Charles Christian's Words & Vision

Something for Remembrance Day

Charles Christian — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:44:36 +0000

This is a prose piece + a haiga – a haigun maybe?

Lieutenant Joseph Phillips’ lonely memorial

One day, driving down a Norfolk byway, I spotted this lonely, neglected wooden cross, silhouetted against a country skyline. I asked a neighbour. He said it was erected to mark the place where a cornered German bomber pilot, shot-down during World War Two, had been beaten to death by angry locals before he could be rescued by the authorities. Intrigued, as this was the first I’d heard of any Luftwaffe pilot suffering such a fate in the UK, I did a little research. The truth wasn’t hard to find. This was no guilty memorial to a hapless Nazi but a cross to mark the site where a Canadian pilot had crashed in 1917, after steering his stricken plane clear of the nearby town of Harleston. By his efforts he saved lives that day. By his efforts, he lost own. Fatally wounded, he a few hours later. And so it comes down to this: within the space of three generations, a hero’s honest death reduced to a forgotten, crumbling cross and a muddied, muddled memory.

Is three the magic number - a modest rant

Charles Christian — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:03:23 +0100

I'm currently in the middle of reading And Another Thing – Eoin Colfer's sequel to Douglas Adams' Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series – but last night I suddenly realised that, frankly, I didn't give a damn (copyright Gone with the Wind) about the characters or the outcome of the story. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Eoin's writing or plotting or jokes – it's just that six parts into the trilogy, I'm getting Dent/Ford/Trillian/Zaphod fatigue. The novelty value has gone, the story and the characters have been flogged to death – I no longer care – it's time to move on with my life.

Yes, I did say this was the sixth part of the trilogy – and this brings me to the nub of this rant, namely are three volumes, episodes or whatever the most any creative writer (or team) can manage before the storylines start to pall? And I'm taking here about stories etc that are written as three-part trilogies, as distinct from series of short stories, novels etc that feature or 'star' the same characters (Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Miss Marple etc etc).

Look at the examples... The first three on the Hitch-Hikers Guides were great but the next two – So Long and Thanks for all the Fish and Mostly Harmless – sorry, not so memorable. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings – fantastic – but The Silmarillion ? Strictly for Middle-Earth anoraks. Another oldie – Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy in the early 1950s (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation) – these were outstanding books. But the Extended Foundation follow-ups in the decade before his death in 1992? Strictly so-whatsville – with people like me left thinking 'actually that's spoiled my memories of the original'. Then there is Frank Herbert's Dune series – the first three (Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune) – good, but getting weaker towards the end. But, after that – three more novels by Frank and another 12 by his son – sorry but the law of diminishing returns kicks in. This is overkill.

And, it is not just books. In fact probably the worst example of three being the magic number but any more risks killing the franchise, is with the StarWars movies. The original 1970s-80s Harrison Ford trilogy (StarWars IV to VI – A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi) – are quite rightly rated as being among the most popular movies ever made. But the prequel trilogy – starting with The Phantom Menace in 1999 and ending with Revenge of the Sith (which I fell asleep watching on a transatlantic flight)... Oh Mr Lucas, why did you do it? (And, talking of Harrison Ford – I'm not sure the recent fourth Indiana Jones outing was such a good idea?)

So there you have it – three episodes good – the classic trilogy. But go further, to a quartet or beyond – and you risk pushing the credibility of your characters and plots – as well as the interest, patience and attention of your audiences. But feel free to disagree with me on this blog's comments page.

Back to some haikai - a new tanka

Charles Christian — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:44:09 +0100

over a fish supper
my wife discusses
a friend's breast reduction op
i'm squeezing ketchup
...when she mentions burst stitches

New sci-fi story published in Paraphilia magazine

Charles Christian — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:57:32 +0100

Big thank you to Paraphila Magazine for publishing by SF short story Kastellorizon in issue 4 of their glorious zine - it's a tale of the power of love in the face of adversity - oh yes, and there are some killer aliens who wipe out half the human race but apart from that it is a romance. You can download it at http://www.paraphiliamagazine.com/magazine.html

Observations from four miles high

Charles Christian — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:02:52 +0100

I flew down from Edinburgh yesterday – I'd been visiting the Fringe festival – on the flight-path to Norwich than runs down the east coast and goes over my old hometown of Scarborough. I had a window seat and my observations resulted in this haiku and tanka...

4 miles high, view so clear –
a speedboat’s wake seen
circling the headland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

against the clouds
3 concentric circles
each one a perfect rainbow
surrounding the plane’s silhouette
like a roundel