First day of Worldcon (LoneStarCon3)
Sep. 3rd, 2013 05:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
valoiseWhile many of my friends were busy at Dragon Con, I headed toward San Antonio instead and managed to take in four days of LoneStarCon3, the 71st World Con. This was only my 3rd Worldcon and once again there was just not enough time for everything. There were media-related panels, panels on writing, panels on all aspects of sf and fantasy, interviews with authors, filk, film festival, science, and lots of lots of real NASA content - it was Texas, after all. I really had planned on taking in some films, but never got around to it. I also meant to take in some bid parties at night, but also didn't make it. Next year, I vow to party.
On Thursday I got the hotel around 1 pm which gave me time to get to registration and make my first panel of the day.
Fantastic London The panelists (Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, David Liss, Gail Carriger, Gary K. Wolfe) discussed London's use as a setting for various sf and fantasy works going back to Conan Doyle and Dickens 17th C. first person accounts of London reflect the hidden place feeling of the city - hidden London with hidden secrets. London as palimpsest, keeps rewriting itself. The novel as a format was created in London.
Fogs and mists favor the fantastical element. Historical hotbed of intellectuals, inventors, and collectors from across the Empire. No two Londoners will give you the same tour of the city because no two know the same city. London really remembers the Blitz and it's something of an open wound and also It's when they lost their Empire.
The panelists and audience members listed works that are set largely in the city. One of the things I love about this con is finding new and new-to-me authors and books.
Opening Ceremonies Paul Cornell, a congenial guy who wrote some of my favorite Doctor Who Episodes (Human Nature/Family of Blood), and a new book I enjoyed a lot (London Falling
), but his attempt at Texas-flavored banter was not entirely successful.
I took some time out for dinner and rounded up the evening with:
More Offbeat than Beat
Emma Newman, Greg Ketter, Darryl Gregory, Sam Sykes
The panelists were a bunch of people that I didn't know, but it was actually very good. The main focus was on works that tend to not fall into any specific genre category, although there was also a bit of discussion of truly offbeat stuff that didn't fit in anywhere. These mashups don't appear to pose a problem for authors (who just want to tell the story they want to tell) or readers (who just want to read a good story), but it's hard for marketing to know where they fit in and for bookstore owners to know where to shelve them. Readers can cope with genre mashups as long as the work has good internal consistency and is well-written. We also diverted onto book covers, discussing how they can entice readers to pick up a book they might not otherwise select. The big caveat here is that authors frequently have little or no say in cover art and some are extremely disconnected to the actual book. Emma Newman mentioned the Good Show Sirweb site of book cover mishaps.
All of Biology in One Hour or Less
Biologist Sam Scheiner used a pretty good Power Point presentation of the basic principles of biology, how they apply to SF and gave some good and bad examples of SF works that either follow these rules or are blatant displays of bad science. I was very happy that two series I love were held up as series that did a good job with their science: Mira Grant's Newsflesh series and C. J. Cherryh's Chanur novels.
It had been a long day and I was very tired, so I finished up with a 9 pm comedy panel.
Just a Minute
Paul Cornell, Connie Willis, Gary K. Wolfe, Mur Lafferty, Emma Newman
Concept taken from a BBC radio show, I've seen Paul do this before - a panelist is given 60 seconds to talk about a given topic without hesitation, repetition or deviation. Other panelists can challenge the speaker when he or she violates those rules. Harder that it sounds and absolutely hilarious.
And that's it for day one.
On Thursday I got the hotel around 1 pm which gave me time to get to registration and make my first panel of the day.
Fantastic London The panelists (Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, David Liss, Gail Carriger, Gary K. Wolfe) discussed London's use as a setting for various sf and fantasy works going back to Conan Doyle and Dickens 17th C. first person accounts of London reflect the hidden place feeling of the city - hidden London with hidden secrets. London as palimpsest, keeps rewriting itself. The novel as a format was created in London.
Fogs and mists favor the fantastical element. Historical hotbed of intellectuals, inventors, and collectors from across the Empire. No two Londoners will give you the same tour of the city because no two know the same city. London really remembers the Blitz and it's something of an open wound and also It's when they lost their Empire.
The panelists and audience members listed works that are set largely in the city. One of the things I love about this con is finding new and new-to-me authors and books.
Opening Ceremonies Paul Cornell, a congenial guy who wrote some of my favorite Doctor Who Episodes (Human Nature/Family of Blood), and a new book I enjoyed a lot (London Falling
), but his attempt at Texas-flavored banter was not entirely successful.
I took some time out for dinner and rounded up the evening with:
More Offbeat than Beat
Emma Newman, Greg Ketter, Darryl Gregory, Sam Sykes
The panelists were a bunch of people that I didn't know, but it was actually very good. The main focus was on works that tend to not fall into any specific genre category, although there was also a bit of discussion of truly offbeat stuff that didn't fit in anywhere. These mashups don't appear to pose a problem for authors (who just want to tell the story they want to tell) or readers (who just want to read a good story), but it's hard for marketing to know where they fit in and for bookstore owners to know where to shelve them. Readers can cope with genre mashups as long as the work has good internal consistency and is well-written. We also diverted onto book covers, discussing how they can entice readers to pick up a book they might not otherwise select. The big caveat here is that authors frequently have little or no say in cover art and some are extremely disconnected to the actual book. Emma Newman mentioned the Good Show Sirweb site of book cover mishaps.
All of Biology in One Hour or Less
Biologist Sam Scheiner used a pretty good Power Point presentation of the basic principles of biology, how they apply to SF and gave some good and bad examples of SF works that either follow these rules or are blatant displays of bad science. I was very happy that two series I love were held up as series that did a good job with their science: Mira Grant's Newsflesh series and C. J. Cherryh's Chanur novels.
It had been a long day and I was very tired, so I finished up with a 9 pm comedy panel.
Just a Minute
Paul Cornell, Connie Willis, Gary K. Wolfe, Mur Lafferty, Emma Newman
Concept taken from a BBC radio show, I've seen Paul do this before - a panelist is given 60 seconds to talk about a given topic without hesitation, repetition or deviation. Other panelists can challenge the speaker when he or she violates those rules. Harder that it sounds and absolutely hilarious.
And that's it for day one.
