Mokka mit Schlag » Pop Culture

I had very mixed reactions to the Watchmen premier on HBO last week. On the one hand, it’s incredibly well done and I can’t stop thinking about it, much like I was obsessed with the original comic book when it first came out in the 1980s. On the other hand, I absolutely despise every single character in this show. No one, so far, is likable or sympathetic except for the family in the opening scene; and based on the closing scene I’m not sure they’ll stay that way in the present day. In the comic book Rorschach, Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, Laurie Jupiter, and Veidt were all interesting people with some good qualities. Yes, they were all deeply flawed in different ways, but I didn’t detest any of them (except the Comedian, and he was meant to be detestable). Watchmen was a story about good versus good, not good versus evil. Everyone in that story was trying to do what they truly believed was the right thing, and that was the horror of it all.

So far in the TV series, it’s the opposite. I detest everyone. This is a story about evil versus evil. There are no good people, just less bad people or people who are bad in different ways. It’s really hard to root for anyone.

That said, episode 1 answered a few questions I had about HBO’s sequel and opened a few more. In no particular order:
(more…)

I binged two teen-focused series while visiting my brother’s house this Christmas, Riverdale and Runaways. The difference was striking. Runaways is everything Riverdale isn’t. Complex, conflicted, imperfect characters who aren’t stereotypes in dramatic, not melodramatic, situations. It almost completely avoids monologuing. (Frank Dean does monologue his motivations at one point early in Season 2, a scene that is jarring only because it’s so out of place with the subtext and show-don’t-tell that reveals the other characters in the series.)

In many ways this show surpasses the comic book series it’s based on, especially when it comes to the parents, who were a little cardboard in the original. This show alone will get me to sign up for Hulu at least long enough to finish watching Season 2.
(more…)

Abyss & Apex has published my latest science fiction short story, “What Does a Time Machine Cost?” in their March issue.

This story will also be reprinted in the Timeshift anthology later this year. (Kickstarter now live.)

Fiction River has published my latest short story, “Holding the Door”, in their Editor’s Choice anthology:

(more…)

My latest short story, “Claim Jumpers,” has been published in Hyperpowers, Third Flatiron’s Summer 2016 anthology, guest edited by Bascomb James. This story should be of particular interest to economists and logicians.

Available DRM free on Smashwords and or DRM-encumbered on Amazon.

Lately I’ve noticed a meme going around spec fiction writer’s groups and conventions. “Isaac Asimov couldn’t get published today.” “Don’t model yourself after Asimov.” “Isaac Asimov was a bad writer.” Sometimes I hear this from the same writers who cite Asimov as one of the authors who got them interested in science fiction in the first place.

Yes, Asimov does not craft words as well as Bradbury (an author who does seem to be making the transition from genre to canon). No, he’s not as much of a page turner as Heinlein. Yes, his characters sometimes read flat compared to characters in more modern fiction. Certainly, like most authors of his generation he overly focused on men (with the really notable exception of Susan Calvin). Nonetheless Asimov did one thing really, really well. Better than probably 99% of pro authors writing today, and that is ideas.
(more…)