Blood Child was very strange but I did enjoy it and it made me think.
Though I've complained about writers holding back too much information before I liked it in Blood Child. I think it's because it was a short story so it didn't take 50 pages to explain who the characters were. I like the way that the author let the scenes build from nothing to an image. She let the reader picture what was happening on their own instead of making the reader struggle to find the author's point of view.
The Tlic/Terran living situation is a head scratcher. I want to call it negative but this situation is much better when the Terran showed up and attacked the Tlic only to be enslaved by them. Now the two species have a mutual relationship. Now the Terran live on a reservation, which maybe is meant to allude to Native American reservations but honestly the more I think about it, it feels like a farm. A well maintained farm with happy sheep but a farm nonetheless. When the worms are transfered from the man to the achti i felt like it was a metaphor. The worms didn't see the Terran as anything different from the farm animal. The Tlic/Terran relationship might be positive but they are not equal. The Tlic are the superior beings who live longer and are the original inhabiters of this planet. The Terran are lesser in all honesty. I feel bad for the Terran.
BUT, from the Tlic point of view their species needs to survive. So they must USE the Terran bodies to progress their species. Tlic need Terran even though Terran probably don't need Tlic. It's not like the Tlic like doing it, but it must be done. They're doing a bad thing but there's no other option. At least the Tlic are as nice as they can be to the Terran about the situation.
In all honest the situation sucks but that's what it is. I can't think of a positive solution that'd make both groups as happy as can be. That's just the way it for them. Mutual relationships between species like this is common in the animal kingdom, but as humans we don't really think about this. I'm glad the writer looked and animals when coming up with the story, they really feel like a different species from humans.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Mona Lisa Overdrive
I was really excited at first to read Mona Lisa Overdrive because it was one of the major inspiration for the Matrix movies which I'm a huge fan of.
This is gonna be short because I just flat out hated Mona Lisa Overdrive. It was confusing as hell. I couldn't tell when people were in the real world, or if they were in some MMO, or if they were hacking. I never had a clear image in my mind of what was going on. I'm sure that was the intention but I just didn't enjoy it. I had trouble keeping up with the characters too. I didn't even get that far.
I guess I see the inspiration in the Matrix with how what i think is that digital world is treated. And it makes reality a confusing place. But I read just a few chapters and I can't even tell people what this book is about. It should be rewritten.
This is gonna be short because I just flat out hated Mona Lisa Overdrive. It was confusing as hell. I couldn't tell when people were in the real world, or if they were in some MMO, or if they were hacking. I never had a clear image in my mind of what was going on. I'm sure that was the intention but I just didn't enjoy it. I had trouble keeping up with the characters too. I didn't even get that far.
I guess I see the inspiration in the Matrix with how what i think is that digital world is treated. And it makes reality a confusing place. But I read just a few chapters and I can't even tell people what this book is about. It should be rewritten.
The Stars by Destination
The way the book described teleportation in the introduction was real cool. It felt like I was reading a newspaper article or historical document. It seemed real and logical. I understand teleportation has been done before but the writing of this was different from what else I've read. It was a good set up. The organization of the writing really made things seem futuristic.
At first I was worried about Gully Foyle, I thought he'd be a typical oldschool scifi hero. But he really caught my attention! Foyle is describes a very common man, well maybe a bit more lethargic than the common man and he's been surviving by himself in a wreckage in space for over a hundred days. A truly hopeless situation. I can't think of a more hopeless situation than being alone in space. Just by reading his thought he seems like a man that given up, he even calls his little room his coffin. "Deep space is my dwelling place and death's my destination." That sounds like a man ready to die. (if he's so ready to die why did he try hard to survive for over a hundred days.) But Foyle's "Aha!" moment is when a ship that could rescue him simply flies past him instead.
Foyle goes into a rage. A simple animalistic hate and fury forces him to move forward. It's great to see such familiar anger in a futuristic book. I think this rage helps motivate Foyle to save himself by salvaging the pieces. And propelling himself to safety. But Foyle reaction to the ship simply passing him is enticing. This is a man who had essentially given up on survival. This might've been because he was just a man in space. And you can't really get angry at space for killing you, it's like blaming nature for your problems. When the Ship, Vorga, ignore Foyles signal for help he goes into pure fury. He has a scape goat now. He has something to hate for all his trouble. And this hate its what saves him. Though unlike before he's not driven to survive, he's driven to seek revenge. At this point Foyle isn't some clean cut space cadet. He looks and talks like a primitive madman.
I regret not finishing this book but I'll probably save it for a plane ride and finish it
At first I was worried about Gully Foyle, I thought he'd be a typical oldschool scifi hero. But he really caught my attention! Foyle is describes a very common man, well maybe a bit more lethargic than the common man and he's been surviving by himself in a wreckage in space for over a hundred days. A truly hopeless situation. I can't think of a more hopeless situation than being alone in space. Just by reading his thought he seems like a man that given up, he even calls his little room his coffin. "Deep space is my dwelling place and death's my destination." That sounds like a man ready to die. (if he's so ready to die why did he try hard to survive for over a hundred days.) But Foyle's "Aha!" moment is when a ship that could rescue him simply flies past him instead.
Foyle goes into a rage. A simple animalistic hate and fury forces him to move forward. It's great to see such familiar anger in a futuristic book. I think this rage helps motivate Foyle to save himself by salvaging the pieces. And propelling himself to safety. But Foyle reaction to the ship simply passing him is enticing. This is a man who had essentially given up on survival. This might've been because he was just a man in space. And you can't really get angry at space for killing you, it's like blaming nature for your problems. When the Ship, Vorga, ignore Foyles signal for help he goes into pure fury. He has a scape goat now. He has something to hate for all his trouble. And this hate its what saves him. Though unlike before he's not driven to survive, he's driven to seek revenge. At this point Foyle isn't some clean cut space cadet. He looks and talks like a primitive madman.
I regret not finishing this book but I'll probably save it for a plane ride and finish it
Ananzi Boys
Ananzi Boys is probably my favorite Gaiman book, right off that bat.
I wasn't too familiar with African storytelling, I knew a little of Anazi beforehand but the book seemed well researched.
The "casual" magic in the book is what made it so entertaining. How simple things some how had power and would stick like old Mr. Nancy's nicknames for that Goofy Dog or Fat Charlie, how easy it was for Spider to lie to everyone. Little things that are clearly unnatural but wouldn't be called supernatural by the bystander. I think this is a clear mark of Contemporary Fantasy. To try to work magic into our world without making is shocking .
Fat Charlie and Spider have two opposite personalities. Fat Charlie is careful, concerned, a little soft. While Spider is careless, adventurous, and mischievous. I do like that among the brothers Gaiman didn't decide to to the good twin/evil twin thing. While the boys are very different I wouldn't call Fat Charlie good, he's just a regular man. And I wouldn't call Spider evil though he's done some awful things in the past. (The thing about Tricksters in myth is they aren't evil, they don't particularly have ill will they're still nuisances and you don't really feel bad if something happens to them.) Their distinct personality are seemingly explained when the old woman in florida (i forgot her name right now) tells Fat Charlie that he and Spider used to be one. But he was such a problem child that she used magic to essentially rip the trickster out of him.
What's really fun is that Fat Charlie and Spider seem to switch personalities when Spider steals Fat Charlie's fiance and Fat Charlie becomes more interested in the policewoman.
Anyway in the end Spider proves that he does have a soft side, and he isn't so careless while Fat Charlie shows off his own cunning trickster personality. It's funny these two boys were essentially half a person. But when they met instead fusing our whatever they stayed separate but became fuller character with more dimension to their original personalities.
Very cool read, i'd recommend it to a lot of people
I wasn't too familiar with African storytelling, I knew a little of Anazi beforehand but the book seemed well researched.
The "casual" magic in the book is what made it so entertaining. How simple things some how had power and would stick like old Mr. Nancy's nicknames for that Goofy Dog or Fat Charlie, how easy it was for Spider to lie to everyone. Little things that are clearly unnatural but wouldn't be called supernatural by the bystander. I think this is a clear mark of Contemporary Fantasy. To try to work magic into our world without making is shocking .
Fat Charlie and Spider have two opposite personalities. Fat Charlie is careful, concerned, a little soft. While Spider is careless, adventurous, and mischievous. I do like that among the brothers Gaiman didn't decide to to the good twin/evil twin thing. While the boys are very different I wouldn't call Fat Charlie good, he's just a regular man. And I wouldn't call Spider evil though he's done some awful things in the past. (The thing about Tricksters in myth is they aren't evil, they don't particularly have ill will they're still nuisances and you don't really feel bad if something happens to them.) Their distinct personality are seemingly explained when the old woman in florida (i forgot her name right now) tells Fat Charlie that he and Spider used to be one. But he was such a problem child that she used magic to essentially rip the trickster out of him.
What's really fun is that Fat Charlie and Spider seem to switch personalities when Spider steals Fat Charlie's fiance and Fat Charlie becomes more interested in the policewoman.
Anyway in the end Spider proves that he does have a soft side, and he isn't so careless while Fat Charlie shows off his own cunning trickster personality. It's funny these two boys were essentially half a person. But when they met instead fusing our whatever they stayed separate but became fuller character with more dimension to their original personalities.
Very cool read, i'd recommend it to a lot of people
Bone - Jeff Smith
Bone is a really cool book, the characters Fone Bone, Phoney, and Smiley all feel like the walked out of an old comic strip. They're very simple and very appealing. The comedy between Smiley and Phoney is pretty stooges-esque. But despite what you expect looking at the cover Bone is a fantasy epic and it's pretty entertaining as things turn.
Normally i wouldn't dream of mixing such silly looking character with realistic ones. The bones don't look like they came from another town, the look like the came from an entirely different comic. But it works so well. It's in the way it's written how the characters respond to eachother's antic. Because real life IS funny. People sometimes act like cartoons. Rosie and Lucius can have big reaction and make jokes aswell, it's not reserved to the Bones. Sometime that rat creatures have you fearing for the heroes life. Sometimes you're laughing at the rat creatures for bickering about quiche! There are distinct personalities in Jeff Smith's writing. but the characters are all very relatable.
I know it was one of the really silly stories but the Great Cow Race cracks me up. It highlighted how low Phoney was, how silly Smiley could be. The second Phoney says he wants to take part in the race you just know somehow things are going to go wrong. But you don't know just how wrong things go until you read it. But that mess of spread with the rat creature colliding with the cows is pretty unforgettable.
Normally i wouldn't dream of mixing such silly looking character with realistic ones. The bones don't look like they came from another town, the look like the came from an entirely different comic. But it works so well. It's in the way it's written how the characters respond to eachother's antic. Because real life IS funny. People sometimes act like cartoons. Rosie and Lucius can have big reaction and make jokes aswell, it's not reserved to the Bones. Sometime that rat creatures have you fearing for the heroes life. Sometimes you're laughing at the rat creatures for bickering about quiche! There are distinct personalities in Jeff Smith's writing. but the characters are all very relatable.
I know it was one of the really silly stories but the Great Cow Race cracks me up. It highlighted how low Phoney was, how silly Smiley could be. The second Phoney says he wants to take part in the race you just know somehow things are going to go wrong. But you don't know just how wrong things go until you read it. But that mess of spread with the rat creature colliding with the cows is pretty unforgettable.
Suspiria / Witches
The movie Suspiria really had an effect of on me. Yes it was cheesey and its age showed in the acting, dialogue, and effects. But movies with bad effects are looked at with a more forgiving attitude.
Suspiria was very interesting we follow a character who's immediately thrown into an unfamiliar place where everything is pretty strange so she doesn't want to make any assumption on the strange happenings at first. I also like that this movie had so many female characters. Allowing the audience to appreciated a lot of different personality from the women. Sometimes in film we get the opposite problem, there'll only be one female character. And writers try to make up for it by throwing every type of female personality into just one person. So the writing isn't as entertaining. But in Suspiria we got a lot of different personalities. Suspiria as a horror is also a very 'nervous' movie. It will avoid outright jumpscares but make things gradually uncomfortable like with the maggots in the building.
Women are tied very closely with the witch genre. Sometimes I wonder how this happened. Historically, witch hunts targeted males and females. Men were also called witches. During the salem with trials men were also persecuted. It seems that female witches are strongest in story telling though. In fairy tales witches are always female. Like Ursula the Sea-Witch or Baba Yaga. I think this is because as people over the years we have and expectations of women to act kind and selfless. Which is silly anybody could be selfless or selfish, but when we see a female character act cruelly especially an older one (who's supposed to be sweet and motherly) people think it's unnatural.
Suspiria was very interesting we follow a character who's immediately thrown into an unfamiliar place where everything is pretty strange so she doesn't want to make any assumption on the strange happenings at first. I also like that this movie had so many female characters. Allowing the audience to appreciated a lot of different personality from the women. Sometimes in film we get the opposite problem, there'll only be one female character. And writers try to make up for it by throwing every type of female personality into just one person. So the writing isn't as entertaining. But in Suspiria we got a lot of different personalities. Suspiria as a horror is also a very 'nervous' movie. It will avoid outright jumpscares but make things gradually uncomfortable like with the maggots in the building.
Women are tied very closely with the witch genre. Sometimes I wonder how this happened. Historically, witch hunts targeted males and females. Men were also called witches. During the salem with trials men were also persecuted. It seems that female witches are strongest in story telling though. In fairy tales witches are always female. Like Ursula the Sea-Witch or Baba Yaga. I think this is because as people over the years we have and expectations of women to act kind and selfless. Which is silly anybody could be selfless or selfish, but when we see a female character act cruelly especially an older one (who's supposed to be sweet and motherly) people think it's unnatural.
King Rat
King Rat was actually a pretty frustrating book for me. I think that it just withheld too much information from the reader. Some of the positive things of King Rat was that it was at least interesting. I liked that the author chose to use urban myths and treat them like reality. King Rat himself was a fun character because he had absolutely no glamour about him. He ate trash, he spoke in a thick poorman's accent, and he was lean and creepy looking. Which is pretty fun because kings are supposed to be regal and expensive, it's seems only right that the king of rats would be complete trash. The characterization of the birdman was also fun. I like the way the flute was a part of his introduction.
But ultimately it was too little information with too many words. I'm a Computer Animation student so I couldn't help but think that if I translated the 60 pages I read into the screen it would take maybe 5 minutes to deliver all the information given. I understand that the writing is part of the personality of the book. Some moments really caught me as a reader. When Saul took his first bite of trash and the writer explained in such detail I almost felt like is was chew cold soggy meat. Disgusting but memorable, it was a really good moment of writing. But for the most part I did just want to get to the point. I think I could've like King Rat more if it was edited down a bit.
I will say one excellent use of a myth in story telling was in the movie Candyman. The historical myth and urban myth came together in one character, the Candyman, in a really entertaining effective way. Candyman is probably one of my favorite American ghosts if not my favorite.
But ultimately it was too little information with too many words. I'm a Computer Animation student so I couldn't help but think that if I translated the 60 pages I read into the screen it would take maybe 5 minutes to deliver all the information given. I understand that the writing is part of the personality of the book. Some moments really caught me as a reader. When Saul took his first bite of trash and the writer explained in such detail I almost felt like is was chew cold soggy meat. Disgusting but memorable, it was a really good moment of writing. But for the most part I did just want to get to the point. I think I could've like King Rat more if it was edited down a bit.
I will say one excellent use of a myth in story telling was in the movie Candyman. The historical myth and urban myth came together in one character, the Candyman, in a really entertaining effective way. Candyman is probably one of my favorite American ghosts if not my favorite.
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