Comments for Looking Up at the Sky

Comment on Darkwar — Where the Author Went So Very Wrong by Dylan Fox

Dylan Fox — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:23:08 +0000

Yeah, I did think that they would be better if it wasn’t for the aliens. It was kind of cool that Marika was the one who brought them to their world, though. The problem is that the books, as far as I read them, were about the death of the Silth. And that’s an interesting idea to explore, and can be done with the hero ‘winning’ in their way–the author sets up the ‘winning’ conditions after all.

Not read the Black Company books and, to be honest, I’m not inclined to at the moment!

Comment on Journeys in the Winterlands Reviewed in the SFX Blog! by Dylan Fox

Dylan Fox — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:20:00 +0000

Glad you like the sounds of Winterlands. And thanks again for the feedback on The Long Road Home!

Comment on Darkwar — Where the Author Went So Very Wrong by Chris

Chris — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:01:03 +0000

Like you I was disappointed by the end of the book, in fact the books would have been worlds better if they never had met the actual aliens. If anything the end was ruined because no matter what she did the fate of her people was not in her hands at the end. Who wants a hero that loses at the end? No one.

While a fan of his books this book was too predictable and horrid at the end. Perhaps too much of his creative energies were used up getting the Black Company done right

Comment on Journeys in the Winterlands Reviewed in the SFX Blog! by Athena Andreadis

Athena Andreadis — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:39:09 +0000

Congratulations! I read the sample, it’s fascinating. And I also read The Long Road Home — very interesting premise. More on that soon(ish).

Comment on Erm, Captain Picard… Where’s the Loo? by Dylan Fox

Dylan Fox — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:20:05 +0000

Yeah, this is the thing: no one shows it. Few shows even have people disappearing to relieve themselves. I picked Star Trek because it’s so damned clinical about, but it’s a culture-wide trend. It’s dirty and disgusting and should be ignored as much as possible, and yet it’s one of the most basic necessities of life. You can’t even tell people about your experiences in the bathroom without being thought vile. If you’re really bursting for the loo, and you finally get to go, it feels fantastic. But you can’t say that. It just seems a bit worrying to me that we vilify it so much.

Comment on Erm, Captain Picard… Where’s the Loo? by Mephane

Mephane — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 07:17:33 +0000

Well, to be fair, how many movies and shows have their characters need to go to the bathroom at all, besides the rare case where something extraordinary has to happen at the sinks (It is almost always at the sinks!)? Star Trek is no different in that regard.

And people dying so cleanly is probably just to get a lower age rating.

Comment on Erm, Captain Picard… Where’s the Loo? by Dylan Fox

Dylan Fox — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:49:17 +0000

I did not know that! Will remember that for the future…

Comment on Erm, Captain Picard… Where’s the Loo? by Dylan Fox

Dylan Fox — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:47:51 +0000

This is true. Maybe I just find it a bit disturbing as Star Trek is such an aesthetically clean universe. Even when people die, there’s no blood. After being shot by a phaser, they just collapse cleanly on the floor. Excretion itself seems a wholly unnatural thing to happen in that universe. Or maybe I’m just too far removed from it in the real world… If that’s the case, I’ll have to change it!

Comment on Erm, Captain Picard… Where’s the Loo? by Athena Andreadis

Athena Andreadis — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:18:38 +0000

Actually, food, waste and water are excellent shields/sinks for cosmic radiation. Granted, the Enterprise has more sophisticated shields but they’ve been known to fail in service to plot twists.

Comment on Erm, Captain Picard… Where’s the Loo? by Mephane

Mephane — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 08:17:44 +0000

I think I read that they put remaining food and replicated dishes just back into the replicator where they are deconstructed again. I always assumed the same happens with all their everyday waste.

And I don’t find this gross at all. The same thing happens in nature all the time. The bread I ate today certainly contained atoms and molekules that had once been part of a pile excrement. Actually, whatever they actually do with their waste in Star Trek is probably cleaner and less gross than the real thing.