Publishing Woes, and other news

Hello readers!

It has been a while (over a month, in fact) since I last wrote on the Magical Realm. Alas, this is inevitable: there was too much work to do in June—the final month of my studies—and after July 1st, when I graduated. The wonderful housing corporation, which every single AUC student is obliged to rent from, made me move out on July 15th. That’s barely two weeks since I graduated.

After I managed to sell my furniture—or rather, a single piece, the rest of which I simply dumped—I travelled with my parents to Romania, and visited beautiful places in Austria along the way. The journey is about 2300km in length, and we were in no hurry, so we stayed 2 weeks on the road. You can check out my album here.

In Romania, I hoped for some peace and quiet, but naturally, got neither. Part of it is because of my family. Part of is it also because of a medical problem: I have developed foliculitis decanavans on my scalp and hair, thanks to years of antibiotics and reclacitrant acne. The good news is that I have convinced a local dermatologist to put me on isotretinoin (also known as “Accutane”). This is a Vitamin-A derivative that drastically reduces sebum production—sebum being a fatty secretion on the skin. Acne like mine has a variety of causes, but a huge overproduction of sebum is the main cause.

(The above is still a very simplified explanation: you can read more about it online, if you are interested.)

The medicine is, unfortunately, known for its side-effects, and I will need monthly medical supervision during the 6-month treatment course. But it’s the only permanent treatment available for both my acne and foliculitis.

You, dear reader, are probably interested to know more about my new novel—Fallen Love—as well as my experience at AUC. The latter is a topic I will be addressing in an upcoming blog post, entitled “My Experience at AUC: A Review”. I will be posting that shortly.

As for my new book, progress has once again stalled. I have queried another batch of agents, receiving one rejection and no replies after 1 month. The situation is so bad that I’ve seriously started considering how I will self-publish. Self-publishing requires three things: knowledge, time, and money. Naturally, money is the most difficult of the three. One good thing about AUC is cost; the cost of living in Amsterdam was manageable thanks to student housing and subsidies, and the tuition was mostly covered by loans. The loans have 0% interest and a 15-year repayment period starting in 2021. This means that I am not broke.

Even so, I have divided the self-publishing option into two plans: the cheap plan, and the expensive one. It is impossible to self-publish effectively without a good cover and a solid marketing strategy; and since editing is expensive, it must face the financial guillotine.

The two plans cost as follows:

• The cheap plan costs €2500. This includes cover design (in the region of €500); the services of a marketing professional (€1000); miscellaneous expenses including a self-publishing course, for around €200; and the remaining €800 is budgeted for ads.

• The expensive plan costs €5000. It budgets €2250 for editing (developmental + a proof read) and €750 for cover design, just to make sure I get the best cover I can.

The cheap plan is feasible for me right now; the expensive plan is predicated on getting some sort of job.

Right now, I’m honestly still uncertain as to what to do. I have applied for a master’s degree and a scholarship at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, where I can save rent living with my parents. If that doesn’t pan out—and there’s no guarantee it will, financially—I will look for a job or start a master’s degree in the winter.

Now you understand my quandary. I will leave you now, dear reader, for I need review the quality of my university’s education, on which I shall be writing again soon!

I’m back

Hail readers!

I must apologise for having taken so long to return to blogging. Several things have conspired against me; I will summarise the problems briefly. Firstly, university, with its litany of papers, exams, and other work-related demands. Secondly, my photography—a new hobby that has taken up time and money, but which is, I suppose, necessary to keep my mind active and buzzing with ideas. Finally: I’m still trying to get Fallen Love published. I have therefore submitted to a number of independent publishers and agents.

I wish to return, then, to discuss my goings-on and life in general. Those of you who have followed my blog and writing adventures will be right at home; otherwise, simply read a few posts from the archive if you want to get up to speed. Additionally, I’ll add a few choice words to the connection between writing and photography—a topic I have touched upon before, but which has gained increasing importance now that I’m spending so much money and creative energy into it. Don’t worry: it’s good for my writing as well as my visual skills.

Life

There is a debate in aesthetic philosophy regarding the extent to which art is representation—or if it is representation at all. It’s a commonly held belief that fiction is inspired by life; but the word inspired can mislead here. Some things in life do inspire me, yet the link is often abstract, its origin mysterious. Then there’s the simple fact that a lot of things in life are antithetical to art: bureaucratic papers, for example, or never-ending work.

It’s unfortunate that the last few months have been more of the latter than the former. Being in my third year of university has something to do with it, as does the simple fact that I’ve not been writing seriously. It’s as if I’m living my life on autopilot: I take care of myself, do work and chores, but nothing about my actions is important. Writing gives me purpose; without it I am lost.

It does not help that I am struggling to feel enthusiastic about my courses. They are not difficult—if anything the opposite is true: they don’t challenge me enough. I don’t feel like I’m exploring new frontiers in my knowledge, or gaining valuable and skills and insight. Although courses like programming were time-consuming and sometimes frustrating, I did learn stuff.

The concept of equilibrium also has a role to play. The last two and a half years have challenged me in a number of ways, but I have now adapted to the challenges as best I can, and there have been no major departures from this equilibrium state. While this is not the same as being unchanging (there have been many changes as of late) this kind of life does nevertheless entail a certain taedium vitae.

To put it more simply: I need something new. Something wild and magical.

Photography and Writing

There are few writers who are great photographers, and photographers rarely write well; it would seem, then, that there is no connection between these two disciplines, or even that they are mutually exclusive. This, however, would be drawing a hasty conclusion. The relationship between photography and writing is complicated, but often fruitful.

Ansel Adams, the famous American landscape photographer of the last century, wrote of the importance of previsualisation: the act of imagining the image you want to make, and setting up your equipment to achieve that creative vision. The same technique applies to writing—the greatest mistake a writer can make is not having a plot, a character motive, or, most importantly, a story. A bad book is much like a snapshot; it is aimless and boring.

The real difference between photography and writing—this will, by the way, annoy some photographers—is in the gear. Frankly, photography is an expensive hobby because it demands expensive equipment. Good luck trying to shoot a puffin in flight without a good telephoto lens and a fast DSLR. (If it’s around dawn or dusk, that won’t be enough, and you’ll need to shelve a couple of grand for a super-telephoto lens.) If your subject is in low light or high dynamic range, you’re going to want an expensive camera with a large sensor. Even the price of peripherals like filters or tripods (or flashes!) can give newcomers a heart attack.

On the other hand, huge bestsellers like Harry Potter were written on a typewriter by a single mum on benefits. The difference is stark.

If you are privileged enough to be able to afford photography, though, it is a satisfying art form to work with, and generally less stressful than writing. Expectations, of course, play a role: with photography, I am content to sometimes lose a shot. Difficult light, and inclement weather (think 60mph gusts and sub-zero temperatures) all play a role.

When you’re writing at my standard, though, there is much less room for error. A typo is trivial to correct, but a cliché you missed, an awkward line of dialogue here—or a chapter that doesn’t fit into the narrative—and you’ve potentially lost an editor.

Concluding thoughts

I must abandon you once again, dear readers, for work beckons. I hope I have made my somewhat scattered thoughts clear for you. There are no guarantees as to when I will write once again on the Magical Realm, but if things go according to plan, it will be sooner rather than later.

Until then!

The Art of Photography: Alex’s Perspective

So: is photography an art? And why is Alex, your (I hope) favourite writer of all things fantastic, romantic, and political, suddenly talking about it?

Perhaps a little introduction is in order. Recently—as of a few months—yours truly has been interested in photography. He has scoured the web for photography advice, detailed technical explanations, reviews of various photography gear (they are remarkably informative), and read critiques of fine photography. He has almost developed an obsession; but then, for Alex, hobby has always bordered dangerously close to obsession. He would not have been a published writer at 16 otherwise.

Anyway, the content of this post will be concerned with answering two questions. What are the fundamental characteristics of art? (This is a question Alex has explored before, albeit in less detail.) And secondly, to what extent can photography be considered art? Finally, Alex will also share some of his own experiences with photography; the photos he’s taken, and what it felt to be taking them.

What Defines Art?

As it happens, this is a philosophical question. Aristotle, in his Poetics, addressed this. And what did he think, you ask? Well; to Aristotle, art is a representation of the real world. This is similar to Plato’s position (his master) but distinct from it in one important way: whereas Plato thought art worthless—a mere shadow of the real thing—Aristotle believed that art, through imitation, could reveal facets of our life otherwise hidden.

What’s my take on this? As you might expect, I don’t buy into either theory. Art is not an imitation of something—that’s a crucial mistake. It may seem so, ostensibly; but this is a superficial analysis. Allow me to peruse some examples.

Fantasy is the most obvious counter-example. It is difficult to see how demons, vampires, werewolves, mages, and the Fae can be classed as ‘an imitation of reality’. Certainly—they may possess some of the qualities of humans. That is what makes them so powerful; they are uncanny. Like us, but not.

But of course, in fantasy, faeries and mages are not elaborate metaphors for people in real life. In fantasy, faeries are faeries and mages are mages. (Yes, I am guilty of abusing the tautology.)

But even in other genres, I feel the classification is inaccurate. What I see in art is not imitation; it is creation. The beauty and power of art lies in the fact that is born of an artist’s imagination—that ideas which seem too crazy in the real world, or which have no precedent elsewhere, can actually be explored through the medium of art.

RELATED: The poems Objet D’Art and Essence explore some of these ideas in poetic form

Anyway, what does my theory of aesthetics mean in practice? The essential elements of art, I believe, are the following:

1. It is something that the artist creates through the use of their imagination. Be it music, art, or fantasy worlds ;)
2. It contains emotion; this is part of what makes art so powerful.
3. It has a peculiar abstract quality.

You may wonder at the third condition. Why, do you wonder, is art abstract? I believe answering this question in totality (if that is indeed possible) would require extensive philosophical digression—and is thus beyond the purlieu of this post. Instead, I will answer the question in descriptive, rather than normative terms; what art is rather than what it should be.

A cursory examination of art immediately reveals what I mean. There’s something intangible about art—it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to say why a particular melody seems to resonate with our psyche, while another falls flat in dissonance. It is hard to say why some art is beautiful, and moves us, while other art leaves us bored. Why do some books become huge bestsellers, while others flounder?

Once more; this is a difficult question requiring extensive discussion. Personally, I believe art has an objective and a subjective element. Some art resonates with us on a deeply personal level—it appeals to something inherent in our personality. But there is also a general status of art. Technique, be it in writing, composing songs or drawing, does noticeably improve art.

In any case, I have presented the 3 key elements of art. The second question of this post is, of course, whether photography can classify as art. My answer is yes; photography is art in much the same way painting is. But it may not be immediately obvious why this should be so...

Photography as Art

‘Isn’t photography just snapping a picture? How is that art?’ Without doubt, this is the most common question asked by non-photographers. Answering it requires some familiarity with photography.

You see, photography as an art form is a very different beast from the ugly snapshots your average Joe takes in their average family holiday. The latter is indeed not art—it’s just pointing the camera and hitting a button. But the former; that is quite another matter.

The reason for this has to do with photographic input. Artistic photographs require something from its creator; they are a product of deliberate artistic intent. To take a beautiful photograph, the photographer has to think about where to take the shot; what elements she wishes to include and what elements she wishes to crop; and she needs to consider how colour, contrast, and depth of field combine to make a beautiful photo.

These ideas can be illustrated with the help of some photos:

See what I mean? The latter photo has no focus; it just is, so to speak. It does not tell a particular artistic or aesthetic story; it does not contain emotion; it is not particularly abstract; and it requires no great input on my part.

Whereas the former photo, taken by Soner B., exemplifies the opposite. It tells an aesthetic story; it makes you feel a particular way. (For me, warmth, and the wildness of nature.) And it of course it took some effort on the part of its creator in order to stage it.

For an even more dramatic example, consider the iconic photo by Yousuf Karsh:

Alex’s Interest in Photographic Art

So what is about photography that tugs at our darling writer’s heart? Transience, would be one answer. Photography captures a fleeting moment of real life: the particular vermilion shade of a sunset; the dimpled smile in a moment of joy; the neon hues of a city at night.

Another explanation would be... perspective. In taking photography to a higher level, I have found that I need to think, intimately, about how perspective can change the appearance of a scene. This skill is one that has—to some degree at least—carried over to my writing. I have found myself thinking about how a scene would be different if it were written from his point of view instead of hers; how would a plot carry with this scene instead of that; what do two characters see in the same situation?

So there you have it. Alex—writer extraordinaire, and photographer?

Gallery

Below you will find some of Alex’s best photos so far. Naturally, Alex is working on improving his technique (and on buying proper equipment, once suitable funds have been drawn up).

Feedback, as usual, is appreciated.

Life is Life, Amsterdam

You may have been wondering what my life, here in Amsterdam, has been like these past two weeks. Am I settling in? How is the city? And what of university life?

These questions I shall address herewith. If you are wondering as to how the Ark is going, however, you may wish to signup to the mailing list instead. You will receive regular weekly updates on my progress, along with sneak peeks into the Ark—a privilege you will not be privy if you simply follow the Magical Realm.

Anyway, onto business.

University Life

Uni life is... interesting. Different. And at times hectic—though, I suppose, that isn’t saying much. School has been hectic for many years, now that I look back. Indeed, over the past 6 years or so, I have had nothing but exams. First it was SATs; then the 11+; then GCSEs (in year 9); then more GCSEs; then ASs, and finally A levels. Suffice to say that whenever I hear of a test or assignment, I feel a wearied expectation rather than a pulse of fear.

Nevertheless, university life does have two aspects that are foreign to me. The first is the schedule of the lectures, and the way the workload is distributed more generally. I have lectures starting at four pm and ending at six; I have lectures starting at 9am; and I have everything in between, from 11 to 2. There is no regularity between days.

Is this confusing, you wonder? Certainly. I often find myself working well into the evening; and yet my afternoons are frequently free.

The second aspect is of course the fact that I, not the curriculum, dictate what courses I take. Yes, there are some requirements—I need to do a certain number of courses for my major, I need to take a Big Questions and a Theme course every year (or something), and I have Dutch and French learning periods for two months—but generally speaking, I have a lot of choice.

I can take whichever theme course suits me—be it Energy & Climate, Social Systems, or a multitude others. I can select my big questions course; be it Big Questions in History, Big Books, or whatever other topic picks my fancy. And in my minor, I can choose to do everything from sociology, photography, physics or computer science.

There is something a little bit daunting about it, I will admit. I need to take a certain number of courses to fulfill the university requirements. I need to take certain courses to pursue economics further on in the 3 years and for my masters (if I choose to do that). But, you know what? I can deal with that; choice is no bad thing.

Bureaucracy and Incompetence

Other aspects of my stay here have been less pleasant. The IKEA bed I ordered is missing some holes; I have demanded a refund from IKEA. And as for my (mandatory) registration to City Hall, well; that’s a bit of a story.

Firstly, I didn’t know what documents I needed—because the exact documents were not stated on the municipality website. So, I phone them—dialing the local number unsuccessfully before trying the international one—am put on hold, and finally told that I need to register through the university.

I go to the university... only to be told they can’t register me and I need to book an appointment with the municipality.

I call the municipality again, learn that I only need my ID card and rental contract (with the birth certificate after 3 months), and manage to book an appointment with them—on October the 28th!

So, as you can see, I have been rather busy.

The City

I have visited three parks here: one called Frankendael, another one right next to me, and one other near the Van Gogh museum. I have also visited the city centre—in particular the infamous Regulierwardstraat in the red light district.

The place has a reputation that precedes it. Rather than a hotpot of dubious activity, the place is rather civil and clean; the most notable irregularity is perhaps a sex shop and some gay bars.

Anyway, I have taken these opportunities to take some photos. I will be releasing them soon, so keep an eye out on the Magical Realm.

Cooking

Another aspect of my life that has changed is of course the need for me to cook my own meals. Initially, this proved difficult; I have the wonders of ready made salads and pizzas to thank for my survival. But soon, I found myself cooking—simple dishes such as salads, sausages, pasta, snitel and the like, but food nevertheless.

I have no delusions about my ability as a master gastronomer, but I at least have a modicum of confidence in the kitchen.

Calories are also of great interest to me. I have, over the past few months, tried to gain weight—and with some success. I weighed just 59 kilos a few months ago, but I know weigh over 62. I hope to reach 70kg in time; a feat which requires a great deal of calories.

I shall also try and hit the gym, though my student card has yet to arrive.

Parting Thoughts

Life here has so far proven interesting. The students are diverse and some have caught my attention; the courses are generally stimulating and interesting; and while there are some all but inevitable difficulties (particularly where it concerns bureaucracy) I am generally in good cheer.

Keep following the Magical Realm for more updates, photos, and important news about my writing. Until then, may the stars be with you...

The Exams Are Over

Hello readers!

These last few weeks and days I have been concerned with the topic of the EU referendum, and the unfortunate (to put it lightly) result therein. My previous post detailed the consequences in the immediate aftermath, and you will find numerous posts on this blog that treat the arguments in detail.

I will have more thoughts to share come tomorrow—a major meeting is scheduled between European leaders then. But today is not about that. I have finished my A-level exams; and I have a substantial amount of news to share with you regarding my plans moving forward.

On Writing

Those of you who have been reading the Magical Realm since before last week will know that this website is not usually home to complex questions of politics or economics; rather, it is—as the name implies—the go-to place for all my writing-related goodies.

And of course, by far the most important writing-related project for me right now—indeed the most important thing on here—is the Ark. A Sci-Fi novel come gay romance, the Ark is a most intriguing and uncommon work; and perhaps not surprisingly, it does pose some challenges.

For the primer on what I have done so far, I would recommend you to the upcoming page; however it out of date. I could recommend you simply look through the back catalogue of posts—there are plenty in which I make progress updates—but that would take you a while.

I will give a more detailed progress update when I update the page above, but for now the crux of the matter is this: I have written 2/3 of the book. I have hired an editor, and she has given me substantial feedback. This, in conjuction with the recommendations of my early readers, has led me to draft a plan for revising and editing the book.

I estimate it will take about 20 hours (although this is really more of an educated guess) to complete this. Twenty hours of which I now have.

That’s true; I have the remainder of this month, and all of July to do it.

As you may be able to guess, most of the posts from here on in will be about my progress in this department. The first of these posts will be a detailed summary of my experience with my editor. It will build upon this post, but while the former is based only on my experiences going back and forth on the cover letter, this new post will be based on the entire editing experience. Keep an eye out!

After that, expect to see some progress updates. My revision plan is long and detailed; I have a few milestones, which I will detail later on.

On a final note, I have decided to do a few things to my previous novel—the Necromancer. I am considering changing the cover and blurb; I will release a post asking for your opinions on which cover to go with. As I say: keep an eye out!

Where Will I Be?

Those of you who follow me know that I have a tendency to avoid staying in one place. Having lived in three different countries, and having visited France, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Belgium and Romania, this should come as no surprise. I have been to the latter three this year.

And this summer, I will once again be in Romania. My grandmother misses me, and a change of scenery may loosen the creative of juices.

I have also been learning the basics of photography. I hope to put it to some use in Romania; I shall post the results here, as well as on my Google Photos.

University

It is all but decided: I am going to Amsterdam to study on the liberal arts and sciences programme (I will likely choose to specialise in economics with elective courses on history, political philosophy, and anything else that pickles my fancy).

Am I excited? Maybe a little. Amsterdam is a big city; I will be alone from my parents. Plenty of scope for being naughty!

Am I also a little daunted? Well, yes; it’s the first time I’ll be away from my parents. It’s technically a foreign country (though one I know, and most people speak English quite fluently). I should also learn some Dutch, which will be interesting if—as all languages are—difficult.

I will receive my A level results on the 18th; on the 27th I need to be in Amsterdam. In the meanwhile I will have to choose courses and pay my tuition fees. What can I say? The road doesn’t end here.

Prom

I shall have prom on the 5th July—which is really quite soon. I have little idea of what awaits me. I somehow doubt it will be American highschool; I have no expectations of supine romance or interruptions by vampires. Most likely, I will have to contend myself with music, drink, and the good company of the people I will be leaving.

It almost makes me sad to think of it like that. Though of course this is silly: I have no regard for sentimentalism.

Conclusion

So: the exams are over. As you can see, this frees me up a great deal. I have a huge amount of work to be getting on with—writing, taking photos, sorting out university, and of course blogging. Wish me well. And do keep following me; there is many a curious and wonderful story yet to be told.

June Musings

Hail readers!

You may be wondering what I’ve been up to these past couple of days. My numerous posts on the European Union so far would have you think that the Magical Realm is a politics blog, when in fact it is still very much a fantasy-oriented writing blog.

Ironically, however, this post will not be about writing. This is due to a simple fact: I have my philosophy exam in two days’ time, and more exams after that. At this stage, I do not have the time or the energy to be working on my current project (the Ark). My revision plan is multiple pages in length; I would crudely estimate that it would take a good 20 hours to implement the changes mentioned in there.

Instead, I will get down to what I’ve been intending to do since I bought my new phone some months ago. I will be reviewing the Xperia Z3 Compact.

Why, Alex, Why?

You may be in doubt as to my qualifications to be reviewing tech, but rest assured that I know more about technology than most people. Being familiar with the physics and maths behind tech, as well with HTML, CSS, and Python, are examples of this.

So without further ado, let me begin.

What is the Sony Xperia Z3C?

The phone is a 4.6” Android handset. The size is important: most Android phones, and even some iPhones, come in sizes of 5” and above. That little extra diagonal length makes a significant difference to screen area, and the overall feel of the phone.

A bit of math may illustrate my point:

The exact calculations I used to obtain this formula is beyond the remit of this post, but basically the equation shows that the area of a screen in the 16:9 aspect ratio (like my phone’s screen) has an area proportional to the square of its diagonal. This means that your typical 5.5” phablet has a screen area that is about 40% larger than my phone’s screen.

This makes a big difference. Yes, you can see more on a phablet; but this comes at the cost of ergonomics. Phablets are big—they don’t fit in my hand comfortably, and probably not anyone’s unless they have unusually large hands. You can’t use a phablet one-handed; you can (just about) use the Z3C one-handed.

So: I like the size. What I don’t like? The aspect ratio. At 16:9, the screen is 1.777 times taller than it is wide. There’s not enough horizontal space for my liking (and in landscape mode, not enough height). In portrait mode, the vertical space is more than adequate; going up to phablet size would make its height unwiedly.

Sadly, the industry is wedded to 16:9 screens due to some rather modest cost savings (16:9 is the ratio used on TVs, so there are economies of scale at play). But my conclusion is that big phones are misguided—they address one problem (lack of horizontal space) but bring in another (bad ergonomics).

The screen’s pixel count is 1280x720. This makes for a resolution of 319 ppi (pixels per inch). In layman’s terms, this means the screen is pretty sharp: as good as printed paper.

Nonetheless, perhaps due to my excellent eyesight, the screen looks a bit fuzzy to me when I’m up close to it, such as in bed. I don’t notice this on my colleague’s QHD phablet (resolution around 480ppi). Going up to a higher resolution would require more pixels, which would decrease battery life.

But, speaking of battery life, that’s a compromise I can live with. The phone has excellent battery life: it lasts as much as three days with light usage, and typically around two if I do some web-browsing, look at emails, take photos, etc.

Other Aspects of the Phone

The phone has a now outdated quad-core Qualcomm chip running at a maximum of 2.5GHz; in practice this results in generally smooth operation, although occasionally it can be fooled into stuttering. The phone also has 2GB of RAM, which is a lot for a phone—it can run a few applications in parallel.

New flagship phones post more impressive specifications, but I fail to see the value. Why spend more for a phone when a lesser-equipped phone will do just fine 90% or more of the time?

Where do I wish for improvement is in the camera. Sony’s 20MP 1/2.3” EXMOR sensor looks impressive on paper: it has cutting-edge tech and a substantial resolution. In practice, it isn’t so impressive.

The first photo is one I took near my home. It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day. But even in such ideal conditions, the phone’s software does some pretty horrible noise-reduction to the image. The tree next to the river is badly smeared: a lot of detail has been blotched out by the NR algorithm. Same goes for the rivulets of the river.

Despite that, the image—in bright daylight, with some pretty heavy-handed noise reduction—still retains noise: just zoom in on the sky.

After upgrading to Android 6, there seem to have been some improvements.

The noise reduction seems less fanatical here, preserving more detail of the green field. There is some noise, but it’s pretty controlled and not noticeable at normal viewing (though to my inexperienced eye, it still seems a bit excessive considering the relatively bright conditions).

Nonetheless, the camera doesn’t blow me away. Some of it is to do with the small sensor (a feature common to all phones, though some phones do manage to squeeze larger sensors) but a lot of it is to do with software. I’m not pleased with the phone’s image processing, and nor am I pleased by the fact that the camera app won’t let me shoot raw—a file format without noise reduction, compression artifacts, and a format that is highly flexible for post-processing with my desktop software.

There are also no settings for custom white balance that I can find; this means that the camera sometimes takes photos with an unnatural tinge, particularly in artificial lighting. It’s harder to correct, even on my desktop, because the camera doesn’t shoot raw.

The camera app also doesn’t let me select shooting speed, and sometimes picks a speed that is too slow, resulting in some rather blurry images.

As for the front selfie camera, it’s awful. It produces a huge amount of noise in interior lighting, making it hopeless as a selfie cam. The photos are also rather fuzzy, perhaps due to its 2MP sensor.

Design and Construction

The final thing I will address in my (I admit) somewhat rambling review is the design. The phone has an orange glass back, which looks quite nice. The sides are metal, but covered in plastic; it’s not the most premium finish, but it does make the phone easier to hold.

I like the design, but it’s not practical.

The glass back will shatter if I drop it—which is why I bought a thick, black case for it. It makes the phone much less likely to shatter, but it damages the aesthetics somewhat.

The screen also picks up fingerprints like crazy. I’ve bought a screen protector for it, which sadly is only marginally better at not picking up prints.

Finally: the reflections. The screen picks up reflections even inside, and outside it’s very difficult to see in bright sunlight. Suffice to say I’m not impressed.

Conclusion

Do I like my phone? I guess I do. It has excellent battery life, connectivity (4G, NFC, fast Wi-Fi, a pretty decent GPS), some nice aesthetic elements, it’s quick and the screen isn’t bad in the way of resolution, contrast etc.

However, it’s let down by a glossy, fingerprint-prone screen and a camera that seems at best average in its class. I also wish Sony would have gone for a wider aspect screen, though that for the time being is a pipe dream.

Overall, I guess it’s a pretty decent phone. At £250 it was quite a bit cheaper than some of the flagships out there. For that, I give it four stars.

Of course, this is my experience; I admit I don’t have a huge amount of familiarity with other phones, especially when it comes to their cameras.

Anyway! That’s it for the review. Keep the following the Magical Realm, for I will have some more, eh, literary topics on hand.