May 16, 2012
Dress Your Marines in White
Murder in powdered form. What a life.
May 9, 2012
About Fairies
Some things happen whether or not you clap your hands.
May 3, 2012
At the Foot of the Lighthouse
I am American. We are all Americans.
April 25, 2012
Prophet
Some men are born monsters. Others made so.
The following is the fourth and final excerpt from Hater, a new novel by David Moody, which hits stores on February 17. In the tradition of H. G. Wells and Richard Matheson, Hater is one man’s story of his place in a world gone mad— a world infected with fear, violence, and HATE. REMAIN CALM DO NOT PANIC TAKE SHELTER WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL...
The following is the third of four excerpts from Hater, a new novel by David Moody, which hits stores on February 17. In the tradition of H. G. Wells and Richard Matheson, Hater is one man’s story of his place in a world gone mad— a world infected with fear, violence, and HATE. REMAIN CALM DO NOT PANIC TAKE SHELTER WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL...
Strong characters are key to effective storytelling, but do they have to be likeable? Do they have to be anything more than average? For me, fantasy fiction is at its finest when it maintains an air of believability. Even the most far-fetched scenarios can be made plausible if events are played out by a cast of characters who behave in a way you’d expect them to and if those events progress logically and sensibly and without undue reliance on coincidence and far-fetched twists of fate. In my mind, post-apocalyptic fiction that maintains this air of believability and anchors events in normality massively increases the effect when ‘it’ happens and our ordinary ‘civilized’ world begins falling apart (though many would argue it already has!).
Witness Mad Max. Although his situation and his world is extreme, the character of Max Rockatansky in the first film of the series is, first and foremost, a father and a husband who has a job to do. In fact, it’s his reaction to losing his family (his normality?) which shapes the way he lives and survives through subsequent films. By film two, The Road Warrior, the world has been devastated by wars caused by a severe lack of energy resources. The filmmakers created one of the most iconic visions of the apocalypse and I’d argue that much of the film’s success was due not just to the incredible battles and action sequences which followed, but also to the grounding in normality of Max’s character. We knew why he did what he did... we felt the pain that he felt...
The following is the second of four excerpts from Hater, a new novel by David Moody, which hits stores on February 17. In the tradition of H. G. Wells and Richard Matheson, Hater is one man’s story of his place in a world gone mad— a world infected with fear, violence, and HATE. REMAIN CALM DO NOT PANIC TAKE SHELTER WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL...
I have an unhealthy addiction to the end of the world, and it seems I’m not alone (see posts 18/01 Post-Apocalyptic: The Past and the Future and 26/01 Geek Survival Guide: tips you may never need). I write about it (you can read extracts from my latest version of Armageddon–Hater–here on Tor.com from today), and if I’m not writing then I’m usually reading books or watching films about the apocalypse. Hell, the last Facebook group I joined was called The hardest part of a zombie apocalypse will be pretending I’m not excited.
I thought there might be something wrong with me and I’ve been reassured by the recent posts and comments here that I’m not alone in my addiction. I think our constant fascination with the end of the world will always be with us; from HG Wells’ War of the Worlds in the late 1890s through to the literally hundreds of books, films and games available today, our appetite for destruction seems undiminished. There’s no doubting though, that world events will always have an impact on the amount and type of stories which are released. As has already been mentioned in a previous post, the Cold War caused an undeniable spike in the popularity of the genre and, judging how things are panning out around the world right now, look for the mother of all surges in PA fiction over the next couple of years!
But, selfishly forgetting about the rest of the world for a few moments, I want to know why I’m fascinated with thinking about the end of everything.
The following is the first of four excerpts from Hater, a new novel by David Moody, which hits stores on February 17. In the tradition of H. G. Wells and Richard Matheson, Hater is one man’s story of his place in a world gone mad— a world infected with fear, violence, and HATE. REMAIN CALM DO NOT PANIC TAKE SHELTER WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL...
