Definition

Science fiction is a fictional genre that contains elements which are currently considered impossible or unknown. Many of the themes incorporated in this genre are advanced technology, alternate universes and life on other planets. New ideas and technological advances are often explained in a very logical, if slightly vague manner.

I haven't had much experience with this genre. I am an avid fantasy reader and sometimes stories fall within or on the boundary of both genres. I love Douglas Adams and I also read a lot of anthologies which contain Sci Fi stories.

Prophecy question

I have a question about one line in the prophecy and wanted to know if anyone knew what it meant or knew where I could find the answer in the book. It is the line that says "The first shall bury his heart in a dark wood beneath the snow, yet still feel its ache." Does anyone think that this part of the prophecy came true or maybe it's one of the things that didn't change on Vinculus. Just wondering if anyone knew.

The Friends of English Magic reply to Cody

On April 11, in the midst of our Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell discussion, Cody posted a link to the fansite The Friends of English Magic, writing in part:

"I found a site on the JonathanStrange.com forum from someone who seems to take it upon him/herself to answer (kindly) the questions readers have."

A week later, the moderator of The Friends of English Magic tried to post a reply to Cody; because he's not a member of this blog, the post went into my moderator's queue, where I found it only today. It reads:

Please note I'm not trying to overstep the mark - your entry seems to imply I've got a monopoly on answering questions - LOL ;) Definately not true, there are far better people out there than I that have contributed the most. I merely .. facilitate :)

However, I wished I knew about this blog earlier - it's ruddy marvellous and I've just added a link to it from FoEM as this site raises some very interesting issues with regards to JS&MN which I've not seen outside the official site and FoEM itself.

Regards,

Martyn Drake

Unfortunately, The Friends of English Magic website seems to be out of order at the moment (whisked away to Lost Hope, perhaps?), but you can see Martyn's very nice plug for our "ruddy marvellous" blog by Googling both "friends of english magic" and "magic for beginners" and clicking "Cached" on the first hit that comes up.

If you're out there, Martyn, thanks for the plug, and let us hear from you.

Songs

I may be unique in this malady, but I find myself incapable of listening to song lyrics. This happens in the songs we are listening to in class and others. I concentrate really hard on the lyrics in the beginning, but I get swept away by the instrumental part. Next thing I know, it is the seventh track, and I have not learned anything from the lyrics. Am I the only person this happens to?

Gaiman's American Gods bibliography

While browsing info on Marie Laveau, I stumbled across Neil Gaiman's bibliography of reference works that went into the writing of American Gods. It's excellent, and I commend it especially to those who have expressed curiosity about the research that fiction writers do.

Blog problems

Is anyone else having problems leaving comments or reading posts? Because if you are, you can't read this.

Third Eye and other commentary

In most cases, I do not like the Black Eyed Peas, but the catchy beat of "Third Eye" managed to pique my interest. However, I only could think of two possible relations to the class: first, the song being a reference to the Indian god from American Gods and the second being the mention of Pinocchio and Jepeto as related to the appearance of fairy tales in some of our stories. Did anybody else find any other connections to our readings?

Also, I wanted to point out the obvious connection between Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs' hit "Lil Red Riding Hood" and Kelly Links' "The Donner Party". I interested to hear everybody else's evaluations and connections. See you tonight!

On a tangent

I am kind of embarrassed to say that I had never read Pride and Prejudice. However, after hearing it mentioned so often while we were talking about other stories (like the English style in JS&MN), I decided to read it. I loved it! I am excited to see the movie now. (I avoided watching it so far because I wanted to read the book first.) I think that it will probably be like Harry Potter for me: the book is amazing and so is the movie but you only love the movie more than you might otherwise because you loved the book. Hence, the book is always better. I just hope that the movie isn't a let down. For those of you that loved JS&MN, do you think the JS&MN movie will be a let down or will it be something you love like the book?

Last Class

I know we had tossed around the idea of having something for dinner, and everyone agreed to discuss it on the blog. Are we still doing anything? Do I need to bring some money or food? Just curious!

CD Ideas?

Hey y'all,
I like the idea of the cd, so I was thinking about some other mainstream songs that could have been included. Any suggestions? Just something to think about. I've listed a couple of my ideas below...

That Old Black Magic – Johnny Mercer
You Can Call Me Al – Paul Simon (identity)
I am the Walrus – The Beatles
Magic Bus – The Who
Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin (“The Oakthing”/American Gods)

Our intrepid band of adventurers

Standing: Jose Aguirre, Barbara Blaylock, Virginia Thomas, Amy Wilkinson, Cody Blowers, Stacey Fox, LaTorea Brooks, Jessica Crowe. Seated: Katie Chamberlain, Courtney Peinhardt, Elizabeth Blackwell. Not pictured: Clayton Zook, last seen entering one of the viae ferae.

Awards news

I just realized that the texts and authors on our syllabus are well represented on a number of awards ballots this year. Here's a list, which I hope will impress you with a) the high regard these people currently enjoy in the contemporary fantasy field; and b) the profusion of awards given in this field.

This coming Saturday, May 6, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announce their 2006 Nebula Awards. Finalists include Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell for Best Novel, Kelly Link's "Magic for Beginners" for Best Novella, Kelly Link's "The Faery Handbag" for Best Novelette and Margo Lanagan's "Singing My Sister Down" for Best Short Story. Also a Best Novel nominee: Terry Pratchett's Going Postal.

Finalists for the 2006 Hugo Awards, to be announced this summer at the World Science Fiction Convention, include Kelly Link's "Magic for Beginners" for Best Novella, Margo Lanagan's "Singing My Sister Down" for Best Short Story and Ellen Datlow, co-editor of The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, for Best Professional Editor.

Finalists for the 2006 Stoker Awards, to be announced this summer by the Horror Writers Association, including Kelly Link's "Some Zombie Contingency Plans" for Best Long Fiction and Kelly Link's Magic for Beginners for Best Fiction Collection. Also a nominee for Best Fiction Collection: China Mieville's Looking for Jake, which includes "Report of Certain Events in London."

Finalists for the 2006 Locus Awards, to be announced this summer at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, include Kelly Link's "Magic for Beginners" for Best Novella, Kelly Link's "Some Zombie Contingency Plans" for Best Short Story, Kelly Link's Magic for Beginners for Best Collection, The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror for Best Anthology and Ellen Datlow, co-editor of that volume, for Best Editor. Also nominated: China Mieville's Looking for Jake for Best Collection, Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys for Best Fantasy Novel, Jeffrey Ford's "The Cosmology of the Wider World" for Best Novella, Jeffrey Ford's "Boatman's Holiday" for Best Short Story and Neil Gaiman's "Sunbird" for Best Short Story.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize nominees include Margo Lanagan's Black Juice, which includes "Singing My Sister Down," for Best Young Adult Fiction.

And though I forgot to mention it at the time, Kelly Link's "Magic for Beginners" already won the British Science Fiction Award for Best Short Fiction.

Congrats to all!

The Best Song Ever

The Peter, Paul and Mary song is now my favorite song of all time. It is practically perfect in every way! The lyrics and music fit the tone of our class exactly, very woodsy and mystical. The inclusion of animals and apostrophe makes it enchanting and otherwordly, and dammit, it rocks!

Also, you can never go wrong with Jethro Tull. Nothing like a fab flute solo to make your day!

Marie Laveau

I love the song Marie Laveaux. It definitely fits with all the zombies we've encountered over the semester. It reminded me more of Andy's story than the Link stories about zombies. Anyone else really like this song? Anyway, here is a link to a Marie Laveau (or Laveaux) Voodoo shop in New Orleans. It also gives a little history of Marie Laveau.