levi jacobs, author
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deifying the stars

5/12/2018

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PictureThe cover Brandon Sanderson called 'really awesome.'
Fellow Readers, 
It's nice now and then to read a book that takes religion seriously. I'm not much for religion personally, but it's the primary vehicle for a lot of our real-life character arcs, and I think it deserves more of a place in fiction. 
Doubly so YA, where such things usually get filed with parents and responsibility: out of the way of the protagonist who's got better things on their plate. Not so in Defy the Stars, Claudia Gray's brilliant start to her Defy the Worlds series. Not only is her opening killer, her pacing intense and romance memorable, she manages to hit deep with a character who takes her religion seriously (even as she questions it). There's also a meditation on what it means to be human buried here, embodied in the form of an android main character, and she pulls it off flawlessly. Who says YA can't get deep? 
Well, a lot of people do, actually, and if you look at most of what's sold best in the genre, you'll understand why. But if you're looking for something meatier intellectually without sacrificing a fast-paced engaging story, you could do worse than to drop a couple dollars on Defy the Stars​. (I wrote a longer review for this on Top New Fantasy--find it here). 

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anon-ymously cyberpunk

5/6/2018

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Having delved myself into the cyberpunk world (LINK), and harboring a deep love for William Gibson and PKD and Stephenson, when Netflix brought up an original cyberpunk film during my evening please-go-to-sleep walk with my three-month-old, I happily hit play. 
I wasn't disappointed. The movie hits all the classic points of cyberpunk: a grim, high-tech future; an invasive and subtly oppressive Kafka-esque government; cold characters with grim motives and trysts rather than romances; and plot twists that turn the detective back on him/herself. 
Neither was I thrilled--beyond these expected plot points, the characters felt too familiar, the detective's troubled past an obvious plant for how he could be manipulated, and the progression of crimes almost predictable. They did a great job of involving their future tech in the mystery itself, versus just the set-dressing--but even that set-dressing was staid, pretty but highly reminiscent of both director and actress's previous efforts in In Time. 
So is ANON worth a watch? Yes. I was riveted through my child fussing, fidgeting and eventually sleeping, enough that I stayed up too late to finish the movie. Will it redefine your notion of cyberpunk or invoke deep thoughts on our society that other movies and books haven't? Probably not. This is the next episode for those who loved Altered Carbon and BladeRunner 2049 and are happy with more of the same. 
A group that, I'm not ashamed to admit, I am often part of at 10pm trying to walk my child to sleep. 
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post-pike's peak perspective

5/2/2018

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Silliness with the other contest winners. Turns out SFF writers are not only the best at being silly, we're the tallest (and thus in the center--me w/talented writer LV Bell)
I'm always exhausted after a conference, in the best kind of way. This conference's best kinds of ways included meeting new and talented writerly geeks, soaking up my fifteen seconds of fame for winning the conference's writing contest, pitching to agents and editors who showed grains of interest (let's hope I've got more news to share on that later), and getting to know Mary Robinette Kowal, who along with her fellow podcasters may have more to do with my writing ability than the several degrees I have collecting dust (one of them Literature with a Writing Emphasis, mind). 
This was the first bar-con I've gone to and not felt like a total loser, or stayed at more than fifteen minutes--thanks again to MRK and her dedicated cohort of students, but also to author friends M.H. Boroson and Mike Haspil. It's nice to feel that I'm finding my way into a community of authors. Writing can be lonely as it is joyful. Especially when you're a giant (see pic below). 
That's it: Pike's Peak 2018, thank you very much. Time now to sleep. 
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Me with contest coordinator SM--I swear I'm not a giant all the time.
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    hi there.

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    You've reached the electronic home of author Levi Jacobs. Cleverly hidden in this site are stories I've written, news about things I've published, excerpts from my novels, and dark secrets about my other life as an itinerant fruit salesman. Enjoy! ​

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  • books
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