The Setup (Creative Writing)

Remembering back two months ago, I ran into this redhead. She was a fireball, called herself Ginger, but for some silly reason wouldn’t let me call her that. I ended up calling her many things before I ended up here. I always had a weakness for those jade green eyes, and that fair complexion. She had freckles, I didn’t know you could have a fetish for freckles, but man I could not stop looking at her, easy on the eyes, I used to say. Well it all seemed inert; she just wanted to sell my house. The problem was I didn’t own one.

Ok, so here I am, on a tropical island resort in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with nada, nothing, absolutely zero. This must be the beginning but how did I get here? Two months before there was this dame. It was always a dame, but this one was different. Right, how many times have I said that?

Make a Move!

You know paperwork is easy, nothing you can’t make with a good printer these days. I decided, using the brick I call a brain, that Hawaii would be a great spot for the ploy.  I’ll just pick a house that is already for sale, smart right? Ok, so now ginger is excited about the idea and showing true enthusiasm.  After a steamy afterternoon…Tickets?  Poipu? First Class? Ahhhh, oh my. 

You know paperwork is easy, nothing you can’t make with a good printer these days. I decided, using the brick I call a brain, that Hawaii would be a great spot for the ploy.  I’ll just pick a house that is already for sale, smart right? Ok, so now ginger is excited about the idea and showing true enthusiasm.  After a steamy afterternoon…Tickets?  Poipu? First Class? Ahhhh, oh my.

Blade Runner 2049 (pre-Movie Review)

"Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a new blade runner for the Los Angeles Police Department, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. His discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who's been missing for 30 years."

From Google

Here is a trailer: https://youtu.be/2Wroofd1bB0

Release date: October 6, 2017 (USA)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Music composed by: Jóhann Jóhannsson

Cinematography: Roger Deakins

Screenplay: Hampton Fancher, Michael Green

Blade Runner "the final cut" (Movie Review)

I have watched this movie so many times my wife started to keep count. It is just a classic, one of the best stories brought to life by the acting skills of all the cast.

If you are new to the movie the basic set is the future, its Los Angeles and most people have gone to live on off world colonies. Technology has born the human like android. These androids have different purposes but have advanced to a point that their creator has implanted human like memories, feelings, and emotions... How do you control these from becoming too much ? limited life spans.

Well, four such androids have escaped to earth and the "Blade Runner" is the human that can detect, locate, and exterminate.

One of my favorite scenes is the eye bank. "I just do eye", "you Nexus"..."I do your eyes". Writing about the movie just makes me want to watch it all over again.

All Blade Runner fans know that Blade Runner 2049 is coming soon, and we all wait to have our socks knocked off.

See them both!

King Kong (Movie Review)

This movie has a great setup. All the characters are introduced and assembled into a team for the exploration of "Skull Island". The computerized effects are pretty awesome and if your are a visual nerd like me then it makes the movie a must see regardless of the content.
Something that was unexpected was to find out there is a sub terrainan world beneath the island. This is where the really bad creatures hang out. The twist allows the King to become one of the good guys.

Then there is the music speakers on the helicopters and the river boat. If as taken directly from apocalypse now. I think the movie may have been made for the older crowd, the boomers.
It is past mid-point when the movie gets kind of "corny" forgive the cliché.
It is just they all march into the grave. I don’t want to spoil it for you but,
the movie runs out of gas.

In the search of real science fiction I would rate this move about a six on a
scale from one to ten. However there are some great actors, John Goodman for
one, and Samuel L Jackson.
I would recommend seeing the movie, have some fun, and don’t expect too much. It
will be a blast.
V
Frank

Rogue One (Movie Review)

Here is the setup from Wikipedia;

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, or simply Rogue One, is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, based on a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the first installment of the Star Wars Anthology series, set immediately before the events of the original Star Wars film. The cast includes Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Rogue One follows a group of rebels on a mission to steal the plans for the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's superweapon."

This is a stunning story and fits in perfectly with the Star Wars saga. I though the characters and actors were well done. The story is fast moving and keeps the watcher on the edge of his/her seat. The test of the super weapon was a great special affect and turned out to be a nice escape sequence. I really would have liked to see more of Darth Vader however he is not the core of the movie. The Death Star plans and the weakness build in by design was the focus. If you are a Star Wars fan as I am, you must watch.

The last scene with Princess Leia is priceless.....

cheers

Life (Movie Review)

This movie is set on the international space station and involves intercepting a mining satellite that is returning with samples from Mars. First off, the graphics are very good and have a realistic look. They position the space station and catch the satellite that is off course bringing it to an instantaneous change in velocity. Well, my engineering spider sense found it a little unbelievable, I want to get the statics and dynamic books out to check, but I let it pass. The crew or in essence the science officer perform the necessary accommodations to breathe life into a hibernating single cell
life form. This quickly multiplies and becomes the alien.

I don't want to ruin the ending so I will let you watch it, but you must watch it till the very end. I thought it was a well written script and some great acting as things turn to the worst. If you are a Sci-Fi enthusiast then you will enjoy.

Interested? 

(the electrode scene is great!)

Time to bring this blog back to life. I have some new book reviews from a few fiction authors. This should be fun. Anyone special you would like to hear about? get your suggestions to me soon, as I work on this blog.

Enjoy

Analysis: “Europa Strike”

Europa Strike: Book Three of the Heritage Trilogy

I like what Ian does in this third book of the heritage trilogy. Using the analysis void review the different layers are explored and examined. The political layer is about 25 years after the last book ends and the war between the United States and the United Nations is finished. The new conflict is brewing between the PCR and US on the second moon of Jupiter Europa. I like the departure from the religious layer as it lets more action take place in the Marine tactics and the technology layer. There is a alien presence at the bottom of the ocean on Europa and it is a race between the Chinese and Americans to encounter the life form and reap the techno benefits. This book was my favorite of the three as I found it a quick easy read and an exciting story. Read it for yourself and let me know what you think. The love layer even made a surface however the message came through loud and clear. We are not alone.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Well researched and quite imaginative." -- -- CNN Online

Product Description

2040: Ruins of ancient civilization uncovered on Mars reveal startling truths about the creation of humankind.
2042: In the gray dust of the Earth's Moon, an extinct enslaving race left behind more answers, more questions...and a grim warning.
2067: As Earth's warring factions clash in space for scraps of alien technology, a strange artifact lies trapped beneath the ice-locked oceans of Europa: a machine that holds the key to the final human destiny.
It is called "The Singer" for the eerie tone it emits.An artificial intelligence built eons ago, it may ultimately solve the mystery of the vanished alien races responsible for the birth and development of humanity. But after decades of war, the hostile nations of Earth care more for power than for knowledge. And now all that stands between the coveted Al and an all-out Chinese assault is a vastly outnumbered contingent of U.S. marines, dug in beneath the baleful red eye of Jupiter. As terrifying events light years distant begin to converge---with confrontation imminent and annihilation inevitable---a secret history of creation and doom must at long last be contended with...if humankind is to finally claim its glorious heritage among the stars.2040: Ruins of ancient civilization uncovered on Mars reveal startling truths about the creation of humankind.
2042: In the gray dust of the Earth's Moon, an extinct enslaving race left behind more answers, more questions...and a grim warning.
2067: As Earth's warring factions clash in space for scraps of alien technology, a strange artifact lies trapped beneath the ice-locked oceans of Europa: a machine that holds the key to the final human destiny.
It is called "The Singer" for the eerie tone it emits. An artificial intelligence built eons ago, it may ultimately solve the mystery of the vanished alien races responsible for the birth and development of humanity. But after decades of war, the hostile nations of Earth care more for power than for knowledge. And now all that stands between the coveted Al and an all-out Chinese assault is a vastly outnumbered contingent of U.S. marines, dug in beneath the baleful red eye of Jupiter. As terrifying events light years distant begin to converge---with confrontation imminent and annihilation inevitable---a secret history of creation and doom must at long last be contended with...if humankind is to finally claim its glorious heritage among the stars.2040: Ruins of ancient civilization uncovered on Mars reveal startling truths about the creation of humankind.
2042: In the gray dust of the Earth's Moon, an extinct enslaving race left behind more answers, more questions...and a grim warning.
2067: As Earth's warring factions clash in space for scraps of alien technology, a strange artifact lies trapped beneath the ice-locked oceans of Europa: a machine that holds the key to the final human destiny.
It is called "The Singer" for the eerie tone it emits. An artificial intelligence built eons ago, it may ultimately solve the mystery of the vanished alien races responsible for the birth and development of humanity. But after decades of war, the hostile nations of Earth care more for power than for knowledge. And now all that stands between the coveted Al and an all-out Chinese assault is a vastly outnumbered contingent of U.S. marines, dug in beneath the baleful red eye of Jupiter. As terrifying events light years distant begin to converge---with confrontation imminent and annihilation inevitable---a secret history of creation and doom must at long last be contended with...if humankind is to finally claim its glorious heritage among the stars.

Book Review "Luna Marine"

The book is called “Luna Marine” by Ian Douglas. If you use the Analysis: Void model for doing the review then you will need to examine each of the layers. The first layer is the political, the setting is 2042 (about 100 years from World War II) and the conflict is essentially a world war where the United States, Japan, and Russia are fighting the UN (UN-dies). The UN claims to have the world’s best interest and has unified all third world countries to their charter. The UN tries to make America bend and yield to its demands, hence the Marines. In the future the powerful positions are in space so it is no wonder the activity taking place can be found in low Earth orbit and the Moonscape. The religious layer shows us a fragmented and loosely organized framework of cults that believe aliens are gods. The technical layer feeds both the political and religious with new alien technology and artifacts. This book is well written and is the second in a Heritage trilogy. I highly recommend it, but start with the first book “Semper Mars”.

FSD

Customer Reviews

Great Military Sci-fi
Luna Marine is the second of three books in the Heritage Series, a well written trilogy that combines some excellent military fiction with an engrossing science fiction plot that borrows heavily from the speculative archeology in Graham Hancock's "Fingerprints of the Gods". The characters are interesting and multi dimension, the plot is imaginative and the dialog is gritty and realistic. Once you get started, these books are hard to put down.
The second book takes place in 2042, two years after the astonishing discovering on Mars described in "Semper Mars". Conflict rages on Earth between the US and the United Nations. When additional alien remains are discovered on the Moon, including a possible super weapon, the US Marine Corp is called upon to seize the technology before it can be exploited by scientists from the other side.

Book Three Better Be As Good
After waiting for quite some time I was very pleased with the book. I am starting book three and hope it is as good as the past two. This book was even harder to put down than the first. Overall I couldn't have asked for more.

A nicely written, engaging military sci-fi piece.
Not much to add to other reviews here, except for a little FYI: despite the cryptic pseudonim, "Ian Douglas" is identified as a certain William H. Keith ("Warstrider" and others) by the copyright. It actually sort of makes sense in retrospect as the young Marine hero of this novel, Jack Ramsey bears a certain similarity to the protagonist of the Warstrider series. Not a clone by any means, but some stylistic similarities in the character sketch are definitely there.

Book Review "The Dragon in the Sea"

This was a great read and I highly recommend it to all of Frank Herbert followers. He writes about the whats makes us tick. The difference between self will and God's will. Is anyone really sane? Well I like how he developed this story. I could not put it down, read from cover to cover. I consider this as one of Frank's pre Dune classics. He did it without, chair dogs, strong willed woman, no space ships, or aliens. He writes about four men on a mission under the sea.

FSD

By	Rick (Central Texas)

If you've read any of Herbert's works (Dune, etc.), you might realize that his endless but intriguing theme is what how people, economies, belief systems, ecosystems, etc. respond to potential extinction. His answer in each of his books with this theme reminds me of that line from Jurassic Park: "Life always finds a way." Having said that, *Under Pressure* is perhaps the smallest level at which he plays this game -- a small submarine whose mission it is to steal oil from an enemy country in a cold war several levels above what the U.S. experienced during the 1950s and 1960s. This might sound like a recycled sub movie plot, but don't be fooled by the premise. *Under Pressure* is more about how men bond...well, under pressure, and become something greater than they could singly. I read it first when I was in junior high, and I read it again earlier this year. It's amazing how quickly the book ends. The only thing that keeps it from earning five stars is what I've always considered Herbert's weakness -- characterization. He takes a whole book (sometimes more than a single book) to flesh characters out fully. Still, I heartily recommend this book because it deals with large themes and is better plotted than some of his more famous works.

Conflict (of the sexes)

I think I need to add a powerful woman. Frank Herbert always likes to use the Amazon type. He loves to work the power, sex, and even immortality in the woman character. The imprinter in "Chapterhouse" is an excellent example. I just want to create old fashion jealous and perhaps combine that with a power struggle based on the man’s character status. I will let the Digi tribe be the immortals. Ok, so what kind of woman will do the trick? Any suggestions?

Romance

Even a science fiction needs some passion to fuel the story. In most of my recent readings the romance runs in the background but on occasion it becomes critical to the plot. I want to use Nayla in the “having an affair” role perhaps with the young prince or better yet the slave. She needs to neatly tie in to either the political or religious power on the planet. Let’s make her Painters niece. She is loved by the prince but in love with the slave.

The Backdrop

In Ian's story "Luna Marine", the political environment is set in the year 2045. The United Nations has become a powerful entity that is at war with the United States. In my story, I would like to create a political system that is more like the past however set in an off-world environment. The ruling party or house is more or less a royal dictator that answers to the senate and employ's its political liaison however decides in its own best interest. I want to combine this with an unstable religious setting to create some conflict that will be the backdrop to the real science fiction taking place in the foreground.
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Politics

In the 25th century the interstellar Republic was made up of planets all within 100 light years of its center or origin which was called earth. The two party political system which served so many years ago was no longer effective and had been replaced by houses. Each territory was directed and represented by a house. The lord was nothing more than a figure head and each house had an elected political contingent.

Is there a God?

I often hear people say they don't believe in god because of all the pain and suffering they witness on earth. I was thinking about that this morning and have developed a response. First off, you have to understand that god is much like "The Force", it is insides us, it binds us to each other, it runs throughout all living things and the universe. There is something I like to refer to as "Gods Will". If you were to let go of an action the force that takes over, the end result could be considered god's will. However the self-centered human experience that takes control and presses "Self Will" with the desire for an expected result. This is where pain and suffering are found. Are you willing to let God determine events in your life?

Let it go, it takes practice.

Convolution

It is a convoluted task to really weave a good story that encompasses the complete background in a good science fiction story. The politics, religion, and culture are all too apparent in a book I am currently reading called "Semper Mars". The timeframe is around the year 2040 and the UN has become a soft enemy of America as other poor countries use the UN association as leverage to attack the United States abroad. This is great stuff, and as I continue to study is quickly becoming apparent that it is essential to any well written story.
In my story: Painter is making a visit to the slave quarters located in the palace depths. He needs to understand this power that the slave Durantis has, and how it can help the save the republic from the repeated attacks from the machine race called the Digi Tribe.

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The Pull In

What is it about some stories that pull the reader in within the first few pages? I just finished reading Frank Herbert's "The Dragon in the Sea". It had me hooked immediately and I read it cover to cover. That is a satisfying read for me. When I try to pin down what it is that hooks me it is a complex equation. I think it was the action. It started quickly without too much introduction and character development. He is able to spin it in on the go. It is important to get it out there early and then get down into the details latter.

Character Interaction and Personality

One of the many threads throughout the story is character development. As your reader progresses through he/she forms a relationship with the characters in the story. The reader might like, dislike, hate, or even want to love and protect the persona the writer has created. So the writer in essence gets to play god. Wielding that power means responsibility. How is it best done? My only knowledge in this area comes from reading and analysis. I often think that way do it best is to make a 3x5 card for every character adding a description and list or character attributes. This can be used with your story board to arrange direction.

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The power base and immortality

In every story there is a civilized structure to follow. In this case, there is a hierarchy and royal family. There is a palace and training courtyard. There are castes that define member's status. The king, the priest, the prince, the slave, and the mysterious Nayla all make up the beginnings or introductions. Each and every member needs to be described to some degree depending on the weight given to the character in the story.

The influence of the royal family on Quin was felt to only a few close surrounding planets. There were other powers great in the universe to be feared. The Digi tribe was an offshoot of the techno age when immortality was realized by the storage of digitized memories and experiences. The once 20th century Internet and been the foundation the millions and millions of memories were stored.

The church of Tau had their own brand of power base on the spiritual system once practiced by witch doctors and powerful tribal leaders on the early days of Earth. It was the self, the ego, the entity that makes the one, here was the power the Prince Alex knew could be unleashed as only Durantis knew how.

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