January Reviews: Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin

 

Two or three years ago, I mowed through the six current books in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga. That's a figurative embodied metaphor, of course, because I can mow my own lawn here at the house in thirty minutes and reading those amazing books took me the best part of a full year. It was like going to Westeros boot camp, and I was a lowly hedge knight for three hours every evening, eager to lend my sword to any liege lorad with mutton and mead.

It was exhilarating, and I looked forward to those reading sessions all throughout the day.

Martin's stories are told from multiple points of view, allowing the readers all kinds of insights into these lively, round characters. Even though I was reading at the same time that HBO was releasing new episodes of their televisual adaptation (also appointment viewing for us), it was such an enhancement to read those books while seeing the characters on the small screen.

Martin is a wordsmith, a master plotter (I thought we'd never see another writer that could build worlds as adeptly as Tolkien, but perhaps even the great master of the fantasy genre would be impressed with the depth and detail in these tomes...), and a perceptive student of the human condition. He really understands conflict (some of these books will make you wince and squirm and feel a flush of love and joy in a single sitting), and he writes with an active, engaging voice. His understanding of language is impressive, with so many antiquated terms and phrases peppering the writing with great ease.

I loved these books, and Fire & Blood is every bit their equal. In some ways, it exceeds them in its focus on familial history and the broader scope of governance and struggle in the Seven Kingdoms. 

Told in the form of a maester's textbook, the writing is humorous, pointed, and fluid. The work covers long centuries of triumph, tragedy, and conquest before the Ice and Fire books. It's spicy, with lots of sex and romance (if you can call it that) subplots, and there are dozens of dragons in this book. The tale of the Greens and the Blacks, which forms the foundation for HBO's spinoff equally excellent House of the Dragon, is simultaneously heart-breaking and revolting, as these characters stoop to the very depths of treachery in their lust for the Iron Throne. The violence is not for the faint of heart, but it never feels gratuitous or indulgent. It merely serves the narrative arch that sitting atop the Iron Throne and ruling the Seven Kingdoms is Westeros's finest drug--a narcotic so powerful that it causes men, women, and children alike to cast aside any façade of human decency in its pursuit.

This is one of the best books I've read in the last year or so, and I most highly recommend it to those that love the venerable fantasy genre... 

It Was Always the Jaguars!

 

Trevor Lawrance on the run, via the New York Post

Well, that was one the most remarkable seasons that I can remember in all of my years of watching sports. It's taken a few days to process everything that happened this year after that loss to the Chiefs, but we sure had a wild ride out here in Duval County this year.

These Jacksonville Jaguars were a revelation, and the future of this franchise looks very bright. The Jags were in just about every game this season, only suffering a single blow-out to the Detroit Lions, and they illustrated a unified, cohesive, and skilled approach to the game in winning both the AFC South Division and a playoff game over the L.A. Chargers.

Doug Pederson's influences on this young team were immediate and profound. After the clown-show that was Urban Meyer's brief tenure here in Jacksonville (he literally didn't know our players' names and couldn't talk about their status in pre or post-game interviews, and ignorance was the least of his transgressions...), Pederson (we all just call him 'Doug') proved to be motivational, even-keeled, and innovative. I've never seen a coach scheme guys open the way that Doug does. He calls the offensive plays, and our wideouts, backs, and tight ends are consistently open. He coaches with aggressive instincts. I've never seen a team go for it this much on fourth down, but he never becomes a prisoner of the moment. He assesses things, crunches the numbers, and he seems bound by his convictions. He coached one of the most masterful games I've ever seen in my life in that comeback win over the Chargers in the first week of the playoffs and is one of the finest coaches in the league.

Doug is the AFC Coach of the Year, and the award is well-deserved.

The defense showed steady improvement over the course of the year, playing its best football throughout that amazing winning streak we finished the year on. There are some huge financial decisions to make in the offseason, but the future looks bright. Travan Walker flashed (he had a pick and a sack in his first game) some dominating skills and Devin Lloyd won the AFC defensive rookie of the month award to begin his career with JAX. He hit a lull midway through the year, often getting burned in coverage, but finished the season on a much better note. I expect that he will have a really positive offseason and come back ready to start and dominate in 2023/24. He is the answer to guys like Kelce once he gets a better feel for the NFL game, because his athleticism is off the charts. 

Foye Aluokun was last year's best free-agent signing, and the future looks bright for the defense with him as the captain and the defensive maestro. A Yale graduate, he does a good job of setting the defense and putting his teammates in position to make plays. He's a tackling machine that should have been awarded Pro-bowl status, at the very least. I hope defensive coordinator continues to find ways to get Foye into blitzes, because he can go get that quarterback down on the ground just as well as he flies to the football.

Tyson Campbell, Rayshawn Jenkins (our second-half defensive MVP), Andre Cisco, and Darious Williams form the core of a fine secondary. Jenkins is an unrestricted free agent and will garner much interest on the open market. I don't know that he'll be back in Jacksonville next year, but I certainly hope they can find a way to make it happen.

The Jaguars offense was led, of course, by Trevor Lawrence. His maturation in his second season was astounding, and it's pretty clear we've never had a quarterback of this skill level (and we all love you dearly, Mark, Blake, and David!) here in Jacksonville. He threw for more than a thousand yards, distributing the ball in a remarkable balanced fashion to a wideout corps that led the NFL with forty-one drops. Just think of how many more yards he might have if that number is cut in half? That's twenty more completions right there...he is mobile, instinctive (he improvised that two-point conversion in the win over the Chargers in the playoffs), and has a cannon for an arm. He makes throws that only a few others in the league can make, and we're talking the likes of Allen and Mahomes. Lawrence is a superstar, and he just gets it. He's embraced Jacksonville, and I truly think this team will be competitive (and maybe dominant, if Trent Baalke can surround him with some transcendent young talent via the NFL draft) as long as he is at the helm of this offense. We are blessed to have him, for many reasons beyond his prowess on the field...

Travis Etienne went over a 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career. He is a homerun back with surprising grit between the tackles. He also catches that little flair screen and gets north/south quickly. He needs to work on ball security and pass-blocking, but I sense that he will come into his own as one of the top eight backs in the NFL as soon as next season. His future is very bright, and I hope we can get JaMycal Hasty extended to continue in his complementary role this offseason. I've read some pundits calling for another back for the room, but I think Snoop Conner can continue to grow into that role as a thumper and we are good at that position for the near future.

Let me say this without qualification: I love Christian Kirk. He is a pro's pro, an engaging, smart young man, and a fast, talented wideout. He had two glaring drops that I can recall off the top of my head (both against KC, and one in each game), but he also made at least ten remarkably difficult, hotly contested catches. He gets credit for those of course, and none was bigger than that catch at the boundary against L.A. in the playoffs. When Calvin Ridley lines up on the opposite side, he'll have even greater opportunity and I expect that he will eclipse this year's fine season next year with some help taking the pressure off of him. 

Zay Jones was awesome as well. Despite a bad game at midseason (he was clearly playing injured), he made contested catches, ran away from defenses, and converted loads of third downs. Ridley, Zay, Christian, and Ags (Jamal Agnew) comprise a formidable wideout corps. Marvin Jones, Jr. possesses some of the best body control I've ever seen and has been a steadying, consistent presence on the team. I'm not sure if he will come back on a cheaper contract next year, but I hope we can find a way to keep him and maybe draft a developmental prospect in the second or third rounds of this year's draft.

Evan Engram is a force, and his play improved on a weekly basis. A true stretch tight end, he is fast, tough, and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Doug schemed him open a lot, and he had a few huge games late in the year. He wants to be here, but he will be expensive. That said, we need to sign him up. He's young, hungry, and has a great rapport with Trevor.

The previously mentioned Agnew was also consistently amazing. He is a weapon returning punts and kicks, and he made a ton of plays on offense. This is his second excellent year in Duval, and he is deserving of a new contract.

Roy Robertson-Harris, Agnew, Engram, Jenkins, Adam Gotsis, Arden Key, Jawaan Taylor, Andrew Wingard, Dawaune Smoot, and kicker Riley Patterson are the most critically important free agents I'd like to see back. Smoot tore his Achilles tendon and I really feel for him, because he has been a consistently solid performer throughout his tenure as a Jaguar. I hope we can bring all of them back, but that is probably asking quite a lot. We need to take care of another batch of rookies, and Doug and Baalke will be working together to scour free agency in the offseason.

That said, the core of this team is talented and impressive. I see more AFC South titles in the near future (the other three teams are all rebuilding, each has QB issues...), and I think Trevor has every tool necessary to mix it up competitively with the likes of Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, and Herbert over the next half-decade.

It was an exhilarating year that culminated with a seven-game win streak, another banner for TIAA Field, and a couple of worthy off-season honors from the NFL. This team will be on prime time next year more frequently, and they will be heavy favorites to repeat as divisional champions.

In short, the future is bright and the foundation has been set. We look young, skilled, and hungry, and in the space of one short season this team has proven its resiliency in a way that none of us--even the most die-hard among us--ever saw coming. 

It was always the Jaguars, my friends, and the positivity surrounding this team is well-deserved and refreshing after a few truly dreadful years of football.

Say it with me: DUUUUUUUUUUUUVAL!

The Powell Family Attends the Jags' Win over Tennessee

Interesting Articles on Communication Theory...

 Happy New Year! This post is meant merely as a repository for some of the more interesting articles on communication theory that I've looked at in the last few years. If anyone reading this is interested in how we connect with one another in a rapidly changing information ecosystem, this list should include some interesting food for thought...

• "Like. Flirt. Ghost: A Journey into the Social Media Lives of Teens." Mary H.K. Choi, writing for Wired
• "Is Cancel Culture Effective?" Nicole Dudenhoefer, writing for Pegasus
• "Who or Whom? One weird trick melts away YEARS of confusion." Amanda Darrach, writing for Columbia Journalism Review
• "I Didn't Want It to Be True, but the Medium Really Is the Message." Ezra Klein, writing for The New York Times
• "Stories From Experts About the Impacts of Digital Life." Pew Research Center

Just a few enticing epistemes, and I hope to add at least a dozen more in 2023.

A Few Odds and Ends as We Shamble Into 2022...

Well, it's been a few months since I dropped by these digital digs and turned the sign around on the front door. As I type this, it's cold and dreary here in Jacksonville. We've had a chilly foray into the new year here in Northeast Florida, and I can't say that I haven't enjoyed getting some cooler air here in Duval County.

It's just lovely running the local trails in shorts and a sweatshirt.

The kids are heading into the second half of the year with good momentum. We all enjoyed some restful and restorative vacations together to Oregon (Thanksgiving) and Washington (Christmas) in the fall. These were our first flights since the beginning of the pandemic, and they were surreal, to say the least. We missed our connection between Atlanta and Jacksonville on the trip home from Washington, and we endured the longest lines I've ever seen for TSA screening. We waited well over an hour to get screened, and the labyrinth was probably a mile long if one could stretch it out.

We enjoyed time with family and friends, though, and we saw some beautiful country and played in the snow. We sledded, went wine tasting, had some really fine meals, played golf, went to the Market in Seattle, and enjoyed a fine turkey dinner at my sister's house in Athena. All in all, the kids loved seeing their cousins, and my daughter has an affinity for travel that she was happy to satisfy with a few long flights. 

We will maybe take another longish trip later in the year, only this one will be just the four of us. We're talking about a trip to the Capital to see the historical sites, or maybe a little jaunt out to Yellowstone in the late summer. Not sure quite yet, but I'm excited at the possibilities.

Down in the Sawgrass Boneyard has been doing fairly well, and I've enjoyed getting started on a new novel and also working on some short stories. I have a few classes that I'm teaching online at present, and then I'll get back into a regular schedule when my contract resumes in the summer. 

Jeanne is doing well in her work at Fletcher, and the kids have enjoyed their experiences in school out at the beach. At some point, we will likely have to look pretty closely at making a move to the beach as the kids immerse themselves in clubs and sports. Lyla is running track, and I'll be coaching Luke's soccer team starting in March.

I just finished re-reading Stephen King's The Bazaar of Bad Dreams and really enjoyed it. Highlights include "The Dune," "Blockade Billy," "That Bus is Another World," and "Summer Thunder." That last tale leaves a pretty good bruise, and I think I'd like to try my hand at something in a similar vein very soon. I enjoyed Jane Campion's truly excellent The Power of the Dog. I think Archive 81 is some of the most tension-filled episodic television that I've seen in a good long while, and 1883 is more than a worthy prequel to the fine show Yellowstone. 

I hope this note finds you hale and hearty wherever you may read it. Keep your wits about you and your eyes on the horizon. Things will continue to improve, even if it doesn't always seem like it...

Down In the Sawgrass Boneyard

 

On an otherwise ordinary spring day in sunny Jacksonville, Florida, an unhinged gunman shreds the fabric of a nation in yet another outburst of senseless gun violence.

His victims are children—innocents walking home from school in those final fleeting days before the promise of spring break and time spent with family and friends.

When the families of the loved and the lost unite in a push for meaningful reform in the national gun laws, the National Rifle Association squelches their efforts with a series of backroom dealings and political saber-rattling.

Nothing changes; but, for so many, nothing will ever be the same again.

This is Darren Torrance’s sudden reality—a life without his family in a world that no longer makes sense.

But there is something he can do. A change that he can make in the names of his son and his wife.

Every few years, a celebration of opulence and excess known simply as the Gathering takes place in the heart of the Florida Everglades. Similar to the infamous Bohemian Grove meetings in California, the Gathering is a week-long celebration of privilege and wealth as attendees shape political policy and forge business deals.

Jackson Ashcroft—the controversial and charismatic President of the NRA—is attending this year and celebrating yet another successful anti-regulatory campaign season.

If Torrance can utterly transform himself and blend into his surroundings in the River of Grass, he just might be able to provide Ashcroft with the ultimate Everglades survival experience.

Down In the Sawgrass Boneyard is Darren’s story of transformation and redemption, as vengeance blooms among the swamp lilies in this gritty thriller about the power and persistence of a father’s love for his family.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Down in the Sawgrass Boneyard

by Daniel Powell

Giveaway ends August 27, 2021.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Summer Reading, Gratis...

It's summer here in Florida, which means beaches in the morning and an inevitable series of thunderstorms and rain showers in the afternoon. Whether you might be lounging in a beach chair or cozying up in your favorite reading spot while the winds rage outside, it's a great time to get some restorative reading knocked out.

Reading is the mind's creative battery for the productive writer, and reading widely certainly stretches out a writer's range. In that spirit, I'd like to post links to a pair of excellent anthologies that you can purchase for free right now on Amazon.

TOR remains one of the finest publishers in the business of commercial fiction, and I love their taste in short stories. If you are interested in an eclectic mixture of intriguing plots, strong writing, and creative speculations, these are superb books. Enjoy!

They typically create an annual anthology of their finest stories, and I just picked up the following tomes:

2019 edition

2020 edition

Movie Review: Da 5 Bloods (2020)

One of the serendipitous outcomes of the 2020 stay-at-home orders (depending on your movie-going habits, of course) was a flood of excellent Hollywood fare migrating directly onto the various streaming platforms. Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods (2020) was one of those highly anticipated films that you can now view on Netflix. It's one of Chadwick Boseman's final roles, and it's a doozy of a film that takes a while to fully process. 

The film is vintage Spike Lee. He's one of my favorite filmmakers for both his ability to tell stories creatively and for the various signatures that stamp his films as uniquely his. Delroy Lindo is amazing in this film as the complex character Paul, and he has one of those great Lee monologues late in the film when he's tramping through the jungle, spouting his philosophy directly into what is probably a steady cam. The film is spliced through with famous stills from the Vietnam War, as well as archival footage of such Civil Rights luminaries as Muhammad Ali and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. These hallmarks of Lee's narrative style add historical context and serve to underline the persistent narrative that both the natives of Viet Nam and the disproportionate number of African American soldiers killed and wounded in action were heavily traumatized by the war. 

The film spans multiple genres. It's a political film, a buddy caper, a heist movie, and an action film all rolled into 150 minutes of compelling, unsettling imagery. The piece builds slowly while characters bond, and the chemistry among the principal cast is authentic and rich. The third act is a pedal-to-the-medal sprint toward redemption, however, and in this way it's also indicative of a few types of film melded into one cohesive work of art.

The plot involves a group of war veterans returning to Viet Nam for two purposes. They hope to recover the remains of their leader, Boseman's Stormin' Norman, but they're also searching for a large cache of gold bars they'd buried in the jungle during their last tour in Viet Nam. Along the way, they encounter all manner of trials and assaults in the run-up to the bloody, strangely satisfying conclusion. 

It's a fine film, illustrating Lee's work at the height of his creative powers. The acting, staging, and writing are superb. It's never a comfortable watch, but it's always compelling--the calling cards of a good Spike Lee film. Give it a watch, but be warned that it can get a little graphic toward the conclusion.