Books at Geek Skillz http://www.geekskillz.com/tags/15 Articles tagged with Books at Geek Skillz. Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST en-us Dune v3.0 http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/dune-v3-0 Books, Movies

One of my favorite characters in the Dune novels by Frank Herbert is Duncan Idaho. He's the character who just won't die, no matter how many times he gets killed. This guy survives thousands of years and countless resurrections!

And so it is with Dune. Yet another film adaptation of the sci-fi space opera classic masterpiece Dune is confirmed, as reported months ago to everyone but me.

Peter Berg will be directing and promises a huge budget. I've never seen any of his films, but now I definitely need to. The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights (yuck to american football!), and Very Bad Things are notable movies on his resume. This doesn't scream "sci-fi masterpiece" to me...


David Lynch was the first to take a stab at bringing Dune to celluloid, and he did a very... eccentric job. In a way, I really enjoy it. It shows how two people can read the same book, with the same words, and the same dialog, but see it so differently. Lynch's twisted imagination really shows itself in his Dune. I think Lynch saw the word "feud" in the novel and used it as the primary motif that ruled all the film's artistic decisions. However, the movie uses voice-overs in almost every scene, so I must admit that it sucks. When a director needs to use voice-overs to tell a story, you know he's desperate. Narration is for books, not movies. There are two things that I hate in films and TV: 1. narrators and voice-overs, 2. actors who whisper. Speak up! You're in a frikkin' movie! Anyway, Lynch did a crappy job on Dune version 1.

Next, the Sci-Fi channel gave it a try with a mini-series. I liked it because it took its time to tell the story more coherently without voice-overs whispering in the audience's ears. However, production quality was undeniably TV-quality, not big budget. You could easily tell that the desert was just a small sound stage. In a movie called "Dune", you really should have a good budget on the desert scenes! "Arrakis! Dune! Desert planet!" Idiots.

Also, the script was unpolished and often failed to make clear the plotting, scheming, and double-crossing, despite the long scenes of wooden dialog. I don't understand why they felt the need to add more characters to the story, like Irulan. The story had plenty of strong women. There was no need to add more. Dune is a hard enough story to portray on screen (apparently...), so don't shoot yourself in the foot by adding more complexity to it. Irulan appears at the end of the story in Herbert's original, and I think it is an interesting reveal in the end-game. What kind of person is Irulan, who promises to be the only one in the feud who can keep the human universe together? By keeping her invisible for most of the story, I think the impact of her arrival is increased a great deal. Good writing and direction would be able to pull this off.

Ok, I've given myself away. I'm a Dune fan. It's the kind of story that gets better with age. Frank Herbert clearly saw oil for what it is: a finite resource that will soon run out and has the potential to destroy human civilization as we know it today. In the end-game, whoever controls the last reserves of oil stands to win it all. How might that play out? How is it playing out today? Who are the big players? It's science fiction at its best, I say!

Good luck to Peter Berg on his attempt at Dune. Third time's a charm? I would like to see the rest of the series brought to life, so I'm hoping that Berg's Dune will be the start of a great new sci-fi franchise.

In other news, Berg is also set to do a Bran Mak Morn film. Could this be paving the way for a big-budget The Call of Cthulhu film? Geeks will dream.]]> Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/dune-v3-0 [Review] The Lies of Locke Lamora http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/review-the-lies-of-locke-lamora Books, Reviews

I just finished reading The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and let's just say that I'm impressed! February in Canada is a great time to curl up under a blanket and lose yourself in a great book set in a warmer place. Lies, the first novel by Lynch, was more than capable of helping me escape February! I haven't been this excited about an author since I discovered George R. R. Martin, whose recommendation led me to discover Lynch.

The Lies of Locke Lamora is set in a fantasy city similar to Venice, except with a lot more sharks. Locke Lamora is a con artist, who robs from the rich and... well, has some good times afterwards. The story is a fast-paced series of cons, robberies, shark battles, fancy-dress parties, assassinations, sword fights, back-stabbing, and all kinds of swashbuckling goodness.

Even though this is the first in a long series of forthcoming books, Lies isn't just setting things up for a future climax (*cough* Robert Jordan *cough*). It's a complete novel in every sense. All plot threads are concluded by the end. Lynch doesn't string the reader along. Instead, he does everything he can to delight and amaze! In a genre that has recently been encouraging bloated, aimless fantasy series of huge tomes (I'm looking at you, Steven Erikson!), it's refreshing to find a new fantasy author who writes a briskly paced story with the reader's enjoyment in mind.

Check out the following interview with Scott Lynch to find out how his blog helped him get his book published and launched his career as a writer. Yes, his blog got him published!

Crazy!

I know!

That's what I said!

Crazy!

He speaks like a role-playing gamer.
Don't ask me what that means. It's just true.


Go get The Lies of Locke Lamora. Seriously, it's great.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:43:00 EST http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/review-the-lies-of-locke-lamora [Review] JPod, TV Series Premiere http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/review-jpod-tv-series-premiere Books, Reviews, TV

I’ve been a Douglas Coupland fan since my brother loaned me his copy of Shampoo Planet many years ago. Since then I’ve discovered Microserfs, easily in my top 10 favorite books of all time, and now JPod, which I’m currently reading. When I found out that JPod has been turned into a TV series, I was thrilled! Microserfs and JPod are books about my mysterious caste of professionals: software developers, a.k.a. programmers. No one knows what we really do, and no one understands how we spend our days. Maybe JPod can enlighten and inform. I just finished watching the series premiere on CBC, so I’ll give my thoughts on it.

The first thing I noticed (with a gasp!) is that the theme song is one of my favorite Bonobo songs, and the episode featured a second Bonobo tune. The show automatically gets 3 stars! It’s like Douglas Coupland stole my vinyl collection!

Next, I noticed that the JPod cubicles are ridiculously hip and cool, in an office setting I would kill for. It seems like the show creators have obviously never spent any time in a real programmer’s work area, a world of beige, dust, and white noise. If only work was as fun as JPod makes it look! However, I must admit that HR sometimes puts people anywhere they can fit a desk or cubicle, like telephone rooms and the wasted space around structural pillars. True story. So, the JPod is not an entirely impossible setting.


The acting overall was good, with some great laugh out loud moments. Cowboy gave me some good laughs, especially when he tried to deny frequenting a website about hugging. Alan Thicke is a bit awkward as the father. I hope he can ease up on the fromage in future episodes. David W. Kopp was great as Ethan, suitably average but with geek flair orbiting him at all times. He plays the straight man in contrast to the abundance of comic relief, being the island of sanity in an otherwise absurd show.

The pop art interludes are a nice touch, being visual (and in my opinion better) versions of the ones in the book. After Kaitlin reveals that she’s from Florida, an interlude appears showing a Florida orange with snow falling on it, alluding to how frosty Kaitlin is to the other reluctant members of JPod. Cute.

The episode flew by at a fast pace, like most of Coupland’s books, and the closing scene left me wanting more. Finally, I’ve got something to watch on Tuesday nights! I recommend JPod to all geeks and programmers, and their family and friends who want a glimpse of what we do. It’s good enough to pull me away from my laptop for an hour, and that’s saying a lot!

(Confession: I had my laptop on my lap throughout the entire episode. I have no editor, so I'm not changing that last line.)

Now, time to play some Bonobo records.]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:24:00 EST http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/review-jpod-tv-series-premiere Robert Jordan Dies http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/robert-jordan-dies Books

Robert Jordan, author of the epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time, has died. He was working on the final volume of the series at the time. It's every fantasy fan's worst nightmare!

Although I stopped reading the series after the seventh book, I can still feel the pain of Jordan fans everywhere. Yes, I read only seven of the books. The twelfth book would have been the last. He always said he had a great ending planned for the series, and I wanted to at least find out what it was, even if I didn't read it myself. Now it might only happen if another author finishes the book, which would hardly be the same.

It happened to Frank Herbert. He never lived to write the final Dune novel, leaving us with a confounding cliffhanger.

And now I fear for the life of my favorite epic fantasy author: George R. R. Martin. Let's all think positive thoughts for his health, ok? Long life and quick writing!]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2007 21:30:00 EST http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/robert-jordan-dies Hollywood Needs More Geeks http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/hollywood-needs-more-geeks Books, Comics, Movies

There are a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero stories being adapted into movies lately. I fully support the trend, but wouldn’t it be nice if there were some stories written especially for the big screen? Must everything come from a book, comic, graphic novel, video game, or be a remake of a movie that was already done?

A new movie bound to be the blockbuster this Christmas is The Golden Compass, an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy novel in the His Dark Materials series. I’ve never heard of the author or this book before, but look forward to the movie. By finding out about this movie, I also stumbled into some discussion about the book. So, going into this movie, some of the surprise is already lost. Surprise and amazement is part of the fun of fantasy stories!

I’ve never read the Harry Potter books, but everyone says I need to because they’re soooo much better than the movies. Well, I don’t want to read the books and watch the movies! That leads to comparisons and disappointments. Maybe I will prefer the movies because I watched them first. The books might be disappointing because they’re not the same as the story that I enjoyed when it was surprising and new. Except that they weren’t surprising and new because I heard too much about the books before I got to see the movies. “Someone dies in this one, but it’s just a minor character.” Oh great, I guess I won’t get excited when the main characters are in danger. Thanks.


Geeks Can Write Screenplays Too

Back a few decades ago, there was this independent film maker named George Lucas who wrote a fresh new script for a movie called Star Wars. Audiences went into this movie and were amazed and thrilled by what they saw. As a group, they shared in that experience as only movie audiences can. Is Lucas the only filmmaker with fresh fantasy/sci-fi ideas?

There are some great writers working in TV and film today. J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are three writers that I have become a fan of through Lost. Clearly they have both fresh ideas and the skill to write good dialog (a weakness of Star Wars). Currently they are working on Star Trek XI, sure to be next year’s Christmas blockbuster.

It’s nice that they will cash in on the Star Trek franchise, but given the chance to create their own franchise from the ground up, would they take it? What writer would turn down such an offer? Create your own mythology, characters, plot, worlds, everything! I’ve never heard an aspiring writer say he was in it to adapt existing stories. Sounds tedious to me.

So Lucasfilm, how about you hire some new geek writers and help them start some new franchises? Please?

Adapt THIS!

Here are some adaptations worth looking at:

Watchmen: Based on the 12-issue comic series written by Alan Moore.

A Song of Ice and Fire: An HBO series based on the amazing fantasy series by George R. R. Martin. This project sounds too ambitious to be true, but I hope it will be half as good as the books.

World of Warcraft: I have no idea how this MMO will be adapted into a movie. I expect it will be awful. Sadly, I also expect that I will see it opening week.

Michael Moorcock’s Elric Saga: This is a fantasy writer that I want to get into. There are so many books in his “multiverse” that I don’t know where to start... Anyone have suggestions? It was announced in 2003 that an Elric movie was in the works, but nothing has materialized yet.

Coraline: Adaptation of Neil Gaiman's award-winning novella for children. Surely Gaiman can write some great new screenplays?
]]> Mon, 02 Jul 2007 09:01:00 EST http://www.geekskillz.com/articles/hollywood-needs-more-geeks