Dangerous Reality. Malorie Blackman
Malorie BlackmanI’ve just finished Dangerous Reality, my first Malorie Blackman novel. If you’re looking for a novel for a twelve or thirteen year old this Christmas, then look no further than this for a stocking filler. (Though I’m tempted to buy some of these books for adults as I enjoy more of the ‘kids’ lit’ I read than the adult fiction).
There’s not a word wasted in this SF thriller. The Amazon review gives a sound precis:
Dominic has always been proud of his famous, scientist mother, and when she unveils her latest masterpiece--the Virtual Interactive Mobile System (VIMS)--he glows with pride. But there is a saboteur on the loose who seems set on destroying VIMS and anyone who stands in his way.
As the fast-paced tale of industrial espionage at its highest level unfolds, so too does a haunting story of love and betrayal as Dangerous Reality gradually and intelligently blends the depth of human emotion with a futuristic conspiracy that is at once as breathtaking in its technical detail as it is touching, as the past begins to haunt the future.
There’s a few interesting twists in the plot and an understated grittiness to the real world that’s lacking in a good deal of adult SF. The British Arts Council's entry for Blackman lists her staggering bibliography—this is a hardworking writer. I'm looking forward to reading her Noughts & Crosses trilogy sometime soon. Image from Marjorie Blackman's site.
Blacmail Press: New poems online
Check out the new issue of blackmail press 17 which includes my poems 'Gemini spacewalk', 'learning the t' and 'script kiddy'.
Blackmail press 17 features
Karlo MilaPenny AshtonBen KempMichelle ArathimosAndrew FiuRenee LiangKalim StewartMary CreswellVincent PooleRae PaterNicholas MessengerKeith NunesLora MountjoyAlison WithersLesley CrimminsBernard V KyleHarvey MolloyJessica Gulliver Trevor LandersMark Nicholas JamiesonInternational poets Jayne Fenton KeaneArlene AngLarry JaffeAamir AzizDave LordanRamesh DohanMaurice OliverChristopher MulrooneySpecial Features:Poems from “An Absolute Rush” Poetry workshop held by Karlo Mila and Renee Liang. New Poets Feature
Wolves. Emily Gravett
I read today in the September issue of Locus that Thomas Pynchon has handed in a new historical novel Against the Day to Penguin. Fishing on the net I found more information on the book at the Pynchon News site. The novel will be published in just three days tmes, yes, you heard here it first, citizens...unless you read Locus in August!
Rabbit takes out Wolves by Emily Grrabitt from the library. Suddenly wolves are everywhere—in every tree, behind every step, waiting for her to make a wrong move. Rabbit shrinks in size as the wolf in the book’s she reading grows in her imagination. (And what’s a book or a blog without a reader?). The book has two endings; in one rabbit and the book are consumed by the wolf (all literature addresses the monster of mortality); in the other the first ending is nothing more than an author’s trick. In both versions the book has somehow managed to come alive. What really kills the text and ends the writing is no-one reading, remembering, or imagining what has been written. That’s when it’s time to close the cover, switch off, return the book to the library and find other pursuits.
Fluid. Karen Peterson Butterworth
Last night I attended a function for English teachers at Unity Books and ended up buying two books:
NZ Best Fiction Volume 3 to be given as a present) and
Fluid by Karen Peterson Butterworth which is yet another Earl of Seacliffe minibook. Looking at the poetry counter towards the front of the shop I noticed that quite a few of these minibooks had been sold since my last visit.
I’m glad that
Blackmail Press have decided to publish three of my poems online in their next issue. I’ll let you know when ‘Gemini spacewalk’, ‘learning the t’ and ‘script kiddy’ come online.
As you know, I'm an admirer of Sue Wootton's poetry (one of our most underappreciated poets!) and she has a fantastic poem in the womens' issue of BMP called
retail therapy that begins with the killer line: "In Wellington you discovered your inner bitch." This is not included in her excellent first volume
Hourglass.
Kid. Simon Armitage
Simon Armitage
I certainly hear north-western English in Armitage’s verse (he’s from Huddersfield, he is). The first half of the book reminded me of Heaney and Larkin; as if Armitage is adopting their personae—he’s kidding with us, kidding around, and acting as ‘our kid’, the younger brother of the two elder poets of the north from whose shadow he must escape. The poem ‘Kid’—told by a Robin who has given Batman the push—is one of the more successful poems in the collection and contributes to the sense of mask-wearing and literary capers that fills Kid. All the poems are technically proficient but some tickle my fancy more than others. At times the technical constraints of the poems weight them down. Any watcher of Coronation Street knows that we sound somewhat unreal, hysterical (especially the men) and prone to kidding, mimicry (a northern pastime as much as ale, cricket, soccer and ciggies) and self-parody. Ted Hughes avoids the problem of the northern voice by never allowing himself to be daft. Kid avoids the excesses of a camp northern brogue but doesn’t feel quite at home with its parade of voices. Still, this is a thoroughly enjoyable and intriguing work.
There are some fine notes for teachers on the book at universal teacher. The winners of the Ben Gully National Schools Poetry Award are now online at the International Institute for Modern Letters. Congratulations to Alisha Vara and all the other winners. This is a great contest to promote creative writing in schools.And I've been enjoying reading the latest BMP16 over at Blackmail Press. Start with Owen Bullock and then work your way through the issue ...
Image from sheer poetry.
