Books, Movies, Etc
Jun. 25th, 2011 01:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
newnumber6Books I read recently:
As usual, slight spoilers beyond general plot description will be behind cuts. If it's a major spoiler I'll warn even beyond that.
Finished:
The Puppet Masters, by Robert A. Heinlein
One of the classic "aliens try to take over humanity subtly" stories, this time by being small creatures that attach to a person's body and control them completely. It's Heinlein, with all of that implies, including a sort of fifties writing style where characters fall in love at the drop of a hat and don't get a huge amount of depth. I was a little surprised that it was told entirely from the perspective of a secret government agent... who is onto the scheme from the beginning. I'd expected it would be like Body Snatchers, where it's proceeding more or less apace until some loner stumbles upon it and tries to convince people.
The characters, both sides, proceed more or less logically (if a bit absurdly) given how they start off, with only a few moments where you think one side (usually the aliens, but occasionally the humans) are dumb for not trying something, and the ending does feel a little deus ex machina-esque, but I don't think given the premises you could create a satisfying ending that didn't feel that way.
So it's a bit of a dated book and probably not one of my favorite Heinlein's, but it wasn't a chore to read through because his particular kinks and politics took over the story like some of his books.
Engineman, by Eric Brown
This book is about a former "Engineman", one of the people who drove FTL starships through a process that was quasi-mystical and utterly addictive, and how he deals with life in a world where such spaceships have, for the past ten years, been entirely replaced with an instantaneous interplanetary transport system (and of course, there's subplots about evil corporations, atrocities, and a desperate secret mission that requires a starship and some Enginemen). The book also contains a set of short stories set in the same universe.
I liked it, overall. There were a number of cool ideas, and some of them, even some of the very minor ones, were expressed in a way that provoked some real sense-of-wonder (sensawunda!). My main problem was the main character. Because the premise of the book is that pushing ships through the nada-continuum is addictive, he's an addict. To the point that, when he was pushing ships, literally nothing else mattered to him but getting his next fix, and even ten years later, he finds it hard to care about anything (and says that if he got a chance to flux again, he'd willingly abandon anything in his life again). So although he's not an outright jerk, and does seem to care about a few things and comes to some kind of a story arc, it's still remarkably hard to root for him or care about his particular problems, either, and mostly I just read his parts of the story for plot or the occasional cool idea. I don't think this was entirely intentional, I think we were meant to feel for him, but I didn't, aside from feeling that it was a tragedy that he had to fall into a line of work that ruined people. A few of the other characters are a little more sympathetic.
The addition of short stories in the universe is a nice bonus, it feels like you're getting a little extra, but none is especially memorable (with the possible exception of The Time-Lapsed Man, but the concept is explored even better inside the main novel).
The Summer Tree, by Guy Gavriel Kay
A fantasy novel. Almost so generic that to describe the plot is pointless, I just want to say, "you know what fantasy novels are like, weird names and prophecies and ancient evils and magic items that work as the plot demands." There's one exception to that description, in that the main characters are five young people from Toronto, who are transported to the world by a wizard.
And despite my general disinterest in written fantasy (I can get into it easier on screen), that is one of the hooks that can sway me - people from Earth being transported to a fantasy world. I'd also heard that this one was a particularly good series, and it was frequently mentioned (and the author intetrviewed) on Prisoners of Gravity. So, I figured I'd give the first book of The Fionavar Tapestry a try.
I'll not be giving the second book a try.
Here's my problem... one of the reasons I can make an exception for Earth-based-people-travelling-to-a-fantasy-world fantasies is because they become a hook for me to latch onto. I used up too much of my sense of wonder (sensawunda!) for fantasy worlds in my early years, they just don't thrill me any more on their own, I don't think, "Ooooh, cool, magic!" I think "Oh, isn't it convenient it works exactly that way that's needed for the author to tell his story", and "ooh, what a scary humanoid creature", but "oh, look, more evil creatures who are evil just because they're evil creatures and they're evil", and so on for other things. And, of course, they just usually feel like warmed-over-Tolkien anyway, unless they've got a particularly novel twist to things. So straight fantasy, particularly ones heavy with magic and prophecy, is a hard sell for me in book format, because I don't get the sensawunda I get from reading even my thousandth book about travelling to another planet.
But with protagonists from Earth, I can latch on to THEIR sensawunda and ride along and regain a measure of that... that happened with the Dark Tower (although it also had a lot different from traditional fantasy worlds), for example. Unfortunately, the protagonists in this didn't seem to have any, and most were about as stiff as cardboard.
I mean, their reaction to being told a mage wants to take them to a fantasy world seems to be a lot like "Oh, really? Well, there's nothing good on TV right now, so, sure, what the heck, let's go." The part of the story leading up to their transportation is over so quickly I never really get sense of who the characters are, and once they get there I never get one moment of of awe about there being magic, or them being in another world. I also never get one sense that their being from a modern world MATTERS to the story at all. That they're visitors is important to the plot, but they might as well just be from another fantasy world. They react like being in a fantasy world is second nature to them.
The only one with any realistic reaction to the prospect of being transported to magic-land (fear) disappears for half the book and when he reappears, although the story gets a little more interesting, he only fares slightly better than the rest of the characters in holding my attention.
The book's not totally bad, there's some nice turns of phrase, and how mages get their power is a little interesting, and I suppose if you manage to get invested in the characters there are a few good moments for them, but I didn't, and I don't think another book in the series is going to help.
In fact, this book might have single-handedly held me back from reading A Game of Thrones, for a little while longer. I still plan to eventually, but I have such a bad taste in my mouth for written fantasy that I'm putting it off, maybe until after I watch the next season.
Matter, by Iain M. Banks
Another Culture novel, set in a universe with a utopian society that meddles somewhat with more primitive ones. This one though, is probably a little more accessible, in that there's a secondary story, a more traditional "potential usurper of the throne" story, in a slightly-above-medieval society existing on a multi-layered hollow-shellworld (and coexisting with much more advanced alien races), with the rightful heir to his throne seeking help from his sister, who joined the Culture long ago so it's a little like an outsider perspective coming in.
I usually like the Culture novels, and this one was no exception, lots of cool ideas, big time Sensawunda, and the usual envy of wishing the Culture existed and I could live in it. I do think it sort of falls down a little towards the end (semi-major spoilers, but described very vaguely) where it seems some plot threads are dropped abruptly without satisfying resolution (unless "rocks fall, everybody dies" counts!) and we sort of rush into a conclusion full of action. But it is one of those situations where getting there is so much fun I don't mind all that much. Now I have to get Surface Detail, the next Culture book which looks pretty cool from what description I've read of it.
Started:
Helm, by Steven Gould
Designated Targets, by John Birmingham
In TV, Game Of Thrones ended, and, as mentioned earlier, I got quite into it... It took a while for me to be sold on it, but now I'm disappointed it had to go so soon. It's not perfect, there are a lot of characters and some of them still get a "Who's that supposed to be again? Am I supposed to remember them?" reaction from me, but some characters I loved from the start and even a few I didn't I grew to enjoy. I think the biggest problem is the gratuitous sex and nudity. I'm not especially a prude and I enjoy looking at it as much as the next person, but in about 80-90% of the story, the nudity didn't feel like it served ANY
purpose beyond a fear on the part of the producers that they were getting into stuff that was boring, and if they didn't throw some boobs on the set people might turn away (and even in the other 10-20%, it probably wasn't necessary and could have been handled in the same way other shows do, with tastefully concealing shots). Still, overall, I did really like the show and can't wait for next year.
With it gone, though, what's left to watch?
Well, the only contender to present itself at the moment is Falling Skies, an alien-invasion story, where 90% of the Earth's population has been wiped out by the time we start. I watched the first two episodes and I'm not sold on it. There are a few interesting moments, and the design of the creatures is cool, but the main character's constant references to military history (he's a history teacher) kind of gets on my nerves and it really shouldn't, and of course, there's some silliness with the aliens capabilities... (they can fly across the galaxy, destroy cities, create robot mechs, enslave members of an alien race with an attachment that turns them into automatons, but can't aim worth !@$@ and don't seem to have tools capable of detecting human beings in the dark or distance that are up to the standards of even the US military... and I'm not just talking about individuals, I'm talking about groups of hundreds).
Still, it's SF, which is more than I can say for almost anything else on TV right now that's new. So I'll keep watching it. Also of minor note, it's filmed in Ontario, and in the 2nd episode (or hour 2 of the premiere, whichever you think of it), the guy who plays Major Davis from Stargate SG-1 is in it. He's got long hair and a beard so I barely recognized him and had to look up who that familiar voice/face was.
Anything else? Nothing springs to mind. I may have a "What I'd Do With" post in the next few days, focusing on the DC relaunch.
As usual, slight spoilers beyond general plot description will be behind cuts. If it's a major spoiler I'll warn even beyond that.
Finished:
The Puppet Masters, by Robert A. Heinlein
One of the classic "aliens try to take over humanity subtly" stories, this time by being small creatures that attach to a person's body and control them completely. It's Heinlein, with all of that implies, including a sort of fifties writing style where characters fall in love at the drop of a hat and don't get a huge amount of depth. I was a little surprised that it was told entirely from the perspective of a secret government agent... who is onto the scheme from the beginning. I'd expected it would be like Body Snatchers, where it's proceeding more or less apace until some loner stumbles upon it and tries to convince people.
The characters, both sides, proceed more or less logically (if a bit absurdly) given how they start off, with only a few moments where you think one side (usually the aliens, but occasionally the humans) are dumb for not trying something, and the ending does feel a little deus ex machina-esque, but I don't think given the premises you could create a satisfying ending that didn't feel that way.
So it's a bit of a dated book and probably not one of my favorite Heinlein's, but it wasn't a chore to read through because his particular kinks and politics took over the story like some of his books.
Engineman, by Eric Brown
This book is about a former "Engineman", one of the people who drove FTL starships through a process that was quasi-mystical and utterly addictive, and how he deals with life in a world where such spaceships have, for the past ten years, been entirely replaced with an instantaneous interplanetary transport system (and of course, there's subplots about evil corporations, atrocities, and a desperate secret mission that requires a starship and some Enginemen). The book also contains a set of short stories set in the same universe.
I liked it, overall. There were a number of cool ideas, and some of them, even some of the very minor ones, were expressed in a way that provoked some real sense-of-wonder (sensawunda!). My main problem was the main character. Because the premise of the book is that pushing ships through the nada-continuum is addictive, he's an addict. To the point that, when he was pushing ships, literally nothing else mattered to him but getting his next fix, and even ten years later, he finds it hard to care about anything (and says that if he got a chance to flux again, he'd willingly abandon anything in his life again). So although he's not an outright jerk, and does seem to care about a few things and comes to some kind of a story arc, it's still remarkably hard to root for him or care about his particular problems, either, and mostly I just read his parts of the story for plot or the occasional cool idea. I don't think this was entirely intentional, I think we were meant to feel for him, but I didn't, aside from feeling that it was a tragedy that he had to fall into a line of work that ruined people. A few of the other characters are a little more sympathetic.
The addition of short stories in the universe is a nice bonus, it feels like you're getting a little extra, but none is especially memorable (with the possible exception of The Time-Lapsed Man, but the concept is explored even better inside the main novel).
The Summer Tree, by Guy Gavriel Kay
A fantasy novel. Almost so generic that to describe the plot is pointless, I just want to say, "you know what fantasy novels are like, weird names and prophecies and ancient evils and magic items that work as the plot demands." There's one exception to that description, in that the main characters are five young people from Toronto, who are transported to the world by a wizard.
And despite my general disinterest in written fantasy (I can get into it easier on screen), that is one of the hooks that can sway me - people from Earth being transported to a fantasy world. I'd also heard that this one was a particularly good series, and it was frequently mentioned (and the author intetrviewed) on Prisoners of Gravity. So, I figured I'd give the first book of The Fionavar Tapestry a try.
I'll not be giving the second book a try.
Here's my problem... one of the reasons I can make an exception for Earth-based-people-travelling-to-a-fantasy-world fantasies is because they become a hook for me to latch onto. I used up too much of my sense of wonder (sensawunda!) for fantasy worlds in my early years, they just don't thrill me any more on their own, I don't think, "Ooooh, cool, magic!" I think "Oh, isn't it convenient it works exactly that way that's needed for the author to tell his story", and "ooh, what a scary humanoid creature", but "oh, look, more evil creatures who are evil just because they're evil creatures and they're evil", and so on for other things. And, of course, they just usually feel like warmed-over-Tolkien anyway, unless they've got a particularly novel twist to things. So straight fantasy, particularly ones heavy with magic and prophecy, is a hard sell for me in book format, because I don't get the sensawunda I get from reading even my thousandth book about travelling to another planet.
But with protagonists from Earth, I can latch on to THEIR sensawunda and ride along and regain a measure of that... that happened with the Dark Tower (although it also had a lot different from traditional fantasy worlds), for example. Unfortunately, the protagonists in this didn't seem to have any, and most were about as stiff as cardboard.
I mean, their reaction to being told a mage wants to take them to a fantasy world seems to be a lot like "Oh, really? Well, there's nothing good on TV right now, so, sure, what the heck, let's go." The part of the story leading up to their transportation is over so quickly I never really get sense of who the characters are, and once they get there I never get one moment of of awe about there being magic, or them being in another world. I also never get one sense that their being from a modern world MATTERS to the story at all. That they're visitors is important to the plot, but they might as well just be from another fantasy world. They react like being in a fantasy world is second nature to them.
The only one with any realistic reaction to the prospect of being transported to magic-land (fear) disappears for half the book and when he reappears, although the story gets a little more interesting, he only fares slightly better than the rest of the characters in holding my attention.
The book's not totally bad, there's some nice turns of phrase, and how mages get their power is a little interesting, and I suppose if you manage to get invested in the characters there are a few good moments for them, but I didn't, and I don't think another book in the series is going to help.
In fact, this book might have single-handedly held me back from reading A Game of Thrones, for a little while longer. I still plan to eventually, but I have such a bad taste in my mouth for written fantasy that I'm putting it off, maybe until after I watch the next season.
Matter, by Iain M. Banks
Another Culture novel, set in a universe with a utopian society that meddles somewhat with more primitive ones. This one though, is probably a little more accessible, in that there's a secondary story, a more traditional "potential usurper of the throne" story, in a slightly-above-medieval society existing on a multi-layered hollow-shellworld (and coexisting with much more advanced alien races), with the rightful heir to his throne seeking help from his sister, who joined the Culture long ago so it's a little like an outsider perspective coming in.
I usually like the Culture novels, and this one was no exception, lots of cool ideas, big time Sensawunda, and the usual envy of wishing the Culture existed and I could live in it. I do think it sort of falls down a little towards the end (semi-major spoilers, but described very vaguely) where it seems some plot threads are dropped abruptly without satisfying resolution (unless "rocks fall, everybody dies" counts!) and we sort of rush into a conclusion full of action. But it is one of those situations where getting there is so much fun I don't mind all that much. Now I have to get Surface Detail, the next Culture book which looks pretty cool from what description I've read of it.
Started:
Helm, by Steven Gould
Designated Targets, by John Birmingham
In TV, Game Of Thrones ended, and, as mentioned earlier, I got quite into it... It took a while for me to be sold on it, but now I'm disappointed it had to go so soon. It's not perfect, there are a lot of characters and some of them still get a "Who's that supposed to be again? Am I supposed to remember them?" reaction from me, but some characters I loved from the start and even a few I didn't I grew to enjoy. I think the biggest problem is the gratuitous sex and nudity. I'm not especially a prude and I enjoy looking at it as much as the next person, but in about 80-90% of the story, the nudity didn't feel like it served ANY
purpose beyond a fear on the part of the producers that they were getting into stuff that was boring, and if they didn't throw some boobs on the set people might turn away (and even in the other 10-20%, it probably wasn't necessary and could have been handled in the same way other shows do, with tastefully concealing shots). Still, overall, I did really like the show and can't wait for next year.
With it gone, though, what's left to watch?
Well, the only contender to present itself at the moment is Falling Skies, an alien-invasion story, where 90% of the Earth's population has been wiped out by the time we start. I watched the first two episodes and I'm not sold on it. There are a few interesting moments, and the design of the creatures is cool, but the main character's constant references to military history (he's a history teacher) kind of gets on my nerves and it really shouldn't, and of course, there's some silliness with the aliens capabilities... (they can fly across the galaxy, destroy cities, create robot mechs, enslave members of an alien race with an attachment that turns them into automatons, but can't aim worth !@$@ and don't seem to have tools capable of detecting human beings in the dark or distance that are up to the standards of even the US military... and I'm not just talking about individuals, I'm talking about groups of hundreds).
Still, it's SF, which is more than I can say for almost anything else on TV right now that's new. So I'll keep watching it. Also of minor note, it's filmed in Ontario, and in the 2nd episode (or hour 2 of the premiere, whichever you think of it), the guy who plays Major Davis from Stargate SG-1 is in it. He's got long hair and a beard so I barely recognized him and had to look up who that familiar voice/face was.
Anything else? Nothing springs to mind. I may have a "What I'd Do With" post in the next few days, focusing on the DC relaunch.
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no subject
Date: 2011-06-25 07:42 pm (UTC)For a number of years, I felt the same way as you about fantasy and fell out of reading it entirely for a few years. However, there are some really damn good fantasy authors out there, who aren't writing the generic wizards/elves/dwarves/etc stuff that's been published *cough cough* Dragonlance. If you like fantasy with a connection to the real world, I highly recommend Thomas Harlan's Oath of Empire series, which is set in an alternate Roman Empire with blood magic. I'm currently reading it now.
If you want other recommendations, I can give you some, especially if you give me some criteria of what you would like in fantasy literature.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-26 05:29 pm (UTC)Anyway, while I'm always open to suggestions, I'm still not especially into fantasy, so I honestly doubt I'd look into them unless either I'm pre-engrossed in the story due to some other means (like the Game of Thrones series did for those novels) or something in the description contains an idea that really blows me away, which is kind of a tall order. The last fantasy description I read that came close to doing that, I can't remember what it was called, but the conceit of it seemed to be that the whole universe that the fantasy took place in was very small, as though, say, the country of England was all there was to the whole universe (I think it was also sort of a rectangular universe, much longer than it is wide). It didn't wow me enough to buy the book, but at least I went, "Wow, I wonder how they'd work with that... maybe if I see it used I might look into it".