ICON 31 - Review

This was the best ICON I have ever attended.  Since 2008, my friends and I would travel out to Stony Brook to nerd ourselves up at the Sci-Fi Convention.  It wasn't what I was expecting at the time, but I found it to be really good if you were comfortable with being a participant instead of an observer.  Like our college years revisited, we would trek (he he) over to the Students Activity Center and sit in a classroom while we read the summary of the activity.

"Evil Laugh Contest"
"Star Wars vs. Star Trek"
"Furry's: How not to be creepy?"

Subsequent years proved to be less entertaining.  It seemed like an evolving experiment which would range from "very adult" to "family friendly".  Those of us from the Golden Age of Sci-Fi have children and in some cases, grand-children.  While we can appreciate adult-themed classes, it was awkward sitting with our children during some of those classes.  In 2011, it was way too tame.  Adult themed classes occurred during the evening, but during the day we were subjected to Twilight, Harry Potter and Teletubbies.  I was a touch uncomfortable with the middle aged man dressed as a teletubby, but that's just me.

ICON 31 brought the perfect blend of balance.  Enter Doctor Who!  The first class of the day, I sat in a "Dalek Building" class with my wife and son.  Steve Gostelow was an independent contractor who built Dalek's for the BBC and hosted the class in a Q&A style forum.  We discussed how to actually build a Dalek prop.  Any and all questions were answered, including how much the BBC paid for the work (not much).




Star Wars Rep in the Upper-Right


I sat on a panel for "Star Wars vs. Star Trek" as the lone Star Wars supporter.  I had some serious fun with the Trekkies and they certainly had some fun at my expense, as well.  My friend Sunil peppered me with comments aimed to question my intelligence for actually preferring Star Wars over Star Trek.  I stuck to my guns an pointed out that I had no trouble understanding Star Trek.  I usually just fell asleep before the show was over to register an opinion.

After this, I went to a "Game of Thrones" class, in which we discussed the book and television show.  The focus was on Season 2, which also covered opinions from the first book (Season 1).  In the end, they showed a couple trailers for the second season on HBO.

I had a blast.  I debated dressing up as Doctor Who, but in the end I'm glad I didn't.  I don't have the "stick thin" physique of Matt Smith and I wasn't about to shave off my Goatee again.

I look forward to seeing everyone in Stony Brook next year!

Wizards and Robots - Can they co-exist? (Next on Maury)

There are those of us who prefer fantasy stories.  Give us a wizard, an elf or an orc any day of the week, right?  We prefer our supernatural protagonists to live in an exclusively natural world.  Others love the Sci-fi realm.  We want robots, space shuttles and geeky technology that most everyone will be calling "normal" in 50 years.  Finally, there are people like me who like both.  I like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Dune and Lord of the Rings almost equally.  All of those stories capture the escapism I look for, but they also bring the reader to see the world in another pair of eyes.

My question:  Can both Sci-fi and Fantasy exist in the same story?  I've heard quite a few "No!" answers and nearly had my head ripped off by a guy calling himself Stormageddon.

The entire story of Lord of the Rings could have been cut down to about 3 pages if Frodo had teleportation technology available.  Star Wars would have been painful if Luke and his buddies had to walk to the Death Star, right?  All of this pondering brought to mind one question:  How do you write a story which can include both Sci-fi and Fantasy without making it ridiculous?

I used the simple element of time, in Alorya.  There must have been a time when Captain Kirk's ancestors wore armor and bathe once a week.  There also must have been a time when Gandalf would become complacent due to the fact that he's a wizard living in a world of men (and hobbits).  After all, that is what Saruman's destiny was to become, right?  The dominator of a Middle Earth now that the Elves had run off to the West.

In my Prologue, I created an instance in which the continents of men were separated from the continents of Wizards and Barbarians.  They each evolved on their own for the most part, but as the technology advanced, they were in for a bit of conflict.  During the days of men wearing armor and bathing once a week, the Wizards dominated them.  As time progressed, the men discovered technology which would protect them from the Wizard.  In the true tradition of "The best defense is a good offense", there had to be a point where men turned their technological advances toward weapons to be used against the Wizards.

It's probably not a good idea to put the Enterprise in orbit around Middle Earth or have Hogwarts facing off against the Death Star, but you have to think that there must have been a time when both genres were an interesting match.  Let me stop before I start thinking about little blue elves in white hats co-existing with robots which transform in modes of transportation.

Star Wars - Who's in charge today?

I'm going to leave out the chronological order of the Star Wars movies for the sake of making my point.

While playing Knights of the Old Republic, I was able to see that their were 3 main bodies of power to govern the people.  The Republic government, the Jedi and the Sith.  It was clear that the Republic would would be the tool which would either be used by the Sith or the Jedi.  This lasted for thousands of years.

Once Palpatine is elected Chancellor, the galaxy is thrusted into over one hundred years of political chaos.  Secretly a Sith, Palpatine uses bureaucracy, a war with confederate star systems and the Jedi to fashion himself Emperor.  We Occupy Wall Street, but the Empire had a Rebel Alliance which destroyed the Death Star.  This was definitely not a sustainable government, but I'm not sure Palpatine cared, really.

Luke Skywalker and the Alliance take down the head of the Empirical government creating a power vacuum which last for years.  Imperial Remnant forces battled Alliance forces until the Alliance proves victorious, takes control of Coruscant and creates the New Republic.  The Empire, with a handful of systems, sit near the edge of the galaxy continuing business as usual.

The New Republic was anything but successful.  While the Jedi Order was able to rebuild, the New Republic had to fight internal bickering and a great bureaucracy which was strangely similar to the Old Republic.  While they squabbled, their enemies plotted.

Enter the Yuuzhan Vong.  From literally, out of nowhere, these aliens to the galaxy came seeking anything but peace.  Taking advantage of soft under-belly of the New Republic, the Yuuzhan Vong was able to cut through the galaxy with relative ease.  It wasn't until the New Jedi Order was free to act independently of the failed government that the Yuuzhan Vong were defeated.  The Galactic Alliance was a fractured government which limped along while the citizens of the galaxy rebuilt.

First Chief of State to the Galactic Alliance - Cal Omas - Removed from power by a Coup.

Second Chief of State - Darth Caedus (a Sith????) and Cha Naithal - To be fair, Jacen Solo was good at keeping it a secret that he was in fact a Sith.  Ok, so not really.  Darth Caedus and Cha Naithal did bring about the Second Galactic Civil War.  Darth Caedus was killed by his sister and Cha Naithal was disgraced.

Third Chief of State - Natasi Daala (former Imperial Admiral) - Enter the Police State.  She too left office in hand-cuffs.  Her platform of destroying all those who sought power was deemed to risky, although it was a similar platform to many of her predecessors.

The Triumvirate - Grand Master Saba Sabatyne, Senator Treen and Senator Jaxton - When I first read of Saba Sabatyne, I pictured an incompetent alligator in a Jedi robe.  The other two were up to no good from the moment they were introduced to the reader.  I've not seen the outcome of this stellar Administration, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to be pretty.

UPDATE:  This just in.  The Sith rule the galaxy, once again.  And now, to Steve, with the weather.

Top Five - My favorite characters from Sci-Fi / fantasy novels

I've read a bunch of Sci-Fi / Fantasy novels, but obviously not all of them. There are some characters which are so clearly defined in there stories that they can come alive in our imaginations. Other times, you'll find writers digging into our own psyche to create a character to which we are already familiar, without needing strong character development. Prince Charming and the Big Bad Wolf are examples of those characters. Even without the aid of Disney, we already know who these characters are because they've been in our psyche since the our childhood.

I prefer my favorite characters to have a fatal flaw that they must overcome. Here are my top five:

5 - King Theoden - What do you do when your people show more allegiance to a ranger from the north than to you, their king? As if that wasn't bad enough, you are already known for being the king who fell under the spell of Sauruman the White. On top of that, your son and only heir had been killed in battle.

What he did was ride.... ride now... ride for ruin... death... and the worlds ending.

4 - Boromir son of Denethor - Everybody remembers Aragorn, Legolas and the hobbits, but who remembers Boromir? He was played in the movie by Sean Bean, which is a spoiler in itself as to what will happen to him. Boromir was the oldest and favorite son of Gondor. In Fellowship of the Ring, he was akin to a wet blanket who was constantly bringing everybody down with comments of doom. "One does not simply walk into Mordor..." he said. When the time came, he tried to take the ring from Frodo.

In his darkest hour though, he heroically battled the uruk-hai to help Frodo escape. His story is what I loved most about the first book. His moment of redemption was my favorite part.

3 - Ganner Rhysode - Introduced in the New Jedi Order, Ganner and the Jedi found themselves fighting an enemy that could not be seen in the Force. The Yuuzhan Vong were mighty warriors immune to the Jedi's greatest weapon/gift. Ganner was introduced as a privileged pretty-boy. He accompanied the Solo children on the fateful mission that claimed one Solo's life, while another Solo took his first steps down a dark path. Ganner was given a livid scar on his face which proved to be a life changing event for the vain Jedi.

After over a year of contemplation in the force, Ganner realized that he was not going to be the hero of this war. In a moment of clarity, Ganner saw that it was Jacen Solo who would be the end of the Yuuzhan Vong. He also saw that Jacen Solo would not make it out of a dangerous mission without his help.

While Jacen Solo was occupied with a strategy to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong, Ganner needed to just buy Jacen some time. The worshippers of death saw Ganner in a new light that day. They saw him as the Gate Keeper of Death. "None shall pass."

2 - Sam Vimes - I only read The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett because it was Terry Pratchett. Sometimes, you don't know what a book is about, but because you like the author, you buy it. Up to that point, I had only read about the witches and wizards of discworld. I found it funny, yet utterly confusing. I needed to go back to the beginning and read the Watch books in order. Sam Vimes was Captain of the Night Watch and had progressed all the way up to Duke of Ankh. Sam was a police officer in the midst of a battle against alcoholism, the City of Ankh Morpork and a Dragon. Sarcastic and crude, Sam had ticked off the entire city from the bottom to the top. With all this in mind, the city, the Patrician, the guards and even the dragon knew one thing about Sam Vimes: He had integrity.

Throughout each of the books, it became clear that good things were happening to Sam, but he was always asking "why?". Why were good things happening to him? While he waited for the world to come tumbling down around him, he simply continued to do his duty.

Sam Vimes is a personal favorite of mine. He is not the flashiest, but he reminded me of me once.

1 - Anakin Solo - Oh, I love Star Wars too! Darth Vader! Yeah, I like Darth Vader too. He was once Anakin.... wait, Anakin who?

Yes, this is Anakin Solo. Son of Leia Organa Solo. Grandson of Anakin Skywalker, a.k.a. Darth Vader. Here on earth, that's like naming your baby Adolf.

While still in his mother's womb, he was touched by the dark side of the force. Many times while growing up, he was reminded about the legacy of his grandfather. The youngest of the Solo children, he was also the most tragic. Anakin Solo had the most powerful enemy in the Star Wars universe. George Lucas. Lucas felt that Anakin Solo's trajectory followed too closely to Anakin Skywalkers. This wouldn't have been so bad if Lucas wasn't making the Star Wars prequels at the time. From birth, it seems Anakin Solo was destined for failure.

In the New Jedi Order, Anakin Solo was the first to figure out why the Yuuzhan Vong could not be felt in the force. The Jedi had become soft and relied too heavily on the force. Mara Jade Skywalker taught Anakin to use the force only when necessary. Solo became more self reliant. As a child, he became one of the first to best a Yuzhaan Vong in combat. After many victories, he became the hero his grandfather and famous uncle had become. In Star by Star by Troy Denning, Anakin Solo was killed. Much like Ganner, Boromir and Theoden, Anakin went out in a blaze of glory. Many of us in the Star Wars universe felt robbed, but it was then that I learned the power of the writer. The storyteller is the most powerful person in the story.

Inspiration - Daily Life

Fantasy vs Reality

Every writer will be inspired by every day events in their life, but to varying degrees.  From a writing perspective, I took everything I experienced and skewed it into a Sci-Fi / Fantasy world called Alorya.  When I was in my teens, I lived inside my head.  People would see me as quiet or shy, but I just hadn't found my outlet for communicating this to other people.

A little over ten years ago, I was on a job interview for a company I can't remember.  I was perhaps the worst person for interviews on the planet, at the time, but the focal point was how I perceived it within my creativity.  I viewed it as a scene out of Star Wars.  The room was ablaze in red and green flashes of light, while I battled the IT Manager for a position with that company.  I would later go to my computer at some point and write about this lightsaber battle with a hypacritical Jedi to which I narrowly escaped with my life.

I write in the same way others would keep a diary or a journal, but through my eyes, it's all transformed into an "out of this world" experience.  My battles against ogres, romances with elves, and command of the force is my way of journaling life without the mundanity of everyday life.  Have you ever thought about a conversation you just had and wished you said something differently?  Maybe you miss your bus by a minute and think about the extra time you took taking that "shortcut"?  It is in this light that I view writing and creating as a fun experience and not a job.

Inspiration - Brothers Abroad

I spoke earlier about how the birth of my son was the event that made me pick up the pen to write Alorya, but inspiration comes in so many forms, at so many different times, that I'm going to write a few of the most inspiring things to happen which led to the creation of Alorya.  I want to set the tone for this post by saying that I am defining inspiration as an event that took place which made me run to my computer and start writing.  Of course my wife, my friends and family all inspire me to be the best that I can, but that's not what I'm talking about in this post.  Many of the events that take place in Alorya are taken from moments in my life to which I applied artistic interpretation.

Both of my brothers were serving their country in Iraq during the writing of Alorya.  Gabriel was in Iraq for three separate tours and Tim was away for one.  They were both stationed over seas when they were not in Iraq, so they were always away, but with different degrees of danger around them.  The main backdrop for Alorya was war.  I would think that if my brothers were hippies at Berkley during this time, the story would have been much different. 

Alorya contains three major characters which come from the warrior caste in a country called Bragar.  Whether they are members of an organized military or warriors in their tribe, my brothers were the inspiration behind their creation, as well as the main theme of the story.  I've had conversations about the use of bionics with my brother Gabriel so many times, that I thought it was a great idea to bring it into the story.  Gabe and I disagree on the use of bionics, so I was inspired to create a scenerio of bionic soldiers with both success and failure which is attributed to our conversation.  I also had numerous conversations with my brother Tim about the feeling of loss while you're away.  The friends, the family and the romance becomes so difficult to manage that it became tempting to just walk away.  I wrote about what I took from my conversations with both of my brothers about ultimate loss versus, something to look forward to when you return home.  Inspiration comes in so many forms that my brothers may not even know that the little 15 minute conversation we had on Star Wars - Knights of the Old Republic in turn became an idea for my book.

The next post will be about inspiration which came from work.