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Media on my Mind...
Sep. 9th, 2010 03:05 pmLet's start with the books.
Finished: Ender in Exile, by Orson Scott Card
This story deals with Ender on his trip away from Earth and his first couple colony worlds. And what can I say about it? It's okay, but nowhere near the best of the Ender books. (slightly more spoilers behind the cut) ( Read more... ) Worth reading for Ender completists, probably, but for casual fans (or non fans), it's not really that necessary.
Started and Finished: Disapora, by Greg Egan
Started: Blindsight, by Peter Watts (reread)
Peter Watts finally won a Hugo last weekend, for his story The Island. I started rereading it during Fan Expo, while I was waiting in line, and will want to finish it.
Anyway, Diaspora. It's sort of a post-singularity fiction, dealing with humanity after some segment of it decided to exist only as software, and the efforts to explore the universe/ensure their immortality. There are some cool concepts there, and I enjoyed reading it, but it's not one of my favorites, even in the Singularity-fiction-type genre. While I like science, I think this one focused a bit too much on science at the expense of enjoyable plot. Not bad, though.
Finished: Tatja Grimm's World, by Vernor Vinge
Started: The Dreaming Void, by Peter Hamilton
Another disappointing one. I love Vernor Vinge, but, well, Tatja Grimm's World is one of his earliest novels, and it shows. It focuses on a super genius in a rather primitive, metal-poor world and her allies, who are occasionally her enemies, and really more the viewpoint characters. But most of the characters fall a little flat, and the plot jumps around too much between not-all-that-interesting sub-settings. I only began to be engaged towards the end of the book.
-
What about comics? Well, I'm still down to just New Mutants, and nothing I've seen lately coming up is convincing me to change my mind. I might give "Generation Hope" a chance, but I don't really like their new model of mutant (gaining their powers older, needing to be 'activated'), or even the characters themselves so far, as shown by the first glimpses we've seen of them in Uncanny X-Men.
So, enough about what I've read... what about watched?
Not much, it being summer. Most everything I'm interested in has been in reruns, and nothing new's started. But there are a couple of things.
Kick-Ass, the Movie: Was actually pretty enjoyable. I gave up on the comic after two or three issues, but I liked the movie. (Minor spoilers for both behind the cut)( Read more... )
I also dipped into a new cartoon, Generator Rex, by the same team that made Ben 10. It involves the world after an 'Event' spread nanites all over the place. Sometimes the nanites go crazy and turn people into monsters. The main character, Rex, controls his nanites and can both deactivate monsters by touching them, and create various machines out of his body.
It's mildly enjoyable. It started a little flat, and some of the characters are a little on the silly side (Six, badass secret agent who uses swords for some reason... you know, just running up and doing impossibly acrobatic stunts to slice at a monster with a sword), but it's watchable.
My only real complaints are 1) that I wish they respected science a little more. I know, I know, it's a cartoon, but... ( Read more... ). 2) Sort of touches like one. Generator Rex reminds me a LITTLE of another nanite-themed property that I always thought would make a kickass cartoon, and it would probably now never be possible. Not like it ever was, but still, every time I watch the show I think, "Man, I wish I was watching a Cybergeneration show.". Cybergeneration was a sequel to the RPG Cyberpunk 2020, sort of trying to combined Cyberpunk and teen-mutants. ( Read more... ). I would so LOVE to see a cartoon along these lines, with ( Read more... ) Anyway, I almost want Rex to, in future episodes, assemble a team of other people who have powers, like the Pack, but good, just because those people would seem to be more interesting than the monkey, the secret agent, the best friend, and the Doctor (who are all okay, but, I don't know, none really stand out yet).
Coming up in TV, I'll probably give No Ordinary Family a chance, maybe the first few episodes of The Event, just to see what the titular Event is, Walking Dead of course, but that's not till Halloween and... were there other new SF shows coming? If so, they haven't made much of an impression. Oh, the Cape, I guess, I'll give that a shot, but only because of Summer Glau.
In video games, still playing with zombies. What else?
Finished: Ender in Exile, by Orson Scott Card
This story deals with Ender on his trip away from Earth and his first couple colony worlds. And what can I say about it? It's okay, but nowhere near the best of the Ender books. (slightly more spoilers behind the cut) ( Read more... ) Worth reading for Ender completists, probably, but for casual fans (or non fans), it's not really that necessary.
Started and Finished: Disapora, by Greg Egan
Started: Blindsight, by Peter Watts (reread)
Peter Watts finally won a Hugo last weekend, for his story The Island. I started rereading it during Fan Expo, while I was waiting in line, and will want to finish it.
Anyway, Diaspora. It's sort of a post-singularity fiction, dealing with humanity after some segment of it decided to exist only as software, and the efforts to explore the universe/ensure their immortality. There are some cool concepts there, and I enjoyed reading it, but it's not one of my favorites, even in the Singularity-fiction-type genre. While I like science, I think this one focused a bit too much on science at the expense of enjoyable plot. Not bad, though.
Finished: Tatja Grimm's World, by Vernor Vinge
Started: The Dreaming Void, by Peter Hamilton
Another disappointing one. I love Vernor Vinge, but, well, Tatja Grimm's World is one of his earliest novels, and it shows. It focuses on a super genius in a rather primitive, metal-poor world and her allies, who are occasionally her enemies, and really more the viewpoint characters. But most of the characters fall a little flat, and the plot jumps around too much between not-all-that-interesting sub-settings. I only began to be engaged towards the end of the book.
-
What about comics? Well, I'm still down to just New Mutants, and nothing I've seen lately coming up is convincing me to change my mind. I might give "Generation Hope" a chance, but I don't really like their new model of mutant (gaining their powers older, needing to be 'activated'), or even the characters themselves so far, as shown by the first glimpses we've seen of them in Uncanny X-Men.
So, enough about what I've read... what about watched?
Not much, it being summer. Most everything I'm interested in has been in reruns, and nothing new's started. But there are a couple of things.
Kick-Ass, the Movie: Was actually pretty enjoyable. I gave up on the comic after two or three issues, but I liked the movie. (Minor spoilers for both behind the cut)( Read more... )
I also dipped into a new cartoon, Generator Rex, by the same team that made Ben 10. It involves the world after an 'Event' spread nanites all over the place. Sometimes the nanites go crazy and turn people into monsters. The main character, Rex, controls his nanites and can both deactivate monsters by touching them, and create various machines out of his body.
It's mildly enjoyable. It started a little flat, and some of the characters are a little on the silly side (Six, badass secret agent who uses swords for some reason... you know, just running up and doing impossibly acrobatic stunts to slice at a monster with a sword), but it's watchable.
My only real complaints are 1) that I wish they respected science a little more. I know, I know, it's a cartoon, but... ( Read more... ). 2) Sort of touches like one. Generator Rex reminds me a LITTLE of another nanite-themed property that I always thought would make a kickass cartoon, and it would probably now never be possible. Not like it ever was, but still, every time I watch the show I think, "Man, I wish I was watching a Cybergeneration show.". Cybergeneration was a sequel to the RPG Cyberpunk 2020, sort of trying to combined Cyberpunk and teen-mutants. ( Read more... ). I would so LOVE to see a cartoon along these lines, with ( Read more... ) Anyway, I almost want Rex to, in future episodes, assemble a team of other people who have powers, like the Pack, but good, just because those people would seem to be more interesting than the monkey, the secret agent, the best friend, and the Doctor (who are all okay, but, I don't know, none really stand out yet).
Coming up in TV, I'll probably give No Ordinary Family a chance, maybe the first few episodes of The Event, just to see what the titular Event is, Walking Dead of course, but that's not till Halloween and... were there other new SF shows coming? If so, they haven't made much of an impression. Oh, the Cape, I guess, I'll give that a shot, but only because of Summer Glau.
In video games, still playing with zombies. What else?
