tonypeak.net
CONTACT:
  • Home
  • Blog & News Feed
  • Published Work
    • Redshift Runners >
      • Parallax
      • Dying Suns
      • Termination Vector
    • Eden trilogy >
      • Eden Descending
      • Eden's Tears
      • Eden's Crown
    • Signal
    • Inherit the Stars
    • The Last Eternity
    • Wages of Cinn
    • Prophet of Pathways
    • Beethoven's Tenth
    • Short Fiction
  • Medium
  • Patreon
  • About
  • Contact

Star Wars is Back!

12/23/2015

0 Comments

 
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Star Wars: The Force Awakens delivered an entertaining experience on many levels: the best performances in the saga since The Empire Strikes Back; special effects with more reality to them than the over-used CGI of the Prequels; real chemistry between the actors; excellent dialogue and humor; and a timeless mythology that only strengthens with the retelling. I now have full confidence in Disney’s ability to give fans a series of timeless classics that will live up to the franchise’s brand and history.
 
There are a few minor issues I have with the film, but I’ll save them for last.
 
While nostalgia definitely pulls at the heartstrings in TFA, it takes much more than that to hold an audience’s attention, not to mention break such box office records. For me, it’s all in the new characters, and how brilliantly they are portrayed by their respective actors.
 
First is Rey, an orphan on a desert planet, who is an excellent mechanic and knows how to take care of herself. Rey is a survivor. Some critics have complained that she’s a ‘Mary Sue’, and is too perfect, too skilled, but when I start hearing that same criticism directed at male leads in other films, then I’ll begin to care. Do you think a survivor on a desert world would be a bumbling moron or a cowardly fifth wheel? Nope, me either. Rey is strong because she has to be; else she would have perished long ago. I love that she takes Han Solo’s place in the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit, and that she is the one who seeks out Luke Skywalker at the end. That she fights Kylo Ren to a draw in a lightsaber duel only adds to her character: in that moment she was saving a friend, she was hurt by Solo’s death, and she was angry that Ren was responsible for so much pain. That made the duel one of the most personal yet in the Star Wars saga, and already among my favorites. It’s the emotional content that makes it memorable, not five minutes of balletic sword fighting meant to impress rather than further the story. She is the new Luke Skywalker, and I’m eager to see how her journey unfolds.
 
Second is Finn, a former Stormtrooper. He refuses to take part in the First Order’s atrocities, he rescues Poe from Kylo’s interrogation chamber, and he helps Poe steal a TIE Fighter so that they both can escape. Finn isn’t a killer. He isn’t a coward, either. He’s willing to fight to save his friends; the first time he sees Rey, she’s in trouble, and he’s willing to intercede on her behalf. Later on, he takes up Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber and battles a Stormtrooper, even though he is unskilled in its use. He repeats this near the end, when he faces Kylo Ren in a duel. That takes guts, and loyalty to one’s friends. This has always been a hallmark of the Star Wars saga, and I’m so glad they brought it back in this character, the unlikely hero due to his past. Here’s hoping that he gets his own lightsaber in the next film, and perhaps a romance with Rey?
 
Third is Poe Dameron, the best pilot in the Resistance, a version of the Rebel Alliance. He’s witty, confident, and loyal to the cause of freedom in the galaxy. It’s great to see the X-Wing make a comeback, especially when piloted by such a talented guy like Poe. He comes across as a genuine good guy, without being arrogant about it. The camaraderie between him and Finn is something that was lacking in the Prequels, which is why it stands out so well in TFA. I get the feeling he’s going to be a major Resistance leader in the next movie.
 
Kylo Ren is a complex villain: as the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, he shares a talent for the Force. However, he wants to be like his grandfather, Darth Vader, even to the point of wearing a mask when he doesn’t have to. It’s not physical deformity he wishes to hide; he believes himself to be a new person, an heir of the Sith traditions. His temper tantrums are a throwback to Vader, and reflects his instability. He is a confused young man, tormented and unpredictable. I think he will prove to be an even greater villain in the next film.
 
Now, for the things that could have been better:
 
Starkiller Base was unnecessary. It was yet another superweapon in a long line of superweapons, if you count all of those from the Expanded Universe (and if you’re a fan like me, that stuff goes back 25 years before this film came out—so we’ve seen it too much). Plus it was easy to destroy, like all the others. The one saving grace is that if they take this concept to its logical conclusion, of a vessel that absorbs stars, then the Republic could be in real danger. But enough with blowing up planets, already.
 
Captain Phasma is hardly in the film, yet she’s present in so many promotional materials, you’d think she’s second only to Kylo Ren as the film’s villain. Plus Gwendoline Christie is a wonderful actress, and it was a shame she was underutilized. But I’m hoping she comes back in Episode VIII, and in a big way.
 
Han Solo’s death was predictable. I mean, you knew he was a dead man as soon as he set foot on that catwalk with Kylo Ren. I don’t mind the character dying—this trilogy is about passing the torch, after all—but this scene could have been presented in a different way so that Solo’s demise was an uncertainty, not a guarantee.
 
The film glosses over things I really want to know—what is the Resistance and how was it formed; what is the Republic’s role in the current galaxy; how did the First Order come to be; who the hell is Supreme Leader Snoke; who are the Knights of Ren named after, and was Kylo their first member; and, how did Maz Kanata find Luke’s old lightsaber, the one he lost in a duel with Vader on Cloud City? To be fair, many of these questions will most likely be answered in the next film, as well as the novelization and other related works. But they MUST be told, so we can fully understand this new Star Wars timeline.
 
The bottom line is, TFA breathes much-needed vitality into the Star Wars saga. It brings it fully into the 21st century, with a female lead, a multi-racial main cast, and a sense of fun and wonder that has often been missing from the cinema. I am very excited to see where the saga goes from here.
0 Comments

My First Book Signing

12/22/2015

4 Comments

 
I was nervous as I hurried across the parking lot to Barnes & Noble, wary of holiday traffic and checking to make sure my wife was still beside me. In one hand I carried a small briefcase with my business cards, pens, and tablets (electronic and paper versions). In the other hand I held a cardboard package that contained the blowup of my cover, overnighted to me the day before by my publicist at Penguin.
 
This was my first book signing, and damn it, I didn’t want to mess it up.
 
I’d managed to squeeze in a signing at the last minute, thanks to my father-in-law and the local Barnes & Noble manager. Scheduled six days before Christmas and one day after the release of the new Star Wars film, it seemed like a good time to offer my space opera novel to busy shoppers. So without fanfare, I arrived right on time to find a table prepared for me, with my books lined up, as well as a standup flyer with my name on it.
 
This was the moment I’d only dreamed of. Yes, that’s a cliché spoken by every writer, but it’s true. For someone like me, a book store is both exciting and sacred, a library where proven classics shares shelf space with new blood. And here I was, the new blood, daring to seat myself in the center of such a place.
 
The store clerk welcomed me and offered to bring me coffee from the instore café should I need it; my wife, a few relatives, and friends took photos, bought a few copies, then left to do some last minute Christmas shopping. I was lucky enough to have an extended conversation with a local author and friend, but soon, even he was gone. I was set adrift in a sea of words and the people who pay their hard-earned money to read them.
 
But as soon as I sat down at the table, my anxiety disappeared. I don’t know why.
 
I’d always heard that you should engage people, but not come across too strong or annoying. So I sat there, hemmed in by my books on one side, and my cover blowup on the other, and waited.
 
It was interesting to watch people pass my table. You could tell who might be interested and who wasn’t. If anyone made eye contact with me, I made sure to say hello, and ask how they were doing. Most people are friendlier than they appear. If someone paused and glanced at my books, or my blowup, then I’d greet them and ask if they like science fiction. If anyone replied in the positive, I would continue my sales pitch (because that’s what it is) and ask if they liked Star Wars or Firefly, if they had a favorite SF author, and so on. This worked almost every time, with the result that I signed a book and garnered a sale at the end of the conversation. There was no median age, gender, or ethnicity; I sold books to the young and the old, men or women, whites and African Americans. 

Some were parents shopping for their teenage children, some were buying Star Wars board games and wanted an SF book to go along with it, and some were intrigued enough by my description that they bought a copy. One woman liked my explanation of Kivita and Sar’s romance in my book. A guy mentioned that he liked SyFy’s new show The Expanse, and I mentioned that I watch it too (which I do) and that I tried to follow science much like that show does, by respecting different atmospheres and gravities in my own work. He bought a copy. Then there was the young guy who arrived after I had packed everything up. Wearing a curious smile, he picked up a copy, and soon we were discussing the works of Kevin J. Anderson, Timothy Zahn, and David Brin. I complimented him on his Boba Fett shirt (yes, I like that iconic character too) and the young man finally bought a signed copy.

 
So yes, I was being a salesman, but I know my genre, and I know my audience. I’m a fan too, and that connection with other fans worked for me.
 
There’s no doubt that the current popularity of space operas helped me out. But during the signing, the store clerk came by and let me know that I was doing very well. According to her, she’d seen other authors give a signing, sit there for hours, and not sell a single copy. She said I was good an engaging people.

Later that night, as I carried my briefcase and cover blowup back across a darkened parking lot, with my wife in tow, I smiled. The event was a success: over half of the books sold, but most importantly, because I’d proven to myself that I could do it. That I really can talk to strangers, and perhaps, connect their love of science fiction with my own in such a way that they’re willing to buy and read my work. Best of all, my wife and family were very proud. You can’t put a price on that kind of support, and I thank them.
4 Comments

    Tony's Blog

    Updated (ir)regularly. 

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Cinema
    Gaming
    Modernity
    Music
    Writing

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    March 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2012

    RSS Feed

Tweets by @tonypeak78
Goodreads: Book reviews, recommendations, and discussion