All posts by Daneekas Ghost

First Monday Book Day

First Monday Book Day: Silkpunk

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One of the things that I enjoy about following a lot of the science fiction and fantasy awards is that you get to read great short stories by authors that are getting their first exposure, before they publish a novel.  That's how I was introduced to Ken Liu, through his short story "The Paper Menagerie" which was really good.  Since then, Liu has been really prolific in the short fiction realm, consistently writing really good stories (a collection of his short fiction is coming out later this year, and I'll probably buy it, even though I've read most of its contents already).

All of this is to say that I was very excited to read his debut novel "The Grace of Kings".  It's a fantasy epic that has some steampunk tendencies and a pretty clear basis in Chinese/Asian folklore.  This combination has spawned the term "silkpunk" which Liu has talked about here and there (this podcast was a really interesting - and spoiler free - look at the book and the author's approach and viewpoint on fantasy).

I loved the book.  It wasn't standard fantasy based around a hero's journey, but jumped right in with a large cast and pulled everything together.  It read like the recounting of a legend where various stories were all cast and recast with the same set of characters.  It really played to my enjoyment of his short stories, but at the same time it was cohesive.  It's long (around 700-800 pages), but it felt like it earned that length - the scope is enormous.

It's the first book in a trilogy, but I think it stands perfectly well on its own.  All in all, one of my favorites that I've read this year.

Some short things I read last month:

  • Reading "Labyrinth" by Amelia Gray and then reading this short piece about the editing process for the story was pretty interesting.  Some of the things seem petty and weird, but I find the thought process of an author revising a story that's "finished" really interesting.

 

  • Grunion Run by Juliet Escoria.  This was my favorite story from her collection, Black Cloud. I read the entire collecion this month in about two sittings.  It was good, all the stories were about this short and they all tackled influences (positive and negative) and things that pull at you long after you think you've moved past them.  Every story in the collection has a companion video.  Here's the one for Grunion Run, and it's weird (and maybe NSFW - language).

 

  • Ciaran Berry - For the Birds.  I'm not quite finished with Berry's collection, but this poem is one of the many so far that has caught me up in the mix of rustic image and historic allusion.  Here's the author reading the poem:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul8Zb2LCJQY

Game Logs, NHL

Game Log: Minnesota Wild @ Chicago Blackhawks, Game 1

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Another series that everyone is picking as too close to call.

I'm not sure I can take the Wild being eliminated by the same team three playoff seasons in a row (even the Twins never lost to the Yankees three years in a row).  So I think I'll cheer for the Wild in this round as well.

Historical pessimism:

  • The Wild have lost all six playoff games they've ever played in Chicago.
  • The Wild have never won a game 1 in the second round (0 for 2).

The big question is whether Crawford in goal for the Blackhawks can give them a chance.  If he keeps games close, most people seem to think the "veterans who just know how to win" on the Hawks will prevail over the Wild.

The Wild didn't have to win any games that were too close in round 1 (no overtime, only one lead change all series).  It will be interesting to see if they can continue to lock down and extend leads in the same way.  (also:  scoring first is always good - something they struggled with against Chicago the last two years)

Game Logs, NHL

Game Log: St. Louis Blues @ Minnesota Wild, Game 6

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It's pretty simple at this point.  The Wild need to win one of the next two games to move on and face the Blackhawks (again).

The Wild have really only had 10 good minutes over the course of the last two games.  Fortunately that was enough to steal game 5, so now they get to feed off the home crowd and hopefully replicate game 3.

Historical facts:

  • The Wild are 3-2 in game 6 historically (3-1 at home).
  • This is the first time the Wild have played game 6 with a series lead.
  • When they have won game 5, they are 2-0 in game 6 (both times in 2003).
  • The Wild have never won a series in less than seven games.

2015 Playoff facts:

  • In series where the two teams were separated by less than 10 points in the final standings, the lower seeded team is leading or tied in all 5 series (17-11 record)
  • In series where the two teams were separated by 10 or more points in the final standings, the higher seed has an 11-3 record and leads in or has won all 3 series.
  • The Wild and Blues were separated by 9 points in the final standings.
Game Logs, NHL

Game Log: St. Louis Blues @ Minnesota Wild, Game 3

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I thought the Wild played well in both games in St. Louis, minus a few hiccups that didn't hurt them in game 1, but did in game 2.  The series is shaping up to be the close battle that everyone predicted it to be.

So now the series is in Minnesota and it's on the Wild to hold onto home-ice advantage.  Generally the Wild have been good at home under Mike Yeo in the playoffs (6-2 record in the last two playoff years), but the home record hasn't been exactly spectacular as the season finished.

The historical pessimism corner:

  • The Wild have never finished a home game with a series lead in franchise history.
  • The Wild are 9-15 in games following a playoff loss in their history.
  • The Wild are 10-17 in playoff games played in arenas where I have attended a hockey game.
Game Logs, NHL

Game Log: Minnesota Wild @ St. Louis Blues, Game 2

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Historical pessimism worked so well last time, so here's a few more nuggets.

  • The Minnesota Wild have only ever held a lead in a playoff series twice.
    • Once in 2003 when they won game 1 to lead 1-0 against the Avalanche.  They lost the next three games.
    • Once in 2008 when they won game 3 to lead 2-1 against the Avalanche.  They lost the next three games.
  • The Minnesota Wild have never played a home playoff game where they entered the game with a series lead.  (In actuality, they've never finished a home playoff game with a series lead, but that's a nugget for later in the series, I think)

Game 1 was a good game for the Wild, they just need to do that again.

Game Logs, NHL

Game Log: Minnesota Wild @ St. Louis Blues, GAME 1

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How about some history?

  • The Minnesota Wild are 1-7 in games 1 of playoff series in franchise history (they've lost 7 in a row).
  • The Minnesota Wild are 8-18 in road playoff games in franchise history (they've lost 11 of their last 12).
  • The Minnesota Wild have never beat the St. Louis Blues in a playoff game in franchise history.
  • The Minnesota Wild are 7-18 in playoff games on days where the Twins won a baseball game (they are 11-11 if the Twins don't win or don't play)

OK, enough history.

I don't know what I think about this series, to be honest with you.  The Wild are certainly capable of beating the Blues, but I would say that it wouldn't take much for the Blues to beat the Wild as well.

Looking around I see a lot of people saying this series is too close to call and then picking the Blues.  The Wild have the advantage in goaltending and the penalty kill, but their power play just doesn't contribute and I can see that being a potential huge problem if the Blues find a way to get their own special teams rolling.

Still, if the goal totals stay low, I like the Wild's chances.

Either way, it's playoff hockey and therefore awesome.  Here we go!

First Monday Book Day

First Monday Book Day

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A few thoughts.

Nebula Award nominees are out.  One pet peeve I have with SF/F awards is that so much is series-oriented.  This year 5 of the 6 nominees in the novel category are part of a series and one of them is book 7 in its series.  (To be fair, 2 of the nominees are the first book in the series) and so require an awful lot of someone who uses these awards as reading list fodder.  All that aside, I'm excited that The Three Body Problem was nominated.  I definitely plan to pick that one up at some point in the future, and I was always going to read Ancillary Sword given how much I liked the first book.

I read Player Piano as part of my ongoing passage through Kurt Vonnegut's novels.  It was pretty much as I remembered, not exactly what you think of when you think of Vonnegut, but so many of his consistent themes are right there from the very beginning.

I read some other stuff, but I'll save that for the comments.

Some good things that I found on the internet this month:

"Some Desperado" by Joe Abercrombie.  A short story title that should be read sarcastically.  It's a Western setting with a young woman trying to get away with the spoils of a robbery.

"Weary" by P.E. Garcia.  A quiet, but strong short story.  I'm not sure I can put my finger on why I liked this.  But I did.

"Pnin" by Vladimir Nabokov.  The short story that became the first chapter of the novel by the same name.  I actually read this a few years ago and loved it.  But then I came across this reading of it by Alexsander Hemon and I got to listen to it again.  I love the initial description of the title character and his situation.