Comments | the_cirque: A Handy Shanville Monthly Roundup

atraphoenix in the_cirque

A Handy Shanville Monthly Roundup

Nov 04, 2009 21:52

If you aren't already subscribed, I highly recommend subscribing to the Shanville Monthly, a handy newsletter that Darren sends out once a month, more or less. It's always full of interesting and amusing bits and pieces.

I thought I'd pick out the best bits for your perusal here.

( Book news ... )

shanville, book news, # the vampire's assistant, # the demonata, darren speaks

Comments 11

stitchfrequency November 5 2009, 06:36:16 UTC

I totally agree with your point about Twilight...even John C. Reilly said in an interview that the Twilight wave "wasn't quite cresting" when CDF was made, and I wish more people would be aware of that.
But I guess that's just one of the obvious consequences of the movie being marketed the way it was, and released when it was (i.e. right when the hype for the next Twilight movie is starting to ramp up). :(

The only thing I didn't like about the obvious lead-in to a sequel at the end of the movie was that I'm still kind of unsure about there even being the possibility of a sequel, so for them to leave it so open like that is...I don't know, giving me false hope or something? I just didn't know how to react to that ending - should I take it as assurance that there will be a sequel? Or should I still take it with a grain of salt?
I've been trying to find interviews where the actors say anything about a sequel, and they're all just kind of coy about it, haha ( ... )

atraphoenix November 8 2009, 11:12:21 UTC

That's a very nice way for him to put it. And even if people don't realise that, I'm not sure why they automatically think of Twilight when they hear the word 'vampire'. The characters and the plot are very, very different.

I'm torn there. On one hand, I will be very disappointed if there isn't a sequel and that's how it ends up being left. But, on the other, I'd rather a sequel feel like a natural progression than something tacked on for the sake of it. I'm taking it as a good sign for a sequel. Having the room there is a start.

stitchfrequency November 9 2009, 05:34:28 UTC

I'm not sure why they automatically think of Twilight when they hear the word 'vampire'. The characters and the plot are very, very different.

:( That's my main beef with the Twilight series. I hate how Twilight has become representative of ALL vampire literature when it's really the newest addition to the genre, and in fact does away with so many of the things that make vampires vampires. Bleh.

sleepall_day November 9 2009, 07:49:13 UTC

You're so right about that. You know what I love about Cirque du Freak, though? Last night I was flipping through the first book as I was searching for quotes for making my wallpaper (eventually I just settled on the first line of the book) but I LOVE when Darren is confronting Mr. Crepsley. And he says that he is evil. Mr. Crepsley just goes cryptically, "Am I?" Darren says, "Yes. You're a vampire. Vampires are evil."

Twilight, I think, tries too hard. Meyer tries to paint this picture of a self-hating brooder who drinks animal blood instead of human blood and it almost makes it seem like they're doing it to make themselves feel better rather than out of any moral issue. (But, that is a complaint that has its own time and place.)

But when I first read Cirque du Freak, and I got to that part, it's kind of making you do a double take and wonder, "Wait, so IS he evil? Or, what is going on exactly?" But then you realize he really is a good person. Especially in #3 I think, that one really shows Mr. Crepsley's character so well.

Thread 9

sleepall_day November 6 2009, 01:27:27 UTC

Oh man, I love the Shanville Monthly and all of his exclamation marks, hahhaha.

*sigh* The Twilight comparisons. I have to admit that I've read all of the Twilight books. I don't blame myself for having read the first one! I read it when it was getting popular and all hyped up and I read it out of curiosity. That's not bad, I think. I do, however, blame myself completely for having continued on. There is just no excuse for why I read the next three.

ANYWAY. I was largely offended when I tried to ask my friends to go see the movie with me and one of them was like, "Really? I thought it was a Twilight spoof." Seriously. He wasn't just trying to be annoying, he really thought that. It made me sad.

I am... not too optimistic about a sequel, BUT, I think if there was at least one, and it's done well, the two movies together could be pretty good. Considering the fact that this one does a lot of setup.

atraphoenix November 8 2009, 11:18:22 UTC

Oh, me too. Which is strange, because I usually hate exclamation mark abuse. Maybe Darren can get away with things that others can't?

I've read the first three, largely because I was on a boat at the time and I'd ran out of everything else to read out of curiosity myself. The first wasn't as bad as I'd been led to believe, but it sort of went downhill from there. I like my female character empowered and awesome, thanks, not failing to function when their boyfriend leaves them.

Seriously? Wow, that's not good. Part of me wonders if a lot of the unfavourable comparisons and reviews could have been avoided if they'd stuck with the original January release date.

I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.