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Showing posts from September, 2022

Arena Rock and Me

Yes  15 August 1977  Providence RI Starship Trooper -- Yes -- 15 Aug1977 -- Providence RI Mid to late 1970's -- the height of the Rock and Roll era. If you lived in a decent-sized market, it seemed like there was a big show every week. If your favorite band was touring, chances were good they'd be coming to your town. By now, Rock (as the genre had come to called) had wide appeal, with a broad audience from the 12-year-olds to the young adults of the Baby Boom generation. There was enough cash burning holes in the pockets of all those Levi's to move the big shows out of the theaters and into the arenas. Into halls built for basketball ... Shitty seats, horrible sound, parking hassles, hearing damage ... although the last was part of the appeal. But it was the BUZZ that made it all worthwhile ... the indescribable feeling you'd get from a surging, converging crowd of 10,000 fellow travelers gathering to get drunk, get high, and soak in some mega-decibels. I was born a

Genre (and Genre-Adjacent) Stuff I've Read Lately

Braking Day -- Adam Oyebanji -- 2022 A young midshipman prepares for the fast approaching day when a small fleet of generation starships will begin braking in preparation for arrival at their destination world after a 132-year journey. He's from the crew class, not the officer class, a rare (potential) climber in a socially stratified world. I was excited to read this one, as I enjoy the Generation Ship sub-genre. Unfortunately, it's written somewhere between Juvenile and Young Adult. With no real adult themes or any nuanced examination of the social system, it reads more as High School in Outer Space. Still, it was enjoyable enough, try it if the theme / setting appeals to you ... or if you're a young adult. And, blessedly, contains no SJW bushwa! Black Sun Rising -- C. S. Friedman -- 1991 First volume of a fantasy/horror (with a bit of SF) trilogy. Set 1000 years after humans settle a planet where the local 'fae' can be channeled to create magic; but, unfortunatel