‘Wool’, a series of sci-fi zines by Hugh Howey

Since its inception, science fiction has been under attack. Considered mere “genre fiction” by your favorite antagonistic English professors, it can contain some of the finest phonies in literature. It’s tough to find a serious writing program out there that will let the students engage in “genre fiction” as it may distract from the fundamentals of storytelling, such as character development, metaphor and setting. But somehow there is acceptance of Shelley, Wells and Jules Verne (who are rarely taught) while Herbert and Heinlein are taboo. As Harry Potter and Twilight gently whisk fantasy into the mainstream, there appears to be some small chance (outside of the movies Star Wars/Trek and Phillip K. Dick) that the genre will be taken seriously. Maybe science fiction’s biggest enemy is science itself. On a day by day basis we learn about teleportation, phasers, and new planets, all science fiction staples that are now reality. So outside of the pulp world, where are the new science fiction writers who can bring the writing into mainstream acceptance?

Few people on this planet know who Hugh Howey is. His novels are mostly self published, available in a digital format. But something has caught on here and I got the bug as well. The Wool series has generated a fast-growing cult in the self-publishing and sci-fi communities. All of a sudden you are climbing the steps to a world where…

Each step was slightly bowed from generations of traffic, the edge rounded down like a pouting lip. in the center, there was almost no trace of the small diamonds that once gave the treads their grip. Their absence could only be inferred by the pattern to either side, the small pyramidal bumps rising from flat steel with their crisp edges and flecks of paint.

And soon you are in the silo that is Wool. One part Fallout and a dash of the Allegory of the Cave, the story is a cracker. Howey’s DIY attitude and aesthetic to writing goes to show you don’t need a publisher to build a following. Wool accelerates chapter by chapter and Hugh Howey’s emergence as a writer might be one of the best stories of 2012.

You can grab Wool for your Kindle here. If you don’t have a Kindle simply download the Kindle app to your cell phone and proceed to make your bus/subway/train trip that much better.

Alec

Beautifully bold branding for Attido by Bond

I don’t tend to post about branding often because I find it difficult to write about. I tend to like design that sways toward the minimal end, so how do I expound upon simplicity? Well I’ve been sufficiently inspired to do so by this branding project for Attido by Bond.

Attido is a company that handles business information systems, which is an important but not quite glamorous profession. What Bond has done with their branding is short of a miracle, in my opinion. Many of you might remember the old black and yellow days of Kitsune Noir, which I personally loved. This though, is a whole other level. The super bold typeface stops you in your tracks, the A mark could poke your eye out and the yellow demands your attention at all times. I’m not sure it says “business information systems”, but it’s absolutely memorable.

This is absolutely one of those projects I wish I’d have made.

Bobby

A competition for architecture student projects

What happens to student projects after the final critique? Many projects languish in over-designed portfolios or on abandoned websites, dying very slow deaths. suckerPUNCH is hosting a competition to tease out the ten best projects from American architecture students over the past year. Students submitted their projects, ten will be selected for exhibition based on votes, and three of of the ten will be selected by a jury to have fragments prototyped at full scale. If it were up to me, everyone would vote for my friend Melissa Shin, because her project is the bee’s knees.* Also, you should vote for Melissa because her model uses gold poché melted down from teeth she found on the ground in New Haven.**

Alex

* This statement is true.
** This statement is not true.

Emergent Behavior: An explosive photo series from Thomas Jackson

Last March I wrote about Thomas Jackson and his fantastic book of robots, appropriately titled The Robot Book. He emailed me a couple days ago to tell me he has a new series called Emergent Behavior. As he describes it, there were “no robots involved, though the mysterious hovering sculptures remain.” And it’s true, the mystery does remain as he’s created these immense photos with such interesting compositions. I want to say that he simply tossed everything into the air, but I doubt it’s that easy as thee photos are almost too perfect.

You can see the rest of the set by clicking here.

Bobby

‘Reign of Terror’, the new album from Sleigh Bells

I was and I wasn’t a fan of the last Sleigh Bells album, Treats. It had it’s high points with songs like Tell ‘Em and Rill Rill, but the noisy feedback ended up sounding the same after a while. I think Treats was the perfect name for the album; you don’t want to listen to it all the time, just when you’re in a certain mood. With their new album Reign of Terror they’re back with more face punch rock but with a bit more diversity.

The in-your-face guitars are still there and Alexis Krauss’ vocals are still as shout-y as ever, but there’s lots of great moments on this album that differ from their previous effort. The song You Lost Me sounds like a fire alarm going off on a Kate Bush track, which is honestly a compliment. I’ve only listened to the album one time through so far, but I’d say it’s certainly going to be a more solid album than Treats. You can listen to the three song preview above, or if you’re on Rdio you can click here to listen to the whole album.

Bobby