My TOP TEN List of Science Fiction Novels

January 31, 2017 KCSivils

Books can have a huge impact on an individual’s life. These ten novels each, in their own way, had a huge impact on me as a young reader as well as giving me hours upon hours of entertainment as my imagination took each story and played it out in my own adapted version.

Number One: 1984 by George Orwell

Growing up in the Cold War in a family that understood all too well what the ramifications of the west losing Cold War meant, this was a scary novel for me. Orwell, a former Socialist himself, predicted so many things that have come to pass. This novel, despite its namesake year having coming and gone, is still incredibly relevant. Don’t think so? Name a place of business where there is not a television screen playing mindless repetitive news spewing the media’s mantra. Doublespeak? Try political correctness on college campuses and just about everywhere else. If this world is utopia, I think I’ll do without.

Number Two: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner) by Philip K. Dick

This one has it all as far as I am concerned. Moral and philosophical issues, replicants, futuristic technology and a fantastic noir atmosphere set in the nightmarish Los Angeles of the future. Decker could have been written by Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler just as easily as Phillip K. Dick.

Number Three: Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

The novel that spawned five movies, two television series and who knows how many comic books. I will never forget the scene where the hunt for the humans starts, in either the novel or the film. What a great twist for the ending as well!

Number Four: The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I loved this story as a young boy and still enjoy reading it. Professor Challenger is a larger than life character and Professor Summerlee it turns out is a match for Challenger. What a grand adventure, going to a hidden land where dinosaurs still live!

Number Five: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

Hard to believe, but this science fiction class, also made into a movie, is anti-war. The novel version though seemed to be pro-military. There is a difference. At any rate, the war with the Bugs makes for great action and some really creepy aliens.

Number Six: Dune by Frank Hebert

A masterful creation of a completely new universe to tell a story in. Hebert’s imagination and his ability to bring his vision to life via the printed word is magnificent.

Number Seven: Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper

A fun story that takes a look at what it means to be a sentient being. Little Fuzzy can’t help it if he’s cute. Piper’s tale also looks at the dark side of human nature as the need to declare the Fuzzies as non-sentient in order to protect profits shows the lengths mankind will go to because of the deadly sin of greed.

Number Eight: Runaway Robot by Lester Del Ray

YA Science fiction and it was a great adventure! A boy and his robot, instead of a boy and his dog. One of the first science fiction books I ever read and I still get a kick out of it.

Number Nine: Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Jules Verne may have been off with a lot of the science in his novels, but he had a way of predicting things that would come about such as man traveling to the moon and nuclear power. Given that he got those two big ones right, he gets a pass for thinking it was possible to descend into a volcano in Iceland and travel to the center of the planet.

Number Ten: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndam

Triffids sound horrible if you weren’t blind. I can’t begin to imagine the sheer horror of facing these strange plants with my eyesight being normal. An early story of global disaster without relying on the Cold War theme of a nuclear holocaust.

The Day of the Triffids

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Announcements, News and the Latest Goings On

Sign-up For The Inspector’s Report – The Inspector Thomas Sullivan Newsletter!

January 30, 2017 KCSivils

It has taken me awhile to get things set-up for my author’s newsletter, The Inspector’s Report. I’m not a particularly computer savvy individual so it’s to be expected I suppose.

The Inspector’s Report will be e-mailed periodically. I promise to NEVER share anyone’s e-mail who signs up.

You can unsubscribe at anytime AND you can not feel guilty about it!

The Inspector’s Report will give updates on the availability of the latest offering in the Universe of Inspector Thomas Sullivan and his friends (enemies too). Back history for characters and places on Beta Prime will be provided to answer those nagging questions readers have about this detail or that.

Short stories will be a part of the newsletter on a semi-regular basis and will often feature supporting characters such as Ralph, Alice or Joe.

If you are a fan of science fiction and/or crime noir/mysteries, I will include my thoughts on a regular basis in the form of lists or reviews of books I have read.

I would love it if readers of The Inspector’s Report would ask questions and contribute content as well.

History and Characteristics of Crime Noir

Roger Ebert’s Ten Characteristics of Noir Films (Novels for that matter)

January 29, 2017 KCSivils

The late film critic Roger Ebert liked film noir movies. Let’s be honest, some of Hollywoods best films from the Golden Era were noir. The film many critics say is the best American film ever made, Casablanca, is a noir.

Ebert penned a list of what he believed to be the ten characteristics that made a story a noir. Not all film noir movies fit all ten and the same is true for novels. The list however is a great starting point to determine if a film or novel fits the noir genre.

Here’s Ebert’s list:

1. A French term meaning “black film,” or film of the night.
2. A movie which at no time misleads you into thinking there is going to be a happy ending.
3. Locations that reek of the night, of shadows, of alleys, of the back doors of fancy places, of apartment buildings with a high turnover rate, of taxi drivers and bartenders who have seen it all.
4. Cigarettes. Everybody in film noir is always smoking, as if to say, “On top of everything else, I’ve been assigned to get through three packs today.”
5. Women who would just as soon kill you as love you, and vice versa.
6. For women: low necklines, floppy hats, mascara, lipstick, dressing rooms, boudoirs… high heels, red dresses, elbow length gloves, mixing drinks […]
7. For men: fedoras, suits and ties, shabby residential hotels with a neon sign blinking through the window, buying yourself a drink out of the office bottle, cars with running boards, all-night diners […]
8. Movies either shot in black and white, or feeling like they were.
9. Relationships in which love is only the final flop card in the poker game of death.
10. The most American film genre, because no society could have created a world so filled with doom, fate, fear and betrayal, unless it were essentially naive and optimistic.

Top Ten Lists

Top Ten List of Favorite Science Fiction Movies and TV Shows

January 28, 2017 KCSivils

I love science fiction. As a little boy I became fascinated with Science Fiction due to early, and by today’s standards lousy, special effects and a new adventure in each television episode. Sometimes today’s SciFi effects are so good it’s hard to tell its a special effect. When I discovered the joy of reading, I read a lot of science fiction to go with the other books I read.

Many of these shows and movies have influenced my ideas in the creation of the universe Inspector Thomas Sullivan lives in. Here are my top ten sci-fi movies and tv shows.

Number One: Star Trek – The Original

Every day when I got home from school I had just over an hour before one of my parents got home. I spent that hour with Captain Kirk, Spock, Bones and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise.

Number Two: Lost in Space

How could a little boy not love this show! Cool aliens, an even cooler robot for a sidekick, Dr. Smith was hilarious (and the real star of the show) and I seem to recall a couple of cute girls too! Oh, the pain, the pain I felt when the weekly adventures were gone due to cancellation!

Number Three: Firefly

This show is what pushed me over the edge to create the Inspector Thomas Sullivan series of thrillers. If a Space Western could work as a story telling mechanism, then a sci-fi crime noir thriller could work too! Like all Browncoats, I felt the cancellation was a crime against sci-fi fans. Serenity was great, but there are so many stories left to tell about Captain Tight Pants and his crew.

Number Four: Bladerunner

Classic noir film with a sci-fi story line. No, Decker is not the inspiration for Sullivan, but the two could probably swap quite a few stories about their jobs. Capital City isn’t as rainy, but if you’re in the wrong parts of town, it is certainly as dreary and dangerous.

Number Five: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

What a vehicle to explore the ills of society, theological issues, moral issues, you name it. The show was gone too soon and I blame it on the fact the writers and producers simply didn’t know who the real star was: Cameron. For a Terminator franchise to succeed, the Terminator MUST be the star. Lena Headey was great as Sarah Connor, but Summer Glau’s Cameron should have been the focal point of the show.

Number Six: Outland

Basically a remake of High Noon with Sean Connery playing the lone lawman who must face arrival of murderous criminals coming to his mining outpost to exact their revenge. Proof, in my mind at least, that lawmen can make for good protagonists in a sci-fi thriller.

Outland featuring Sean Connery — Outland

Number Seven: Terminator 2 – Judgment Day

Perhaps Arnold’s finest work! A thoughtful, philosophical film about the value of human life. Not to mention it’s a great chase story filled with explosions, cool one liners and a T-1000!

Number Eight: Star Trek – Next Generation

If it wasn’t for the fact the original Star Trek is what got me started on science fiction, I would rate this one as the highest rated Star Trek. As much as I love Kirk, Spock and the crew, Captain Picard was the best Captain, Data was cool as the android and how can you not love Worf and his need to go to Red Alert and launch photon torpedoes! A great mix of philosophical issues blended with a good mix of action.

Number Nine: Serenity

Summer Glau stole the show as the character River Tams was finally turned loose. Great Space Opera with plenty of villains, the Operative, the Alliance and those evil Reavers! River as played by Glau is the consummate assassin! How do you stand a chance against an assassin who knows what you’re thinking? The late Ron Glass was good as always as Sheppard Book and Nathan Fillion did a great job as the lost Captain Malcolm Reynolds.

Serenity featuring Summer Glau as River Tam — Serenity

Number Ten: Star Wars – Episode IV

Perhaps the greatest Space Opera ever filmed! Of course, had it not been for the 1930s movie serial Flash Gordon Saves the Universe many of the trademark ideas used in the film, such as the rolling story line at the start, Princess Leia’s hairdo, etc. would never have thrilled the millions of Star War fans.

As always, here’s some lagniappe!

Number Eleven: Logan’s Run

Great dystopian sci-fi film! Talk about taking the concept of over 30 being over the hill to an extreme! Take you pick, the film or the tv series, both center around the rouge law enforcement officer Logan who takes on the system that says humans aren’t smart enough, or valuable enough, to live out their life’s natural lifespan.

Number Twelve: Rollerball

Okay, the list said ten, but this dystopian film based on the novella by William Harrison is just too good not to include. In a future where the world and its people are controlled by seven elitist corporations, the ultra-violent sport Rollerball has been created to teach the masses individual effort means nothing. Unfortunately, nobody told Rollerball MVP Jonathan E.

Top Ten Lists

My TOP TEN List of Crime Noir and Hard Boiled Crime Novels

January 28, 2017 KCSivils

Beta Prime, The Universe of Thomas Sullivan

Why Is The World of Beta Prime Not As Futuristic As Most SciFi Worlds?

January 23, 2017 KCSivils

If the movie or TV rights to The Predator and The Prey were purchased, would Capital City look like some fantastic, futuristic vision of urban life?

Probably not.

Parts of the Capital City would certainly appear as if they came from the wildest dreams of architectural fantasy. Certainly the Northwest Quadrant, where the wealthy and politicians make their homes, would appear to be futuristic. The Northeast Quadrant, with its industry, upper middle class and the SpacePort terminal would look futuristic.

But what about the Southern Quadrants? Where the poor and working class live?

Picture the tenements of North American industrial cities, where instead of brick and mortar, the buildings are converted containers left over from colonization with plastisteel facades. Buildings would have the same design and construction as the poured concrete buildings built in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Ugly, cheap to build and made for those considered beneath the ruling elite.

Hovercars require some type of fixed path to travel on requiring roads to be constructed. Perhaps the only advantage of a hovercraft over a wheeled vehicle is the roads will last longer.

There is very little that is truly new. Ideas are recycled all the time. Joe’s Restaurant, with its cliche neon lights, Classic Rock decor and North American comfort food, plus whatever the locals consider solid fare, is an example of retro styling and architecture some 500 years in the future.

Besides, Joe’s is home away from home. It’s an interesting place like Rick’s Cafe American of Casablanca fame is. The locals gather at Joe’s as do all sorts of interesting denizens of Capital City.

Old technology that works fine will be used on many Alliance worlds. As they say, if isn’t broken, there is no need to fix it. Railroads as we know them today, steel wheels on steel rails, are still used on many worlds where issues of climate and expense of construction and maintenance prevent the successful use of more “modern” technologies like Maglev Trains.

On a world like Beta Prime, a visitor would find a curious mix of the old, albeit updated, technology with the new. Soldiers and police would carry modern energy weapons with a variety of capabilities. Some soldiers and police prefer old school projectile weapons. As Inspector Sullivan constantly tells the pup Josephson, “a big exit wound is one way to make sure the perp stops shooting back.”

Fashion is one area where futuristic designs do make sense on a world like Beta Prime. But then again, what has come before often makes its way back through the fashion world. A tourist could expect to see the miners and industrial workers to be dressed in typical coveralls, designed both to protect the worker and keep the worker warm in the freezing environment of Beta Prime.

White collar workers, particularly the so-called elite and politicians would be those more inclined to wear the more daring fashion designs. Middle and working class fashions on Beta Prime tend to resemble those found in the 1940s and 50s with updates in materials. Life is dreary for many on the planet and the dark browns, blacks and blues of clothing reflect this aspect of life.

Classic styles, such as pin stripe suits, tailored to fit perfectly, never go out of style, regardless of the century, planet or city.

Other worlds, with different climate or life support needs, will have different levels of technology. Life on a moon, such as the two moons of Beta Prime, Serenity and Persephone, with no atmosphere, requires a more futuristic vision of the structures. The same is true of a colony on an asteroid of the space station serving as the terminal for large starliners and space freighters.

Why is the world I created for Inspector Sullivan and his companions to inhabit a mix of such commonly found items from today and the hoped and dreamed for technology of tomorrow? Because it is the way man does things.

We still make furniture from wood don’t we?

Still, if you look around, there is plenty to find that is not what one would expect to see in a city today.

Take Sarah. When was the last time you saw a human clone?

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The Universe of Thomas Sullivan