Author of adventure/thriller and horror fiction

DAY ZERO by C. Robert Cargill

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Following up on his terrific SEA OF RUST, a novel about robots surviving after a robopocalypse, C. Robert Cargill’s DAY ZERO goes back to when the s**t hit the fan and the world’s robots rose up against their human masters. This is another easy, solid read that humanizes the robots in a work that’s more CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES than TERMINATOR.

In the future, the intersection of automation and artificial intelligence has led to a mass labor pool of robots and vast numbers of resentful unemployed living on universal basic income. In this world, Pounce, a nanny robot that looks like a large stuffed tiger, cares for Ezra, an eight-year-old boy. When Pounce chances upon the box he was bought in, he questions his nature and what will happen when Ezra outgrows him. Meanwhile, a major terrorist event and override of robot control protocols leads to humans requiring all robots be shut down and many robots rising up to kill their owners. Now Pounce must make a choice whether to join the revolution or fight for Ezra and get him to safety across a suburban battlefield.

I liked this one as much if not more than SEA OF RUST. I prefer apocalyptic to post-apocalyptic stories, and the uprising proved far more engaging for me. Cargill has a very easy-to-read style that hits all the right notes with a steady, solid pace. Pounce and Ezra’s Calvin and Hobbs relationship comes across as genuine and touching, and there are some interesting philosophical questions about free will and whether it is possible in light of programming, whether artificial or biological. This latter philosophical questioning is a bit too repetitive, but I was fine with it, and speaking of which, I appreciated how each plot point changed Pounce’s agency and stakes without the story itself becoming repetitive.

Overall, Cargill produced a believable, multifaceted apocalyptic scenario populated by sympathetic characters fighting for survival. Thumbs up for this one.

THE QUIET PLACE II

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I enjoyed THE QUIET PLACE enough for its atmosphere that I caught THE QUIET PLACE II, which is far more conventional but was actually a little more enjoyable for me.

At the end of THE QUIET PLACE, the farm is a bit of a wreck, and the dad is dead. THE QUIET PLACE II opens with an engaging look at how the apocalypse started and then brings us right back to where the first film left off. Led by the mom (Emily Blunt), the family decides to leave their farm (though I’m not sure why they have to do so), following the last remaining beacon to where they hope to find other survivors. There, they discover Emmett (the always enjoyable Cillian Murphy), who simply wants to be left alone but is now pressed to help (and then is oddly forced by the script to confess how dead wrong he was not to help more and sooner, despite everything he did). Regan, the daughter, meanwhile, has a way to hurt the monstrous aliens and believes she can help humanity fight back.

What follows is more conventional fare than the first film, which focused on the family relationships and immersed me such that I found myself holding my breath in many scenes so as not to make a sound. Still, I found the sequel a bit more enjoyable simply for the rising stakes and action. Otherwise, as with the first film, there are plenty of instances where smart people do dumb things to increase the tension, which had me laughing at a few points. Overall, though, it’s not a bad film and I enjoyed the ride. Thumbs up as a popcorn flick.

WWC Presentation on Theme, Symbolism, and Figurative Language

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On Saturday, August 14 at 2PM MT, I’ll be giving a talk at the When Words Collide reading and writing festival on the topic of theme. In this one-hour presentation, you’ll learn how to engage readers using theme, symbolism, and figurative language.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the presentation.

Click here to download other presentations by Craig.

TOMORROW WAR (2021)

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TOMORROW WAR (2021, Amazon Prime) promises a whole lot of good plain fun and tries hard to deliver, though I found it overall kinda goofy. Let me explain.

Dan (the always likeable Chris Pratt) is a military veteran turned scientist who is having a hard time getting a good job in his new field as he lacks experience. Suddenly, during a broadcast of the World Cup, soldiers appear on the field in a flash of light. They tell the world they’re from the year 2050, a time when aliens have overrun most of the planet and humanity is at the edge of extinction. Join us and fight, their leader says. Millions of people are drafted and sent through the time portal, and few return. Then Dan’s number comes up.

Okay, so what I liked here was the minor commentary about time travel, such as people who are drafted are those who are dead in 2050 (to avoid a time travel paradox, though other paradoxes are conveniently ignored) and society falls into crisis and despair as nothing anybody does seems to matter since it’ll all be over in 30 years. Besides that, the acting is fine, though the role doesn’t play to Pratt’s strengths, and he comes across as kind of bland if sympathetic. The aliens are pretty well crafted, and the action sequences are fairly epic.

The problem is the film’s ambition, as it does so much that everything lines up perfectly such that the story feels, well, utterly scripted and then rushed at the end, where the heroes decide they have to solve the problem themselves (and then nearly trigger the apocalypse three decades early). The father-daughter relationship at the center of the story isn’t strong enough to carry an otherwise heavily derivative effort, so as usual with many Hollywood action movies, I found myself not caring about any of it. The same reaction I had to ARMY OF THE DEAD, a recent watch, though the film also reminded me of EDGE OF TOMORROW, which handled a similar subject so much better and made me care about the characters and the stakes.

Party pooping over. TOMORROW WAR isn’t a bad film. and it’s kind of fun. I just personally found it pretty generic and forgettable.

CAPTIVE STATE (2019)

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CAPTIVE STATE (2019) expertly pairs a thriller plot with a setting of a world occupied by hostile aliens. It’s a largely plot-driven story with some interesting allusions to late-stage capitalism, with steadily building tension and a nice twist.

In the future, aliens arrive and win a short, horrific war before the nations of Earth unconditionally surrender and disband their armed forces. In each major city, “legislators” live underground and rule through an elite class of human collaborators living the high life and promised salvation once the aliens suck the planet dry of resources and ruin its environment for good. Living in a heavy surveillance state, a resistance network aims to strike a critical blow against the aliens, hoping to spark a worldwide revolt.

The film is fast-paced, the setting suitably gray and dystopian, the world building involving aliens brutally squeezing Earth well drawn and appearing gritty and lived-in. A great ensemble of actors–including John Goodman, James Ransome, Jonathan Majors, Alan Ruck, and Kevin Dunn–brings the story to life. The story is a little disjointed–you think you’re going in one direction, and then it takes an abrupt turn before turning back–but the accelerating pace and terrific payoff bring it all together nicely for a very satisfying finish.

Overall, CAPTIVE STATE is striking and clever while being utterly convincing with its gritty world building. I liked this one a lot.

WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (2019)

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Adapted from the JM Coetze novel by Coetze himself, WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (2019) serves up a political parable about imperialism, distinguished by its beautiful cinematography and strong performances by Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, and Robert Pattinson.

The Magistrate is a compassionate governor of a fort on the desert frontier of a fictitious European empire. He respects the locals, who see the Europeans as temporary occupants of their land and whom the Europeans call “the barbarians.” Colonel Joll visits with police from the capital, intent on finding trouble, and eventually produces “evidence” of plans for a local uprising after torturing two men into confessing. Joll then forces one of them to take his soldiers to his tribe, where he takes prisoners to torture. This sets in motion a conflict between the Magistrate and the Colonel and an even larger conflict between the Europeans and the “barbarians.”

The moral of the story is simple: you reap what you sow, and you will sow the wrong things if you lack understanding and compassion. The Magistrate is presented as a Christlike figure between these two sides, valuing harmony while Colonel Joll values order.

This film has not gotten much love from critics and only a little more love from audiences. On the downside, the pacing is a bit slow, and the Magistrate can be a little frustrating in that he appears way too naive for somebody of his position. The conclusion sort of slams down suddenly and makes its point a little too neatly on the nose. Overall, though, I quite liked this one–it was a nice surprise and very different from what the trailer, jury-rigged to be sensational, suggested. The performances are terrific, the cinematography is beautiful, the world building is utterly immersive, the message is important, and the whole is strangely compelling.