Missed It: Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad

I have been meaning to read Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad since it came out 8 years ago (in 2004). Finally this weekend I found a copy and put down the cash. There were a couple of Chuck Palaniuk-y moment that made my stomach go squish garble urk, and some stutters and falters in tone and such. However, the tone is good, characters are witty and self-aware without being precious, and the atmosphere is addictive. Time for the breakdown! Also a greasy yet cute picture of the most common four-legged predator in the Canadian praries.

Thanks, Wiki!

Summary: A couple of young North African kids, one a school dropout and the other a mad scientist, spend their days making neighbourhood children happy and being quietly awesome. That is, until their peaceful Edmontonian existence is disrupted by a mysterious chick, the drug ring chasing her, and some epic WTF surrounding an ancient artefact jar of ulimate McGuffin power. Also there is a bit of cannibalism and some emotionally resonant struggles with growing up/dealing with 'sad violin' topics in one's personal history.

Pros: Likeable main characters. Hamza and Yehat are different guys and although the story is centred on Hamza, Yehat isn't fully relegated to the role of a sidekick. They are pretty well-developed, idiosyncratic, and memorable.

The goons are also a lot of fun to read about. Pow-Zap character profiles preceding each new first person character keep the muliple narrators relatively easy to follow. The villains themselves are surprisingly well-developed specimens of ordinary human evil, complete with Feelings, Ambition, 'n' Stuff!

The atmosphere is probably the best part. The bizarre mix of Norse and Egyptian mythology with a North African backbeat works surprisingly well. The technology sections show their age, but practically everything works. It is hard to find African/non-American/Eurocentric sci-fi, so the vibe is very cool. Also I really want Ethiopian food right now.

Cons: Sheremnefer is also interesting, but what happens to her is predictable and kind of disappointing. A coupke of things here wer, such as

SPOILER ALERT INCOMING!

McGuffin desctruction and NO Happy Endings For Immortals rules coming into effect.

SPOILER MODE DEACTIVATED.

Yehat's intriguing mechanical fuckery wth the R-Mer gets exploration, but not as much as I would have liked, somehow. Also, Hamza is trapped in the past, but development of this is wobbly amd in retrospect it sometimes feels uneven. At least it feels like the character forcing himself to sulk and whimper rather than the author forcing him.

The only forced bit is the wacky sci-fi tomfoolery with the FanBoys and the new recruIts. The book went a lttle too far into the comic book side there. Too much POw-zap during an emotional peak detracted from the poignancy. Its hard to worry for characters when crazy Australians and fascists are tHrowing around swastika boomerangs.

Final Verdict: 7 out of 10. Totally worth a read, and Minister Faust has a really cool and unconventional style, but there were some hard-to-identify yet definite flaws. Still, it is a refreshig change and the Canadian setting is a lot of fun. The thing that would have bumped this novel to an 8 or even a 9 would have been a comic book or graphic novel format.

Well, that's our show for tonight. For more fun, reviews, writing teasers, and general lulz, be sure to come back, or follow me on Twitter at SciFiMagpie. And don't forget to link me to people, because your mother always told you it was polite to share. See you later!

That Feminist Post

Hi gang!

First, I want to send a shout out to my readers in Russia, Belgium, and Germany...thanks for visiting, guys! I'm happy to see that I can interest people outside my own continent.

All right. Well, I used to avoid the 'f' word--not 'fuck', it's a fun word to say--'Feminism'. However, a video series by feministfrequency (here is the first of one of her videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqJUxqkcnKA&feature=relmfu) is making me seriously reconsider that. I see myself primarily as an egalitarian, in the sense that I defend men's rights as well as ensuring that women I describe are real people. However, I have to thank this most excellent vlogger for making me realize: I really am a feminist.

You're probably asking yourself, a) I knew that already, how dense is this girl, or b) why does it matter? The problem is, feminism and feminist writing and art have some really bad press. From the ludicrous and somewhat unsanitary genuine menstrual blood paintings (yes, this is a thing http://www.regretsy.com/2011/07/08/maxed-out-2/ ) to Margaret Atwood's dry, repetitive WORKS OF GREAT LITERATURE, 'feminism' generally gets mistaken for 'straw feminism' or 'shit I wouldn't read/watch if it was the only way to get a cheeseburger whilst I was starving to death on a deserted island'. Even the ladies who are much less annoying or ponderous still tend to go on, say, Disney-hating rampages, or get stuck on irrelevant points involving male vilification/adoration and other straw feminist ideas.
So, clearly I'm implying that I am better than these other ladies--though I want to hastily make it clear that I have been strongly inspired by excellent writers, both male and female, who have done a lot more with their female casts than, well, castrate them. But how can we tell that a film or novel is not merely entertaining, but also a solid representation of more than just male character development?
I could re-write her ideas, and a simplified list of them will probably be an unofficial part 1.5 of this entry. In the meantime, I just have to refer you to this gal's tidy checklists. These are some seriously entertaining and easy ways to see whether a story passes muster for representing human stories from more than the usual North American perspective (i.e. white dude in America). As well, you can adapt a lot of these to see how racist or unracist a story is. For instance, substitute the words 'Magic Negro/Wise Old Asian Dude/Quirky Indian Dude' Trope for 'manic pixie dream girl' to test your given film, and you will have some highly uncomfortable realizations about popular cinema.

I realize that there are probably some white dudes who are pretty unhappy right now. To them, I say--guys, I'm sorry to put you on the spot here, but we need your help to change some of this crap too. I bet you're kind of bored of all those sausage fests in action movies...and dramas...and comedies...in fact, I know you are. There are some hilarious people who don't get a chance to show off because it's a matter of habit to pass them over unless the script calls for 'an ethnic person' or a female. So, show it: Hollywood and a lot of us novelists forget that sexual gender and ethnicities other than 'white' and 'male' should be perfectly normal, rather than just part of a plot device. I've already punched some big holes in Bioware's beautiful and elegant Mass Effect series. Now, readers, I want you to do the same--to your heads.
Give some thought to stuff you read and run your books/films through the Beschdel test: must have two named women talk to each other (preferably for more than 60 seconds) about something other than a man. And then, when you realize how many fail, get your butts back here and let's get some comments going.

Catch you later!