tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52601683271282920942024-03-13T03:37:45.923-07:00Fantastical Addict: A Meta-Fantasy BlogReviews of fantasy and speculative fiction books, movies, television shows and the occasional video game.Jennifer Fellowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015447749348149708noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260168327128292094.post-31719813568512832532012-09-22T10:38:00.000-07:002012-09-22T10:39:43.761-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="173" data-width="291" height="173" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRyHvDXqVH0YZWSbvumeGSj1_8iY0bzVDD37sUvQfIzEyefzC9g" style="height: 173px; width: 291px;" width="291" />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Title:<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047TG2R0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0047TG2R0&linkCode=as2&tag=behithetimere-20" target="_blank"> </a></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047TG2R0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0047TG2R0&linkCode=as2&tag=behithetimere-20" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: normal;">DragonAge 2</span></a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Release Date: </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">February
2011</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Price</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">:around $18.00</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My friend bought
DA2 from Amazon. Then she began to rave about it. I mean, seriously
rave. Eventually, I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. So
she let me borrow the game, and give it a try. I have so many good
things and a few bad, to say about this game. (I have an entire
rant devoted to Orsino. Seriously, Orsino what the hell? Also, I have
a second rant devoted to my character's friends and proposed love interests. Why
am I friends with all these dysfunctional people, much less
encouraged to be in relationships with them? Why do they play cards
and have beers with each other, but whenever I turn up its all “Wah
wah, help me Hawke. I'm needy and in pain, and no one understands me”? When is it Hawke's turn for cards and beer?)
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But most of those
things have already been said before, by a ton of people. I really am
arriving late to the debate this time. So, I'm going to hold off on
saying everything I want to about this game (since that blog post
would be epic-novel length) and focus on one aspect of it instead;
Aveline.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Since Anita
Sarkeesian's kickstarter project aimed at exploring the depiction of
women in games, and the forceful backlash that project received, I've
been paying more attention to the female NPC's in the games I enjoy.
Sometimes, I wish I weren't. (For more on Sarkeesian's project, <a href="http://www.feministfrequency.com/" target="_blank">go here</a>).</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm not going to
make the ludicrous claim that I never noticed the objectification of
women in the games I enjoy until now. I would have had to have been
playing these games with my eyes closed and wearing ear plugs in
order to avoid this. Sure, Ivy in Soul Calibur is a ridiculous
dominatrix-character wearing an outfit that I have trouble believing
she could easily sit down in much less fight in (seriously, her boobs
should be springing free of her costume every time she turns around.
. . or is it not really costume but simply a thick coat of paint?).
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="274" data-width="184" height="274" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRNdXuOIqXfSzOyESkbNYEg2jiX2hs1M3AWOh-mCjdjYAySSe-2" style="height: 274px; width: 184px;" width="184" /> </div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Don't worry, her left arm is totally protected from attack.</i> </div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And the outfit
made primarily out of hair in Bayonetta that can become more or less
revealing depending on your combat choices makes me cringe when I
think about it. The list of female characters I was ignoring could
basically go on forever.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<img height="290" id="il_fi" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Bayonetta_Box_Art.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="256" /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Want to save some money? Just wear your own hair.</i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But I did begin to
willfully ignore it. Often, it seemed that the only way I could enjoy
the games I wanted to play was to imaginatively put on blinders and
play the game without paying attention to character depiction.
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm also not going
to make the claim that female characters are the only ludicrous
characters in video games (Soul Calibur, I'm looking at you again).
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<img alt="Voldo.png" height="331" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fa/Voldo.png/200px-Voldo.png" width="200" /><br />
<i>I think this picture speaks for itself.</i> <i>I'm just not sure what it's saying.</i><br />
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Nor, here, am I
going to discuss how and why the objectification of women in games is
or might be different from other ludicrous depictions of male
characters. I have not conducted a study of this material, (as
Sarkeesian is planning to do) and can in no way claim to be an expert
here, or even widely informed. I am speaking of my own gaming
experience only.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But I do want to
talk about Aveline. Because, seriously, I love this character. She
was like a breath of fresh air to me. My main character first meets
Aveline and her husband fighting for their lives against the blight
in Lothering. Shortly after the battle, it becomes apparent that
Avenline's husband is dying, and needs to be put out of his misery. I
could choose to do this myself, but it felt awkward to make such an
offer when I barely knew these two people, so I left it up to her.
She killed her own husband to spare him the pain of dying as a result
of the blight, in a move that was both strong and heart-aching.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="168" data-width="300" height="168" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTe3e6aJEhqbxoEYFkO0IlHofzC-IjG0xAphSwKOK8e-BcBmrufkg" style="height: 168px; width: 300px;" width="300" /> </div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Unlike other
female characters in the <i>Dragon Age</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
storyline, Aveline is fully clothed. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="168" data-width="300" height="168" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSFDtt5yDOZ18LAZe43weO0z-RVphBRTuq6KOcBS5i4Lq3CsEbVxQ" style="height: 168px; width: 300px;" width="300" /><br />
<i>What happened to Morrigan's shirt?</i> <br />
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Aveline also looks like a warrior. She's dressed for battle. Not only do
I not fear that her boobs might fly out of her armor at a moment's
notice, I also do not fear that a sword will simply slice through her
exposed flesh. There isn't any exposed flesh. Aveline is not here to
be sexy, or enticing, or flirty. She means business. She is here to
fight, and kill if necessary.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="191" data-width="264" height="191" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGw23sfyqmbrOPJ1G7FYj7S6smbQTueXFzmns0PkvJ0-oY6gNLxQ" style="height: 191px; width: 264px;" width="264" /> </div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But, and here's where things got interesting for me, I would not say
that Aveline is simply a man-with-tits warrior. There is always a
risk when one writes a woman-warrior that one will simply end up with
a stereo-typical warrior-male in a woman-shaped body. But Aveline, somehow,
manages to avoid this. She is not a man, she is definitely a woman.
She is also not the tough-but-brittle female warrior figure that one
often sees. She isn't simply out to prove herself as tough as any
man. In fact, the issue of her sex rarely comes up in her decisions
to pursue the career she does. She likes being a guard. Maintaining
law and order is important to her sense of identity and purpose. She is also secure in her sense of self, at least most
of the time. </div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One of the funniest quests in the game is Aveline's
Companion Quest where Aveline, very shyly and awkwardly, asks for
Hawke's help in courting a man. She has flaws, just as much as she
has strengths. She's not a sex symbol or a stereotypical
out-for-blood warrior. Rather than being a flat one-dimensional character, either portrayed exclusively through sexuality or blood-lust, Aveline is complex. She's a fully rounded woman. She is also
(which amounts to saying the same thing) a fully rounded human being. </div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Having discussed female NPC's with other gaming friends, I know that
Aveline is far from being an exception. However, I don't believe she
is the norm either. And so I love Aveline for being strong, smart,
funny, compassionate, kind, and vulnerable. I love her for being a
female character that I can understand and identify with. I love her
because when I'm playing DA2 with Aveline, I don't have to
set part of my mind to willfully ignore her attire and mannerisms.
She isn't trying to catch my eye with a flash of cleavage, and she
isn't trying to seduce me. As a result, I can simply enjoy the game.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Jennifer Fellowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015447749348149708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260168327128292094.post-45072519097737439882012-08-08T14:49:00.000-07:002012-08-08T15:03:51.045-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Title: </b><a href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=behithetimere-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B004G600A4&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tangled</span></i></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-style: normal;">Produced
by: </span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Walt
Disney </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-style: normal;">Release
date</span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">: 2010</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6194D-hiQtL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6194D-hiQtL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So,
when I was growing up I was pretty much obsessed with fairy-tales
(which nicely foreshadowed my adult addiction to speculative
fiction). One of my favorite fairy-tales of all time was </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rapunzel</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
I couldn't really say why, in retrospect, but I loved this story. And
when I was a child I really, really wanted Disney to make a movie of
this story. So, when I belatedly realized as an adult that this
childhood desire had finally come to pass, I immediately tracked down
the film. (I say immediately, I was only two years late, after all!)</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tangled</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is Disney's adaptation of the Rapunzel story. For the first third of
the film, I was largely underwhelmed. The film begin with Rapunzel's
mother extremely pregnant and deathly ill. The witch, by contrast,
apparently has some magical flower that keeps her eternally young and
beautiful (a primary goal of most witches ). Well, word of this
flower's existence reaches the king (did I mention that, in this
version of the story Rapunzel's parents are royalty?) and soldiers
march out to collect the flower. It's taken. The Queen lives. Either
the King doesn't realize that the flower belongs to the witch, or
decides not to compensate her for her loss because, well, he is the
King (so maybe all the land, and the flowers, really belong to him. I
don't know). The witch has lost her flower, but somehow discerns that
its magical healing properties have been transferred to the Queen's
fetus, and so steals Rapunzel away from her royal family in the
middle of the night. It's only fair, the flower did belong to the
witch, after all. And now, apparently, Rapunzel possesses the essence
of the flower, so now that essence probably belongs to the witch,
too. Unfortunately, the essence now comes in a baby-package and has
to be cared for and raised. Longevity has become pretty taxing. I
almost feel sorry for the witch.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
I'm confused about this passing of the flower-essence. Is Rapunzel
going to keep aging? She certainly turns from a fetus to a baby and
to an adolescent, so she looks like she's aging. What happens to the
flower essence when Rapunzel dies? Maybe it gets passed onto her
kids?</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I know, I know, I'm over-thinking it. Anyway, it's not exactly like
the original fairy-tale of Rapunzel was a shining example of
air-tight story-telling, or logical thought process. This retelling
of the Rapunzel story has a lot of bonuses over the fairy-tale that I
loved as a child. For one, the reason behind the witch's desire for
the child is clear. For another, the reason behind the witch's desire
to lock Rapunzel up in a tower is also clearly explained. Rapunzel is
essentially a walking, talking fountain of youth here. She's a rare
commodity. So of course you'd want to protect her from thieves once
you've rightfully stolen her.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If you don't know the opening of the original Rapunzel story, here is
the version I knew as a kid: Rapunzel's pregnant mom gets a strong
craving for radishes and feels like she will die without them. This
is usually played up as an extreme case of odd pregnancy cravings.
So, Rapunzel's dad sees a bunch of really good looking radishes in a
garden. He thinks of his poor wife (and his own apparent incompetency
as a farmer), and he hops the fence into this garden and steals a
pile of radishes. But, in addition to being a poor farmer, he's also
a poor thief, and he gets busted by the witch (who owns the garden).
She says he can have the radishes if he give her his first born
child. (because baddies in fairy-tales always want first-born kids,
that's why.) He agrees, and takes the radishes home. When Rapunzel is
born, the witch shows up, and dad has to explain to mom where those
radishes came from all those months before. Then, having secured the
first-born child, the witch locks her up in a tower. Why? I have no
idea. Given my experience of fairy-tales, I sort of expected the
witch to eat her. Maybe she's saving her for later, okay?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Compare the two intros:
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Downside to the original: there is no explanation as to why the witch
would want this kid, other than the typical fairy-tale assumption
that witches are always out to get babies. (get babies and retain
their own youth, do fairy-tale witches know something we don't?) It's
also not clear why the witch would lock this kid up, since her
parents are peasants and probably aren't going to come storming her
house with an army demanding the return of their child anytime soon.
Disney's version has the original beat here.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Upsides to the original: Simply put, it's funnier. I enjoyed
imagining the scene where the desperate father makes a reckless
bargain with the witch to satisfy his wife's cravings. It illustrates
that parents can make mistakes too, and avoids any gooey reunion
between a parent and long-lost daughter. (Oh come on, you knew that
was coming in the Disney film. That doesn't count as a spoiler.) In
addition, Rapunzel has the distinction of being a fairy-tale heroine
who isn't a princess. She's just the daughter of peasants. That's
pretty rare.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, I was a bit upset with Disney for altering Rapunzel's back-story
so drastically such that she becomes a princess, and her parents
never made the bargain to give her away to the witch. But these
complaints are just the bickering of someone who loved the original.
If you didn't love it, or don't remember it, these points won't
matter.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Points that might affect your enjoyment of the film:</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Characters:
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The hero, Flynn Ryder, is hilarious. Just as Rapunzel has morphed
into a princess from a peasant, the prince from the original story
has morphed into a con-artist thief. He's an entertaining character
and given some brilliant lines. There is also a pretty funny horse
who seems to think he is a dog (seriously, a horse that tracks like a
blood-hound with his bum in the air and his nose to the ground,
priceless). Rapunzel herself is a bit too sugary sweet, (and is even
dressed in a pale pink dress with puffed sleeves) but that's mostly
easy to overlook. So the hero and horse-dog held my attention and
were good for several laughs throughout the film. The other
characters in the film were mainly forgettable, but not annoying.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Plot:
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While I gave Disney credit for taking a mostly nonsensical opening to
the fairy-tale and updating it so that its actually coherent, this
coherence doesn't carry through for the rest of the plot. At one
point a bunch of blood-thirsty thieves are all turned into sappy
do-gooders based on nothing more that Rapunzel's sugary-sweet
presence and a sub-par song. Later in the film, these reformed
thieves just happen to show up at the right time to save our hero,
though the explanation for why they were able to do this is a bit
fuzzy. Wait, actually it's non-existent.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Music:
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Like most of Disney's film adaptations of fairy-tales, this is a
musical. The music is pretty bad, but probably no worse that most of
the other films. So if other Disney musical scores didn't annoy you,
this one probably won't either. It seems to me to be less imaginative
than some of their other musical efforts, but it's fine.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Visuals:
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Rapunzel's hair was awesome in this film. I loved it. It essentially
dominates pretty much any scene it's in.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Resolution:
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Don't read this if you plan to see the film. Skip to the next
paragraph now. . .</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Okay, if you are still reading, here's where I got upset again. In
line with the original Rapunzel story, the witch in this story is
killed. What's odd to me is that she's also raised Rapunzel to think
of her as a mother. So, essentially, Rapunzel's mother is killed, and
Rapunzel is present to see it. But she gets over this pretty quickly,
without really shedding any tears. I suppose finding out that you're
a princess helps you deal with things like your dead mom. The film
spent a lot of time illustrating the bond between Rapunzel and her
'mom,' so I found this hard to believe. Again, I'm over-thinking it.
But I wasn't alone in the crowd of people I watched this with in
raising an eyebrow when Rapunzel tears up a bit, and then in the next
scene is fine.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Overall, I was amused. I think the thing that put me off the most was
the music, and the need to transform Rapunzel into a princess. These
factors were mostly offset by the hero and the horse-dog. Yes, I
found the resolution a bit odd, the heroine a bit sickly-sweet, and
the music a bit bland, but this is a Disney film intended for kids. I
think kids would enjoy it, based on the hair, Flynn Ryder and and the
horse-dog, if nothing else.</div>Jennifer Fellowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015447749348149708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260168327128292094.post-37693924275810491022012-07-22T12:32:00.001-07:002012-07-22T12:38:36.330-07:00<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Title: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1456368605/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1456368605&linkCode=as2&tag=behithetimere-20%22%3EKismet%27s%20Kiss:%20A%20Fantasy%20Romance%20%28Alaia%20Chronicles%29%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=behithetimere-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1456368605%22%20width=%221" target="_blank"><i>Kismet's Kiss</i></a></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Author: </b><i>Cate
Rowan</i></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Release Date: </b>August 2010</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Price:</b> $3.94</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IIgLARTPL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IIgLARTPL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is an unlikely tale of love. Our hero, Kuramos, is Sultan of
Kad, father of three children, and husband of six women. Our heroine,
Varene, is a royal healer from Teganne, where they don't practice
polygynous marriages (yes, polygynous, the people Kad aren't wild
about a 'multiple husbands' scenario). She is brought to Kad after a
mysterious illness strikes the people closest to the Sultan—his
wives and children—as well as certain other members of the royal
household. With his own physician dead of an unrelated accident,
Kuramos must turn to his enemies, requesting that Teganne send their
own healer to aid him. Soon Varene and Kuramos find themselves
intensely attracted to each other, but both are struggling with the
vast cultural and social differences that separate them and challenge
their ideas of what true love should look like.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is another story that I began as a free read on my kindle, and
purchased after reading the first 10%. The price is a bit higher than
the other tales I have reviewed so far (in fact, at $4.00 it is close
to what I pay for my beloved Terry Pratchett books when they are on
sale) but I think it is worth the cost. This romance was unique and
surprising. The story is told in the third person, typically from
Varene's or Kuramos's point of view. At first, while in Varene's
point of view, I bristled a bit at her sense of superiority over
Kuramos's culture. I feared that this book might simply endorse old
colonial stereotypes. But I was pleasantly surprised. Those colonial
views were Varene's, not the authors, and they slowly changed over
the course of the book. The book neither endorses nor outright
condemns polygyny, though over the course of the book the general
sense is that a monogamous relationship is preferred. However, Rowan
explores the vast cultural web of her fictional country of Kad,
creating a society in which the reader can see the logic of accepting
multiple wives, even if this is not endorsed as a positive
arrangement. Rowan demonstrates that things are rarely black and
white.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are, however, several things that bothered me about this book.
The first is very minor. All the characters in this tale are hundreds
of years old. Kuramos, for example, is over 200. But there doesn't
seem to be any real point to this longevity. It doesn't serve any
function in the story, leaving me wondering needlessly about it for
far to long, only to realize that this aspect of the fantasy world
Rowan has created is essentially inert in the story. I say this is
minor because Rowan has written other tales in the same universe, and
in those tales it may well be that this longevity serves a purpose.
If not, it seems to be difference for difference's sake, which I
found mildly annoying. It was as though the author was whispering in
my ear 'see, this is a fictional world' every time someone's age was
mentioned.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The second thing that bothered me was more substantial, and more
problematic to blog about; the ending. I don't want to give the
ending away, since I found this to be an entertaining read and I
don't want to spoil it for others, but I must express some of my
dissatisfaction here. The main plot arc of the mysterious illness
striking members of the sultan's family mostly wraps up surprisingly
early in this tale. Basically, that plot arc is all but finished by
the time you are a little more than half-way through the book. As I
looked at my Kindle's indicator and realized that I was almost 60% of
the way through, and the mystery was mostly solved, I was puzzled.
What was the rest of this book going to be about? Just the romance?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Basically, yes. Not that there wasn't a lot to explore in the
romance. There was cultural differences, scars from previous
relationships, and six wives to deal with. That's a lot. But I felt a
bit cheated. Romance novels without story-lines just seem a bit
boring to me. I was losing interest as I flipped through the pages.
Near the end, there are some surprise plot twists, but they felt to
me as though they came right out of the blue. There was little
foreshadowing of these events, and I began to feel as though these
was less of a coherent story than an attempt to rekindle my interest
late in the game with some stuff pulled out of thin air. I think the
mystery could have been handled in a more suspenseful way than it
was, and I got the impression that the story was somewhat sacrificed
to the romance.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finally, the conclusion of the romance story arch also left me
feeling a bit dissatisfied. I wanted another chapter or two
illustrating how things would play out. And I'm not entirely
convinced that I buy everyone's motivations and decisions. We are
dealing with eight people in this relationship, effectively: Varene,
Kuramos, and the six wives. I don't feel that I got to know all the
characters well enough to accept their decisions (and with one in
particular, I don't buy the decision at all as fitting with the
character I came to know).</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, Kuramos was a strong, sexy and appealing male lead. Varene
was an enjoyable and sympathetic female lead, and the surprise of
having a romance in this unique situation kept me reading. I'm
impressed with the angle, and with how effective it was.
</div>Jennifer Fellowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015447749348149708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260168327128292094.post-50820018620331431392012-07-06T15:59:00.000-07:002012-07-22T12:34:00.745-07:00<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Title: </b><a href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=behithetimere-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000FZETI4&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Avatar:The Last Airbender</span></i></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Distributor:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Nickelodeon</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Dates Aired:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
2005-2008</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517PAR8EAKL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517PAR8EAKL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">This
was, I think, a brilliant children's TV show. But you may not know
how brilliant it is. There are probably two reasons for this: First,
unfortunately for the show James Cameron decided to make a move
entitled “Avatar” in 2009 which effectively wreaked havoc with
any google-search attempt to find the TV show. Now, anyone trying to
find the TV show has to know the full title (including the sub-title
after the colon) in order to get what they are looking for. Second,
and arguably more damning, is the live-action film adaptation of the
TV show that came out in 2010 under the title </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Last Airbender</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">. This
film really did not do the story justice. If your first exposure to
the characters, world, and storyline of <i>Avatar </i>came from this film,
then no one would blame you for failing to be curious about the TV
show.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But really, you
should encourage your kids to see this show. Hell, even if you don't
have kids, you should check out this show. Let me tell you why:</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Avatar:
The Last Airbender</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> is
set in a world where there are magic wielders known as 'benders'.
These benders can
control, or bend, one of the four elements: earth, water, fire or
air. Each of these elements also represents a group of people, the
Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, Fire Nation and Air Nomads. However, the
Avatar (of which there is only one in every generation) can bend all
four elements, and also has mystical connections to the spirit realm.
The fantasy world is heavily influenced by Eastern religious and
philosophical practices, and even the motions carried out
by benders were modeled on different styles of martial arts. A lot of
thought, care and planning went into creating this world. Each of the
four groups of people has unique clothing, hair styles, food
preferences, and bending styles, leading to a real sense that we are
dealing with four different cultures here. In addition, the religious
beliefs and the mythology surrounding the Avatar are well crafted and
explained. This is a surprisingly rich fantasy world to find in a
children's TV show.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The story centers
on Aang, who you may have guessed from the title is the 'last
airbender'. The Fire Nation, we are told, started a war against the
other nations over a hundred years ago. Their first act of war was to
wipe out the Air Nomads because they knew the Avatar was among them
(and he is obviously their biggest threat to victory). However, Aang
was not captured and instead wound up at the South Pole frozen in a
block of ice for a hundred years, only to be discovered by Water
Tribe brother and sister, Sokka and Katara. From here, these three
children set out to teach Aang how to wield the awesome power and
control the daunting responsibility of being the Avatar, while also
seeking a way to stop the Fire Nation's slow rise towards world
domination.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">We
see Aang as a twelve-year-old boy who wants to be reckless and have
fun, but doesn't want to shoulder the responsibility he has inherited
by virtue of his birth. He struggles against his calling, even
running away at times. He is not simply a 'little adult' but really
is a child asked to take on more than he thinks he can manage.
Because he is twelve, Katara is fourteen, and Sokka is only fifteen,
this show begins as a bit of an irritant for an adult audience. I
won't lie, I found some of Sokka's jokes to be extremely lame and
annoying, and at times I was irritated with the children for acting
so irresponsibility. I may have even literally yelled at the screen a
few times during episodes where the kids are off having fun and
playing games. I think I said something to the effect of:</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-weight: normal;">Hello,
guys? There's a </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">WAR</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
going on, remember? How is eating iced mango fruit juice, or going to
see a play going to help here? Come on! Focus!”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">But,
they </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">are</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
children. The show is written </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">for</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
children. And, oddly, throughout the show's three seasons, I came to
know and like them all, even Sokka. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The relationship
between Sokka and Katara reminded me of my own relationship with my
brother. We might poke fun at each other, call each other names, and
find ways to gross each other out, but at bottom we love each other.
(I know, that's not something siblings are supposed to admit, so if
you're reading, Kiddo, just skim over this sentence and pretend I
didn't say it!) That same sibling rivalry is found here. Sokka teases
Katara mercilessly, raising her to anger as no one else in the
ever-expanding group of supporting cast can, but it is always shown
that he cares about her, and that she cares about him too. The main
characters are real, believable and fully three-dimensional, a rare
thing in a children's cartoon show.
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Don't
get me wrong, I love the </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Power
Puff Girls</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
</span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Danny Phantom </span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
</span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Fairly Odd
Parents,</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
but there isn't a lot of depth there! Even shows like </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Teen
Titan</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
which show more depth and character development often slide into the
easy way to deliver depth: angst-filled depression where every
character has this horrible back-story that they </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">must</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
overcome. Sure, it brings depth. But at the cost of copious amounts
of black eye-liner. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
fact, surprisingly, all the characters in Avatar are believable,
including the enemy. (Unlike, say, Aku from </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Samurai
Jack.</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
What exactly is his motivation other than evil=fun? Not saying I
didn't enjoy </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Samurai
Jack</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
its just refreshing to see an 'evil' character that isn't
one-dimensional. Actually, scratch that. Aku makes a valid point;
evil is fun.)</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Zuko,
exiled prince of the fire nation, set with the task of capturing Aang
in order to regain his honor, starts the series as a typical 'bad
guy'. He's brooding, angry, inflammatory (get it, fire-nation prince?
Groan.), and doggedly pursuing Aang with a vengeance. However, over
time we begin to see </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">why</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Zuko is like this. We also learn, especially in the third season,
that the members of the Fire Nation are humans. They are not</span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">just
plain evil for the sake of being evil. In addition, we learn early on
that members of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes have their flaws.
The message is clear. </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">No
one</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is a stereotype. Every culture houses both good and bad people, and
every person has their virtues and their faults. This is a pretty
sophisticated idea. In fact, I know a fair number of adults who
haven't grasped this. (What, enemies are people too?!)</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, this show does not treat
children like idiots. Often children's shows are so simplistic that
you know how the plot will end shortly after the opening credits
roll. And your kids know it too. Because, lets face it, kids aren't
idiots. Nope, kids are probably the ones teaching most of us how to
use the bewildering technology in our homes, like a tiny army of
domestic IT specialists. This show respects that fact and kept the
surprises coming. Not all the plot-twists were surprising, but enough
came out of the blue to keep me guessing.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So
I recommend </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Avatar:
The Last Airbender</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
for exhibiting careful world-building with attention to detail, for
having deep and realistic character development and for encouraging
all its viewers to think instead of just being spoon-fed. Great
little gem of a show.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Besides,
you have to get caught up on the back-story, because Nickelodeon has
just aired the sequel </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Legend of Korra</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
this year! It wrapped on June 23</span></span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rd</span></span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with a 2-hour season finale. And once you've realized how awesome
Avatar is, get ready to squeal like a </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Power
Puff Girl </span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">because
the sequel is set in a steampunk world. Squee!!!</span></span></div>Jennifer Fellowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015447749348149708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260168327128292094.post-31627020251123938892012-06-22T20:02:00.001-07:002012-06-22T20:05:19.539-07:00<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Title:</b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_tl?ie=UTF8&keywords=The%20Hedgewitch%20queen&tag=behithetimere-20&index=aps&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325" target="_blank"><i>The Hedgewitch Queen</i></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Author:</b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Lilith Saintcrow</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Release Date:</b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
December 2011</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Price:</b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
$2.99</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SDaY1YFNL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SDaY1YFNL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I got a trial
sample of this book on my ereader for free a while ago, and the
sample just sat there as I kept being distracted by pesky things like
real life. Finally, one quiet evening, I found that I had time to
take a look at this book. I began reading the sample. I continued
reading the sample. I couldn't put it down. In a style reminiscent of
Jacqueline Carey, Saintcrow created an alternate history set in what
appears to be Renaissance-era France. In fact, it was a bit <i>too</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
much like Carey's work at first. But I really enjoyed Carey's novels,
so wasn't put off by the similarity.</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The story is told in the first person past-tense. The main character,
Vianne, is a noble woman serving the princess and next in line to the
throne of Arquitaine. She's also a hedgewitch. At the start of the
book it isn't quite clear what this means other than that Vianne
spends a lot of time digging in gardens and running around in
something called 'garden boots' (I was picturing Wellingtons here for
no good reason!). But it is clear that there is a distinction between
two kinds of magic, 'court sorcery' and 'hedge witchery' and by the
very sounds of each name, you can guess that hedge witchery is near
the bottom of the pecking order in terms of glamour and importance.
So, the MC is a noble woman, but she's frequently dirty and running
around in boots instead of slippers, and she practices a type of
magic that is devalued by those around her. Translation; she's sort
of an outcast, or a geek if you will.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But this magical system isn't what grabbed me. In fact the magical
system is never clearly explained, though there seem to be some
important connections between Court sorcery and the monarch. No, the
assassination is what grabbed me. The assassination that pulls
Vianne's world down around her in the dark of night, leaving her
holding the dead bodies of those she cares about one moment, and
running away with a tall dark stranger the next. Enter the hero of
the book, Tristan. He's a dark, broody and secretive captain of the
king's guard, and is now all that stands between Vianne and death. It
was at this point that my free trial ran out and I hastily pressed
the 'buy' button on the kindle store website.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, looking back, I can fully understand why I selected to buy this
book for a measly $2.99, but I ended up dissatisfied. The MC spends a
large chunk of the next part of the book (in fact, about 50% of the
total novel) ill. She loses consciousness. A lot. She sleeps. A lot.
She is shivering and weak all the time, and she spends a lot of time
trying to get her sluggish wits working. The reader is told again and
again that Vianne has a sharp mind. Her companions report this, she
reports it, and even her own vague memories of unraveling unspecified
court intrigue are supposed to illustrate and support this facet of
her character. But it is very hard to believe these reports and these
memories when she is unable to get her wits working for about 50% of
the book. She misses things that are obvious to the reader (and also,
often, obvious to her companions) and frankly doesn't seem to have a
very sharp mind at all. That, combined with her constant illness and
weakness, and with the fact that the story is told in the first
person, results in a frustrating read.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">I
tried to cut Vianne some slack. She did just witness the murder of
several people she cared about—that's gotta be a shock (to say the
least!). And she caught a flu or fever, so of course her wits aren't
working as sharply as they normally would. I recognize all of this.
But the illness and sluggishness just seemed to drag on too long. I
found myself losing interest in the main character. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And then there was the romance. I really wanted to like the romance.
I was in the mood for a good romance. For me, this wasn't it. Tristan
has all the characteristics of a good hero. He's brooding, secretive
(in a way Vianne never seems to pick up on—then again her wits are
sluggish) and occasionally has a precise, controlled violence that's
pretty appealing in a renaissance hero. He's a bit pig-headed, but
not too much. And (and this is a classic romance-move) he's been
pining for Vianne for a long, long time. Perfect, right?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Romance
is an individual thing. I think the Tristan-Vianne romance might work
for some, but for me it fell flat. I'm going to try to explain why: I
believed that he cared for her, and even loved her. I believed his
emotions entirely. But, I didn't believe hers. This is especially
odd, since the tale was told in the first person. Or maybe it was
</span><i>because</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> the tale was
told in the first-person that this was my reaction. Vianne never
tells the reader that her pulse quickened, stomach flip-flopped or
heart skipped a beat at the sight of Tristan. She never gives us any
</span><i>physical</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> indication
that she cares for him. In fact, for a while I wasn't sure whether
she did care for him. She admits that he's attractive, but that seems
to be the extent of her interest in him, almost as though he's merely
eye-candy. Rather, it seems that she comes to care for him only
</span><i>because</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> she recognizes
that he loves her. Sort of: “oh, he loves me. Well, I guess I
should be with him then.” Yes, she </span><i>says</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
that she loves him. But it doesn't </span><i>feel</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
as though she loves him. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
By the time my ereader informed me that I was 80% of the way through
the book, I was determined to see it through to the end, but I was
pretty tired of the story. However, I will admit that, in the last
few pages, there is an interesting twist. I was glad to see it, and
it has left me mildly curious about the next book in this series.
But, since I'm not invested in the romance, I doubt I'll be buying
the next book.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Jennifer Fellowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015447749348149708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260168327128292094.post-57868110389950739342012-06-08T09:10:00.001-07:002012-06-22T20:05:19.542-07:00<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Book Comments</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Title: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385610262/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=behithetimere-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0385610262" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Carpet People</span></i></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-style: normal;">Authors</span><i>:
</i></b><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Terry Pratchett and
Terry Pratchett</span></i></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Publication
Date:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> 1992 (and 1971)</span><br />
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Terry_Pratchett_The_Carpet_People_2.jpg/185px-Terry_Pratchett_The_Carpet_People_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Terry_Pratchett_The_Carpet_People_2.jpg/185px-Terry_Pratchett_The_Carpet_People_2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What follows isn't a review. Just some thoughts that occurred to me
while reading one of my favourite author's more mysterious books.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
First, a disclaimer: I love Terry Pratchett's fiction. Seriously.
Love. It. I went in with high hopes and a full expectation to enjoy
the book. What I did not expect was to spend so much time pondering
the introduction. Not that there weren't many other clever
'Pratchettie' things going on in this book, because there definitely
were. Tongue-in-cheek jokes about how to take over an empire using
currency instead of swords, jabs at philosophers (that one hit close
to home, given my degree in philosophy!) and a fascinating race known
as the wights who can remember the future, that is, until one day
they can't! (Cue existential crisis).</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">But,
as I said, what I want to focus on is the introduction, where
Pratchett tells us that this book was written by two authors, and
both of them have the same name. One is seventeen-year-old Terry
Pratchett. The other is forty-three year old Terry Pratchett,
established author of the </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Discworld</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
novels. Pratchett tells his readers that, when the </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Discworld</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
novels became popular, people rediscovered this little book. By then
the book was out of print, but the fans began pestering the
publishing company for a copy of this book, if it was indeed by the
same author as the </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Discworld</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
The question was, was it by the same author?</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The answer in this case is a bit complicated. On the one hand, yes it
was by the same author in a strictly legal and practical sense. But,
in a more personal sense, no, the author was no longer the same.
Pratchett tells us that he looked at the old manuscript and found
that many of his ideas had changed in the intervening years. He
thought differently about what made a good story in general, and what
made a good fantasy story in particular. He decided a few things
needed to be changed here and there, and ultimately ended up
rewriting the entire book. So, the 1992 edition isn't quite the sort
of book that the forty-three year old Pratchett would write if he
were to approach the same subject matter again, and it isn't the same
book that the seventeen-year-old Pratchett wrote in 1971. It's a
collaborative effort. But, jokes Pratchett, at least he doesn't have
to split the royalty cheque with the other author!</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This introduction fascinated me. As I read the book, I wondered about
which aspects were the seventeen-year-old Pratchett's contribution,
and which were the forty-three-year-old's. I wondered about what the
book looked like in its 1971 incarnation. I wondered if we all grow
to fundamentally disagree with our earlier selves. And, finally, I
wondered about the self itself. What is it that makes us who we are?
(Cue existential crisis! I know, I know, there's a joke about
philosophers lurking here somewhere.)</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">It's
curious to me that Pratchett couldn't let the book stay as his
seventeen-year-old self had written it. Writers often talk about
their books as their babies, that they are unwilling to send out into
the world. But in a sense, these books can be something else as well;
they are often parts of the writer's self. The 1971 book could tell
us something about what seventeen-year-old Pratchett thought about
the world, what he valued, and what he found funny. The 1992 book
mixes this up, leaving me curious and bewildered. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Identity, persona and authorship are all tricky concepts. Did
Pratchett have a right to rewrite the book? Legally, of course he
did. But part of me is left with an image in my head of a
forty-three-year-old man muzzling a seventeen-year-old boy. Or is it
a forty-three-year-old man guiding and refining a
seventeen-year-old's rough ideas?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Whether muzzling or mentoring, I cannot say. But I enjoyed trying to
puzzle it out. Now I wonder whether all writers cringe at the efforts
of their younger selves. Maybe growing up is just growing
embarrassed.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If so, I guess we only have ourselves to blame.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Jennifer Fellowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015447749348149708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260168327128292094.post-32595543004416316002012-05-21T15:33:00.001-07:002012-06-16T10:30:02.134-07:00<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Title:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005US9WZG/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=behithetimere-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005US9WZG" target="_blank">“The Toil and Trouble Trilogy: Book One” </a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Author:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
V.J. Chambers</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Price:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Free<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRy2pUCiuDuCewYvWqTVEGuqozBmuaSmQxXn5gVMIhZ-Ny66MVX" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRy2pUCiuDuCewYvWqTVEGuqozBmuaSmQxXn5gVMIhZ-Ny66MVX" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Facing a break from the day job, and
willfully ignoring a pile of work I should have otherwise been doing,
I hit the road and went to crash at a friend's place for the weekend,
bringing my ereader with me. I fully intended to spend time catching
up with my friend, but then V.J. Chambers hit me with a literary ton of bricks!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I began this book with lowered
expectations. After all, I had just 'purchased' it for free, so how
good could it be? The beginning was not inspiring, as I realized that
it is written in the present-tense, a quality I usually detest in
stories. It began with the story of a teen-aged girl who was making
out with a boy on the bleachers. Really, the bleachers? This is an
old, highly stereotypical image, and I was already losing interest.
Besides, the girl in question (our protagonist, Olivia) has a car.
Can't she just ask the boy (Brice) to head back to the back seat? It
has to be more comfortable than the bleachers. But, with my friend
already in bed for the night, I decided to flip through a few more
pages. And in the next page or two, the stereotype was shattered.
Entirely.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While these two characters are trying
to figure out how, exactly, the act of copulation was supposed to
work (I did mention that they were teen-agers, right? Did I also
mention that they were drunk? And inexperienced?) one of them, Brice,
turns into a monster. Not a werewolf. Not a vampire (thank God) but a
Berserker. The clearest way I can think of to describe a Berserker is
to compare them to Reavers from the Firefly series by Joss Whedon a
few years back. They are human-shaped still, but act like rabid
animals.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Our MC, Olivia, immediately jumps into
action to bring Brice safely to her Nona who may be able to preform a
magic charm on him, while avoiding having her
formerly-amorous-now-rabid friend tear a piece out of her jugular.
This is the reader's introduction to the magic-system in this story.
It hits like an 18 wheeler. Up until this point I wasn't even sure
the book belonged in the Fantasy genre.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
From here Olivia gets caught up in a
tangled plot to try to uncover dark secrets about her parents' past,
discover what has become of her mother, and watch her back as her
treacherous cousin, Vincent, competes with her for control of the
family 'business'. She juggles all this while dealing with her
growing feelings for Brice, their relationship only complicated by
his tendency to revert to a Berserker every night at midnight.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The world is contemporary, and the
magic fits into it seamlessly, and uniquely. Far from the
stereotypical novel I feared with the opening bleachers scene,
Chambers has found a novel and intriguing role for magic to play in
her world. My one quibble about the magic system is that there are
too many unanswered questions. I don't know how the magic of Olivia's
family works, exactly, or whether it's difficult to use. I don't
entirely know if this is a magic everyone can preform if they have
the right training, or whether it requires innate talent. Besides a
few entertainment examples, I'm not even sure what the magic is—or
can be—used for. Chambers spends little time on the details here.
But this is just book one of three, and a lot of the intrigue
surrounds magic-use, so perhaps more information is delivered in the
next few books.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Overall, the book was a page-turning,
fast-paced, enjoyable read that kept me from seeking interpersonal
contact for a large part of the weekend! Olivia is a well-rounded
main character and fairly believable as a seventeen-year old. Many of
the other characters do not seem as multifaceted but that's often the
case with first-person narratives. At times, though there is a lot of
action happening, the plot did not advance as quickly as I'd like,
leaving me feeling frustrated. But in general the book grabbed—and
held—my interest from the moment Brice's eyes turned red, signaling
his change.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Will I buy the next two books at $3.99
a pop? I am not sure yet. Though I enjoyed this tale quite a bit, I
left it feeling an odd lack of curiosity about what will happen next
in the mystery-plot surrounding Olivia's family. I don't quite know
why this is but, for some reason, I don't feel that I care enough
about the mc to be worried about what happens to her. But who knows.
As the weeks stretch on, curiosity might get the better of me.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And how does one become a Berserker?
Believe it or not, its a magical STI.
</div>Jennifer Fellowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015447749348149708noreply@blogger.com0