A few weeks ago I finished reading Something More, by Paul Cornell. The first three-quarters combines a extrapolative post-apocalyptic future, a first contact story, and a haunted-British-manor tale with theological speculation about electromagnetic fields and religious experiences. It was all fairly compelling. The last section, however, takes a wild, flailing jump towards a interplanetary metaphysical epic, a crazy blend of C.S. Lewis and Philip Jose Farmer... and crashes like a graceless, aged cat with inner-ear problems to land with a resounding thump on its side, behind the sofa, amidst the dust and lost pen caps. (Or perhaps like a kite, which you've just managed to get airborne, nosediving with a horrible 'crack!' into the grass.) It might have worked if the story had been stretched out to a trilogy. Full marks for effort, and the first three quarters are quite well-written and are worth reading on their own. The religious element is thought-provoking up until that nose-dive. Some Christian readers will find the last section ridiculous and offensive, while others will just find it ridiculous. I'll say no more, since I don't think there's much I can profitably add to Stuart Carter's review over at Infinity Plus.
In other Cornell news, he's posted pictures of a new anthology which contains one of his stories. The cover features, among other things, two people waving crosses. But not in a 'I bless you in the name of Christ' kind of way, more of a crazed-superstitious-mob kind of way. Maybe they're driving out vampires. Though, from the close proximity of the crosses to a clenched fist and a gun, I wonder if this sf anthology doesn't contain some evil Christians! Might they even be, say, ignorant science-hating theocrats?
Here's a recent interview with a Christian who doesn't hate science or science fiction, namely, Gene Wolfe. It's mostly on the art and craft of writing. (One of his stories appeared in the first volume of that particular anthology, actually.)
The Matrix vs. Carl Sagan - a mashup. Now if only they could work Elrond in there somehow. "Billions and billions, Mister Baggins." (via Tom - check out his answering machines!)
Over at PodCastle, Stephen Eley reads "Cup and Table," a story by Tim Pratt about a ruthless hunt for the Grail, and by extension, for God. (Also via Tom.) With an introduction that talks about the history of the Grail (or Graal) in literature. Just a heads-up, the story itself contains some nasty language and nastier characters. Oh, and Eley's Wikipedia entry contains two religion-related factoids about him.
Lint Hatcher of Excuse Me, Ghidorah? has a new podcast in which he reads a twenty-year-old essay entitled "A Supernatural God." It's a C.S. Lewis-influenced meditation on horror and fantastic literature, a memoir of his early life up to and including college, a spiritual and psychological autobiography, and an account of his conversion to Christianity. I think I also noticed a certain Romantic influence. (via Bernhardt Varenius)
Jimmy Akin, Catholic blogger extraordinaire and confirmed sf fan, has new posts about Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. (via the Sci-Fi Catholic)
As for me, I'm currently trying to avoid thinking about fall, and reading Ubik.
Showing posts with label paul cornell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paul cornell. Show all posts
Monday, August 18, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Cornell, Lewis and a crash
Over at The House of Awkwardness, Paul Cornell writes:
So, we were heading home from Oxford on Tuesday night, on the way back from me addressing the C.S. Lewis Society. They were a lovely bunch, and a number of the university’s Doctor Who Society came along as well, and I managed to vamp around my theme to reasonable effect until I ran out of words and became possibly the only speaker in the Society’s history to confess to not much liking Lewis’ work. Hmm. That ambassadorial career may never come to pass.
Telling a gathered Society that you don't really like the work of their hero?! That's really taking your life into your own hands. He's a brave man!
Most of the rest of the post is a carefully described account of a dangerous head-on collision that occurred on the trip back from Oxford. If this were a thriller novel the crash would have been caused by a vengeful Lewis fanatic driving a stolen garbage truck and ranting against the heretic. But it's real life, so the crash was caused by another driver displaying reckless impatience. And I'm very glad to hear that their Ford Focus crumpled the way it was designed to, letting Cornell and his wife survive reasonably intact.
So, we were heading home from Oxford on Tuesday night, on the way back from me addressing the C.S. Lewis Society. They were a lovely bunch, and a number of the university’s Doctor Who Society came along as well, and I managed to vamp around my theme to reasonable effect until I ran out of words and became possibly the only speaker in the Society’s history to confess to not much liking Lewis’ work. Hmm. That ambassadorial career may never come to pass.
Telling a gathered Society that you don't really like the work of their hero?! That's really taking your life into your own hands. He's a brave man!
Most of the rest of the post is a carefully described account of a dangerous head-on collision that occurred on the trip back from Oxford. If this were a thriller novel the crash would have been caused by a vengeful Lewis fanatic driving a stolen garbage truck and ranting against the heretic. But it's real life, so the crash was caused by another driver displaying reckless impatience. And I'm very glad to hear that their Ford Focus crumpled the way it was designed to, letting Cornell and his wife survive reasonably intact.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Something More by Paul Cornell
Check out this review of Paul Cornell's Something More. Of particular interest are these tidbits about the plot:
The Reverend Jane Bruce is a chaplain of the Reformed Church of England - reformed in the sense that shortly before the GEC a rogue vicar discovered that electromagnetic fields directly stimulate a certain area of the brain, one of which at least is partly responsible for religious visions and sensations; so the RCoE uses voltmeters and evocative neurochemicals called 'greens' in its daily rituals.
...
But Cornell has much bigger plans than simply scaring us, because then Something More turns (as the title of chapter 44 says) into 'A Mad Sort of C.S. Lewis Thing'. There isn't much more that can be said about the final quarter of the book without spoiling much of the first three-quarters.
I'm pretty sure "A Mad Sort of C.S. Lewis Thing" implies some sort of theological twist. Unless it simply involves a talking lion, or a discourse on Renaissance literature.
Cornell is best known for his work on Doctor Who (he's even been nominated for a Hugo), but he's a prolific guy. I've mentioned his British Summertime before: it's a strange book that puts some intriguing spins on certain New Testament symbols. (The longer I think about them the more intriguing and relevant they seem.)
His Wikipedia entry has recently been edited to read:
In an interview on the Doctor Who: DWO Whocast, Cornell stated that this entry in Wikipedia described him as "both a Christian and a pagan," which he has chosen not to correct as it illustrates his sympathies for the pagan world. He then goes on to state that he is an Anglican but is very "Low Church, almost a Calvinist," and this is partly because he doesn't enjoy hymns.
The Reverend Jane Bruce is a chaplain of the Reformed Church of England - reformed in the sense that shortly before the GEC a rogue vicar discovered that electromagnetic fields directly stimulate a certain area of the brain, one of which at least is partly responsible for religious visions and sensations; so the RCoE uses voltmeters and evocative neurochemicals called 'greens' in its daily rituals.
...
But Cornell has much bigger plans than simply scaring us, because then Something More turns (as the title of chapter 44 says) into 'A Mad Sort of C.S. Lewis Thing'. There isn't much more that can be said about the final quarter of the book without spoiling much of the first three-quarters.
I'm pretty sure "A Mad Sort of C.S. Lewis Thing" implies some sort of theological twist. Unless it simply involves a talking lion, or a discourse on Renaissance literature.
Cornell is best known for his work on Doctor Who (he's even been nominated for a Hugo), but he's a prolific guy. I've mentioned his British Summertime before: it's a strange book that puts some intriguing spins on certain New Testament symbols. (The longer I think about them the more intriguing and relevant they seem.)
His Wikipedia entry has recently been edited to read:
In an interview on the Doctor Who: DWO Whocast, Cornell stated that this entry in Wikipedia described him as "both a Christian and a pagan," which he has chosen not to correct as it illustrates his sympathies for the pagan world. He then goes on to state that he is an Anglican but is very "Low Church, almost a Calvinist," and this is partly because he doesn't enjoy hymns.
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