Niteblade News

When I lucked into an ARC of Robert J. Sawyer’s book “WWW: Wake” I knew exactly what to do with it. I lent it to the guy who first introduced me to Robert J. Sawyer’s work and asked him to review it for me. Wake is scheduled for release April 7, 2009.

Wake Review by Aaron Clifford

Wake, the first novel in the WWW (Wake, Watch, and Wonder) series by Robert J. Sawyer is exactly like the 1995 movie, Hackers.  For many people this may seem like a ludicrous idea, comparing a high gloss techno teen angst movie with a novel crafted by a celebrated author and futurist, but for me the only thing that separates the two is time and perspective.

Let me explain.

When Hackers was released over ten years ago I was living a carefree life; revelling in the joys of an untamed internet, spending my free days off drinking Jolt Cola, rollerblading, and playing video games.  It just so happens that Hackers was about a bunch of teens who spent their days rollerblading, drinking Jolt Cola, and… You get the idea.  Needless to say I felt as if someone had somehow reached into my brain and slopped all of my favorite things onto the big screen.  I couldn’t believe my luck.

Fast forward to present day and set Wake down in front of an older, slightly wiser, me and you will notice the same effect.  Now I am interested in the internet and social networks, the ever growing influence of the Chinese market on Western business and technology, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence.  Wake takes all of these things and wraps them in the plausible and touching story of Caitlin, a blind girl who is given the opportunity to see for the first time.

The WWW (Wake, Watch, and Wonder) series is described on Sawyer’s blog as being “about the World Wide Web gaining consciousness, and the relationship humanity builds with this nascent global brain”.  But “gaining consciousness” doesn’t really cover the feeling that Wake conveys, it felt more like I was witnessing a birth.  Caitlin’s struggles to perceive an unfamiliar world are mirrored by the nascent intelligence of the internet.  By the end of the first book in this trilogy I found myself not wondering if this could actually happen, but why it hadn’t already.

Reading Wake was like meeting the movie I used to get drunk with on the street thirteen years later to find that it is all grown up, doing well for itself, and has a lot more interesting things to say about the world we live in and the nature of intelligence.  I can’t believe my luck.

~*~

Aaron Clifford is a writer who sees the world through pixellated panes.  Almost every free moment is spent online as an avid blogger, independent game developer, and developer of web applications for writers.  Aaron has written for Niteblade before (”Lady” in the June 2008 edition) and is also a two-time National Novel Writing Month winner.

I’ve got another review, and it’s for another great poetry chapbook. This one comes in a numbered limited edition as well, and I am such a book geek that I find that a big selling point. Of course, what matters most is the content, so let’s get to that.

I should start off by stating my bias. I’ve been a fan of Greg’s poetry ever since I first saw “Hall of Shadows” and “The Pumpkin Man” in my slush pile over a year ago. Greg has a fantastic sense of humor, a dark side and a wonderful talent for balancing the two. That has never been as obvious to me as when I read Bits and Pieces.

Bits and Pieces is a chapbook of Greg’s new and selected poetry. It’s published by Spec House of Poetry and is, in my opinion, a must-have collection. Between the eighteen poems collected within Greg manages to cover a vast amount of the dark poetry spectrum. Some poems made me laugh, some caused a groan and a few gave me shivers. One or two pieces managed to evoke all three reactions at once.

Each poem tells a story and a great many of them lingered in my mind long after I’d shut the book and walked away. They lack pretension and will appeal to those who love poetry as well as to those who are usually frightened by it (the form, not the content). Greg’s style is one that reaches out to the uninitiated and slowly draws them into his world.

One of my favorite pieces was an unnamed three line poem that begins, “Danny, Danny” which haunted my thoughts for hours after I read it. It niggled at my brain and whispered about the possible implications of the last line; none of them good. Another favorite was “The Monster in my Closet” which takes a common childhood fear, turns it on its head and dresses it in drag. It made me laugh out loud when I read it. I may even have snorted.

In short, I highly recommend Greg Schwartz Bits and Pieces to all readers of Niteblade because if you like what you read on our pages you will adore it. Honest.

I’ve decided to start doing short book reviews here in the blog — I get more review requests than we have space for in the ezine and I hate having to turn anyone away. My first review is of a chapbook by Brandy Schwan, published by Apex Book Company.

Catacombs and Photographs is, as far as I can tell, the second book from poet Brandy Schwan, and it is well worth reading. When I first saw my copy I thought ‘Oh, a portrait of the poet for the cover. Well, this is doing to be a self-indulgent pile of crap’ but I was wrong. SO wrong. The cover, an image of Brandy looking sweet and slightly mischeivious is actually the perfect juxtaposition for the poetry inside.

The pieces in Catacombs and Photographs alternate between being darkly erotic and eerily child-like. I know that sounds like it could make for a creepy combination, and it does, but only in the best possible way. My favorite poems, were I to chose, would be “Mary Jane” and “Illness of Alice”.

“Mary Jane” is a slow, sensual poem that gave me shivers. I love the atmosphere of it and each word fit in its place perfectly, like a pearl. There were echos, even here, in this hauntingly erotic poem of the child-like aspects I mentioned earlier; repetition much like in the children’s chant ‘Rain rain go away’, but it worked. It worked and is awesome.

“Illness of Alice” is one of those poems that sticks with you long after you’ve finished reading it. It is, quite simply, brilliant. When I first read it I liked it, its theme, its mood. Then I re-read it and caught things I’d somehow missed before. Things that seem completely obvious the second time through, things like the posies… I won’t say more lest I ruin the poem for you, but it is beautifully wrought and well worth reading again and again.

The way I understand it Catacombs and Photographs will be released on Halloween as a limited edition signed chapbooks (only 100 will be released). If I didn’t already have a copy I’d be the first in line to pre-order…but I do. You don’t though, do you?

Catacombs and Photographs

Niteblade has been honored with it’s first review — that I know of anyway.  Peter Tennant took a look at the magazine and wrote about what he thought for his latest Web Whisperin’ column.  I encourage everyone to go take a peek.  The review of Niteblade is down near the bottom, but I read the whole column and I’m glad I did — I learned about some other awesome and eerie stories I otherwise would have missed.

Thank you Peter