Book Review
ßehemoth: ß-max & Seppuku (Book, Peter Watts): A single book in two volumes1, ßehemoth ends what Starfish began and Maelstrom continued. Bisected, it still does the job, since Watts already wrote it in two distinct parts. The first half takes place at the bottom of the Atlantic, the setting that first gripped me in Starfish. The second is a trip across the ruins of North America, or N'Am, following the outbreak brought about in Maelstrom. Watts tackles morality in its purest, biochemical forms backed by science fiction's power: Holding a skewed mirror up to ourselves. Take, for instance, an offhanded mention of corporate responsibility, where a company can kill hundreds, sicken thousands and be punished less than a single lone sociopath with a handful of murders on his hands. Or, more up front, the power over millions granted to a perverse killer simply because he's now overdosed on guilt. In Watt's future, rational thinkers are able to wash their hands of sin just as fundamentalists, only the leader is chosen by science rather than some divine right. Though couched in a bleak, apocalyptic future, ßehemoth shows us the world today stripped bare.
Dragon Venom (Book, Lawrence Watt-Evans): For all that I rail against traditional fantasy, I have a soft spot for Watt-Evans. While his heroes' goals tend to be very grand, such as Lord Obsidian's quest to destroy all dragons in this book, their situations tend towards a realistic, even mundane approach to the world. When Lord Obisidian travels to the chaotic lands where magic overrules science, in what could have been an entire series of Howardian novellas, Watt-Evans concentrates only on a pair of dialogues. This seems a modern approach to fantasy writing, replacing the grand adventure with something the reader can relate to. In fact, the scope of the trilogy seems very modern, with the hero's method of success owing both to American heroism (a can-do attitude replacing destiny or right-by-birth) and information sharing. Is this a new trend in fantasy, or am I lucky to have Watt-Evans on my childhood-favorites-buy list?
Kung Fu Hustle (Film): A great second push into American theaters by Stephen Chow, giving me hope that more will follow and worry for Hollywood's sidekick-izing and soul-sucking treatment of the great Chinese heroes (I'd love to send Jackie Chan and Jet Li back overseas so they can get back to producing watchable movies). Kung Fu Hustle had a lot to live up to, considering Shaolin Soccer is one of my new all-time favorite kung fu films. This time around, no characters receive enough time or plot for empathy. Sure, the creativity of the fights was jaw-dropping, but it was tough to root for either side. I left the theater with no sense of closure which, looking back, made sense since there was really nothing to close.
Returner (Film): A Japanese action film with a dashingly dark antihero, a scrappy kid from the future, a soulless child-killing gangster, and some amazing cinematic spaceships which put all but a few American sci-fi movies to shame. While most of the film is a bunch of forgettable (but fun) gunfights, take note of the scrappy kid actually able to hold her own and the most amazing airplane-to-robot transformations I've ever seen. Even if cool robots are just two scenes' worth in Returner, I hope those in charge of the new Transformers movie are busy taking notes.
1Due to Tor's wicked policy of splitting up large manuscripts from less-than-A-list authors.
Dragon Venom (Book, Lawrence Watt-Evans): For all that I rail against traditional fantasy, I have a soft spot for Watt-Evans. While his heroes' goals tend to be very grand, such as Lord Obsidian's quest to destroy all dragons in this book, their situations tend towards a realistic, even mundane approach to the world. When Lord Obisidian travels to the chaotic lands where magic overrules science, in what could have been an entire series of Howardian novellas, Watt-Evans concentrates only on a pair of dialogues. This seems a modern approach to fantasy writing, replacing the grand adventure with something the reader can relate to. In fact, the scope of the trilogy seems very modern, with the hero's method of success owing both to American heroism (a can-do attitude replacing destiny or right-by-birth) and information sharing. Is this a new trend in fantasy, or am I lucky to have Watt-Evans on my childhood-favorites-buy list?
Kung Fu Hustle (Film): A great second push into American theaters by Stephen Chow, giving me hope that more will follow and worry for Hollywood's sidekick-izing and soul-sucking treatment of the great Chinese heroes (I'd love to send Jackie Chan and Jet Li back overseas so they can get back to producing watchable movies). Kung Fu Hustle had a lot to live up to, considering Shaolin Soccer is one of my new all-time favorite kung fu films. This time around, no characters receive enough time or plot for empathy. Sure, the creativity of the fights was jaw-dropping, but it was tough to root for either side. I left the theater with no sense of closure which, looking back, made sense since there was really nothing to close.
Returner (Film): A Japanese action film with a dashingly dark antihero, a scrappy kid from the future, a soulless child-killing gangster, and some amazing cinematic spaceships which put all but a few American sci-fi movies to shame. While most of the film is a bunch of forgettable (but fun) gunfights, take note of the scrappy kid actually able to hold her own and the most amazing airplane-to-robot transformations I've ever seen. Even if cool robots are just two scenes' worth in Returner, I hope those in charge of the new Transformers movie are busy taking notes.
1Due to Tor's wicked policy of splitting up large manuscripts from less-than-A-list authors.