The Happening (2008)
[#44 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Fiction
Blood Fever by Charlie Higson
Chapter 24
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter IV
Dr. Manhattan: Super-Powers and the Superpowers by Professor Milton Glass Introduction
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.
Chapter 24
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter IV
Dr. Manhattan: Super-Powers and the Superpowers by Professor Milton Glass Introduction
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.
Music
All Along the Watchtower (song) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
I never used to like this much, but after its use in the first chapter of Watchmen I decided to give it another go. I like it more now. I have three versions -- Bob Dylan's original, a recent cover by the Fratellis, and Hendrix's version. The latter is my favourite and has been getting a lot of play. (Though, based on the samples from that Wikipedia link, the Dave Matthews Band one sounds even better.)
I never used to like this much, but after its use in the first chapter of Watchmen I decided to give it another go. I like it more now. I have three versions -- Bob Dylan's original, a recent cover by the Fratellis, and Hendrix's version. The latter is my favourite and has been getting a lot of play. (Though, based on the samples from that Wikipedia link, the Dave Matthews Band one sounds even better.)
Magazines
Doctor Who Magazine #397
A general flick-through of the new issue, including Production Notes, The Stolen Earth/Journey's End preview, Gallifrey Guardian, DVD Preview (The Brain of Morbius is all well & good, but what's this new box set they're hinting at?), the dire You Are Not Alone column, a couple of the reviews, Who On Earth is Elisabeth Sladen, and a scan through the Steven Moffat interview for interesting bits. (Well, that was a more thorough summary than intended.)
A general flick-through of the new issue, including Production Notes, The Stolen Earth/Journey's End preview, Gallifrey Guardian, DVD Preview (The Brain of Morbius is all well & good, but what's this new box set they're hinting at?), the dire You Are Not Alone column, a couple of the reviews, Who On Earth is Elisabeth Sladen, and a scan through the Steven Moffat interview for interesting bits. (Well, that was a more thorough summary than intended.)
Latest from 100 Films...
This is just a little update on the latest reviews posted to my other blog, 100 Films in a Year. They're a mix of new reviews from this year (back to the start of June) and archive ones from my 2007 quest.
from 2008...
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
Almost Famous (2000)
Cloverfield (2008)
Field of Dreams (1989)
The Fountain (2006)
Hulk (2003)
I Am Legend (2007)
Leon: Version Integrale (1994/1996)
from 2007...
Brick (2005)
Brief Encounter (1945)
Confetti (2006)
The Departed (2006)
Educating Rita (1983)
Heat (1995)
Kinky Boots (2005)
Mean Creek (2004)
Night Watch (2004)
Primer (2004)
More to come from both years in the future.
from 2008...
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
Almost Famous (2000)
Cloverfield (2008)
Field of Dreams (1989)
The Fountain (2006)
Hulk (2003)
I Am Legend (2007)
Leon: Version Integrale (1994/1996)
from 2007...
Brick (2005)
Brief Encounter (1945)
Confetti (2006)
The Departed (2006)
Educating Rita (1983)
Heat (1995)
Kinky Boots (2005)
Mean Creek (2004)
Night Watch (2004)
Primer (2004)
More to come from both years in the future.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
TV
8 Out of 10 Cats
6x02 (20/6/08 edition)
Shark
2x10 Every Breath You Take
Appropriately-timed tennis-themed episode. Unfortunately, annoying daughter still featured -- somehow, she still manages to increase her annoyingness!
Wimbledon 2008
Odds and ends, including some of Roger Federer vs Robin Soderling and the final set of Amelie Mauresmo vs Virginia Ruano Pascual. But mostly the third set & tiebreak of Ana Ivanovic vs Nathalie Dechy, a match that became a three-and-a-half hour marathon in which an increasingly unlikeable Ivanovic, frequently seeming like a spoilt little madam, won with luck more than talent.
6x02 (20/6/08 edition)
Shark
2x10 Every Breath You Take
Appropriately-timed tennis-themed episode. Unfortunately, annoying daughter still featured -- somehow, she still manages to increase her annoyingness!
Wimbledon 2008
Odds and ends, including some of Roger Federer vs Robin Soderling and the final set of Amelie Mauresmo vs Virginia Ruano Pascual. But mostly the third set & tiebreak of Ana Ivanovic vs Nathalie Dechy, a match that became a three-and-a-half hour marathon in which an increasingly unlikeable Ivanovic, frequently seeming like a spoilt little madam, won with luck more than talent.
Fiction
Blood Fever by Charlie Higson
Chapter 16 [2nd read]
Chapters 17 - 23
Returning to the second Young Bond novel, which I began ages ago (perhaps as much as a year) but never got round to finishing. With the fifth out in just over two months, I ought to get a move on with them...
Heat Guy J by Chiaki Ogishima; Kazuki Akane, Nobeteru Yuki & Satelight
Chapter 4 [the end]
While the first couple of chapters adapted episodes of the series, this manga increasingly goes its own route (with similarities), though there's a notably higher amount of gratuitous fan service here (that said, when is fan service not gratuitous?) For whatever reason the manga stopped after this chapter, so there are a fair few elements that seem pointlessly introduced (Boma, for instance). The anime is great though, so go watch that.
Heat Guy J Extra Material
J-Hot Paper December 2002 - April 2003
Anime Preview
Heat Guy J Animation Characters
Interview: Kazuki Akane [the end]
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter III
Under the Hood by Hollis Mason V
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.
Chapter 16 [2nd read]
Chapters 17 - 23
Returning to the second Young Bond novel, which I began ages ago (perhaps as much as a year) but never got round to finishing. With the fifth out in just over two months, I ought to get a move on with them...
Heat Guy J by Chiaki Ogishima; Kazuki Akane, Nobeteru Yuki & Satelight
Chapter 4 [the end]
While the first couple of chapters adapted episodes of the series, this manga increasingly goes its own route (with similarities), though there's a notably higher amount of gratuitous fan service here (that said, when is fan service not gratuitous?) For whatever reason the manga stopped after this chapter, so there are a fair few elements that seem pointlessly introduced (Boma, for instance). The anime is great though, so go watch that.
Heat Guy J Extra Material
J-Hot Paper December 2002 - April 2003
Anime Preview
Heat Guy J Animation Characters
Interview: Kazuki Akane [the end]
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter III
Under the Hood by Hollis Mason V
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.
"Watchmen" by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Chapter III
The forthcoming Watchmen film unsurprisingly has to lose some content from the original -- after all, it's somewhere over 300 pages of comic, plus eleven sections of additional information between the chapters. One of the things left out that has received most attention is Tales of the Black Freighter, a pirate comic book that a minor character reads within the graphic novel, which thematically mirrors the journey of one character. The film originally had this in the script, to be shot in a stylised manner reminiscent of 300, but as it would've added $20 million to the budget it was scrapped... in that form. Now it'll turn up as an anime-style animation, direct-to-DVD just days after the film's release in cinemas (there's every chance that a later 'extended cut' DVD release of the film will have it edited in).
I'm recounting all of this trivia because Chapter III of the graphic novel is where Tales of the Black Freighter makes its first appearance. In typical Moore style, it's style of mirroring is pretty opaque, especially as all the text from it is in the faintly pretentious style that often characterises Moore's prose. More interesting is what's going on elsewhere, where Moore more obviously juxtaposes simultaneous events. as with some of the things I mentioned in previous chapters, it's a favoured mode of his -- which is understandable when it works so well. As for the content of the chapter, it largely leaves the investigation of the Comedian's murder aside to focus on Dr Manhattan and his relationships with others. It's at times like these that Watchmen's strengths shine through, and you see the reason it was so revolutionary, because this is all character drama, not superheroes punching the lights out of supervillains. The characters may be people who used to (or still do) dress up in silly costumes to fight crime, but their emotions and their actions are all still completely believable. It's a completely compelling read.
There's also a feeling that Moore is moving pieces around a giant chessboard, putting things into place for larger events, beyond the lead characters' control, that will come into play later. I very much enjoy books, miniseries, films, etc, that work in this way -- where you know there's more going on, bigger mysteries, but that the characters can't quite see them or can't quite reach them yet, but the author is in control of them and they're going to come into play eventually -- see State of Play for one of my absolute favourites (incidentally, also being remade as a movie next year -- it won't be as good).
With three-quarters of the story still to go (in Watchmen, that is), I'm sure there's a lot left to be revealed...
I'm recounting all of this trivia because Chapter III of the graphic novel is where Tales of the Black Freighter makes its first appearance. In typical Moore style, it's style of mirroring is pretty opaque, especially as all the text from it is in the faintly pretentious style that often characterises Moore's prose. More interesting is what's going on elsewhere, where Moore more obviously juxtaposes simultaneous events. as with some of the things I mentioned in previous chapters, it's a favoured mode of his -- which is understandable when it works so well. As for the content of the chapter, it largely leaves the investigation of the Comedian's murder aside to focus on Dr Manhattan and his relationships with others. It's at times like these that Watchmen's strengths shine through, and you see the reason it was so revolutionary, because this is all character drama, not superheroes punching the lights out of supervillains. The characters may be people who used to (or still do) dress up in silly costumes to fight crime, but their emotions and their actions are all still completely believable. It's a completely compelling read.
There's also a feeling that Moore is moving pieces around a giant chessboard, putting things into place for larger events, beyond the lead characters' control, that will come into play later. I very much enjoy books, miniseries, films, etc, that work in this way -- where you know there's more going on, bigger mysteries, but that the characters can't quite see them or can't quite reach them yet, but the author is in control of them and they're going to come into play eventually -- see State of Play for one of my absolute favourites (incidentally, also being remade as a movie next year -- it won't be as good).
With three-quarters of the story still to go (in Watchmen, that is), I'm sure there's a lot left to be revealed...
Doctor Who: Survival
So, to continue the story I was telling before... Doctor Who came back from its 18-month hiatus, returned to 25-minute episodes but with only 14 per year. It's returning season was one long story, appropriately titled The Trial of a Time Lord (it's out on DVD later this year). For whatever reason, it was decided following this that sixth Doctor Colin Baker should vacate the part, and so he was booted off the show and Sylvester McCoy came in as the seventh Doctor. The attempts to kill the show continued -- it was no longer in its traditional Saturday slot, but scheduled against the most popular programme on TV (Coronation Street) in the middle of the week. Ratings plummeted further, though considering the low quality of McCoy's first season this was perhaps inevitable.
But then the show began to claw back, producing two seasons of largely very good stories; though many may debate the quality of The Happiness Patrol and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (I think they're both great), fewer argue that Who wasn't finding its stride again come its final season. Unfortunately, while its quality was returning, its audience wasn't. Though plans were underway for a 27th season, Doctor Who was cancelled. In many ways it's a shame -- a few years earlier and many wouldn't've minded, but Who was dropped just as it showed signs of getting good again. On the other hand, it was looking increasingly cheap and outdated, and in retrospect the long gap that ensued has allowed it to be reborn as the most successful programme on TV. Perhaps the 1989 cancellation was a blessing in disguise.
Ironically, Who's final story was called Survival, and -- despite it breaking my self-imposed four-parter rule for this Who introduction -- it's the story I've chosen to represent the seventh Doctor. It was the first ever classic story I bought on video, and as such one of the earliest I saw... but I haven't seen it for years (perhaps even a decade or more), so how does it hold up today? Fairly well, in my opinion. 1989 may be nearly 20 years ago, but in many ways so little has changed that it doesn't look as dated as it could. Of course, the fashion often does, and the CGI (yes, it has some!) and direction aren't as sophisticated as you'd find in a modern production -- nor is the pacing, of course -- but it mostly stands up.
It's easy to count the flaws: the animatronic cats aren't entirely successful; it has the least exciting chase music ever (when a Cheetah on a horse chases Ace round a playground); the Master is underused; Part Two is mostly aimless running about; the ending is hurried and almost entirely inconclusive; the motorcycle explosion is pretty ludicrous... But, at the same time, there are many pros: the animatronic cats are actually aliens, so their slight weirdness is forgivable; the Cheetah People look fantastic; Anthony Ainley's Master gets his most unusual and interesting script yet, packed with moments to leave to you wanting more of him; Ace's storyline is brilliant, continuing to embed her as the most developed companion the Doctor ever had (to this point); the Cheetah planet is wonderfully achieved for the time; the Doctor-Master final battle is dramatic... and of course the Master escapes! There's not really any excuse for that explosion though. At least it look quite good...
In many ways, Doctor Who completely changed between its cancellation in 1989 and its revival in 2005 -- these days it's big budget, glossy, lightningly paced, CGI-stuffed, big, bold entertainment for everyone. On the other hand, it's remarkable how little jump there is from the plot of Survival to the plot of Rose -- a present day suburban estate setting, ordinary people getting caught up in extraordinary things, a mysterious central character who knows more than he lets on, and a focus on the life of a teenage girl, offered so much more by the mad adventures possible in a funny blue box. If you could match up the surface production values, you wouldn't think there was a decade and a half between them.
But then the show began to claw back, producing two seasons of largely very good stories; though many may debate the quality of The Happiness Patrol and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (I think they're both great), fewer argue that Who wasn't finding its stride again come its final season. Unfortunately, while its quality was returning, its audience wasn't. Though plans were underway for a 27th season, Doctor Who was cancelled. In many ways it's a shame -- a few years earlier and many wouldn't've minded, but Who was dropped just as it showed signs of getting good again. On the other hand, it was looking increasingly cheap and outdated, and in retrospect the long gap that ensued has allowed it to be reborn as the most successful programme on TV. Perhaps the 1989 cancellation was a blessing in disguise.
Ironically, Who's final story was called Survival, and -- despite it breaking my self-imposed four-parter rule for this Who introduction -- it's the story I've chosen to represent the seventh Doctor. It was the first ever classic story I bought on video, and as such one of the earliest I saw... but I haven't seen it for years (perhaps even a decade or more), so how does it hold up today? Fairly well, in my opinion. 1989 may be nearly 20 years ago, but in many ways so little has changed that it doesn't look as dated as it could. Of course, the fashion often does, and the CGI (yes, it has some!) and direction aren't as sophisticated as you'd find in a modern production -- nor is the pacing, of course -- but it mostly stands up.
It's easy to count the flaws: the animatronic cats aren't entirely successful; it has the least exciting chase music ever (when a Cheetah on a horse chases Ace round a playground); the Master is underused; Part Two is mostly aimless running about; the ending is hurried and almost entirely inconclusive; the motorcycle explosion is pretty ludicrous... But, at the same time, there are many pros: the animatronic cats are actually aliens, so their slight weirdness is forgivable; the Cheetah People look fantastic; Anthony Ainley's Master gets his most unusual and interesting script yet, packed with moments to leave to you wanting more of him; Ace's storyline is brilliant, continuing to embed her as the most developed companion the Doctor ever had (to this point); the Cheetah planet is wonderfully achieved for the time; the Doctor-Master final battle is dramatic... and of course the Master escapes! There's not really any excuse for that explosion though. At least it look quite good...
In many ways, Doctor Who completely changed between its cancellation in 1989 and its revival in 2005 -- these days it's big budget, glossy, lightningly paced, CGI-stuffed, big, bold entertainment for everyone. On the other hand, it's remarkable how little jump there is from the plot of Survival to the plot of Rose -- a present day suburban estate setting, ordinary people getting caught up in extraordinary things, a mysterious central character who knows more than he lets on, and a focus on the life of a teenage girl, offered so much more by the mad adventures possible in a funny blue box. If you could match up the surface production values, you wouldn't think there was a decade and a half between them.
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
TV
Commercial Breakdown With Jimmy Carr
11x02 (22/6/08 edition)
Doctor Who [classic]
26x12 Survival Part One [3rd watch]
26x13 Survival Part Two [3rd watch]
26x14 Survival Part Three [3rd watch; season finale]
See here for my thoughts on this story.
Wimbledon 2008
Bits of Andy Murray vs Fabrice Santoro
11x02 (22/6/08 edition)
Doctor Who [classic]
26x12 Survival Part One [3rd watch]
26x13 Survival Part Two [3rd watch]
26x14 Survival Part Three [3rd watch; season finale]
See here for my thoughts on this story.
Wimbledon 2008
Bits of Andy Murray vs Fabrice Santoro
Fiction
Doctor Who - Decide Your Destiny: The Dragon King by Trevor Baxendale
See here for my thoughts on this book.
Heat Guy J by Chiaki Ogishima; Kazuki Akane, Nobeteru Yuki & Satelight
Chapter 1 (pages 32-66)
Chapters 2 & 3
Preacher: Dead or Alive by Glen Fabry
A general flick through this collected volume of all the Preacher covers, with comments from Fabry and series writer Garth Ennis.
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter I
Under the Hood by Hollis Mason I & II
Chapter II
Under the Hood by Hollis Mason III & IV
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.
See here for my thoughts on this book.
Heat Guy J by Chiaki Ogishima; Kazuki Akane, Nobeteru Yuki & Satelight
Chapter 1 (pages 32-66)
Chapters 2 & 3
Preacher: Dead or Alive by Glen Fabry
A general flick through this collected volume of all the Preacher covers, with comments from Fabry and series writer Garth Ennis.
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter I
Under the Hood by Hollis Mason I & II
Chapter II
Under the Hood by Hollis Mason III & IV
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.
"Watchmen" by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Chapters I & II
Watchmen is the graphic novel: it's widely credited with revolutionising the comics industry in the '80s (leading to such seminal works as The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One, the primary inspiration for the massively successful Batman Begins); it's written by Alan Moore, probably the most prolifically praised writer in the medium; the art is by Dave Gibbons, another high-profile creator; and it was the only graphic novel to appear on Time's list of the 100 greatest English language novels published since the magazine's inception. With the millennial resurgence in popularity of the comic book movie -- kicked off by 2000's X-Men, reaching new heights with Spider-Man, continuing this year with Iron Man, and showing no signs of going away soon -- the time is more than ripe for the long-mooted film adaptation of Watchmen to finally hit our screens. Its release is still 9 months off, but I thought I'd get a jump start on all those who will finally, shame-facedly, read the original graphic novel when hype kicks in next year, and read it now.
Yes, you interpreted that sentence right: this is my first time reading Watchmen.
Thankfully, so far at least, it's brilliant. And it's brilliant in the sort of non-flashy way that means it stays with you and undoubtedly continues to reward, at a level beyond moving from one pretty or exciting panel to the next. Which isn't to say Dave Gibbons' art isn't impressive, because it is, fitting the tone of the story perfectly -- realistic, but with the sort of gaudy neon colours that fans would deride so much in Batman & Robin (one suspects they work better on the page than in Real Life). There's even the odd splash panel, though these are rarely of exciting fight moments and more often punctuating dramatic scenes. The regular pattern of panels -- a hallmark of something written by Moore, it seems to me -- keep things clear and filmic, even if they're rarely the same shape as a film frame.
This is one thing that sometimes bothers me about Moore's style, actually: for a writer so vehemently opposed to film adaptations of his work, he uses a hell of a lot of filmic 'shots' and transitions. They work on the page too, but they're effects that originally come from film and, truth be told, they work even better there. For example, Chapter II focuses on flashbacks to memories of the Comedian. The structural brilliance of this chapter (both within itself and as part of the larger story) aside, Moore transitions into and out of these by replicating a dissolve from the character in an identical pose in the past and present, by placing two similar/identical panels (one present, one past, and vice versa at the end) side-by-side -- it's a very visual technique, consequently hard to explain but very clear when seen! But it's also a very filmic one, which does work better when there's an actual dissolve rather than just consecutive panels.
On a similar note, for a writer so highly praised for his originality and revolutionising of the industry, Moore re-uses an awful lot of the same tropes and tricks, both in the visuals he writes and the plot points within. I expect many of them originate in Watchmen and its in his other books that he's repeating himself, but in reading this close after two League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books (Black Dossier and, before this blog began, Volume II) the similarities are all the more apparent. Nonetheless, if one can place aside the feeling they've read it all before (not a problem if you've not read other Moore books; and, outside of his work, similarities are undoubtedly copied from this), his plot points and imagery are all very effective.
There's a lot to love in Watchmen, even after just two chapters of twelve -- it is, relatively speaking, quite long, which I suspect allows Moore to explore what he wants in a suitable level of depth; even after these two there's a lot to mull over. I don't want to reel off to much because I'd hate to spoil it if you haven't read it. Suffice to say, on the evidence of this opening, it's living up to my expectations. I can see why a film adaptation worries fans (a miniseries would seem to allow the right amount of space), and perhaps I should have joined the masses who'll read the book after the film -- that's usually my rule with adaptations, as that way round you tend to enjoy both more. You can wait to be one of them, or you can get it now, but either way I'm going to echo everyone else (ever, it seems) and say that, if you have the remotest interest in this sort of storytelling, you need to read this.
Pretty strong after just a sixth of the story.
Yes, you interpreted that sentence right: this is my first time reading Watchmen.
Thankfully, so far at least, it's brilliant. And it's brilliant in the sort of non-flashy way that means it stays with you and undoubtedly continues to reward, at a level beyond moving from one pretty or exciting panel to the next. Which isn't to say Dave Gibbons' art isn't impressive, because it is, fitting the tone of the story perfectly -- realistic, but with the sort of gaudy neon colours that fans would deride so much in Batman & Robin (one suspects they work better on the page than in Real Life). There's even the odd splash panel, though these are rarely of exciting fight moments and more often punctuating dramatic scenes. The regular pattern of panels -- a hallmark of something written by Moore, it seems to me -- keep things clear and filmic, even if they're rarely the same shape as a film frame.
This is one thing that sometimes bothers me about Moore's style, actually: for a writer so vehemently opposed to film adaptations of his work, he uses a hell of a lot of filmic 'shots' and transitions. They work on the page too, but they're effects that originally come from film and, truth be told, they work even better there. For example, Chapter II focuses on flashbacks to memories of the Comedian. The structural brilliance of this chapter (both within itself and as part of the larger story) aside, Moore transitions into and out of these by replicating a dissolve from the character in an identical pose in the past and present, by placing two similar/identical panels (one present, one past, and vice versa at the end) side-by-side -- it's a very visual technique, consequently hard to explain but very clear when seen! But it's also a very filmic one, which does work better when there's an actual dissolve rather than just consecutive panels.
On a similar note, for a writer so highly praised for his originality and revolutionising of the industry, Moore re-uses an awful lot of the same tropes and tricks, both in the visuals he writes and the plot points within. I expect many of them originate in Watchmen and its in his other books that he's repeating himself, but in reading this close after two League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books (Black Dossier and, before this blog began, Volume II) the similarities are all the more apparent. Nonetheless, if one can place aside the feeling they've read it all before (not a problem if you've not read other Moore books; and, outside of his work, similarities are undoubtedly copied from this), his plot points and imagery are all very effective.
There's a lot to love in Watchmen, even after just two chapters of twelve -- it is, relatively speaking, quite long, which I suspect allows Moore to explore what he wants in a suitable level of depth; even after these two there's a lot to mull over. I don't want to reel off to much because I'd hate to spoil it if you haven't read it. Suffice to say, on the evidence of this opening, it's living up to my expectations. I can see why a film adaptation worries fans (a miniseries would seem to allow the right amount of space), and perhaps I should have joined the masses who'll read the book after the film -- that's usually my rule with adaptations, as that way round you tend to enjoy both more. You can wait to be one of them, or you can get it now, but either way I'm going to echo everyone else (ever, it seems) and say that, if you have the remotest interest in this sort of storytelling, you need to read this.
Pretty strong after just a sixth of the story.
"Doctor Who - Decide Your Destiny: The Dragon King" by Trevor Baxendale
It's nearly over now -- The Dragon King is the penultimate book (to date) in the Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny series of gamebooks. It's penned by regular Who author Trevor Baxendale, who also wrote the series' sixth book, War of the Robots. I had a mixed experience with his previous effort, initially being shuttled along with minimal choice, though a re-read revealed better plotlines. Fortunately Dragon King has less of the former, though I'm not sure of the latter. This time "your journey takes you to the planet Elanden, where people live side by side with dragons. But hunters from a neighbouring planet are attacking... Can you restore peace to these two clashing worlds?" Ooh, fantasy-y.
Like his previous book, Baxendale's new effort is a mixed bag. There's no plot to speak of, at least on the path I followed (could I have been unlucky enough to stumble onto the one poor plot thread in both of Baxendale's books?), and the ending was utterly lacklustre -- after pointlessly running up a volcano and then running away from some dragons, I stumbled across a dragon graveyard where the spirit of a dragon plonked the TARDIS down in front of me and that was it! I certainly never encountered "hunters from a neighbouring planet" -- mentioning them in the blurb when there's at least one route on which you don't even encounter them seems a bit much, but maybe no one realised you could avoid them entirely. Consequently, I do feel like I've fallen into the unlikely trap of hitting the weak plot thread twice over!
Some of the choices certainly suggest a variety of other paths -- the TARDIS can materialise in a couple of different locations, or you can choose to encounter a spaceship instead of a dragon (presumably the dragons turn up later after that choice) -- and there are an impressive eleven endings, so maybe I just got the rubbish one! The choices you make are a mixed bag, with most being genuine while others choosing what the Doctor will do, or, as with the spaceship-or-dragon one, making you choose story points.
The thread I followed in The Dragon King was plot-free and a tad weak, but the variety of others suggest I can't condemn the book fully. I wasn't that impressed, but by the same token the fact I seem to have missed noteworthy things on other paths (rather than just similar alternatives) means it's the Decide Your Destiny book that I'm most likely to re-read. In that respect it's value for money at least.
Like his previous book, Baxendale's new effort is a mixed bag. There's no plot to speak of, at least on the path I followed (could I have been unlucky enough to stumble onto the one poor plot thread in both of Baxendale's books?), and the ending was utterly lacklustre -- after pointlessly running up a volcano and then running away from some dragons, I stumbled across a dragon graveyard where the spirit of a dragon plonked the TARDIS down in front of me and that was it! I certainly never encountered "hunters from a neighbouring planet" -- mentioning them in the blurb when there's at least one route on which you don't even encounter them seems a bit much, but maybe no one realised you could avoid them entirely. Consequently, I do feel like I've fallen into the unlikely trap of hitting the weak plot thread twice over!
Some of the choices certainly suggest a variety of other paths -- the TARDIS can materialise in a couple of different locations, or you can choose to encounter a spaceship instead of a dragon (presumably the dragons turn up later after that choice) -- and there are an impressive eleven endings, so maybe I just got the rubbish one! The choices you make are a mixed bag, with most being genuine while others choosing what the Doctor will do, or, as with the spaceship-or-dragon one, making you choose story points.
The thread I followed in The Dragon King was plot-free and a tad weak, but the variety of others suggest I can't condemn the book fully. I wasn't that impressed, but by the same token the fact I seem to have missed noteworthy things on other paths (rather than just similar alternatives) means it's the Decide Your Destiny book that I'm most likely to re-read. In that respect it's value for money at least.
Monday, 23 June 2008
TV
Top Gear
11x01 (22/6/08 edition) [2nd watch]
Wimbledon 2008
Lots of random bits, including most of Melanie South vs Alona Bondarenko
11x01 (22/6/08 edition) [2nd watch]
Wimbledon 2008
Lots of random bits, including most of Melanie South vs Alona Bondarenko
Fiction
Heat Guy J by Chiaki Ogishima; Kazuki Akane, Nobeteru Yuki and Satelight
Chapter 1 (pages 8-31)
Chapter 1 (pages 8-31)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)