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"Providence" by Juan Francisco Ferré

Read and understood the above one would expect now a glowing review of the novel but this is not going to be exactly. "Providence" is a book a bit daunting, 587 pages and there are many pages to be very good writer to get someone to have a full-sized effort. Ferré is a good writer, but still not so good. I personally find that is the main handicap of the novel: its excess. A good pruning that had allowed in 300 pages would have been Pearl to avoid glut, personally, I felt in the last 100.
Why, moreover, "Providence" is written in first person and the book, in a sense, is a long monologue by the main protagonist, a novel English film director embarked on his new film project while teaching a course in Brown University located in the U.S. city of Providence.
And the use of this technique is simultaneously a great success and a tremendous defect. The voice of this character is pervasive and, given the second extract I have offered, it is clear that voice is a powerful, funny, original, but at the long, somewhat tiresome. Remember
protagonists somewhat Heinleniano this was the wise old hermit, knew everything and explained everything, never confused. Or, to quote an author's most fashionable, has reminded me of Houellebecq's protagonists (especially to "The Possibility of an Island"), cults but unbearable, conceited, self-sufficient coolest eight but, ultimately, exasperating. All know, all statements (for who do not speak) and the world comes down to idiots who are against them and intelligent women who sleep with them, support them and then, inevitably, betray them. This, for a couple of hundred pages is his grace, in five hundred can end up causing a nervous breakdown. Why
addition, Providence has a patchy structure. The bulk of the novel focuses on the description of college life of our protagonist in Brown (by the way, where he teaches Ferré himself). But the classes themselves and the relationships between teachers end up staying in the background, most of the story is to see how many women lie with our teacher and theater director, teachers, students and passers-by, told with a wealth of details and, inevitably, going into the routine and boredom. Misunderstand as anyone else enjoy the description of a good powder in a novel but when that is just becoming apparent, the only purpose of the book, I just bored. The repetition makes me bored.
So is "Providence" a bad book? Well not exactly, rather the opposite. Ferré writes well, and many of the adventures and opinions of the protagonist of the book are fun, exciting and very interesting. Sometimes you can not peel your eyes from the pages, pieces like the journey through the secret passageways beneath the tomb of Lovercraft, or mania developed into the movie "Jaws" Spielberg are fascinating. The trouble is that, again, Ferré is carried away by the exuberance and do not know the verbiage curb his alter ego, which makes the end, many of the thoughts and adventures end up being a bit repetitive, indistinguishable from others that occurred 50 pages. A shame, What a great book could be! Paragraph
What fantastic? Why this is a blog about fantasy literature. Well ... it depends. Without being an expert in literature, I have the feeling that this novel plays in the league of the postmodern, in an attempt to introduce the world as a set of layers with multiple readings. And in that sense, "Providence" fulfills this premise that what you tell us can be understood in many ways. It is possible that what happens is real, and you may not. It is possible that everything is a game, or that we are facing the largest global conspiracies, or in the near future where some things today are no longer impossible. Or maybe none of the above is correct. From the standpoint of science fiction there varis strokes, and note that Ferré is a good deal of gender readings (Lovercraft and Dick were the most obvious), there is a cyborg, there could be a crazy game that the wearer also a peculiar Revelation, and a no less peculiar immortal, and even a transfer to an AI personality. But, I fear, the fiercest fans will not feel this novel as yours. All these details together represent only a handful of pages in a project as huge as this book. The bulk no longer a quite realistic description of life in the U.S. very paranoid today. In other cases
now I would paternalistic (one of my many flaws) and throw shit about the short-sightedness of the fandom that never read books like this. It's their loss, would sentence. But in this case, I do not know really who does not read "Providence" will have lost something. There is a snack fit for all tastes, and includes the finest readers, I almost choked me though, I recognize that sometimes the journey is worth it. Too bad not a little shorter and less arduous.

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"Providence", Other

might think, given the previous statement, that "Providence" only makes winks to fans of science fiction. Nothing is further from reality, its author, in general, pays homage to all that, currently, is known as geek (although I prefer the original term Ferré English freaks) and, incidentally, reflects sharply on the characteristics of this group of fans of certain aspects of popular culture. Valga this statement as also shows the style that permeates the novel:

could become the overnight (...) in a cult movie, at least in the guild of freaks, the dark fraction of the population traumatized by many complex since childhood (poverty, marginalization, ugliness, lack of opportunities, low educational level and professional of the household, poverty secular public school, dorm rooms, shared loneliness, adolescence, neighborhood, etc.). These traumas are translated into adulthood a communicable code that allows them to finally come out of poor living conveying a vision of reality (which would better respond to the expectations then forged a sentimental education in failure absolute and mental horizon of life and overhead time Masturbation as personality (...). All these poets of the inferiority, marginalization and immaturity as an attitude and lifestyle often fill their senseless sermons in favor of cultural alteralidad a lot of publications which more bizarre, fanzines and magazines that serve as official bulletins of the underworld, parish leaves taken from a madhouse evicted by conventional psychiatry and care given to terminally ill patients, detailed reports of the English subculture that is taking over for good, aesthetics and creating innovative and even more insistent speeches in the mainstream media. (pages 122-123).

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An Excerpt From "Providence" by Juan Francisco Ferré

"Providence" will probably be one of the books of the year. Herralde Prize finalist, backed by Goytisolo, published in the highly prestigious Anagram and, in general, receiving good reviews.
may also be possible that the regular reader of CF was attracted to him, since in the novel we can read excerpts as juicy as this, a conversation between the protagonist and an iconoclast of his students at Brown University who suffers a known English writer (his name is never quoted but is known as the author autonomic subsidized) with a very clear ideas about what is literature:

To make matters worse I tried to talk uselessly Dick, Philip K. Dick, you know, the writer who best described the twentieth-century American life and, of course, the century, and goes and tells me to humiliate me in front of other students, who hates science fiction, which is a subgenus subnormal and adolescents ", which is not serious literature and, of course, he only read serious literature ... (pages 432-433).

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Manifesto in Defense of Fundamental Rights in Internet

I always clear that the blog would go on fantasy and nothing more. But it is also true that sometimes an exception is needed, especially when fantastic (horror genre to be exact) bursts in everyday life as an elephant in china shop. So server is added to the Manifesto in Defense of Fundamental Rights on the Internet.

Given the inclusion in the Draft Sustainable Economy Act legislative changes affecting the free exercise of freedom of expression, information and the right of access to culture through the Internet, journalists, bloggers, users, professionals and Internet writers express our firm opposition to the project, and declare that:

1. The copyright holder can not be above the fundamental rights of citizens, including the right to privacy, to security, the presumption of innocence, to effective judicial protection and freedom of expression. 2.La

suspension of fundamental rights is and must remain the exclusive competence of the judiciary. Not a close without trial. This blueprint, contrary to the provisions of Article 20.5 of the Constitution, put in the hands of a non-judicial body under the Ministry of Culture, the power to prevent English citizens access to any website.

3.La new legislation will create legal uncertainty around the English technology sector, damaging one of the few areas of development and future of our economy, hindering entrepreneurship, introducing barriers to competition and slowing its international expansion. 4.La

proposed laws threaten to hinder new creators and cultural creation. With The Internet and new technologies have democratized the creation and release of contents of any kind, no longer come predominantly from the traditional cultural industries, but from many different sources. 5.The

authors, like all workers are entitled to live out of their creative ideas, business models and activities associated with their creations. Trying to hold with legislative changes to an outdated industry that knows no adapt to this new environment is neither fair nor realistic. If your business model is based on the control of the copies of the works and the Internet is not possible without violating fundamental rights, should find another model.

6.Consideramos that cultural industries need to survive modern alternatives, effective, credible and affordable to suit new social practices, rather than limitations so disproportionate as to be ineffective in that they are pursuing.

7.Internet should operate freely and without interference from groups that seek to perpetuate outdated business models and make it impossible for human knowledge remains free.

8.Exigimos that the Government guarantees by law the net neutrality in Spain, to any pressure that may occur as a framework for developing a sustainable economy for the future.

9.Proponemos a real reform of intellectual property rights aimed at an end: return to the society of knowledge, promote the public domain and limit abuses of management entities. 10.On

democracy, laws and amendments should be adopted after due debate and consultation with all parties involved. It is unacceptable that legislative changes are made that affect fundamental rights in a non-organic law and deals with other matters.

New Sid For Windowblinds7

A Vueltas Damn the Press

"Last Narrative English / Emerging Trends" is the title of a two-page article published in the newspaper El Mundo on Saturday March 20. What is interesting for the purposes of this blog is that these emerging trends are actual words, the story based on real facts and new science fiction.
Well, the first tendency is rather obvious if we consider that references to this "In Cold Blood" by Capote and is celebrated with joy the success of fences and "Anatomy of a moment."
But what's this about the new science fiction? It goes without saying that, whatever the device journalism, the fact that the CF (old or new) standing in an article in a journal relative importance of the dissemination of The World is a source of joy for all self-respecting geek and a sign of the times we live in a small quiet revolution , which on many occasions I have gone on record on this blog and not mine is a mental straw as other voices and learned much more respectable than mine have reached similar conclusions (in this regard the controversies that are periodically shaken Prospective Literature significant).
The problem is that the article by Emma Rodriguez creates more confusion than anything else. It starts, again, the teaching of Ballard as opposed to the old CF gender (though, curiously, not mentioned other writers also appear as Dick and Lem), which, to some extent, is the most logical and coherent literary rigor, interior space and the future as a metaphor This could be the coordinates of this new CF that, personally, it does seem a resurrection of the old New Wave.
Thus Fresán Rodrigo statements, the flamboyant author of "The sky background" reaffirm this way, just as the demand for CF Argentina (probably the highest quality literature written in Castilian) and cyberpunk (a Ultimately Gibson is also an author of more presentable).
The downside is that there is a ceremony after the confusion of the most peculiar. On one hand, cite a number of authors and works, except Ray Loriga and "Tokyo and does not want us" and Nicolas Casariego and "Hunters of light," I, personally, are totally unknown to me, both assumptions precursors (Andrés Ibáñez and "The world in the era of Varick, Antonio Orejudo and his" fitness to travel ") with very new values \u200b\u200b(Manuel Vilas author of" Air our "or Javier Calvo" creator of "The Reflecting God" .)
Along with this we must add a statement more than unfortunate José López Jara, head of the Minotaur, citing new promises of this new CF none other than John Scalzi and Kim Stanley Robins. Something really ridiculous when you consider that Scalzi is a kind of pulp author heinleniano last thread and Robinson, one of the most hard hard, is anything but promising youngster. Another thing is the assertion that you are editing a novel national author, Luis Montero, but, hey, the above statements moved to laughter.
And finally, nothing less than the claim Agustín Fernández Mallo and Nutella trilogy as one of the new landmarks of this new CF.
Where, as always, one end was not clear. And either I have not heard anything, or has made a rehash stews tremendous with very different hair, why put in the same bag to Ballard, CF Argentina, strawberries and cyberpunk has a logic but then add to Minotaur (with Scalzi and Robinson) bypassing other publishers (those of Alamut, SWAT , La Factoria de Ideas, Berenice, Gigamesh, etc, etc), the Nutella boys and a group of totally unknown authors (forgetting all our authors fandomitas) and it sounds weird, weird.
So, for now, I'm hoping someone enlighten me what it's like the new CF but I promise to be a good boy and find all those references unknown to see if some light coat of this coal mine in which it appears that has become, not the new journalism, if not the English journalism lifetime (ie, write something but not have much idea about it).

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Memory Menuda

The truth is that I have always enjoyed a good memory. And he's been lucky. I studied Geography and History and work in a school, in both areas my memory has been very helpful. Could not possibly have finished the race without it, or have passed the opposition, nor can deal with some dignity in my classes. Memory is also unusual, for example, give me bad names of people (no sides), when I run into a former student I know, more or less, when I gave her class and if it was good or bad but almost I never remember what it was called (what which is often embarrassing). That
good memory helps me a lot with this little love of literature, I remember quite well the patterns and degrees of the things I read and I like. Almost never do I have to consult a book, for example, write about it in this blog or discussion on a forum (yes, I never remember well the names of the players, curious).
So I have a good memory. Or at least so I thought. Why lately I'm beginning to doubt the alleged ability of mine. It was this gift that is not as good as it was: age, Alzheimer? No idea but I'm starting to develop that happens both the elderly, of being able to perfectly agree on something that happened 60 years ago and have trouble remembering events of last week.
And I'll give an example. In 2006 I was a member of the jury I Xatafi-Cyberdark Prize Fantastic Literature. Among other things I had to read me a lot of books to do my job. Of course, not all fantasy production in 2005 but a succulent piece.
For example, I read every issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, 2005 (N ° 15-21). There were more than 2,000 pages and about 70-80 stories (of course, that is not just the short narrative section, there were many more anthologies).
This Christmas I got to browse the entire collection of Asimov. Eye, not to read it to me, just go over it over, focus on some pieces, read a few snippets ... Well, there I got a big surprise. I remember almost none of the stories of that 2005. I looked at them, looked again and almost all seemed brand new, as if he had never read. In fact only remembered certain intensity fourteen of them. They are: Stableford Nectar


The Oxygen
Popkes ice upward
Garcia and Robertson Lake Wolves Sanders Ten Spokesman sea
wood Watson
A Princess of Earth
dry bones Resnick TK'TK'TK
Sanders'
Levine Far from the Land of Shadow Twin
Barton Abraham, Dozois and Martin
Through Lace Nestvold
Play "Nobody's Home" by Avril Lavigne Planells
The Man Ice Cream Van Pelt
The little goddess of McDonald

There is some logic in some of these memories, for example, the little goddess was the one who won the award for best foreign accounts and is a very good story. A Princess of Earth was one of the nominees, like Play "Nobody's Home" by Avril Lavigne. Ten Lake Lobos remember exactly why it was my favorite, a beautiful story reminded me Variant Zelazny Unicorn (unfortunately I was the lone juror who had that feeling, no one else voted.)
But the rest, frankly, I have no idea why they stayed in my head and others do not. Okay, some are really good stories even if they had the same fate as my favorite: the award passed by unnoticed.
Nectar has a very original futuristic and attractive, is very reminiscent Dry Bones (Sanders is not a bad writer in my opinion), very far from Earth is one of the most powerful visions I know about the failure of the CF and Twin shadow is a good adventure story.
But others are pretty mediocre, perhaps Spokesman Sea wood stuck in my head to come from an author Watson broadly pretty decent but the story itself is pretty mediocre, and oxygen up even a routine story as no longer a space opera, a my weaknesses. But why the hell I remember so well from the ice Popkes, a long and boring clones leaden history? TK'TK'TK Or supposedly humorous but really unbearable? And what about the ice cream man of grace and more mutants without hearing that the comic? Through the socket, a mediocre story, why not take it off my head?
To me this is a mystery, or rather, two. Why stories are not anything special I stick to the neurons and not going and that I can remember only 14 stories of 70-80.
And for an example of how well other things I can remember older. The volumes of the Hugo Awards Roca Martinez pulled in 80. I remember vividly all the stories and even many of the introductions of Asimov. And the last time I reread was, at least, at 90.
As I said, a mystery, old age or degeneration, but in any case highly irritating to noses.

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Press

Read a couple of weekends in the Magazine of The World: "40 years of Esotericism." Or something like that, I quote from memory. Same memory drafter article why this is supposed to the paranormal began back in 1968 with the Faces of Bálmez, so I do not leave the accounts but in the end, the case is to fill a couple of pages for all to see. Nothing
, without thinking twice, as are 40 years or less, 40 events come as "mysterious." A kidding like any other but, done well, may have grace and every perfect for a Sunday afternoon silly.
I get, therefore, to read the list and I find it typical that if the above Faces Bálmez that if UFOs around here, if ghosts there, about poltergeist, some EVP and the most popular programs, magazines and promoters of the subject (Iker Jiménez Jiménez del Oso). Anyway, all very nostalgic, and somewhat delusional camp.
The truth is that for a while I had a pipe, anyone who has left behind the thirties remember that psychosis in the paranormal that hit the country in late 70's and early 80 (well, this country and the world whole, does no one remember "Close Encounters of the Third Kind.") Would be a thing of the newly regained freedom, the crisis económicosocialpolíticoyloquesea or fashion, but the phenomenon swept. Especially the UFO and now claiming that in those years, was not read anything about it lies like a rug.
may seem paradoxical, but many vocations were born geeks reading before JJ Benitez Isaac Asimov. And since I'm not throwing the stone and hide the hand present my own case accusatory: 12 years and I whistled Berlitz book on the Bermuda Triangle. Yes, I admit, in college I had to read me a half dozen times. Nobody is perfect, not even me.
Then one matures, you realize the humbug it all means and either leaves it or is recycled as a reader for CF, this was my particular case, probably why, in the long run, I discovered that Silverberg was Kolosimo of fun and also write better.
In cuaqluier case, as the saying goes, God save us from the rage of a convert, though why so many geeks started now (we are) of the fiercest critics of esoteric hoax, although no comparison with that of 30 years ago experiencing a small renaissance.
So, while reading the list of noses reflecting more or less as in the preceding paragraphs, and saw one of the milestones the saga of "Caballo de Troya JJ Benitez and blinked. Books may seem like CF but coming from one of the priests of the issue and holding (as stated) that everything is real truth, and recalling that it has sold gazillions of copies, well yes, its inclusion made sense.
Then came "The Da Vinci Code" Brown and it seemed a bit odd. Well, it is true that strikes an esoteric subject par excellence, Jesus and his chances, say, alternative but do you really think Brown is your book? Is not stated there that is just a novel? Since I am not an expert on the question left in suspense, I was probably wrong.
And so it was time for Harry Potter and then to the "Twilight" and there already was when I started to swear and curse in Aramaic, the inveterate habit of some journalists (as stressed by some that there are also professionals such as glass a pine) to confuse the ass with the seasons. Put in the same boat a work of fiction whose author knows only too well what that is, fiction, and mix with fiction whose authors intend to present as something real is simply cheating or having no damn idea. Everyone
choose one of two Opcions me, personally, I do not care, is the same stupid habit of mixing apples with oranges and get people who do not have much idea on the subject believe that JK Rowling plays the same as the Fourth Millennium. I said, a fudge is tremendous and, as I said in the post title, fine press.