(1) An Al Hirschfeld signed lithograph of the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew is for sale by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society.
This a signed limited edition (127 of 375) print originally owned by science fiction fan legend Marty Gear. The lithograph shows the cast of the Star Trek the Next Generation TV Series and was commissioned by cast member Brent Spiner (Commander Data) with many given to the cast and crew of the show during the show’s original run as gifts…. This hand signed numbered print was dry mounted and framed by Marty Gear in a silver frame with glass and was bequeathed to BSFS in Marty’s will. It is in perfect condition. We are offering this item for $1,495.00 plus tax and shipping.
(2) “(Almost) Every SFF Adaptation Coming to Television and Movie Theaters!” compiled by Natalie Zutter at Tor.com.
Thanks to Game of Thrones and Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, we’ve entered a golden age of sci-fi and fantasy properties being developed for film and television. It seems that nearly every network and studio has snatched up the rights to old and new classics, with a bevy of projects in production or premiering in the coming months. We’ve compiled a master list of every SFF adaptation currently in the works, from American Gods to Y: The Last Man. And surprising no one, prolific writers Neil Gaiman and John Scalzi each have a number of projects in varying stages of development.
(3) The fourth installment of Superversive Blog’s interview with Ruth Johnston, author of Re-modeling the Mind: Personality in Balance, is titled “Culture War Post 4: The War Over Archetypes!”
L. Jagi Lamplighter poses the questions in this series described as “Speculative Fiction meets Jung.”
Q: So the group that is interested in exploring gender roles and seeing them as less restrictive probably loves books like Ancillary Justice or Left Hand of Darkness, which do just that. In fact, it was probably a major factor in Ancillary Justice winning the Hugo in 2014.
A: If there’s one thing the two sides in the Hugo controversy agree on, it’s that the most important thing about Ancillary Justice is not the story itself but the way it used pronouns to obscure gender. Everyone is “she” until the narrator has a reason to identify male or female. It’s explained in the story as just part of the narrator’s native language which, like Chinese and Turkish, doesn’t specify gender in a normal sentence. The narrator, writing in English, is forced to make gender choices in every sentence, so instead just uses “she” for everyone. But I had to read some of the story to understand the thing about language, because when people talk about Ancillary Justice, they elevate the single pronoun to such importance that it’s like the story was really just about obscuring gender. If they liked the story, it’s because at last we’re disrupting mental assumptions that gender will always be visible. If they didn’t like the story, it’s because obscuring gender became more important than whatever was happening.
So that’s a great example of the wider culture battle interfering in science fiction and crowning a winner in what might otherwise just be a dispute about literary taste. Once it’s connected to the wider question of how we, in real life, see men and women, then it’s about life and death, good and evil. It’s like they’re saying, “If you don’t like this story, maybe it’s because you want to suppress the “‘other’.” Those who didn’t like the story respond in defensiveness: “well maybe if you like the story, it’s because you care more about message! You just want to disrupt society.” Now it’s no longer about literary taste, it’s about hurting people or destroying the culture, and things “just got real,” as they say. There are pre-existing political sides to take, and these sides are ready to swing into action even if they don’t care about science fiction or fantasy.
(4) From a website devoted to Joyce Carol Oates — “Into the Void: Lovecraft and the World Fantasy Award”.
Into the Void: H.P. Lovecraft and the World Fantasy Awards – a twitter conversation with… https://t.co/O6EsNLilRb pic.twitter.com/MtTBRy3ZMc
— Celestial Timepiece (@PoisonedKiss) November 11, 2015
Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Fossil-Figures” from the collection The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares won a World Fantasy Award in 2011. Her story collection Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque was a finalist for the collection award in 1995. The award itself is a bust of H.P. Lovecraft.
At the link is a Twitter conversation about the news that the Lovecraft statue will no longer be used for the award.
(5) The publisher of Castalia House, Vox Day, would like everyone to know the firm is doing well.
Two simultaneous #1 bestsellers isn’t bad, especially when you only publish one book each month.
It’s also worth noting that in the Military Strategy category, Castalia House currently publishes five of the top 40 bestsellers.
(6) Kate Paulk, never known for her economy of prose, could have distilled today’s Mad Genius Club post into this sentence:
And yet, when I pointed out that our dear anti-Puppy friends were behaving like the Nazis did, complete with examples and quotes, I was horrible, just absolutely horrible.
(7) But this is a strange field. John Scalzi wrote a post reassuring the original Sad Puppy, Larry Correia, that when it comes to book tour audiences, “Size Matters Not”.
I’ve been actively touring novels since 2007, when Tor put me on tour for The Last Colony. Since that time, across several tours, I’d say my largest tour event had several hundred people at it, and my smallest event had… three. Yes, three. I was at the time a New York Times best selling, award-winning author, and yet three people showed up to a tour event of mine. And they were lovely people! And we had a fine time of it, the three of them and I. But still: Three.
Because sometimes that happens. And it happens to every writer. Ask nearly any writer who has done an event, and they will tell you a tale of at least one of their events populated by crickets and nothing else. Yes, even the best sellers. And here’s the thing about that: Even with the best sellers, it’s an event often in the not-too-recent past. Every time you do an event, you roll the dice. Sometimes you win and get a lot of people showing up. Sometimes you lose and you spend an awkward hour talking to the embarrassed bookstore staff. Either way, you deal with it, and then it’s off to the next one.
Also, tangentially: the dude on Twitter trying to plink one off of Larry because of the size of his event crowd? Kind of a dick. …
And then those seven or eight or forty or however many people will go home feeling valued by Larry, and they’ll keep buying his books and keep recommending them to friends and others. Because that’s the point and that’s how it’s done. The value of doing a book event is not only about who is in the crowd that day. It’s the knock-on effect from there — building relationships with fans and booksellers, and benefiting when they talk you up to friends and customers and so on….
(8) It really must be National Pat Your Puppy Day, because George R.R. Martin claimed to have found a silver lining in the Hugo disaster:
Last time I talked about some possible nominees for Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. This time I want to focus on Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. In other words, best television episode. (No, not officially, but that’s what it usually comes down to, and let’s ignore the silliness of nominating an Easter Egg or an acceptance speech from the previous year’s Hugos).
I was no fan of the efforts of Puppies to game the Hugo Awards last year. I don’t think I have been shy in my opinions on that subject. But I will give the Puppies this much — their efforts did break the decade-long hold that Dr. Who fandom had on the nominations in this category. I have no problem with episodes of DR. WHO being nominated, and indeed winning, mind you… and the Doctor has won plenty of times in this category over the past decade… but when four of the six finalists are from the same category, that strikes me as way unbalanced and, well, greedy. The Doctor’s fans love their show, I know, but there is a LOT of great SF and fantasy on the tube right now. Nominate DR. WHO, by all means… but leave some room for someone else, please.
(9) Even S. T. Joshi got some love today — in Black Gate’s post “New Treasures: The Madness of Cthulhu, Volume Two, edited by S.T. Joshi”.
The reason his stock is still flying high is because Black Gate’s review of Volume 1 is quoted on the back cover…
G. Winston Hyatt wrote:
Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness serves as the inspiration for many of the authors in The Madness of Cthulhu… it’s masterful in concept and at times in execution. A fusion of Antarctic adventure, science fiction, and early-modern horror, it not only offers chilling passages with an escalating sense of dread and isolation, but also constructs a world horrifying in its implications about mankind…
The second volume contains 14 brand new stories inspired by Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness.
(10) As SF Site News explains, “In 2014, SFWA developed an accessibility checklist for its internal events, such as the Nebula Award Weekend or the New York Reception. SFWA has now elected to make the checklist public and available to other events which may desire to have some guidelines.”
“Accessibility Checklist for SFWA Spaces” is now posted at the SFWA Blog.
The SFWA Accessibility Checklist is provided for the use of conventions and other gatherings who want to ensure that their event is fully accessible by all attendees.
The checklist was assembled by Matthew Johnson, Teresa Frohock, Peggy Rae Sapienza, Tanya Washburn, and Bill Thomasson.
(11) RedWombat in a comment on File 770.
Let us go then, me and you,
When the awards are nearly due,
Like shoggoths dissected upon a table;
Let us go, through eldritch winding blogs,
Muttering and wordy slogs,
Of those upset in one-line tweets
And those who pound the well-worn beats:
“PC censorship!”–a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question….
Oh, do not ask, “What the hell is that?”
You behold the bust of Lovecraft.In the room the fans go fore and aft,
Talking of H. Phillip Lovecraft.
(12) Glenn Fleishman visited Amazon’s new brick-and-mortar bookstore in Seattle to shoot some photos – and in the process caught a labeling error in the sf section where Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is listed as the 2015 Hugo Award winner. (It won in 2002.)
Discover more from File 770
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
Well, I’m one of the GoHs, so–yes!
You’re one of the reasons I am going.
You’re right about Valeria Richards being up there among the smartest in the Marvel U., but I somewhat discount her since she only appears in FF/Doom related stories. Probably because she’s only 2-3 years old (and in that old a body; this isn’t a rapid aging case. Although it’d be nice if she were written like her body was 2-3 and really needs to take a nap midway through the day and the like). I mean, Reed wasn’t taking her to Illuminati meetings on Take Your Child To Work Day or the like.
And as mentioned, while Kitty Pryde could’ve been developed as uber-smart, she wasn’t, peaking at “tv hacker levels of being good with computers”. She’s smarter than a lot of MU characters, but no one’s even considering her for Illuminati membership (unlike Beast, who went from smart to discovering cause of mutation smart to doubting himself in the presence of Hank Pym and Tony Stark to being considered their peer).
Darn, Iphinome, sorry to have missed you! And yay, Aaron! Looking forward to it!
As JJ noted, I’ll be at Chessiecon, although if you’re trying to identify me via hordes of adoring fans, you won’t succeed — the hordes will be surrounding RedWombat and Seanan. But I’ve posted my programming schedule on my blog, for anyone who’s interested. Mind you, it’s a small con. It’s not that hard to find people!
And for someone who mentioned being too shy — I am paralyzingly shy and always assume that it would be a dreadful imposition to think that anyone would want to talk to me. If I’m giving an appearance to the contrary, it’s because I’m putting on a good act because I know that people are even less interested in talking people who think no one wants to talk to them.
ETA: Also, if you know me from File 770 (or anywhere else), please say so — I’m not very good about keeping track of people’s multiple identities!
@rob_matic: (current graphic novel reads)
I’ve been catching up on the Witchblade collections from the big Top Cow bundle I got a couple of weeks ago; I’ve just reached the part where Sara’s had her baby and the Witchblade has split between the two wielders. (There are sixteen Witchblade trades in the bundle, not even counting the tie-ins. It’s about eighty issues’ worth of material.) After that, I’ve got an Army of Darkness bundle to check out, and maybe by then the big Marvel Secret Wars collection will be out.
@Redwombat Remember the group of people cradling copies of Ancillary Justice in their arms with forlorn looks on their faces? I was one of them.
Rosemary Kirstein’s The Steerswoman is still on sale for $0.99. But not for much longer, she says. Get it now!
@Vasha My problems with Acrobatic Duality, by Tamara Vardomskaya were:
Gur vqrn gung gurl’q whfg chg hc jvgu orvat fynirf vf uneq gb perqvg. Va cnegvphyne, vg’f uneq gb oryvrir gurl pna fyrrc jvgu bgure tlzanfgf (gurl’er abg cebuvovgrq sebz gung) naq lrg gurl’er haqre fhpu pbageby gung gurl pna’g nfx nebhaq gb svaq bhg gurve erny vqragvgvrf. Vg’f nyfb n chmmyr gung gurve pbaarpgvba jbexf rira jura gurl’er abg va gur fnzr ebbz.
Ancillary Justice was an incredibly rich story that ranged from issues of empire and colonization on the grand scale, and personal identity and going on after unbearable loss on the small, intimate scale. It speaks to the nature of love, and who you are when almost everything you are is ripped away from you. It talks about how regimes go to great lengths to secure their own power and go rotten from within. It talks about societies that consider certain types of bodies a raw resource, and certain types of minds chaff to be removed. It talks about how societies define humanity and humaneness, and the lines that are drawn about who qualifies. It talks about the human cost of constant economic growth. It talks about what occupation does to the occupied and the occupier, the banal pettiness, the empathy, the culture shock, the grand injustices. It talks about moments of ethical crisis, personally and on a societal level, and how the effects ripple outwards in unforeseen ways. It talks about duty. Seivarden and Breq’s every action towards each other is grounded in duty as an ennobling commonality that transcends whether or not they even like each other. It talks about justice, and how the survivors right the injustices that were committed by them and to them in the line of duty. It’s about taking loss that has cut you down to a fraction of what you were, and accepting that you can’t turn back that clock while at the same time growing into something new, something you were never meant to be; in some ways less, in some ways greater. It does this with spaceships and rayguns and distributed-consciousness AI, with explosions and dozens of planets with dozens of cultures and mind-wiped bodies in suspended animation for a thousand years, with interstellar empires and revenge and a lot of tea. That’s the story of Ancillary Justice.
The pronouns are not part of the story. They’re part of the style. They’re a minor but effective detail of worldbuilding, designed to make the reader feel they’re somewhere alien and slightly disconcerting, and they’re a minor but highly noticeable portion of the prose style, where they’re slightly more provocative, and for some readers, more rewarding. The cognitive dissonance that creates that sense of alienness also puts the reader in the position of examining the assumptions behind why the cognitive dissonance arose, and for some readers, it’s uncomfortable to see their own gender assumptions from the outside or turned upside-down. The reward comes to those readers who are refreshed or delighted to see a story that has those assumptions removed: the readers who are starved for stories about women as a default form of human being in a story rather than a remarkable deviation from the norm, women as non-sexualized, women in different protagonist roles. There are probably other ways to do that, but AJ did that by removing the connection between gender and sexuality, and by upending the expected linguistic markers (in English) of default humanity in a way that forced out invisible implicit biases. (That’s where male privilege enters as a factor in how groundbreaking this seems. Even today, it’s immensely rare for female characters, even as written by women, not to be sexualized for male readers, or at least defined by their role as sexual objects of the men around them. It’s rare for female characters not to be remarkable for being female, and ground-breaking characters often defined as being a woman in a “male” role or as good as a male character, with all the implicit assumptions that entails about who owns good roles as their birthright and who struggles to get them. And it’s virtually unheard of for women to get the sort of wide choice of characters to identify with that men have traditionally gotten. Women can certainly identify with men, but women who are constantly forced to identify with men due to lack of alternatives experience femaleness as not valued, not worth depicting or identifying with, in a way that men never have to experience maleness in media. AJ asks its readers to experience femaleness, women, and women’s stories as having inherent value and being worth identifying with in a fairly direct, no-holds-barred sort of way, and for many readers, male and female, that’s a rare experience.) It’s a prose style that does as much on the meta level as it does on the story level. That’s tremendously hard to do, and often quite viscerally effective.
Getting that range of effects, from deep worldbuilding to putting the reader in a position of self-examination to offering a form of media to some readers that they’ve never seen before, is quite an accomplishment for prose style alone to pull off. There’s a great deal of technical skill there, and a lesser story that pulled that off successfully would also be doing something fairly new and interesting. But AJ isn’t a lesser story. It’s a nuanced and deeply layered story about grand political and personal ideas, so densely packed that you could spend thousands and thousands of words teasing them out, and it would have been that good a story with or without the pronouns. Telling that story, with the technical skill that went into getting those effects out of the prose style, is why Ancillary Justice took all the awards. The prose style is not what made the book good, but it is doing something so rare that it’s almost unique in the field. When you’re at the award level, that matters. That level of technical skill, that unusual voice, that’s worth mentioning when something is up for an award. It’s what puts a story above the other fantastic stories that have been told in a given year. And it’s certainly worth mentioning if you’re being asked to discuss or defend that point specifically.
Re: Graphic Novels
Recently read and enjoyed:
ODY-C by Matt Fraction and Christian Ward. Psychedelic, gender-swapped space-opera retelling of The Odyssey. The Goodreads reviews seem split between “brilliant” and “wtf?”, but I really liked it.
Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro. Sort of like an angrier dystopian sci-fi version of Orange is the New Black. Really looking forward to seeing where the series goes.
Pre-ordered and excited about:
The Eternaut, the first English translation of the 1950’s SF graphic novel by Argentine author Hector German Oesterheld. It’s historically important, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it still holds up as a good story in its own right.
Wow, Amoxtli. Great essay, I hope you post that somewhere more prominent than the 200 something comment here. Some of the best commentary I’ve seen on one of the best books I’ve read in quite some time. From a long time lurker…
I love all the variations on the Bechdell-Williams test, especially the Crystal gems test.
For my last nanowrimo, which turned into a novel I’ve been working on all year, passing the Bechdell was easy. Aside from some comments about a male housemate, the romantic leads pretty much avoided talking about men. Do cockroaches count as men? There was a rather fraught conversation about a house filled with roaches. :’)
For my current NaNoWriMo WIP, it’s a bit more of a difficult situation to pass the strict Bechdell-Williams. While the main character, companion and vast majority of named characters are women, and the focus of nearly all of their conversations are not about men, In reflection men do get mentioned in passing in more conversations than I thought, even if it’s “Do not forcibly take a tithe from the merchant, he complained.”
Hmm. Does mention of marriage without naming whether it’s to a man or not pass the Strict Bechdell Test?
@ Greg Hullender
“The funny thing about the use of pronouns in the Imperial Radch series is that it was just a gimmick, and, truth be told, it was a gimmick that didn’t actually work. It was supposed to make the reader think of the Radch as having ambiguous gender, but what it actually did was cause us to think of everyone except Seivarden as female. Then, whenever we saw Seivarden referred to as “she,” it popped us out of the story.”
I disagree with you about this, as some others have also. You’re not speaking for me and I doubt you have special knowledge of what Leckie’s intentions were in using this device.
The Radchai, in fact, do not have ambiguous gender. They know the gender of every person. Their language doesn’t have gendered pronouns and in translating to English the translator opted to use female pronouns as the default. (*Your* reaction to that decision is part of the experience of the story, imo.) But that decision also puts you in the same position as Breq is in when she’s outside Radch culture, which I think is also one of the subtleties of the plot.
For me the experience was to have a lot of people (in my head pictures) dressed so that their secondary sexual characterisitics weren’t obvious and/or there were a lot more female shaped people than usual in a story. :^}
Occasionally the usage would cause me to pause and, usually, think about why *I* needed to know the sex of the person when it did-not-matter-to-the-story. An interesting and challenging question. “What-if” and “why-is-that” type questions that might even startle me out of immersion in a story are a big part of why I read SFF.
Apparently, it didn’t work that way for you.
@ Chris Nelson
“But maybe the recent well awarded science fiction novel has become more “literary” and less approachable by the more pedestrian of readers. Like experimental music, and the avant-garde, it can only be judged and enjoyed by the “true” aficionados.”
Or maybe it’s just a matter of different people having different tastes. For example, I couldn’t finish Three Body Problem and I’m usually a hard sf fan. The characterization was too wooden and the character actions/reactions too unnatural for me. I did recognize that it had big sf ideas and a lot of people were genuinely impressed by it. Sneering at all the people who voted for it (therefore having taste that was different than mine) and saying they’re “literary” or “aficionados” wouldn’t reflect well on me. In fact, it would make me look petty, small-minded and ignorant.
The Ancillary trilogy wasn’t avante-garde or especially “literary” in any sense, it just wasn’t, apparently, to your taste.
junego: I couldn’t finish Three Body Problem and I’m usually a hard sf fan. The characterization was too wooden and the character actions/reactions too unnatural for me. I did recognize that it had big sf ideas and a lot of people were genuinely impressed by it. Sneering at all the people who voted for it (therefore having taste that was different than mine) and saying they’re “literary” or “aficionados” wouldn’t reflect well on me. In fact, it would make me look petty, small-minded and ignorant.
I could put my name in front of that and it would be totally true. Thanks for saying it.
@Greg: Gb lbhe svefg cbvag, lrf, gurl ner cerggl cnffvir, nyy natfg naq yvggyr vairfgvtngvba. Ubjrire, pbafvqre gung gur bar naq bayl guvat gurl xabj nobhg gurzfryirf vf gung gurl ner ryvgr tlzanfgf; gurersber, genvavat tvirf gurz n ernql-znqr checbfr naq fgehpgher jura srryvat gbgnyyl nqevsg, naq gur xabjyrqtr gung gurl unir gb jva gur pbzcrgvgvba vf fbzrguvat gb ubyq ba gb jura gurl unir abguvat ryfr — ng svefg, hagvy gurl fgneg pbzvat bhg bs guvf qnmr naq svaqvat ubj hagranoyr gurve fvghngvba ernyyl vf. Fb juvyr gurl’er fgvyy pbzzvggrq gb jvaavat, gurl’er pnhgvbhf nobhg vairfgvtngvat fb nf abg gb yrg nalbar xabj jung gurl ner.
Gb gur frpbaq cbvag, vg jbhyq unir orra avpr vs gur nhgube pbhyq unir qrfpevorq zber nobhg jung vg sryg yvxr gb unir gur cnegf bs bar’f obql va frcnengr ebbzf. Frrzf yvxr gurl abeznyyl jrer arire ncneg, gurersber gur pbafgnag fyvtug harnfr jura Xvz vf nybar jvgu Puevf? Naq gur nhgube vfa’g zhpu pbaprearq jvgu gur zrpunavpf bs ubj guvf jbexf, fgvyy yrff jvgu jung jvmneqel perngrq vg, jurgure grpuabybtvpny be zntvpny.
It’s just an okay story, though; I was only citing it for contrast to the Ancillary books.
@ Bruce Baugh, @ Meredith
I’ll jump on the bandwagon, too. There are days at a time I can barely get up to go to the bathroom, can’t read for doubled-vision migraines and/or am so nauseated all I can do is curl up and moan. But I would never, never, NEVER make the excuse (or want anyone else to make the excuse) that shoddy intellectual work was ok because I’m sick. If my brain is too foggy, I reduce the intellectual demands, not the intellectual standards I hold for myself.
@ Amoxtli
re: Ancillary Justice
Yeah, what you said!!!! [Darn, wish I could expound like that]
Seriously, excellent points, several of which were new thoughts that I found interesting and cogent.
Petréa – Kagewami looks interesting, thanks for bringing it to my attention! On your recommendation, I’ve been watching Cute High Earth Defense Club Love, and have been highly amused…
Amoxtli – What an excellent summation of the Ancillary books.
Personally, I found myself imputing different emotional states and motivations to characters depending on how I was gendering them. The same action could have a slightly different motivation if I was thinking of the character as female, instead of remembering they were male. It has been a while since I read Ancillary Justice, so most of the specifics elude me, but I must admit that I was more sympathetic to Seivarden’s addiction-driven behavior when I forgot that she was male. I am not proud of that. I also was more inclined to think that Lt. Awn’s lover was jerking her around when I thought of them as a heterosexual couple.
It was eye-opening, and I am still thinking about why I responded that way.
Now THAT was a terrific review – thank you very much for that.
@rob_matic: In my Amazon cart: “Alex + Ada” and “Side-Kicked.” I heard good things and they look interesting, and the art in both looks between good to great. I read a lot of web comics and buy fewer physical comics these days (but I still have a sub list at a local store, so I only occasionally buy trade collections). The latest web comic I started reading is Knights Errant.
“Rachel Rising” by Terry Moore is weird and good. As far behind as I am on some things, I’m happy I’m almost caught up (just picked up the latest two issues). It’s weird and a bit confusing to me since I’ve read it in clumps over a long stretch, and I believe I only skimmed the first few issues, which didn’t help. I don’t know whether it has any collections yet or not.
@Female Marvel Geniuses: I didn’t see anyone mention Moira MacTaggert, or I missed it. She’s not a major character, and not IMHO portrayed at the Richards or Pym level, but she’s the first name I think of for MU female genius scientists.
@Ancillary Fans: One day I’d like a fan reading of who’s which gender in the books, with quotes to back it up. I was poor at this when I read them, so aside from a few obviously stated ones, I kinda guessed wildly or just imagined most characters as women. I don’t read as closely as the people who claim they figured out most genders (IMHO the clues aren’t there for many characters, or could be wildly misleading). Anyway, then I’d like a Leckie key to the books, to compare with the fan key. 😉
@Microtherion: Yes, tea! Though usually in such vague terms that it was unsatisfying, speaking as a tea lover. But I’ll console myself with another tea from a collection we bought in Seoul, and it’ll be okay. 😀
*gently fistbumps spoonie Filers*
*feeble spoonie wave at Meredith and junego*
ohgodIhavetodrivetomorrow
andIjustdroveyesterday
@Amoxtli: Now THAT’s a review. It ought to be pasted everywhere.
Writing from 4263, I hear that next year we might get the “Ancillary” key to who is actually what gender, just as a historical curiosity… it’s moot now.
I am 4 pages into “Uprooted”. Better go back to it.
@Kendall: Correcting to be polite: that’s “MacTaggart”. I believe she’s currently dead. (So is Banshee, for that matter.)
@David Goldfarb: Spelling: Not based on Google hits or Wikipedia (which I rarely trust completely, I grant you). Wikipedia, FWIW, claims the name’s been spelled 3 ways, so methinks we’re both right, and Marvel’s inconsistent. 😉
Anyway, ugh, I am way out of date; I didn’t know she and Banshee were dead! ;-( This being comics, dare I say, ” . . . for now”???
Thanks!
My brain is insisting to me that it was consistently spelled with the A instead of E throughout the Claremont / Byrne years, and it’s normally quite good about that sort of thing. The Wikipedia article does give the panel with her first appearance, and it is spelled there with an E, so my brain may be failing me.
As for “…for now?”, note I did say “currently”.
FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)
Howls Moving Castle (2004)
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Carribean – The Black Pearl (2003)
Willow (1988)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Wizard of Oz (1939)
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
Beetlejuice (1988)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
The City of Lost Children (1995)
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
Reign of Fire (2002)
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Deadhouse Gates, Steven Erikson
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Pegasus, Robin McKinley
Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
Graceling, Kristin Cashore
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Carribean – The Black Pearl (2003)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Beetlejuice (1988)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Protest vote for Frozen again, expect one every round till it makes the list. You and your shadowy bracket cabal can not resist with good old fashioned ice queens with your social justice Santa message movies.
7. LOST IN THE CITY
The City of Lost Children (1995)
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Abstain. Haven’t seen Pan’s Labyrinth, and have heard too many good things about it to vote for Howl’s Moving Castle against it sight-unseen, although I really liked Howl’s Moving Castle.
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Carribean – The Black Pearl (2003)
A movie that truly surprised me when it turned out to be very, very good.
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
A true fantasy classic.
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Wizard of Oz (1939)
Would not have expected these two to go up against each other this early. On the other hand, not a hard contest for me; I always thought the Lord of the Rings films were overrated. Not bad, by any means, just really not All That And A Bag Of Chips. Wizard of Oz, on the other hand, is one of the best films of all time.
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Beetlejuice (1988)
I’ll admit to being perplexed by how this got by the Ghost Ban, but I’ll vote for it since it’s here.
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Not a hard choice at all, and yes, I think the ending and hints throughout place it comfortably in fantasy territory.
7. LOST IN THE CITY
The City of Lost Children (1995)
Genius film, with a visual aesthetic few can match.
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
I thought at first I hadn’t seen Reign of Fire, then looked it up and realized I had, just found it entirely forgettable. Baron Münchausen had plenty of flaws, but it was still better than that.
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton
I’m getting eerie deja-vu from this matchup. I will vote for Tooth and Claw because (1) I think it is the better book, and (2) we could see the HATS, people!
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
Graceling, Kristin Cashore
Probably a doomed vote. For some reason, Master Li and Number Ten Ox always choose to go up against my desert island books.
Iphinome: I will add Frozen to next heat. 😉
> “I will add Frozen to next heat.”
Huzzah!
Then for my abstention-pairing vote this round, I will throw in:
Ghostbusters
(If Beetlejuice is allowed, I don’t see why Ghostbusters wouldn’t be.)
Bracketing:
2. Black Pearl
3. Labyrinth
4. Wizard of Oz
5. Beetlejuice
6. Legend
7. Big Trouble
8. The Baron, by a hundred leagues!
Not voting in the bonus bracket because I haven’t read any of the choices.
FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Willow (1988)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)
Howls Moving Castle (2004)
I may be the only person in the universe who’s not that big a Miyazaki fan.
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Carribean – The Black Pearl (2003)
Willow (1988)
Difficult, but Willow wins, largely because it was a standalone, while Pirates of the Carribean was marred by increasingly disappointing sequels.
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
Probably an unusual choice, but Sinbad is a great Harryhausen film and Labyrinth never did it for me.
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Wizard of Oz (1939)
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
Sorry, Dorothy and gang. I would have voted for you against pretty much everything else, but this is Lord of the Rings.
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Harryhausen again.
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Ridley Scott, Tom Cruise before he got weird, what’s not to love? Miracle is okay, but a tad sappy.
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
The City of Lost Children (1995)
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
Reign of Fire (2002)
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
Actually, I’d vote for the German 1943 Münchhausen version starring Hans Albers, since it blows Gilliam’s out of the water in spite of some problematic blackface moments (well, it is a German film from 1943). But I’ll happily vote for Gilliam’s Münchhausen as well, since Reign of Fire is just one big missed opportunity.
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Deadhouse Gates, Steven Erikson
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
Abstain.
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Pegasus, Robin McKinley
Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
Graceling, Kristin Cashore
Here in the year 2534, we have finally adapted all those books and more.
I can easily judge these movies “classics” status from here in 3831, although finding a 2D TV screen with low enough resolution was a bit tricky.
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Howls Moving Castle (2004)
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Willow (1988)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
Labyrinth was a bit painful, but Harryhausen FTW.
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Wizard of Oz (1939)
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
Good lord. You borrowed Kyra’s dice and made them extra evil.
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Howls Moving Castle (2004)
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Carribean – The Black Pearl (2003)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Carribean – The Black Pearl (2003)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Wizard of Oz (1939)
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
7. LOST IN THE CITY
The City of Lost Children (1995)
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
Odd since I feel the opposite. Only one of those is fantasy.
Oz is real, it is!
4. Wizard of Oz.
Apparently one of these got way fewer nominations than I’d have expected.
Bonus Bracket.
1. Abstain. Jack of Shadows is nice, but I’ll wait until Amber comes up.
FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)
Howls Moving Castle (2004)
Howl’s Moving Castle: 1 it Miyazaki 2. one characteristic of a good fantasy movie is that I want to watch it again someday
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Carribean – The Black Pearl (2003)
Willow (1988)
Oooh. Tough one. Pirates
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
Labyrinth, by the which have I watched most rule
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Wizard of Oz (1939)
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
Augh.I think the ‘how much have I watched it’ rule is working against Oz. Having it on TV every year for a good chunk of my lifetime kind of takes the shine off. With enough repetition anything becomes mundane
Hobbitses win.
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Beetlejuice … and a couple of rounds of Day-O
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Miracle. Legend is a whole that’s less than the sum of its parts
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
The City of Lost Children (1995)
Big Trouble
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
Reign of Fire (2002)
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
The Baron. I’ve seen bits of Reign onTV and quickly changed the channel
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Deadhouse Gates, Steven Erikson
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
Deadhouse Gates
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Pegasus, Robin McKinley
Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson
Tie
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
Tooth and Claw
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
Graceling, Kristin Cashore
Master Li and Number 10 Ox, and having recently re-watched Forbidden Kingdom, I think Jackie Chan in the right makeup could do a great Master Li
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)
Howls Moving Castle (2004)
Oh, I see. It’s going to be one of those brackets, is it? I have to pass on this one, as I love both of these films.
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Carribean – The Black Pearl (2003)
Willow (1988)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Wizard of Oz (1939)
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
Pass because there’s no justice in the world.
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
Beetlejuice (1988)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
The City of Lost Children (1995)
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
Reign of Fire (2002)
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
Jim Henley — I was thinking of nominating Amber, but figured you would need one movie for Nine Princes in Amber, and one for Guns of Avalon. (And then stop. At that point any further movies would degenerate.) Also thought of Lord of Light, but that is more science fictiony, and the previous attempt at making it into a movie failed.
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Howls Moving Castle (2004)
Proof that “true to the source material” and “excellent movie” aren’t even remotely synonyms. (I also adore the book. But there’s just no resemblance). Pan’s Labyrinth was stunning but something I still don’t know that I want to watch again.
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Caribbean – The Black Pearl (2003)
More typos…. Pirates was shockingly good (as long as one ignores the sequels). Willow is good, but the novelization pointed up a HUGE flaw in the film I can’t get past now.
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
This is a flawed movie, and embarrassingly well tapped into the ID of a teenage girl. But it wins something for a closing that, despite the return to the real world, leaves the door open for wanting and needing fantasy.
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
Urgh. I was never that huge a fan of Wizard, but this is messed up vs. Messed up to me. Lord of the Rings started with a film that was a nigh perfect adaptation (IF you mean the extended version that did Lothlorien right), then spoiled the second and third in some unnecessary ways.
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
Protest vote against Beetlejuice, which got a really strong visit from the Suck Fairy the last time I tried to watch it. Not even Harry Belafonte could rescue it.
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Abstain. I haven’t watched Miracle on 34th Street in decades, and Legend is a series of beautiful set pieces that are, as someone else said, significantly less than the sum of their parts.
7. LOST IN THE CITY
The City of Lost Children (1995)
Auntie Gwen would have something to say about me voting against her favourite film of all time…
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
I suspect these are dragons even Meredith can’t support without some reservations. The movie was fun if you didn’t think too hard, but it’s one of the first on these brackets that I would cull if this were my actual collection.
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Pegasus, Robin McKinley
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
I think of the two this is more visually spectacular.
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
PLEASE? PRETTY PLEASE?
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)b
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Carribean – The Black Pearl (2003)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Beetlejuice (1988)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
7. LOST IN THE CITY
The City of Lost Children (1995)
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Deadhouse Gates, Steven Erikson
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
The Lord of the Rings movies suffer from a structural problem of the books: Frodo’s story is over after the first installment. He has business to do, but no choices to make. That doesn’t excuse some of Jackson’s – and the cast’s – other failures in Return of the King, though.
FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Howls Moving Castle (2004)
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Willow (1988)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
The Adventures of Baron Münchausen (1988)
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
Graceling, Kristin Cashore
OK, here’s a vote:
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
One of the most fun movies ever! Still amusing after all these years.
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Pirates of the Caribbean – The Black Pearl (2003)
(Johnny Depp channeling Keith Richards. Enough said.)
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Labyrinth (1986)
(David Bowie and his wig!)
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
(Abstain–I didn’t care for either of these.)
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
Reign of Fire (2002)
(I’m sure this’ll be the only vote for this, but hell, Christian Bale.)
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Deadhouse Gates, Steven Erikson
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
(Abstain–have read neither.)
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Pegasus, Robin McKinley
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
Graceling, Kristin Cashore
Skipping most of this, but there are a few votes I just have to register.
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Wizard of Oz (1939)
Back when we didn’t own our own copies of movies, and there weren’t cable channels that would run one 20 times in a week, the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz was an event. Does anyone else remember Danny Kaye coming on before the movie to caution your parents that there was nothing wrong with their color television set, the first part of the movie was in black & white? (Not that we had a color tv, I didn’t know what Oz looked like until a theater running Saturday matinees for kids showed it when I was in Jr. High — suddenly the joke about a horse of a different color made sense!)
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
The best Christmas movie ever made against something I don’t think I’ve ever seen? No choice. Also, this movie is all tied up with memories of my grandmother, who had a copy of the novelization I read every year long before I ever saw the movie.Fortunately, the movie was even better!
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
What I’d really like are more books in the series, but since I can’t have that I’ll vote for movies.
FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR DEPTHS
Pans Labyrinth (2006)
Ouch. That one hurt!
2. TRICKSTER VS TRICKSTER
Willow (1988)
I never got into the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
3. ADVENTUROUS TRAVELS
Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
Harryhausen. <3
4. TOO BAD THE WITCH KING IS NOT AFRAID OF WATER
Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)
It may have got a bit too over-excitable by the end, but I still enjoyed all three.
5. HEROES AND ANIMATIONS
Jason and The Argonauts (1963)
Harryhausen. \o/
6. THE NICE AND THE NAUGHTY
Legend (1985)
This one hurt, too! Bad dice. No cookie.
7. LOST IN THE CITY
Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
Loved every silly over the top second of it. 🙂
8. VULCAN OR DRAGONS – WHO BRINGS THE MOST HEAT?
Haven’t watched either of them so… How To Train Your Dragon!
BONUS BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
Which one would make the better fantasyfilm?
Special rules: Vote even if haven’t read both contestants. Winner with fewer votes than two will be removed from bracket.
1. SHADOWS AND GRIT
Abstain, because I can’t think of a book that fits the title.
2. THREATENED NATIONS
Pegasus, Robin McKinley
3. DRAGONS! EVEN MORE DRAGONS! DRAGONS EVERYWHERE!!
Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
Ack. Am I allowed to vote for a tie in the bonus bracket? If not….. Temeraire. Ow.
4. EVEN MORE TRAVELS
Graceling, Kristin Cashore