Archive for the ‘Jack McDevitt’ Category
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I got to do a bunch of cool stuff last weekend. Once of them (which encompassed all the other things) was attend ConText26, a science fiction and fantasy convention in Columbus, Oh. As you can tell by the number after it’s name, ConText has been around for a while. Geared towards writers and publishers, this is a smaller convention. There was probably around 200 people there. In this case though, smaller is better. It makes for a casual and friendly atmosphere in which to learn and network. As a “fan, non-writer”, I was in the minority. Nearly all the other attendees were writers, or involved with publishing, and interested in learning more about the craft. I’m not a writer, but I was still fascinated by everything. Beyond panels and seminars, ConText offered a Filking concert, a Flash Fiction contest, a mass autograph session, a dealer room (to buy books to be autographed!), author readings, and of course, evening parties.
The best part was that I got to spend the weekend with my friend Elizabeth. She runs Dark Cargo, and she’s my partner in crime over at Bookstore Bookblogger Connection. She showed me around Columbus’s cool Victorian neighborhoods, took me on a bookstore adventure, introduced me to the local pizza and beer scene (Pies and Pints, FTW!), and generally ensured that I would have a #bestweekendever. I met up with my friends John and Paul as well.
on Friday:
First panel was Liz Coley’s How To Make Your Words Shine. This was mostly about revising your drafts to get your manuscript ready for submission. Everyone knows the basic grammar rules, but she touched on more subtle writing concepts, like adding sensory and textual descriptors (use your senses other than sight!), verbal patterns that it is easy to fall into (such as using too many adverbs) and other tips. In my brain, what she was talking about was the engineering behind the artwork, the act of putting in the foundation last so the surface can glimmer with the texture you originally planned for it. She suggested using the “find/replace” function to make sure the same words or phrases aren’t used over and over again, or twice in one sentence.
I can haz time travel!
Posted on: July 11, 2011
Time Travelers Never Die, by Jack McDevitt
published in 2009
where I got it: purchased new
why I read it: this was the July book for my local SF book club
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Shortly after physicist Michael Shelborne disappears, his son, Adrian Shelborne (he goes by Shel) discovers that his father created a time machine. Bringing his best friend Dave in on the secret, they experiment with the hand held machines and through trial and error, learn how they work. Hoping to find Shel’s father and bring him home, the two friends travel to times and places they think Michael would have been most interested in.
What I found most funny is that Shel and Dave act like completely normal people. They have no interest in changing history, or being superheroes. For much of the middle of the book, they are chrononaut sightseers, visiting times, meeting people, occasionally snapping some photos, and generally just having a good time. Sure, they are ultimately looking for Shel’s father, but when you’ve got a time machine, you’ve got all the time in the world, right?
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the Little Red Reviewer 
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