April 30, 2008
Baby Got Book
Remember Sir Mix-a-lot's "Baby got Back"? Of course you do, you saw Shrek and Friends. Well creative Cheryl Klein has rewritten the lyrics and given us "Baby Got Book". Hilarious!
HT: Eos Books Blog
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April 14, 2008
Book Review: Growingold with B.C. by Johnny Hart
* Genre: Humor, Comics
* ISBN: 1933160683
* ISBN-13: 9781933160689
* Format: Paperback, 195pp
* Publisher: Checker Book Publishing Group, LLC
* Pub. Date: November 2007
FYI: Unbeknownst to many, Johnny Hart was an unapologetic Christian, as this article in a 1997 issue of "Christianity Today" clearly shows.
While I didn’t grow old with B.C., I was able to appreciate Growingold with B.C., the very last compilation of the famous comic by Johnny Hart before his death in April 2007. A retrospective of the comic over the fifty years of its publication, Growingold with B.C. is a short overview of the comic during its award winning run.
The first part of the book looks directly at the characters and the people or situations that inspired Hart to create them. Some of the characters (including Wiley and B.C. himself) were caricatures of real people and real friends of Hart. Others, such as Fat Broad, allowed Hart to replicate humorous situations he encountered in real life. B. C. was always a comic that looked at the real world and found the humor within. As some of the fifty years of personal pictures of Hart that are included with the book show, this was the way that Hart saw life, and he seemed to be one of those people who never passed up an opportunity to make people laugh.
The second part of the book looks at B.C. retrospectively beginning with a few of the early comics, and moving decade by decade up until Hart’s final few strips in the new millennium. Along the way, the awards Hart gained for B.C. are highlighted and the editors (some of whom were his family, who helped finish the book after he passed away during its development) picked out some of the funniest and some of the most poignant of his strips from a fifty year span. As you read through the strips, you can tell that the compilation of these was a labor of love.
Although at times Hart’s humor was either above my head or simply made no sense, for the most part B.C. was a strip of wit and satire. I always particularly enjoyed some of Hart’s subtle wordplay (a lot of which he attributes to his wife’s help) as culminated in the strips containing Wiley’s Dictionary. Hart would take a mundane word, and give it a definition that makes sense, but was clearly nothing like we expected it to be. Such wordplay, when I read this strip everyday in my local paper, engendered in me a love of words, and the subtleties and funny inconsistencies that are rampant within them. What Lynne Truss has done in recent years with her book on grammar Eats, Shoots, and Leaves Hart has been doing for fifty years.
And of course, there are the other strips. Some were poking fun at current culture, some at relationships, and some just oddly humorous for no apparent reason. Hart had a gift for seeing the absurd in life and weaving it into his strips. He wasn’t always funny, and Growingold with B.C. is enough of a cross section that at times readers will read strips that seem to fall flat funnywise, but for the most part Hart was a master of wit. And what took many words for others to make funny, Hart could do with a few sparse pictures and a couple well placed words. This is a collection for any B.C. fan, teachers of English will find it useful, and people who enjoy wit will find this a great introduction to Johnny Hart’s work. Growingold with B.C. isn’t overfull of strips and has just the right amount of material to allow the reader to enjoy them without tiring of them.
April 11, 2008
E-Zine Review: Flash Fiction Online
Flash Fiction Online is a brand new e-zine, edited by Jake Freivald, which publishes fiction of 1,000 or fewer words. They began publication in December of 2007. But even though they are a young e-zine (with possible print anthologies on the horizon) their commitment to meet the SFWA guidelines for being a professional market, results in Flash Fiction Online publishing work by some known authors, such has James Van Pelt, Carl Frederick, and Bruce Holland Rogers, that really doesn’t have place in other short fiction magazines due to the extremely short length of the stories.
Now, some of you reading this review are probably skeptical about the ability of any author, no matter how good a writer, to tell an entire story in under 1,000 words. I was until I read the April Issue of Flash Fiction Online. In the span of twenty minutes, my preconceived notions about story were challenged, and I was able to read five great stories. And each one took no longer to read than the average blog post.
Readable online in either HTML or PDF format, these stories are laid out clearly, in a readable format, with clever and excellent illustrations by R.W. Ware (who, by the way, is also a tattoo artist) to add to the panache of the e-zine. Additionally, each story has a short bio on the author, with a clever author photo that I think underscores the whole concept of the fiction being “flash” in nature. The entire site is very polished and professional, and even is set up with an RSS feed to allow readers ease of access to the stories.
In the April issue of Flash Fiction Online, Freivald collected five stories that were humorous in their content, playing on the fact that this month begins with April Fool’s Day.
“The Dyslexicon”, by Carl Frederick is a story written about a dyslexic robot that can’t fulfill his function due to his dyslexia. The story is populated by spoonerisms, homographs, and misspellings. In way, this story is both funny and sad, as it allows the reader to get a glimpse into the world of dyslexia sufferers. But it isn’t preachy, just funny. Sometimes the word equivalencies are hard to discern, and Fredrick might have done better to only play around with the words most obviously incorrect to readers.
“How Not To Stage a Play in the Aftermath of a Zombie Apocalypse” by Kurt Bachard wonders what life would be like after a zombie apocalypse in the world of the theatre. A “woe is me” type of story, it says an awful lot while using a true economy of words. In keeping with the economy of words, Bachard’s explanation of the directors special situation and retention of his humanity might have been better integrated into the narrative, rather than being separate paragraph. It is out of place and makes the narrative slightly choppy. Any theatergoer or amateur thespian will enjoy Bachard’s wry humor about the world of the stage.
“Call of the Wild, Line Three” by Dalton Keane was the funniest of the five. The idea of stockbrokers as a pack of wolves is apt and funny. Keane has transposed the hierarchy of the animal kingdom onto the world of business, and it results in a hilarious story. Of the five, this one was the only one that made me laugh out loud.
“Fast Living” by Hank Quense, while only a quarter of a page in length tells a story that (no insult intended) is like stories you read in the Reader’s Digest humor sections. The story may be short, but the punch line brings a smile to your face. It's a type of story called a Feghoot.
“Quiet Please” by Kevin Scott is a reprint of a classic story that qualifies as flash fiction, but that is now in the public domain. Each issue of Flash Fiction Online includes on of these classic reprint stories, many of them from authors that are obscure. “Quiet Please” was probably the most difficult of the stories to read, and I had to read it twice in order to get why the story ended the way it did. Once I did, I thought it a neat, quirky story about language barriers from the November 1961 issue of Word of If.
Flash Fiction Online is one of the few e-zines I plan to read regularly. The length of the stories makes it ideal for reading on the small screens of internet capable cell phones, iPhones, and any PDF capable eBook reader.
Additionally, Freivald is not overambitious, and doesn’t try to print every story he receives. This allows the reader to get a few good stories at the beginning of each month, but without having to sift through a lot of stories to find ones that interest them. Plus, you don’t have to wait overlong to get new stories (and a few articles) since publication is monthly. Lots of e-zines publish either bimonthly or quarterly, and it is often easy to forget check them. Flash Fiction Online has made that easy. I hope they are able to stay in business, as their unique style of fiction is a breath of fresh air, in the overburdened Internet.
With the easy to use RSS feed, I can read these short stories at the office on my coffee breaks. They only take five minutes or less to read, no matter your speed, and you can step back into your office work not feeling guilty about taking your employers time, but with the smile and feeling of refreshment that fiction lusually brings to your face.
Jake Freivald and Flash Fiction Online are providing an excellent service to all fans of short fiction, and I encourage you to take advantage of it.
Artwork © 2008, R. W. Ware
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Would you Survive the Moon?
This was actually a fun test, as it pits your wits against what NASA says about survival on the moon. I would likely die, based on this score, although I had the right idea on a few things. Now, if I'd been stuck in another dimension with only these things, I could have kicked some serious butt!
April 10, 2008
April 04, 2008
Book Review: The Dead Guy Interviews by Michael Stusser
*Genre: Nonfiction, Humor, Trivia
* ISBN: 0143112279
* ISBN-13: 9780143112273
* Format: Paperback, 304pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
* Pub. Date: September 2007
Michael Stusser’s Dead Guy Interviews first appeared in the pages of the trivia magazine Mental_Floss. Drawing on the known, the rumored, and his sense of humor, Stusser writes fictitious interviews with noted personalities from history. People like George Washington, Genghis Khan, Chairman Mao, Nikola Tesla, Mae West and others all sit down for an “interview” with Stusser.
He has now collected and expanded his interviews in a collection. The Dead Guy Interviews is a hilariously presumptuous collection of interviews with 45 dead personalities. Often focusing on the flaws or the rumors, the interviews give the reader interesting trivia (sometimes little known) about these people.
Each interview begins with a short description of the life of each person, noting their achievements, and whatever else made them famous. Reading these is essential, as much of the interview builds on these facts.
As part of the interviews Stusser writes, he also includes descriptions the actions of the people as they are interviewing. Genghis Khan breaks something, or Tesla electrocutes himself. These add flavor and character to the words of the interviews.
These interviews are quite funny, although Stusser often has to resort to rumored sexual escapades or being caught in lies to create the humor. Of course, that is not unlike most journalists of today, always on the prowl for a wif of scandal. I thought that the interviews often focused too much on these rumors, rather than relating interesting facts in a creative way.
Stusser also has a liberal bias. When he writes the interviews of known conservatives or prudish figures of history he will often mock those positions. Yet when encountering promiscuous or progressive figures of history, his interviews support their "progressive" views. For instance in the interview with Darwin this exchange is made:
MS: Let’s talk about the theory of “creationism” –
CD: Bible stories.
MS: Well today they’re calling creationism, Intelligent Design. Any thoughts on that label?
CD: I guess I’d have to say that any intelligent designer that made 99.9 percent of every organism he or she designed go extinct, couldn’t be all that intelligent.
MS: You really did anger some Bible Thumpers with your theory of evolution.
CD: I can understand that. If you want to keep telling the Adam and Eve story – creationism - it’s hard to allow for evolution. We either got put on the earth by god as fully formed people, or we evolved from something a little less human.
Obviously, Stusser is using the contention provided by Darwin's theory to create humor, its just that often his humor is often at the expense of more conservative type people. Even though I am a conservative myself, I would laugh at these becasue I know that Stusser was just trying to be funny, but I still think he needed to poke fun at the liberal types a bit more too.
But Stusser does find ways to mock everyone he “interviews”. All of these famous people from history have strange habits, weird escapades, and pithy words that can be mocked. And it is funny most of the time. Where possible, Stusser draws on famous quotes from the figures to add a grain of truth to his interviews. Wilde’s interview often answers with lines from his book and letters, or Lincoln’s has a smattering of the Gettysburg Address. This adds a truth and veracity to the interviews that lets you know that Stusser did some research and the facts as he relates them can be trusted.
This is a book I recommend that all fans of trivia read. It is funny, creative, and an unusual way to get your daily dose of trivia. Teachers might find this a useful tool in the classroom; although they will need to read it carefully to censor those things they believe their students are not ready for. As I said, rumor and innuendo provide the basis for a few questions in each interview. It is also just a good (dare I say it?) bathroom book. Each interview is only 3 to 5 pages long, and makes for a more interesting read than the wife’s Southern Living.
Fans of Mental_Floss and lovers of trivia will enjoy this book. I hope Stusser does another. After you read it, look for more in the pages of Mental_Floss. Or check out these that were posted online to celebrate the release of the book:
[Video] Sigmund Freud (This one really has a lot of sex in it, but then it is Freud after all.)
[Text] Queen Isabella I
[Text] Benjamin Franklin
[Text] George Washington
[Text] Huey Long
[Text] Charles Darwin
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March 13, 2008
Robin Hobb on Author Blogging
Robin Hobb, whose books we all know and love, wrote this essay/story about authors who blog.
I'm with her mostly. I do think that writers should be measured and careful should they chose to begin blogging.
Although I enjoy the blog posts of many of my favorite authors like Jim C. Hines, Bruce Cordell, Paul S. Kemp, Tobias Buckell, GRRM, Joe Abercrombie, and others, I would much rather have more books out of them than blog posts. Yet I look for there thoughts in my RSS reader everyday, and enjoy them.
If they can do both, as a fan, I'm grateful. But should they choose to agree with Hobb, than I support that. I would rather they use their energies on their writing and raising their families than in pleasing me.
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March 07, 2008
Life after Death by Powerpoint
I've been working with Powerpoint a lot this week. So in order to add some levity (and relieve my frustration), I needed to watch this video.
March 06, 2008
Book Review: Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
* Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Humor
* ISBN: 0441015999
* ISBN-13: 9780441015993
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 320pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (ACE)
* Pub. Date: February 2008
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre is one of those novels that you thoroughly enjoy reading. You wouldn’t tell serious fans of speculative fiction that you did, but you would spend an entire evening devouring it anyway. Billed as “romantic science fiction” by its author, Grimspace tells the tale of Sirantha Jax, a woman with the genetic ability to move ships through grimspace, a hyperspace equivalent. The story begins with Jax being held by her superiors for a crime she doesn’t remember committing, a crime that killed nearly a hundred people, many of them senior diplomats. In walks March, a rouge agent who is looking to recruit people who can move through grimspace. Casting fate to the wind, Jax escapes with him, setting her on a collision course with the Corp (her former employers), a company that holds the monopoly on grimspace transport.
Tightly woven and moving at breakneck speed from page one, Grimspace is funny and fun. Aguirre writes a novel that would translate onto the big screen as a romantic comedy. March and Jax’s relationship has echoes of the Han and Leia relationship in Star Wars. While they begin their relationship hating one another, through a series of circumstances out of their control, a romantic relationship is built. It is a classic story of two people hating each other only to find they truly love each other when their relationship is really put to the test.
The story is told entirely from Jax’s point of view, and the internal monologues that Aguirre gives her heroine are absolutely hilarious. From the beginning of the novel till things get rather serious towards the end, I found myself smiling at Jax’s reactions and comments to the events unfolding around her. Like Elizabeth Bennett’s thoughts on Mr. Darcy in Pride on Prejudice, Jax’s comments on March and the other characters have a wry wit and humor.
The pacing and the humor of the story allow the reader to gloss over a lot of its faults. For instance, Aguirre fails to explain how a society as advanced as the one she has created is unable to isolate the genetic component necessary to create people who can travel through grimspace. This inability is important to the plot, but Aguirre failed to make me believe that such a thing would not be possible. (Though perhaps this may be answered in the sequel, Wanderlust, due out in September of this year.)
Aguirre is also writing a novel that owes a debt to the bodice-rippers of the romance genre. There is one very explicit sex scene (I’m always uncomfortable with this, but it was easy enough to gloss over). Additionally, since it is a novel centered on romance, many of the interactions and actions of the characters have something to do with love and romance. One character lost her female lover, another (evil) character uses women, and of course there is the sexual tension between Jax and March.
Where the novel succeeds is in creating a fun, action filled story that I would imagine would translate well to the big screen. It has all the elements of an action movie. The heroine is broken but is also extremely strong-willed and gifted. She is no weak woman to be pushed around by a stronger man. The action is almost non-stop, and the characters move from one danger to another, with each successive danger being more and more difficult to survive. And finally, the climax is satisfying, as the evil people get their come-uppings and the heroes ultimately triumph.
Grimspace is the novel you have on your shelf when you need a little excitement, a little romance, but don’t want to work to hard to enjoy it. With the caveat that this is a romance novel in every sense of what that genre has come to mean, I recommend it as an exciting story of humor and action.
Grimspace is just pure entertainment, and anyone looking for a novel of depth or philosophy would do well to avoid it. But if you need a no-brainer novel with a funny and appealing heroine, Grimspace will give you what you are looking for.
March 03, 2008
February 26, 2008
February 08, 2008
Book Review: Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines
* Genre: Humorous Fantasy
* ISBN: 0756404428
* ISBN-13: 9780756404420
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 343pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (DAW)
* Pub. Date: May 2007
Jig Dragonslayer has a new quest in Goblin Hero. This time, an ogre has come looking for his help. This is, of course, the last thing the diminutive Jig wants. Nonetheless, spurred on by his god, Tymalous Shadowstar, Jig finds he must accept the ogre’s request. But fighting pixies is not Jig’s idea of a good time, and in this sequel to Goblin Quest Jig must once again rely on his pusillanimous goblin brain to save everyone (including hobgoblins!) from the pixie invasion into the cavern complex the goblins, hobgoblins, and ogres call home.
Jim C. Hines uses his unique brand of humor to tell this funny adventure tale. Jig is his old self, a reluctant but effective hero. Yet Hines has also branched out and given the reader some new characters to enjoy. There is Grell, the ancient goblin nursery maid; Braf, the dumbest but biggest goblin in the lair; Veka the wannabe goblin wizard; and Slash, the hobgoblin with a strange fear for a warrior. Each of these characters will pluck a chord with readers of fantasy, and once again Hines has played with the tropes of fantasy to create a humorous look at what it means to be a hero.
Jig is once again the reluctant hero that readers of Goblin Quest will remember. But the new character that makes this story fun is Veka. A reverse Jig, Veka very much wants to be a hero, although she would like to be a wizard hero as opposed to Jig’s warrior one. As the story progresses it is Veka’s character that changes the most. She grows in her understanding of heroism throughout the novel, even with several misfires along the way. Watching the interplay between Jig and Veka, and the two different ways they approach saving the lair, made this book have more depth than its “humorous fantasy” label would imply. Hines is exploring the theme of heroism in Goblin Hero and Jig and Veka’s approaches show that often “there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s.”
Still, it is hilarious. Jig has a common sense approach to solving problems. This, when placed in juxtaposition to the idiocy of his fellow goblins, creates a lot of laughs. There is also the slapstick humor, especially when Braf hurts himself with his own weapon, or when Grell smacks the idiot goblins around with her canes. Smudge continues to play his role of sidekick to Jig, and the little fire-spider gets him out of one particularly tight situation.
Hines still suffers a little bit when it comes to describing the space around his characters. By that I mean that it is not always clear who is standing where in relation to whom, and that it is not always clear which tunnel is branching off from which and in what direction. This was especially a problem for me in the first bottomless pit scene. I was not clear on how the action was flowing, and had a difficult time picturing the events in my mind. This was because I wasn’t sure who was where and whether tunnels were above or below one another, where the bridge was in relation to the action, and so on. Of course, other readers may have no problem, or be able to fill in the blanks with ease. For me, this was a difficult scene to enjoy, because I simply didn’t understand the spatial relationships.
And some readers may not find Hines humor all that humorous. You have to like the sort of “woe is me” attitude of Jig. Since you know all will turn out well in the end (it is a heroic fantasy, after all) you can smirk and smile at Jig’s complaints. I find this kind of thing funny, but others may not. Hines humor is not the satire of Terry Pratchett, or the sardonic thoughts of Robert Asprin. But if you enjoyed Pratchett’s Going Postal or Making Money the main characters share a lot in common, and the humor plays out similarly. Of course, Goblin Hero is a funny look at the dungeon crawl, whereas Pratchett is satirizing the postal service and banking world.
I recommend that any reader who thinks this book is interesting first read Goblin Quest. It will be necessary for the reader, as the back-story is an important part of Jig and Veka’s relationship. Goblin Hero is not one of those sequels that can be read without reading the first book. Besides, after reading those, you will be set up to read Goblin War the third book in the series, set for release in March. (Read an Excerpt) I do recommend that you read Jim C. Hines work. He is funny, his characters are ones you'll easily identify with, and his story has all the elements that make a dungeon crawl fun. The Goblin Series is a fun interweaving of a Dungeon and Dragons setting, Mark Twain’s wit, and Steve Martin’s slapstick all from one gifted author, Jim C. Hines.
Which Discworld Character Are You?
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Which Discworld Character are you like (with pics) created with QuizFarm.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You scored as Lord Havelock Vetinari You are Lord Vetinari! Supreme ruler of Ankh-Morpork! Cool, calculated, and always in control. You graduated from the assassins guild, but failed a course on stealth and camouflage, because the professor never saw you there (even though you attended every class). You always seem to know what everyone is thinking, and after a conversation with you, people feel that they have just escaped certain death.
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February 06, 2008
Never Challenge a Goblin to a Game of Rakachak: An Interview with Jim C. Hines
Jim C. Hines, author of the incredibly witty and full-of-pizazz* Goblin trilogy (Goblin Quest, Goblin Hero, and the forthcoming Goblin War, all from DAW books), talks with me about Jig Dragonslayer, writing, and a favorite role playing session.
Grasping for the Wind: Why is humor such an important part of a story?
Jim C. Hines: Without humor, the goblin books could get awfully depressing. Goblins are the underdogs. They lose nine out of ten battles, and they live short, violent lives. If I wrote the stories without humor, it would be nothing but a band of depressed emo goblins singing the blues while they wait to die. You need humor and ... let's call it pluck. Jig is far from thrilled about his situation, but he never gives up. The goblins are always scheming and plotting and defying their role as the underdogs of fantasy. That makes them a lot more fun to write about, and hopefully to read as well.
GFTW: Jig Dragonslayer is a self-deprecating character. His own heroism comes as a surprise to him. Why do you think causes characters like Jig to resonate with readers?
Jim: We might enjoy the superheroes, the unstoppable barbarians and uber-powerful wizards, but I think we can relate more to characters like Jig. He's the Charlie Brown of fantasy. Watching this poor runt fight and somehow manage to survive is a lot more inspiring than when Rambo-with-a-Broadsword does the same thing.
GFTW: Smudge is a non-speaking character, but he has a lot of personality. Did you find it difficult to make sure he didn’t drop out of the story?
Jim: I love that fire-spider, but there were a few times when I'd finish a scene and realize I had completely forgotten about poor Smudge. He's a great character, but he's also limited in what he can do, plotwise. I mean, there's only so much for him to set on fire. But Smudge is important, not only as a kind of organic Zippo lighter, but also because he's Jig's best friend. I might forget about Smudge, but Jig never will.
GFTW: How would you describe your writing process?
Jim: Ugly? Unstable? Painful? My path from idea to finished manuscript varies a bit depending on the story, but usually it involves a few outlines, a first draft of pure chaos and confusion, and several rewrites to finally figure out what the story's about and get it down right. But it works for me.
GFTW: Where did the idea come from to do the Monday LOL books at your blog?
Jim: Heh ... I had just discovered Cat Macros, and I was bored, so I decided to slap a few captions on books by myself and my friends. I posted them on LiveJournal, and the reaction was very positive, so I did a few more. If something makes people grin or laugh, I tend to keep doing it. I think I've done about 40 books all total. It's gotten to the point where I'll meet people at booksignings who say, "Nope, I've never heard of the goblin books. But aren't you the LOL Book guy?"
GFTW: Why do you choose to write primarily fantasy, even though your mainstream fiction has been well-received?
Jim: I haven't actually written a lot of mainstream stuff. One novel and a handful of short stories. I'm proud of them, but I have a lot more fun with fantasy. I love the magic and the wonder. I even love the clichés, the dragons and the shiny swords and the wizards. There are other genres and subgenres where I might be able to make more money, but I figure you've got to write what you love.
GFTW: You have said that you are taking a break from the Goblin stories to work with different characters. How are The Stepsister Scheme and the other Princess novels different from the stories of Jig?
Jim: The princess books are a bit more serious. Not completely serious, of course. I'm basically writing a mashup of fairy tale princesses and Charlie's Angels. But the characters are more complex, and I think the stories have a little more depth and power. Also, it was kind of fun to switch from Jig the anti-warrior to one of my princesses who's skilled enough to kill an armed and armored warrior with a spoon.
GFTW: You attend a lot of conventions. What do you like most about attending?
Jim: I mostly do the local conventions, for budgetary and family reasons. I've always been a bit of an introvert, so the first few times I went, I felt completely overwhelmed. These days, having met some of my fans and fellow writers, I love the cons. I love getting together with "my people," being able to make goofy jokes about Babel fish or quote Firefly with people who actually get it and don't look at you like you're from another planet. Watching your book sell out in the dealer's room is a nice bonus, and a good boost for the ego.
GFTW: You have mentioned that you used to play role playing games quite often. What is your favorite role playing game memory?
Jim: A friend spent a long time planning a major battle between our party and a Kraken. We had our little charms to let us breathe and move underwater. Each player was allowed to choose one other magical item for the battle. So after watching the rest of the party hack, slash, and fireball this huge monster to little effect, I swam up and tapped it with a wand of polymorph. Kraken fails magic resistance and saving throw, and I turn him into a butterfly. The gamemaster glares at me, hate searing the air between us, and mutters, "It drowns." I'll leave it to the reader to figure out which scene was partly inspired by that game.
GFTW: Any parting thoughts?
Jim: If a goblin challenges you to a game of rakachak, just say no. Trust me on this. Thanks for the great questions. I hope folks enjoy the books!
Keep the belly laughs coming by reading Jim's blog.
Also, read a pdf excerpt from his forthcoming novel Goblin War, set for release in March 2008.
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*Jim says it is okay for me (a man) to use the word pizazz, "but the Code of Testosterone requires that you grunt a few times and scratch yourself while doing so. Belching is optional :-)."
(Author Photo © Craig Hebert)
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February 04, 2008
Book Review: Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner
* Genre: Comic Fantasy, Short Fiction
* ISBN: 0971360855
* ISBN-13: 9780971360853
* Format: Paperback, 276pp
* Publisher: Fantasist Enterprises
* Pub. Date: May 2007
Laughter, they say, is the best medicine. But what kind of laughter? Nervous laughter? Belly Laughter? Or that sinister chuckle we all at least feel at someone else’s misfortune? Well, what ever kind is medicinal for you, you will likely find it in Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy and anthology of humorous tales of swords and sorcery edited by W. H. Horner. Horner was also the editor of Sails and Sorcery, and anthology which this reviewer called a bit of a “mixed bag”. But this collection, while published earlier, is a much stronger assortment of stories.
The introduction, by John Moore, gives a history of humorous swords and sorcery going back to Don Quixote. Unbeknownst to me, Don Quixote was a parody of a swords and sorcery romance akin to Le Morte D’Arthur. Moore concludes from the fact that if the first great European novel was a satire of a fantastic romance, that “all good fiction, after all, needs a reality check.” That fiction, and fantasy in particular needs life is more than the gloomy picture that the genre’s gloomy seminal works portray (think LOTR). I agree, for life, after all, is about humor as much as it is pain and tragic death.
All of these twenty-four stories are quite funny. All though not all are laugh out loud uproarious, they still bring a smile to your face, whether due to the ridiculousness of the situations, the satire, or the witticisms of the authors.
“Beerwulf” is a take on Beowulf from the monster’s point of view. When the armored and boastful hero steps into the lake containing the monsters he ends up having to be saved by them. Lawrence C. Connolly has written monster characters we can root for.
“A Different Shade of Knight” by Jason S. Ridler has a protagonist who finds favor with a small god of chance. This is unfortunate, as chance is a fickle god, and coincidences don’t always end in your favor. The humor of this story comes from the strange coincidences that occur to create highly improbable (even for a fantasy) situations.
“Assassin’s Playground” by A. G. Devitt has some hapless heroes misapplying half learned techniques to rescue a fair maiden. The humor is slapstick, reminding me of a Steve Martin film.
Not really a funny story, but an okay mystery is “Mistress Fortune Favors the Unlucky” by Eugie Foster (an Atlantan like myself). I think that with mention of bondage, flogging and other S & M sex references the author was trying to create humor through shock. This didn’t happen for me, although I did enjoy the mystery story that was presented.
“A Lesson in Heroics” reminds us that all actions have consequences. Especially when you fool with an old granny. The supposed heroes learn that true heroism requires chivalry, not just killing or capturing the bad guy. The moral lesson of Jeremy Yoder’s tale was great, and the little old lady who is the centerpiece of the story is a hilarious no nonsense woman.
A great story is Paul Crilley’s “The Ice Maiden Speaketh” a mix of letter format and narrative, Crilley’s story is creative. What happens when an evil overlord gets a midlife crisis? Does he write the “Dear Abby” of his local magazine? Crilley has a modern psychological twist to the evil overlord story.
Sometimes a friendship can be pushed too far. And sometimes the sidekick just doesn’t get his due. “Keep Coming Back for More” is more sad and anguished than truly humorous. Margaret Ronald didn’t really draw any laughs from me, although I did enjoy for the poor narrator’s cynicism about his constant resurrections, and ignoble deaths.
“The Great Thrakkian Rebellion” by Megan Crewe is a quick look at the reason why goblins, orcs and trolls so often work for evil overlords. Well, because they are just so easily led. A funny look at life in the trenches of an evil overlord’s minions.
“Always Read the Fine Print” is a good lesson to learn, especially in magic. L. L. Donahue’s magician just wants to give his niece a dancing bear. But dabbling in forbidden magics is forbidden for a reason. A satisfyingly ironic “spell gone wrong” story.
Sometimes even the characters know how the story is going to end. “Heard It” by Dale Mettam cuts right to the chase. Worldly-wise heroes know that one quest is often just the same as any other one. Mettam’s heroes have “Heard It” all before. A sideways look at the ridiculousness of the epic quest.
“Crossing Swords” by Murray J. D. Leeder was one of the stories I was looking forward to in this anthology. What does a sentient sword do? After all, they live for millennia, and even get used by some pretty idiotic heroes. A funny look at what sentience does to something without the ability to do anything for itself.
K. D. Wentworth is a notable author but I felt that “Hallah Iron-thighs and the Hounds of Hell” was rather a dull tale. The protagonists end up adopting a hound of hell, but Wentworth does little really with the possible implications of that, instead opting to move in a different and only slightly related direction. What humor there is comes from the interchange of Hallah and Gerta but beyond that the story wanders and ends abruptly.
Pity the poor famous person. “There’s Only One Dakon the Mighty” by Elizabeth K. Hopkinson picks up where most heroic tales leave off. After all, heroic success is bound to draw admirers, journalists, and politicians out of the woodwork. But heroes are not cut out for administrative work as Dakon finds out. But using doubles to meet all your obligations can be problematic too, as Dakon finds out. Sometimes, someone else is a better you. Confusion creates the hilarity of this story.
Jim C. Hines’ “Goblin Hero” is a must read story of course, especially because this gives us the back story for the relationship between Jig the Goblin and Smudge the fire-spider. Although this story was not as strong as the novels, it still had the same self-deprecating hero. I didn’t enjoy this story as much as the novels, mostly because I felt that based on the character first introduced in Goblin Quest that the events related seemed out of character. Jig’s behavior and actions are out of sync with the character we meet in the first novel. I would have made more sense for the Jig of this story to behave this way after Goblin Quest but not before.
“No Shit, There We Were” by Michael Brendan redeems the city watchman. Sometimes the heroes are just bullies with good PR. A story told from the city watchman’s point of view. Although this story wasn’t particularly funny, it was a nice look on the other side of the law from that of most fantasies.
In “But Before I Kill You….” Lindsey Duncan explores the need for love that even evil overlords have, especially if they are female. While I thought Duncan’s writing was a little rough (her sentence structures were a little annoying to me) her story was cute and sweet giving rise to a laugh of delight at the love sickness of her character. Duncan's story finds that while evil folk might be powerful, their own human nature is often even more powerful.
When working as a team, one should really work to get along. But the characters of “An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern” by Michael Turner fail to remember that truth and so end up cornering the righteous instead of the villains. This story panders to the men who enjoy their female heroines topless. Its one fight scene is a bit contrived, and the story has only a little forced humor.
In a standard sword and sorcery, the female characters are often buxom ladies in chainmail. But what happens when one culture finds what we consider ugly is in fact beautiful? How would that make the buxom ladies feel? Melissa Lee Shaw explores this in “Delilah’s Dames in Nomadsland”. As a man, the utter ridiculousness of finding an overweight small-breasted woman with a mustache beautiful made me laugh, especially when tanned, buxom women were there for the offing. (I know; I’m a sexist.) Shaw really turned the female character of sword and sorcery trope on its head, without changing the superficialities we love.
“The Atrocious Head-Bashing Troubadour” by C.M. Huard shows us the humor we can find when the mighty are brought low as a result of their own folly. The hero in this tale is plain-speaking, and reminds that reader that the powerful are not always the smartest of people.
“The Voice of Reason” by Ken Brady is another story about music. When a solitary woman has her solace interrupted by a goat headed man’s singing, she resorts to violence. But actions have consequences, as this lady finds out.
A heartwarming story of a landlady’s care for her favorite tenant is “In the Shit” by Barbara Davies. There are a few humorous moments (such as when the buff barbarian turns out to be gay) but for the most part this is just a nice little tale about helping out a friend in need.
Having successful fathers is not always easy, especially when he is a famous wrestler and you are a shrimp. But in “The Wrestler’s Apprentice” by Stephen Castillet, the hero uses brains over brawn, especially when he discovers that his companion on his quest is a metal man and a barbarian who has an allergy to violence. An eminently readable story, the jokes are obvious, but I have to say I really enjoyed the digs at union politics.
In the same vein as “The Ice Maiden Speaketh” is “The Order of the Crimson Tunic” by Kevin N. Haw. Written as the expendable henchman writing home to his mother, Haw provokes laughter by making the letters lighthearted while the henchman’s comrades fall around him one by one. This is a humorous ending to the dungeon crawl, and when the henchman wins out the end, a little cheer came from my lips.
“Just Temping” creates an alternate dimension story. The female protagonist is a human from our world and time, but the setting is a fantasy world. Susan Sielinski has her protagonist temp in for the position of evil overlord. But sometimes, doing your job well can land you in a lot of trouble. Sielenski’s story was the most creative and humorous of the bunch, and as the closing story, it let’s the reader wrap up the anthology on a high note of laughter.
I can honestly say that all of the stories were fun to read. The anthology is a solid collection. It was nice that while there was sexual innuendo it never devolved into explicit description, allowing the stories to maintain their lighthearted humor. And even though some of the stories use cursing, it was usually cleverly funny and appropriate or even accurate as with Barbara Davies’ In the Shit. (The solution to the problem of the story is literally going through a sewer and up into a water closet.)
All of the stories used different kinds of humor to produce the same reaction – laughter. Anyone who reads these twenty-four stories will find several that resonate with their preferred type of humor, whether satire, uncomfortable situations, a little potty humor, or a fine wit. I highly recommend this anthology for a good laugh when life has got you down. A dose of Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy and you’ll cheer up in no time.
The entire list of stories is below:
“Beerwolf” by Lawrence C. Connolly
“A Different Shade of Knight” by Jason S. Ridler
“Assassin’s Playground” by A. G. Devitt
“Mistress Fortune Favors the Unlucky” by Eugie Foster
“A Lesson in Heroics” by Jeremy Yoder
“The Ice Maiden Speaketh” by Paul Crilley
“Keep Coming Back for More” by Margaret Ronald
“The Great Thrakkian Rebellion” by Megan Crewe
“Always Read the Fine Print” by L. L. Donahue
“Heard It” by Dale Mettam
“Crossing Swords” by Murray J. D. Leeder
“Hallah Iron-Thighs and the Hounds of Hell” by K. D. Wentworth
“There’s Only One Dakon the Mighty” by Elizabeth H. Hopkinson
“Goblin Hero” by Jim C. Hines
“No Shit, There We Were” by Michael Brendan
“But Before I Kill You...” by Lindsey Duncan
“An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern” by Michael Turner
“Delilah’s Dames in Nomadsland” by Melissa Lee Shaw
“The Atrocious Head-Bashing Troubadour” by C. M. Huard
“The Voice of Reason” by Ken Brady
“In the Shit” by Barbara Davies
“The Wrestler’s Apprentice” by Stephen Castillet
“The Order of the Crimson Tunic” by Kevin N. Haw
“Just Temping” by Susan Sielinski
January 18, 2008
They're tiny, they're toony...
Remember coming home after school to watch Tiny Toons? (Everyone remembers its daughter show Animaniacs.)
While I was home-schooled, I still did the afternoon cartoon thing on occasion. They often would do music overlays of visual imagery, giving the voice actors a little break. One of my favorites used the song Istanbul (not Constantinople) by They Might be Giants.
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