The Backup Who Cried Wolf, Kayla Hicks third novella in The Backup Superhero series, comes out tomorrow. Yesterday I spotlighted the book and gave my thoughts on the advance review copy I received. Today I have some Q&A with the author.
This week I got the chance to review an Advance Reader Copy of Kayla Hicks’ new novella, The Backup Who Cried Wolf: Book Three in The Backup Superhero series.
The Bobiverse books have been on my to-read list for quite a while. My coworker, David, informed me last week that they feature 3D printing at the atomic scale. He suggested a blog post analyzing how fast you could conceivably print something atom-by-atom.
The superhero’s love interest (or perhaps an innocent bystander) dangles from a tall building (or helicopter). The music speeds up. The grip loosens. Then, with a scream, the victim falls, and it is up to the superhero to catch them.
Superheroes often catch falling victims at the last second. The classic movie example is from the 1978 Superman, when Lois Lane falls from a helicopter (1:04):
It happens in basically every superhero movie – someone falls, apparently to their death, only to be caught and saved at the last second.
If you’re like me, (or Sheldon Cooper) you may ask yourself whether being caught in the heroic arms of a superhero after a hundreds-of-feet fall would tend to save the victim or “immediately slice them into three equal pieces.” (0:34)
Wayne *from Brandon Sanderson’s second Mistborn series) is one of my favorite fictional characters… mostly because of his inner (and outer) dialogue. He has a special power that’s fairly common in fantasy: the ability to compress time within a “bubble,” allowing him to move more quickly than the world around him (see also one of the most useful powers of Aurors in the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington).
Today we’ll look at how internally consistent the rules of Wayne’s “speed bubbles” are.
In the last post I introduced the concept for the ultimate tire swing, a physical manifestation of the nostalgia and symbolism that makes certain kinds of fiction great. We went over the tools and supplies required and took a look at the big picture. Today, we get into the nitty gritty details.
Tire swings appear in a lot of fiction... usually in company with a tree house. They are evergreen symbols of childhood, nostalgia, and good memories. Maybe the most iconic tire swing is the one hanging from Tigger's house. Today we'll talk about how to make one.
Tigger's House, Disney Fandom
In the last post we looked at whether the recoil from a handgun could send a person flying. Today, staying on theme, we take another look at firearm propulsion in fantasy:
He flew up into the night sky. Unfortunately, the Ironspine was built in set-back tiers, the upper stories growing progressively narrower as you went higher. That meant that even though he Pushed himself directly up, he was soon soaring in open darkness, mists around him, the building’s side a good ten feet away. Wax reached into his coat and removed his short-barreled shotgun from the long, sleevelike pocket inside. he turned—pointing it outward—braced it against his side, and fired. He was light enough that the kick flung him toward the building… he slammed into the wall of the tower. -Brandon Sanderson, The Alloy of Law |
Mechanical FictioneeringA fusion of fantasy and physics by author / engineer Travis Daniel Bow
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AuthorTravis is an avid writer, reader, and DIYer in the Reno, NV area. Blog Roll |