December 17, 2004
Earthsea earthsucked
I pity the fools who watched the SciFi Channel's adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's classic Earthsea novels. I pity myself because I was one of them, wasting four hours of my life on a teen-angst-ridden piece of trash that bore little resemblance to the original. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement - I hated it, from the unnecessary plot changes to the manufactured romance to the odd grunge-inspired little woven cap that the charisma-less actor who played Ged wore. Anyway, I guess I'm not the only one disappointed. See Ursula K. Le Guin's complaint at Slate.
Posted by oko at 06:10 AM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2004
A fantastic list of fantasy books
In no particular order (except for my number one), my favorite fantasy series are (drum roll please). . .
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
These books have had a seminal influence on my life - people may say they're not particularly well written, but they hold an irresistible fascination for me, and they remain my favorite fantasy series of all time.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
'Nuff said, the book that launched a thousand imitators, none of them even coming close to the beauty, grandeur, and melancholy of the original.
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
Undeniably derivative yet undeniably touching.
The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
I've recently reread the series, and was mildly disappointed, but the second book, The Dark is Rising, still kicks ass.
The Chrestomanci Series by Dianna Wynne Jones
Dianna Wynne Jones is seriously undervalued as a writer; she's funny, talented, and wildly creative, and she came up with a series of novels of kid-wizards at a wizards' training school 25 years before you-know-who.
The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
The novels have grown smaller and slightly darker in scope, and are more human and less fantastic than the original trilogy I read as a child. The last two books are all growed-up, but does that mean I have to like them more? I don't.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
If it weren't for the sheer imagination and exuberance of the first two books, which I loved, I wouldn't even have this series listed, because I hated the concluding volume The Amber Spyglass so much.
Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen by Garth Nix
A more recent series of complexly plotted fantasy novels with a World War I vibe that I thought were very good, especially the characterization of the Disreputable Dog.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
I normally stay away fron big, fat, metallic-foil covered paperback high-fantasy blockbusters of the Robert Jordan variety, but I have to admit, the first three books of the saga (another three or four are to come) were compulsively readable, with plenty of colorful, scheming characters, perverse plot twists, and gory battles involving the living dead.
The Harry Potter Juggernaut by J.K. Rowling
I almost didn't put these in, because I think there are so many other better fantasy novels and I'm so sick of the whole Potter media empire, but who am I kidding, I'm just as addicted as the nine-year-old next door.
Posted by oko at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2004
Pattern Recognition follows recognizable patterns
I stayed up way too late to finish reading William Gibson's Pattern Recognition, finally out in paperback, and now I wonder why. The book's standard thriller plot goes down easy, but there isn't any payoff, and the novel, hailed as bleeding-edge cool, seems already oddly dated.
The novel's hero, Cayce Pollard, is a "coolhunter," hired by ad agencies around the world to spot the newest trends that can be marketed to the masses. Cayce is so uber-sensitive to logos that seeing the Michelin Man makes her physically ill, and she has to have the logos sanded off the metal buttons of her Levis before she wears them (yes, she's crazy sensitive).
The melancholy and lonely Cayce, still dealing with her father's death during the events of 9/11, is hired to discover the truth behind some mysterious footage of a possible film in progress that's appearing on the web. Spy-thrillerey then ensues, with the world of cutting-edge advertising being the new gear in the standard espionage machine involving the NSA, CIA, and, why the hell not, some ex-KGB, for good measure.
The book's from 2003, and maybe that's why everything that's supposed to be new just seems old-hat to me - the film footage has a Ringu vibe - most people who watch it get addicted - you've got people collecting old computers as technological art objects, hipsters being hired to spread meme-type advertising, there's all this boring stuff on Cayce's Pilates routines, and, oh yeah, the Russian mafia's involved, too. For a book that's so focused on the next big thing, it's a couple of beats behind, and I wonder how it will read another few years down the road.
Anyway, after a lot of first-class globe trotting (Cayce has a generous expense account) and a bunch of state-of-the-art (circa late 2002) high-tech toys and computer cryptography, the maker of the footage is eventually found. I won't reveal the ending, but it's not much of a payoff. And, though everything isn't tied up neatly (after all, this is a serious novel, not just some dumb spy thriller) lonely Cayce meets a man and some, but not all, of her psychic wounds are healed.
Posted by oko at 08:19 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2004
The voice of God is cast
Brian Cox has been cast as the voice of Aslan the lion in the upcoming film production of the Chronicles of Narnia, according to Rotten Tomatoes. (Aslan is the animal version of (spoiler alert) Jesus Christ in C.S. Lewis's classic series of children's fantasy books.)
I'm actually a fan of Brian Cox and his performances are normally a high point of most of the films he's in: he was fantastic as the pedophile in L.I.E. and I think his Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter is better than Anthony Hopkins's. OK, sometimes he sucks - his Agamemnon in Troy was pretty hammy and the less said about Super Troopers the better. Still, in just about every movie I've seen him in, he's a bad guy - from Rob Roy to X-Men 2 to The Bourne Supremacy - and evil in some weird strange sicko way that makes him slightly uncomfortable to watch. To me, his voice is pretty distinctive, though he uses an American accent a lot, and I'm wondering whether it's going to be distracting hearing that voice ask young boys and girls to romp with him, kiss him, and stroke his mane.
So who'd be my pick for a talking lion that dies and comes back to life? Off the top of my head, I'd say Alan Rickman, but to be honest, I'd prefer someone I didn't recognize at all.
Posted by oko at 05:36 AM | Comments (0)
