Hugo 2009 Winner - The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman

"The Graveyard Book"

by

Neil Gaiman

Front Flap: "Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy--an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack--who has already killed bod's family...."

"The Graveyard Book" is the first book I've read by Neil Gaiman. I enjoyed it, even though it was weird and quirky. The story begins with a man named Jack walking through a home, killing first the parents, then bod's brother. Bod, even though a toddler, somehow manages to climb out of his crib and wander out the open door, while Jack kills his family. The killings are not graphically depicted but implied. The writing is very well done and paints a picture

"The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor. If it sliced you, you might not even know you had been cut, not immediately.

The knife had done almost everything it was brought to that house to do, and both the blade and the handle were wet.

The street door was still open, just a little, where the knife and man who held it had slipped in, and wisps of nighttime mist slithered and twined into the house through the open door." (pg 5 - 7)

Bod wanders up and into a graveyard where the ghosts and other denizens of the place decide to protect him. Of course, they have to put it to a vote first.

"A graveyard is not normally a democracy, and yet death is the great democracy, and each of the dead had a voice, and an opinion as to whether the living child should be allowed to stay, and they were each determined to be heard that night." pg 29

Bod is raised by the ghosts and Silas, who neither dead or alive, protects him and makes sure his physical needs for food and dress are taken care of. Bod gets an interesting education in history and thought from various ghosts from the different eras as well as lessons in slipping through shadow and fading from awareness, "the ways of the dead".

"Bod tried again. He closed his eyes and imagined himself fading into the stained stonework of the mausoleum wall, becoming a shadow on the night and nothing more. He sneezed.


"Dreadful", said Mr. Pennyworth, with a sigh. "Quite dreadful. I believe I shall have a word with your guardian about this." He shook his head. "So, the humors. List them."


"Um, Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, And the other one. Um, Melancholic, I think."


"And so it went, until it was time for Grammar and Composition with Miss Letitia Borrows, Spinster of this Parish (Who did No Harm to No Man all the Dais of Her Life. Reader, Can you Say Lykewise?) Bod liked Miss Borrows, and the coziness of her little crypt, and that she could all-too-easily be led off the subject." pg 106

Throughout the story, Jack never ceases to look for Bod and finish the job he started. The villains (the Jacks of all Trades) reasons in the story for killing bod's family and him are a bit vague and I'll leave the mystery of what happened to your imaginations.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Graveyard Book" and look forward to reading more stories by Neil Gaiman. His books are intriguing, imaginative and entertaining.  Even though they are written for the 9 - 12 year old age group, they are enjoyable for adults to read as well. Highly Recommended.    His blog journal may be found here in which he has shares many personal things including his engagement to Amanda Palmer and most recently his thoughts about his special cat, Zoe.

Pages: 320 pages
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy


Other thoughts about the book:

Michelle of 1morechapter:
"The Graveyard Book contains a colorful (though some are long dead) cast of characters, some very creepy scenes, and some genuinely heartwarming ones."

Em of Em's Bookshelf:
"The Graveyard Book is pure delight from start to finish. This is the first book that I've read by Gaiman and, after the first couple of pages, I knew that I was in the hands of a master storyteller."

Rob of Robaroundbooks:
"It entertained me completely and as a reader who normally gets his kicks from the more dense prose of writers such as Steinbeck, Dostoevsky and Hamsun etc. that’s a big achievement. Bearing that in mind I’m confident that The Graveyard Book will entertain just about anyone."

Penny of Penny's Pages
"The book read really well, allowing a live boy to live in a unique setting without sounding exaggerated or too phony. I can just picture Bod sitting on one of the tombstones, taking lessons from one of the spirits that live in the graveyard."

100 Greatest Science Fiction or Fantasy Novels of all Time?

I came across this list "100 Greatest Science Fiction or Fantasy Novels of all Time" on This Recording.  The list includes all the novel covers so if the title doesn't sound familiar, the cover may spark a cell or two of remembrance.  I've read about 20 of the books and have several more in my TBR pile waiting to be read.  Remarkably, there are a few authors and books I've never heard of such as Thomas Disch's Camp Concentration, Kingsley Amis The Alteration, Yves Maynard's The Book of Knights, Vladimir Nabokov's Pale Fire or Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and The Margarita.   

What do you think?  Does A Clockwork Orange or Flowers for Algernon belong on the list? 


And this is interesting

Does it remind you of anything?   The diagram reminds me of the rooms below the Hatch

1. The Book of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe

2. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein 

3. The Dying Earth by Jack Vance

4. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin

5. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

8. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

9. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin

10. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

11. Dune by Frank Herbert

12. Planet of Adventure by Jack Vance

13. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

14. All My Sins Remembered by Joe Haldeman

15. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

16. The Master and the Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

17. The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay

18. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

19. A Song of Ice And Fire by George R.R. Martin

20. The Fifth Head of Cerebus by Gene Wolfe

21. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

22. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

23. Lost Horizon by James Hilton

24. The Cadwal Chronicles by Jack Vance

25. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

26. 1984 by George Orwell

27. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

28. More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon

29. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

30. A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge

31. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

32. Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert Heinlein

33. The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons

34. Ubik by Philip K. Dick

35. True Names by Vernor Vinge

36. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

37. Lyonesse by Jack Vance

38. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

39. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

40. Animal Farm by George Orwell

41. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

42. Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein

43. Flatland by Edwin Abbott

44. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

45. Alastor by Jack Vance

46. The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson

47. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

48. The Demon Princes by Jack Vance

49. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

50. The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe

51. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

52. Foundation by Isaac Asimov

53. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

54. The Book of the Short Sun by Gene Wolfe

55. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

56. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

57. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

58. Nightwings by Robert Silverberg

59. Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman

60. The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

61. The Book of Knights by Yves Maynard

62. Wildlife by James Patrick Kelly

63. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

64. At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft

65. A Song for Lya by George R.R. Martin

66. The High Crusade by Poul Anderson

67. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

68. The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov

69. Flow My Tears The Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick

70. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

71. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

72. Maske: Thaery by Jack Vance

73. Old Man's War by John Scalzi

74. Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling

75. Ringworld by Larry Niven

76. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

77. Free Live Free by Gene Wolfe

78. Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

79. Griffin's Egg by Michael Swanwick

80. Watership Down by Richard Adams

81. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers

82. The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

83. The Alteration by Kingsley Amis

84. Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin

85. Sphere by Michael Crichton

86. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller

87. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

88. Song of Kali by Dan Simmons

89. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

90. Camp Concentration by Thomas Disch

91. Danny, The Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

92. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

93. An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe

94. The Company by K.J. Parker

95. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

96. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

97. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Phillip K. Dick

98. Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress

99. Sorcerer's Son by Phyllis Eisenstein

100. The Word For World Is Forest by Ursula K. LeGuin

  

              

Who do you think should be on the list?

1966 Hugo Winner -- Dune by Frank Herbert

Dune 

By

Frank Herbert

Amazon:  Arrakis is the sole source of Melange, the "spice of spices." Melange is necessary for interstellar travel and grants psychic powers and longevity, so whoever controls it wields great influence. The troubles begin when stewardship of Arrakis is transferred by the Emperor from the Harkonnen Noble House to House Atreides. The Harkonnens don't want to give up their privilege, though, and through sabotage and treachery they cast young Duke Paul Atreides out into the planet's harsh environment to die. There he falls in with the Fremen, a tribe of desert dwellers who become the basis of the army with which he will reclaim what's rightfully his. Paul Atreides, though, is far more than just a usurped duke. He might be the end product of a very long-term genetic experiment designed to breed a super human; he might be a messiah. His struggle is at the center of a nexus of powerful people and events, and the repercussions will be felt throughout the Imperium.

I first read Dune back in 1983 and read through the entire series when they first came out.   I recently read Dune again for the Take A Dare Challenge.    It was like reading it again for the very first time.  I remembered little except for the blue eyes of the Fremen and the gigantic worms. 

The Duke Leto Atreides is ordered by the Emperor to the spice planet of Arrakis to take over the Spice Production from the Harkonnens.  However the Harkonnens do not willfully give up their lucrative position and plot against the Duke and his family.   Accompanying the Duke is his concubine Jessica and his son Paul, along with some trusted advisors and soldiers.  Jessica is a Bene Gesserit, an ancient order of women with powerful mental and physical abilities.  Usually women are the old ones trained in Bene Gesserit, but Jessica has trained Paul in the ways of the order.

The family is betrayed by a trusted adviser and Jessica and Paul are taken out into the desert to be killed.  They escape and find sanctuary with the Fremen, natives of the spice planet.  The Harkonnens and the Emperor don't think much of the Fremen and underestimate their role on the planet.   The desert is inhabited by huge spice worms and any vibration on the sand attracts their attention.  The Fremen have learned to use the worms to their advantage.   They believe Paul is the one prophesied to be their leader.

That's just the gist of the story of Dune.   The story is very convoluted and told from several different points of view.  It  is full of intrigue, political plotting, mystical elements and has many twists and turns.  Trusted advisers from both the Atriedes and Harkonnen factions are duplicitous in their dealings with both families.  Even the emperor is not to be trusted.

I enjoyed reading it and now want to watch the movie version again with Kyle McLaughlin, Sting and a whole cast of interesting characters. It's been years since I last seen it. 

Dune tied for the Hugo Award best novel with And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny in 1966 and also received a Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965.  

The original Dune Series included:

Dune

Dune Messiah

Children of Dune

God Emperor of Dune

Heretics of Dune

Chapterhouse Dune

The official Dune Novels site has a new chronology including all the Dune books that have been written.

Pages:  544

Publisher: Berkeley Books

My Version released: July 1983

Genre: Science Fiction

Other Thoughts:

Stacked:

"But for me what really made it interesting was the way Dune called out to me from the deep corners of my memory. Somewhere in my consciousness the desert winds of Arrakis were alive and well, waiting patiently for the right time to envelop me. I imagine in ten years’ time they’ll be there again, buried deep within my memory, awaiting the call. What power some books have."

Life and Times of New New Yorker:

"Oh, this is just a great book. It's got tons of politics, intrigue, deception, treachery, battles, warriors, love and hate. It's got it all."

In the Shadow of Mt TBR:

"I found Herbert’s imagination amazing. In Dune, Herbert created a future that was virtually unimaginable at the time. He gave the world its own rules and specific history. And he gave them a religion that has a sense of being the eventual mingling of the major religions."

Edgar Allan Poe - The Masque of the Red Death

Happy Birthday Edgar Allan Poe

In celebration of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, below is his short story The Masque of Red Death which was considered a precursor of post apocalyptic themes found in science fiction today!

The Masque of Red Death

 

THE "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal -- the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour.

But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress or egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the "Red Death."

It was toward the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.

It was a voluptuous scene, that masquerade. But first let me tell of the rooms in which it was held. There were seven -- an imperial suite. In many palaces, however, such suites form a long and straight vista, while the folding doors slide back nearly to the walls on either hand, so that the view of the whole extent is scarcely impeded. Here the case was very different; as might have been expected from the duke's love of the bizarre. The apartments were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time. There was a sharp turn at every twenty or thirty yards, and at each turn a novel effect. To the right and left, in the middle of each wall, a tall and narrow Gothic window looked out upon a closed corridor which pursued the windings of the suite. These windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened. That at the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue -- and vividly blue were its windows. The second chamber was purple in its ornaments and tapestries, and here the panes were purple. The third was green throughout, and so were the casements. The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange -- the fifth with white -- the sixth with violet. The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet -- a deep blood color. Now in no one of the seven apartments was there any lamp or candelabrum, amid the profusion of golden ornaments that lay scattered to and fro or depended from the roof. There was no light of any kind emanating from lamp or candle within the suite of chambers. But in the corridors that followed the suite, there stood, opposite to each window, a heavy tripod, bearing a brazier of fire that protected its rays through the tinted glass and so glaringly illumined the room. And thus were produced a multitude of gaudy and fantastic appearances. But in the western or black chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes, was ghastly in the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all.

It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony. Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation. But when the echoes had fully ceased, a light laughter at once pervaded the assembly; the musicians looked at each other and smiled as if at their own nervousness and folly, and made whispering vows, each to the other, that the next chiming of the clock should produce in them no similar emotion; and then, after the lapse of sixty minutes, (which embrace three thousand and six hundred seconds of the Time that flies,) there came yet another chiming of the clock, and then were the same disconcert and tremulousness and meditation as before.

But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel. The tastes of the duke were peculiar. He had a fine eye for colors and effects. He disregarded the decora of mere fashion. His plans were bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre. There are some who would have thought him mad. His followers felt that he was not. It was necessary to hear and see and touch him to be sure that he was not.

He had directed, in great part, the moveable embellishments of the seven chambers, upon occasion of this great fete; and it was his own guiding taste which had given character to the masqueraders. Be sure they were grotesque. There were much glare and glitter and piquancy and phantasm -- much of what has been since seen in "Hernani." There were arabesque figures with unsuited limbs and appointments. There were delirious fancies such as the madman fashions. There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro in the seven chambers there stalked, in fact, a multitude of dreams. And these -- the dreams -- writhed in and about, taking hue from the rooms, and causing the wild music of the orchestra to seem as the echo of their steps. And, anon, there strikes the ebony clock which stands in the hall of the velvet. And then, for a moment, all is still, and all is silent save the voice of the clock. The dreams are stiff-frozen as they stand. But the echoes of the chime die away -- they have endured but an instant -- and a light, half-subdued laughter floats after them as they depart. And now again the music swells, and the dreams live, and writhe to and fro more merrily than ever, taking hue from the many-tinted windows through which stream the rays from the tripods. But to the chamber which lies most westwardly of the seven, there are now none of the maskers who venture; for the night is waning away; and there flows a ruddier light through the blood-colored panes; and the blackness of the sable drapery appals; and to him whose foot falls upon the sable carpet, there comes from the near clock of ebony a muffled peal more solemnly emphatic than any which reaches their ears who indulge in the more remote gaieties of the other apartments.

But these other apartments were densely crowded, and in them beat feverishly the heart of life. And the revel went whirlingly on, until at length there commenced the sounding of midnight upon the clock. And then the music ceased, as I have told; and the evolutions of the waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy cessation of all things as before. But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps, that more of thought crept, with more of time, into the meditations of the thoughtful among those who revelled. And thus, too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before. And the rumor of this new presence having spread itself whisperingly around, there arose at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, expressive of disapprobation and surprise -- then, finally, of terror, of horror, and of disgust.

In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation. In truth the masquerade license of the night was nearly unlimited; but the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod, and gone beyond the bounds of even the prince's indefinite decorum. There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made. The whole company, indeed, seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of the stranger neither wit nor propriety existed. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in blood -- and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror.

When the eyes of Prince Prospero fell upon this spectral image (which with a slow and solemn movement, as if more fully to sustain its role, stalked to and fro among the waltzers) he was seen to be convulsed, in the first moment with a strong shudder either of terror or distaste; but, in the next, his brow reddened with rage.

"Who dares?" he demanded hoarsely of the courtiers who stood near him -- "who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery? Seize him and unmask him -- that we may know whom we have to hang at sunrise, from the battlements!"

It was in the eastern or blue chamber in which stood the Prince Prospero as he uttered these words. They rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly -- for the prince was a bold and robust man, and the music had become hushed at the waving of his hand.

It was in the blue room where stood the prince, with a group of pale courtiers by his side. At first, as he spoke, there was a slight rushing movement of this group in the direction of the intruder, who at the moment was also near at hand, and now, with deliberate and stately step, made closer approach to the speaker. But from a certain nameless awe with which the mad assumptions of the mummer had inspired the whole party, there were found none who put forth hand to seize him; so that, unimpeded, he passed within a yard of the prince's person; and, while the vast assembly, as if with one impulse, shrank from the centres of the rooms to the walls, he made his way uninterruptedly, but with the same solemn and measured step which had distinguished him from the first, through the blue chamber to the purple -- through the purple to the green -- through the green to the orange -- through this again to the white -- and even thence to the violet, ere a decided movement had been made to arrest him. It was then, however, that the Prince Prospero, maddening with rage and the shame of his own momentary cowardice, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers, while none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all. He bore aloft a drawn dagger, and had approached, in rapid impetuosity, to within three or four feet of the retreating figure, when the latter, having attained the extremity of the velvet apartment, turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer. There was a sharp cry -- and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly afterwards, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero. Then, summoning the wild courage of despair, a throng of the revellers at once threw themselves into the black apartment, and, seizing the mummer, whose tall figure stood erect and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped in unutterable horror at finding the grave-cerements and corpse-like mask which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible form.

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

A is for Arthur - Clark That is!

Arthur C. Clarke

When you think of Arthur C. Clarke, generally the first thing to come to mind is 2001: A Space Odyssey.   Not only did he write the book, but also helped create the film and went on to write 2010: Odyssey Two,  2061: Odyssey Three and 3001: The Final Odyssey. I recently found 2061 and it is on my list to read this year.

Surprisingly, Clarke never received any awards for the novel  2001: a Space Odyssey, but the movie went on to receive a Hugo Award in 1969 for Best Dramatic Presentation in a theatrical version. Clarke did receive the Hugo award for Foundations of Paradise in 1980 and Rendevouz with Rama in 1974.  He was nominated for a Hugo for 2010: A Space Odyssey in 1982 and A Fall of Moondust in 1963. 

Clarke loved science and built his very first telescope when he was 13 years old.  In 1945 he wrote a technical paper  "Extra Terrestrial Relays"  in which he wrote the principles for satellite communications which led to the global satellites systems we use today.  In 1949 he became Chairman of the British Interplanetary Society.  According to the Clark Foundation:

Clarke's work, which led to the global satellite systems in use today, brought him numerous honors including the 1982 Marconi International Fellowship, a gold medal of the Franklin Institute, the Vikram Sarabhai Professorship of the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, the Lindbergh Award and a Fellowship of King's College, London. Today, the geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometers above the equator is named The Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union.

Clarke wrote a number of interesting non fiction books about exploring space and the sea.

Interplanetary Flight (1950) about rockets, orbital mechanics and space

Exploration of Space (1951) About the possibilities of space exploration

Exploration of the Moon (1954) and the possibilities of future space travel

Young travelers in Space (1954) History of rocket development and satellite launches

He also spent years exploring the great barrier reef and wrote several books about underwater exploration:

 The Coast of Coral (1956) about his adventures and mishaps which exploring the great barrier reef.

Boy beneath the sea (1958)

The Challenge of the Sea (1960) about deep sea exploration and the future

Arthur Clarke made many predictions over the years which can be found here.

He also came up with the "Three Laws" of prediction:

When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

What do you think of his Three Laws?

Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies coming out in 2010

Ready! Set! Action!

Some very interesting movies with some of my favorites actors will be coming out this year and I'm looking forward to seeing them.  

The Wolfman

 

February 12th with Anthony Hopkins and Benicio Del Toro

Alice In Wonderland 

March 5 with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter

Clash of the Titans

March 26 with Sam Worthington and Liam Neeson

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead

April 16 with Jake Hoffman

Ironman 2

May 7 with Robert Downey Jr.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (part 1)

November 19

Tron Legacy

December 17 with Bruce Boxenleitner and Jeff Bridges

bloggiesta Party - ch ch ch changes

 Bloggiesta

hosted by Natasha of Maw's Books

January 8th, 9th and 10th, 2010

It's time for the 2nd annual Bloggiesta - get out your party hats, whip up some mexican food, mix up a few margarita's and join in the blogging marathon.   Bloggiesta is the brain child of Natasha and the purpose - to clean up and improve and make ch ch ch changes to your blog.   You know, those little things that have been nagging at the back of your mind.  Like changing your header, updating your links, improving your labels, etc.

There are multiple things to do as suggested by Natasha:

• Write reviews.
• Write backup posts for a rainy day.
• Write that great post idea from three months back.
• Work on series posts.
• Write guest posts.
• Put out invitations for guest posts.
• Conduct and edit author interviews.
• Create template posts for your future reads (ie: title, images, linking, tags, etc,) so you can open up, write review and post without being bogged down with technicalities
• Clean up your tags, archives, books reviewed list, etc.
• Create a text file (or Google Doc) of cheat sheets (html codes, post url’s, etc)
• Improve your blog template, clean up sidebars, add a favicon, install those plugins that you’ve been meaning to do.
• Add or edit your about me page, review policy, disclosure policy, privacy policy, create landing pages (for example – an about me for Twitter readers page) or any other pages you might have.
• Any bloggy type housekeeping that you’ve been neglecting.
• Clean up and update your challenge lists.  Link up your posts with hosts.
• Make sure all of your social network profiles are up to date.  Brand yourself through those profiles with color scheme, images, etc.
• Go get a gravatar.
• Visit the Blogging Tips group on the Book Blogs Ning and find ways to improve your blog.
• Work on any specialized projects that you may have going.
• Clean out and organize your feed reader and blog subscriptions.
• Create an elevator pitch.
• Make business cards.
• Find a blogging buddy.
• The sky’s the limit!

I now have three blogs so you can imagine what goes into keeping them up to date and writing posts.  My Two Blessings had a mini make over recently when I accidentally blew it up.   There are some things I still need to work on such as a new header, update the link bar and a few other things.   I want to arrange for some Author and blogger guest posts for 52 Books in 52 Weeks,  add the disclosure policy and find a way to encourage all my new participants to comment, comment, comment.   I've decided on a A B C  theme for 52 Books which is working for me creatively, so going to do the same thing with Mind Voyages.  The A B C Theme hopefully will help me to be a bit more creative with weekly topics.  Such as A is for Apocalyptic and we discuss those books with an apocalyptic theme.  Then B is for Bester and I highlight the Hugo winners books.  You get the idea.  I'm a little bit intimidated by all your wonderful sci fi blogs with all the cool information.    I don't just want to do a regurge of everything else out there, so will give some thought to the posts will be doing weekly.  I also want to arrange for some guest posts.  Any suggestions you guys have will be totally welcome.    Even though I've been blogging for three years now, I'm a novice when it comes to having guest posts and doing interviews.   So I'll be joining in with the 100 plus other bloggers this weekend and come Monday, we'll all have nice, shiny, clean blogs.

Come join in the fun.  There will be mini challenges and all kinds of interesting things going on this weekend. Click on over the Natasha's, sign up and get to work.  I think I'll go make some Enchilada's now.

Happy New Year -- 3 2 1 We have lift off!

 

We have lift off!

Are you ready to immerse yourself in science fiction.  Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings is leading the way with Sci Fi Experience 2010.   The reading experience runs from January 1st through February 28th.

“More than any other genre of fiction, science fiction reading is to me an experience– not only does it transport me to another time and place in the future but it also transports me to my past and as such creates an aura of reading that is wonderful to experience but difficult to describe. I can only hope that you fellow readers are nodding your heads in agreement right now, recalling similar experiences that you have with various novels and/or genres of fiction.”  Carl

Embrace your inner Spock or Kirk or Picard or Janeway and enjoy discovering new worlds or rediscovering old ones. Along with the Sci Fi Experience, is the 42 Challenge hosted by Becky of Becky's Book Reviews.

Your mission--if you choose to accept it--is to read, watch, listen, and (possibly) review 42 sci-fi related items.   What counts? Short stories, novellas, novels, radio show episodes, television show episodes, movies, graphic novels, comic books, audio books, essays about science fiction, biographies about sci-fi authors, etc. Adapted or abridged works are okay as well.

Why 42?  If you've ever read Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, then you'll know why. 

You're really not going to like it," observed Deep Thought.
"Tell us!"
"All right," said Deep Thought. "The Answer to the Great Question..."
"Yes...!"
"Of Life, the Universe, and Everything..." said Deep Thought.
"Yes...!"
"Is..." said Deep Thought, and paused.
"Yes...!"
"Is..."
"Yes...!!!...?"
"Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.

-The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

I am on the way to filling in that list of 42 because of Heather's Take a Dare Challenge  which I have until April 4th to complete. She dared me to

1. Watch The Princess Bride
2. Watch Willow
3. Watch The Last Unicorn
4. Watch Labyrinth
5. Watch at least 3 episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess
6. Read Dune by Frank Herbert
7. Read The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
8. Read The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
9. Read Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
10. Do a video blog about at least one of these items

So far I have read Dragonsong and I just finished rereading Dune on my nook. Yeah me!  I first read Dune back in the 80's and all I remembered of the story was the blue eyes and the huge worms.  Sometimes getting older and forgetting things has its benefits.  I enjoyed reading the story, for what seemed like the first time, and will be reviewing soon.  2 down, 8 to go.  Next up - The Mists of Avalon.

Hugo books added to my TBR pile over Christmas:   Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein.

What stories are you immersing yourself in this week?