Michael G. Munz

The official website of Seattle sci-fi/fantasy author and geek Michael G. Munz

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 9)

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The square root of nine is three! And what does that tell us?Absolutely nothing.

The square root of nine is three! And what does that tell us?
Absolutely nothing.

Oracles in the Attic! No, it’s not a V.C. Andrews novel; it’s time for the ninth chapter of Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief…

I Am Offered a Quest

After a bit of good ol’ fashioned teenaged social ostracizing (on what could arguably be termed an officially “epic” level, given the mythological connections), Percy is offered a quest! It’s an exciting development that would have been completely surprising were it not for the spoiler in the chapter title. (I’m teasing, The Lightning Thief, I’m teasing. I still likes ya!) [Read more…]

Movie Review: Interstellar

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scientifically realistic black hole depiction

Gargantua: Humanity’s new sun? It really is quite pretty.

Last night I saw Christopher Nolan’s latest, Interstellar, a film about a desperate mission through a black hole to find a new home for humanity before the Earth becomes uninhabitable. It’s mostly hard sci-fi, softened with a bit of metaphysics, but at its heart is a story about a father and his daughter. [Read more…]

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 8)

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Did you know you can click the image to see all of the previous posts in this series?Did you know elephants can't jump?

Did you know you can click the image to see all of the previous posts in this series?
Did you know elephants can’t jump?

Well it’s about danged time! And it’s also time for chapter eight in my series, Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief…

We Capture a Flag

This will be a quick post. A lot happened but my reactions are pretty brief. Finally it’s made official that Percy is Poseidon’s son! I was boggling at the idea that even after he’s found to be good at canoeing and energized by having water dumped on him, people “weren’t having an easy time of” figuring out who his father was. It occurred to me that perhaps some of them were simply good at keeping their suspicions from Percy. [Read more…]

Nolan’s “Interstellar”: Now with Realistic Black Holes!

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According to this article on Discovery.com, a black hole featured in Christopher Nolan’s new sci-fi film “Interstellar” will have the “best black hole in sci-fi.”

scientifically realistic black hole depiction

A black hole seen in Interstellar, courtesy of Paramount.

Nolan has consulted with Caltech physicist Kip Thorne, who provided a modern, scientific understanding of black hole theory via Einstein’s general relativity equations and the Black Hole Information Paradox.

Oh, and also the movie apparently stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, and comes out tomorrow, yadda-yadda-yadda…

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 7)

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Michael Reads Percy Jackson Ch 7

Yeah, it’d be nice if there were a clever caption here, but we can’t always get what we want.

Something was stolen, monsters are attracted to demigods, and Mr. D’s still cranky. I now present the seventh chapter of Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief…

My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke

This is another chapter that’s primarily given to world-building and character development, both of which are welcome things at the moment. Most of the development goes to Annabeth while she introduces Percy to more of the camp and many of the concepts related to it. I still like her – she’s friendly enough, but she’s got her own agenda as well; this is a good thing. She seems to be her own character rather than just a prop for Percy. Luke, the counselor that’s one of Hermes’s sons, got a bit of development, too, but so far the book hasn’t had a chance to give him too much depth. [Read more…]

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 6)

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I was supreme lord of the bathroom once, but then I took an arrow to the knee.

I used to be supreme lord of the bathroom like Percy, but then I took an arrow in the knee.

Something weird is in the attic, and there’s sewage water everywhere! So naturally that means it’s time for the sixth chapter of Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief…

I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

I liked this chapter. It had a lot of exposition, but it’s exposition that previous chapters have given me an appetite for, so it works. Percy gets a tour of the camp, learns that all the kids (including him) have a divine parent, and then unwittingly empties a bathroom’s worth of toilet water on some of Ares’s kids. [Read more…]