A More Cerebral Fantasy Experience

Noone could have missed the growing popularity of Swedish mystery writers like Stig Lasson and Henning Mankell least not as a Swede. Yet Swedish science fiction and fantasy literature has been lacking from this blog so far. I have promised myself I will rectify that in the future.

First out is Åsa Schwartz who’s first novel Nefilim has been published in 16 countries (link to English version). Nephilim are the offspring of angels and human females according to one interpretation of the Bible. Her new book En Död Ängel [A Dead Angel] a standalone sequel to Nefilim is so far only available in Swedish but I understand there are plans for an English translation later.

En Död Ängel takes place in Stockholm and the Mount Ararat region of Turkey and Armenia. The female protagonist Nova Barakel is a Greenpeace activist with a mysterious past. She goes to Mount Ararat with other Greenpeace activists to build an Ark there as a symbol for the fight against climate change. The green theme goes all though the book and humanity’s pollution of Earth is a major issue.

Nova is brutally attacked when she and her new-found boyfriend Benjamin visit the uninhabited ruin city of Ani only to wake up a week later in a hospital bed in Stockholm. Benjamin has not been seen since, why? She checks herself out only to learn that Sylvester one of her hacker friends has been murdered. Against doctors and her friend Arvid’s protests she immediately starts to plan to return to Turkey to search for Benjamin and clues of her own past.

I like strong female characters and Nova Barakel is probably the most believable I have met so far. She is a complex character unsure of her past, which will be revealed in this book. She makes mistakes and deal with them as a normal person would do. As in almost all good stories there is love but it never becomes the main thing. Nova is her own person but she has some relationship issues not only with her missing boyfriend but also with pining male friends that complicates her life. All her inner dialog allows the reader to come really close to her.

The environment and the details in the story give the same kind of insight behind the curtain that has made other Swedish authors popular abroad. I am impressed by the research and expertise evident in this book with social criticism, religion, history, mysticism and cyber security in a coherent and enjoyable mixture. The author must have spent a great deal of time researching it. I had the opportunity to talk with her at EuroCon this year and she told me she went down to Armenia to do the research on site. That she works as an IT security consultant is also clear.

I don’t want to go into too many details and spoil the surprise but Nova stumbles on something that can have global repercussions. We dig into cyber security, angels, family secrets, and much more before the surprising and explosive finale.

Åsa Schwartz is the leading lady of eco fantasy and her new book En Död Ängel [A Dead Angel] is an ominous eco thriller, a sequel to Nefilim that takes us into the supernatural. It was a real page-turner I read in one go. This gets a warm recommendation as a more cerebral fantasy experience.

Pop the plane and crash land it in the desert. I HATE THESE TIME JUMPS!!! At least they are less obsessive about them this week

We learn that in 1944 a plane crashed, there were 97 survivors. They have 99% similar DNA to us and they age at a much slower rate. They refused to tell why they are here so they have been incarcerated ever since. Are they aliens?

We also learn that there is a group of able bodied 1%ers that left the crash site before the rest was apprehended and that they now live in secret among us. One of them is even appointed the agent in charge of finding the 1%ers at large.

After 67 years in captivity they start to get a bit restless, which is quite understandable. Some want to take action and even fight while others prefer different methods whatever that can be.

One other explanation could be that they were in some kind of conflict and got transported here. They might even be fighting their adversaries here but nothing really indicates this. Time travel or an alternative universe seems to be the most likely explanations so far. I would not rule out aliens but in the case there is aliens it would seem likely we haven’t seen them yet and that they are in some way involved in the unexplained event.

It was never stated that the event was the plane crash 1944, so it must be something else. I am not even sure the event is just an event. What if there is different event for different groups. Sometimes I get the feeling the 1%ers are talking about an event that has not taken place yet, while at other times when listening to the spies I get the feeling it has taken place. What do you think?

It was creepy pulling a tube out of your arm to give a blood sample there agent now in charge of the hunt for the 1%ers hiding in our society.

The plane that popped is in Arizona but everyone that was there when those black helicopters came is dead. Shane is the lone survivor. Damn it is intriguing but the way it is told is just getting to my nerves and I don’t want a new Lost with a crappy explanation six seasons down the line. I am sorry but I don’t have much trust in this kind of story going in the right direction. I will get back to you around episode five or six but I will try not to become emotionally involved in the Event before I know where this is heading, it could be wonderful but it could also go totally painful.

The FBI arrests Shane Walker for the murder of Corbin. But they have a hard time believing his story.

Who thinks the President is going to declare war on the 1%ers next episode? They killed two hundred passengers on an airplane, as a warning? That is a declaration of war.

The Event Show Premiere [TV Review] September 22, 2010
The New TV Season for Science Fiction Fans (Fall 2010) August 25, 2010
The Event [New This Fall] August 4, 2010
The Event Ordered to Series May 8, 2010

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What if there was a cover-up so big that even the President was on a need-to-know basis? And what if some average guy stumbled upon the truth – a secret so powerful it could literally change the course of humanity? You think that guy would stand a chance of survival?

Title: The Event
Genre: Mystery | Conspiracy | Thriller
Network: NBC
Status: Premieres September 20
Timeslot: Monday 9/8c
Length: 13 episodes

Time to take a look at the Fall season. The Event is one of the shows that create most buzz at the moment but I will try to cover them all in the coming weeks. This article contains spoilers.

Is this a new Lost?

After suffering through last season’s failed attempts I don’t really care that much as long as it is fun to watch and there is some kind of ongoing resolution that doesn’t leave years of questions to be answered in a handful episodes. The producers promise that it will not happen here some major answers will be given as early as the second episode. My guess is that we will learn what the Event is but they will keep us guessing on what is behind it or how it was done. The show will contain genre elements but it is 95 percent based on the real world according to actress Laura Innes. It got some similarities, there is a central mystery “The Event” and there are multiple timelines, though so far no indication they take place in different realities. I am not a fan of multiple main characters so I am happy the Event seems to focus on one main character Sean Walker even if it will feature multiple points of view at times.

Producer Evan Katz (24) says this show is not going to be as dark. And part of that lightness stems from the innocence and optimism of its young hero. That makes me very happy. There is no indication on what level of friendly banter or bickering this show is going to have but I have no problem imagining Scott Patterson who does grumpy so well paired up with a very intense and verbal Jason Ritter. Banter and Bickering is an important factor for my viewing enjoyment so here is me hoping.

The Plot

The event is [an alien invasion] at least according to nymag.

Sean Walker (Jason Ritter) is on a romantic cruise with his fiancée, Leila (Sara Roemer) when she mysteriously disappears. While searching for her he stumbles on the biggest cover-up in US history. The newly elected US President is about to go public about “The Event” against advice by CIA Director Blake Sterling not to while Sean is freaking out aboard an airline flight piloted by Leia’s father about to crash into the presidential retreat.

There is also the Mount Inostranka Facility, a secret prison in Alaska where I assume the people who somehow were involved in ‘the Event’ are kept.

Who is in it?

Jason Ritter (Life Unexpected) as Sean Walker. He’s a nice guy who went to MIT,” says Ritter. “The main drive of my character is love for my almost-fiancée, and he’ll do anything to get her back. And that means he has to do a lot of crazy things”.

Sarah Roemer (Fired Up!) as Leila Buchanan, Sean’s fiancée a MIT-educated biochemist who disappears as part of the conspiracy to force her father to crash an airliner into the presidential retreat.

Scott Patterson (Gilmore Girls) as Michael Buchanan Leila’s father an airline pilot described as affable, Marlboro Man good looks.

Blair Underwood (Dirty Sxy Money) as President Eli Martinez, a family man who wants to fight the good fight. The role was originally written for a Hispanic man. Lisa Vidal as First Lady Christina Martine.

Zeljko Ivanek as the ‘fervid and brash’ CIA Director Blake Sterling.

Bill Smitrovich as Vice President Raymond Jarvis

Laura Innes as Sophia Maguire who is the leader of a mysterious group of detainees at the Mount Inostranka Facility.

Taylor Cole as Vicky Wallace and Wes Ramsey as Greg Kervin a couple who Sean and Leila befriend while on vacation that may have ulterior motives.

Ian Anthony Dale as Simon Lee is a government operative with mysterious ties to detainee leader Sophia. He is key to the show’s multiple storylines Ian told SFX. He added that the character of Simon will link the show’s various plot strands together.

“What’s really cool is that there are all these rich, diverse, grounded characters inhabiting these very separate worlds,” he explained. “They are all dealing with some critical personal dilemma which keeps it grounded, but Simon more or less becomes the bridge that connects all of the stories together.”

Who is behind it?

The Event is a production of Universal Media Studios and Steve Stark Productions. Stark (Medium, Facing Kate) serves as executive producer, Nick Wauters (The 4400, Eureka) is creator/co-executive producer and Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights, Trauma) is the director/executive producer; Evan Katz (24) also is an executive producer.

My View

The buzz at Comic Con was very positive and that talk for the Event but on paper it looks like yet another fast paced action adventure with character development be damned. Some sources that saw it at Comic Con have said the pilot was fun to watch but all over the place and we have to wait on episode two to get any answers. Much rides on the characters and how much fun it will be to watch. I will give the Event 3-5 episodes to convince me. I am looking forward to check it out but it’s nothing I jump up and down for.