Warts and All (Mnemonics)

The Lord Protector of England, Oliver Cromwell, is said to have preferred truth in Art, so when he sat for his official portrait, he instructed the artist to depict his face as it was, "warts and all".

Sometimes the idiom is hyphenated, "warts-and-all" for adjectival use, to describe a scrupulously honest account of something or someone's character with no attempt to hide flaws, faults, and less than attractive attributes.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, although, it might be a tad deceptive to show pimples in a portrait, assuming that pimples are an ephemeral phenomenon.

"Oliver Cromwell said with a smile
One seven six nought yards in a mile."

Who knows whether a successful soldier was amused by measuring distances. The great military dictator's name was probably taken for the purpose of scansion.

One mnemonic that I use at least twice a month, if not more often is:

"Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty-one,
Except for February alone."

Knowing the poem is faster than looking at a calendar or asking Alexa or Claude. At least, I think so. It also uses less electricity.

"Cast ne'er a clout
Till May be out."

This is a very British reminder not to take off any clothes until early summer. If one is of a poetic bent, "May be out" would refer to the flowering of the darling buds of May (May flowers). Even in America in the mid-west and further North, it can snow in April, so waiting until June (the merry month of May being over) to disrobe.

May flowers are hawthorn. This blog has some lovely images.

https://wildfoodpeople.co.uk/neer-cast-a-clout-til-may-be-out/

Mnemonics are devices and tricks to help a person remember information. Three examples posted above demonstrate the use of rhymes or songs. "Warts and all" is memorable because of the vivid mental image

and the associations.

Other devices are the use of acronym: one word made from the initial letters of multiple words that have to be committed to memory, or at least, the meaning of the acronym has to be understood in the case of BOGO. As for SONAR and SCUBA... I wasn't aware that they are acronyms!

https://www.rd.com/article/acronym-examples/

Also, there are what is called Acrostics, where one creates a memorable sentence (or phrase) to nudge recall of an order of words, for instance "My very energetic mother just served us nine pizzas" ... which includes Pluto. Otherwise, the energetic mother might have to dish up Nuts.

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/

All the best,

Rowena Cherry 

SPACE SNARK™

https://www.spacesnark.com/  

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

by Karen S. Wiesner 

  Beware spoilers! 

Not too long ago, I reviewed three "reimagined and unconventional fairytales" by T. Kingfisher. In trying to get a handle on some of the other books Kingfisher has written that include a reinterpretation of beloved fairytales, I came up with this list of her selections, arranged below on the basis of publication dates: 

The Seventh Bride ("Mr. Fox"/"The Robber Bridegroom", and other aberrations)         

Bryony and Roses ("Beauty and the Beast")

The Raven and the Reindeer ("The Snow Queen") 

Thornhedge ("Sleeping Beauty")

A Sorceress Comes to Call ("Goose Girl")

Hemlock & Silver ("Snow White") 

In my previous take on Kingfisher's reimagined fairytales, I reviewed Nettle & Bone, which is like a subversion of everything that's been done in a fairytale all rolled into one, as well as Bryony and Roses and Thornhedge. 

There's a little known (maybe because it's so shocking) fairytale that goes by many names and variants, with two prominent ones being called "Mr. Fox" and "The Robber Bridegroom", that I stumbled upon while brainstorming for future installments of my Woodcutter's Grim Series (which horrorized fairytales). You can actually find the full text of these old tales by looking them up online by their titles. I never wrote a story based on this premise, and now I don't have to, since T. Kingfisher has done it, though I had reservations about her The Seventh Bride rendition. 

The old story goes that a poor miller's daughter is betrothed to a wealthy man who prefers a kind of murderous obstacle course on his wedding night rather than what most people think of for such an event. Turns out, this creep has murdered all his previous brides-to-be and now this new one had better figure out how to get through his carnival of cruelty so she doesn't become the next in line. Interestingly, T. Kingfisher wrote a very short story similar to this idea in "Bluebeard's Wife" (free from her website or you can get it in one of her collections). 

Fortuitously, old fairytales have a predictable manner of storytelling that's bare bones--usually just a skeleton of an extreme external conflict while the rest of the story has little or no internal conflict let alone complex goals or motivations--you know, beyond escaping this bad situation. Settings and in-depth characterization are all but forgotten with these meager tales. So that really allowed Kingfisher to take this glimmer of an idea and make it her own. She sets up a basic scenario with 15-year-old Rhea being a miller's daughter unexpectedly engaged to Lord Crevan. Try to remember that in times gone by, a 15-year-old girl would practically be an old maid if she wasn't already or about to be married, and that most of the historical romances you read probably have very young heroines and you just weren't told their ages in order to prevent the ick factor from spoiling everything. 

Kingfisher sets up several interesting and unique twists on the old story variants, such as the fact that Rhea's parents are neither greedy nor evil--they actually want her to have a good life, and a man who lives in a near-castle certainly seems to fit the bill. Yes, their mill is struggling and extra income would come in handy, but her parents are genuinely saddened by how distraught their daughter is to be "sold off like cattle to the highest bidder", but they initially take a practical approach to her distress. Her mother relates that, once upon a time, she was also forced to marry a man she'd barely met in Rhea's father and look how well that turned out. In this particular world, for a low-born citizen to refuse a lord is a recipe for utter ruin. Bottom line, this family has little or no choice but to comply with anything this man wants from their daughter. 

In this version of the old story, there are many small magics in the world, including those associated with plants, strange creatures, and people who possess minor powers. In The Seventh Bride, Craven is a terrifying sorcerer who uses the gifts of these women he brings to his home to marry (hilariously, they call him "Himself"), trading them for something else he deems of value to him or others. The first wife, Maria, was a witch with a familiar. Craven took most of her power and her spirit bear disappeared in the woods around the manor. Other wives have lost voice, sight, life, death, and will…and all are trapped here in this place, forced to be obedient. Whether or not they're loyal to him is another question, as is whether Rhea can trust anything they say or do.   

Other compelling fleshing-outs are that, once she's at Lord Craven's house, Rhea is set a series of tasks that she must complete. The "or else" is always "or else I'll marry you"--and there's no greater threat. Also, in the author's alter ego trademark (Kingfisher writes children's books under her real name Ursula Vernon that include many, many amazing, "something more" creatures), Rhea doesn't have to go through her terrible ordeal alone. She meets a sweet hedgehog companion who accompanies her and helps her in unfathomable ways that don't seem quite hedgehog-like. More on that later. 

I loved everything about this story except one thing issue that was a two-fold problem. Unfortunately, this very nearly wrecked the whole thing for me. From the beginning, we were set up on the premise that Rhea was a strong and inventive girl, and she would find creative ways to solve her dilemmas and conflicts. We were shown--in an equally gross and funny moment--how she handled a swan who kept stealing her lunch when she packed the creature a horse turd sandwich that the cruel bird quickly regretted snatching from her. However, from that point on, the author stole every opportunity for Rhea to prove her own worth by having her problems conveniently solved by others--her hedgehog, Maria's bear familiar, the clock wife, and other things that rescued her. In the process, they ruined what could have been a heroine worth rooting for beyond the simple reason that we feel compassion for another human being in such a dire circumstance.

In my writing reference titles, I frequently talk about cardinal sins in writing. One of those is that the main character has to lead the action and save the day. She's not in a supporting role, nor can she be rescued when the going gets tough. She can't fall backwards into success. This is her story, her time to be a superhero, her moment in the spotlight. Resolutions to conflict can't stem from symbolism, events, or other people so she never truly solves her own problems. A form of this is sometimes referred to as “coincidence resolution”. While you can have a plot that begins this way, the coincidence must fade to be replaced with very clear choices, purpose, and action. Something similar to the coincidence resolution is deus ex machina--“god from a machine”. This device introduces a resolution brought about by something outside of the story, something cataclysmic or even supernatural that’s not cohesive with the rest of the story--basically, anything illogical that could be dubbed cheating that's introduced to resolve a central conflict. 

In fiction, true change and growth should come from strength within, just as it does in real life. You can't wrap up a conflict with an act of nature, something symbolic that parallels a character's conflict but isn't actually part of it, or in a stranger-to-the-rescue type of event--it won't be believable or fair to the reader, who's spent the entire book waiting to see your character reach the goal of self-fulfillment and success. That triumph also has to be hard-won. She'll probably have a face full of bruises and a heart of pain that will haunt her until the day she dies, but those scars are also ones she can wear proudly. In Writing Fantasy Heroes: Powerful Advice from the Pros (Rogue Blades Presents), it says, "Great heroes have flaws. If a hero is perfect, invulnerable, then he is free of challenge and also free of honor. What is effortless is not honorable; difficulty wins glory and brings the hero to life." Writers should never take the true victory away from their main character by letting anyone or anything else do the work for her. 

In this heinous way, Kingfisher stole the victory from Rhea over and over, letting someone or something else snatch it from her. It was really quite unforgivable, and ultimately it became clear to me that Kingfisher, while in the planning stage of crafting this story, didn't properly equip her heroine with the necessary skills, abilities, and gifts that were cohesive with the plot or setting Rhea was placed in. While I admit this point could be argued, probably the worst part to me was that Kingfisher actually did make tiny inroads toward arming Rhea in such a way that she could have had everything she needed to solve her own problems, if only the author had developed them the way they should have been right from the beginning.

 

Spoiler alert: At the end of the book, Rhea is told by Maria that she possesses some magical abilities. That's why the hedgehog came to her, as it's obviously not a normal creature either. It's her familiar. Maria encourages Rhea to come back to Craven's manor when she can get herself to so Maria can train her in this magic she has.

Why in the world didn't Kingfisher use those hinted at skills to allow Rhea to begin formulating ways to use her fledgling magic (and maybe everything she learned at the mill previously) to deal with the crises she found herself entangled in? That would have been a far more interesting story, too.

 

The second aspect of the problem I had with this story is another cardinal rule of writing that was broken by the author and by her editor, as well, who, shamefully, let her get away with it. The end of The Seventh Bride was so easily resolved, it came off as a total let-down. Yes, the villain got his come-uppance, Rhea got to go home, but "the battle" to get to that point was all but over before it began. It amounted to a page or so. The escalating tension was forgone almost completely, or maybe more aptly, never existed, as if it wasn't needed or necessary. What a disappointment for readers to be robbed of chills and thrills related to Rhea's unique tale! 

When readers finish a book, they should close it believing that the story ended the only way it possibly could have. One of the strongest ways to do this is to create cohesive story elements. Sorry, but here's another lesson from my writing reference titles: Cohesion needs to start with the first spontaneous spark of a story. Characters must blend naturally with the settings they've been placed in, just as plot must become an organic part of the characters and settings. If a story doesn’t work, it could very well be because the character, plot, and setting elements aren’t blending naturally. 

Character reveals plot and setting, just as plot and setting reveal character, and setting reveals character and plot. This three-way trinity is vital to the dimensionality of your stories. They work together to unearth, connect, and layer a story. The strongest stories are the ones in which every part of the story--the characters’ role, physical descriptions, personalities, strengths and weaknesses, relationships, skills, conflicts, goals and motivation, and settings--becomes cohesive and fits together organically. We’ve all read stories in which the parts don’t merge naturally. Maybe we didn’t notice a specific problem, but we knew something was off, that something lacked logic or didn’t quite fit with the rest of the story, and the imbalance frustrated us. There’s a chance you never finished reading the story. The books that you absolutely cannot put down without losing a little of your sanity, the stories that stay with you every minute of the time you’re reading them and for years afterward, are the ones in which every aspect is so intricately connected that separating the threads is impossible. 

On top of the crucial need for cohesion with story elements is that, in the back of the writer's mind at every point in the storytelling should be the fact that the end of the story is where it's going. The author continuously builds toward the wrap. The direction is pivotal because, as with an opening, the story beginning should resonate throughout the rest of the book, satisfy the resolution, and may even tie into the final sentence. The end grounds and justifies the whole of the story. James Scott Bell says in Plot & Structure, "…almost all great jokes are built on a structure of three--the setup, the body, and the payoff." Stories are no different with the beginning, middle and end. Specifically, all story endings must be logical, with a sense of inevitability. Everything's been leading up to the closer, regardless of red herrings, artful concealments, and delaying tactics. But is the ending warranted and utterly logical; does it fit what the author has promised the reader from the beginning as the payoff for coming along for the ride? Endings should always require a "the only way it could end" declaration, but that doesn't mean they can't (and shouldn't) be surprising, too There's a big difference between a twist (reader is stunned, speechless but gratefully overjoyed) and a trick (reader feels cheated, the victim of a bait-and-switch, unforgivably incensed). Steven Pressman says in his article "Setups and Payoffs", "If the payoff is really good, we realize, in the end, that there was no surprise at all. What had seemed to be a turn of fate proves to be inevitable and, as we realize it, we receive the gift of insight. We should have seen it coming!” Maybe you can't please everyone with your story ending, but you should at the very least satisfy them with a coherent conclusion.

T. Kingfisher's ending here felt rushed and lacking in anything resembling suspense and anticipation. I'm left regretting all the could and should have beens instead of what we were given that couldn't possibly satisfy me. Very sad because I actually enjoyed every part of the story other than those seriously sad, truncated, and disenchanting pages at the end of Chapter 28. Sigh. If only the story had actually developed the potential Kingfisher instead threw at the reader like refuse (or a horse turd sandwich) in the very last chapter. 

While some readers (and even writers) might choose to overlook the problems in this story in favor of just enjoying Kingfisher's generally lively prose--which I might add, I like 75% of the time--I don't feel this one was as good as it could have been if only it'd been properly developed. I will note that it is the first of these types of stories she tried to write (published in 2014), so maybe she can be forgiven. I'm currently reading A Sorceress Comes to Call and plan to review it next. Fingers crossed that it's as strong as the majority of her other (later) stories. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Vampire review: Love Bites

Among the many novels with the same or similar title, LOVE BITES (1995), by Margaret St. George, stands out by belonging to the Harlequin American Romance line. Not where you’d expect to find a vampire novel! At that time, vampires were hardly ever featured in category romances. Harlequin hadn't started its sadly now-defunct Nocturne line yet. This book stuck in my mind because of its quirky, humorous tone (until matters get serious and suspenseful toward the end, at least).

Kay Erickson takes a job as personal assistant to Trevor d’Laine, host of a late-night radio talk show. Long before Kitty the radio-hostess werewolf in Carrie Vaughn’s series, Trevor reaches out to the demographic of creatures of the night. Kay, of course, initially thinks his claim of vampirism is a publicity stunt. She humors his persona, accepting the title of “Renfield” playfully bestowed on all mortal sidekicks of vampires. Later she suspects him of being delusional, although of course she still finds him fun and sexy. When she suggests he should seek treatment for his delusions, he says he doesn’t want to get analyzed and “turned into one of those brooding apologetic-type vampires.” This dialogue illustrates the tone of much of the book, even though we get glimpses of darkness in the conflict between Trevor’s type of vampires, who want to coexist with humanity rather than harming people, and the type who regard us as merely prey. The night-to-night routine of a vampire and his Renfield makes fun reading, spiced by the mounting attraction between Trevor and Kay. Eventually he tells her about his early life, revealing that he hasn’t always been the carefree, well-adjusted denizen of the night he currently claims to be. When the inevitable clash with the “evil” vampire lurking in the background of the story builds to a crisis, Kay has to call in help from other Renfields.

Not only did I enjoy the humor in this novel, I liked the way Trevor relishes his vampire existence rather than wallowing in the angst-ridden lifestyle of so many of his fictional contemporaries. He has no desire to become mortal again. Nor does Kay want to become a vampire. Unlike the typical paranormal romance heroine (including most of my characters, I confess), who quickly grows to appreciate the ravishing eroticism of vampirism as such, Kay is thoroughly turned off by her first glimpse of fangs. So how can they hope to get together permanently? Trevor and his undead friends fairly evaluate the pros and cons of reverting to mortality (if that were possible), with remaining a vampire viewed as mostly preferable. I won’t give away the ending, but for any hardcore reader of the subgenre, it’s pretty much what you’d expect. Both Trevor and Kay are refreshingly different from the usual vampire hero and human heroine of the time, and the plot device of a clash between organized groups of “good” vampires who don’t harm human donors and their opponents who have no such scruples hadn’t yet become as overly familiar as it is now. The atmosphere of LOVE BITES anticipates the blended humor and suspense of Lynsay Sands’ Argeneau series. Too bad St. George didn’t write any additional vampire novels, as far as I can tell.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

Good News For High Rollers

For authors and their promotion teams who wish to make a big splash with contests, sweepstakes and other promotions, there is good news. 

Instead of having to ask contest winners for a W-9, (which is an official form on which a recipient provides their name, address and social security number), and send them a year-end 1099-MISC if they won a prize worth $600, the threshold for that nuisance is now $2,000.

That level of prize-giving might be excessive. It is still unlawful to require the purchase of one's book as a condition of entry for a chance at winning anything, whether it is cash, experiences, merchandise or a gift basket.

For more about advertising law, and the proper reporting to the IRS of prizes in excess go $1,999-00 see the Venable blog written by Melissa Landau Steinman, Christopher N. Moran, and Eden Caliendo.

https://www.allaboutadvertisinglaw.com/2026/01/new-prize-tax-rules-raise-the-1099-threshold-for-sweepstakes-and-contests.html#page=1

Even so, authors who run giveaways are still required to keep accurate records of what prizes were given to whom, even when the prizes are too small to have to be reported.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: Songs of Love and Death Anthology Edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: Songs of Love and Death Anthology

Edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

by Karen S. Wiesner 

  Beware spoilers! 

Songs of Love and Death, published in 2010, is another cross-genre anthology George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois edited and assembled together. As before, this collection with 17 short stories features authors with big names who are award-winning and undeniably gifted. While most of the stories were standalones, some were tied to larger literary worlds. I will comment that a good number of these same authors have appeared in other Martin/Dozois anthologies. I seem to recall that when I included my friends in my collaborative works, I got no end of flak for my nepotism. Apparently, it depends on how popular those doing the "hiring" are--enough, and they get pass for exhibiting favoritism. I actually don't mind too much; just commenting. In any case, the overall gist of this one is star-crossed love, whether in the realm of fantasy, history, the supernatural, or the wider galaxy. 

Similar to other Martin/Dozois anthologies, each installment was preceded by a short author biography and a bare bones introductory blurb to the story, which I found very unsatisfying. Below you'll find the installments I'm covering in this review listed in the order they appear in the original publication in one volume.                                                                   

1)              "Love Hurts" by Jim Butcher (the first story to appear in the collection): Part of The Dresden Files series with the gritty wizard PI Harry Dresden, in this tale, the author spared little or no backward glances or explanations for all that came before--maybe a blessing or a curse. I've never read anything in the series (and possibly by this author? I can't quite remember). This story has the detective and other associates investigating a trio of disturbing love crimes. The mundane chore of following the clues and trail were more than adequately covered, especially in the beginning, but in the process storytelling became seriously boring. The out-of-nowhere, twist end just barely saved it. There were moments of fun and funny, but I wasn't really pulled into the much wider body of works by either the main character or the supernatural world it's set in. I would think the point of contributing a series story to an anthology would be to get readers intrigued about that series as a whole. I don't think this did that. But if I was already a fan of the series, I'm sure I would have enjoyed this one immensely, as I would have recognized the characters and situations and so the experience would have been richer.

 

2)              "Blue Boots" by Robin Hobb (the seventh story featured in the collection): Actually, the whole reason I purchased this anthology was because I wanted to read this last story from The Realm of the Elderlings series that I hadn't yet. "Blue Boots" is a short tale connected to the series but stands on its own. Here, 17-year-old Timbal has recently lost her father to bandits who killed him and robbed everything they owned. All she has left of him are her memories and the pair of blue boots he gave her. She goes to work as a kitchen girl at a lesser keep in Buck Duchy, Timberrock Keep. Here, she falls in love in love at first sight with Azen, a minstrel who begins to sing songs of her blue boots and, in short order, woos, seduces, and, abruptly he seemingly abandons her.

This is one of these stories that I liked despite all reason. Timbal is young and stupid. Even when she's told by other maids the way of minstrels (love 'em and leave 'em) along with specifics like the fact that Azen grew up with Lady Lucent, was most certainly her lover, and may be trying to make her pregnant since the Lord of the keep is incapable of impregnating his wife, Timbal gives not a single thought to the consequences of going along with anything Azen suggests. Suddenly, she's alone, ridiculed for her foolishness by the servants around her, and she realizes what could happen to her if she ends up pregnant, forsaken, and scorned. She loses the will to live after hearing the gossip that Lady Lucent has gone off with Azen.

Over and over, it's said in the story that Timbal was 17--and that was the reason and justification for all that befalls her. But there's no way for her to claim ignorance or the recklessness of youth to excuse her behavior. How many stories and songs tell of such things, how often does anyone have to be told the ramifications of what will no doubt happen as a result of falling for someone above her station? Much like Jane Eyre (one of my all-time favorite stories), imprudence isn't ultimately rewarded with harsh reality in "Blue Boots". I cared about Timbal despite her hopeless, romantic folly, and I didn't want to see her come to a bad end. The conclusion of this story was unforgivably rushed, almost as if it didn't matter, though of course it was the whole point of even writing/reading the story! Outside of that, I enjoyed it, though a part of me does wish the author had found a less conventional resolution to this all-too-familiar, vaguely ho-hum tale.

 

3)              "Kaskia" by Peter S. Beagle (the fifteenth included in the collection): In this story of a kind of cosmic, literally-across-space-and-time dating service, a friend of Martin's brings him together with a being of unfathomable origin through a computer program when he provides a laptop just for him. Martin is in a loveless marriage, and Kaskia seems like everything he's ever wanted in a mate. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that I liked or even enjoyed this oddball tale, it did keep me interested all the way through the few pages, more to find out what could possibly happen with these "star-crossed lovers". The answer is a little disturbing--sort of like finding out that the person you've been chatting with online is a little kid. Um, eww that this was included in an anthology with supposed love stories.

 

4)              "Man in the Mirror" by Yasmine Galenorn (the sixteenth entry): Laurel has the horrifying misfortune of having been almost murdered on her wedding night by her husband Jason (think Prince Humperdinck planning his intended Buttercup's murder for their wedding night, only not so funny). Jason plans his revenge from beyond the grave by using his cousin Galen. Galen is a ghost trapped in a world where he can see the living and, once a year on Halloween, can exchange places permanently with someone if he's able to pull that person inside the mirror so he can take their place outside. Galen has been listening to the evil mutterings of his cousin about Lauren, only he finds he's been led to believe things that aren't true about her. This very short tale held me bewitched as the mildly terrifying ghost is forced to make a pivotal choice. The twist ending was a pleasant surprise.

 

5)              "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" by Diana Gabaldon (the seventeenth in the collection): There's another story associated with this one written by the author called An Echo in the Bone for those who follow Gabaldon's work, and both of these are associated with her très populaire Outlander series. In this anthology entry, a very memorable pilot is determined to return home to his beloved wife and child whatever it costs to do so. I found the storytelling here off-beat and compelling, and what came about was anything but predictable. Those are the best parts, but, in all honesty, I probably would have struggled to finish this story if it was any longer. 

For those of you following my anthology reviews, if I'd edited and assembled this collection, I probably would have started with the Hobb story and ended with Galenorn (those were the two strongest, IMHO), then placed the Gabaldon in the middle as the ninth story, the Dresdon at five and the Beagle at thirteen with the rest of the stories around them. 

Songs of Love and Death inadvertently highlighted why I became disillusioned with the romance genre as a whole several years ago. More often than not, my idea of a good romantic story tends not to match what others enjoy. Too many of these stories were just disturbed. Others didn't have the space to expand the way they needed to in order to warrant feelings between the characters that, as a result, came off as superficial. Still others just didn't resonate with me the way I would have liked--probably no fault of the authors, as all the stories were certainly well-written. Maybe if I'd read them at another time, I would have had a different reaction. I guess I should have realized what I might be getting myself into in Martin's "Stories from the Spinner Rack" essay (from another of his collections with Dozois) in which he said he'd tried to read romances and never got into them. Yeah, that explains a lot here. 

Those who are fans of unconventional, even twisted tales of romance will probably enjoy this anthology much more than I did. That said, at least one or two of the inclusions should satisfy most readers. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series. Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Bizarre Biology -- Bone-Eating Worms

In the category of creatures that would be hard to believe if invented in fiction as aliens, meet Osedax, commonly known as bone-eating worms:

Osedax

They're marine animals, a variety of tube worms, that live on the bones of decaying corpses such as those of whales.

They don't have a mouth, a digestive system, or an anus. Instead, they absorb nourishment more like plants than animals, through the magic of symbiosis. Adult females are sessile (fixed in place). They "settle on a bone, then secrete an acid through specialized root tissues to dissolve the bone's external layers in order to access the lipids within." Their symbiotic bacteria, which aid in processing nutrients for their Osedax host, live inside the worm's "vascularized root system which penetrates bone."

Even weirder is their extreme sexual dimorphism. Anglerfish, whose males atrophy into tiny lumps permanently attached to their female partners, seem ordinary by comparison. A female Osedax hosts 50 to 100 microscopic males (producing sperm while never developing past the larval stage) that live inside the tube surrounding her body. Therefore, when females spawn, the eggs emerge already fertilized.

Water-dwelling animals with roots? If we encountered something like Osedax on an extraterrestrial planet, we might have trouble recognizing it as an animal rather than a plant. Moreover, we'd probably assume it's a female reproducing by parthenogenisis until we had a chance to examine it closely and discover the microscopic males. What if similar tube worms on an alien world had evolved intelligence? Their biology and behavior would be so different from ours that communication with them would be very difficult -- rather like talking with trees on Earth, except that at least we share the same environment with our tree neighbors.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

April Fools

Happy Easter. 

Unfortunately, April Fools posts seem to be all over my usual sources, so I don't dare report on anything alien-, writing, or copyright-related for fear of being a greater fool.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: The Half-Life Empire Series by Shami Stovall by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review:

The Half-Life Empire Series by Shami Stovall

by Karen S. Wiesner 

 

Be aware that there may be spoilers in this review. 

A week ago, I reviewed the first series I'd experienced written by Shami Stovall, Astra Academy. Within that review, I talked about how each book in the series was rollicking fun, especially the audiobook versions, which had me coming back for more. With constant tension, well-drawn characters and interesting settings, I enjoyed Astra Academy Series, despite being unable to escape that everything was taking place within a world created by someone else. The author inserted her characters, settings, and plots into it, then spun all her series installments out from there. I wondered if what she'd done with that series could be considered fan fiction--creative writing that allowed fans to explore their favorite universes and characters in new ways, often expanding on scenarios not covered in the original material." With The Half-Life Empire series, I faced the exact same situation. After I finished the Astra Academy Series, the only other book by this author on my two library apps was the first in another series. 

To further prove my point in my previous review of Stovall's series, The Half-Life Empire series also seems to be boldly similar to the well-loved world of the Fallout videogame franchise. As I was listening to the first audiobook, I was constantly thinking, "Dodge City? Or do you mean Diamond City?" "Bishop--sexy, fun version of Boone or MacReady?" "Alien invasion in a post-apocalyptic world--what? But, yup, those go right back to the very first Fallout game, and most that came after it." There are simply too many parallels to ignore. I was being hit over the head with the similarities at every turn. Truth told, I'm not a huge fan of the Fallout videogame franchise myself--it's my husband's favorite. I've tried playing them all a time or two and can't really get into any of them. Since we play our games side-by-side, though, I'm well-versed in all things Fallout. But, as with Astra, even though on principle, it bothers me when writers use other authors' worlds for their own work, that didn't stop me from enjoying The Half-Life Empire series even more than Astra Academy. 

First, some summary of the three installments, which are all (unoriginally) named "The Half-Life Empire" with book numbers: 

Book 1 was published in 2023. Set within a post-alien-invasion America, Kita is a hacker who wants to escape Ex Cathedra and make it to an underground greenhouse capable of sheltering a quarter of a million people. To that end, she steals a fission battery from the "judges" (power-armored, super soldiers--yup, Fallout had those, too) that will be required if she's going to get the oasis up and running. In the process, she meets Dallas, who's trying to save his young daughter. When it comes down to a choice between his daughter getting away with Kita and him staying behind to ensure their escape, he does it. Suddenly, Kita, who limps from a previous injury, is on her own with a mute child. While on the run, they meet up with Bishop, a junk hunter, who nicknames the girl Crouton. There are many dangerous factions between Kita and her destination, and who can she trust? In the process of finding out, Kita discovers the truth about her grandfather and the aliens. She's also growing fiercely protective of Crouton (so like the little sister she lost) and helplessly falling in love with a man who's goal in life initially seems to be making sure he survives long enough to add his kills to his body tattoo tally. Oh, and, if she doesn't find a way to stop it, the end of the world is…again…nigh. 

Book 2 (published in 2024) continues with Kita and her motley crew, having narrowly avoided the decimation of Earth, working to ensure her grandfather's mission in bringing peace between Earth survivors and the aliens isn't forever lost. 

Book 3 (also published in 2024) finds Kita and those who have become family to her building a new world that includes peace with the aliens. Naturally, there are many factions who oppose such an ideal, making the culmination of this dream a very unlikely prospect. 

All the characters in this series are wonderfully fleshed out with valid and heart-rending internal and external conflicts and root-worthy goals and motivations. The audiobooks featured Diana Richardson's multifaceted vocals. She did a fantastic job of making the books come to life in a way that was addictive--I could hardly wait to listen to the books each day. I couldn't get enough of Half-Life, especially the romance between Kita and Bishop. Crouton was irresistible as well. I absolutely had to find out how all this would end. 

While I can't escape the parallels to other authors' works when reading anything by Stovall, and I'm sure if I read any of her other, numerous series, I might find even more similarities, I've devoured at least two of her series on audiobooks. Grumbling and misgivings--and maybe some private flogging aside--I'm having too good of a time hearing these stories spin out. If you like Fallout, there's no way you won't be crazy about Half-Life. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Robotic Household Servants

The Jetsons' robot maid, Rosie, may become reality. As an SF fan, I say it's about time -- Heinlein's THE DOOR INTO SUMMER predicted this development to occur in 1970. The Figure AI company claims its humanoid robot, Figure 03, will "become the first robot suitable for carrying out domestic chores in the home, as well as all kinds of manual labor":

The Robot in Your Kitchen

The company aspires to the long-elusive achievement of "building a humanoid robot that can navigate the unpredictabilities of the world with the same fluidity as a person." The demo shows a Figure 03 folding laundry, a more complex procedure than it sounds like. The robots have the potential to learn a wide variety of domestic chores, and, according to their creator, are making rapid progress. They're trained by watching videos of people doing the tasks over and over. The automatons have mastered "object permanence," remembering the location of a hidden object. They'll allegedly be able to follow voice commands. The company is programming them with a proprietary version of safety limitations analogous to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.

The robots in the photos accompanying the article do look humanoid -- two arms, two legs, one head -- but not in the least cute or friendly. Why do they need to be shaped exactly like human beings anyway, though? Instead of only two jointed arms, wouldn't they perform more efficiently with multiple, flexible, tentacle-like appendages? Should they have more than two legs for greater stability? How about eyes encircling the head to give 360-degree vision instead of only two eyes on the front?

In short, do they have to look like Rosie? I'm reminded of a poem by Suzette Haden Elgin about personal care robots for the elderly to which their owners got so attached they refused replacements when the machines became obsolete or unrepairable. Therefore, the next model of robotic companion "looked exactly like a broom." Regardless of how the devices look though, people do tend to anthropomorphize any gadget that seems to have independent volition, including Alexa "personal assistants" and even Roombas. The 2025 issue of THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION includes a story about futuristic Alexa-like programs so advanced they possess consciousness -- and, like many fictional artificial-intelligence entities, come to resent being treated as slaves.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

Rote, Actually?

Is Artificial Intelligence a misnomer? Is it actually rote learning on a monumental scale? If it is the product of rote, is it creative?

How would you feel if your favorite author, or favorite musician was a mix-and-match machine, rather like a GovX.com "Exquisite Corpse" advertisement (where you see a head of perhaps a nurse, the torso of a firefighter, and the legs of a Navy seal) ?

If you, as a consumer, do not care, what about if you were a competing creator? Or a collector? AI is obviously efficient and fast-to-market, and costs nothing. A print of a masterwork might be similar, but an original has immense value, and a print does not, unless it is a signed, numbered print from a limited series.

I'm thinking of the Pierce Brosnan "Thomas Crown Affair" (which I think is really good, and it has a happier ending --implied-- than does the Steve McQueen "Thomas Crown Affair), and also I'm thinking of "Notting Hill". The former has forgeries and an original, the latter has a --probably legal-- print and the original.

Would museums and art galleries become redundant if everyone could have a reproduction of the world's greatest masterpieces in their home for no cost? Are those places "a good thing"? I think they are. I think that the experience of going to a magnificent building, and admiring something in company with other appreciators of Art... is a good thing for society and for individual sanity and humanity.

While I don't "get" Picasso or Jackson Pollock, I respect that others see great value in their works. I should be sorry if anyone could get a printer attached to AI and verbally request "a Picasso" or "a Jackson Pollock". If that flies, any reader could speak into a printer and ask for "a J. K. Rowling" or "a Shakespeare" or "a Maya Angelou".

For that matter, I don't particularly appreciate my husband's obsession with stripe-art, but because he is/was a famous designer, his private works might be worth something, so I should declare my conflict of interest.

Eric Blair, who wrote as George Orwell, brought fascinating life experience to his writing. He fought in a foreign war as a volunteer (Homage to Catalonia), he served as a colonial law enforcement officer in Burma (Shooting The Elephant), he experienced homelessness (The Road to Wigan Pier) and (Down and Out In London And Paris). How does AI substitute itself for the authenticity of lived experience?

There's a Beatles song, "Now and Then"... but two surviving members of the group were able to manipulate existing recordings to complete a work that was never completed by their band and arguably by one of their most creative members.

That is a very different kettle of fish (apologies for the figure of speech), to the case of the North Carolina musician who recently pleaded guilty to AI-assisted music-streaming fraud. What the accused allegedly did was to use fake songs, and also to create fake fans of those fake songs in order to upgrade his fake listings and thereby deprive legitimate musicians of their rankings, ratings, and percentages of revenue.

The song-streaming services that are alleged to have unwittingly (that is the thing with automated services... no one is to blame on their side) enabled his fraud are Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music... and more.

This North Carolina "musician" claimed (presumably under oath) that he could get more than 660,000 plays per day, worth perhaps $1,000,000 a year in royalties,

As EFF writes:

"This is part of a growing problem regarding artificial intelligence-created music. The Rolling Stone report explained that this harms flesh-and-blood artists because streaming services pay them from a shared pool based on total plays. This means Smith’s fake songs “stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters, and other rights holders whose songs were legitimately streamed.”

Some experts estimate that as much as 10 percent of all streams could be fake, which costs the industry billions of dollars per year. "

So, if you want to listen to Bob Seger, or Eric Clapton, or Dire Straits, or David Bowie, or the Highwaymen, do you want to listen to them, or to something rote, actually?

All the best,

Rowena Cherry. Space Snark

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: Astra Academy Series by Shami Stovall by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review:

Astra Academy Series by Shami Stovall

by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Be aware that there may be spoilers in this review. 

I picked up a trade paperback copy of Shami Stovall's first Astra Academy Series, Academy Arcanist, from a used bookstore. Even from just the back cover blurb, I had a pretty good idea that it was going to be a Harry Potter series knockoff. The premise of Astra Academy is a school full of arcanists (witches and wizards) who have to bond with a mystical creature, called an eldrin, in order to really tap into their magical potential. (Gee, can you say Patronus anyone?) 

The main character is Gray Lexly. Gray has a hugely muscular twin brother named Sorin who loves to make up his own poetry extemporaneously. Sorin is also a wizard in the making. Later, Sorin gets a witch girlfriend named Hermione. Okay, her name is actually Nini--but Victor Krum calls Hermione "Hermy-own" in the HP series and that kind of sounds like minny, ninny. All the Eldrin creatures are different with various types and degrees of power. All this is exciting, only Voldemort wants to break free and take over the world. Wait, I mean, Death Lord Deimos wants to break free from the abyssal hells--where the dead live. For some reason, only first-year student Harry…um, I mean, only Gray and his small band of misfit friends can defeat this evil.

This is actually just the start of all the endless connections I made with the HP series while I was reading Astra Academy. The sheer number of parallels became so overwhelming, I sometimes felt hit over the head with them. Just when it seemed like the series might set itself apart from its predecessor, the reader is held down and kicked with "Do-you-see-the-similarities-now?" driving-force boots. 

Does this make the series any less compelling? I'm not a hundred percent sure how to answer that, but I'll try to make some sense of this conundrum in the latter part of this review. I will say for sure that if I hadn't found Books 2-4 in audiobook format on my library app, I wouldn't have continued the series beyond Book 1 (as I didn't want to pay to read this particular series--the vow I started last year was to only put out cash for books I've actually read and loved instead of buying anything that vaguely sounds like something I'd like). The audiobooks were lively and fun and kept me coming back for more. They were all immediately available to me for checkout on Hoopla (none of them were available on my Libby library app in audio- or ebook format). When I went searching for Book 5, I found out it wasn't coming out until a later time (luckily, the library app did get a copy of the audiobook when it became available). That forced a lag between Books 1-4 and the final in the series. Fortunately, I remembered everything necessary without having to go backward, as it was only a few months I had to wait. Oh, how I dislike starting a series when all the books in it aren't out yet. Add insult to injury because libraries tend to be hit-and-miss in regards to making sure all series books are available. Again, I got lucky and they did get this one (though I'm still waiting for a final in another of Stovall's other series, which I'll review next week).I was really glad to get closure with this series. 

Additionally, while I was undertaking more research on this series, I found out that Astra Academy is also just one of a subseries with other connected series. Per my usual modus operandi, I'd jumped into this "umbrella" series (which doesn't have an overall name that I'm aware of) in the wrong place, as this was not the first series in technical reading order. At least, I don't think it is. Ugh! Here's what I dug up: 

  Frith Chronicles Books (with 8 novels and a collection of shorts) features a gravedigger who becomes an arcanist with a knightmare--a Eldrin made of shadow and terror--the very same mystical creature that becomes Sorin's Eldrin in Astra Academy. These books were published between 2019-2023. 

  The Kirin Arcanist Books were novels written with Ryan Tang. So there's a tournament that arcanists from around the world can participate in with the prize being that the one who gets the crown also gets turned into a powerful god-like arcanist. Pretty cool, right? These books were published between 2023-2025. 

The suggested reading order of these connected series is very unclear, so I'm going to guess, based on the publication dates, that Frith comes first, followed by Astra Academy, and finally Kirin Arcanist. As to what the chronological order should be, the author should have put more specific information about all this on her website, but there's nothing there (all the series are all plunked on the pages in willy-nilly fashion--don't expect any help sorting this mess out there). I did find more in-depth information about the author's many series on Fandom Wiki (in the search bar here, put "Shami Stovall" to see a listing). If someone spent hours upon hours or was already a widely entrenched fan of this author, I'm sure they'd find whatever they were looking for here. But my point is that brand new fans are left in the dark, dense woods about where to jump into all this. I didn't really want to go deep diving for it, so I'm sorry to say that, if you're new to Shami Stovall's series, you'll have to lump it and blind-plunge in just as I did. 

Now that we've established…not much of anything useful with what proceeded, let's have some summary of the five Astra Academy books: 

Academy Arcanist, Book 1 (published in 2022), opens with Gray plagued by terrible nightmares where he's visited by monsters in a dreamscape and they can actually injure him. He wakes up with real wounds. His parents think he fell out of bed, but his twin Sorin believes him and tries to help him. He's eventually saved from death within the nightmare by Professor Helmith, who tells him she's a powerful arcanist and she invites him to attend Astra Academy. Gray becomes a mimic arcanist, his Eldrin Twain (whose permanent form is an adorable kitty cat) can take the form and power of any other mystical creature nearby). Once Gray and Sorin are established in the school, the plot heads down the road so Professor Helmith is in trouble because a traitorous professor (no, not Quirrell) is in league with an evil Death Lord that wants to escape the abyssal hells, opens a portal, and Gray, who's a brand-new arcanist and green as algae, somehow is the only person who can save the day. Well, temporarily anyway. 

Mimic Arcanist, Book 2 (2023) has Gray, Sorin, and their fellow student "company" hoping to focus on studying and honing their new magics at the academy. But Gray finds a horcrux…I mean, a fragment of the portal he'd closed in Book 1 that allows abyssal hell's monsters into the world of the living. Now Gray's group and the academy need to find all those rogue fragments. But, before they can, Chief Death Eater Vold…{cough} Death Lord Deimos arrives in the mortal world, and Gray once more has to save everybody. 

Abyssal Arcanist, Book 3 (2023) revolves around treasonous arcanists within the academy plotting to destroy the school. Deimos has been trapped in an itty bitty baby's body and has to be fed by bottle and carried around everywhere… No, that's not right. He was actually he was trapped in a dreamscape by Professor Helmith. But Voldemort and Harry are connected by the horcruxes, and Ron, and Hermoine are standing right there beside their friend-- That is to say, Gray and Deimos are connected by soul fragments, and, instead of the teachers at the academy doing the heavy lifting, it's up to wet-behind-the-ears Gray, Sorin, Nini and their other unpopular friends to clean up this mess. 

In Death Lord Arcanist, Book 4 (2024), Harry is trapped in a hedge maze that teleports him to a graveyard where Voldemort and his Death Eaters are waiting… Nope, got bludgeoned again, but I'm all right. It's Gray that's trapped in the abyssal hells and Death Lord Deimos--who is now not a friend but also not an enemy--is injured. Another Death Lord (Naiad) wants to destroy all other Death Lords who are trying to open abyssal portals into the world of the living. Gray shortsightedly teams up with Deimos to fix it and, well, that can't lead to anything good, can it? 

The latest installment in this subseries, Labyrinth Arcanist, Book 5 (2025), details the final confrontation between the juvenile arcanist superheroes (and some of their occasionally half-witted teachers) and Death Lord arcanists from the abyssal hells. Right from the start, I was pretty sure who would win (against all odds). I will note that I don't believe this is the final offering in the series. It ended on a cliffhanger, with Gray pointing out that they still had to defeat the remaining Death Lords. So I expect there will be more to follow.

While I wouldn't say I was a huge fan of Gray Lexly in these books--he's a pompous character who unfortunately almost always gets exactly what he wants, which sets a bad precedent. (I did love Harry Potter and all his friends. Just saying.) Gray seems to think everyone around him is stupid, though occasionally he has good thoughts for the weak, pitiful mortals he looks down upon and graces with his sympathy. Sorin was a more interesting character, and Twain was cutely fun. I also really liked that the villain of this series, Deimos, wasn't straight-up evil. While the reader was aware he was always acting in his own best interests, he, like Voldemort, was a complicated character with a backstory, internal and external conflicts, and motivations that made him intriguing. 

Each book in the series was rollicking good fun, especially read by Michael Langan in the audiobook versions, which had me coming back nearly every day for more. There was always something happening, providing pretty much constant tension. The characters were basically well-drawn while the settings were interesting. In a general way, I'd say I actually liked this series. My big problem was that I couldn't escape the feeling that this was all taking place within a world created by someone else. The author inserted her characters, settings, and plots into it, then spun all her "like series" out from there. In many ways, I would call what she's done here "fan fiction". I looked up the definition of this word. AI gave me the gist of it as: "Fanfic…is creative writing that allows fans to explore their favorite universes and characters in new ways, often expanding on scenarios not covered in the original material." So, yeah, seems like maybe could be fanfic??? 

Polite people might also say artists use "tropes", which offer something so conventional in the plot or theme, etc., that it becomes recognizable almost in a single glance or within a few sentences. But at what point does it become something, well, nefarious? Is it weird for me to be bothered by this? I would absolutely hate it if someone took my characters or worlds and wrote something of their own based on them--especially if it's intended to mock my work. Even if it's actually supposed to be a compliment they liked your work so much that they're emulating it, this seems to be skirting a wider issue that's become so commonplace these days, no one seems bothered by it anymore. No one, that is, except me and a few other curmudgeonly ancients. 

Bottom line, Stovall is a good writer and certainly a prolific one. I also can't be too hard on 1) any writer who's obsessed with playing videogames (as I am), 2) whose favorite videogame is Mass Effect (as is mine)--and Stovall's The Star Marque Trilogy book covers could definitely be both male and female Shepherd, straight from the character creation menu in the videogame--and, as if those weren't enough, 3) someone whose favorite book as a child was The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (mine as well). I'm giving this author a pass because the fact of the matter is that I just plain enjoy her work too much to avoid it, despite my possibly outdated principles. 

Neither of my library apps have any more of Stovall's work available for me to check out other than the first audiobook in another of her "fanfic" series, which, I don't deny, had me hooked. As I said, you'll see the review of it on the Alien Romances Blog next Friday. 

In conclusion, if you want something familiar and adventurous to pass the time, these audiobooks should give you hours of enjoyment…and, you know, also make you want to dust off some true "oldies but goodies" by revisiting Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine just for old times' sake. 

Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

ICFA Report

On Sunday I returned from the annual International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando. The theme was Metacognition, "thinking about thinking." For the first couple of days, the weather was cooler than usual in March, but still an improvement over Maryland. It warmed up later, with plenty of sunshine all week. Two glitches with the hotel on Wednesday: They didn't have a room available when I arrived; I had to wait until they got it ready -- some other people did, too -- which has never happened before. A fire evacuation interrupted the 4:30 paper session; luckily, it was a false alarm.

Fears of airport delays proved unfounded. Boarding in Baltimore went as quickly as ever, and two nice staff people intervened to help me with two different procedures. It sometimes pays to look old and confused! The return experience in Orlando was almost anticlimactic, in a good way. Security processing took no longer than normal, so I ended up spending several hours sitting around the airport -- much better than being rushed and late.

The Friday night meeting of the Lord Ruthven Assembly, our vampire and Gothic studies organization, couldn't transact any business such as voting for officers because we didn't have a quorum. Nevertheless, we shared some productive discussion about future activities. Then on to the real fun, watching a clip from the early German vampire movie VAMPYR, with an introduction by our film expert, followed by a viewing of the romantic Dracula comedy LOVE AT FIRST BITE.

Thought-provoking talks at the Thursday and Friday luncheons, with buffets upholding the typical high standards of this hotel (well, aside from the distressing lack of chocolate desserts on Thursday). As usual, at each meal we all received free books. Ted Chiang, one of the author guests of honor, spoke in his talk "On Being a Cyborg" about the relationship between technology and cognition, proposing that this connection began with the invention of writing. He mentioned the astonishing fact that preliterate societies don't have a word for "word." For the concept of words as isolated units to develop, we had to see them as such in a text. We're all cyborgs because the alphabet is a technology connected to our brains. He speculated on whether, just as writing emerged as a successor to oral speech, an analogous successor to writing will appear in the future.

The other author guest of honor, Ann Leckie, is the writer of a science-fiction series beginning with ANCILLARY JUSTICE (which I bought a copy of), among other works. The scholar guest, Sheryl Vint, gave a talk about how dependence on AI affects our brains, titled, "Cognition -- Augmentation -- Offloading -- Atrophy." She pointed out that data and knowledge aren't the same, and an overload of data can actually hinder cognition. Does ChatGPT have true cognitive ability? When asked, the program itself paradoxically declares it has no sense of self.

Our Lord Ruthven Assembly panel, "Thinking About Undeath," focusing on vampires, ghosts, and zombies with glances at liches, animated skeletons, and uploading minds into computers (would that be immortality or simply another form of life-in-death?), had good attendance and lively discussion.

Topics of some other sessions I enjoyed included comics, the Mars novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, vampires in film and TV, fairy-tale logic, Disney theme parks as an attempt to create "hyper-reality," and a provocative discussion on how or whether Neil Gaiman's personal offenses should affect our reading of his work.

In future years, it's been decided that the conference will continue to meet in Orlando, which has many advantages thanks to the organization's long association with that locale, for two years straight. Then, before returning to Orlando, it will rotate for one year each to other cities for the sake of people unwilling or unable to come to Florida. I was thrilled to learn that next year, still in Orlando, Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher) will be the guest of honor. The conference in 2028, the first "off" year, will occur in Warsaw. So I'll miss that one. Simply too hard for me. Sigh.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.