Reflections on the 2013 A-Z Challenge

Another shiny survivor's badge can only mean one thing: that we've come to the end of another Blogging from A-Z Challenge. Throughout the month of April, I'd been blogging my way through the alphabet, as I highlighted 26 speculative fiction books. And just like last year, participants are expected to give their thoughts and feelings in a reflections post.

I was so burned out by the time I clicked publish on my Z post that I didn't even realize the IWSG was posting the day after. So sorry, Alex. I promise to do better next month. My original plan was to schedule all my A-Z posts beforehand, so I would have more time to visit other blogs. But I ended up scheduling them on a daily basis instead. I still managed to visit a few blogs though, and I've made some new blogging buddies too.

The major difference between this year and last year was the fact that I wrote and scheduled all my posts on an actual computer, as opposed to a smartphone. This had a tremendous impact on the quality of my posts, and the speed with which they were written. I was able to nail the formatting down to my satisfaction, rather than have to leave everything to chance. I was also able to embed Youtube videos, something I could never do with Mail-to-Blogger.

It's been an interesting 26 days, but what really crowned my joy was having the friends I made during the last Challenge along for the ride once again. You know who you are. Thanks, guys, for making the 2013 Challenge every bit as enjoyable as the previous one.

The Zombie Survival Guide

Disclaimer: The following post is nothing more than an excuse to talk about the upcoming movie, World War Z.

Today is the last day of the 2013 Blogging from A-Z Challenge. Throughout the month of April, I featured some of my favorite speculative fiction books, as I ran through the 26 letters of the alphabet. By so doing, I have also discovered quite a few books I wouldn't have read otherwise. These books have covered the full spectrum of the genres under the speculative fiction umbrella, namely science fiction, fantasy and horror. The last book I'll be featuring is one that crosses the line between these genres and non-fiction.

The Zombie Survival Guide is precisely what it claims to be: a practical handbook on how to survive in the event of a zombie apocalypse. It was written by Max Brooks, and published in 2003. Its pages are filled with what should be considered best practices in the wake of such a threat. Mr. Brooks lends the whole thing some credibility by ending with a chronological account of zombie encounters, hinting at the inevitability of an impending zombie outbreak.

Following the publication and success of The Zombie Survival Guide, Mr. Brooks wrote a follow-up novel entitled World War Z. It was released in 2006, and it traces the events surrounding a ten-year global war with the undead. Unlike its predecessor, it was written with a much darker tone, but still manages to retain the former's humorous nature. In other words, even if you don't believe in zombies and such, these books are still worth checking out for their underlying humor alone.

The last decent zombie movie from a major Hollywood studio (that I can think of) was Warm Bodies. So you can imagine my excitement when I first saw the preview for World War Z. The Brad Pitt produced movie is currently due for a midsummer release, and it stars none other than Brad Pitt himself. I think it is only natural for fans of the genre to celebrate its coming release, if only because it could bring to the genre the mass appeal that would ensure that more movies like this get made.

And just in case you haven't seen it yet, I'll leave you with the awesome trailer that's got others like me clamoring with excitement.

Yesterday's Gone

Yesterday's Gone is one of several ongoing serials by writing duo, Sean Platt and David Wright. It is a post-apocalyptic thriller started in 2011. It was modeled after popular TV series like Lost and 24. Each "episode" is typically around 20,000 words in length, and at the end of a six-episode season, all the episodes therein are repackaged as a novel-length omnibus. The premise of the series is simple: on the 15th of October, at precisely 2:15 a.m., a vast majority of the people on Earth vanish.

The story follows an ensemble cast of characters, who awaken the morning after the night in question to find their various towns and cities completely deserted. These include a journalist who is haunted by the fact that he didn't find enough time for his family when it mattered, and a serial killer who makes a transition to antihero when it becomes apparent that his usual prey has been replaced by something much more sinister. And much of the fun is in watching how these characters inevitably cross paths with one another.

The first book that came to mind after seeing Yesterday's Gone for the first time was Left Behind. And indeed, the similarities between the two cannot be ignored, even though those similarities end with their shared premise. In the latter, it is a much smaller group of people (the true believers) who vanish overnight, and they presumably vanish to a better place. Here, it is the vast majority who disappear, and from what I can tell you from the little I have read (season one), they didn't exactly vanish to a better place.

Yesterday's Gone works because its writers have managed to find a way to keep the ball rolling. From the very beginning, the reader is left with one of several questions. Where did everybody go? Why have some been left behind? What role does the government have to play in all this? How are the characters ever going to survive such overwhelming odds? And just when it seems things are finally adding up, a new twist is introduced that blows all previous theories out of the water.

Xenocide

Xenocide is a science-fiction novel by Orson Scott Card. It is the third book in his Ender's Game series, and was published in 1991. The first two books in the series, Ender's Game and Speakers of the Dead, are renowned for winning both the Hugo and Nebula awards, and I am indeed ashamed to admit I am yet to read any of them. But I was pretty strapped for a speculative fiction book worthy enough to highlight for letter X in the ongoing A-Z Challenge. The following synopsis has been lifted straight from the book's Amazon page:

The war for survival of the planet Lusitania will be fought in the hearts of a child named Gloriously Bright.

On Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and pequininos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. Or so he thought.

Lusitania also harbors the descolada, a virus that kills all humans it infects, but which the pequininos require in order to become adults. The Startways Congress so fears the effects of the descolada, should it escape from Lusitania, that they have ordered the destruction of the entire planet, and all who live there. The Fleet is on its way, a second xenocide seems inevitble.

Now then. This is the part where I am suppose to weigh in with my thoughts, or say something witty about the book. But since the book in question is still buried deep in my TBR pile, I'll leave the weighing in to those familiar with the story. Anyone?

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a beloved American fantasy book written by L. Frank Baum, and first published in 1900. It is best known for its 1939 movie adaptation, a film that is considered one of the most iconic films ever made.

The story begins with a young girl named Dorothy, who is whisked away from Kansas by a raging cyclone (along with her house, and her dog, Toto) and deposited in the land of Oz. Her very arrival puts an end to the reign of the Wicked Witch of the East, who is unfortunately crushed to death by her falling house, thereby freeing the race of little people living there (called the Munchkins) from her tyranny.

Dorothy is welcomed by the Good Witch of the North, who tells her that the Munchkins were prepared to accept her as their new ruler. But when Dorothy expresses her desire to return home, she is told that only the great Oz could grant that desire, a powerful wizard who rules over the land from his castle in the City of Emeralds

In order to reach the Emerald City, Dorothy must journey down the yellow brick road. Along the way, she is joined by an unlikely cast of allies. These include a scarecrow who desires a brain so he could be human; a tin woodman who desires a heart so he could learn to love once again; and a lion who desire courage so he could become the king of all beasts. And they all come to believe that only the great Oz could grant their desires.

Is it just me, or did this classic childrens' book have a disturbing amount of decapitations? It was like one moment they were frolicking through the woods and enjoying the scenery, and the next they were hacking the heads off wolves and other nasties. This was especially surprising since, like most people, I'd seen the 1939 movie before reading the book. And while the entire book could be accused of being formulaic, it is only because it helped introduce that formula, which is still being used till this very day.

The Vampire Lestat

The Vampire Lestat is the second book in The Vampire Chronicles. It was published in 1985, and formed part of the basis for the 2002 movie, Queen of the Damned. It is the first book in the series to be told exclusively from Lestat's perspective, after Louis' less-than-favorable portrayal of the character in Interview with the Vampire.

Following the events of the previous book, Lestat spends more than half a century in hibernation. But he is awakened by the sights and sounds of the 1980s, in particular, the music of a band called Satan's Night Out. He joins the band as lead singer, renaming it to The Vampire Lestat, and he uses it as a vehicle to achieve both fame and grandeur. He then proceeds to narrate how he'd become a vampire.

Lestat was born in 18th century France, to an aristocratic family that had fallen on hard times. Growing up in the countryside in his father's dilapidated estate, Lestat had always harbored dreams of fame. One day, he escapes to Paris with his friend, Nicki, in a bid to realize those dreams. But he was to meet with fate instead, and he is transformed into a vampire by another named Magnus, who then abandons him after the act.

Lestat inherits Magnus' estate, and relishes his newfound powers, but his joy is short lived when he is payed a visit by his mother, who had fallen gravely ill. Unable to bear losing her, Lestat transforms her into a vampire as well, expecting that they'd spend the rest of eternity together. But like most vampires, she quickly loses interest in him following the transformation, and she seeks adventure elsewhere.

Lestat then meets another vampire named Armand, from whom he learns about his maker, Marius, one of the oldest known vampires. He immediately becomes obsessed with finding Marius, and he journeys around the world, leaving a trail that would hopefully lead Marius to him.

The Vampire Lestat is considered the best book in the series by many. It covered a lot more ground than book one, and also showed us a different side of the titular character. Lestat is one of my favorite antiheroes, known for his arrogance and lust for power. And while I can see why The Vampire Lestat could be considered the best in the series, I'd still reserve that honor for Interview with the Vampire, simply because it was where we were first introduced to Anne Rice's take on the vampire myth.

The Underland Chronicles

The Underland Chronicles is a young adult fantasy series by Suzanne Collins. The five books in the series were published between 2003 and 2007. They follow the adventures of an eleven-year-old boy named Gregor, and his two-year-old sister, Boots, who discover a place called the Underland after falling through a hole behind their washing machine.

The Underland lies directly underneath New York City. It was first settled by humans some 600 years prior to the time of the stories. These people, led by a man known as Bartholomew of Sandwich, built the stone city of Regalia as their new home. Over the years, they become paler due to their lack of exposure to sunlight. And the overlanders (that's us) live completely oblivious to their existence.

The Underland is also home to a number of other races. These include giant versions of what we call rats, bats, cockroaches, spiders, mice and ants, each with its own  settlement. Most of them live in isolation from one another, but there are few who are allied, like the humans and bats for instance, and others still who are at war with one another. Much of the conflict in the books centers on the war between humans and rats.

Throughout the series, Gregor and Boots become subject to the prophecies of Sandwich, who had foreseen their coming to the Underland, and had written those prophecies to guide their adventures. And so in each book, the siblings end up embarking on a quest that causes them to journey through the Underland. There are always several twists and turns along the way, and only by the fulfillment of these quests do they learn the true meaning of the prophecies involved.

Suzanne Collins is better known for her other young adult series, The Hunger Games, largely due to the ongoing series of movies based on those books. But The Underland Chronicles is every bit as praiseworthy, even though it is clearly geared towards a slightly younger audience. It has a better cast of characters, like the ill-mannered rat, Ripred, and the mean-spirited princess, Luxa. But the most interesting character in the bunch is Gregor, who aside from looking after his little sister, also has to embrace his role as savior of the Underland.