Thanks, everyone. Congrats to the runners up and to the other entries. They were all interesting, clever and a good read. recommend them all.
1 2017-04-27 13:43:02
Re: Locked Door Contest Winners (12 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
2 2017-04-23 04:28:03
Re: Thriller book/movie quiz (17 replies, posted in Thriller/Mystery/Suspense)
Good, Bill, for getting 4 & 7. #5 has still not been gotten.
if were including movies based on short stories then i know which film it is. I'll let someone else have a crack at it since I had my chance.
3 2017-04-22 13:20:51
Re: Thriller book/movie quiz (17 replies, posted in Thriller/Mystery/Suspense)
4. Roy Scheider - By Jove, that was a bumpy ride! 2010 Arthur c Cark
7. Gene Hackman - Which way is up? POSIEDON ADVENTURE Paul Gallico
5. Brad Pitt - The child is father of the man. INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: Anne Rice
4 2017-04-18 10:02:15
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Galaxy Tale, for me, feels like a serious epic. You have the destiny of kings, the fate of mankind, a machiavellian God, so the running gags get a little lost on me. Not that you can't have humour. Fred Saberhagen's Berserker had very funny moments, which helped build character and mood.
Like I've mentioned a few times, the only issue I have with ACME is its modern day connotations. it's Greek meaning makes it a worthy corp-name but as it stands ACME INC really grinds at a Scifi reader. For such a small aspect of the story, it can do so much damage to the world building. Maybe if you add another Greek work to it and latinise the Incorporated. Or at least explain the hell out of it from the outset. [Acme ˈakmi/ noun the point at which something is at its best or most highly developed. "physics is the acme of scientific knowledge"] As a kid watching roadrunner I never knew Acme was the greek word akmi, nor did I realise Eureka was the words 'to vríka', and these are word we commonly used. So a face-smacking expose on the high-tech corporation in the early chapters would suffice.
With Aussie, as long as this character plays an integral part of the plot, then this character is intriguing. If Aussie is inconsequential to the story then it becomes another complexity a reader has to follow without any payoff.
5 2017-04-03 01:54:15
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
The 'crafty look' ain't necessary. If Cain were revealed/proven to have received a large payment of monies or promises of prestige from the Imperium, then he's definitely a sell-out/collaborator no matter what comes out his mouth, even if he were 'sincere'. His ploy, genuine or not is tainted with greed, costing the life of his son. If he were honest and accepted his guilt/fate, he might have saved Andrew.
6 2017-04-02 14:24:09
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Cain sounded sincere, his point of view was naive yet valid. add this to his plea to save his son makes his motives genuine. I enjoy this aspect. politics is such a grey area. villains are greatest when their worldview is tainted with truth.
Having the public react like this is a nice touch, plays on their emotions.
GT Galaxy Tales or is TGT better?
7 2017-04-02 08:03:01
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Rival viewpoints in any political setting are a natural part of life, No real life governments are immune to this. Even factions have factions. Conflict and power are very human traits, so using this as a plot device would give GT more authenticity and provided an added layer of drama for the royal family.
8 2017-01-17 06:55:07
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Dirk, don't go with down under. It's a much bigger thing outside of Aus than inside of Aus... We never refer to Aus like that. Almost never.
AUS 101 for today.
Yes, this not really a term many here use. It pretty much cringe-worthy. Only our lame and tacky media use it for some reason, they seem to forget in translates to 'arse-end of the world' thanks to a prime minister long ago.
9 2016-12-28 23:34:35
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
How about:
New Bethlehem is a God-fearing world, founded by religious conservatives descended from the Reverend ‘Bombast,’ as he was affectionately known among his flock. The Reverend Bombast was a sitting U.S. president when he famously ‘tweeted’ his resignation from the Oval Office after being sovereignly chosen and called by God to a higher purpose. His heirs eventually fled Earth in the late third millennium to escape the planet’s ever-worsening Warming, and the Imperium’s cowardly tyrannical oppression.
This still 'breaks the verisimilitude' (thx to kdot for expanding my vocab) I would peg this to a particular 'future' U.S president. He/she can can have similar conservative traits but should be unique in history. That way your story won't date as time goes by. When you mention 'Heirs fled Earth' you're tracking ancestry for hundreds of years. IMO try having this president's term closer to the Imperium's era.
A good example I can recall is United States president Cliff Robertson (ESCAPE FROM L.A) in 1996 John Carpenter pretty much predicted how things would pan out
10 2016-12-08 02:41:52
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I like the name (it goes with wisething or wisewatch for the wrist, and wisepad). I'm just worried it's capabilities are going to blow key parts of my story apart. In 2000 years, those things should be really smart, including full integration with Galaxinet, auto-identification of everything in the field of view, display enhancements such as zoom (maybe even night vision), threat detection and targeting, messaging, virtual keyboards, etc. Add a bluetooth headset and you're always on all the time. You become almost a cyborg.
You'll recall I banished genetic engineering because of Dr. Ess (so that humans won't have genetically engineered themselves to perfection by 4017). I also placed a limit on AI intelligence by including the possibility that they become sentient and cause havoc, even turning on their masters. This is true for all of the better droids (usually IQ-C or IQ-D) and ship's AIs (IQ-B). I'm saving IQ-A for something really complex, like large-scale battle coordination. The higher the IQ, the greater the risk.
I need a reason why advanced wiseeyes don't exist or are generally not used.
It's 4017. You can't escape the technology affecting every aspect of your story. This IMO is a plus and could enhance things. A cheap way around, if you choose to get rid of these thing is banning the stuff because of a nasty side effect in the past, à la Dune. But even then this becomes another subplot and end up infecting the rest of the story. Either way you can't lose.
BTW I vote the wiseeyes, wisethings, etc. as cool terminology.
11 2016-11-01 00:25:20
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I think the version of the Exorcist I saw was a director's cut or something. It would have been rated X in 1973 (e.g., Regan stabs her vagina (not shown) repeatedly with a cross, saying f*ck me, and bleeding profusely). Lots of R-rated cursing as well.
it would struggle getting even a rating today. Society was a little more relaxed back in the 70's. that's why so much taboo/porn infiltrated the mainstream cinema. As a film maker, try doing any of these things today.
The exorcist (film and novel) is an awesome story on so many levels. One aspect that I like about it is this war between God and his rebellious 'creation'. We don't see this battle directly, only the symptoms, manifesting through events on Earth. when I read galaxy tales, with God playing a central role with everything, I can't help but interpret the story with this grand struggle.
12 2016-10-30 01:55:23
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I'm also upping Billie's role to Anti-Christ.
this could be interesting. causing conflict and upsetting His plans.
13 2016-10-28 05:34:39
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
@Bill K: Spoiler: Lady K is the best character ever. Waaaaay better than Dr Ess or Queen Aussie
i'll keep that in mind.
14 2016-10-28 00:33:25
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
This is a tough one. having not read to the end yet, this 'real or imaginary' concept puts a heavy assumption in the readers head. The chances that two galactic young leaders suffering from delusions are slim so from reading this I would think God obviously has a hand in this, that there is some kind of cosmic master plan at play here, beyond the understanding of human beings. As a scifi reader I'd be looking for something like this. This story promises this. The title promises this. In the synopsis you lay out a major plot twist, and a scifi reader like me could feel that they might be cheated if they invest in this story. This could be end up being about mental illness and not about high cosmological/theological concepts, or left open ended.
I have a question that will help me better understand how to approach this.
Without spoiling the details in final act of the story, have you made a decision on whether these boys are both delusional, or is God real in the Biblical sense, real is a high scifi conceptual sense, or is one delusional and the other not?
15 2016-10-21 22:19:07
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I can only suggest two things about Billie/Anikh. 1) she has to play a part in moving the narrative forward, why did God put her there? How will her being there, causing mischief, determine the outcome of Joe's journey. 2)if she is an evil entity, her backstory should be consistent, was she a bad person? A killer. Another nagging issue, since we are delving into the supernatural, what are the laws of the universe that govern these players? As a scifi reader I am anticipating a grand ultra universe with forces at work trying to influence the outcome of our universe. This has good potential.
16 2016-10-18 11:51:36
Re: NorthernSkies or NS - Janet (213 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Norm d'Plume wrote:I've been talking you folks up to Bill Kandiliotis who recently returned to TNBW. Some of you may remember him. Sci-fi writer. And then I read through the previous page of posts.
Run, Bill, run like the wind!
LOL, I guess the FUCCCCKKKKKKK thread ain't helping much either?!
you kidding, it was the first thing i read. very helpful BTW. clarified a few issues i had with tnbw.
thanks Dirk for the intro.