Binge Reading

I am officially on a binge when it comes to my fantasy reading this month. This is a very good thing, as the TV is staying off more often than not. My sister Jane is responsible for this, as she's the one who gave me all those yummy books to read. The latest intellectual gorging is happening as a result of the writing of one Kelly McCullough, whom I have seen at many local SF&F conventions, and may even had dinner with once at Jerusalem's Restaurant along with a large group of us hungry for hummus and bellydancing.

Whatever the case, it was nice to see a familiar name on one of the slew of titles. Then I took a look at it and I just HAD to read this one next. As a sometimes web designer/fantasy artist/geek girl this was definitely a Must Read for me. I'm still in the first half of the book, but it is really witty and action-packed for those of you who like that sort of thing. Here is a quote so you can get a sample of Kelly's linguistic flair:

"Here Boss. Drink this. The troll says it will help with the pain."

"The troll?" I sat bolt upright, adrenaline overriding pain.

"Calm down," Melchior said. "Ahllan's not that kind of troll. She's a vegetarian."

"Where did you find a vegetarian troll healer?" I said, beginning to relax.

"We're under the hill in the picture. She made the beer-can faerie ring. We're an awfully long way from the primary course of reality. It's a weird version of faerie, oriented around the detritus of urban sprawl and pollution instead of sylvan idyllicism. I don't know what goes on in the head of the artist who painted this gate, but I'd rather not meet his subconscious in a dark alley."

"It sounds bizarre," I said, taking the bowl.

So far, so good. I like this one, and it's good to know that it's sequel is out already as well, though that wasn't part of the holiday box of goodies. Maybe I'll pick up a copy at Marscon.

Return of the Dark Crystal?

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of attending the largest Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention here in the great state of Minnesota, none other than Convergence. While I was there I attended a panel discussing the possible new film coming out, a sequel to The Dark Crystal, one of my favorite fantasy films of all time. So naturally I hit the net when I got home and there's a great deal of speculation about whether or not they will be doing a good job on it. In 2005 Brian Froud was called in to do conceptual art for the new film, since he did all that work on the original way back when. Now there's some discussion on the IMDb Boards that his involvement in the film is over. Maybe his work is done on the project, but fans WILL tend to pick things to pieces just because they can.

There was much trepidation from the moderator of the panel I was at that there would be too much CGI added in the new film. I think I'll wait for the film to come out before I start passing judgement, and all the artwork looks very Brian Froud Dark Crystal to me, so I don't see any cause to worry at this point. The logo is pretty cool anyway, I only wish they would put it on a girlie t-shirt over at the Cafe Press Jim Henson Company Store. So I'm hopeful and eager to see this new offering come to a theater near me, never mind other peoples voices of doom. Here's the promotional flyer that's come out via Ain't it Cool News.