Quantum Storytelling

Things recently consumed…

Schrödinger’s Kittens by John Gribbin

I apologize in advance for any butchering here.

There are some truly bizarre theories in quantum physics. One of the more interesting ones involves an explanation of quantum entanglement. Two particles connected over space and time, but how? There is no evidence of any communication going on, and this is one of the greatest mysteries of the field.

One theory postulates a ‘handshake’ across both space and time, possibly backwards in time for each particle, which, in effect, cancels out the evidence of communication.

Instead of communicating across distance NOW, the particles are intertwined at their origin, which means any information about speed, location, values, and rotation is instantaneously transmitted back in time to the origin point, erasing any evidence of it.

This is pretty far out, and a bit difficult to wrap your head around. Keep in mind; it’s just a theory, but an interesting one.

Caves of Steel by Asimov

Earth societies live in giant steel caves. This frightened me a bit at first, because it’s similar to an idea I was exploring in my own works but the more I read I began to see marked differences between the caves of steel and my, uh, structures.

Bailey is very rational for a human, capable of great leaps of logic. This is one reason the spacers chose him to solve a murder on their turf. The dialogue and logical interplay between a human with strong understanding of logic, and the robot R. Daneel whose logic is perfect makes for an interesting dynamic.

Preacher graphic novels (1-9)

There’s a reason I’m not much of a comic fan. I’m not all that fond of superheroes with magical powers.

Garth Ennis has a lot of guts, setting Preacher within the Christian mythology. The series is extremely violent, blasphemous, heretical, and I thought that any Christian would probably be greatly offended by it. But if you read reviews online, surprisingly, there are many Christians who appreciated the series despite some of its more heretical content.

But let’s get to the meat of the matter…

The writing is just plain solid. Garth Ennis shows himself to be a very strong storyteller within the Preacher series. After reading the very first issue, my interest was piqued. By the third book, I couldn’t put it down. I was more engaged in Preacher than I’ve been in any fiction novel for a long time.

Preacher has great plotting, excellent twists and surprises. One thing I took special note of was little seeds planted in the story as to what would happen later. It wasn’t foreshadowing in the classic literal sense, but more illustrative foreshadowing. For example, you turn a page to find a completely new series of panels depicting people, things, or places you haven’t seen before. All you get is that one page to make sense of, which leaves you wondering. Of course, by the end of each book that ‘teaser’ is fully explained.

The series keeps you on your toes, and is well constructed. I dare say it’s an excellent example for any aspiring novelist as any well-written novel. The structure and pacing is simply superb.

All of these are having an interesting effect on the way I view my own work. I’d like to go through the Preacher series again and examine the story structure a little more closely. I think this one is going to have a pretty long-lasting effect on me.