World War Z

Max Brooks' World War Z is a fascinating idea that on the whole works: an oral 'history' of humanity's stuggle against a global epidemic of zombies, it is a collection of short stories presented as interviews with the survivors of the war. From civilians through to the top brass, from many countries and all walks of life, Brooks has really given the story that he wants to tell a lot of thought. The picture that he paints is a totally changed world, and changed in ways that one can't imagine at first thought; a lot of zombie fiction shows the immediate change, or people slowly being picked off one by one. It was interesting to see a world under threat, but not so immediately devestated that a fight back is out of the question. His take on tactics and ways that humanity would have to change or a logical conclusion of the new threats that people would face.

The only downside to the scattershot collection is that sometimes it feels a little too disjointed. Some of the 'interviews' are longer, but there are times when I really felt like I wanted a much longer "survivor's tale"... However, as a collection it is well worth a read for sci fi and horror fans alike.

Thing 46: Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus is one of the most breath-taking and atmospheric games on the previous generation of consoles. A bit strong for an opening line perhaps, but I'm pretty sure that anyone who has played the game will be right there with me. A young man journeys to a faraway land in the hope of finding a way to restore life to his true love; on arrival he is told that this can only be done if he defeats sixteen stone giants, the Colossi, massive, almost invulnerable...

One would normally expect sixteen levels of increasingly tough battles, fight a horde of minions before facing each "boss" - except this is a game which throws away many gaming conventions. Instead of sixteen levels, there are just the sixteen stone giants, all different, all seemingly alive and with their own personalities when it comes to attacking and defending themselves. In order to reach them the young man rides his horse across a lonely landscape, no background music, just the sound of the wind and his horse's hooves beating away at the plains.

You reach a Colossus and as you size each one up you think, "It is on." Most of the creatures are so massive and so well defended that you can't simply walk up to them and start attacking: in fact, you can't simply attack them at all. Each creature requires a specific plan of attack in order to find vulnerable spots on their body. The gameplay of clambering over these living playgrounds, jumping from place to place in order to find a weak spot, or leading the Colossus in a certain direction in order to crack a piece of armour or allow you to jump on it... What can I say, it makes you feel like you're there. I'm gushing, but watching this little man with a little sword run like hell as a massive hand seems to fall out of the sky to crush you - literally edge of your seat stuff.

And that's just the gameplay, the story itself is also... different. At first you don't really notice it. Subtle differences that seem to accrue as you progress through the game, your character's appearance slowly changing, almost imperceptibly. Short cut scenes after defeating every fourth Colossus also indicate that all is not what it appears to be, leading to an ending that is at once shocking and bittersweet. There is some hope in the end, and a promise for the future, but you're left with a great feeling of loss.

Have you ever read a book that you secretly wish was written just for you, but which is so great and wonderful that you want to share it with everyone you know? The first book I ever read that made me feel that way was Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (more on that some other time perhaps). Shadow of the Colossus was the first game that gave me a similar feeling. Replaying it as part of 101/1001 was brilliant, almost a present to myself, and once again it gave me so much to think about. I've been playing quite a lot of independent games recently; low res, low memory but completely addictive games that go for gold by virtue of their gameplay. Shadow of the Colossus goes for gold and beyond by virtue of being a wonderful story, leaving so much to the player and yet providing a magnificent platform for in game exploration and adventure.

I'm gushing again. I'll stop there. Just trust me, if you ever get the chance, give it a go.

Spoiler Haiku I

Two men? sit freezing;
The fire and light are dying.
They sit; wait; and see...

Last Year, This Year

2008 was a big turning point for me. Deciding to do 101/1001 was one of the best things I've decided to do, and since starting it I haven't regretted doing it. Halfway through the year I read "Yes Man" by Danny Wallace, and that started to change my perspective on how I approach things, being open to chances.

I've not said yes to everything that's come my way over the last six months, but I've said yes to more than I think I would have before. A friend took a look at the blog I've been keeping a few days ago and said, "You've been doing this for eight months and you've only crossed off nine things on the list??? How are you going to get the 92 in the next two years???"

With a bit of work, a bit of luck and a bit of fun...

Ten Things I Will Definitely Have Achieved In 2009
1). 12. Fill Terramundi
2). 15. Write 101 haiku
3). 19. Complete a ScriptFrenzy
4). 26. Make my Christmas cards one year
5). 41. Visit five US states
6). 64. Buy a domain name
7). 75. Re-read "Calvin & Hobbes"
8). 78. Re-read Scott McCloud's books on comics
9). 89. See a Shakespeare play
10). 95. Release five books into the wild with BookCrossing

Ten Things I Hope To Have Done/Completed In 2009
1). 1. Read entire Bible
2). 20. Enter the SFX Pulp Idol competition
3). 36. Create a webcomic
4). 42. Spend a long weekend in London (including a West End show)
5). 62. Confirm the number of stacked 4-tangles
6). 67. Sell five things on eBay
7). 73. Re-read "The Sandman"
8). 87. Buy a Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360
9). 91. Attend a live opera
10). 100. Send a Valentine

Five Things I Might Do In 2009
1). 2. Keep a diary regularly for at least six months
2). 31. Learn to juggle three balls
3). 34. Bake a cake for a present
4). 93. Complete a crossword (seriously, I've never been able to complete a crossword)
5). Various: replay about six of the games!

I got about three quarters of the way through Shadow of the Colossus a few weeks back, and then preparing for Christmas, work and Nanowrimo intervened... I wonder if I can finish it on New Year's Day, start the year off with a bang? Let's see.

Say yes.

Halting State

I got this book for Christmas (along with a few others which will be popping up in reviews over the next few weeks) and it was top of the pile in order of the things that I wanted to read. A bank robbery in an online game sparks a series or murders, which might be at the heart of an act of international espionage and terrorism... And how does this fit with a set of ARGs (alternate reality games) related to spying?

Charles Stross' novels are usually a whirlwind of ideas, and Halting State is no exception; set only ten years from now, it shows an incredible array of technology freely available to the public and providing swathes of information at the blink of an eye. Augmented reality glasses are on the drawing board now, and it is by no means inconceivable that they could be used for the purposes outlined in the novel - even though it might take a science fiction writer to come up with those uses. The story moves along fairly quickly, and at times it's not easy to see where things are going (or where they've come from). It's a very enjoyable read, but at the end of it I couldn't help but wonder if the amazing ideas didn't make up the greater part of the enjoyment than the plot.

Halting State is a good novel, a science fiction airport thriller that doesn't put style over substance and has a great streak of humour running through it. The ideas are big, but they show a world that could only be a few years away... Lets hope that we don't see the kinds of ARGs that pop up in this world though.

At the end of the novel there's a great interview with Charles Stross; one answer in particular jumped out, and gave me a little hope for my own future writing.

Q: Do the ideas just keep on coming?
A: Yes. And here's the weird thing; ideas breed. They multiply in dark corners when I'm not looking. I learn something new and trivial and the next thing I know, it's jumped a hoary old cliché and they're enthusiastically breeding a new master-race of cockroach-like plot tropes that scurry off and hide behind the wainscoting of a novel! (I am very grateful for this, incidentally.)

Ooops! 28 and 33

As they currently stand, things 28 and 33 are essentially the same thing! How could I have overlooked that? How could I have done that, not only eight months ago, but how could I have not noticed???

At the moment:
28. Make a short animated film.
...
33. Make an animated short.

*raises eyebrow*

I will have to think about what 33 is now going to be. Something creative. But what?

Was

Dorothy Gael is an unhappy orphan living with her aunt and abusive uncle in Kansas in the 1880s; Frank Baum is a wandering actor, working as a teacher for a week or two he is inspired by the young girl in his class... Year later, Frances Gumm (better known as Judy Garland) is working on the film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz; the film goes on to become a major success, and a huge part of the life of Jonathan, an actor dying from AIDS in the later 1980s. He searches for signs of the "real" Dorothy, spending his final days and hours searching for her home in Kansas.

Was is a beautiful story; it's quite dark in places, but some of the descriptions, particularly of Jonathan and his deterioration as his condition worsesns and the visons that he experiences as a result are heartbreaking. There are very few novels that I have read which have really hit me emotionally as I have sat there reading them (The Lord of the Rings, Flowers For Algernon, The Time Traveller's Wife) and had I not been on a train as I finished it this afternoon I am sure that I would have cried reading about Jonathan's final hours.

In the past I have wondered about a story where the character knows that their life is almost up, how they would approach it, what they would be thinking, how they would face it. I might write something in that vein one day, but I will think long and hard before I do; in Was, Geoff Ryman has written a beautiful and dreamlike story, and while some parts - particularly some aspects of Dorothy's life - have a difficult subject matter, it is never anything other than a terrific and compelling read.