This is my snippet this
week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a
place where a number of authors post snippets from their written
works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement.
Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this set - you
can find the information here.
My
snippet this week is again from Sorrel in Scarlet.
My pilot heroine is on the run, pursued by dangerous enemies. With her is Wrack, the dragonlord, whom she does not really trust.
They have just realised they have apparently nowhere left to run...
I came to a juddering halt only a few
inches from the edge. Below - some way below - I could see water
glittering. The gorge we were facing was about forty feet wide – no
way to cross it. A stream fell in a graceful arc from the far bank
into the water below. I looked across at Wrack in dismayed horror,
and began to expostulate. All right, swear – same difference. Wrack
was holding his injured arm, and gestured downwards at the churning
water below.
"How brave are you, Sorrel?"
he growled.
"What?" I answered
intelligently.
"We jump."
Sometimes I really think I'd have been
better off finding a nice, safe career - something like juggling
scorpions or gargling with broken glass. I could hear the sound of
boots, yells of anger, and muffled movement behind us. No time to
have doubts. I grabbed his hand - no way was I doing this on my own -
and nodded.
I've mentioned before
now on this blog that Thunderbirds was very important to me as a
child. The news that a new, CGI Thunderbirds was in production filled
me with a mixture of excitement and dread.
I've now seen the first
few episodes of the new Thunderbirds are Go – and so far I like
what I see.
The craft have been
redesigned – but they are still the iconic craft of the original,
effectively not significantly different in basic image.
Thunderbird 2 is more angular, and more solid-looking. The new design has grown on me - I now like it.
TB3's robot arms gave
me pause for a moment, but I can cope with them - they're a little too "Japanese Mecha" for my tastes, but they aren't totally illogical.
Thunderbird 4 is a little sleeker, and lacks the lighting panel over the nose, but is fundamentally the same craft.
The exception is TB5,
which has become a more plausible space station, but still has enough
elements to make it clear that it shares DNA with the original. Since
Gerry Anderson was never happy with the original, I think the change
can be approved.
Tintin has become Kayo, and is now in charge of security.
The name change was necessary because of potential confusion with a
certain Belgian boy detective. Her change of role was entirely
appropriate – the series needed more dynamic female roles.. The
creators could have made one of the brothers female, but I suspect
that would have upset the diehard fans of the original far more. Me
included, frankly – it would have been difficult to get that right.
Making Tintin more of a member of the team, and giving her a craft of
her own, was entirely right. And calling her craft TB Shadow is
right, too – TB6 would have carried all the wrong connotations (I
was never a great fan of the film Thunderbird 6).
Jeff Tracy is missing –
but it means that John, always the poor relation, suddenly becomes
far more significant, taking on his father's role. And it also gives
a background story arc. I think this was a good decision.
Lady Penelope... hmmm.
I'm not so sure about her appearance, at present – she hasn't, to
my eyes, got the necessary style that the original Penelope had. I'll
wait and see what we see of her before I pass further judgment. On
the other hand, she sounds right and acts appropriately. And I am
really pleased to see Parker back, and voiced by David Graham.
Brains is now Indian.
This is the 21st century – it actually doesn't make
sense that all the cast would be white. Brains was a logical
character to use to diversify the racial mix.
The brothers themselves
– the CGI versions mostly look uncannily like the originals. Scott,
particularly, looks absolutely right, as does John. Virgil is a
little different from the original, but not unreasonably so, and
Gordon and Alan are okay. I've read criticism that the CGI characters
look like puppets. I think that was the right decision – they've
used something akin to the puppet proportions and skin to remind us
of the original, while getting the benefits of CGI (the characters
can walk, jump, and climb!). But they've kept something of the look
of the original as well. I think it's a very good compromise.
So far, the plots have
been right, too. Action and adventure, no talking down or
“kiddifying” it. They haven't made the cast adolescents or tried
to make it somehow “kid-friendly”. Speaking as someone who as a
kid thoroughly enjoyed a series about adults, I am very relieved they
didn't change this. And there are people in real peril being rescued
in the nick of time from serious dangers.
Some other things have
changed. None of the characters smoke any more. Absolutely right. And also the world is
no longer atomic powered (“Crosscut” expressly says the world has
turned its back on nuclear fission power) – yes, this is the 21st
century, so a more ecologically friendly series makes sense. I'll be
interested to see if we ever see the return of ecology-munching
machines like the Crablogger. Somehow I doubt it.
And finally, we have
the introduction. I don't mind admitting that I choked up on hearing
Jeff Tracy's countdown. It's a reminder of the original series that
works brilliantly. The title sequence is effectively new, but it
harks back perfectly to the original, complete with the snapshot of
what is to come in this episode. I miss the “fast” music that
played under that snapshot in the original, but the title sequence
itself tells us that this is still Thunderbirds.
My only significant
complaint (are you listening, idiot management at ITV?) is putting it
on at 8am on Saturday mornings. They ought to have kept the 5pm slot
where the pilot was broadcast. Instead, they're broadcasting a repeat
of a hidden camera show in that slot. Madness. The management of ITV
are stupid.
Because the show
they've got is one that ought to be a major success with families,
not just with kids.
This is my snippet this
week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a
place where a number of authors post snippets from their written
works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement.
Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this set - you
can find the information here.
My
snippet this week is again from Sorrel in Scarlet. My heroine is in a camp run by the brutish graalur...
There was a burly warrior at the
entrance to the store, and beside him a human slave. As I peered
round the corner at the scene the graalur slammed a fist into the
lad’s stomach. The slave crumpled to the ground, and the graalur
drew back a booted foot and kicked him in the face. The graalur swung
his foot again, but I was already moving. One graalur, one of me, and
an attractive man in distress. I’ve read too many of the pulp
magazines Verin enjoyed. Usually in those it was a pretty woman
needing rescuing from the brute, but the effect was the same – a
hero doesn’t pause when an attractive member of the opposite sex is
in peril. My fist connected squarely with the thug's chin.
Which was where it all went wrong. In
the stories, I would have laid the graalur out, seized the gorgeous
prize, and we would have fled out into the wilderness, to find
somewhere safe, exchange life stories, and probably engage in a
steamy, passionate liaison to our joint satisfaction and no long-term
commitment.
But the graalur didn’t go down -
instead, he grunted in rage and swung back at me. I dodged,
fortunately – close to, I could see that he was built like a steam
wrecking-machine and had a punch to match – but he did not abandon
the effort. He also bellowed a challenge, which saw fit to summon
every graalur within a mile. Worst of all, my handsome hunk scrambled
away and fled without a backward glance. So much for gratitude.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was building a 1/48th scale model triplane. The bird is finished, and I proudly present some photographs of my handiwork.
There are a number of faults with it, some of which I am still planning to rectify (in particular the propellor needs another coat of paint, which I hadn't noticed when I took the photographs). But in the main I'm pleased with the way it looks - the rigging looks the right sort of thickness and looks taut, and the paint job isn't bad.
No, it's not perfect - but it should be effective as something to show when I'm at book signings. And it's large enough and solid enough to survive such events.
Now all I need is a similar sized model of Wrack - which my wonderful wife is painting for me at the moment. Expect to see pictures soon!
This
is my snippet this week for SFFSat. I couldn't post last week - real
life intervened - but this week I'm back. SFFSat is a place where a
number
of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the
opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also
explore the other blogs that are part of this set - you can find the
information here.
Once again, I'm posting an extract from Sorrel in Scarlet.
My pilot heroine is travelling through the strange, scarlet landscape of the Chasm, and is thinking about the creatures she has been warned about.
I was forming the opinion that the Chasm
was a distinctly unfriendly place. Grathks, graalur, wild olgreks and
snarqs I knew. Ruzdrools, inskiirs and adjaliks meant nothing. Vrusks
I knew and didn't fear, assuming they weren't twice the size and
viciousness of the ones I knew. The good news was that he hadn’t
mentioned dragons… no, I wasn't even going to think about that.
Even the smaller denizens of this
strange countryside were peculiar. As I'd trekked up a red grassy
hill I'd spotted some dark blue lumps grazing near holes in the
ground. I'd tagged them as rabbits. When I got closer to one, I
realised it had a shell like a tortoise. It then astonished me by
bolting for the nearest rabbit-hole at a speed that made rabbits look
geriatric. The shell was segmented, so it moved across its back. It
made me wonder what the local carnivores were like.
This
is my snippet this week for SFFSat. I couldn't post last week - real
life intervened - but this week I'm back. SFFSat is a place where a
number
of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the
opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also
explore the other blogs that are part of this set - you can find the
information here.
I missed last week - too much else going on. This week, I've gone back to my first novel, Sorrel in Scarlet.
My pilot heroine, Sorrel, is trying to find somewhere to sleep for the night. She has crept into a stable, then hears something moving...
Something stirred in the
straw spread over the floor. It was dark in here - no helpful
lanterns to show me what I was facing. I ducked into the shadows and
tried to make out the bulk nestling in front of me.
It suddenly raised a
head, and large, emerald green eyes were looking my way. Moments
later, a second pair of eyes were also peering towards me. I guessed
what I was looking at - I really, really hoped it had poor night
vision. A large wing twitched, confirming my very nasty belief - this
had to be a snarq. Which meant it had two fully-functioning and
lethal acid-spitting heads. And it was looking my way. I stood very
still, and waited, wishing I didn't need to breathe.
One of the heads
lowered into the straw, and then the other settled down as well.
Slowly, cautiously, stepping gingerly so as not to knock into
anything at all, not even a piece of straw, I tiptoed backwards like
a frightened mouse creeping away from a dozing owl.
Did I really want to
stay the night here? The logic was fine, but I didn't like the bed
partner in that stable. After I had a fling with Lorgren, Tolly joked
I’d sleep with anyone – I was glad to prove his accusation false.