Choose Your Weapon - Time Travel

Lee Dong Wooj in Tail of the Nine-Tailed Is the past repeating itself again?

Time Travel as a Weapon

You might think of time travel more as a mode of transportation, at least in film and literature, and you would be right. It certainly offers a way of moving characters into precarious and plot-twisting situations.

But it is also a weapon. 

If you don't believe me, read on to discover how deadly time travel can be.

In the 2016 series Travelers, future surviving humans send their consciousness back through time into people of the 21st century to change the path of humanity. Of course, they kill their hosts to do it...

Time Travel Defined

Think of time travel as a way to transport a) information (precognition as in The Minority Report) and/or b) characters forward, backward and sideways (into parallel universes). And note, even though Einstein's Relativity says time, travel or otherwise, is an illusion, quantum physics begs to differ. 

Brief Sidestep into Science

In quantum physics, we have the idea of time symmetry in that it flows both ways, forward from past to present to future, AND backward, from future, to present to past. The latter is the most common because an observer is essential to 'see' a thing for it to exist. 

As John Wheeler puts it, "...what the observer will do in the future defines what happens in the past—even in a past so remote that life did not then exist, and shows even more, that 'observership' is a prerequisite for any useful version of 'reality'."

Don't you love how 'reality' is in quotes? 

Time becomes both complex and illusory, but that doesn't stop us from using fiction to get a handle on it.

Wheel of Time depicts time with a seven-spoked wheel marking the seven Ages. The turning of this wheel and the events of each Age generate the Great Pattern, a predefined plan which defines the past, present and future -  not unlike Hindu and Buddhist representations of time.

The Sub Genres of Time Travel in Fiction

Writing time travel in fiction offers a way to weaponize a character as well as play with the time/space continuum. And the best part of this, to me, is you can cross genres like crazy to do it. TT includes multiple classes of Speculative Fiction from SF, Fantasy and alternate history to even more obscure niches. 

We have books and films ranging from Fantasy, like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and The Dragonriders of Pern, to Fairytale like Rip Van Winkle to the War subclass like The Edge of Tomorrow (adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka's All You Need is Kill), Alt History like Outlander, comedy as in Groundhog Day and of course SF from H. G. Wells' 1895 classic The Time Machine to comedy/SF Back to the Future. 

I played with the symmetry of time in deadly ways in the Quantum Enchantment series, specifically Arrows of Time.

Time can change the course of history.
Right, Mr. Queen?

As well, we have works across more Spec Fic subgenres like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Wheels of Time to the wonderful array of KDramas such as Lovely Runner and Mr. Queen.

Conclusions

The point is, that time travel isn't always a glitch in The Matrix. It can be used to correct the devastating collapse of humanity (Terminator), to win the battle and save the day, for example...

"By making use of time displacement equipment, agents from both sides (pro Skynet and anti Skynet) are deployed on missions designed to either ensure, alter, or eradicate the status quo as perceived by the participants at the time." - Terminator Universe 

Now that is some weapon!

On a more subtle level, there is the temporal fugue portrayed in Creatures of Light and Darkness by Roger Zelazny where our hero moves through time, adding himself to a causality loop so his 'copies' can join the fight. The possibilities here are endless!

* * *

Do you have a favorite time travel book, film or game? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Choose Your Weapon Series

Poison

The Perfect Storm

The Sword

Firearms

Ranged

Spells

Unarmed

Curses

Time Travel

* * *

About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, currently writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is working on the third book, out in 2024.

Kim can be found on  AKWilder Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site

Zombie Lovin': What's Up With The Undead? -- More 'From The Backlist' Goodness!

 .
With Halloween clearly on the horizon, what better time to feature a lil Zombie Lovin'? Namely, Terri Garey's microfiction that checks out what's up with the undead?

We loved it the first time around and bet you'll enjoy the fun just as much today. Sure hope so! :D

Terri Garey

Zombie Lovin': What's Up With The Undead? by Terri Garey

When did zombies become the new black? Zombies are everywhere these days, including zombie romance. When I first heard the concept, I was baffled; how could love, sex and romance work if you (or your partner) were one of the undead? What if you kissed and your lips fell off? (Just kidding! Kinda.)

Anyway, one day last year, just for fun, I took a moment to imagine how in the world one could mix love with lividity, and came up with this short little pre-Halloween, tongue-in-cheek tale I'd like to share with you.  I must warn you, if you haven't read my books yet, you're about to find out that I have a slightly weird sense of humor. :-) But if, like me, you don't mind a giggle or two at the expense of the undead, read away, and enjoy:

Zombie Love

LOVE STINKS, AND SO DOES YOUR BREATH by Terri Garey

“Is that a femur in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

Donna snuggled in closer to Derek, brushing the dark hair from his eyes with one hand. Unfortunately, a clump of it remained in her fingers, and she knew this particular boy toy’s time was limited. That was the problem with zombies—their shelf life was much too short, the pesky problem of decomposition being one she hadn’t solved yet.

Even embalming didn’t help, and she didn’t care for waxy buildup on her fingers any more than she did her floors.

“Brought you a present,” Derek murmured, with a lopsided grin, “for our two-week anniversary.” His breath reeked of blood and sausages, which made sense considering his job at the local meat packing plant. With a flourish, he whipped a hand from behind his back, and offered her his prize.

“How sweet,” Donna squealed. “It’s a heart!”

“Yeah, baby,” he answered smugly, blood dripping between his fingers. “A fresh one. Nothing but the best for my girl.”

“Awww,” Donna said, “I got you a present, too.” She let go of him long enough snatch her purse up from the bed. Digging inside, she brought up an object about three inches long. Picking off a piece of lint before handing it to him, she announced, “I usually wait at least a month before giving my boyfriend the finger!”

Derek and Donna both died laughing, which was long overdue, considering Donna had been dead for two centuries, and Derek for two weeks.

She eyed him with regret as she giggled, knowing his laughter would soon be a thing of the past, much like Horatio’s, the guy who’d gotten her into this fix. It had been Horatio’s idea to visit the cemetery in Edinburgh that night two hundred years ago. Bodysnatching had been a good way to earn some quick cash back then, unless your body happened to be the one that got snatched, of course.

Poor Horatio, she’d known him well, until that shovel had come out of nowhere, and smashed his head in. The doctor who’d done it hadn’t hit her hard enough, though, and she’d woken up in his laboratory to find him on top of her. After that, what was a ghoul to do except defend herself? It was only after she’d killed the doc with his own dirt-encrusted shovel that she’d found the secret book lying on his desk, in plain sight, and learned the ancient grimoire’s secrets about how to reanimate the dead.

“Hey, baby,” Derek said, interrupting her musings. “I got a perfectly good boner going to waste here.” He grabbed her hips and pulled her close again. “What say we get naked and put it to good use, hm?”

Donna smiled. She’d learned a few secrets about herself that night, too, including how her brush with death and her newfound ability to reanimate dead flesh left her with a taste for more of it. Immortality had cost her soul, but she was pretty sure she didn’t need it where she was going.

“Absolutely,” she answered, with a smile that revealed her own teeth, pearly white and perfect. Her eyes glowed red as she began to tug his shirt from his pants. “No use letting a good piece of meat go to waste."

...

To read the rest of Terri's post, including a link to the "Thrill the World" event (where people all over the globe join together at the same time to dress in zombie costume and dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller", in an annual attempt to break the Guinness World Record for "largest simultaneous Thriller dance"), click here.

To find out more about Terri Garey, including her fun & fabulous Nicki Styx series, go here.

Once Were Heroes: Year of the Villain in Fantasy #9

 .
So far this year, I've shone the spotlight on all sorts and conditions of villains, from those who're right out there in plain sight to the ones that hide in the shadows.

Today, I'd like to take a closer look at a unique class of villains, those that start out on the side of the light, as champions and exemplars, paladins and heroes, but fall or are turned to the dark side.

Anakin Skywalker

Possibly the most well-known example in the genre pantheon is Anakin Skywalker, Jedi knight and ace star-pilot, who through ego, rage, and despair, turns to the dark side and becomes the arch nemesis, Darth Vader.

Darth Vader

Saruman, in JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, is another champion that falls into evil. Saruman is the greatest of the wizard order sent into Middle Earth to oppose Sauron, and the leader of the council that also comprises Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel. 

Saruman

In his quest for ever greater power, coupled with pride in his own strength and knowledge, and through use of a compromised palantir (seeing stone) he gradually falls beneath Sauron's sway. In the end, Saruman is thoroughly corrupted, breeding an orc (uruk-hai) army and waging war upon Rohan and Gondor.

Uruk-hai

In many ways, The Knights of Dark Renown charts familiar David Gemmell terrain with its account of a kingdom, Gabala, that has fallen into evil and where resistance falls upon a ragtag band of antiheroes and criminals. 

In order to do so they must learn to fight as knights themselves--but the twist comes when their opponents, the infamous Red Knights, turn out to be the realm's former paladins. Having ridden through a dark portal, they have been corrupted by the evil on its far side and returned to oppress the land they once defended. 

Yet not all fall because they have been exposed to external evil. Ged, in Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea, is in grave danger of being lost to evil because of a force summoned in jealousy and pride. Although he averts that fate--initially through the intervention of others and later by his own efforts-- it's a very close call. 

The Amassia novels

Similarly, in AK Wilder's Amassia series, the fall of Brogal, a master savant, is more tragic because he believes he is doing the right thing. The tipping point, from misapprehension and error, into villainy, comes when he chooses to compound and reinforce the initial error. 

Perhaps the saddest fall is that of Tunstall in Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper series. Tunstall is a long term "dog" (basically, a police officer) and Beka's partner ("dogs" aways work in pairs.) In Books 1 (Terrier) and 2 (Bloodhound) he is definitely one of the good guys. 

Yet in Mastiff, (Book 3), the ageing and much-injured Tunstall's fear of poverty and losing the woman he loves, who is of much higher social standing, leads him connive at the kidnapping and murder of a child. Ultimately, he also betrays Beka -- a steep and rocky fall for the Tunstall of the earlier books.  

From Anakin to Tunstall, there is nothing sadder than a character's fall from good to evil. I know I've only captured a snapshot, though, so let me know in the comments if there's a hero-to-villain tale you feel is "the best."

© Helen Lowe

~*~

About the Author

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
.
Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

~*~

Previous “Year of the Villain” Posts:

January:      Ushering in 2024 -- & the Year of the Villain

February:    The Year of the Villain #1: The Lord of The Rings Pantheon

March: The Year of the Villain #2: Ursula Le Guin & “Earthsea”

April: The Year of the Villain #3: Tigana and Brandin of Ygrath

May: The Year of the Villain #4: Elidor and Formless Evil 

June: The Year of the Villain #5: When the Hero Is Really A Villain

July:  The Year of the Villain #6: When the Author Messes With Your Mind

August: The Year of the Villain #7: The Evilest Of Them All

September: The Year of the Villain #8: Secret Villains

From the Backlist - Juliet Marillier

 

Fantasy author Juliet Marillier

It's time again to flip through the Supernatural Underground back list and today we are landing on an interview with Juliet Marillier. Conducted in 2012 by our own, wonderful writer Helen Lowe, the words, tips and insights remain timeless (especially after chatting about curses this month!)

Introducing Juliet Marillier:

Juliet Marillier’s historical fantasy novels for adults and young adults, including the popular Sevenwaters series, have been translated into many languages and have won a number of awards including the Aurealis, the American Library Association’s Alex Award, the Sir Julius Vogel Award and the Prix Imaginales. Her lifelong love of folklore, fairy tales and mythology is a major influence on her writing. Juliet is currently working on the Shadowfell series, a story of tyranny and rebellion set in a magical version of ancient Scotland. When not busy writing, she tends to a small pack of waifs and strays.

In addition to this interview, you may find out more on Juliet’s website http://www.julietmarillier.com; she also blogs on http://www.writerunboxed.com.

Interview: Juliet Marillier and Shadowfell

US Cover

Helen: Juliet, Shadowfell is your third specifically YA novel, following on from Wildwood Dancing and Cybele’s Secret, and all three have strong romantic elements. Do you feel this is an increasingly important part of writing YA stories, or part of a continuing tradition?

Juliet: YA stories feature a young adult protagonist or protagonists and usually focus on that character’s journey toward maturity ( the tradition of the Bildungsroman.) Learning about love / relationships is an important part of that stage in our lives, so it’s not surprising so many writers are building strong romantic elements into their YA stories. I don’t remember quite such an emphasis on romance in the books my children read as young adults, so I do think the approach has changed. Within my genre of fantasy, there’s been an upsurge of paranormal romance, partly generated by the Twilight books, but also reflecting the popularity of this sub-genre with adult readers. There are far more female fantasy writers (and female fantasy readers) than there were, say, twenty years ago, and perhaps female writers are more confident about including a good love story in a fantasy novel.

* * * 

To read the full interview, including some great comments, click here.

To find out more about Juliet Marillier, click here.

Note: Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly here on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

Choose Your weapon - Curses

 

(Sofia Boutella) awakens in “The Mummy.” (Universal Pictures)

What do Egyptian Mummies, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White have in common? 

That's right. The curse!

Today we are talking about curses, the words intended to "inflict harm'. They can be a more dangerous weapon than you might imagine, specifically because they are so darn hard to undo.

Curse

noun

1.

a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something.

"she'd put a curse on him"

Ramped throughout history, across all cultures and all times, the curse has packed a potent punch. In Fantasy fiction, it has an even more powerful presence. From Heart's Blood by Juliet Mariellier to The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, and Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones to Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake and Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury, let's look at some of the most complex and deadly curses ever uttered.

Just remember that curses can be used as protection (against tomb robbers and thieves, for example) and often they have a personal note that runs deep, possibly even generational. What launches the curse in the first place isn't always filled with evil intent...

Heart's Blood by Juliet Mariellier is a stand-alone historical fantasy for adult readers. Within the pages, you will no doubt recognize elements of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, but there is an interesting twist. 

What is this curse that plagues Anluan, or is it the entire surroundings that are touched? Is it the young scribe Caitrin herself whose life has been changed forever?

When you discover the why of this curse, all will fall into place, unless you've run out of time...

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh is a retelling of the Korean story of Shim Cheong. Here we have some similarities to the ancient Greek tale of Psyche and Eros only this curse is much deeper than first assumed. While deadly storms, war and misguided sacrifices drive the plot, a deeper sense of love, family, community and soul grows.

Like Psyche, Mina has a choice to make, though that's where they part ways. Mina is no damsel in distress but a force of nature not afraid to pave her own way. 

Higher powers may have forged this curse, but that won't stop a young girl from trying to break it in two!

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a YA book made even more popular by the 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film by the same name, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 

Within the pages, and the movie version, lies a string of curses around which the plot twists. What moves the story along so well is not only the curse itself but the goal of breaking it... or 'them' as we find more than one MC is labouring under these deadly weapons.

Let it be known that there is far more to Howl and the elderly Sohpie than first meets the eye! 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake is a straight-up YA horror not to be read alone in the dead of night. The main characters are twisted, revengeful and angry, perfect for each other, or so it seems. 

The curse in this book comes alive as it is discovered, making for an edge-of-your-seat experience you won't ever forget. Cas may be bent on breaking the curse, but when he finds out why it was cast in the first place, the whole plot turns on its head.

The question is, where will you be standing when it does?

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury starts out intimate and personal, full of black girl witch magic, hope and promise. But that all goes down the drain when a terrible choice appears. Voya must choose correctly, or her family line will lose their power, forever. 

Unfortunately, making strong choices is not Voya's forte, and in this case, right or wrong will lead to innocent deaths.

An urban fantasy not to miss; a curse to avoid at all costs.

* * * 

Do you have a favourite fantasy fiction curse?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments. 

Choose Your Weapon Series

Poison

The Perfect Storm

The Sword

Firearms

Ranged

Spells

Unarmed

Curses

Time Travel

* * *

About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, currently writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is working on the third book, out in 2024.

Kim can be found on  AKWilder Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site

Sophie Jordan's "Paranormal Heroines vs. Paranormal Heroes": From The Backlist

 .
Sophie Jordan first posted Paranormal Heroines vs. Paranormal Heroes as a guest of the equally wonderful Kerrelyn Sparks -- and we're thrilled to feature it again today. 

Especially as Sophie has an exciting new book, A Fire In The Sky (tagline: Magic lives...) due out on September 24!

Coming very soon!

But here's what Sophie posted when her Firelight trilogy (recently released with new covers) was new-out: enjoy!

Paranormal Heroines vs. Paranormal Heroes

As we slip into fall and near Halloween, nothing excites me more than talking about the paranormal!

Recently on tour for my latest novel, FIRELIGHT, a reader brought to my attention the fact that my heroine in FIRELIGHT is the paranormal “figure” in my book -- not the hero as is the usual case. Yes, I know this, of course, but I hadn’t really considered it very hard. Before now (see me tilting my head thoughtfully here).

Those new covers!

I started mentally checking off a lot of paranormal books – many favorites of mine – and realized the observation in point is rather true. I’m not saying there aren’t books with paranormal females in them, but so many books feature the male figure as the paranormal figure while the heroine is simply human. Why is that? I’m not saying one is better than the other … but I’m interested in your opinion today. Do we, as readers, simply want our male heroes more feral? More dangerous? Does making our heroes into a paranormal creature accomplish that? What does that say?

The original

In Firelight, my heroine Jacinda is a draki, which is a species that has evolved from dragons. She’s the only one of her kind that can still breathe fire. She’s a very strong female, and being so “unique” opens up a world of conflict for her. And what would a book be without conflict? Jacinda is constantly surrounded by danger because of what she is. Since I wrote the book solely from her POV, I had fun with this. It wouldn’t have been nearly as fun to write had she been the human and Will, her love interest, the draki. But that’s just my take. What’s your take?

...

To read the full post, including some great comments, click here.

To find out more about Sophie Jordan, click here.

Secret Villains: The Year of the Villain in Fantasy #8

.
No discussion of villains in fantasy fiction would be complete without considering those "big bads" that work behind the scenes.

I can think of no better place to start than with the Black Ajah in Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time fantasy series (completed by Brandon Sanderson and now adapted for television.) 

In Wheel of Time, Aes Sedai are an order of power users, all women, sworn to protect the world from the Dark One (the supreme "Big Bad") and divided into suborders or "ajahs", denoted by color. The Black Ajah are Aes Sedai secretly pledged to serve the Dark One rather than oppose it, who operate as a fifth column within the ranks of the other ajahs. 

Liandrin Sedai -- Black Ajah masquerading as Red...

Argued by many not to exist at all, finding and exposing them is a major part of the early work undertaken by three young adepts, Nyneave, Egwene, and Elayne, when they first join the Aes Sedai order. 

Egwene, Nyneave, Elayne -- hunting Black Ajah

The work they and others do end up revealing that the Black Ajah are numerous and operating at every level in the order. But secrecy and working from the shadows remains the Black Ajah's modus operandi throughout -- just as deception and betrayal, torture, murder, and insurrection, are their hallmarks.

Channeling the one power (saidar)

Among the ranks of fantasy's secret villains, I can think of few more compelling than Taravangian, in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. Ostensibly an elderly and mildmannered king of limited intelligence, he has secretly dispatched an arch-assassin to murder his rivals, and exsanguinates patients in the charity hospitals he is publicly praised for founding. 

He also professes political support for Dalinar Kholin (one of the story's main protagonists), while all the time plotting to overthrow him. And although Taravangian does lift part of his veil of secrecy when necessity demands, he does so purely to survive and continue plotting and conniving another day.

Sometimes, the secret villain may present as a friend to the hero, in order to win their trust, learn their secrets, and ultimately betray them -- which is exactly what the young man called Flor does in my novel, Thornspell. Although there is a clearly recognized "big bad" for the hero to focus on, all the while Flor is at his side, smiling and winning his confidence...

Although when it comes to secret guises, my personal favorite is Deth in Patricia McKillip's The Riddlemaster of Hed series, who appears to be first one person, then another. His motivations and actions are one of the story's most constant and enduring riddles -- and he may not, in the final analysis, even be the betrayer and villain other characters think him. To find out for sure, though, you'll have to read the book and unravel its riddles, including that of Deth, for yourself. J

© Helen Lowe

~*~

About the Author

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
.
Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

~*~

Previous “Year of the Villain” Posts:

January:      Ushering in 2024 -- & the Year of the Villain

February:    The Year of the Villain #1: The Lord of The Rings Pantheon

March: The Year of the Villain #2: Ursula Le Guin & “Earthsea”

April: The Year of the Villain #3: Tigana and Brandin of Ygrath

May: The Year of the Villain #4: Elidor and Formless Evil 

June: The Year of the Villain #5: When the Hero Is Really A Villain

July:  The Year of the Villain #6: When the Author Messes With Your Mind

August: The Year of the Villain #7: The Evilest Of Them All