yacoob
This is a review for the first 10 issues or so - can't be bothered to hunt down exact volumes. Neat idea - I love “what ifs”, and it's more familiar ground (Marvel, not DC). Tapers off as the series progresses, obviously.
This is a review for the first 10 issues or so - can't be bothered to hunt down exact volumes. Neat idea - I love “what ifs”, and it's more familiar ground (Marvel, not DC). Tapers off as the series progresses, obviously.
It's probably 4/5 if you like magic realism. I've reached for this book after watching the movie adaptation, expecting science fiction; it really isn't SF. That doesn't mean it's a bad book, though.The story is very emotive; there is little in terms of hard facts and world building and way more in impressions and feelings department. Had I had to compare it to something, I'd say it's contemporary H.P. Lovecraft, with the unspeakable horrors dial turned all the way down to 1. Or maybe: more scary Kelly Link. There are places to go and people to see in this book, but they're dispensable and not really plot points. The narrative is compelling and pleasantly twisted, but in the end, there's little in terms of actual story development. The ride is nice, the landscapes are beautiful, but at some point you notice that the train tracks seem to be forming a loop.Anyway, I think the movie built cleverly on the few pieces that they've extracted from the book, and achieves more coherent image of the setup. The book... it's worth reading, but if you're looking for a larger setup of the story from the movie, you'll not find it.
It's probably 4/5 if you like magic realism. I've reached for this book after watching the movie adaptation, expecting science fiction; it really isn't SF. That doesn't mean it's a bad book, though.The story is very emotive; there is little in terms of hard facts and world building and way more in impressions and feelings department. Had I had to compare it to something, I'd say it's contemporary H.P. Lovecraft, with the unspeakable horrors dial turned all the way down to 1. Or maybe: more scary Kelly Link. There are places to go and people to see in this book, but they're dispensable and not really plot points. The narrative is compelling and pleasantly twisted, but in the end, there's little in terms of actual story development. The ride is nice, the landscapes are beautiful, but at some point you notice that the train tracks seem to be forming a loop.Anyway, I think the movie built cleverly on the few pieces that they've extracted from the book, and achieves more coherent image of the setup. The book... it's worth reading, but if you're looking for a larger setup of the story from the movie, you'll not find it.
Well, I must admit this one landed a bit flat after season 4. With all of the previous seasons I was eager to listen to “just one more episode” at the cost of my sleep, this one was more of a slow trot towards the finale. I'm not unhappy with how the story ended, but there were definitely bits of it that I was let down by. For example:
- The Jon/Martin pairing had all of the neccessary trappings spinning up, but once it landed, nothing has changed. Sure, there are love declarations and Martin plays the damsel in distress but I really felt like I'm missing some tenderness between them. Neither of them lowers the guard towards the other, their dialogues are still snippy and full of ironic remarks. Sure, it's the apocalypse - but they still sound like they're unable to fully trust each other. This might have been intended - plus, the author said that the relationship itself won't be much of a focus in the fifth season. Still, it felt like a bit of a weird situation.
- The statements felt less scary. I feel like before our current reality acted as a grounding framework. Something along the lines of “see, a normal world... EXCEPT THE DARKNESS EATS YOU!”. With the world turned to hellscape my perception shifted a bit, and some of the statements, felt like very elaborate indulgences. Most of the time they were still tasty morsels of horror, but they didn't fit as well, so to speak.
- After a most excellently performed twist in the season four finale, the plot of this season seems... very straightforward. “We'll walk up to the Eye and kill him” - well, guess, what, they do walk up to the Eye and kill who they wanted to kill. In that sense it ends up being Kill Bill, straight and simple. Web's shennanigans is half-expected, half deus ex machina. It's not a bad narrative - I just expected more of a ride after episode 160. And having majority of the exposition provided by all-knowing, all-powerful protagonist is just not as satisfying.
But I still enjoyed that season, a lot :)
Well, I must admit this one landed a bit flat after season 4. With all of the previous seasons I was eager to listen to “just one more episode” at the cost of my sleep, this one was more of a slow trot towards the finale. I'm not unhappy with how the story ended, but there were definitely bits of it that I was let down by. For example:
- The Jon/Martin pairing had all of the neccessary trappings spinning up, but once it landed, nothing has changed. Sure, there are love declarations and Martin plays the damsel in distress but I really felt like I'm missing some tenderness between them. Neither of them lowers the guard towards the other, their dialogues are still snippy and full of ironic remarks. Sure, it's the apocalypse - but they still sound like they're unable to fully trust each other. This might have been intended - plus, the author said that the relationship itself won't be much of a focus in the fifth season. Still, it felt like a bit of a weird situation.
- The statements felt less scary. I feel like before our current reality acted as a grounding framework. Something along the lines of “see, a normal world... EXCEPT THE DARKNESS EATS YOU!”. With the world turned to hellscape my perception shifted a bit, and some of the statements, felt like very elaborate indulgences. Most of the time they were still tasty morsels of horror, but they didn't fit as well, so to speak.
- After a most excellently performed twist in the season four finale, the plot of this season seems... very straightforward. “We'll walk up to the Eye and kill him” - well, guess, what, they do walk up to the Eye and kill who they wanted to kill. In that sense it ends up being Kill Bill, straight and simple. Web's shennanigans is half-expected, half deus ex machina. It's not a bad narrative - I just expected more of a ride after episode 160. And having majority of the exposition provided by all-knowing, all-powerful protagonist is just not as satisfying.
But I still enjoyed that season, a lot :)
This was first Culture book that I've read. For some reason it reminded me strongly of Larry Niven's writing.The book was interesting, the world of Culture - captivating (even if naive), but the whole story was missing a definitvie closure. The plot has just thinnest shade of Starship Troopers (the movie, not the book) satire - Contact's actions and machination seem a bit random at few times. Overall, a decent book, good writing and interesting concept. My biggest gripe was the fact that the game of Azad wasn't actually described in detail. I like games as much as Gurgeh!
This was first Culture book that I've read. For some reason it reminded me strongly of Larry Niven's writing.The book was interesting, the world of Culture - captivating (even if naive), but the whole story was missing a definitvie closure. The plot has just thinnest shade of Starship Troopers (the movie, not the book) satire - Contact's actions and machination seem a bit random at few times. Overall, a decent book, good writing and interesting concept. My biggest gripe was the fact that the game of Azad wasn't actually described in detail. I like games as much as Gurgeh!