Kia Dynamics

Well, It Could be Worse....

2010-07-28T07:29:00.001-07:00

I threw in some fiction I'd whipped up last month and ... Hey, okay, so it had a little erotic scene. Or three. I write likeAnnie RiceI Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!Then I put in a few blog posts. I write likeH. P. LovecraftI Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing

The Lucifer Effect [52 Books #15]

2008-03-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip Zimbardo Zimbardo explores transformations from ordinary, stable, average individuals into tormentors and murderers. His field is social psychology and his theory is that a three parts that define a person's responses to another are the personality, the situational pressures and the system defining the encounter. In

The Long Tail [52 Books Quickie]

2008-03-06T09:23:00.001-08:00

My next book on the list looks to be long, dense and dry, so I'll through up a review of what s, essentially, an overgrown pamphlet. The Long Tail is a 30-page presentation available online that discusses the economies of a digital world; no significant limitations from distribution and retail channels. We can see it today with Amazon, eBay and iTunes. The premise is that with low overhead,

Before They Are Hanged [52 Books #14]

2008-03-06T08:46:00.001-08:00

Middle book. Sigh. Lots of stuff happens, and I'm still surprised this is Abercrombie's first published work. He's quite good at creating distinct characters and telling an interesting, if a bit standard, fantasy story. The plot is pared down to what he can handle, I believe, and it's a wise choice for a new author. The real love is in the viewpoint characters and the feel of the world he

Blindsight [52 Books #13]

2008-03-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

I really had no idea what I was getting into. Blindsight looks like a hard science fiction first contact novel; it is a first contact novel. But there's so much musing and ideas on the nature of sentience and so many ideas stuffed into the story it made my head spin. The five characters (and one computer) sent out to meet the stranger at the edge of our solar system are far, far from

Creating Unforgettable Characters [52 Books #12}

2008-03-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

Seiger goes through the steps of creating a character for movies and television in clear,concise steps. It's a good guide for anyone looking to make better characters for fiction, dramatized non-fiction, role-playing games, or perhaps that other personality for 'that' chat room. Each character is built through broad strokes then adding details to make them consistent with a real person. The

Virtual Light [52 Books #11]

2008-02-24T16:42:00.000-08:00

Gibson still works wonders with language. He paints landscapes and moods with his choice of words throughout his novels. Closing his eyes, he centers himself in the background hiss of climate-control. He imagines himself in Tokyo, this room in some new wing of the old Imperial. He sees himself in the streets of Chiyoda-ku, beneath the sighing trains. Red paper lanterns line a narrow

How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy [52 Books #10]

2008-02-23T08:03:00.001-08:00

1987 was how many lifetimes ago? Card's writing guide for speculative fiction still has much good information on what works, what doesn't, and where the traps are for young writers. There's probably as good sources of information on the internet but most writing guides say 'buy this book'. And so I did, and while it was a page-turning drama it did keep my interest. The chapters on technique

Lamb, or the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal [52 Books #9]

2008-02-22T08:36:00.000-08:00

Well... Let's assume no one in the world will be offended by this. 'Kay? It's pretty damn funny. Lamb is the story of Biff, who first met Jesus when they were six. Shortly thereafter Jesus punches him for offering to make Mary his concubine. That about sets their relationship up for the rest of the book. Biff is Jesus's close friend, watching his back, facepalming when Jesus tells too

The New Topping Book [52 Books #8]

2008-02-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

I'm a roleplayer. I'm on the internet. Naturally, sex comes up now and then. One thing I learned from the New Topping Book is that the games people play in real life are nothing like the fantasies spun in a torrid corner of your favorite MMORPG. The New Topping Book is a brief, carefully written guide on how to be a top, a dominant, a master or mistress in real life without hurting yourself

The Lies of Locke Lamorra [52 Books #7]

2008-02-22T08:00:00.001-08:00

I'd heard good things about The Lies of Locke Lamorra. Coming off of Blackfoot Physics, which I had several issues with, this book was a joy. I was caught up in the first chapter and blew through the book in a weekend. Not every bit was great, but it was a solid, unique fantasy novel. Locke Lamorra is so not a fantasy hero – he's not even a fantasy villain. He's the scum your D&D party

Blackfoot Physics [52 Books #6]

2008-02-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

Blackfoot Physics was written by a quantum physicist. I expected this book to be more like The Dancing Wu Li Masters, which integrated thoughts on quantum mechanics with eastern principles. Peat instead views the world through the eyes of native american beliefs and attempts to show us the shortcomings in our culture. I felt misled. Peat raises many valid points about western society's loss

The Blade Itself [52 Books #5]

2008-02-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

Love the simple painting of the characters in The Blade Itself. There's not too many, enough to keep the story going, and each is given depth where necessary, and no more. There's some nice sketching by the author to fill in these people and it feels just right. We first meet a warrior losing a fight and barely surviving, then a interrogator, then a infantry leader, then the warrior's

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland [52 Books #4]

2008-02-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

Now this is a fun travel guide. It's arranged more like an encyclopedia of the common fantasy terms. It's damn funny. Some entries are wonderfully snarky, and the book slashes, not pokes, fun at all the tired fantasy cliches. Every bar exists to have fights and give employment to nubile young barmaids, every ancient castle has a dungeon full of monsters except the ones the doddering old king

Halting State [52 Books #3]

2008-02-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I was explaining to my father a few weeks before that books are written in perspectives. First person perspective is 'through the eyes' and immediate. Third person is remote, over-the-shoulder and provides greater view. I explained you really will never find a book written in Second person, and lo, here comes the new book by Chalie Stross. Halting State gave me a rough read. I

Soon I Will Be Invincible [52 Books #2]

2008-02-21T08:56:00.001-08:00

I grew up flirting with comics. My mother would buy my Archie and Richie Rich (her favorite, as if by sympathetic magic of buying his comic, she could become Richie Rich and have his wealth). After a few years I found the comics I loved – Godzilla and Shogun Warriors. Yeah, most kids liked Batman. I was a purveyor of Japanese culture even back in middle school. Blame Star Blazers. By

I am America and So Can You [52 Books #1]

2008-02-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

I received this as a Christmas present from someone who knew I watch the Colbert Report every day. It's a good fun book for a few chapters, better organized than Jon Stewart's similar book. But like Stewart's book the humor seemed to fall away after a few chapters, becoming a haze of similar jokes repeated and recycled for new topics. Colbert's over-the-top ultra-right persona screams

52 Books in 52 Weeks

2008-02-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

Over at the Quater to Three forums the idea of a reading challenge was presented. I'm a little late to the party but I think I can backdate the books I've already read and come in close to the challenge, so I'll just assume I'm in the running.Here's the plan: take enough books to challenge your reading speed and finish them all in 2008: the '52 books' is only a title, so don't panic. If you can

Slapping Some Paint On

2005-07-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

Starting to fix the sidebars, learnign a bit more html for linking to the sites I see every day. This is going to take some time, I'm afraid. Ah, well, not like I'm working at the moment.

So, it Begins

2005-06-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

I guess everyone writing a blog has to start somewhere. So, I'm fishing for a theme and a voice to use for this place; shall I be humble and sparssly posting, bombastic and angry at everyday stories of small minds above their heads? I can try to be just 'me', but I'm too Piro-esque to think people want to see the me under the Me.