After ten months of a year which has obviously crawled out of some Smog Monster gestation pod to bring its despair and pollution to all mankind, November was actually pretty good in the sales department (which is about the only good thing I can say about this year):
- I sold my hard SF novelette “Galleon” to ANALOG. This is an exploration of artificial intelligence against a time-spanning background of galactic events. In addition to a number of things, it offers a unique sense of scale far beyond the average human lifetime. Out of my published works, this one dips furthest into the future.
- I sold my hard SF drama (and one of the most personal and painful stories I’ve ever written) titled “An Incident on Ishtar” to ANALOG.
- My quirky sci-fi mystery tale “Breaking News Involving Space Pirates” opens the current issue of Galaxy’s Edge, my fourth appearance in the magazine.
- I sold a hard SF military-themed story to Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.
- I sold my hard SF story “A Thousand Deaths Through Flesh and Stone” to Fantasy & Science Fiction. This is a fast-paced tale of vengeance, warfare, and identify, and is a core tale of my “War Hero” universe.
I’ve also received notice that two additional stories of mine (one epic fantasy, one horror-comedy) are at the final Thunderdome rounds of consideration with decisions to be rendered shortly. Even if they fall through, this was the best four weeks of my writing life thus far. This barrage of good news chiming on arrival to my smartphone was indeed the tonic my spirit needed.
In case the Avengers ever comes calling, I’ve got my shirt…
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So I finished binge-watching Penny Dreadful and was pleasantly entranced by the entire series. The interlacing of gothic classics was done to perfection. The writing was top-notch, imbuing every moment of dialogue with power and significance and bringing out the very best in the cast. Rory Kinnear was my favorite for his performance as the Creature; he exhibited seamless transitions from sensitive soul to remorseless killer in a way that felt natural for the character—not an easy feat. Eva Green is right up there at the top as well; as my friend Cortney so perfectly stated, Green isn’t afraid to “get ugly.” She embraced her character in all moments beautiful and grotesque, committing so totally to each instance, from pensive moments in a leper ghetto to the body-twisting contortions of demonic possession. Dorian Gray (from one of my very favorite gothic/decadent novels) was, to my surprise, perfectly done; Reeve Carney brought the necessary depth and sociopathic streak to a role that could easily have been a vapid and pretty face. His “Listen to me child” speech nailed the heart of the character. Even Josh Hartnett has never been better.
Was it perfection? Few things are. I wasn’t a fan of the Satan/Dracula dichotomy. I felt the final episode dropped the ball with regards to several story-threads (none more than the Vanessa Ives conclusion, and the Creature’s story petered out in disappointing fashion). And sure, there are fleeting moments of melodramatic excess that threaten to derail the show (though to be fair, the original penny dreadfuls in Victorian England were not exactly models of restraint or subtlety either.)
Yet despite these little warts, I was happily engrossed in its world and left wanting much more.
Where could the show have gone?
Lots and lots of places. (If you haven’t seen it, please skip to the next asterisk.)
Obviously we would need to pick up the Jekyll/Hyde character, which was well cast and pregnant with potential. For a main villain, I’d have introduced a Mummy character in Season 4, tying in a bit of Richard Marsh’s The Beetle with Sir Malcom’s youthful exploits in the land of Pharaohs. For a longer arc villain, bring in the Great God Pan in all its mind-shredding horror, along with his devious and entrancing acolyte.
For Season 5? Maybe Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto and a touch of Vathek.
I’ve detailed my fascination with the gothic classics in an older post.
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I attended my first Escape Room event, titled Escape 101, in Danbury CT. Together with seven of my friends, we were locked into a room and given 60 minutes to solve its puzzles. I wouldn’t dare reveal the challenges we faced. Suffice to say it was well-constructed and tense. We moved like a well-oiled machine, scattering to examine every square inch of our prison and continually communicating our findings. We escaped… with 5 minutes and 43 seconds left on the lock.
Jay Novella (far right) looks like he doesn’t quite believe that we escaped. Cue the Inception music.
And we did end up going to the rather extraordinary Headless Horseman, America’s #1 hayride and haunted houses (plural). As my friend Andrea Stewart keenly noted, this was obviously my favorite hayride on the Citadel.
