Song of Ice & Fire: Book 5

While I have not yet had time to read George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire I have enjoyed watching the the fan reactions to the long delay between books. After (I believe) a 7 year gap between the last book and the announcement of the release date of the newest book. Apparently there were some plans to split up the newest book for retail release, but the publisher has decided against, at least for the hardcover book, not to pursue that option.

More American Gods Stuff

Neil Gaiman is everywhere now! Gaiman harnessed the power of the internet to limit the field of candidates to record the audiobook of American Gods. I think that this is a really interesting phenomenon and I actually really like it. It is a unique way for authors to interact with their fans. In a time when authors are expected to have more fan interaction than ever before, this is an great way for fans to have a positive two-way interaction with the creative properties they love. My favorite choice, Veronica Giguere, unfortunately did not make it to the final selection.

Hunger Games Movie

Last week, John mentioned The Hunger Games as a series that he would recommend to everyone. Listening to the Sword and Laser podcast I learned that there is a Hunger Games movie in production. There doesn't appear to be any big name talent in the movie, but nonetheless I will almost certainly see the movie.

Ender's Game Movie

Wow! Apparently they are developing a Ender's Game live action movie. Ender's Game had been optioned earlier in the Oughts, but there were creative differences between Card and the director. However, now it is on the schedule to be filmed yet again, this time by the director of Wolverine: Origins.

HBO Options American Gods

It seems that with the success of both The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, HBO is diving headlong into the fantasy genre. After a single episode they signed GoT for a second season and they have now optioned Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Wow!

While I have not yet read it, I have heard good things. Guess I have another book on my summer reading list.

Two more Podcast Audio Books

Reviewing my podcasts, I came across two more podcast audiobooks that you guys might be interested in. The first is the Secret World Chronicles by Mercedes Lackey and Denis Lee, read by Veronica Giguere. It is a set in a world in which super-heros are real, corporatized and nationalized, and besieged by alien nazis from a different dimension... yeah its weird. Nonetheless, it is an awesome fantasy romp, by one of the biggest names in the genre, that is already four audio books long and available for free!

The other title is another audiobook by Jeremy Robinson: Beneath. A science fiction adventure with dark currents, this is a good transition book between Andy's two classes. Highly recommended.

Kronos

Recently I have been listening to podcasted audiobooks offered through itunes. One of the best that I have found so far is Kronos an audiobook by Jeremy Robinson. A fantastic tale about a sea monster from the ages, it is a fast paced listen that is a extraordinary value for its price: FREE! I just thought I would share this find.

Under the Dome: A Retrospective View

Stephen King's Under the Dome is a lengthy novel well worth the number of trees needed to print it. The concept of an inverse abduction is interesting and well presented. The premise had a lot going for it and King did not abuse it. While the choice of a small town being trapped was an interesting one, it worked to build the tensions to the boiling point at a low heat rather than throwing the audience straight into the flames. The characters were rich and diverse with Big Jim Rennie a clear favorite as the self interested antagonist. Overall, the town dynamics felt authentic, if slightly out of place geographically. The only characterization flaw was that some of the characters came off as slightly less than 3 dimensional, relying on a specific trait to give them personality. The clever use of conflict and unexpected elimination of characters (that likely characterize a King novel, I am unfamiliar with any of his other works) serves to mask that slight tendency well. The biggest weakness of the book was the ending, which wrapped up questions that probably would have been better unanswered.

The book was a lot of fun, despite taking a sizable investment of time.

Heart Shaped Box: A Retrospective View

Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box was my favorite book this semester. It is dark fantasy at its best, melding together the Fantasy and Horror genres perfectly. Its ghastly real wold subject matter allows it to appeal to a broader audience than some of the other books that we read this semester, but the fantastic elements really shone. The characters of the novel were vivid, coloring their surroundings and generating a almost film-like tone. The blending of magic traditions was an interesting way to bring the broader world in which the story took place to live.

The action, the metaphors, and the fast pacing of the plot served to make this novel extremely readable and worth discussing.

Pretty Monsters: A retrospective view

Kelly Link's Pretty Monsters was a whimsical anthology of short stories that defied expectations. Rather than just talk about the book as a whole, I feel it is better to review a few of my favorites.

The Wrong Grave was a fun adventuresome romp with characters that were easy to relate with. Its ending was somewhat unexpected and decidedly clever.

The Wizards of Perfil: One of my favorite stories of the book, it has a vague Grimm's Tales feel and was very satisfying.

Magic for Beginners: Absolutely my favorite story in the collection. The meta structure of the story was unusual and the story felt stylistically distinct.

The Surfer: Definitely my least favorite of the stories. The Surfer takes a swing at mild science fantasy and misses just by a little.

Overall, the anthology was one of the best books this semester.

The Shadow Year: A retrospective view

The Shadow Year was another novel that I felt fell short of its intended purpose. Having not read To Kill a Mockingbird, I have no attachment to the sort of narration that the author used in this work. I understand, after hearing Andy discuss the origins of the novel, that the work was partially autobiographical with fantastic elements thrown in, but that is exactly what they feel like: thrown in. The plot meanders with no sense of urgency, no sense of building suspense, and leads to an ultimately unsatisfying conclusion.

The Little Stranger: A retrospective view

Having reached the end of the course, I would say that this was the weakest of the novels we read this semester. That is not because its writing style was lackluster; indeed, the novel drips with authenticity of the period and atmosphere. Nor is it because of the low level of supernatural elements, though I must confess this threw me a little. No, the reason I so heartily disliked this book is because there doesn't seem to be nearly enough plot to support a 500+ page volume. The details dragged out the book far longer than necessary, causing an incautious reader to miss crucial details. I know I had to reread several pages as a result of unintended skimming.

Overall, I like the idea of the haunted house sub-genre. However, after reading The Haunting of Hill House, The Little Stranger came up woefully short.

Shadow of the Torturer

Recently I stumbled upon a forum discussing the Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. From the discussion it sounded like something right up this class's alley. The series appears to be about guild oriented world rife with darkness and warped characters. However, based on the thread, there are a number of clues indicating that it is set not in a fantasy past as might be supposed upon first glance, but rather that it is set in the far future. It appears that the civilization forgot the technology that made it great and went into severe decline, to stabilize at a much lower level

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had read it...

Class Quotes

I've made a few amusing notes in my notebook, and I thought I'd share them with y'all...

"some ghost giving people hugs" (--"For the Blood is the Life")

"My wife is snorting with derision." --Andy

"metafurs" --Andy

"Of course they could be both alien AND a metaphor, though..." (--"Family")

"...then he got slammed with the wall of crazy." (--"Stone Animals")

"Luke is a flibbertigibbet." --Andy

theory = "something shiny" --something Andy was saying, maybe he didn't say this exactly...

"The rain in Spain..."
"...stays mainly EVERYWHERE."
--post-The Orphanage and Pan's Labyrinth

"He can't see it because he's not a fairy princess!" --Mary Grace, on the captain in Pan's Labyrinth

"I was like, I'm reading a book, and he was like, you're an idiot." --Matt Meng, introducing "Monster"

"I would like to hang out with him. If he was full." --Matt Meng, on the monster from "Monster"

"Their parents might as well have not existed because they have absolutely no control over their kids."
"That's true in a lot of households."
--about The Shadow Year

"They can spray-tan you--I'm sure they can spray-pale you." --Bailey ("It's called MAKEUP!")

"It's like the opposite of an alien abduction." [Under the Dome]

"...So people could've died waiting for that last book." --Jordan (on King's Dark Tower series)