Losing it[1]

Susana Clarke’s first novel has been attracting a lot of attention. Now, I’m not normally one to take much notice of what other people are taking notice of, but this sounded interesting. I did see some vague comment about it being “Harry Potter for adults”, but that’s both lazy[1] and remarkably inaccurate. Don’t get me wrong - I actually like the Harry Potter books, and I’m looking forward to the next one. But they’re basically traditional school stories with magical trappings. Good fun, but nothing like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

So, what do we have here? For a start it’s a big book - nearly 800 pages[2]. It’s set in an alternative early 19th century, in an England which used to be dominated by magic. Until about 300 years before the action of the novel, Northern England was ruled by the Raven King, a powerful magician brought up by fairies[3]. His work was the foundation of English Magic, but since he disappeared, nobody has performed actual magic - the “magicians” of the time are scholars who read old magical texts and discuss them endlessly.

The story opens in 1806 when the York Society of Magicians encounter Mr Norrell, who claims to be a practical magician. When challenged, he provides a demonstration - the statues of York Cathedral[5] are brought to life. As a result, the York Society is obliged to disband, and its members agree to never study magic again. Norrell want to keep magic (and his extensive library of magical books) to himself.

Having revealed his power, Norrell is persuaded to move to London to aid the government in the war against Napoleon. If I have any quibbles about the book, it’s in the area of overlap between the fictional 19th century and our own. It seems to me that if the country had been dominated by magic for a number of centuries in the past, then little matters like the monarchy might have taken different paths - wars would have had different results, and it’s most unlikely that the same Kings would be ruling, or indeed the same politicians be in power. But that’s a minor point, and it applies to most alternative history stories. After all, if too much is changed, the past becomes unrecognisable…

Norrell continues to work magic for the government and privately, at one point making a dangerous error, which will have consequences that will run through the book. He takes every opportunity to prevent anyone else from gaining magical knowledge - only he can be trusted with such power, it seems. That is until he meets Jonathan Strange, a younger magician, who he immediately takes on as his pupil.

Strange joins the war effort in a more direct way than Norrell, and joins the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula War and later the Battle of Waterloo. It is after the wars that a rift develops between the two magicians…

There’s a lot more to the story, and it’s well worth the time taken to read it[6]. The whole thing is written in what would appear to be an early 19th Century style, including some (presumably) authentic archaic spellings. This is done so well that it doesn’t detract from the book’s readability[7], but adds a great deal of atmosphere.

Lots of characters, lots of locations, lots of fun.

[1] It’s the same phenomenon as new bands being called the “new whatever”….
[2] And it has lots of footnotes[4] in smaller print, which add a lot to the length
[3] Forget any notions of little people with fluttery wings. These are the altogether larger and darker kinds of fairy
[4] Another reason for me to appreciate it - the footnotes are mostly asides, historical notes and references to books. They add a great deal to the overall feel of the book.
[5] One of the numerous footnotes mentions that this church has been known variously as a Minster and a Cathedral over the years
[6] I did mention that it’s rather long, didn’t I?
[7] Sometimes, similar attempts at authenticity fall very flat

I mentioned Sky Captain when I saw it in the cinema last year, so this is just a quick update on the DVD. There are some nice extras - the usual “behind the scenes” stuff (lots of shots of actors strolling around blue screen sets), some deleted scenes, and a moderately silly gag reel.

Perhaps the most interesting extra is the original six-minute short film that was created something like five years before the movie was released - it’s presented as the first chapter in a serial, very much in the Flash Gordon style. Most of it appears virtually unchanged in the final movie, but it’s an entertaining little piece.

It’s also interesting to learn how this developed from a very low budget project into a major production. And the movie’s a lot of fun, too. As I said last time I mentioned it.

This is a slightly[1] overdue review. While Want Two[2] was released only a week or so ago in the UK, I got this on import last year, as I couldn’t be bothered waiting for record companies to get their act together. The release here might have been deliberately timed to coincide with Rufus’s tour[3], but on the other hand it might be general weirdness.

This is Rufus’s fourth album, and it’s pretty much the usual kind of thing - lots of operatic touches coupled with distinctly unsuitable lyrics[5], and some damn catch tunes.

I’m particularly keen on The One You Love, which might even be out as a single[6]. If I had a clue about musical arrangements and the like, I would probably be able to describe this more coherently, but let’s just say it has an interesting rhythm and some lyrics that stick in the mind[7]

The mind has so many pictures
Why can’t I sleep with my eyes open
The mind has so many memories
Can you remember what it looks like when I cry

Another little gem is The Art Teacher, sung from the point of view of a woman looking back to when she was a schoolgirl who fell in love with her art teacher, and

All this having been said,
I married an executive company head
All this having been done, a Turner - I own one
Here I am in this uniformish pantsuit sort of thing
Thinking of the art teacher
I was just a girl then
And never have I loved since then
No never have I loved any other man

You can find some short sound samples on Rufus’s website if you’re interested. If you do fancy this CD, look for the limited edition with the extra DVD - it includes a full length concert as well as Rufus walking around San Francisco enjoying the scenery[8]

[1] Understatement
[2] The follow-up to 2003’s Want One
[3] I’ve got tickets!![4]
[4] Now all I’ve got to do is persuade someone to go with me…
[5] Plenty to offend the kind of people who get offended by this kind of thing
[6] Can’t quite see Rufus troubling the singles chart, but stranger things have happened.
[7] Well my mind, anyway
[8] So to speak

Now this makes a change. A Doctor Who DVD release of a story I’d never actually seen before. Or if I did, I was about five years old and it’s been deleted from long term storage[1]. Anyway, what we have here is a story from 1968 featuring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, Frazer Hines[2] as Jamie and Wendy Padbury as Zoe. All in glorious black and white[3], and (as usual with these DVD releases) remastered, digitally processed and generally magicked into a remarkably watchable piece. It would still be watchable if the quality was poor, but the restoration work does help…

This was something of an experiment for Doctor Who - unlike the usual pure sf or historical stories of the time, this was more of an exercise in fantasy. It obviously didn’t catch on, as subsequently the series stayed with sf.

Anyway, as the Tardis is threatened with being destroyed in a volcanic eruption, the Doctor activates an emergency device which removes it from normal space and time, and into a strange environment. Stranger than usual for Doctor Who, even. The Doctor and his companions find themselves in a world populated by characters from fiction, such as Gulliver, and some rather dangerous mythological creatures to make things more, err, interesting.

As one might expect, there is a controlling force at the centre of all this, and it has designs on the Doctor. Can the Doctor avoid being turned into a fictional character[4] and so falling under control of the master[5] of the world of fiction? Will he and his companions ever return to normal space and time? Well, of course they will. But there’s a lot of fun and games in the process.

This stands up quite well, despite the limitations imposed at the time - very basic effects, recording time so limited that fluffed lines occur a few times and the general low budget feel. I enjoyed it, and not just as a historical curiosity.

Along with the five episodes of the story, the BBC have included the usual generous selection of extras:

• The ever-popular production subtitles - lots of on-screen background information
• A rather good “making of” documentary with contributions from some of the cast and crew
• Frazer Hines talking about his role as Jamie
• And, err, a Basil Brush sketch from the 70s, included because it used one of the Yeti costumes used in another Patrick Troughton story. I remember watching Basil at the time. More nostalgia

All in all, another quality release from the BBC, who deserve a lot of credit for the Doctor Who DVDs.

And of course, the new Doctor Who series starts soon. I’m really looking forward to that!

[1] Funny, it’s usually my short term memory that’s bad
[2] Perhaps better-known these days for spending many years on Emmerdale Farm
[3] Doctor Who didn’t switch to colour until the beginning of the Jon Pertwee era
[4] Yes, yes, I know
[5] Not to be confused with The Master, of course

Ahhhh, nostalgia. Dad’s Army was a long-running BBC sitcom that ran from the late 60s to the late 70s. Based around a unit of the Home Guard[1] in a small English town, and featuring some unforgettable characters, this is classic TV at its best. This DVD offers a small sample of some particularly fine episodes, including what has to be one of the funniest scenes in any sitcom ever.
The platoon has been assigned to guard the crew of a German U-Boat before they can be taken away by the regular army. The captain of the U-Boat (played by Philip Madoc) starts making a list of those who cause offense so they can be brought to account when the Germans win the war[2]. It is at this point that Pike (the youngest member of the platoon, played by Ian Lavender) starts to sing:

Whistle while you work, Hitler is a twerp, he’s half-barmy, so’s his army, whistle while you work

to which the U-Boat captain replies:

Your name will also go on the list! What is it?

and before Pike can respond, Mainwaring shouts

Don’t tell him Pike!

Wonderful stuff, worth the price of the DVD for that scene alone

[1] Volunteers ready to defend the country in the event of a Nazi invasion in World War II
[2] Leading to a lovely panto-style “Oh yes will”, “Oh no you won’t” routine between Madoc and the platooon leader Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe)

Alastair Reynolds is one of those writers I’ve been meaning to get round to for quite some time now. But somehow, I never quite got it together to get hold of any of his books until now, even though the descriptions I’d read made them sound like my kind of thing - Big Space Opera, written by an actual astrophysicist[1]. Anyway, Century Rain looked like something special, so I bought it.

The story opens in 1950s Paris, where we meet private detectives and musicians Floyd and Custine. It soon becomes apparent that this 1950s Paris isn’t our 1950s Paris, though it takes a while for the actual difference to become apparent. Floyd is called in to investigate the death of a young woman after the police dismiss it as an accident or suicide.

The action then switches to Paris a few centuries in the future, long after the Earth has been devastated by a nanotechnological disaster. After a field trip goes badly wrong, archaeologist Verity Auger is forced to carry out a dangerous mission. She has to travel through a wormhole system left behind by an unknown alien civilisation to a replica of mid-twentieth century Earth, which is encased in a huge sphere. Verity’s task is to recover some materials left by another agent, who has died in unknown circumstances.

In the finest film noir tradition, Auger and Floyd find themselves thrown together as a deadly conspiracy is revealed. Who killed the other agent? What is Silver Rain, and can it be prevented from being unleashed on the replica Earth? Throw in a few Casablanca references, some good old-fashioned nicely over the top space battle scenes and a lot of humour, and much more.

Humanity has divided into two main factions, known as “Threshers”[5] and “Slashers”. Slashers?

“It’s all right,” Niagara said. “I won’t be the least bit offended if you call me a Slasher. You probably regard the term as an insult.”
“Isn’t it?” Auger asked, surprised.
“Only if you want it to be.” Niagara made a careful gesture, like some religious benediction: a diagonal slice across his chest and a stab to his heart. “A slash and a dot,” he said. “I doubt it means anything to you, but this was once the mark of an alliance of progressive thinkers linked together by one of the first computer networks.”

A slash and a dot? Slashdot??? Serious geek humour

Having enjoyed Century Rain, I’ll be checking out Reynolds’ earlier work - four (rather long) novels and one book of shorter stories. If I like them, I’ll review them here.

[1] I feel a parallel here: Reynolds was born in South Wales[2], and studied at Newcastle University[4].
[2] Barry, which isn’t all that far from my point of origin[3]
[3] Cardiff
[4] Where I managed a whole year of an Astrophysics degree before crashing, burning and generally failing
[5] So called because they believe in keeping on the “threshold” of certain technology…

Yes, it’s another Erast Fandorin novel! This was the second to be written, and fits directly between The Winter Queen and Murder on the Leviathan. If you haven’t read the books yet, do yourself a favour and read them in the correct order, not the order the UK publisher seems to think is a good idea.

This time, the story is told from the viewpoint of Varvara Surarova, a progressive young woman who is trying to get to the front of the Russo-Turkish war to join her fiancé. Fandorin is trying to get over the events of The Winter Queen, but becomes involved in events when it becomes apparent that there is a traitor at work.

As Fandorin fans[1] would expect, there are diversions, red herrings, misdirections and a lot of fun along the way. I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.

[1] Sorry. I won’t do that again.

I didn’t get round to seeing this one when it was in the cinemas[1], even though it sounded like the kind of thing I’d enjoy. Anyway, I eventually got round to buying it on DVD and watched it last week. Ashton Kutcher stars as Evan Treborn, a young man whose life has been plagued by mysterious blackouts. One day, he starts to read the journals he has kept since childhood and finds that he can move back in time and change what happened. The tagline of the movie is “Change one thing - change everything”, and that’s what happens to Evan and his friends. As he keeps trying to make things better by changing the past, a new present is created, each worse than the last. Eventually, he makes one final, drastic change to his past…

What’s interesting about The Butterfly Effect is the way the main characters change each time Evan changes the past - the actors have the challenge of playing something like four different roles each, and make a superb job of it. Each time Evan wakes up, he has to adjust to a new reality - some more disorienting and disturbing than others.

The movie is visually impressive, as well as being rather more intelligent than the average Hollyweird production. There are brilliant effects for Evan’s journeys back in time, and for the memory flashbacks he experiences when he wakes up.

Thrilling, intriguing, thought provoking. A good movie that I’ll need to watch a few more times, as I’m sure I missed some details the first time. If you liked Donnie Darko[2], you should like this too.

[1] This happens a lot
[2] And if you didn’t, what the heck is wrong with you?

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned Murder on the Leviathan, the first of the Erast Fandorin books that I’d seen. Since then, I’ve done a bit of catching up. The Winter Queen is the first in the series, first published in Russia in 1998 and translated into English in 2003. Boris Akunin has apparently sold over ten million of these books in Russia, and it’s not hard to see why.

The book opens with a young man committing suicide in a Moscow park in May 1876. Erast Fandorin, at twenty years old is a recent recruit into the Criminal Investigation Department, and already bored with writing reports, is eager to investigate the case. It becomes apparent that there is a great deal more going on than first appears, and Fandorin will need all his intelligence and skills to survive.

There are some death-defying stunts worthy of James Bond, and a deep and sinister conspiracy to be revealed. Fandorin also manages to fall in love, but there is a price to be paid….

This, like Leviathan is a lot of fun, and well worth a read.

Oh good. It’s another Doctor Who DVD! This one was first shown in 1977, and stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, and Louise Jameson as Leela.

The story was inspired by the poem Flannan Isle by Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, which I remember studying in school. It’s set on a lighthouse, a perfectly isolated location for the events that unfold. One by one, the crew of the lighthouse and the survivors of a shipwreck are killed. The generator powering the light keeps failing. What is going on? Can there be a connection between the deaths and the strange light that one of the crew saw falling into the sea?

As ever, the Doctor identifies the source of the trouble, and arrives at a solution - too late for the people in the lighthouse, but in time to save Earth from invasion or destruction.

There’s the usual generous selection of extras - the now-standard production subtitles, a look at some of the huge range of Doctor Who merchandise and a couple of documentaries.