Amazon Prime "Forward" Short Story

Amazon's collection of Short Stories

Read the "Forward" Collection here

I recently discovered that Amazon Prime has a collection of original short stories. The latest being a collaboration of several well-known authors in a book called Forward. Forward is a collection of six short stories that focus on addressing the question “What is it like to live through a technological breakthrough?” (Goodreads, 2019). Author of Wayward Pines and Dark Matter, Black Crouch, has curated these six stories from other authors such as Andy Weir (The Martian) and Veronica Roth (Divergent series) to name a few.

In an interview conducted by Goodreads.com, authors Crouch, Weir and Roth sat down to discuss the new project. Crouch states that he put out the prompt requiring the stories to focus on emerging technology. He was surprised to find how different each author's stories were. Crouch enjoys science fiction because he believes it to be “a reflection of where humanity is heading” (Goodreads, 2019).

Crouch's story titled “Summer Frost” takes place in a gamer's world similar to Ready Player One, where the main character encounters a non-player character(NPC) in the game that shows signs of being sentient (Goodreads, 2019). The game's creator then bring the NPC into the real world to see what will happen. Sounds like an interesting premise, not only about gamer culture but about the emergence of artificial intelligence.

Veronica Roth best known for her Divergent series of books, states that maybe her audience will not be as interested in her short story “Ark”, because it lacks a love story and focuses on the science (Goodreads, 2019). Her story revolves around a horticulturist preserving samples of Earth before an asteroid hits, until she decides to stay on Earth to see it end.

An interesting premise that might delve into how humanity deals with the ending of our world. Roth describes what she likes about science fiction is “the possibilities of what might happen, especially the consequences of things we’re doing now, whether positive or negative” (Goodreads, 2019). Roth also mentions some of her favorite science fiction shows are Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse and Star Trek: Discovery.

Author Andy Weir talks about how his story “Randomize” takes place in Las Vegas and explores how casinos deal with new technology that can reverse engineer their older machines. I love the idea of his story taking place in a Las Vegas casino. While the story does revolve around the use of new technology making it easier for customers to cheat, the real story is explored through the characters. What will people do if they think they can cheat and get away with it?

Weir notes that he is a man of hard-science, as evident by his books The Martian and Artemis. He states that his favorite science fiction authors are Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein and Issac Asimov. Each author was asked the question of if they could time-travel in the future how far would they go. Weir gave a great answer by rethinking the question by asking:

“pick any two dates in history that are at least a hundred years apart? Would you rather live in the further back one or the further forward one? You’re always going to pick the further forward one because it’s always better. I see no reason why that won’t continue. It’s not just technology; it’s social progress, everything. We just keep getting better” (Goodreads, 2019).

An interesting approach to the question and different from Crouch and Roth's answers, both seeming to think that the future might be doomed. While I have only read Weir short story, I am excited to read the others in this collection, particularly Veronica Roth's story. I have not read the Divergent books, so I am not familiar with her work and would like to see what she can do with a short story before I give her books a try. I'm curious to see how different each of the author's stories are from each other.

As a short story writer I love the idea of Amazon publishing these original stories on Prime for free, and the concept of Forward sounds amazing. Amazon also did the show Electric Dreams on Prime and that was an anthology series based on short stories by Philip K. Dick. I very much enjoyed the show, and perhaps they could do something similar with Forward. So, check this book out on Amazon Prime, let me know your thoughts, which story was your favorite and what do you think about Amazon publishing original short stories? Share your comments below or tweet at me @BelleArboreus on Twitter.

Works Cited

Hayley. “A Quick Chat About the Future with Andy Weir, Veronica Roth, and Blake Crouch” Goodreads, Goodreads, 12 Sep. 2019, https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1681-a-quick-chat-about-the-future-with-andy-weir-veronica-roth-and-blake-c?content_type=all

CW Arrow/Flash Crossover podcast leading up to Crisis on Infinite Earths

Available on PodBean and YouTube

Margaret Atwood "The Testaments" Interview

Margaret Atwood Interview

The new book Testaments is out now, a sequel to Margaret Atwood's 1985 book The Handmaid's Tale. My recent visit to Barnes and Noble had this book and other The Handmaid's Tale merchandise on several tables in the store. While I haven't read The Handmaid's Tale yet, I have seen most of the acclaimed television show starring Elisabeth Moss on Hulu.

I was quite interested to know that there was now a sequel to the book, so I decided to read an interview with Margaret Atwood conducted by the website Goodreads.com. A great site for any fan of books and literature. Here are some highlights from the interview and the full interview can be found here https://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/1462.Margaret_Atwood?content_type=all#comment_form

The interview starts out with Atwood talking about how the book Testaments came about. For years Atwood said she wouldn't do a sequel to the book because she couldn't do the “continuation of the story of Offred in her voice” (Goodreads, 2019). Having not read the first book, but hearing it ends on a cliffhanger it sounds like she had no more of Offred's story to tell. But as the years went on and society seemed to approach her vision of Gilead, she began to think about the story outside of Offred's perspective. Around 2015 Atwood began writing notes for a new book, and by 2017 she said “the ideas were all pretty much there” (Goodreads, 2019).

The new book Testaments will explore the lives of females in Gilead 15 years after the end of the first book. Looking at the children that have grown up in a totalitarian society and the power of women, such as the Aunts, within Gilead. The distance of the handmaids and how they are viewed form a child,

“a privileged position in the hierarchy of descending position, you want to keep your position, not risk it to help people who are not at that level” sounds like an interesting way to further the story and world that Atwood has created (Goodreads, 2019).

This is one thing that the show does a little bit of, exploring other handmaid's lives outside of Offred's.

Speaking of the TV show adaptation, Atwood said she spoke to the show runner, Bruce Miller, telling him not to kill off Aunt Lydia. Working with Miller to maintain a consistency between her books and the show, especially during writing Testament. Atwood even had a small cameo in the season 1 pilot episode as one of the Aunts.

Later in the interview Atwood talks about how she has influenced other female writers of dystopian fiction. Not giving any names, a few that spring to my mind are Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth. Atwood mentioned the books that influenced her were 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. “I think we are quite influenced by what we read in high school. But it takes us a while to acquire the skills and craft to create our own” (Goodreads, 2019). This is an interesting notion in writing, we read what we enjoy but cannot yet create for ourselves. It takes time and practice and perhaps several reads of our favorite works before we are ready to try and emulate our favorite authors.

Off topic Atwood talks a bit about her optimism of the younger generation and politics, as well as climate change. Shining some light on Project Drawdown (https://www.drawdown.org/) and the book Drawdown. Stating she is a be advocate for solutions to climate change and even donates to a company that will compost your dead corpse. A bit creepy, but apparently green friendly.

Hayley. “What Happened to Offred? Margaret Atwood's Big Sequel Answers Readers' Questions - Goodreads News & Interviews.” Goodreads, Goodreads, 6 Aug. 2019, www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/1462.Margaret_Atwood?content_type=all#comment_form.

Ranking The Wizard of Oz Songs

To continue honoring the 80th anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz", let's take a look back at the iconic musical number with my personal ranking of the songs. 

1. Somewhere over the Rainbow

A beautiful and melodic tune that is not only iconic to the film but further solidified in music history with the popular cover version by Israel "Bruddah Iz" Kamakawiwoʻole and still covered by popular artists to this day. It's the song that showed the talents of Judy Garland and endured the audience to the lovable Dorothy.

2. The Wizard of Oz 

First started after the Yellow Brick road song and then continues after Dorothy is joined by each new member, the Scarecrow, the Tin man and the Cowardly Lion. After Over the Rainbow this might be the most sung tune from the movie, fun to whistle and skip along to and of course gives the title of the movie. Anytime your out for an adventure it's hard not to burst out singing "we're off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful wizard of Oz". The song also makes great use of alliteration in the lines "We hear he is a whiz of a wiz; If ever a wiz there was; If ever, oh ever a wiz there was". 

3. If I Only Had A Heart

The sweet sounds of the Tin man's vocals bring warmth to the character. His journey for a heart is something that a lot people could relate to even to this day. He may be the most sympathetic of the trio and the moment that he bangs his hollow body to the percussion's of the song in the middle of a dance number makes the whole scene remarkable. 

4. The Merry Ol' Land of Oz

The welcoming response to our four heroes makes for a fun song that sticks in your head. From introducing the horse of a different color to cleaning up each member of the group, this song is sure to have you singing a “couple of tra-la-la's, that's how we pass the day away in the merry ol' land of Oz.”

                                                5. The Munchkin Parade/Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

This opening number in the colorful Munchkin land starts off with some amazing rhyming by Dorothy describing her encounter with the witch. It quickly turns to an infectious number that will have you singing “Ding dong the witch is dead, which old witch? The wicked witch.” The song shows Dorothy as a hero to the munchkins for ending the reign of terror by the wicked witch of the East. The Lullaby League and the Lollipop Guild along with the rest of the munchkins make for a great start to Dorothy's journey through the land of Oz.

6. If I Only Had a Brain

The introductory song to the Scarecrow shows the characters struggle in life without a real brain. It's a fun song and dance number that endears us to the Scarecrow and begins the real journey of “we're off to see a wizard”. 

7. Follow the Yellow Brick Road

The yellow brick road is the opening of the “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” tune found throughout the movie. The short and simple song is responsible for the phrase that is often quoted form the movie “follow the yellow brick road” where ever someone sets off on a journey.    

8. King of the Forest

Highlighting the Cowardly Lions dream of being king of the forest this tune is sung while the group eagerly awaits seeing the Wizard. Not a fun musical dance number like much of the other songs this one instead takes a personal look into the dreams of the heroes.

9. If I Only Had the Nerve

The shortest of the “If I Only Had a...” Songs but the Lion makes up for it later in the movie with King of the Forest. Again showing the lack of a component that each companion thinks they need to be whole, this short song is the most forgettable of the three. But it still ends with "we're off to see a wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz."

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my! Is not an actual song sung but a repeated phrase, so it doesn't count. But still one of my favorite quotes from the movie. What is your favorite song from "The Wizard of Oz". Comment below or tweet to me @BelleArboreus. 

Here is the link to an article about the 80th Anniversary https://longislandweekly.com/the-wizard-of-oz-film-celebrates-80-years-of-magic-and-wonder/

The Wizard of Oz movie quotes

The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies of all time and a classic staple of Hollywood cinema for a reason. Not only are the characters iconic but the movie has so many lines of dialogue that it is quoted throughout media. In honor of the 80th anniversary since the film premiered, here are my 10 ten favorite lines from the movie The Wizard of Oz.

1. "There's no place like home."
   This is a classic line from the movie that is often referenced in the media. 

2. "We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz" This is a line that I personally quote. Every time I skip or go on a hike, I burst out into this song. It's cheery, fun and anyone can sing along.

3. (Toto.) "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
   Another classic quote that is often used in media. Several television shows or movies will quote this when something seems off.

4. "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too."
   This is the classic line from the film's villain, the wicked witch. It's also highly quoted, even not by villainous characters.

5. "Lions, and tigers and bears oh my!"
   This is personal favorite quote of mine, that I often say, and I find it to be funny ever time I say it. 

6. "Ding dong, the (wicked) witch is dead."
   The song sung by the munchkins is so fun to sing along to and sticks in your head. There's also a small reference by a certain (unlikable) character at the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's season 7. It's another classic saying that can be used in victory.

7. "If I only had a brain/If I only had a heart."
   Another pair of great songs from the film. As a kid my dad would always say “If you only had a brain”, every time I did something stupid. Never in a mean way, always teasing.

8. "That's a Horse of a different color."
   Another personal favorite quote of mine that I use a lot. Never gets old. Any time something new comes up, you can say this line.

9. "That a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others."
   This is a touching quote that I find to be deep and moving. I think it's beautiful, and a good reminder to people that your impact on others is what reflects your life.

10. "I'm melting, I'm melting. Oh what a world. What a world."
    The final defeat of the witch. The actress playing the wicked witch delivers the line with such a great pitch that it's both chilling and funny at the same time. Classic line to quote from the movies.

There are so many amazing lines to quote from The Wizard of Oz. Here are a few that I feel I should mention, just cause I love them.

Honorable Mentions

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." I find this to be a funny line of course referring to the reveal of the wizard.

"If ever a wiz there was." (Another fun reference used on Buffy).

"I am king of the forest."

What are some of you favorite lines from the movie? Write down in the comments or tweet at me and be sure to check back for more Wizard of Oz related content coming soon.