REVIEW: Wraith's Forest

(the following review is based off a Reviewer Copy I received)


Wraith's Forest shows much promise. L.J. Leger has a budding grasp on her use of prose, parts of the story read beautifully and were extremely enjoyable. The story is a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast Fairy Tale with a few minor changes. Jenna is a sixteen year old girl who is appointed with the job of harvesting fruit from a magical tree so the local Wizard can make an elixer that would help keep the balance of the valley. One of the fruits is bruised, with the weight of her failure on her shoulders, Jenna needs to venture into the forest to find a magical blade from the mysterious and dangerous Wraith.

The book's only real flaw is the execution of the story. The fruit and the elixir portion of the story feels a little bit forced. Since this idea feels slightly far-fetched it is hard to feel any connection to Jenna or the people in her village. You find yourself asking: why is the elixir important? The character of the Wizard is also a little bit sketchy bouncing between a young man and a stereotypical mustache twirling denizen.

Jenna's interaction with the Wraith is the strongest portion of the story, but it feels a little bit rushed. I expect this is just because of the length of the story (it is a novella). There is much room for more interactions between Jenna and the Wraith, and possibly more information on his backstory. He is by far the most fascinating character in the story. The ending is a little bit cliche, but cute none the less. 

All in all I did enjoy this story, it just needs a little bit of work. If the Author even chose to, this story could end up being fleshed out into an entire novel.

I look forward to reading more of Leger's work.

We Interrupt Your Usual Programming for the Following Message

A friend just sent me this link, and it is by far one of the most brilliant things I have seen in a very long time. I present to you: Holy Musical B@tman! If you are a fan of the comics, any incarnation of the television show or any of the films I highly suggest you check this out. As a long time Batman fangirl I couldn’t help but squeal and hyperventilate when I saw this for the first time. The humour is great, the songs are catchy. It reminds me of the Live Action Show that I used to watch as a kid on the Space Channel but if the cheesy Batman was replaced by the Christopher Nolan Batman.

I hope you all enjoy it as much I am!

Let's Talk Game of Thrones: "The Night Lands"

After watching the first episode I really wanted to see the second one. I dreamed and wished and hoped. I really really really didn't want to have to wait another week and a bit before I could find out what happens next. And then the episode leaked and all my wishing came true.

The second episode was much stronger then the first one. It didn't feel like they were jumping around as much between the different characters. I was right (it seemed) when I assumed that the first episode was more erratic because they needed to introduce all of the new major players. The episode managed to find a nice flow between all their stories similar to what they had going on in the previous season. As I've come to expect (and what has been said in many of the interviews) this season will be much more difficult to keep a clear story since most of the characters have wandered off in different directions and it takes a long time before they wander back together.

Alright. Pros and Cons.


From here on there will be spoilers.

MAJOR GLORIOUS PRO

"Salladhor Saan is a good name for songs"

Davos and Salladhor Saan. My GOD was that scene well done. The show managed to capture the essence of Davos, his undying loyalty to Stannis and his straight forward outlook on life. I'm slightly upset that they haven't given more of his backstory. The whole concept of his luck (the fingers that Stannis chopped off) and the story of the Onion Knight is a really interesting one, and it definitly would help shine some light on why he is the way he is and way he loves Stannis as much as he does. This sequence touched on that briefly. I'm hoping that we do go deeper into that later on in the season. I wouldn't be surprised if it is Melisadre who brings it out in the open.

But back to this scene. The banter between the two characters felt extremely real and playful. It is clear that there is a history behind these two and I hope we get to see more of it. Salladhor's comments towards Davos's son were priceless.

SECOND PRO
The men in the cage. As Arya heads towards the wall she is accompanied by many other boys and men. Yet the ones of real interest are the guys in the cage. When I got to this part in the book I was extremely confused. If they were that dangerous that they had to be dragged to the wall in a cage, how could they be sure that when they arrived and took on the Black, that they would keep to the oath?

The actor playing Jagen H'ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) gets across just how weird and different he is. Not to mention he's strangely attractive in a dangerous caged man kind of way. The show is able to get it across to the audience that this man is going to be important later on... but it doesn't spoil anything. Which is kind of nice. I'm excited to see more of him.

THIRD PRO

Littlefinger, you God among men. Littlefinger is by far one of my favourite characters in the show. It was nice to see him given a reprieve after last episode's run in with Cersei. The scene with Littlefinger in the Brothel is a good character study. What make him such a fascinating man is how he somehow knows how to get the best out of everyone he knows, and by best I men the most useful for himself. He is not a heartless man, he just is a business man.

THE FINAL QUESTIONABLE PRO

I think it's the sideways looks that she gives creep me out
the most.

Melisandre both scares the hell out of me. But it's a good kind of scare. When I was reading the book I was worried about how she was going to be portrayed in the show. She is a rather complicated woman who has her own goals to fulfill. The relationship between her and Stannis is a complete power struggle. Davos exists to balance the two of them out, but the scene the episode ends on... we get to see Stannis and Melisandre behind closed-doors. The Producers of Game of Thrones gleefully released that the fourth episode is going to have one of the most disturbing birth sequences to air on television. As we all can guess this is the direct outcome of the final seconds in this episode. Melisandre is going to give Stannis a son.... and it's not going to be pretty.

CON?
Alright Theon, I was waiting for this scene and it was only slightly fulfilling. You hit on your sister, it was awkward. You moved on. Your sister is a threat to your rightful throne, you have some work to do. Yara, his sister was just not.... right. I'm waiting to see more of her before I make my final judgement.

All in all I think the second episode was much stronger then the first. There is still so much more to get into before the meat of the season begins. I'm hoping episode three will finish up with our introductions to characters and by episode four we'll be live and kicking.

Let's Talk About Game of Thrones Season Two

So last night the first episode of the second season of HBO's Game of Thrones aired and the fans went wild. After the major cliffhanger from the previous season, millions of fans were left hyperventilating and driving off to the nearest bookstore so they could figure out what would happen next. There was no way on God's green earth that these fans were going to wait another year till they could find out what happened next. And if that meant they had to crack a spine of a 800+ page book then by god they were going to do it!

So true.

I really didn't want to read the books, I knew if I read the books it was going to spoil the show for me. This of course broke my usual vow of reading before watching... but the show was just so good and I was so weak. Until three days later when I found myself standing in Chapters looking at the "Buy the first Four Books of A Song of Ice and Fire for Twenty Dollars" sign did I give in. I bought them all without a second thought and dove into the series and never looked back.

Like almost every other fantasy nerd, I counted down the days till the show was back, I read and watched everything that was released about the filming. I knew George R.R. Martin's touring schedule. I changed my cover photo on facebook to a direwolf. I've planned a Game of Thrones feast for the Season Finale on june 3rd. I was an all round fangirl.

And then the episode aired.

From here down there be spoilers:

So I was little sad with how the episode opened. In the book it opens on Dragonstone with the introduction of Melisandre. The sequence is a slow build which ends with the Reader realizing that there is more to this woman then just being a Priestess. She manages to survive a poisoning attempt with no side effects. This sequence is shown in the television series, but it is quickly rushed through. There is no information give about the man (The Maester of Dragonstone) and why he chose to sacrifice himself to try and kill Melisandre. I think this sequence represents my major fear of what could happen with this season. That it is going to try and do everything, and thus have to rush through everything at break neck speed. If you've read the books, you'll be fine... but if you haven't you'll find yourself scratching your head.

This was cleverly done. It's a little hard to see from the picture.
But Melisandre is the only character wearing vivid colour
It makes her stand out. Makes her seem like the odd person out.

Don't get me wrong. The episode was really good. It had its fantastic moments. For example, right before the poisoning incident, Stannis is dictating a letter that he plans to send out to every Lord bringing to light the Incest between Cersei and Jaimie. As Stannis corrects the letter, he makes little comments such as reminding the scribe to call him "Ser Jaimie Lannister the King Slayer," cause he still is a knight after all. Stannis is a really interesting character. I'm not sure how I feel about the casting of him or Davos... but Melisandre was spot on. I mean seriously.... she looks like she's going to end up being scary.

My other major issue with the episode is how they painted the Lannisters. Cersei and Joffery are labelled as villains, and will never ever be able to do anything right because they are so evil. There are many scenes that are dedicated to how horrible these characters are. Yes, I am not their biggest fans. I love the scenes were Joffery gets slapped (that 10 hour video of Joffery being slapped is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever seen in my life). But, this isn't a story focused on a big bad. Everyone here is out for something, either themselves, their family or what they deem to be what is right. Cersei and Joffery aren't good people, but then again there are a lot of bad people in this world. Tyrion on the other hand, will always be a fan favourite of the audience. Even though he's a Lannister... he's not a bad guy. Hell, he's the best guy in the whole wide world. I'll talk about him later on in the season... when more interesting things happen to him.... Hint, Hint.

All in all, as I said before. I really did enjoy the episode. I expect the series is going to be awesome. Its HBO, we have to expect only the best from them. It is rather nice to have a television show that has the same level of production values as most film sets. I am going to keep an open mind, I expect the show just needs to get the ball rolling and prove to me all my fears are for not.

Let the Battle of the Five Kings begin. :D

Updates Updates Updates

So my posts haven't been that frequent lately, this mostly has to do with the stupid amount of school work I'm dealing with right now. Papers and tests are stressing me out and taking up all of my time these days. But I just wanted to post a note to say that I'm still working away at this blog and have many new and exciting things to talk about starting soon.

Right now I'm reading Christopher Paolini's Inheritance, well more like labouring through it. One thing about me, is that I will see a story through to the end even if it really pisses me off. That about sums up my relationship with the Inheritance Cycle. I've been sitting on this book for a while now trying to read it but I keep getting overly frustrated and setting it aside.

On the movie side of things, I want to do a few blog posts looking at Film Noir: Femme Fatales, Classical Noir and Neo-Noir. The interest in this topic not only has to do with the film noir class that I took this semester, but my plans to try and write a film noir for Script Frenzy this year.

Also, of course the Hunger Games comes out tomorrow. I'm going to be heading out to see the midnight premiere tonight... which is really exciting. You'll probably hear more from me on that soon.

So don't worry, I'm still around and you'll be hearing more from me shortly!

Review: Clockwork Prince

I loved The Mortal Instruments so when I found out that Cassandra Clare was writing another trilogy I got really excited. But the first book was kind of a disappointment. Like many people I felt that the new series was just a rehashing of the first one but this time set in Victorian London. The character archetypes were pretty much the same. We had a leading lady who was introduced to a new world. A hot boy who had a bad attitude, a best guy friend who falls in love with our leading lady. And finally another female character who makes our lead feel uncomfortable in her own skin just because she's just that good looking. Even though I was a little disappointed by the first book, I dutifully picked up the second one the day it was released. It gathered dust on my shelf for a couple of months until the other day when I thought: "well hell, it can't be that bad" and decided to finally read it. And you know what? I was pleasantly surprised.

Clockwork Prince picks up pretty soon after we left off in Clockwork Angel. Tessa and her Shadowhunter friends are still trying to solve the mystery of Tessa's origins and what she actually is while they also look into stopping the dangerous Magister. And on top of that Tessa needs to come to understand which boy she wants, the gentle Jem or the wild and crazy Will. This book packs in just the right amount of teen angst with the steam-punk inspired fantasy. Cassandra Clare built off of the basics that she set down in the first book in a clever and refreshing way giving these new characters a different feel then her contemporary crew in The Mortal Instruments.

I think my appreciation for these book still steams from her first series. In The Mortal Instruments I built a love of the Shadowhunter World, this new prequel series is able to expand this love. But needs to lean on the books that came before it. I am still excited for the final book in this trilogy. When it is released I will do a more informative critique of the series. There's no real point in analyzing the picture until I have all the pieces I think. That being said there is something that I want to look at, but it's extremely entrenched in spoilers. If you've read the book or want to ruin it for yourself read that here.

So to sum it all up. This book was enjoyable and kept my interest in the series but I'm not going to pass my final judgement until I have read the final installment.

Review: Shambling Towards Hiroshima

I love the cover on this book. 

Here's another book for my Science Fiction Course! This book is not really science fiction. It does possess science fiction elements in the form of giant lizard creatures (think Godzilla) and the idea of letting them lose on Japan to bring the Second World War to a firey, lizard-ocalypse. As you can guess, this book is a fun ride.

In Shambling Towards Hiroshima, we are introduced to Syms Thorley a B Movie Creature Feature Actor, who has played every monster under the sun (expect vampires, those are against his principle). Thorley is approached by the Navy to serve his country in the only way he can, by wearing a giant rubber dinosaur suit and destroying a model of a Japanese City. The fate of World War Two is in his short stubby rubber hands, and thousands of lives depend on him giving the performance of his life.

Thorley is a fun smart talking guy with a wicked sense of humour. You can't help but like him. He interacts with a few characters, but they're all pretty much stereotypes (Hollywood directors and actors, scientists, US Navy officials, nothing too deep). But this is a satire, the focus isn't on the characters per say, but on the message the author is trying to get across.

The premise of this book is kind of silly. But I kid you not, it works really well. Shambling is both a WWII satire and a love letter to the B-Movie and Horror Movie Scene. Even if you're not one to appriciate WWII narratives, if you have any love for the cinema, this book is definatly something you should check it out. The subject matter that this novel explores is a dark one, but it manages to do it in a lighthearted fun manner that somehow is though provoking at the same time. There is a rather intensive shift in the tone in the last twenty pages. I can't get much into that without spoiling the book. But it works and fits with the flow of the story.

So I highly suggest you check this one out. It's a pretty quick read and gives you a lot to think about and some awesome one liners you're going to want to quote in your next conversation.