A- for "Elantris"by Brandon Sanderson
If you can read the opening line of this novel and not keep reading, then you are something special. This book is populated with interesting characters and relatable problems. Although it might not have the same level of hard realism of some of the darker fantasists out there, his innovative magic system and plot twists help make this book a favourite of mine.
I believe the use of plausible-sounding names of places in the story (Fjordell, Jindo, etc) help make the novel even stronger. Sure Fjordell sounds Norwegian or Finnish or some such, but it gives me some sort of idea of what the country might be like, which is helpful. Better than the fantasy cliche of just stringing together an incoherent bunch of letters that don't give any idea of what the country might be like.
In any case, a highly recommended novel.
(Note that if you are looking for a darker and more harshly realistic story there may be other better choices out there, so check my reviews. Sanderson's books have tend to have less swearing, sex, and throat-slitting as some of the grittier fantasy works, so they reach a broader audience. Highly recommended as more accessible fiction.)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
A+++ for "A Game of Thrones" by George RR martin
A+++ for "A Game of Thrones" by George RR martin
The best gritty, low-magic, realistic fantasy work ever written.
There is comedy, there is tragedy, and there is drama, but at the core of it all are GRRM's complex characters that keep you coming back for more.
If you want gritty fantasy, do not start anywhere but here!
I have read this novel three times and counting, and every time I find new things that I missed before, and remember incredible scenes that I had totally forgotten. Worth every penny a hundred times over.
The best gritty, low-magic, realistic fantasy work ever written.
There is comedy, there is tragedy, and there is drama, but at the core of it all are GRRM's complex characters that keep you coming back for more.
If you want gritty fantasy, do not start anywhere but here!
I have read this novel three times and counting, and every time I find new things that I missed before, and remember incredible scenes that I had totally forgotten. Worth every penny a hundred times over.
A for "Hal Spacejock" by Simon Haynes
A for "Hal Spacejock" by Simon Haynes
If you are interested in the humour-sf genre, you should really check this out (and note that you should be able to get it FREE on the author's website and, after you've enjoyed it, come here for the sequels)
This book is a hilarious romp through space with the clumsy Hal and his robot Clunk. You can't help but laugh at the exaggerated pop-culture references and the mishaps of this likable but idiotic pilot. A great read and highly recommended if you can get your hands on it.
Be aware that while there are satirical additions to this book, it isn't meant to be a thought-provoking slow burn on the nature of scientific improvements or anything of the like. It is, however, hilarious, as are future volumes.
If you are interested in the humour-sf genre, you should really check this out (and note that you should be able to get it FREE on the author's website and, after you've enjoyed it, come here for the sequels)
This book is a hilarious romp through space with the clumsy Hal and his robot Clunk. You can't help but laugh at the exaggerated pop-culture references and the mishaps of this likable but idiotic pilot. A great read and highly recommended if you can get your hands on it.
Be aware that while there are satirical additions to this book, it isn't meant to be a thought-provoking slow burn on the nature of scientific improvements or anything of the like. It is, however, hilarious, as are future volumes.
A- for "The Tudors: Season 1"
A- for "The Tudors: Season 1"
This show is a semi-historical depiction of Henry VIII's reign. The political machinations are intriguing, and the volatile man at the top of the food chain keeps you wondering what is going to happen next (despite the fact that, having googled him, you'd already have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen). While some people don't agree with the casting of Rhys-Meyers in the role of Henry VIII, I personally believe that he plays the part well. He is, clearly, no Henry VIII, but as a character in a tv show he succeeds admirably. I enjoyed this show immensely. Future seasons also also recommended.
This show is a semi-historical depiction of Henry VIII's reign. The political machinations are intriguing, and the volatile man at the top of the food chain keeps you wondering what is going to happen next (despite the fact that, having googled him, you'd already have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen). While some people don't agree with the casting of Rhys-Meyers in the role of Henry VIII, I personally believe that he plays the part well. He is, clearly, no Henry VIII, but as a character in a tv show he succeeds admirably. I enjoyed this show immensely. Future seasons also also recommended.
A for "Feast for Crows" by George RR Martin
A for "Feast for Crows" by George RR Martin
I enjoyed this novel as much as any other novel by GRRM. However, I say this with a caveat: it is not a complete novel. I fully trust him to complete Dance of Dragons and and give us the missing half, but I do want to make my position clear on this book as a standalone: It was good.
Here are my thoughts from a few years ago regarding the split:
I didn't really mind the split between this book and "A Dance with Dragons", and while I found it frustrating to not hear about some characters that will only make me more anxious to read the next book. The plot moves well (for the characters that you do get to see). Really, I should be waiting till both books (this and Dance) are released to rate them, but I have to rate it something and since it's "A Song of Ice and Fire", it gets a 5. Note that I don't blindly rate it a five, but carefully consider before giving it a ranking.
As to readers that called this a "money grab" I'd point out that every book that is ever published is, in some way, "a money grab". It's up to you whether you buy the book or not. It was absolutely necessary to split the books into two copies, and although I'm disappointed the companion tale isn't around yet to fill in the blanks, I'm extremely happy with what he did in this book. The great characters are still there, the plot still moves forward, and the world continues to expand.
Saying that it isn't as good as the first three novels is not much of problem to worry about, considering the first three are some of the best fantasy novels ever written, if not THE best. GRRM may not be an incredibly fast writer, but his work is unbelievably well crafted.
I enjoyed this novel as much as any other novel by GRRM. However, I say this with a caveat: it is not a complete novel. I fully trust him to complete Dance of Dragons and and give us the missing half, but I do want to make my position clear on this book as a standalone: It was good.
Here are my thoughts from a few years ago regarding the split:
I didn't really mind the split between this book and "A Dance with Dragons", and while I found it frustrating to not hear about some characters that will only make me more anxious to read the next book. The plot moves well (for the characters that you do get to see). Really, I should be waiting till both books (this and Dance) are released to rate them, but I have to rate it something and since it's "A Song of Ice and Fire", it gets a 5. Note that I don't blindly rate it a five, but carefully consider before giving it a ranking.
As to readers that called this a "money grab" I'd point out that every book that is ever published is, in some way, "a money grab". It's up to you whether you buy the book or not. It was absolutely necessary to split the books into two copies, and although I'm disappointed the companion tale isn't around yet to fill in the blanks, I'm extremely happy with what he did in this book. The great characters are still there, the plot still moves forward, and the world continues to expand.
Saying that it isn't as good as the first three novels is not much of problem to worry about, considering the first three are some of the best fantasy novels ever written, if not THE best. GRRM may not be an incredibly fast writer, but his work is unbelievably well crafted.
D for "Gardens of the Moon" by Steven Erikson
D for "Gardens of the Moon" by Steven Erikson
I absolutely could not get into this novel when I first attempted reading it. You should note that I am a bigger fan of low-magic novels as there tends to be less use of deus ex machina, but I do also enjoy high magic systems when done well. Perhaps I will try at a later date, but for now I will leave you with another review that pretty well encapsulates my thoughts.
By Mark Erikson (Australia) on amazon.com. His review accurately reflects on most of the key issues I had with the novel:
"I picked up this book, the first in a projected series of ten, because everyone was giving it glowing reviews. Wherever I looked I saw nothing but great things being said about it. So I bought the first three in the series, intending to read them all while on holiday.
What I discovered was that the book was awful.
I have seen people saying that Steven Erikson can really write. He's not particularly bad, but he isn't fantastic either.
What actually makes this book fall flat, though, is the magic. It's vague (we get wizards killing people with "a wave of sorcery", not fireballs or ice storms or lightning), and it is not explained. There is absolutely no text about how and why the magic works. It's just there, and in massive ammounts.
There's also this vague impression that there's some "normal" mages floating about, but we never get to see them. Every single character who we're introduced to is somehow special. They can access seventeen types of magic, rather than the usual one or two, or they can fight at lightning fast speeds, or they've been altered by a magical object. It's like a comic populated entirely by superheroes, with no ordinary people for them to save.
And finally, there's the gods. Like the Greek Gods, they are driven by entirely mortal wants and needs. However, they appear to be all powerful, and locked in a constant struggle for power. What isn't clear, though, is what many of the Gods wants. Oponn, for instance, is one of the major players in this book, but as the God of Luck, doesn't appear to have any particular motivation except to cause random events. A character who has a massive impact on the plot and has no actual goal? Can you see the problem there?
The result of all this is a plot that doesn't follow any kind of logical pattern. Many of Erikson's fans seem to think that this makes the book somehow pleasantly unpredictable, the way George RR Martin's books are.
But Martin's plot twists occur when characters decide to do things which, while they may not be expected, are entirely believable given those characters' personality and motivations. Erikson's plot twists often involve a supremely powerful character suddenly appearing and using magic to alter events, often for no apparent reason, or at least no foreshadowing whatsoever. Similarly, when faced with problems, his characters usually have some inexplicable magical means to overcome it.
And this happens a lot. A whole lot. The plot doesn't twist and turn, it more or less bounces randomly around.
The ending is possibly the worst part of the book. While everything else is in constant flux, there are two plots that are constant throughout the book. The raising of a terrible monster from it's prison, and the diabolical mission of a possessed assasin-girl. However, at the last minute, the monster is recaptured before it can actually do anything, and the assassin girl is released from her possession, mission unaccomplished.
Instead, we get a completely random demon for some final dramatic action, and an entirely new group of superhero characters appearing in the final chapter to save the day. What?
A year later I tried again and tackled the second book in this series, "The Deadhouse Gates", on the promise that it was far better. It wasn't, it suffered from the same ridiculous plot twists and (still) unexplained magical metaphysics.
I gave up about halfway through when, it the midst of a pitched battle, it is suddenly revealed that the battle just happens to be taking place on the site of some heretofore unmentioned prior battle, and the mages raise the corpses of those long-dead soldiers to provide reinforcements of undead.
That isn't storytelling, that's just pulling something out at the last minute to explain why your vastly outnumbered force of good guys manages to beat the bad guys. "
I absolutely could not get into this novel when I first attempted reading it. You should note that I am a bigger fan of low-magic novels as there tends to be less use of deus ex machina, but I do also enjoy high magic systems when done well. Perhaps I will try at a later date, but for now I will leave you with another review that pretty well encapsulates my thoughts.
By Mark Erikson (Australia) on amazon.com. His review accurately reflects on most of the key issues I had with the novel:
"I picked up this book, the first in a projected series of ten, because everyone was giving it glowing reviews. Wherever I looked I saw nothing but great things being said about it. So I bought the first three in the series, intending to read them all while on holiday.
What I discovered was that the book was awful.
I have seen people saying that Steven Erikson can really write. He's not particularly bad, but he isn't fantastic either.
What actually makes this book fall flat, though, is the magic. It's vague (we get wizards killing people with "a wave of sorcery", not fireballs or ice storms or lightning), and it is not explained. There is absolutely no text about how and why the magic works. It's just there, and in massive ammounts.
There's also this vague impression that there's some "normal" mages floating about, but we never get to see them. Every single character who we're introduced to is somehow special. They can access seventeen types of magic, rather than the usual one or two, or they can fight at lightning fast speeds, or they've been altered by a magical object. It's like a comic populated entirely by superheroes, with no ordinary people for them to save.
And finally, there's the gods. Like the Greek Gods, they are driven by entirely mortal wants and needs. However, they appear to be all powerful, and locked in a constant struggle for power. What isn't clear, though, is what many of the Gods wants. Oponn, for instance, is one of the major players in this book, but as the God of Luck, doesn't appear to have any particular motivation except to cause random events. A character who has a massive impact on the plot and has no actual goal? Can you see the problem there?
The result of all this is a plot that doesn't follow any kind of logical pattern. Many of Erikson's fans seem to think that this makes the book somehow pleasantly unpredictable, the way George RR Martin's books are.
But Martin's plot twists occur when characters decide to do things which, while they may not be expected, are entirely believable given those characters' personality and motivations. Erikson's plot twists often involve a supremely powerful character suddenly appearing and using magic to alter events, often for no apparent reason, or at least no foreshadowing whatsoever. Similarly, when faced with problems, his characters usually have some inexplicable magical means to overcome it.
And this happens a lot. A whole lot. The plot doesn't twist and turn, it more or less bounces randomly around.
The ending is possibly the worst part of the book. While everything else is in constant flux, there are two plots that are constant throughout the book. The raising of a terrible monster from it's prison, and the diabolical mission of a possessed assasin-girl. However, at the last minute, the monster is recaptured before it can actually do anything, and the assassin girl is released from her possession, mission unaccomplished.
Instead, we get a completely random demon for some final dramatic action, and an entirely new group of superhero characters appearing in the final chapter to save the day. What?
A year later I tried again and tackled the second book in this series, "The Deadhouse Gates", on the promise that it was far better. It wasn't, it suffered from the same ridiculous plot twists and (still) unexplained magical metaphysics.
I gave up about halfway through when, it the midst of a pitched battle, it is suddenly revealed that the battle just happens to be taking place on the site of some heretofore unmentioned prior battle, and the mages raise the corpses of those long-dead soldiers to provide reinforcements of undead.
That isn't storytelling, that's just pulling something out at the last minute to explain why your vastly outnumbered force of good guys manages to beat the bad guys. "
"Easy A" Review
Having heard reasonably good things about the movie "Easy A" I decided to go see it with my father. I didn't know exactly what I expected in terms of the quality of the film, but I had a general idea of what it would be about from the trailer. It strikes me that a movie trailer is the same as the opening chapter of a novel in that it needs to hook you and hook you early. It looked more intriguing than "The Town" which, while definitely more action packed, had less potential to leave me thinking about it afterwards. And thus, off to the movies we went...
***SPOILERS TO FOLLOW***
From beginning to end Emma Stone rocked this thing. Her portrayal was spot on, and needed to be considering that she was in the spotlight for the entire movie. Let it not be said that the actors in the secondary roles didn't play an important part, however. Her parents were hilarious, and Amanda Bynes's character was at times cringe-inducing but added an extra element of conflict (ie. judgment) as well as humour that the movie needed.
As an educator, "Easy A" is a fantastic movie in which to begin a discussion about the dangers of social media and the tendency of teenagers to overact when put in the spotlight for attention. It seems that incredible-and often dangerous- behaviour is increasingly visible on sites like youtube, and I'm not sure I like where that is going. This film illustrates the ease in which rumours can spiral out of control and lead to problems for youth, but slightly undercuts that message because it is a comedy. As a comedy, it needs to have an ending that is both redeeming in nature and happy. Nonetheless, it is a fantastic film with only a few tiny, teenie problems.
1) The kiss at the end is unecessary and a bit too "hollywood" for me. Having them ride off on the lawn mower was a perfect scene to show that her situation would improve.
2) The scene at the school where she comes out of the logs and sings and reveals that she will be "kissing" the a devil on her blog was a bit over the top as well. At the same time, I recognize that a movie needs a real climactic moment, and this is as good as any. I'm not sure how else the writers could have created a large, exciting, top-of-the-plot-curve moment without delving into hollywood-level scenes.
***SPOILERS TO FOLLOW***
From beginning to end Emma Stone rocked this thing. Her portrayal was spot on, and needed to be considering that she was in the spotlight for the entire movie. Let it not be said that the actors in the secondary roles didn't play an important part, however. Her parents were hilarious, and Amanda Bynes's character was at times cringe-inducing but added an extra element of conflict (ie. judgment) as well as humour that the movie needed.
As an educator, "Easy A" is a fantastic movie in which to begin a discussion about the dangers of social media and the tendency of teenagers to overact when put in the spotlight for attention. It seems that incredible-and often dangerous- behaviour is increasingly visible on sites like youtube, and I'm not sure I like where that is going. This film illustrates the ease in which rumours can spiral out of control and lead to problems for youth, but slightly undercuts that message because it is a comedy. As a comedy, it needs to have an ending that is both redeeming in nature and happy. Nonetheless, it is a fantastic film with only a few tiny, teenie problems.
1) The kiss at the end is unecessary and a bit too "hollywood" for me. Having them ride off on the lawn mower was a perfect scene to show that her situation would improve.
2) The scene at the school where she comes out of the logs and sings and reveals that she will be "kissing" the a devil on her blog was a bit over the top as well. At the same time, I recognize that a movie needs a real climactic moment, and this is as good as any. I'm not sure how else the writers could have created a large, exciting, top-of-the-plot-curve moment without delving into hollywood-level scenes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)