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The sunlight woke me and I sat up, groggy and light-dazzled. My skirt lay across my lap like a blanket and I drew it over my shoulders against the cool morning air.
Zeke sat in a pool of deep shadow in the corner of the deck watching me, dregs of wine stirring in the bottom of the bottle in his hand. He looked just as pale and flawless as in dark light, a statue wreathed in flames against the dark wood siding of the house.
"I thought vampires didn't come out in the sunlight."
He shot that cocky grin at me. “I'm not in the sunlight, am I?"
I stood up, letting the fabric fall, and stretched in the warmth of the sun.
His chin dropped. “You're a flirt."
I gathered remnants of clothing, watching him watch me. I skirted the shade, staying in the light, staring him down.
"Tell me you want me."
His nostrils flared and his eyes went from silver to grey. “I've always wanted you."
"Then come inside."
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Catlyn Ladd lives in a world of metaphors. Colorado is a land of extremes where god can be found on the streets of Boulder, riding a bicycle and wearing a Metallica T-shirt. Catlyn is most interested in the range of human experience that lies outside the norm, considered inappropriate in polite society. Her stories focus on the darkest realms of human experience because she realizes that our nightmares and mutations say much about who we are.
Catlyn is studying in the faculties of Philosophy, Religion and Women's Studies at a two-year college and is also a student in Religious Studies at Denver University. She views religion as metaphor too, and so emotion and religious experience are often entertwined in her writing. She tries to always be faithful to her poetic roots and often writes with the phonetic quality of the words in mind, letting rhythm, rhyme and resonance make the stories as effective when read aloud as they are on paper.
This is Catlyn's first story for Something Wicked.
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[Back to Table of Contents]
BOOK REVIEW: Blood Music by Greg Bear
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Blood Music was originally published as a short story in 1983 and won both the Nebula Award and the Hugo Award for Best Novelette. Bear then expanded the story to novel form and was again nominated for both the Nebula and Hugo Awards.
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The book starts off with a simple enough premise—a research scientist, when faced with the prospect of destroying all his work, decides to smuggle the “noocytes” (biological computers) out in his own body. Predictably, things start to go wrong.
Simple premise yes, but the power is in the execution. Bear takes his reader by the hand and slowly leads you through his apperently predictable plot with a gentle touch, all the while hiding his true intention.
What you get is a startlingly powerful, thrilling and, for the latter half of the book, utterly petrifying story.
Its scope is so immense that I caught myself gasping out loud at three in the morning. You have never read anything like this.
I really can't tell you any more without divulging too much information so all I can say is—go buy the book and read it.
This is one of the true great classic science-fiction novels of our time.
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Along with Blood Music, Gollancz and Orion Books have released a further seven titles by some of the biggest names on their list. The Future Classics range is part of a drive to introduce new readers to these classic tales. You have to check out these stunning covers!
Also available are Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, The Separation by Christopher Priest, Evolution by Stephen Baxter, Schild's Ladder by Greg Egan, Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley.
Published by Orion and all retailing for R129.95
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[Back to Table of Contents]
MUSIC REVIEWS: Radiohead Rides The Rainbow by Joe Vaz
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There is a reason why almost every new band around today—whether they are Alternative, Rock, Indie, Dance, Trance, or Hip-Hop—list Radiohead as one of their influences. In the last decade Radiohead has become more than just a band, they have become a driving force behind today's music.
They are also now the world's biggest unsigned band, having fulfilled their contractual obligation to Parlphone with their last album, Hail To Thief.
With the new album completed and ready to go, they decided to play an Internet gamble and release in/Rainbows as a download exclusively through their website for—well any price you want. They're selling it on the honour-system—pay what you like.
They are also selling the Box Set, which is being made-to-order, for a whopping 40 pounds.
Why take the gamble?
Well the 40 pound price tag includes the download plus the CD, the vinyl double-album and an exclusive enhanced CD with extra tracks, all of which are encased in a hardback book and slipcase, to be couriered to your door just in time for Christmas.
According to the band's publicist over two-thirds of people have actually paid for the (free) download. I'm proud to say I'm one of them. They've even set up a website (www.whatpricedidyouchoose.com) where fans can go and announce what price they paid. The results will become available at the end of October.
Why pay when you can download for free?
Well if Radiohead actually make money out of this gamble, more and more bands may take up their distribution model, and that can only benefit both the bands and the consumers.
Current distribution models see the band make on average 6% to 7% of the total amount you pay for the music, (and that includes download stores like iTunes, where artists walk away with about $0.09 from every $0.99 download).
Taking the power away from the record labels and giving it back to the bands and the consumers could revolutionise the music industry and ultimately do-away with the evils of DRM software.
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But back to the album.
From the bootlegs and live versions of Radiohead's new songs that are floating around the net, I had a preconceived idea that in/Rainbows was going to be a much more acoustic rock album than the band's Kid A, and Amnesiac albums. Never a band to be defined by any one thing though, Radiohead fools you from the first beat.
15 Step comes straight in with an electronic, synthetic trip-hop break-beat that suddenly flows into an acoustic version of the same; Phil Selway delicately knocking the shit of his kit. Next comes a smooth, almost jazzy bass and guitar as the brothers Greenwood pick up the slack. Thom's distinct, wailing vocals keep the energy up and going throughout.
But, as with most of their previous albums, the event doesn't really begin until the 2nd track—Bodysnatchers.
What pops out is a strong, guitar-driven groove unlike anything you've heard from this band before. It feels like U2 moonlighting as a grunge band, with Jonny, as usual, undercutting the flowing melodic atmospheres of Ed's guitars with his jagged, crunching sound. This is classic 90's Radiohead with a 21st Century twist.
But from Track 3 the pace slows again and stays there. A track that will, no doubt, be familiar to most Radiohead fans, as they've finally committed to disk the fan-favourite bootleg, Big Ideas, turning it into a slow, mellow groove re-titled Nude.
By track 4, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi you begin to realise that this really is a pared down, cleaner Radiohead. Sounding more like Elbow than Muse, they're a bit older, more mature, and ready to once again redefine themselves and the British alternative scene. No doubt there will be another hundred or so Radiohead clones in the next few years.
Faust Arp is a beautiful, almost completely acoustic piece which reminds one of the kind of simplicity and beauty of Beck's Mutations album—great song writing stri
pped down to it's bare essence, complete with string arrangements that sound like George Martin stepped in for the day.
Jigsaw Falling Into Place is a classic Radiohead (circa The Bends) song but without the electric guitars, distortion and screaming vocals.
Even though this is an incredibly laid back, mostly acoustic album, the band have lost none of their edge; the grooves are still there and they still sound rock-solid and technically-brilliant as ever, but one does feel like this is an inhalation of breath before the main event.
The one complaint, on first listening, is that the album has no release point—there is not a single song on the album that will make you want to head-bang or screech along on your air guitar. What does come through in abundance is a return to the powerful melodic structures of songs like Fake Plastic Trees, Exit Music and Street Spirit—haunting melodies that embed themselves in your head for days. As the album draws to a close with a quiet, piano driven version of Videotape, one is left with the chorus playing over and over again long after the album is finished—until you hit play and restart the album from the beginning.
Overall it does feel a bit like the calm before the storm.
What will Radiohead bring us next? It's anyone's guess, but the future of music looks good.
Since going to print we have heard that Radiohead has earned over 4 million pounds from the “free” download of inRainbows. Add to that the band is currently unsigned and you can say bye bye record labels once and for all.
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[Back to Table of Contents]
GAMES REVIEWS
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Bioshock by Brett Venter
Platform: PC, Xbox 360
Developer: 2K Games
Genre: FPS
Rating: 18+
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Bioshock has arrived!
Players will find themselves in the underwater city of Rapture. What happens from there is up to you as your choices are presented in an array of options. Rapture itself is a dystopian underwater wasteland that is both beautiful and eerie and where the genetically modified inhabitants are all out for blood, along with something else.
Standard descriptive language fails when trying to convey how good Bioshock looks. The lighting effects, the particle system and the (ever-present) water are simply amazing to behold. While the control setup is the same as a standard shooter, there is just so much more involved (while maintaining an intuitive set up).
Modifying the character's body structure with Plasmids and Gene Tonics are the order of the day, while hacking machinery can give a decided edge over enemy NPCs. With almost unlimited methods of dealing death and the strong RPG elements, trying to tear yourself away from Bioshock for the next few months will prove to be a daunting task. Its roots are firmly set in the still-incredible System Shock series (play System Shock 2, little minions. You will be solidly awed) but Bioshock has not only kept up the standard but blurred light years ahead of it. Three little words for this one—Oh My God!
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Graphics: 10/10—Sweet Mary and all her little helpers—this is just beautiful. Run on a top-end PC system, the blurring on the screen will have to be blamed on the tears of joy in your eyes.
Sound: 9/10—Atmospheric, appropriate and a bloody important it also provides auditory clues if you can make out what they mean in time.
Gameplay: 10/10—If there are games played in heaven, they are probably made like this.
Longevity: 9/10—Boasting random generation of enemy spawns and pickups for players, you may be stuck with this for a while. Rehab may be needed in extreme cases.
Overall: 9.5/10
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God of War 2 by Brett Venter
Platform: PS2®
Developer: Sony
Genre: Third-Person Action
ESRB: Mature
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Get ready to brandish the Blades of Athena once more as the Spartan Ghost makes his second PS2 appearance.
Following on from the highly successful God of War, the latest installment of the franchise will blow players minds in no uncertain terms. This time round, Kratos has managed to get up Zeus’ nose to such an extent that Zeus strips him of his godhood and dispatches him to Hades. From there, our sociopathic hero takes on the Sisters of Fate by way of the last vestiges of the Titans for a chance to change his destiny.
This is a fairly linear title. Gameplay has a sense of being on rails as players are steered on some very definite paths as the story unfolds. This does not really affect the pleasure of playing but it does bring back the odd flashback of Crash Bandicoot for some reason. With brain-rendingly obvious solutions to some puzzle sections causing frustration for a while (hidden in plain sight and all) and Kratos’ bowel-ripping, intestine-tearing, neck-snapping combos pushing the body count ever higher; gameplay is gory and educational.
The designers have a sense of humor though and more well-read players will laugh at some of the cameo roles that mythic heroes play in the game.
Bless the writers of the storyline, who have managed to pull the entire experience together with a tightly-woven tale crafted specifically to keep players at it (as if the violence wasn't enough). This is probably one of the last few truly awesome titles on the PS2 before the PS3 takes over for good.
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Graphics: 9/10 GoW2 pushes the now-aging console to its very limit.
Sound: 9/10 Offering a musical score that perfectly matches the title and would be at home in a movie epic, audio is impressive.
Gameplay: 9/10 Ease of movement, intuitive camera, bloody carnage—need we say more?
Longevity: 7/10 Possibly a little too simple to complete for old hands.
Overall: 9/10
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Wii Sports™ by Fayyaad Hendricks
Developer: Nintendo™
Platform: Nintendo Wii™
Players: 1-4
Genre: Sports
Release date: September 07
ESRB rating: All
Price: N/A—bundled with the Wii and not sold seperately
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The seventh generation of home video game consoles started in South Africa with the release of Microsoft's Xbox360, followed a few months later by Sony's Playstation 3. Elsewhere in the world, the Xbox360 was followed a year later by Nintendo's Wii, and sales have been spectacular to say the least (for example, in August 2007, the Playstation 3 sold approximately 131,000 units, the Xbox360 sold approximately 277,000, while the Wii sold roughly 404,000 units). The question then is why the Wii's sales are so far ahead of its two far more powerful competitors. Clearly, power isn't everything.
Nintendo has decided to forgo power, and concentrate on ease of use and innovation instead, and they succeed admirably here. The Wii's controller, the Wii Remote, looks and feels like a television remote. The Remote is a wireless, motion-sensitive device that detects tilt, motion, position, and acceleration through space.
The Wii ships complete with a game called Wii Sports, which comprises five games: tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing. All the games use the Wii Remote in different ways, and each one instructs you how to go about playing the games. In truth, however, the instructions aren't really necessary—the use of the Wii Remote is so intuitive that you start wondering how you ever managed to play games before without the natural motions. Wii Sports is an absolute blast to play, and the more players, the better. In fact, the Wii tends to be more socially inviting than other consoles. Wii Sports won't keep you busy for long if you're playing alone, but with even one other person, you'll be having so much fun, you'll wonder where the time goes.
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Graphics: 6/10—Not much to look at, but then the graphics aren't why you're playing this game.
Music/Sound: 4/10—Something to listen to in the background while you line up your shots.
Gameplay: 10/10—The Wii makes playing sports games so eas
y and intuitive, you'll wonder how you managed before. If I could triple this score, I would!
Longevity: 10/10—Wii Sports is easy enough that you can pick it up and just play. However, it's challenging enough that you'll take a while to master it.
Overall score: 7.5/10—Although the music and graphics bring the score down, don't be mistaken—this game is serious fun.
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Mario Strikers Charged™ by Fayyaad Hendricks
Developer: Nintendo™
Platform: Nintendo Wii™
Players: 1-4
Genre: Sports/Action
Release date: TBA
ESRB rating: All
Price: TBA
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If you're looking for a good ol’ traditional soccer game on the Wii, then you're better off waiting for FIFA or something similar. Mario Strikers Charged is about as much frenetic, hectic fun you can fit into a single session.
Mario Strikers Charged places you as the captain of a soccer team. You can choose one of several famous Mario faces, and then select your team. The choices you make will affect your game, because each team member has different play strengths and weaknesses.
The game features several single player modes if you're going solo, but the game shines when you have up to three friends playing alongside you. Mario Strikers Charged is also one of the first games to include Internet play against complete strangers if you can't find three friends (or don't have three extra Wii Remotes).
The biggest issue I've come across in the game is that you need to micromanage your team to get anything out of them. The team AI is terrible, and could have been worked better. However, despite this, you can still work around the problem by taking direct control of the team-mate that has the ball. The action is so fast, however, that by the time you've realized that there's a problem, the ball might have changed feet.
All in all, Mario Strikers Charged is amazing fun, and there's never a dull moment, with or without friends. But the game definitely works much better with others around you.
Something Wicked SF and Horror Magazine #5 Page 13