| The Gathering Storm, blah blah blah.... |
[Nov. 17th, 2009|02:25 am] |
I still want to make a longer, more detailed and spoilerific post about The Gathering Storm, but I keep postponing.
I did want to say something on the subject, and make another semi-regular LJ post, so I will say this:
Egwene al'Vere is fucking awesome.
And that's really not a sentence I would've written before TGS.
So, kudos to Brandon Sanderson on that score, especially since I've read where he mentioned during a book signing Q & A that Jordan's notes for her storyline in this one were less extensive then those of other characters. So if there was indeed more work of Sanderson's own making put into Egwene, then he really nailed it, because she's the best thing in this book. |
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| The Gathering Storm, ctd., ctd., ctd., ctd.... |
[Nov. 11th, 2009|06:03 am] |
Yes, it is yet another post about The Gathering Storm. To which book I am grateful for prompting me to be able to actually write stuff here again, for however long that lasts. There will probably be one more post on the subject after this one, in which I ramble about some more specifically spoiler-y stuff under an lj-cut. But, that for later.
As indicated in the previous posts, I was quite happy with TGS, despite Sanderson's voice making things feel slightly "off" at times. For example, in referring to the countries of Randland, Sanderson has characters using the term "kingdoms" where Jordan would have more likely had them say "nations." He also occasionally used words and phrases that really wouldn't be a part of this world's vocabulary, like "homicidal" and "medical aid." And at times his dialouge doesn't have quite the same cadence as Jordan's did, as he uses a few too many "well"s and "why"s in places, and he doesn't quite seem to fully have a handle on WOT-style swearing. This is all fairly minor stuff, of course, though upon reflection I find myself wishing that someone had given the text a once-over in editing to bring some of those things more in line with established conventions.
More importantly, characterization was, for the most part, solid. I was worried about how he'd handle Nynaeve, but she fared quite well under his pen, albeit with just a little bit of that general...off-ness. Certainly nothing malignantly out-of-character. The same can be said for most everyone, really, although I suppose Mat does drift a little bit in the direction of having a different...feel...to him. Still recognizable as the Mat we've known, but he's definitely the most "off" of the major characters. This strikes me as being Sanderson trying a tad to hard to make him funny, resulting in Mat's usual traits becoming a bit exaggerated at times.
Story wise, a large part of what makes The Gathering Storm better than the most recent installements of the Jordan-penned books is that it doesn't suffer from the same sort of "nothing happens" glacial pacing that had become almost the hallmark of the series over the course of the past several books. Of course, as I touched on in my last post, given that this was initially planned not as a single volume but just one part of the final book, there was really not much chance of that unfortunate trend continuing. Obviously, Stuff was going to have to Happen in TGS, thus my previously stated difficulty when trying to compare it the previous chapters of the saga.
Um, I guess that's all I've got for this post, so I'll just end it here with an obligatory unnecessary exclamation point! |
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| The Gathering Storm, ctd., ctd., ctd. + some TV stuff |
[Nov. 5th, 2009|04:55 pm] |
Some TV stuff first:
Wow, the pilot of the V remake was astoundingly dull. I was flabbergasted by just how very bored I was watching it, especially since they crammed at least five episodes worth of story progress into a single hour. Yet this heavy front-loading of plot failed to produce any excitement or interest on my part. I honestly don't know if I'm even going to bother giving this show a chance. Sorry, Elizabeth Mitchell's Character Whose Name I Didn't Catch, but you're no Juliet Burke, that's for sure.
Between the two shows that ABC seems to be positioning as successor to Lost, FlashForward is vastly superior. Granted, it's had several more episodes versus just one from V, so the comparison isn't entirely fair, but I'm certainly enjoying it. It's so very ridiculous in a lot of ways, but I've found it engaging and surprising fun, although unfortunately Joseph Fiennes as lead character Mark Benford is probably the least interesting thing about the show. The less of focus on him, and the more effort that goes towards making the supporting cast into a true ensemble, the better.
Anyway, after that break with the pattern of the my last three posts, here are some yet further spoiler-free ramblings on The Gathering Storm:
I find myself wanting to try and rate it in comparison to the previous Wheel of Time books, but this is... difficult.
This starts with the problem of evaluating said previous books in the first place. There is the temptation of subscribing to the simplistic formulation that there were the "good" early books, and the "bad" later books. However, there really isn't any bright line division between the two. Even if there were, the change in format (which itself was somewhat gradual) from every book featuring its own self-contained arcs that advance the overall story to every book functioning essentially as nothing more than a chapter in that story makes such a comparison... not quite apples and oranges, but at least Red Delicious and Granny Smith. They're both apples, but each with their own distinct flavor.
And then this book is something else entirely, given that Jordan planned it not as the first of three separate installments but as just one component of a single Grand Finale. As an aside: The decision to split this thing in three? Clearly the right call. Even with everything that goes down in TGS, there is still at least a whole book's worth of ground to cover before we even get to the The Last Battle proper.
Plus I have my own view point based on the fact that the first seven books were already out when I began following the series, thus creating a bit of a personal mental divide between them and the following volumes that I read when they were brand new.
At any rate, taking all of that into consideration, I will say that this was certainly the best Wheel of Time book I've read in years, but probably not quite as good as the best of the early installments were. It is definitely the best one of the post-Crown of Swords books (those I've read as new releases) and in fact better than A Crown of Swords itself. It probably falls short of both The Shadow Rising, which I tend to think of as the best WOT book, and The Fires of Heaven, which I consider my personal favorite.
I think I will just leave it there, but I will almost certainly be back for yet another ramble on TGS, perhaps going a bit more into specifics. |
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| The Gathering Storm, ctd., ctd. |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|01:38 am] |
I just finished The Gathering Storm.
I need more time to process it before going into any great amount of detail in my reaction, and may or may not do so in a later post, but to give an immediate reaction: Big thumbs up.
Or perhaps I should say: Big thumbs up! Complete with the unnecessary exclamation point. Hee.
I think perhaps I'll try counting those, the first time I do a re-read. It'll be fun. Probably fewer than I'm making it seem, but I tell you what, there sure felt like a lot of 'em.
Anyway, my congratulations go out to Brandon Sanderson, and to everyone who helped him pull this off. It is indeed a damn shame that Robert Jordan, that James Oliver Rigney, Jr. himself, did not live to see the completion of his epic, but I think he would be glad to know that that which he left behind is clearly in good hands. |
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| The Gathering Storm, ctd. |
[Oct. 28th, 2009|03:35 pm] |
So, I am about two-thirds of the way through The Gathering Storm.
In my last post I said I thought I'd be able to get through it in a single night, but clearly I overestimated the speed at which I read, underestimated the length of the book, and also how long it'd be before I'd need to go to sleep.
As I did keep reading till I was exhausted, that is clearly indicative of my level of enjoyment, that being rather high. Though certainly the "feel" of Brandon Sanderson's work is often slightly... off... as compared to Jordan's in ways I'm not quite sure I can properly articulate, the differences are not extreme. In fact, I suspect a more casual fan of the series, possessing less familiarity with the previous material than I, might barely notice any difference at all.
The world, the characters, the story... this is very much a real Wheel of Time book.
Although I feel I perhaps ought to further reserve judgment until I've actually finished the thing, as of this moment I have no question at all that Bradon Sanderson was the right choice to take up the reigns.
Though I will say this about Sanderson's writing: the man is overly fond of exclamation points.
At any rate, I'm sure I'll have a longer reaction post to make after I finish, presumably later tonight. |
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| The Gathering Storm |
[Oct. 27th, 2009|02:30 pm] |
A little while ago I picked up The Gathering Storm, the twelfth installment of the late Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time saga. Haven't started reading yet. What was planned as the final book in the series was subsequently divided into three volumes to be released over three years, with new author Brandon Sanderson handling the writing based on Jordan's outline, notes, and partially-written bits and pieces.
As I've mentioned before, The Wheel of Time is something I was once very, very much into. The first seven books were already out when I started, reading copies borrowed from my mother and uncle before later acquiring my own. I read and re-read, sometimes whole books, sometimes just skimming through, stopping at my favorite bits, and eagerly anticipated each new release.
As the books' quality declined, my attachment waned, and I'd no longer consider myself nearly as much of a fan as I once was, years ago. These days I am also much more aware of the various problematic gender, racial, and sexuality issues the series has.
Nevertheless, I do still retain an attachment to the characters, and an interest in the storyline, both of which have been recently re-ignited to a degree as I've been following the Wheel of Time re-read blog on Tor.com. Not actually re-reading along myself, as I've no need to do that with the earlier books (the re-read only got up to Book Six), just checking out the commentary by Leigh Butler. Most of her opinions are pretty close to my own, so her spoiler-free advance review for TGS certainly has me intrigued.
The first chapter of the book was put online a while back, and when I read it I was struck by how obviously NOT-Robert Jordan it was. Sanderson had said that he wouldn't just be aping Jordan's style, and would tell the story with his own voice, but I don't think I was quite prepared for it. But now that I am able to anticipate such things as "incorrect" word choices (Trousers? Trousers?!? The word you're looking for is breeches, Brandon! Harumph!), what I worry most about is whether he'll get the characters right or not, for my own personal value of "right," of course.
Most of all I worry about my most favoritest character, Nynaeve al'Meara. Out of all the many (many, many, many) Wheel of Time characters, Nynaeve is the one I can most easily imagine a new writer getting "wrong." From my occasional observations of WoT fandom over the years, she is what could probably be described as polarizing: some people recognize her as a figure who is equal parts hilarious, endearing, and walking awesomeness, while others (And by others, I mean, "silly wrong people who are wrong and silly and also wrong") seem to think she's a horrible, annoying bitch. So, not knowing in advance how exactly Sanderson will approach writing her, especially any segment from her point of view (of which there have been a severe lack over the last several books; a contributing factor to my declining enjoyment to be sure), I am a bit... trepidatious, on this score. But, on the whole, I have to say that I am looking forward to diving into The Gathering Storm, and I'll wager that I'll end up devouring the whole thing before the night is through, presuming of course that it is not a total unreadable failure. So here's to the beginning of the end of The Wheel of Time, though of course there are neither beginning nor endings to the turning of the Wheel, and to maybe even finally finding out just who killed Asmodean.
P.S. I still think it was Graendal.
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| One of life's many paradoxes |
[Oct. 22nd, 2009|05:23 pm] |
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How is it possible that despite my general belief that milk chocolate should be banished from this Earth and all chocolate be dark chocolate, that I actually seem to prefer regular ol' milk chocolate-having Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to their dark chocolate variety?! |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|03:33 pm] |
So, unsurprisingly, my intentions to regularly post to this journal have once again been going unfulfilled. Hmph.
Perhaps I will finally be able to reverse this trend, or perhaps not, but for the moment I think I'll just share this Cybertron fan video I came across on YouTube some time ago, which is pretty much the best thing ever:
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 13th, 2009|03:04 pm] |
My cat Sammie died today.
She would have been seventeen years old next month.
I am very sad. |
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| ROTF |
[Jun. 29th, 2009|11:47 pm] |
Oh, hey, that quote of Roger Ebert's on ROTF I mentioned in my last post?
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments."
Yeah, that turned out to be pretty close to my reaction as well. I might be slightly less harsh, but it certainly was, overall, a pretty awful movie.
And I use the term "movie" loosely, as while watching the thing I barely felt as if it qualified as such. It was more like watching Stuff Happen for two and a half hours than watching an actual movie, and not a whole lot of said Stuff was particularly entertaining. |
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| Assorted Stuffs |
[Jun. 27th, 2009|11:02 am] |
Seem I have, once again, gone some time without posting anything here. I keep meaning not to do that, but that is how it pretty much always seems to work out.
Things in my life are decidedly... not good... right now. I don't know if I'm going to get into any of the whys and wherefores of that here on this journal or not. I haven't really used it for airing a lot of personal stuff. But, well, who knows, I may up and decide to do that some day.
For the moment, however, I just feel like posting a bit on some Frivolous Things What I Am A Fan Of.
I haven't seen Revenge of the Fallen yet, but am planning on doing so later today. Although, based on the reviews I've been seeing and some of the spoilers I've come across, my expectations for the second live-action installment of Transformers have been considerably lowered. To say the least. Many fans seem to have loved it, and perhaps I will be among them, but considering that I felt Roger Ebert's summation of the first movie was pretty much dead-on ("It's goofy fun with a lot of stuff that blows up real good, and it has the grace not only to realize how preposterous it is, but to make that into an asset."), when I read what he's had to say about the second ("Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments.") I have my doubts.
I have already viewed, online, that teaser trailer for The Last Airbender that I've been dreading having to endure in the theater. I found it thoroughly generic and uninspiring, and White!Aang looks even wronger than I'd imagined he would. The shot of the Fire Navy fleet was cool, I suppose, but that doesn't even come close to making up for the general aura of fail surrounding this film.
In more positive cartoon-related news, I've recently started catching up on Storm Hawks. I've been watching Season Two episodes on YouTube, after realizing that at this point, the odds of said episodes ever showing up on Cartoon Network in the U.S. are virtually nil. I had forgotten how much FUN this show is. It is a damn, damn shame that it apparently never caught on here.
I watched The Dark Knight for the first time the other day. I'm not sure why, exactly, but I was honestly expecting to be disappointed by it. But I wasn't! It was every bit as perfect as everyone says it is! Well, except for Rachel Dawes being used as more of a plot device than an actual character despite the casting of a far more capable actress, and the inexplicable use of Commissioner Gordon's son in role that logically should have been filled by Barbara "This Would Beautifully Explain Why She Grows Up To Be Batgirl, You See" Gordon.
Although one thing about the Nolan-verse Batmovies I feel compelled to say: They are not "grounded in realism." At all. Stop saying that, and similar things to that, people on the internets! What they are actually "grounded" in is superhero-ism. They are only "realistic" relative to the prior Batman movies. The plot of the first one revolved around a secret society of ninjas, a microwave weapon powered by comic book science, and "fear gas," for cryin' out loud. These films are driven by absurdity and impossibility, and that's a good thing, because that's how superhero stories work. Nolan isn't transcending the genre, he's just being really, really good at it.
Hmmm. Looks like it's getting close to time for me to head downtown for the noon showing of ROTF. So I guess that's all for now! |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 29th, 2009|04:04 am] |
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So, it seems the first teaser trailer for the live-action Avatar movie will be attached to Transformers 2. Once upon a time, this news would have made me ridiculously happy. However, with the film having been horribly miscast to transform an Asian-themed fantasy world into a story of Heroic White People vs The Evil Brown Country, it just makes me sad. I go out to the movies almost never, but of course I'll be seeing ROTF on opening day, assuming I'm able. I'd have loved to have been able to enjoy getting a first glimpse at the big screen adaptation of my most favoritest television show of all-time on the actual big screen in a theater, and resultantly cheer for it. Instead, I will be suffering through it in disgruntled silence. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 14th, 2009|12:35 pm] |
Aww, man. I managed to completely forget that the season premiere of Animated was on this morning, and thus I missed it. :(
Edit: I have subsequently caught the episode on YouTube. Hot damn, it was great. |
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| A bit of randomness |
[Feb. 27th, 2009|02:42 am] |
The following is a list of five awesome words that appear in the Declaration of Independence:
impel
envices
hither
Perfidy
consanguinity |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 26th, 2009|02:42 pm] |
Despite what I said about yesterday being a dark and sad day owed to the publication of the final issue of Blue Beetle, I actually expected the experience of reading said issue to be a joyful one. For that it was what made me fall in love with the comic: it was generally a joy to read.
The final issue was no such thing, and resultantly yesterday kinda was a dark and sad day after all.
Meh.
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| Blue Beetle ending = :( |
[Feb. 25th, 2009|05:41 am] |
Hmm. Twenty-three days between posts this time. I feel like this journal is becoming just another form of human interaction at which I fail. (Other forms of human interaction at which I fail include: All of them.)
Today shall be a dark and sad day, for today is day that the final issue of Blue Beetle comes out. A post expanding on my previously expressed love of that comic, starring rookie superhero Jaime Reyes aka the third Blue Beetle and his supporting cast of awesomeness, has been one item among many on my List Of LJ Posts I Plan On Making But Haven't Been Able To Yet for quite some time now. Perhaps, spurred by the title's untimely demise, I shall be able to rectify this soon. Or prehaps not. For the moment, however, I will just leave you with a sampling of someone of my favorite quotes from the series.
***Lonar headbutts Jaime***
"Gah! That hurt through the armor! What are you packing in there?"
"JUSTICE!!"
"You've got a forehead full of justice? What does that even mean?"
-Jaime and Lonar of the New Gods, issue 11
"What have you done?!"
"Um, distracted you? Yes, that's what I did. I distracted you. 'Cuz you suck. I'm not the only one thinks that. Batman's file on you? 'Eclipso. Power: Sucking.' "
-Eclipso and Traci 13, issue 16
"He kissed her?!"
"Dude, he totally Banderas'd...Banderized..."
"No. Do not attempt to conjugate 'Antonio Banderas' as a verb."
"You're not the boss of my words."
-Brenda and Paco, issue 17
"You're sure this thing can survive a trip so far underground?"
"Only one way to find out!"
"No! No! There are other ways to 'find out'! Like tests and experiments!"
"Oh, yeah. Whoops."
-Jaime and Danni Garrett, issue 22 |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 21st, 2009|10:44 am] |
Hey, remember that day when George W. Bush stopped being President, and Barack Obama was President instead?
That was a good day! |
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