The Sci-Fictional Serendipity of Scribblings

20 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by la Clarina in Books, Scribbling

Tags

Connie Willis, Galaxy Quest, Lyon Sprague de Camp, New England Science Fiction Association, Science fiction, Scribblings

Science fiction and I, now… Well, it’s slightly awkward.

The short version is, I was accidentally exposed to several dangerous quantities of ugly and/or distressing science fiction as a child, and had nightmares for years, and remained very, very wary of the whole genre, barely able to watch Star Wars without getting uneasy. Yes, Star Wars. Like the dog of the story, scalded with hot water, I was sure I hated all that had to do with sci-fi.

Then, in recent years, the startling fact was brought to my attention that time travel is indeed science fiction – and I have a cautious liking for time travel stories, provided the destination is the past, and not some dystopian, or apocalyptic, or post-apocalyptic, or pre-apocalyptic future, thank you very much. So I ventured to read Connie Willis‘ To Say Nothing of the Dog – and loved it, but I remain a sci-fictional wimp, and will likely die so.

So, tempting as it is to pretend I did it on purpose, I may as well confess that it was not only a surprise, but also something of an irony to find out that my new blog shares a name with a collection of works by L. Sprague de Camp. And yes, I know, LSdC was not exclusively a science fiction author, but it happens that Scribblings, the book, was first published by the New England Science Fiction Association for one of its conventions* – so, honestly, how un-sciencefictional can it be?

I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll even try to procure and read Scribblings, the book. Even before I consider the chance, I’d need detailed certainty there is nothing I don’t want to read in it. For instance, where (or rather, when) does the Drinkwhiskey Institute travel to? Or do I even want to know what fate awaits the Elephant in the poem of the same name? All else apart, it wouldn’t be terribly smart to give myself nightmares for the sake of my blog’s namesake book, would it?

So far, the only part of Scribblings, the book, I clapped eyes on is the table of contents – and I must say I like it. It sounds quirky and intriguing, and that’s one (however unintended) kinship I will claim. Who knows, some day I might read past the table and face the contents – but until then, I’ll hold Scribblings, the book, as a reminder to keep Scribblings, the blog, as quirky and intriguing as I can.

_______________________________________

* And say what you will, I cannot read or hear “science-fiction convention” without thinking of Galaxy Quest.

“Time Traveler’s Almanac” features sci-fi heavyweights and acclaimed Colorado authors (denverpost.com)

Five Characters For A (Wild) Night Out

06 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by la Clarina in Books

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Anthony Burgess, christopher marlowe, Connie Willis, Georgette Heyer, meme, shakespeare, Stevenson

There was this meme, once upon a time… Suppose it turns out you can summon characters out of books. And frankly, if I could summon characters out of books, I’d do it all the time, and spend inordinate amounts of time with them… er, yes – I’m that far gone. But for the moment, let us stick with the meme: which five characters would I want as company for a wild night out?

Well, I was reminded of this meme when my friend G. told me about a wonderful RPG she plays at college, involving randomly assigned literary characters. On being reminded, I sought and found the answer I wrote, once upon a time, on my Italian blog, and realised that, if I were to do it again, I’d choose different characters – at least most of them. After all, one wild night is one wild night, and a girl doesn’t have to want to hang out with the same crowd forever, right?

So, considering that my notion of a wild night, out or otherwise, includes (but is not limited to) endless and occasionally argumentative talk on a variety of subjects, impromptu theatre games, nonsense galore, and a certain quantity of eccentric mischief, here is my round of invitations:

1) Beatrice, from Much Ado About Nothing. Unbeatable at wordplay without being too waspish. Merry, witty company – and she sings too.

2) Sarah Thane, from Georgette Heyer‘s The Talisman Ring. A woman with a taste for absurdity and the right turn of phrase – and a prodigious liar when the occasion requires it. I’m sure we’ll go along very, very well.

3) Kit Marlowe – Anthony Burgess‘ version – strikes me as the sort who can be relied upon for vertiginous conversation about almost anything. And all the theatre one could wish for. The trick will be to keep him from becoming nasty when in his cups.

4) Alan Breck Stewart. A man with a dancing madness in his eyes, who can improvise extempore ballads at the least provocation sounds far too perfect to leave out. He has enough of a temper to cause trouble, and of course Scotland, England and Scotland and England as conversation topics are out of the question, but I’ll be careful.

5) Ned Henry, Connie Willis‘ historian-cum-time-traveller. He can be a tad scatterbrained, especially when time-lagged, but adorably so – and he is one of the nicest imaginary persons I know. Plus, he is a time traveller, and really, nothing would make my wild night like some time travel .

Well well well, considering that my first choices were Nicholas Christopher‘s Veronica, Emily Brontë*, Puck, Sidney Carton and Kit Marlowe, I’d say that this time I’ve equipped myself for a far jollier wild night, wouldn’t you?

And what about you? Which five characters would you invite out of books for a wild night?

_____________________________________

* Yes, I was cheating. You could say I cheated again with Marlowe, but I mean Marlowe-as-a-character. Or else I just cheat at memes, so sue me.