{"id":29824,"date":"2016-08-22T08:17:07","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T12:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/?p=29824"},"modified":"2016-08-22T08:17:07","modified_gmt":"2016-08-22T12:17:07","slug":"macro-monday-looks-a-little-like-snaggletooth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2016\/08\/22\/macro-monday-looks-a-little-like-snaggletooth\/","title":{"rendered":"Macro Monday Looks A Little Like Snaggletooth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That is a ladybug, up close.<\/p>\n

It is not my best photo but I wanted to post it. Why, you ask?<\/p>\n

We think of ladybugs like they’re these cute little buggie-wuggies — and at a distance, they are. Toodling along, munching on aphids (this guy is in fact slurping up the last remains of an aphid — basically, licking his plate clean).<\/p>\n

But look at that face.<\/p>\n

LOOK AT THAT FACE.<\/p>\n

\"ladybuggy-upclose\"<\/a><\/p>\n

JESUS GOD IN HEAVEN WHAT THE HELL, LADYBUG<\/p>\n

And then I thought, you know what that ladybug looks like?<\/p>\n

Snaggletooth, from Star Wars.<\/p>\n

No, really, look.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Maybe it’s just me.<\/p>\n

Anyway, ladybugs are super-helpful, and cute at a distance, until you look close, and then they’re a Snaggletoothed shit-show. Thus endeth the lesson, I guess?<\/p>\n

Let’s see. Let’s bring some\u00a0Invasive<\/strong> news, speaking of buggies.<\/p>\n

I am told the book is selling well, and even sold out in a few stores, but of course I won’t know the reality of the book’s sales until June of 2024, or thereabouts.<\/p>\n

One review on Amazon is titled: “Put on your shittin’ pants<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.” So, there’s that.<\/p>\n

Washington Post said<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

Wendig does an impeccable job blending fact and fiction as he describes invasive species and insects being used as biological weapons. This is a propulsive tale that also examines our interaction with \u2014 and ma\u00adnipu\u00adla\u00adtion of \u2014 the natural world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Men’s Journal said of the book<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

…compelling, well-written, and the science (mostly about the curious habits of ants) is wholly plausible, even for folks who follow the works of\u00a0E.O. Wilson<\/a>. If you don’t have time to read it, expect to see it on the big screen \u2014 although reading about creepy-crawly killer ants is probably easier than watching them swarm.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(Though I’d much prefer you read it instead of waiting for the totally-not-inevitable film.)<\/p>\n

Tor.com reviewed the book and said<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that I\u00a0love<\/a>\u00a0Chuck Wendig\u2019s books. He\u2019s the kind of author that no matter what he writes I\u2019ll consume it sight unseen because I know it\u2019ll be entertaining. He writes in a style all his own, one full of intensity and fervor, like repeated shots of adrenaline.\u00a0Invasive<\/em><\/a>\u00a0plays extensively in Michael Crichton\u2019s sandbox, and fans of the\u00a0Jurassic Park<\/em>\u00a0series and\u00a0The Andromeda Strain\u00a0<\/em>will have a lot of fun here. Prepare yourself for an awful lot of Stephen King-esque body horror, not to mention the strong scent of\u00a0The X-Files<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Heroes & Heartbreakers gets to the heart of the protagonist<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

The consultant is the lead of the story, the one who the others depend on for survival. In other words, this character is the Chris Pratt-style lead.<\/p>\n

But in\u00a0Invasive<\/em>, a woman is the lead.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s Hannah Stander and, unlike most leads in big action movies (or even action-adventure books), she\u2019s given a great deal of complexity. Hannah has created a specialty and a unique career for herself but she also suffers from sometimes crippling anxiety attacks. In a nice change from the usual, Hanna\u2019s anxiety isn\u2019t due so much to trauma as the long-term influence of her parents, paranoid survivalists. In a way, she\u2019s chosen to believe in the future as a rebellion against her upbringing.<\/p>\n

In short, Hannah is confident, complex and the hero of her own story.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a combination I\u2019ve rarely seen outside of romance novels. Usually, if there\u2019s a woman in an action-adventure thriller, she\u2019s the girlfriend or the stereotypical badass among the guys. Wendig\u2019s tense, action-packed book treats Hannah like a full person, not a clich\u00e9.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I answer five questions about the book at Suvudu<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

In news unrelated to bugs, hey, I got my first Rolling Stone byline! Holy crap, who let that happen? I wrote a short thing about the sublimely boring space tourism of\u00a0No Man’s Sky<\/strong>, a game I’m loving despite it’s many flaws. Check it out here<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

And then back to the bugs for one more moment —<\/p>\n

Reminder I’ll be at Main Point Books on 9\/10, and Let’s Play Books in 9\/22, and\u00a0maaaaaybe\u00a0<\/em>I’ll be hanging with Fran Wilde on 9\/27 in Rittenhouse Square, Philly, at the B&N there — details on that event incoming soon.<\/p>\n

Don’t forget, the\u00a0Invasive photo contest is ongoing<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — you’ve got a week left. Take a picture of the book. Send it to me. Maybe win some stuff. Do it now or I will send the ants to your house.<\/p>\n

*shakes ant jar*<\/p>\n

You can nab\u00a0Invasive\u00a0<\/strong>here:<\/p>\n

Indiebound<\/strong><\/span><\/a> | Amazon<\/strong><\/span><\/a> | B&N<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That is a ladybug, up close. It is not my best photo but I wanted to post it. Why, you ask? We think of ladybugs like they’re these cute little buggie-wuggies — and at a distance, they are. Toodling along, munching on aphids (this guy is in fact slurping up the last remains of an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-29824","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-theramble","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pv7MR-7L2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29824"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29827,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29824\/revisions\/29827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}