In an alternate universe, George RR Martin is famed for his fantasy epic that tells of the fools and jesters in the courts of seven kingdoms, as they plot and scheme to outdo one another for the popularity and renown of having the most contrived jokes. There are few fans who have not read his seminal work, 'A Fame of Groans'.
Sorry.
I am a little disappointed by A Game of Thrones. I was what I expected, in terms of scale and content, but it lacked the 'something special' that I had been led to believe it contained. People talk about it with this hint of awe, and I kept waiting for the book to wow me. It never did. It's political fantasy on a grand scale, but not such a scale as to be truly eye opening. But, then, have I actually finished the story? I was left with the sense that the story was only just beginning. Do I have to read every volume for the magnitude of the thing to really get to me? Perhaps.
I probably will keep reading, because, despite what I have said, I did enjoy it, I am left with quite some interest in where it goes next, and I still think that it has the potential to develop into something that is really special.
Setting aside expectations and disappointments, here's what I made of its content: It's quite a cold, impersonal novel. All of the Northerners are cold, hard people who do not really brook association, or, alternately, they spend their time sullen and miserable. This is obviously intentional, the people of the North reflecting their icy world is an old device and it creates here the atmosphere I'm sure it was intended to. But all the PoV characters save for Tyrion are of this mould, and it does sometimes make it hard to care about them too much.
Eddard is the most rounded character, to an extent he is the 'main' character, and he does show some warmth when talking to Robert early on. But he spends the majority of the story being harangued and beaten down, and after a while I found I was not so interested in him. He's a 'straight as an arrow' type character and mostly responds to everything in exactly the same way, so I found myself somewhat ambivalent over his fate. His story is still among the most interesting of strands, but that is more for the supporting case: Varys, Littlefinger, the mysteriously absent Stannis, the dead Jon Arryn. These characters are all wrapped up in mystery, and after a while reading Eddard's chapters was for interest in them, not him.
The children (Bran, Sansa, Arya) and Catelyn all put me off. Sansa is plot-stupid, and I find it hard to credit just how obtuse she is. She does nothing remotely interesting throughout the story, and rather than have the good grace to merely be ephemeral, is instead actively annoying. Arya is better, but she is such a stereotypical tomboy warrior-princess that I found her somewhat tedious as well. Plus, she throws tantrums perpetually, making her a deeply unlikeable brat. Bran is better, giving a more credible child's-eye view of proceedings than Sansa, but he's also pretty bland, as characters go. There's very little in the way of character to him. Catelyn is just a whiny bitch and I wish she'd shut up. Her sister is even worse and I wanted to hit them both throughout the sections at the Eyrie. I know that's the point, but it dragged on too long, so that irritating characters started to render the book itself irritating. Thankfully her chapters often meander away from her, and the characters she's accompanied by make for more interesting reading (Tyrion, Rodrik, Robb, Littlefinger again).
Robb is actually far more interesting than his mother, and it's quite a shame he never gets his own chapters.
Then there's Jon. Jon I found agreeable, because he actually acted like a person. Plus, he actually spends all his chapters doing interesting things, AND surrounded by interesting and likeable characters. I actually sympathise for Jon when he confronts breaking his oath at the end of the book, long after I stopped caring what became of all the other PoV characters (Except Eddard, but he was dead, and Tyrion, more on him later.) I have a different issue with Jon's sections, not related to characterisation. I'll come to that shortly.
Lastly, there's Tyrion. I think Tyrion probably sold the book to me. I'm not sure I'd have kept my interest were he absent. Tyrion is by far the deepest, most nuance character in the story, and also one who actually acts like a human being. His plot thread is also the longest and most winding, seeing him go North to the wall as a sort of counsellor to Jon, then taking East as Catelyn's captive, rendering him powerless, before finally he comes west again, as an unlikely leader of wildmen. The plot is interesting, and gives Martin a chance to explore all the facets of Tyrion and still leave him quite a curious and intriguing fellow. And now he is going to court! There is no end to the interest that flows from this guy.
This was my main issue - two genuinely interesting characters balanced against one who is enjoyable to read but gets offed before the end and four that I disliked to a greater or lesser degree. Meanwhile fascinating and human characters come and go, and are given only cursory glances. Robert is good to read about, and whilst the story follows he and Eddard, everything is pretty good. But he gets offed at the two-thirds mark too. Varys is deeply interesting, and possibly quite tragic. I hope he was not lying about his motivation toward peace, as that makes him quite an interesting character indeed. But Varys barely shows himself. Littlefinger, too, is quite peculiar. We never find out what his deal is, though I imagine it is coming in a later book. But until we get some glance at the underlying truth of Littlefinger, he is a bit too much of a 'textbook enigmatic' character, mysterious just to be mysterious. I think Martin felt that these characters had to be kept peripheral to maintain the mystery, and if so perhaps he was right, but I did wish we heard more from them.
There's also issues with the plot, and this relates to the character I have yet to mention; Daenerys. Daenerys' plot it only tangentially related to the rest of the story and seems as if it could have been excised completely. It's not even in the same tone as the rest of the story. I sort of get that this is the 'fire', whilst the other characters are the 'ice', and so where the rest of the plot is far more intellectual, this is far more emotional. But it doesn't change the fact that it didn't feel like it belonged. Nevertheless I actually liked all the characters here, who were far more human than the cold Northerners. I am curious as to what is afoot with Jorah, sending letters to Robert yet seeming to honestly care for Daenerys. What I didn't like, at all, was the ending of this strand (and the novel), in which the dragons hatch and Daenerys walks into the fire. The explicit hocus-pocus of this didn't feel like it belonged AT ALL.
The other plot that seemed barely related was Jon and his northern war, with the return of the Others. Whilst I see how Daenerys' story is going to eventually merge into the main story, I don't really see how Jon's will. It seems it will be more a case of 'Oh, and this is happening too', as none of the characters in either half really have any link to the other. (Indeed, most of Jon's story is about HOW he severs all his bonds to what's going on elsewhere.)
Also, what somewhat threw me: Throughout the first half of the novel, it really felt like I was primarily reading a murder mystery, with Eddard playing the 'detective', and everyone keeping secrets and following hidden agendas. Then the truth came out, and everything seemed to be swept aside as if none of it was really important anyway. (The latter third-ish of the book is more a straightforward war story, but it does really pick up the pace and excitement, and so I was not too disappointed that the mystery-thread seemed to come to nothing.)
I suspect though, that the real issue is that I have been tripped up by my assumptions. The series is split into several books, and I naturally assumed they would be at least somewhat episodic. Now I get the impression that that isn't the case. I've just read the first 15% of a story and stopped, which is why the book has no real ending, it's why some plots feel ephemeral, it's why some characters seem not to have been given enough screentime, why I have not yet seen the grandeur I expected, and possibly why I haven't given some of the characters a chance to grow and engender more interest. And possibly it means the Baratheon-bloodline-mystery plot will resurface (with the return of the mysterious Stannis?)
Anyway, I am still sufficiently intrigued, in fact, quite considerably intrigued, and in spite of all else, it was ultimately an enjoyable read, so I will definitely read the next volume.
Tuesday 26 January 2010
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Crepuscular Squirrel Sandwich
Tweaked the blog a bit to make it look more polished. Made myself a banner in photoshop just to amuse myself. Good source images of notepads are unexpectedly hard to find, so I took a reference photo myself. Maybe I will upload it to wikisource and rectify the paucity of such images on the internet. Tried to hack the template around a bit and realised my fragmentary grasp of CSS had completely deserted me. Might see about learning it again, but if I'm going to study some code I'd probably be better served finishing up learning C++, before I lose the notes I was taking before Christmas and have to start again. Come to think of it, I don't know if I can even find the resource I was learning from. For the moment, though, I am quite happy to fill my days with reading, writing, and ar- and video games.
A quick review:
Burn After Reading - Coen Brothers' comedy of errors. Not quite so funny the second time around, but still frequently hysterical, especially towards the end. Brad Pitt is the heart of it and Clooney the bread and butter, but no real weak links. Probably the best scenes feature JK Simmon's CIA official trying to make sense out of a series of insignificant events which have been inflated beyond all importance. Not very deep stuff, but pretty funny.
And now, an early night beckons me; I have been up since 1:20 am.
A quick review:
Burn After Reading - Coen Brothers' comedy of errors. Not quite so funny the second time around, but still frequently hysterical, especially towards the end. Brad Pitt is the heart of it and Clooney the bread and butter, but no real weak links. Probably the best scenes feature JK Simmon's CIA official trying to make sense out of a series of insignificant events which have been inflated beyond all importance. Not very deep stuff, but pretty funny.
And now, an early night beckons me; I have been up since 1:20 am.
Stop Writing! I Need More Time!
A friend of mine once gave an anguished cry of 'Stop filming, I need more time!' as a stack of DVDs mounted up so high they threatened to cause an avalanche and bury him alive. I'm experiencing much the same with books, at the moment. I bought six more at the weekend, in Waterstones' 'Books of the Decade' 3-for-2, and I could easily have bought nine. The papery precipice of tomes is looming dangerously, and not aided by my chelonially slow reading pace. I have something like 10 books on my immediate reading list, and on top of that, I really want to read Red Seas Under Red Skies (the Locke Lamora follow-on) before the third book in that series comes out later this year. Plus, I really want to avail myself of my brother's comic collection, but each time I finish a book, some internal snobbery forces my hand toward the next 'proper' grimoire in lieu of a 'lesser' comic book. Well, enough of that; once I finish A Game of Thrones, I am going to read Planet Hulk, and my inner elitist can shut the fuck up. I am going to read a series of pretty pictures showing a large green man punching things, and that is all there is to it. After that, I will probably start on Anathem, which has floated to the top of my reading list for two main reasons: One, it looks to provide an exploration of the brilliant concepts I wanted from Thief of Time, but which Pratchett was never going to have given. Two, I fear that if I don't read it soon, Sven may forget all other words in the English language.
I have now drifted wildly far of my point.
'Stop writing!' That was it. There is more to this outcry than the fear of being overcome by mounting literary rockfaces (this has already happened; there are a myriad of books out there I will never get the chance to read). It's also a plea to the writers of serials who feel the need to revisit chapters in their writing history that are already closed.
The latest offender that has come to my attention is Jonathan Stroud, who has announced work on a fourth book about Bartimaeus. He of the Bartimaeus *Trilogy*. Now, the Bart Trilogy is something I've always admired for being an example of a perfectly constructed trilogy. It contains three self-contained stories, and also a powerful arc. Stroud clearly planned everything from the beginning, and used the trilogy structure to accomplish things that couldn't have been done otherwise. And, perhaps most astoundingly, he mounted up tension constantly until a brilliant climax which lived up to the preceding build-up. But now he's adding a fourth book. I should say at this point, I am actually quite excited for this new addition. Stroud's posts on his journal suggest he has spent a long time developing it, and I'm quite hopeful. But no matter how good it is, it will still undermine that perfect trilogy structure, and that capstone ending. Perhaps for this reason I am really hoping that this story will be distanced from the trilogy, linked mostly just by Bartimaeus, and focussing on his character, either as a prequel or a well-distanced sequel. I would actually really like a historical Bartimaeus story, building on his anecdotal footnotes, but I am trying not to get my hopes up, as there is nothing to suggest that this is what it'll be.
On the other hand, there is a book I have no hope for. You've probably heard that Eoin Colfer has produced And Another Thing, the 'final' book in the H2G2 series. Almost the opposite to Stroud's latest, AAT was actually planned for by Adams, and compiled from his notes. But it has been a long time since the other Hitchhiker novels, a time in which people had moved on - nobody was really clamouring for an addition - and besides, the novels were hardly Adams' strongest output. He bemoaned writing them in interviews, and, whilst the first two form a strong suite (notably being the ones that retell the 'traditional' Hitchhiker plot), the later ones meandered in plot and quality quite badly, providing only one really notable strand: that of the hopelessly doomed Agrajag.
Plenty has already been said about this particular case-in-point, so I won't drag on. I would note, though, that I think it would have been much more satisfying had Adams' notes been given the same treatment as The Salmon of Doubt.
Poor Eoin, I am rather ragging on him, but here we go again. I am rather fond of the Artemis Fowl books. They're not perfect - in places contrived and marred by Colfer's eco-warrior agenda - but they are still some of the strongest children's books I've read. (I hold children's books in no lower status to any other, and have no issue comparing them alongside ostensibly 'adult' literature (though arguably neither Stroud nor Adams is), however the majority of children's fiction really is poor, and appears to have been written and published by people who DO feel it only needs aspire to a lesser standard.) Colfer invested the stories with added depth through the interweaving of Irish mythology, cryptography and real-world settings into his plots, as well as broadly-appealing humour and a good sense of character. There was also a refreshingly dark edge to the stories, something fairly rare among kid's books. Here was a kid with no role models and no friends, whose life was devoted to crime, with an almost sociopathic failure to notice consequences that didn't affect him. He's basically antagonistic throughout most of the first book, and still quite shady at times in the second (He SHOOTS HIS FATHER WITH A SNIPER RIFLE). Even in the third book, the supposedly straightened-out Artemis ultimately lets down those close to him.
You'll notice there's a clear character progression there. Again, the first three books form a coherent whole, clearly following a plan from the start. But then Colfer wrote a fourth book. It came out of nowhere and had to go to great pains to explain how it even belonged after the very ending-like ending of the third. Plus, Colfer seemed to have lost his touch with the characteristics that lifted his stories above the average. The humour was now pointedly aimed at children alone, the subtle dark touches eluded him in favour of a few grandiose gestures - unexpectedly killing a major character (spoilers) and bringing back a previous villain driven only by hate - undermined by an excessively nice-and-happy Artemis-and-friends vibe. Plus, the mythology and clever flourishes of previous stories had all but evaporated. It couldn't help but betray its nature as an afterthought, tacked on, forever doomed to live as a red-headed black step-sheep.
And even then, Colfer didn't stop. A fifth and sixth book have since followed, and a seventh coming soon. The fifth book was an improvement on the fourth, showing a return to the the strengths of the initial three, and ending on a surprisingly bleak note that hinted Colfer had a plan once again. (Artemis (with a missing finger) is skipped five years into the future, to find his friends and family all thought he was dead and have gone on in their lives without him.) It wasn't quite enough to make me read the next, however, as I couldn't shake the feeling that the series was becoming an endless episodic morass. (And it seems I'm not alone, as Colfer started making statements about how he wouldn't write any more Fowl for at least 2 years. (Two years which will have soon elapsed, and lo and behold, a seventh book is announced.))
The problem with all of these cases is not that they produce bad books. That is by no means a given, though it is often true. The issue is that they always undermine the serial that they have been tagged on to, sapping the finality of the ending and weakening the structure of the arc. I will offer this in the authors' defense, however: I don't believe that it is always a case of doing it for the money. Authors get attached to characters. It is a hard thing to never write for them again, after even a single story. Devoting time to an arc, which develops and expands characters significantly, is bound to instill a desire to keep writing for them.
And a final footnote (And another thing?): After twenty years, Dianne Wynne Jones has written a third book in the Howl's Moving Castle continuity. So why isn't she guilty of the same crime? Well, because her stories are more like individual episodes taking place within a continuity than they are constant appendices to a finished tale. Castle in the Air is only tangentially related to Howl's Moving Castle, and doesn't step on its toes. In fact, Jones' skill in producing a sequel which delivered what was expected of it as a sequel, and yet is quite a different and original story, is quite the talent. I haven't read The House of Many Ways yet, but I'm hoping she will have accomplished the same again. (Perhaps also worthy of note, the ending of Howl's Moving Castle always suggested that these characters, and the world around them, would go on having adventures, and thus the sequel did not undermine it in the same way as the above examples.)
Gosh, I need to find more words for 'undermine'.
I have now drifted wildly far of my point.
'Stop writing!' That was it. There is more to this outcry than the fear of being overcome by mounting literary rockfaces (this has already happened; there are a myriad of books out there I will never get the chance to read). It's also a plea to the writers of serials who feel the need to revisit chapters in their writing history that are already closed.
The latest offender that has come to my attention is Jonathan Stroud, who has announced work on a fourth book about Bartimaeus. He of the Bartimaeus *Trilogy*. Now, the Bart Trilogy is something I've always admired for being an example of a perfectly constructed trilogy. It contains three self-contained stories, and also a powerful arc. Stroud clearly planned everything from the beginning, and used the trilogy structure to accomplish things that couldn't have been done otherwise. And, perhaps most astoundingly, he mounted up tension constantly until a brilliant climax which lived up to the preceding build-up. But now he's adding a fourth book. I should say at this point, I am actually quite excited for this new addition. Stroud's posts on his journal suggest he has spent a long time developing it, and I'm quite hopeful. But no matter how good it is, it will still undermine that perfect trilogy structure, and that capstone ending. Perhaps for this reason I am really hoping that this story will be distanced from the trilogy, linked mostly just by Bartimaeus, and focussing on his character, either as a prequel or a well-distanced sequel. I would actually really like a historical Bartimaeus story, building on his anecdotal footnotes, but I am trying not to get my hopes up, as there is nothing to suggest that this is what it'll be.
On the other hand, there is a book I have no hope for. You've probably heard that Eoin Colfer has produced And Another Thing, the 'final' book in the H2G2 series. Almost the opposite to Stroud's latest, AAT was actually planned for by Adams, and compiled from his notes. But it has been a long time since the other Hitchhiker novels, a time in which people had moved on - nobody was really clamouring for an addition - and besides, the novels were hardly Adams' strongest output. He bemoaned writing them in interviews, and, whilst the first two form a strong suite (notably being the ones that retell the 'traditional' Hitchhiker plot), the later ones meandered in plot and quality quite badly, providing only one really notable strand: that of the hopelessly doomed Agrajag.
Plenty has already been said about this particular case-in-point, so I won't drag on. I would note, though, that I think it would have been much more satisfying had Adams' notes been given the same treatment as The Salmon of Doubt.
Poor Eoin, I am rather ragging on him, but here we go again. I am rather fond of the Artemis Fowl books. They're not perfect - in places contrived and marred by Colfer's eco-warrior agenda - but they are still some of the strongest children's books I've read. (I hold children's books in no lower status to any other, and have no issue comparing them alongside ostensibly 'adult' literature (though arguably neither Stroud nor Adams is), however the majority of children's fiction really is poor, and appears to have been written and published by people who DO feel it only needs aspire to a lesser standard.) Colfer invested the stories with added depth through the interweaving of Irish mythology, cryptography and real-world settings into his plots, as well as broadly-appealing humour and a good sense of character. There was also a refreshingly dark edge to the stories, something fairly rare among kid's books. Here was a kid with no role models and no friends, whose life was devoted to crime, with an almost sociopathic failure to notice consequences that didn't affect him. He's basically antagonistic throughout most of the first book, and still quite shady at times in the second (He SHOOTS HIS FATHER WITH A SNIPER RIFLE). Even in the third book, the supposedly straightened-out Artemis ultimately lets down those close to him.
You'll notice there's a clear character progression there. Again, the first three books form a coherent whole, clearly following a plan from the start. But then Colfer wrote a fourth book. It came out of nowhere and had to go to great pains to explain how it even belonged after the very ending-like ending of the third. Plus, Colfer seemed to have lost his touch with the characteristics that lifted his stories above the average. The humour was now pointedly aimed at children alone, the subtle dark touches eluded him in favour of a few grandiose gestures - unexpectedly killing a major character (spoilers) and bringing back a previous villain driven only by hate - undermined by an excessively nice-and-happy Artemis-and-friends vibe. Plus, the mythology and clever flourishes of previous stories had all but evaporated. It couldn't help but betray its nature as an afterthought, tacked on, forever doomed to live as a red-headed black step-sheep.
And even then, Colfer didn't stop. A fifth and sixth book have since followed, and a seventh coming soon. The fifth book was an improvement on the fourth, showing a return to the the strengths of the initial three, and ending on a surprisingly bleak note that hinted Colfer had a plan once again. (Artemis (with a missing finger) is skipped five years into the future, to find his friends and family all thought he was dead and have gone on in their lives without him.) It wasn't quite enough to make me read the next, however, as I couldn't shake the feeling that the series was becoming an endless episodic morass. (And it seems I'm not alone, as Colfer started making statements about how he wouldn't write any more Fowl for at least 2 years. (Two years which will have soon elapsed, and lo and behold, a seventh book is announced.))
The problem with all of these cases is not that they produce bad books. That is by no means a given, though it is often true. The issue is that they always undermine the serial that they have been tagged on to, sapping the finality of the ending and weakening the structure of the arc. I will offer this in the authors' defense, however: I don't believe that it is always a case of doing it for the money. Authors get attached to characters. It is a hard thing to never write for them again, after even a single story. Devoting time to an arc, which develops and expands characters significantly, is bound to instill a desire to keep writing for them.
And a final footnote (And another thing?): After twenty years, Dianne Wynne Jones has written a third book in the Howl's Moving Castle continuity. So why isn't she guilty of the same crime? Well, because her stories are more like individual episodes taking place within a continuity than they are constant appendices to a finished tale. Castle in the Air is only tangentially related to Howl's Moving Castle, and doesn't step on its toes. In fact, Jones' skill in producing a sequel which delivered what was expected of it as a sequel, and yet is quite a different and original story, is quite the talent. I haven't read The House of Many Ways yet, but I'm hoping she will have accomplished the same again. (Perhaps also worthy of note, the ending of Howl's Moving Castle always suggested that these characters, and the world around them, would go on having adventures, and thus the sequel did not undermine it in the same way as the above examples.)
Gosh, I need to find more words for 'undermine'.
Friday 15 January 2010
Circling the Center
Would I vote Labour if it might unseat the Tories? Or would I still vote Lib-Dem? Or should I find a completely no-hope periphery party that is actually in-line with what I want instead of propogating this big-three choiceless middle ground? Idealism or practicality? Similarly, I have been touting this idea of pushing for a collapse of the bloated and failing systems of government and administration, so something new can rise out of the ruins. But what does that mean for someone dependent on state healthcare and state finance, like me? Probably a rough ride. So if the cracks began to widen, would I actually throw my weight behind it? Or would I stick to my comfortable niche that propagates the broken system? Uncomfortable that I think I know the answer.
Cameron's government is concerning. Older friends are rumbling about things happening again, but I'm too young to remember the first time, so I only have the 'in theory' to go on. Not sure if I really comprehend what changes might be coming. Like I say, concerning.
Different topic - Loup linked a soundbite of Žižek (pretty much his favourite person at the moment) in which he explains the sort of void in which it becomes hard to think if you analayse too far down into the detail. I am deeply familiar with this void, not just in the case of the sciences, which Žižek is using as his example here, but in pretty much ALL cases. Eventually, everything becomes too blurred.
Upbeat: New Dollhouse tonight. A few hours to go. Something to look forward to. Wondering if Whedon can sell THAT ending.
Cameron's government is concerning. Older friends are rumbling about things happening again, but I'm too young to remember the first time, so I only have the 'in theory' to go on. Not sure if I really comprehend what changes might be coming. Like I say, concerning.
Different topic - Loup linked a soundbite of Žižek (pretty much his favourite person at the moment) in which he explains the sort of void in which it becomes hard to think if you analayse too far down into the detail. I am deeply familiar with this void, not just in the case of the sciences, which Žižek is using as his example here, but in pretty much ALL cases. Eventually, everything becomes too blurred.
Upbeat: New Dollhouse tonight. A few hours to go. Something to look forward to. Wondering if Whedon can sell THAT ending.
Everyone's a Bastard Who Dies at the End
Snow is almost gone.
News is less depressing of late. I'm still seeing portents, but it is not the shockingly unpleasant reading of late November/eary December. I am still disatisfied with the situation, but it is nice to catch a breather, feel that things are less stultifying and impending.
Thought about writing a short satirical piece earlier, but maybe a little too close to home, a little too vitriolic. I could do to lose some cynicism. Would writing this act as catharsis and release, or would it just focus my bitterness into a gritty little pearl? Don't know. Would be nice to write *something*, at least.
Big Finish impressed me again with Nev Fountain's Omega. It may actually be *better* the second time around. There is so much hidden in here, I am sure I haven't mined it all yet. Unfortunately not one I can easily recommend to non-Who fans as with Chimes of Midnight, as it is quite canon heavy.
Was absent mindedly singing a song earlier, then thought about the lyrics and was cut to the quick. That hurt.
A few books I've read recently -
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Caper story about youthful thieves living it up in fantasy Venice, when shit gets real. Really well crafted sense of place and inter-character relationships. Pretty funny in places, too. Everyone's a bastard who ends up dead (spoilers!), but they have redeeming qualities. More on this below.
A Canticle for Leibowitz - Split into three parts. Parts 1 and 2 are incredible, Part 3 seems a little more obvious and unsubtle. Nonetheless, deeply intelligent writing, witty and pithy. A better portrayal of the division between science and religion that probably any other I have seen. This is a book I will remember in twenty years time.
Flashman at the Charge - I haven't finished this, actually. I got distracted and veered off into the above two books, and trying to pick this back up has been like swimming upstream. I'm halfway in, just after the account of the Charge of the Light Brigade. This is probably the best Flashman has been since, well, 'Flashman'. Less fantastical, more historical, with Flash getting caught up in everything whilst trying to avoid anything. I'll probably pick it up idly in a month or two and finish it in a spurt.
Currently I'm on A Game of Thrones, because I think everyone I've spoken to has told me to read it, so I decided to give in. Another fantasy story where everyone is a bastard and they all end up dead. The front cover boasts about how venomous the characters are. This is in vogue at the moment, but it's getting tiresome. Post Lord of the Rings movies, it is a good way to define an identity for your book that isn't an association with that saga, I guess. And maybe after Potter and Rings, people are becoming a little jaded toward heroic fantasy. It needs balance though. Lies of Locke Lamora got this right, portraying the disingenuous and variously unpleasant people of Camorr, but balancing it against the genuine camaraderie and friendship of the gang.
Just discovered I have to go for a medical exam on Sunday. Not for my own health or anything, but so the government can decide whether or not I'm really ill. Did I say I had caught a breather from the stupidity of the system? Hah. There's a joke.
News is less depressing of late. I'm still seeing portents, but it is not the shockingly unpleasant reading of late November/eary December. I am still disatisfied with the situation, but it is nice to catch a breather, feel that things are less stultifying and impending.
Thought about writing a short satirical piece earlier, but maybe a little too close to home, a little too vitriolic. I could do to lose some cynicism. Would writing this act as catharsis and release, or would it just focus my bitterness into a gritty little pearl? Don't know. Would be nice to write *something*, at least.
Big Finish impressed me again with Nev Fountain's Omega. It may actually be *better* the second time around. There is so much hidden in here, I am sure I haven't mined it all yet. Unfortunately not one I can easily recommend to non-Who fans as with Chimes of Midnight, as it is quite canon heavy.
Was absent mindedly singing a song earlier, then thought about the lyrics and was cut to the quick. That hurt.
A few books I've read recently -
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Caper story about youthful thieves living it up in fantasy Venice, when shit gets real. Really well crafted sense of place and inter-character relationships. Pretty funny in places, too. Everyone's a bastard who ends up dead (spoilers!), but they have redeeming qualities. More on this below.
A Canticle for Leibowitz - Split into three parts. Parts 1 and 2 are incredible, Part 3 seems a little more obvious and unsubtle. Nonetheless, deeply intelligent writing, witty and pithy. A better portrayal of the division between science and religion that probably any other I have seen. This is a book I will remember in twenty years time.
Flashman at the Charge - I haven't finished this, actually. I got distracted and veered off into the above two books, and trying to pick this back up has been like swimming upstream. I'm halfway in, just after the account of the Charge of the Light Brigade. This is probably the best Flashman has been since, well, 'Flashman'. Less fantastical, more historical, with Flash getting caught up in everything whilst trying to avoid anything. I'll probably pick it up idly in a month or two and finish it in a spurt.
Currently I'm on A Game of Thrones, because I think everyone I've spoken to has told me to read it, so I decided to give in. Another fantasy story where everyone is a bastard and they all end up dead. The front cover boasts about how venomous the characters are. This is in vogue at the moment, but it's getting tiresome. Post Lord of the Rings movies, it is a good way to define an identity for your book that isn't an association with that saga, I guess. And maybe after Potter and Rings, people are becoming a little jaded toward heroic fantasy. It needs balance though. Lies of Locke Lamora got this right, portraying the disingenuous and variously unpleasant people of Camorr, but balancing it against the genuine camaraderie and friendship of the gang.
Just discovered I have to go for a medical exam on Sunday. Not for my own health or anything, but so the government can decide whether or not I'm really ill. Did I say I had caught a breather from the stupidity of the system? Hah. There's a joke.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
The Year We Make Contact
I don't make New Year's Resolutions as I have no resolve, however the New Year's Resolution of my monitor was 1440x900px. In lieu of such things, here are things I'm doing, thinking of doing, and thinking I should be thinking of doing:
Finding a new flat - It's pretty clear I should be getting out. I have decided to go live in York. Now I have to find a place. This is difficult because I neither want to live alone, nor with people I can't stand, and people usually need a flatmate ASAP, and don't want to spend time making friends. Also, I am bad at people. I haven't had much motivation to do this yet.
Writing - Something, anything. My creative side is so withered and dead it is saddening. Every time I have brilliant thought I realise it's really only a brilliant concept, and I have no clue of the realisation. I have this one idea for a weird sci-fi/fairytale/folklore mish-mash thing riffing on verbal tradition and old folk stories mixed with futuristic stuff and language, but it's hard to flesh out a plot. Also plays, I am more hopeful for these. I think I may start work on my adaptation of Borges' Theme of the Traitor and the Hero soon. Been planning it long enough.
Posting - I think things, I discuss them, I intend to write them here, I don't. It's not like I have nothing to say, either.
Socialising - Won't happen til I move to York, so on with that, I guess.
Enough of that. I have been thinking about the election recently. Is there any chance of a Labour majority? I would rather that than a Conservative win, and if I thought there were any chance, I would vote Labour in the hope of it. Otherwise I will be voting Lib Dem. I think a hung parliament with the Lib Dems playing Kingmaker is probably the best I can hope for.
Also, have you been watching Irish politics recently? It's like a Tarantino movie.
On a related note, I originally started this blog because that ornery Irish bastard Gundrea read some of the stuff I'd blathered about gaming and said I should be throwing it up somewhere. That lasted all of two posts where I blithered on about Metroid Prime, and then I turned into a bleeding heart liberal. In honour of the humble origins of this blog, however, I will now proceed to write mindlessly about videogames once again. I actually only started really being a gamer this year, it was at most a casual distraction prior to this. The fact that this year saw me getting a high end PC and living in a household with all major consoles is not coincidental. Here then, is a year in gaming. (Games marked with a * were released this year. Games marked with a ** were released this year, but originally released earlier.) I was gonna go month by month, but I forgot when I played stuff.
Fallout 3 - This is pretty much the first PC game I actually played when it was relatively recent. So inexperienced and naive a gamer was I one year ago. With wide-eyed innocence I stumbled into the post apocalyptic wastelands, and proceeded to become a saintly swashbuckling wanderer of the wilderness, with my huge Supermutant friend at my side who WOULDN'T TAKE THE LETHAL RADIATION DOSE FOR ME THAT FUCKING GREEN WANKER. I haven't played any of the DLC but I found the world really immersive, and it hed me for the whole game. I didn't roam too far and wide, as I found the gameplay was lacklustre. Much tighter resources could have really made the game, but it was still pretty addictive as was, and the world felt very real. Also, the 50s sitcom section was inspired, and a few more touches like that would have made it a classic.
Warhammer Online - They were fixing the gaping flaws when I quit, but too little, too late. But hey, Lego Universe is going to be awesome right? No need to give up on MMOs just yet.
Mirror's Edge - I invented this game. I mean, really, seriously, I envisioned and described a game exactly like this. It was like seeing one of my dreams realised. Heavenly.
World of Goo* - Absolutely brilliant, innovative, challenging, hilariously funny puzzler. Also has a fantastic soundtrack. I only wish it were several times longer.
LittleBigPlanet - This really is impressive for its innovation and carving a new path for games. It feels like something new and exciting. And is also very fun. It's a shame the level editor sacrificed function for gimmicks, though.
Gears of War 2 - IT'S A GIANT WORM! THEY'RE SINKING CITIES WITH A GIANT WORM! That is all.
Echochrome* - Hardly anyone has heard of this amazing gem. It is based on the works of MC Escher, and allows you to mess with perspective to get places. It's really clever, an accurate realisation of Escher's pictures in a gameworld. Also nice violin soundtrack.
Half-Life 2 - Yes, that is how behind the times I am/was. I always scorned the excessive hype. That was a mistake. It really is that good. Episode One was lacklustre, but the level in the dark was very clever. Episode Two was heavenly. Where is Episode 3?
Portal - Nothing I can say hasn't already been said.
Metroid Prime Trilogy** - Alright, alright, I'll shut up about it.
Prototype* - A good game that several flaws prevented from being a brilliant game. A (badly written) review is on my facebook page.
Castle Crashers - Exactly the sort of thing XBLA needs more of. Played this local multiplayer and it was a blast.
Shadow Complex* - Oh wow, this was good. I mean, pick of the year good. Epic and Chair's love letter to Castlevania and Super Metroid (Sorry!) managed to be a crystallisation of the pure goodness in the genre. The gadgets were inspired, especially the foam gun, and the world a veritable labyrinth. Could only have been improved by a better story and acting, but the laughability of the existing one at least added amusement.
'Splosion Man* - A so-so singleplayer game that had a fantastic completely retooled multiplayer mode. The simple one-button control concept was also brilliantly realised. Fear those rising water levels, though.
Team Fortress 2 - What do you know, I actually enjoy competitive multiplayer FPS. But I can only play Scout.
Trine* - 'It's not bad. In fact it's quite gorgeous and innovative and I do intend to finish it because I'm having fun.' Apparently this constitutes a bad write-up, so I will add that it was one of the most pure experiences I've had in a long time, and the RPG elements fit right in and let you actually play to a role. Sheer unadulterated fun.
Dragon Age* - So, it's official, Bioware have perfected the fantasy RPG. If you like RPGs, you'll like this. Otherwise you won't. It's not anything other than a fantasy RPG, it's just the genre, cut and planed and smoothed and polished to perfection. And full of dicks who hate me. My only friend is a golem. FUCK YOU ALISTAIR! I DON'T NEED YOU! I DON'T NEED FRIENDS!
The Operative: No One Lives Forever - Old, this, but good. Takes the Austin Powers type pardoy 60s spy theme and runs with it, turning it into a very respectable stealth game. An underground hit that I'm surprised isn't better known.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks* - Technically I'm playing this this year, but who cares? It's disappointing. It still has the basics, but the magic that made Phantom Hourglass an absolute joy is all gone. Worse, it's been replaced by the most excrutiatingly annoying mechanics ever. I am fed up of this game. The first Zelda game I've ever really got bored of before the end. Sad.
House of the Dead: Overkill* - No gameplay to speak of, but the atmosphere is so thick it's sheer fun anyway. The music is hilarious and it baffles me that the unlockable versions have no lyrics.
Plants vs. Zombies* - It's fun. That's ALL. It's not a brilliant, addictive new super craze. And zombies are really, really tired now. Seriously, what is PopCap doing to mind control everyone? Scary people.
Highlights: Trine, Shadow Complex, World of Goo
Disappointment: Zelda
Next up: Something about books. And more Metroid.
Finding a new flat - It's pretty clear I should be getting out. I have decided to go live in York. Now I have to find a place. This is difficult because I neither want to live alone, nor with people I can't stand, and people usually need a flatmate ASAP, and don't want to spend time making friends. Also, I am bad at people. I haven't had much motivation to do this yet.
Writing - Something, anything. My creative side is so withered and dead it is saddening. Every time I have brilliant thought I realise it's really only a brilliant concept, and I have no clue of the realisation. I have this one idea for a weird sci-fi/fairytale/folklore mish-mash thing riffing on verbal tradition and old folk stories mixed with futuristic stuff and language, but it's hard to flesh out a plot. Also plays, I am more hopeful for these. I think I may start work on my adaptation of Borges' Theme of the Traitor and the Hero soon. Been planning it long enough.
Posting - I think things, I discuss them, I intend to write them here, I don't. It's not like I have nothing to say, either.
Socialising - Won't happen til I move to York, so on with that, I guess.
Enough of that. I have been thinking about the election recently. Is there any chance of a Labour majority? I would rather that than a Conservative win, and if I thought there were any chance, I would vote Labour in the hope of it. Otherwise I will be voting Lib Dem. I think a hung parliament with the Lib Dems playing Kingmaker is probably the best I can hope for.
Also, have you been watching Irish politics recently? It's like a Tarantino movie.
On a related note, I originally started this blog because that ornery Irish bastard Gundrea read some of the stuff I'd blathered about gaming and said I should be throwing it up somewhere. That lasted all of two posts where I blithered on about Metroid Prime, and then I turned into a bleeding heart liberal. In honour of the humble origins of this blog, however, I will now proceed to write mindlessly about videogames once again. I actually only started really being a gamer this year, it was at most a casual distraction prior to this. The fact that this year saw me getting a high end PC and living in a household with all major consoles is not coincidental. Here then, is a year in gaming. (Games marked with a * were released this year. Games marked with a ** were released this year, but originally released earlier.) I was gonna go month by month, but I forgot when I played stuff.
Fallout 3 - This is pretty much the first PC game I actually played when it was relatively recent. So inexperienced and naive a gamer was I one year ago. With wide-eyed innocence I stumbled into the post apocalyptic wastelands, and proceeded to become a saintly swashbuckling wanderer of the wilderness, with my huge Supermutant friend at my side who WOULDN'T TAKE THE LETHAL RADIATION DOSE FOR ME THAT FUCKING GREEN WANKER. I haven't played any of the DLC but I found the world really immersive, and it hed me for the whole game. I didn't roam too far and wide, as I found the gameplay was lacklustre. Much tighter resources could have really made the game, but it was still pretty addictive as was, and the world felt very real. Also, the 50s sitcom section was inspired, and a few more touches like that would have made it a classic.
Warhammer Online - They were fixing the gaping flaws when I quit, but too little, too late. But hey, Lego Universe is going to be awesome right? No need to give up on MMOs just yet.
Mirror's Edge - I invented this game. I mean, really, seriously, I envisioned and described a game exactly like this. It was like seeing one of my dreams realised. Heavenly.
World of Goo* - Absolutely brilliant, innovative, challenging, hilariously funny puzzler. Also has a fantastic soundtrack. I only wish it were several times longer.
LittleBigPlanet - This really is impressive for its innovation and carving a new path for games. It feels like something new and exciting. And is also very fun. It's a shame the level editor sacrificed function for gimmicks, though.
Gears of War 2 - IT'S A GIANT WORM! THEY'RE SINKING CITIES WITH A GIANT WORM! That is all.
Echochrome* - Hardly anyone has heard of this amazing gem. It is based on the works of MC Escher, and allows you to mess with perspective to get places. It's really clever, an accurate realisation of Escher's pictures in a gameworld. Also nice violin soundtrack.
Half-Life 2 - Yes, that is how behind the times I am/was. I always scorned the excessive hype. That was a mistake. It really is that good. Episode One was lacklustre, but the level in the dark was very clever. Episode Two was heavenly. Where is Episode 3?
Portal - Nothing I can say hasn't already been said.
Metroid Prime Trilogy** - Alright, alright, I'll shut up about it.
Prototype* - A good game that several flaws prevented from being a brilliant game. A (badly written) review is on my facebook page.
Castle Crashers - Exactly the sort of thing XBLA needs more of. Played this local multiplayer and it was a blast.
Shadow Complex* - Oh wow, this was good. I mean, pick of the year good. Epic and Chair's love letter to Castlevania and Super Metroid (Sorry!) managed to be a crystallisation of the pure goodness in the genre. The gadgets were inspired, especially the foam gun, and the world a veritable labyrinth. Could only have been improved by a better story and acting, but the laughability of the existing one at least added amusement.
'Splosion Man* - A so-so singleplayer game that had a fantastic completely retooled multiplayer mode. The simple one-button control concept was also brilliantly realised. Fear those rising water levels, though.
Team Fortress 2 - What do you know, I actually enjoy competitive multiplayer FPS. But I can only play Scout.
Trine* - 'It's not bad. In fact it's quite gorgeous and innovative and I do intend to finish it because I'm having fun.' Apparently this constitutes a bad write-up, so I will add that it was one of the most pure experiences I've had in a long time, and the RPG elements fit right in and let you actually play to a role. Sheer unadulterated fun.
Dragon Age* - So, it's official, Bioware have perfected the fantasy RPG. If you like RPGs, you'll like this. Otherwise you won't. It's not anything other than a fantasy RPG, it's just the genre, cut and planed and smoothed and polished to perfection. And full of dicks who hate me. My only friend is a golem. FUCK YOU ALISTAIR! I DON'T NEED YOU! I DON'T NEED FRIENDS!
The Operative: No One Lives Forever - Old, this, but good. Takes the Austin Powers type pardoy 60s spy theme and runs with it, turning it into a very respectable stealth game. An underground hit that I'm surprised isn't better known.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks* - Technically I'm playing this this year, but who cares? It's disappointing. It still has the basics, but the magic that made Phantom Hourglass an absolute joy is all gone. Worse, it's been replaced by the most excrutiatingly annoying mechanics ever. I am fed up of this game. The first Zelda game I've ever really got bored of before the end. Sad.
House of the Dead: Overkill* - No gameplay to speak of, but the atmosphere is so thick it's sheer fun anyway. The music is hilarious and it baffles me that the unlockable versions have no lyrics.
Plants vs. Zombies* - It's fun. That's ALL. It's not a brilliant, addictive new super craze. And zombies are really, really tired now. Seriously, what is PopCap doing to mind control everyone? Scary people.
Highlights: Trine, Shadow Complex, World of Goo
Disappointment: Zelda
Next up: Something about books. And more Metroid.
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