Trump

America is on the cusp of its most anxiously-awaited historical event, and I think I can speak for the rest of the world when I say that we share those anxieties too. Like it or not, America is one of, if not the most powerful country in the world, and it would therefore come as no surprise that the election of its new leader is viewed with scrutiny, nervousness and anticipation. So if the first counter-argument out of your mouth was going to be that as a Brit, it doesn’t concern me, then you can kindly return to your narrow spectrum of cause and consequence in peace.

There isn’t a week that goes by where I don’t hear something about Donald Trump. Oh, he’s just said that he wants to build a wall between America and Mexico. He once tweeted that global warming was a lie by China to propagate their economic importance. He just hinted at assassinating Hillary Clinton whilst talking about gun laws. And every single time I’m convinced that this will be his undoing, that he’s finally slipped up and said or done an unforgivable thing that would easily unravel any other politician.

And people still cheer for him.

This blog post isn’t going to change anything. My anger and disbelief isn’t going to change anything. But I feel the need to get my thoughts regarding this unstoppable figure down on virtual paper before this election goes any further. Not to look back on and say “I told you so”, or because I’m the only person with concerns, but because I can’t go another day listening to that man without saying something about him and against his ideologies.

He doesn’t even speak in complete sentences. When speaking about Hillary Clinton in the hinting of spurring on violence that I mentioned earlier, he said, “If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the second amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what, that will be a horrible day.” And this is one of his more intelligible ramblings. I’m not just insulting his grammar here; I’m expanding on my earlier theory that he could say anything, no matter how outrageous and nonsensical, and people will cheer the roof down for him. His campaign is built on ego and force of will, and the majority of arguments I’ve seen against his supporters have always ended with the supporter saying something like, “Haters gotta hate!”, “The left is losing, that’s it, you just gotta accept it,” and other arbitrary remarks, like they’re trying to will their beliefs into existence just by repeating them. I’ve seen people taking joy and mirth in the concerned arguments of others, and I’m reminded of playground arguments where that one kid would always win the argument by simply shouting how right they are.

It’s frustrating.

I cannot shake the belief that by electing Donald Trump, humankind would be revisiting the mistakes of the past which are there to be learned from, and that by ignoring this in an ever-escalating environment of warfare and weaponry, we’ll eventually run out of second chances. We currently live in a western world which is mostly at peace with itself, and many of us have grown complacent in the belief that this world without the constant threat of death and destruction is the default, the norm, and not something that one man’s hatred and prejudice can destroy as it so often has in the past. But we live on the same globe as the immigrants whom we so often turn away, who are not simply migrating but fleeing to our shores in an attempt to escape their land of uncertain life and ever-present death thanks to the hatred of others. All it takes is one misstep for our civilisations to fall into similar states of discord, to the loss of countless lives and lifestyles.

And sure, Hillary Clinton is no saint either. From what I’ve heard there’s plenty of things to be concerned about her being in office. But seeing as she’s the only other option in this election, and she clearly understands the fragility of the world we live in more than Trump, I’d wager that she’s the lesser of two evils and can only hope that four years down the line, some more suitable candidates come along.

Series Review: The Shannara Chronicles Season 1

Mild spoilers for The Shannara Chronicles Season 1 (and likely the book series) below! If you want to approach this series with no preconceptions, avoid this blog post.

So I’ll preface this by saying that I haven’t read any of the Shannara Chronicles books by Terry Brooks. I have no idea as to the quality of content that lies within them, or how closely the Netflix show follows them, though from the blurbs of the books it would seem to be quite loosely. As somebody who normally reads the books first, this was actually a welcome change, though I do wonder how much enjoyment I’ll be able to get from reading the books now that I’ve watched the series.

I found this series simply because I was browsing Netflix for something to watch, and I almost passed over it. I’m not saying that it didn’t appeal to me, but show adaptions from novels don’t have the best track record and it was only as a last resort that I decided to give it a try. But from the opening shot, I could tell that the middling 3-star ratings had nothing to do with the budgetary commitments, and that this was a world that at the very least had plenty of care and effort put into it. This was one of my main fears, as a novelist never has to worry about budget or realistic scope of setting and scale, and the scale issue only showed in a few battle scenes… but even the big-name novel adaptions like Game of Thrones have 50 warriors where there are meant to be 50,000.

Season 1 of the Shannara Chronicles is a quest. It reminds me of Lord of the Rings, in a good way, and I’m not even very familiar with LOTR. (I’m working on it!) Having only seen the first two Lord of the Rings movies and having started reading The Fellowship of the Ring last night, it probably says something when I can immediately identify it as a direct influence and continual referral point in the Shannara Chronicles. The world is made up of Humans, Elves, Trolls, Gnomes and the notably absent Dwarves. The latter three races are descendants of humans (or at least that’s what I’ve gathered base on the incredible intro), whilst the existence of elves remains a mystery… at least, to me.

But here’s where it really hooked me. The Shannara Chronicles are an indeterminate (though later specified) few thousands of years after modern mankind’s downfall. So, while you have elves and magic and so forth, you also have decaying fallen skyscrapers and abandoned wastelands that form the backdrop of the series as a grand narrative; humanity is still recovering from this downfall even thousands of years later. The series balances this portrayal of present day society as ancient lore perfectly, making it not a main plot point or even a readily discussed matter, but a background that rarely comes into play and brings a sense of intense wonder and discovery when doing so. It is possibly my favourite part of this narrative. I often have to remind myself that this takes place on a future Earth, and that’s wonderful. I want to learn more about Earth’s fallen civilisations, and I say this in a world which is currently wrought with the same almost idealised apocalypse story over and over.

The series has its flaws, though. Most notably, the pacing takes weird jumps and skates over important developmental issues. Sometimes it’s forgiveable, such as travelling from point A to point B – a travel of weeks – over the course of one single cut. Other times, you have characters entering environments that should make their jaw drop, but they are instead already at home. You have characters lose loved ones and fail to even grieve or be affected by it. And I am 100% certain that this comes down to cut content. But even this is, as worst, merely jarring, and whilst I recall it being particularly bad at around episode two or three, it didn’t come close to deterring me from the series.

I’d also say it was somewhat predictable. Whilst it may be set in a vastly and commendably unique world, the events that take place within it are far from having never been told before. I found myself predicting events which were meant to shock me, and I can’t particularly think of any one moment that felt like a huge revelation or surprise. But perhaps that is simply me being jaded or having a foresight that any writer of the same genre might have themselves.

Just give it a watch. These last two paragraphs have been criticisms, but they’re the only bad things I have to say about an otherwise pleasantly surprising show. I highly anticipate season 2.

Apologies, Excuses, in Prose from Recluses

It honestly disheartens me to cancel a blog post so soon after another one, but my life is currently in a state of uncertainty and I’m also feeling pretty ill (call it manflu if you must!), so I’m going to have to call this one off. If I had something to discuss then maybe I’d make an effort, but nothing even comes to mind so I’ve had to give up again.

Thursday’s gaming blog post isn’t looking too promising, either.

I’ll get back to it eventually ❤

Book Review: Wolfheart by Richard A. Knaak

I strongly recommend that you read my other review on Knaak’s book Stormrage before reading this one, as I use it as a reference point multiple times.

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Mild spoilers for Wolfheart by Richard A. Knaak below! If you want to approach this book with no preconceptions, avoid this blog post.

As may be apparent by the timing of this review, I’ve taken to reading the World of Warcraft novels in chronological order, and after reading Stormrage I moved on to Christie Golden’s The Shattering, which takes place shortly after the events of Stormrage. However, I didn’t write a book review for The Shattering as I didn’t feel like I had much to say about it. As usual, Christie Golden delivered an enjoyable reading experience which, whilst not surpassing the masterpiece of Arthas: Rise of the Lich King or War Crimes, was still a wholeheartedly wonderful novel.

I was less apprehensive when I then started Wolfheart than I was with Stormrage, though I’ll admit I didn’t expect the former to trump The Shattering. But in my opinion, it did, and it definitely surpassed Stormrage and avoided most of the issues I had with that book.

Getting right into it, Wolfheart is set not so long after the events of Stormrage (during the events of the World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm), and features many of the same characters, albeit under somewhat different circumstances. Not to give too much away, war has now officially broken out between the Alliance and the Horde, both of whom are still reeling after the cataclysm wrought by the mad black dragon Deathwing, leaving much of the world in a state of peril. The repercussions of such an event heightened the need for resources and opened new opportunities for taking territories, and has such led to the re-ignition of old rivalries.

This novel focuses mostly on the Alliance side of matters, with a few different sub-plots. In the city of Darnassus, the recently forgiven Highborn night elves who have been welcomed back into night elven society are being murdered, in a series of attacks which threaten to destabilise the summit called to debate the introduction of the Worgen into the Alliance. This in itself is a separate plot point, one which focuses on human King Varian Wrynn, who is trying to come to grips with the two halves of himself warring within. And finally, the war for Ashenvale, which is told mostly through the eyes of Haldrissa, also plays a key role in the novel.

The concept of a World of Warcraft murder mystery written by Knaak was probably the least appealing plot line to me before I started the novel, largely because as a WoW player I already knew the answer to the whodunit riddle. Despite this, though, Knaak delivered a fully intriguing narrative that not only keeps the reader guessing, but also does a superb job of introducing the Highborne and the still largely unwelcome Worgen into the overall narrative, as well as introducing Jarod Shadowsong as a very well likeable character.

Whilst I was originally not all that fussed with him, it was after reading War Crimes (set after the events of Mists of Pandaria, roughly two years ahead of this novel) that I became a huge fan of the character of Varian Wrynn, a thoroughly complex character who goes through a myriad of character development over the years and truly shines in the latest expansion. (May I direct you to this trailer? Spoilers in the comments.) The events of Wolfheart depicted a massive turning point for his character, and it was not one that Knaak took lightly. This was a shining gem of the novel to me, and for that I commend him.

The war for Ashenvale took a while to warm up, for me, which is admittedly a criticism I had with the previous novel Stormrage. But it was a slow burn, and it truly paid off from the middle to the climax of the novel. One thing that I discovered in Wolfheart was Knaak’s ability to write a clearly understandable and enjoyable battleground, with sound tactical decisions and believable hindrances. Tying into this, Knaak is a master of the fight scene, with numerous skirmishes being described in crystal detail, and one particular fight in Darnassus during the novel’s climax that I hold above all other fight scenes in writing. Perhaps this is more of a comment on my ability to imagine than it is on writing, but I find it a rare occurrence that I am able to completely visualise every move and blow of a fight and how it leads into the next. As invested as I was in this point of my reading session, it felt more like I was watching a Monty Oum animated fight scene that reading a book.

I may have evaluated the different plot lines separately in this review, but do not for a moment believe that this is a fractured narrative. These plot lines often meet and diverge, influencing each other, and by the end of the story they’ve converged into a most natural coalescence. The only issue I have with this novel is that the actions of one of the character’s doesn’t line up with how they are betrayed in the wider World of Warcraft story later on, but I firmly believe that Knaak is not to blame for this. This novel has kindled my faith in him as a writer and I look forward to reading his other works.