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The Next Seventeen....

Stayed at work late, but now I'm home and I've got the next SEVENTEEN days off. I think it's the first time I've had so many days off in a row since I (reluctantly) returned to full-time employment in early 2007.

Seventeen days (nine of which will be spent snorkeling, sunning and sipping mai tais in Hawaii). So many possibilities....

Of course, I did bring some work home with me. One news item that I need to write for the website, and one rather large project -- but shouldn't have to devote too much time to them. And with any luck, I'll actually do some writing of my own (fingers crossed for that).

Twitterpated. Twitless? Twitter-iffic? Oh, that one's bad....

Okay. Giving Twitter another try.

Just. Can't. Resist.

(I wonder if there's some sort of tractor-beam effect built into its code; it's just sucking me in. Resistance is futile.)

Review: Human.4.

On Sunday I read Human.4 by Mike A. Lancaster. It was a rainy, gloomy, bookreading kind of day, and I was looking for something that I could read in only one or two sittings and that fit in with the current dystopic/apocalyptic/a-world-less-than-I'd-like-it-to-be and (often) YA genre bent. Human.4 was the perfect choice given those criteria.

First: The synopsis, courtesy of Amazon.

Kyle Straker volunteered to be hypnotized at the annual community talent show, expecting the same old lame amateur acts. But when he wakes up, his world will never be the same. Televisions and computers no longer work, but a strange language streams across their screens. Everyone’s behaving oddly. It’s as if Kyle doesn’t exit.

Is this nightmare a result of the hypnosis? Will Kyle wake up with a snap of fingers to roars of laughter? Or is this something much more sinister?

Narrated on a set of found cassette tapes at an unspecified point in the future, Human.4 is an absolutely chilling look at technology gone too far.

Human.4 is a delight for science fiction enthusiasts and philosophers alike. Given that I am both of those things, it's not at all surprising that I very much liked the book.

I have to say, I really admire Lancaster's ability to tell an engaging and thought provoking story that I think is sure to capture the interest of teens (and those who still remember what it's like to think like a teenager), geeks (Yes, I am), the curious, the skeptics, the cynics and anyone else who enjoys digesting a little bit of technology, reflections on the human condition and unanswerable questions in their daily reading.

The narrative structure is creative and works well with this particular story. The narrative voice -- that of a teenage boy, Kyle, as "listened to" from cassette tapes recovered at an undetermined point in time, really is done well. Lancaster combined the structure and voice to good effect, helping distance the reader (in a good way) from whatever is considered present time in the story. It also helps to convey the philosophical questions that are the centerpoint of the story: Who, and more importantly, what, are we (meaning humans)? Where do we fit -- or not fit -- in the world? What power do we have to affect our collective future?

The story told in Human.4 is a little like the art of hiding vegetables in spaghetti sauce (of which I may or may not be guilty). Lancaster tells a compelling and seemingly straightforward story that might be about a lot of things: talent-show hypnosis stunt gone wrong, an alien invasion, technology gone too far, humans as catalysts for their own evolution.

But there's more to it than that. The questions the Kyle asks might be asked of my life and worldview, or anyone else's, in the here and now. And those questions are not only open-ended, but in many cases downright unanswerable. Often they lead only to more questions about such topics as what it means to be human, what are humans made of, what are the possibilities that you're not who -- or what -- you think you are, where do humans go from here (whenever and wherever "here" is), what if there are other "versions" of humans that pass by us (and us them) countless times with every passing moment.

You know, nothing too intimidating.

Of course, at this point you might be saying, "Yeah, right. Not intimidating in the least -- maybe not the book for me." So here's where I remind you about the spaghetti sauce. In the same way that random vegetables can be cut up and, along with the more traditional peppers and onions, put in something like kid-friendly spaghetti sauce, so Lancaster tosses so many philosophical meanderings into his teen-friendly sci-fi adventure.

There's no reason for readers' eyes to glaze over, courtesy of a barrage of questions that are the content of philosophy courses on college campuses everywhere. The questions are there; you just don't taste them. Err...notice them. But you will find after reading the story that such questions are buzzing around your brain, even if only faintly. Bonus, if you like to think about such things. Or, added ingredients and exposure to something out of your particular ordinary that will give the story an added depth that may only be experienced, not examined.

Okay, I'll shut up about the philosophy. And spaghetti, and such....

I do want to mention that Lancaster very cleverly uses his narrative structure also to help further the mystery. For those familiar with cassette tapes, you'll remember that there was a couple-second stretch at both the beginning and end of every tape on which nothing could be recorded. Kyle apparently doesn't take this into consideration, so the words he meant to be the beginnings and endings of all of the rcordings are lost -- a fantastic device used to fuel speculation about what details were contained in those missing and forever-lost minutes.

I could go on but from here I'd only wind up dropping spoilers. I'd rather leave it to the prospective reader to discover on their own what makes this story so unique and so compelling.

Recommended.

Of note: Word is, Human 1.4 is due out in January 2012. As of yet, no details about the story have been released.

Done: The Night Strangers.

I wrote a mid-read review of this story in my previous post, so this will be short and sweet.

Despite numerous interruptions (work, Christmas shopping, work, soccer practice, work, doctor appointments, work, etc.) I finally was able to finish The Night Strangers.  Everything I wrote before about the author's narrative style and the quality of the prose remains true. 

As for the story itself...ultimately, it was satisfying.  I don't mean that to sound underwhelming, because really it was very good.  It doesn't make my Top-5 Favorite Novels of All Time list, but I definitely would recommend it to others. 

One of the things that makes it such a good read is that the storyline -- particularly the ending -- is unpredictable.  Mid-way through, and all the way up until the very last word, I found myself making guesses about the tack Bohjalian would take.  But I was wrong.  In addition, I also found myself predicting how a number of different scenes would turn out, and again I was wrong.  Every time.  I was wrong on all counts, and that's a definite plus.  If I can predict one chapter in how a story will end, then I feel a little cheated -- and disappointed.  Any author who can keep me guessing and unable to see where it'll all end up when the last page is turned is an author whose works I'll return to.

And another thing: Bohjalian draws this story out as if it could really happen.  It's a thriller, indeed.  There are elements of the paranormal, a question of sanity, something akin to magic, another something that might or might not be witchcraft (in the traditional spells and potions sense).  But Bohjalian blends these things into the story in such a way that they don't cause that unappreciated mental jolt that reminds me I'm reading a work of fiction.  Flat out, the story seems possible, believable.  Odd, perhaps.  Unlikely, even.  But still plausible.   

No spoilers, but as I have already written, the ending to this story -- for me, at  least -- was full of twists and turns and, generally, the unexpected.

All in all, a good read.  Recommended.

Mid-Read Review: The Night Strangers.

I'm currently reading The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian and am thoroughly enjoying it.

Bohjalian's prose is economical and accessible. It's neither so simple as to seem uninspired or pedestrian, nor so complex as to sound contrived or to leave me reaching for a dictionary. There's a very natural, almost heartbeat-like rhythm to the words in my head as I read along.

I also find it interesting how Bohjalian changes up the narrative not only through the use of alternating narrative point of view but also via the use of more than one style of narrative voice. The majority of the story is told in third-person -- a great deal of it from the perspective of Emily, wife of Chip (the protagonist). Some is told also (in third-person as well) from the perspectives of Emily and Chip's daughters, Hallie and Garnet, and a handful of other secondary characters. Bohjalian mixes it up, however, when the reader experiences Chip's point of view. He writes it in second-person, which has the effect of really making me, as a reader, easily imagine that Chip's thoughts and actions are mine. It makes me sympathize more with Chip (who's an extremely sympathetic character to begin with) than I think I would were I to read his story "from a distance" in the third-person. It makes his emotions and thought processes altogether more immediate and intimately understandable than those of the other characters.

I'm only about halfway through, but the story is compelling and fresh. It's a fantastic blend of an examination of family dynamics in the wake of a personal falling out after a public disaster; of the struggle to overcome personal demons and post-traumatic stress disorder; of the blurred lines between hallucination and the (possibly) paranormal; of the friction between newcomers and an isolated, close-knit community; of the hint of magic as a common thread in everyday life.

I'm sure I'll blaze through the rest of this story pretty quickly. I'm to that point where abandoning the book (Kindle) is altogether impossible, and leaving it for any stretch of time unlikely. It's that downward trajectory, the rollercoaster gaining speed. It's the end in sight and wanting to get there quickly, but at the same time wanting to savor the twists and turns along the way. All too soon it'll be over, and I'll be on to the next.

Speaking of the next, my "to read" list is fantastically long. So many choices! So many must-reads....

I should mention also that although Bojhalian has written a number of books, the only other of his that I've read is Midwives, which also was very good. It's been a long time, though, so I can't say much more about it than the story was gripping, the idea terrifying in a "life takes a wrong turn" and "good intentions are criminalized" kind of way, and as with the Night Strangers, I very much enjoyed the prose.

Print Pubs: The Writing's On The Wall (Unfortunately, Not Where Everyone Can See It Yet).

Well, tomorrow I'll learn the fate of our two magazines.  Turns out there was quite the uproar from a number of other departments when my department (and by "my department," I mean "I") announced that we had been told the magazines would have to go online-only after the (upcoming) January issues.  There was enough of an uproar, actually, to prompt a review of the proposal at the annual board meeting -- which took place this past Friday.

So, the decision's been made...we just don't know what it is yet. 

Quantum physics, anyone?  Every possible outcome still exists...at least from my point of view.  Just sayin'....

Miss One Day of Work, and the Publications Department Goes Up in (Digital) Smoke.

Have been checking work email this morning, and saw that my boss had called a meeting for 9:30 am -- somewhat random; definitely out of the ordinary.  So, I emailed one of my colleagues and asked for an update.

Apparently, the upcoming issues of both of our print magazines will be our last.  After this, it all goes online.

This is HUGE, a major move for our department.  And for me?  I think a good thing.  No more print deadlines.  I'm not sure how things ultimately will shake out, but I do think that this will mean that we are able to publish a far greater number of articles/stories/features/news items on the Web.

Wow.

Forecast: 20 Percent Chance of Writing.

So, I'm working from home today.  Which is not so much to say that I'm being paid to perform my job whilst sitting in my bed with sleeping kitties lying around and keeping my feet warm, as it is to say I'm taking a vacation day but working on said day because there still are deadlines and I still must make them.

I have a number of interesting assignments due in the next week: two research feature stories, a summary of recent (single-disease specific) research for one of the magazines, and a more generalized summary of recent (multi-disease) research that will be made into a glossy, photo-filled fundraising "update" for a specific target audience (big donors).  There are several other things I'm working on -- online news items, publicity for a new round of grants and anything else research-wise that should happen to fall out of publication-land and demand my immediate attention.

I have off every Tuesday through the end of the year because I had to burn up my remaining 2011 vacation days.  This will be my third, so far.  Unfortunately, though I'd planned to use some of this time to draft some of the novel (need a working title, so that I won't have to keep referring to it as "the novel"), this hasn't happened.  Or, you know, I'd have reported it here.

Anyway, I plan to get one of the aforementioned major work projects finished and emailed in to my boss today.  It shouldn't take all that long, but then I have to pick up the boys after school and take them to the doctor's office for their check-ups.  Then, of course, Sammy has soccer tonight.  And then there's dinner, at least one load of laundry, getting the boys ready for school tomorrow (and me for work) and everyone into bed.

Hopefully I can squeeze a little bit of writing in, even if I have to do it longhand in a journal while at Sammy's practice.  I'm going to place the odds of that happening at around 20 percent.  And that's probably far too generous.

First Words.

I read somewhere recently that “easy reading is hard writing.” I’d like to add a corollary to that sentiment: You can’t read what isn’t written. Viz., no writing equals no reading. And we can’t have that....

I’ve thought and I’ve talked far too long, to myself and to others, about the stories I want to write. Stories that people I don’t even know will want to read. It’s time to pick up a pen, put fingers to keys, make notes on napkins and on the iPhone — whichever is most handy at the moment — and finally put some black marks on white backgrounds.

The stories are waiting to be told. They’re already in my head; I just need to let them out. I've Been saying all this for years now. Saying; not doing. The writing that is my income, the thing I do for a living (if you can call paycheck-to-paycheck a living) has sapped my creativity, my time, my energy and my motivation.

But it’s been coming back, some of it. I’ve been feeling for months now that the time is drawing near. Time to begin writing again. Writing stories. My stories. The way I want to tell them. I miss storytelling. I want to do it. I feel compelled to do it for so many reasons. And, so I will. One way or another. Posted here will be updates, word counts, word-block relievers, book/movie reviews, plot thoughts…whatever it takes to keep me on track.

I guess I’ve pretty much written here all that needs saying….

Post No. 1 - fait accompli.