The Sci Fi Catholic: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today is the last Sunday of Advent. I am presently at home where I am luxuriating in non-homeworkness. The family is visiting: Snuffles, Frederick, Phenny, and Lucky all flew in. As I've decided I think I could handle keeping a goldfish, Lucky is currently deciding whether she wants to come to the seminary with me or return to Snuffles's party cave. Frederick is hunting for an apartment and/or stable, as he has informed me he can't stand sharing Snuffle's domicile. Sounds as if the gang's breaking up, which rather makes me sad.

We were hoping to have received a Christmas letter from Rocky the Space Mouse by now. His writing has become more infrequent as he has become more involved in protecting our solar system from the terrors of the Beyond. I think all of us are worried about him, most especially Lucky, who was particularly close to him while he was here. Unfortunately, we no longer have a reliable address to write to him ourselves, since the Martian base was destroyed. Last we heard, his unit was near Saturn preparing an ambush against the Beyonders' Shadow Armada, but that was months ago.

At any rate, whatever happens, Lucky, Snuffles, Frederick, Phenny, and I are all together now and will be together through Christmas. I didn't realize how much I missed these guys.

Keep Mass in Christmas.

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Currently Reading

D.G.D.: McKee has with this book established himself as the master of all things science fiction + religion. If you have an interest in the admittedly narrow subject, you read this book. It is an easy and entertaining read that shows an awesome breadth of knowledge of sf. But just for the record, I disagree with his interpretation of At the Mountains of Madness; the Great Old Ones were not monstrous evil gods, but great men, even supermen. They appear monstrous and evil to the average reader because the average reader has a healthier view of things than Lovecraft did.

D.G.D.: This is so far a depressing steampunkish work depicting an alternate Wild West in a world where the land westward is not just unexplored but literally half-made or unmade (though it's not clear yet who's making it or how it gets made) and locked in a potentially endless war between the human pawns of demon-possessed six-shooters and demon-possessed choo-choo trains. That sounds awesome, but the book is so far proving humorless, grim, vulgar, and a little snide: A little too much modern fantasy and not enough old-fashioned hayburner.

D.G.D.: William Hope Hodgson's classic is both as good and as bad as they say, a story of love in a far-flung future when the sun and all the stars have gone black and strange soul-devouring monsters have risen out of the darkness to await the day when man's last defenses fail and night reigns supreme, in which a young man braves the Night Land to rescue his reincarnated beloved, whom he has sought in vain across countless lifetimes. It contains brilliant flights of imagination, but is written in an obnoxious style and has no characterization to speak of. A must for fans of sf, but not always a pleasant read.

Currently Watching

Snuffles: Recently finished all eleven episodes of Usagi Drop, based on the popular manga published in English as Bunny Drop. The show is currently available, as far as I know, only on Crunchy Roll. A quiet, meditative series about thirty-year-old bachelor Daikichi who unexpectedly finds himself taking care of his late grandfather's six-year-old illegitimate daughter, Rin, it's gentle and heartwarming. Also mixes in elements of romance with a single mom, who is mother of Rin's best friend. So if Rin is Daikichi's aunt, and if she grew up and married Koki, and if Daikichi married Koki's mom . . . yes, I think that would work: Daikichi could be HIS OWN GRANDPA! Everybody sing . . .