Author Archives: Paul Starr

Neal Stephenson: Reamde

After his forays into lengthy historical epics (The Baroque Cycle) and mind-blowing alt-universe SF (Anathem, incidentally one of my favorite novels ever), the beloved-of-unix-geeks Neal Stephenson’s next novel is surely an anticipated one. And given the author’s recent ambitions, it’s a surprisingly conventional thriller. It’s a good one, of course—possessed of an intricate and tightly-woven plot, Reamde puts its author’s talents on full display. But it’s even less “speculative” than the book from Stephenson’s oeuvre it most resembles, Cryptonomicon. The plot of Reamde centers around a virus created to extort virtual currency from players of a fictional MMORPG called T’rain, and the unexpected, spiraling consequences that ensue when the virus affects a different group of criminals whose ambitious are secured the old-fashioned way: By the application of violence. Reamde is at its best when describing the creation and management of T’rain; Stephenson’s deep understand of the ways different species of nerds relate to each other lends these passages significant verisimilitude; they’re also generally very funny. I hope his next book has more nerds being nerds, and fewer terrorists being terrible people.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

  • Indomina Releasing
  • In theaters September 2
Wuxia film legend Tsui Hark’s latest effort is a movie and a half crammed into one insane feature. Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is an adorably strange picture—part historical drama, part murder mystery, and part fantasy epic—with perfunctory helpings of romance and court intrigue. The eponymous protagonist is enlisted by his old political rival, Empress Wu, who is about to be crowned as China’s first female emperor. She needs him to discover who is assassinating key government officials, who have recently developed a nasty habit of spontaneously combusting. The Empress doesn’t entirely trust Dee, though, so she sends her right-hand woman (who happens to be quite the badass martial artist herself) along to keep tabs on the crafty detective. A series of delightfully absurd plot complications ensue, including (but not limited to): Exploding pill bugs, talking deer, and a guy named “Donkey Wang.” In the end, Detective Dee becomes a surprisingly affecting tale of a man’s complicated relationship with the politics of his nation, and is absolutely worth the trip to the theater, if you’re lucky enough to live in a city where it’s playing.

What it Feels Like to Flop

Screenwriter Sean Hood talks about what it feels like when your film’s opening weekend is a dud:

You make light of it, of course. You joke and shrug. But the blow to your ego and reputation can’t be brushed off. Reviewers, even when they were positive, mocked Conan The Barbarian for its lack of story, lack of characterization, and lack of wit. This doesn’t speak well of the screenwriting—and any filmmaker who tells you s/he “doesn’t read reviews” just doesn’t want to admit how much they sting.

Read the whole thing. The conclusion is the best part.

Indie Labels’ Stock Incinerated in London Riots

Billboard reports on a terrible piece of collateral damage in the ongoing rioting in London:

A London warehouse containing stock for a number of U.K. independent labels — including XL Recordings, 4AD, Beggars, Domino and Rough Trade – was destroyed by rioters during a third night of unrest in the British capital.

Other affected companies include Sub Pop, Memphis Industries, Vice Records, and Ninja Tune.

Tragic.

Embassytown

China Miéville made his name with the Bas-Lag series of gritty, weird, off-putting, and also incidentally brilliant fantasy novels. He then followed that up with a YA book, then a restrained, contemplative murder mystery whose genre trappings were so faint as to have legitimate crossover appeal. Next came the urban fantasy piece, a wild-eyed and unrestrained flail of a novel about squid-gods in London.

And so now with Embassytown, Miéville has finally ventured into unadulterated science fiction. And his freshman entry into the world of spaceships and aliens is a grand and affecting one, surprising nobody.

The novel takes place entirely in the city from which its name comes. Embassytown is a city on the world of Arieke, a planet on the edge of human-explored space. It’s the sole human-occupied territory on a world otherwise controlled by the Hosts, the sentient, twin-mouthed species native to Arieke who speak in chords and with whom communication is only possible via specially-bred and -trained human Ambassadors.

And that’s about all that should be said regarding the novel’s content. A series of genuinely shocking surprises await the reader, each one dependent on the careful worldbuilding that’s preceded it, so it’s worth meeting the bulk of the text unspoiled. Unspoiled it shall remain.

The book is functionally a memoir; one woman’s account of events that are mostly out of her control, all the way up until they—triumphantly and movingly—aren’t. It is also a novel of linguistics and epistemology, of what it means to be able to say something is. It is leisurely and and thoughtful right up until it becomes rushed and jarring and violent. With Embassytown, China Miéville only further cements his position of one of the best and smartest authors working in genre—any genre—today.

Anya’s Ghost

When looking for places to start with indie comics, you could do a lot worse than checking in on alumni of the storied Flight anthologies; if you’re especially lucky or discerning, you might find yourself inclined to pick up Vera Brosgol’s debut graphic novel, Anya’s Ghost.You should probably go ahead and heed this inclination; Anya’s Ghost is excellent. A charmingly compact bildungsroman that’s equal parts teen flick and ghost story, Ghostfollows one Anya Borzakovskaya, a first-generation immigrant from Russia who’s just trying to fit in at the middling private school she’s being forced to attend. She falls down a well and makes the acquaintance of the spirit of a girl murdered nearly a century earlier, who takes it upon herself revitalize Anya’s social life (or unlife?).Anya is a charmingly real heroine, who sulks, slouches, and smokes her way through much of the story. Her refreshing sullenness rings true, but Brosgol adroitly keeps Anya on readers’ good sides, and by the book’s end, everybody’s learned and grown a little bit; surely the hallmark of successful YA. Finally, it must be said: Anya’s Ghost would make a great movie.

The New Kid goes to Hollywood

Paramount has announced what might be its next animated feature:

After tasting success with its first non-DreamWorks Animation-produced animated film Rango, Paramount is jumping into the medium again with New Kid. The project is an adaptation of an online comic from Penny Arcade.

I’ll admit I did not see this one coming at all. The New Kid, despite being a only a single page, was always one of my favorite bits the Penny Arcade guys ever did.