Natalie’s Comments (group member since Nov 13, 2010)

Natalie’s comments from the Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library group.

No such thing as a silly question! But sorry, no post apocalyptic fiction book that Mad Max was based on either.

George Miller (writer/director) and screenwriter James McCausland wrote the movie/screenplay partly out of Miller's experience as an ER doctor and partly
out of McCausland's observance of the '73 oil crisis.

McCausland says in a dec 4, 2006 article titled Scientists' Warnings Unheeded that :
George and I wrote the script based on the thesis that people would do almost anything to keep vehicles moving and the assumption that nations would not consider the huge costs of providing infrastructure for alternative energy until it was too late.

As far as I can tall all the madmax books are movie spin-offs published after the movie was released.

Believe it or not, George Miller also produced and wrote the screenplay for Babe based on the book Babe: The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith.

That's a pretty wide ranging talent!

*Kashi* wrote: "I have a Silly question. Is there any book Related to "The Road Warrior" (Mad Max)?"

I am currently reading China Miéville's Perdido Street Station. The AI's 'mechanism' for communicating w/humans is so macabre!

Next on my list is Death by Zamboni or John Scalzi's The Last Colony.

Having so many different books to read is making it a good winter for me!

I second: The Postman! One of my favorites perfect compliment to Walter M. Miller Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz!

Greyweather wrote: "Well IMHO the best of the best is A Canticle for Leibowitz . . . I have also heard, but not confirmed for myself, that The Postman is a solid read as well."

Bookbrow wrote: "I too love this sub genre, The Postman is a great read much superior to the movie."

Nevil Shute's On the Beach is also "during the apocalypse" read of the best sort -explores what people would do if they knew the end had already arrived for most of the human race and that their certain untimely end was inevitable too. If a community has only several weeks to live, what does it do? How do individuals make decisions? What's the most noble way to respond to such a situation? Those are the questions that are explored and answered in this story.

Another story that examines near future response to a failed economic and polticial infrastructure is Jean Hegland's Into the Forest.

No single event precedes society's fall in Into the Forest. There is talk of a war overseas and upheaval in Congress, but it still comes as a shock when the electricity runs out and gas is nowhere to be found. Two Northern California sisters consume the resources left in their house, waiting for the power to return. What happens to them while they wait and how they respond is the flip side/darker feminine side of Shute's optimistic coin.

@Marc,

I wasn't thinking of your story being an episode of The Guild so much as The Guild cast and characters acting in a separate stand-alone production of your story. I thought that would make for a fun kind of Neo-Twilight Zone short film!

Natalie



Marc wrote: "Natalie wrote: "@Marc,
No kidding, humorous is not the word I would have chosen to describe the anthology!

I did get a chuckle out of Holy Roundness and cracked a smile during Measly Bottle of ..."

@Marc,
No kidding, humorous is not the word I would have chosen to describe the anthology!

I did get a chuckle out of Holy Roundness and cracked a smile during Measly Bottle of Oxygen but no laugh out loud moments. I got some great Monty Python-ish visuals during your Chasing his Own Tale! Somehow I could see it all played out by that gang and their animators who do The Guild.
Felicia Day could be CM but she'd need a couple more outfits?

Robin Thorsen could be EE?

I guess Badezz aka Vincent Caso would have to be FH?

Amy Okuda of course would be the DiD. Again, maybe another costume?

And, last but not least, Vork can be the Reader's Rep!


What do you think? Maybe you should send Felicia Day the script!


Marc wrote: "humorous is not a word I'd use to describe the other stories..."

@Marc, that's sort of humorous in and of itself!

@Marc,
I received a copy of Wyrd Wravings from betterworldbooks.com and am looking forward to reading your story!

Marc wrote: "I'm afraid Wyrd Wravings: An Anthology of Humorous Speculative Fiction no longer exists, although it may be possible to get copies somewhere"

@Stacie- I agree. I especially like Miriam's statement that "if you skip most scenes where the protagonists are alone together it is a fun read".

Reminds me of what it's like to watch a married couple quarrel or argue at a party!

@Marc, thanks for the link. I will want to read your other work too, esp in Wyrd Wravings: An Anthology of Humorous Speculative Fiction andThe Flame in the Bowl: Unbinding the Stone sounds interesting too.

Another curious alt-future story is The Two Georges: The Novel of an Alternate America where airship travel is the norm in the 1990's and America remains a British colony.

As a GR reader, The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer would be a great next book for you because it's about a very special primer and the technology of books and reading!

There's a goodreads vote for best steampunk list.

Steampunk is minimally neovictorian, an 'alternative version of the 19th century . . .' but for me steampunk is primarily a detailed celebration of mechanical engineering, machinery (inc war machines & weapons), aviation and invention with plenty of action or exploration that allows scientific thought and experimentation to play a center role in the characters' challenges.

A few popular contemporary authors would be : Stephen Hunt, Cherie Priest, Philip Pullman, and Neal Stephenson.

Because of the visual attraction of the inventions and the action/travel oriented plots that make use of neovictorian vehicles and airships film is a great way to enjoy steampunk.

Might be time for a movie marathon too, try: Steamboy, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Prestige, and The Time Machine and Porco Rosso. Not strictly steampunk, but neo-victorian speculative fiction with all the best elements of steampunk is: Dinotopia.

Boston Globe has published Ethan Gilsdorf's Quick-and-dirty list of books that spawned and influenced steampunk culture You might also like his article Steampunk: The new Goth
The retrofuturistic trend draws on a Jules Verne-like view of the world and Victorian-era technology .

In another article about whether Boston is the new hub of steampunk Gilsdorf interviews Bruce Rosenbaum who is curating two steampunk exhibits that will appeal to steampunk enthusiasts:

One will be displayed at Patriot Place’s new “20,000 Leagues’’ attraction, an “hourlong, walk-though steampunk adventure.

Meanwhile, Steampunk: Form and Function, an Exhibition of Innovation, Invention and Gadgetry is at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham, MA.