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Hamburger Vs. Steak
May. 11th, 2009 10:23 amI don't know if I've said this publicly before, so if I repeat myself chalk it up to early senility, but Star Trek is to science fiction as McDonald's is to restaurants. (As an equal-opportunity kinda guy, Star Wars is the Burger King in that analogy - slightly edgier but still very soft.)
Now, don't get me wrong - I enjoy Star Trek. Nor am I bashing McDonald's - they make a good burger. It's just that neither entity is what you'd call "top of their art." They are both homogenized, simple and designed to be very accessible to the masses.
So, since I enjoy Star Trek, I went and saw the latest movie outing this weekend. It was enjoyable, although it had some of the typical series failures (time travel, a loosey-goosey chain of command, and All Cadets Report to the Fleet) but they did it in an entertaining fashion. If you're looking for detailed (and spoiler-y) reviews, see Jim Hines or pyropyga. I'll just associate myself with their remarks.
After my tasty hamburger, I had some steak - the wonderful SF novel The January Dancer
by Michael Flynn. Wow!
Flynn doesn't crank out books very fast, but when he does, they are doozies. The January Dancer is a literary tale of alien "artifacts" set in a very complex space-faring human world. It's told in a series of flashbacks, with a second story about an unnamed harper and "the scarred man." If Star Trek is a good hamburger, The January Dancer is a fine steak, served in a fancy restaurant.
Now, don't get me wrong - I enjoy Star Trek. Nor am I bashing McDonald's - they make a good burger. It's just that neither entity is what you'd call "top of their art." They are both homogenized, simple and designed to be very accessible to the masses.
So, since I enjoy Star Trek, I went and saw the latest movie outing this weekend. It was enjoyable, although it had some of the typical series failures (time travel, a loosey-goosey chain of command, and All Cadets Report to the Fleet) but they did it in an entertaining fashion. If you're looking for detailed (and spoiler-y) reviews, see Jim Hines or pyropyga. I'll just associate myself with their remarks.
After my tasty hamburger, I had some steak - the wonderful SF novel The January Dancer
by Michael Flynn. Wow! Flynn doesn't crank out books very fast, but when he does, they are doozies. The January Dancer is a literary tale of alien "artifacts" set in a very complex space-faring human world. It's told in a series of flashbacks, with a second story about an unnamed harper and "the scarred man." If Star Trek is a good hamburger, The January Dancer is a fine steak, served in a fancy restaurant.
