitley Strieber
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse) by James S.A. Corey
The Magic of Recluce (Saga of Recluce) by L. E. Modesitt
Misfits, Adventures in the Liaden Universe #15 by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
The Plain Man by Steve Englehart
The Saturn Game by Poul Anderson
Steampunk’d edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg
Thistle Down by Irene Radford

Gumshoe Review‘s June issue now online
Contents:

Editorial License:
Just the Facts – June 2011 by Gayle Surrette

Columns:
US Books – Gumshoe Staff
Graphic Novels/Manga – Gumshoe Staff
Zines & Short Fiction – Gumshoe Staff
Review of Crimewave Eleven: Ghosts
News – Gumshoe Staff
Conventions – Gumshoe Staff

US Book Reviews:
As the Crow Flies by Maris Soule
Counterfeit Madam: A Gil Cunningham Mystery by Pat McIntosh
Felicity’s Gate: A Rounder Brothers Mystery by Julian Cole
The Hypnotist: A Novel by Lars Kepler
Jericho Cay: A Bay Tanner Mystery by Kathryn R. Wall
Purgatory Chasm: A Mystery by Steve Ulfelder
Stagestruck: A Peter Diamond Investigation by Peter Lovesey
Why Didn’t You Come for Me? by Diane Janes

We got back from Balticon then had May 31st to get everything finalized and up for the zines. We managed to get them both online and active but needing a few additions and fixes on June 1st. Not a problem since that’s the usual way. However, the stress of having to do so much in such a short time made me think the house was really hot.

Yesterday, June 1st, the temperature outside was, with the heat index, 110 degrees — inside it was 90 with the AC set to 75. Guess the day before it was hot inside the house afterall, since the outside temp was nearly as high. As if heat that made it difficult to focus and think straight wasn’t bad enough — we lost power for a few hours. But we called the heat/AC guys and they should come today sometime (evidently lots of people have AC problems when the temps go up).

So, while the outside temp is barely 70 right now it’s 78 inside. I’ve got the fans on and I’m waiting for the repair guys and really hoping it’s something they can fix. Meanwhile, I still have all the updates to do — and I’m trying to convince myself that below 80 is much much better than 90 and besides I’ve got power.

I think myself is trying to lie to me. So, if you’ve looked at SFRevu.com — check back there’s more to come. Gumshoe Review is now finalized (but if you know of news of interest to mystery readers or upcoming conventions let us know).

Turns out that our new[ish] air handling system seems to have sprung a leak. We’re told that the coil on this particular model has flaw in a small percentage of the coils. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anyway to determine which are the ones that will last for decades, and which will last for a year. This one appears to be the later. The unit is still under warranty, so we’ll get a new coil and a new supply of coolant, and hopefully this one will be one of the good ones. At least it should last through the summer. And if the last two days were any indication, it’s going to be another scorcher.

First panel was 9:00 AM. So, that meant getting up early enough to get the brain in gear by 9.

Sun, 9:00 AM, Salon B, Writers We Don’t Understand
Moderator: Gayle Surrette. Panelists: J-F Bibeau, Michael Swanwick
Charlie Stross loads his stories with so much IT jargon it makes the head spin. A PhD in Physics is necessary to get full enjoyment out of a Greg Egan novel. China Miéville is best read with an open dictionary handy. Others create whole new slang vocabularies for the societies they create. Are these writers doing this on purpose? Are they that much smarter than the rest of us, or are we getting a year of painstaking research downloaded into us in a compressed format? Is there a good stylistic reason to confuse your readers?

Great panel. Areas covered were that sometimes you need to read a book during the right window in your life. That sometimes you just need to be in the right place and time to read some books. Other times you need to put the book away and try again at another time when maybe things will work to make you and the book click. Then there are writers whose books you need to work to understand and the work is well rewarded.

Then it was time to get some food and later sit at the Capclave table. My next panel was at 1:00 PM where I was to be a panelist. Hyperion and I made plans to go out after with a friend.

1:00 PM – Salon B – How To Read For Pleasure
Panelists: ??, Elizabeth Moon, Gayle Surrette (M), Paolo Bacigalupi, and Charles Gannon.
This isn’t about being a “better reader” but about how to really enjoy what you’re reading more!

Well, I missed the name of the gentleman just to the left of Elizabeth Moon but he added some very cogent comments as did all the panelists. I took on being the moderator as the moderator on the schedule wasn’t there. We managed to have quite an interesting discussion. Many of the same issues came up that we’d talked about in the 9:00 AM panel. How sometimes you need to just put a book away and try again later. Sometimes, you just have to give yourself permission to stop reading and give up. If reading a book isn’t fun — put it away. If you feel you must read it, try again later.

We talked about books we enjoyed and good places to read. The writers talked about how they read the genre differently — more critically and so read other genres for pleasure. That we understand book better the more we read.

Later we hung out with friends, sat at the Capclave table and called it an early night. Can’t believe how tired I feel.

I wish we could have slept in today. Yesterday was really busy though, looking at what I wrote, it doesn’t really appear to be that much. Didn’t matter. I was tired when I got up. First order of business was to talk to programming about getting off one of the panels that I was on today. I’d been placed on an audience participation type panel that was game based — think What’s My Line or Pick the Real Definition of the Word type thing but different. It just was not my cup of tea and staying on the item would be a disservice to the panelists and the audience. Tracked down the right person and got replaced and gave a great sigh of relief.

Next we helped set up the Capclave table and spent some time talking to people about Capclave, WSFA Press, and our upcoming guests of honor — Catherynne M. Valente and Carrie Vaughn. Check out the website and consider coming to Capclave this October — it’s bound to be a lot of fun.

1:00 PM – Belmont – Favorite Shared Worlds. Panelists: Gayle Surrette (M), C. J. Henderson, Michael Hanson, Richard Groller, Neil Levin, Charles Gannon.
Description: Fans, Authors and Editors talk about their favorite shared worlds, old and new. And maybe even toss around ideas form some new shared worlds!

Unfortunately, this panel had a problem — the panelists and moderator showed up but we had no audience. Paolo Bacigalupi was scheduled to do a reading in Belmont at 1:00. Programming moved his reading to Chesapeake — unknown to us they also placed a very large sign outside the door that said that his reading was moved. This was a good idea and they’d told us to announce before our panel started that his reading had been moved. The sign outside the door however didn’t mention that another panel had been moved to replace the reading — our panel.

So, while we waited for an audience to show up, the panelists discussed shared worlds including the newly revived Heroes in Hell, Wild Cards, and Shad’aa. We swapped information and ideas on the topic while waiting. After about 20 minutes we said our goodbyes and went on with our day.

Having some time before my next panel at 4:00 PM, I met up with Hyperion and we checked out the Art Show which had some nice pieces way-way out of our range and some interesting new pieces we hadn’t see before. After that we took a turn in the dealer’s room checking out the offering there. Some beautiful items on sale. We each got a pocket watch with steampunk-ish finishes. We then checked out all the booksellers. You’d think with all the books we have that we wouldn’t need to buy any more for quite a while. After all, each of our To-Be_Read piles are really multiple stacks not to mention the eBooks on our eReaders. Nevertheless, we found several we’re considering for later in the convention.

4:00 PM – Salon C – How Plausible is Today’s Hard SF?
Panelists: Michael Swanwick, Douglas Fratz, Gayle Surrette, Brett Talbot, David Bartell.
Description: Past science fiction stories were either fantastic or built on known science. Now theoretical physics and accelerating developments in biology have led to more fantastic leaps of speculation in what used to be hard science fiction. Is the science in today’s SF at all plausible or is today’s SF drifting towards fantasy?

The conversation went very well between the panelists. There was discussion of physics, biology, classic writers and new, and how writers handle the science of their books. Interestingly, it was brought up the the more expert a writer is in a field the less likely they are to enjoy books with their field depicted in a book or to write about it themselves. There was also talk of how there are just some givens — you need to travel between solar systems so you have FTL and move on with no detail as to how it works other than to keep the time of travel consistent with distances. Many other areas were covered but now I can’t remember who said what or what was covered. Hannu Rajaniemi’s Quantum Thief was highly recommended as were other writers.

We then helped at the Capclave table until it was packed up for the night. We then attended a short WSFA Press meeting and went out with friends for dinner. Coming back to the hotel, we stopped in a couple of parties and called it a night.

Tomorrow, I’ve got a 9:00 AM panel — after which I hope to get to see some other panels. One can always hope.