I did a book review! I don’t want to spoil it for people just scrolling by, so find it here.
Review
Avatar: The Last Airbender – A Review
I recently watched the show Avatar: The Last Airbender for the very first time! A little late, but, well, does it hold up?
Spoilers inside.
My Emotional Rollercoaster | Scrubs Rewatch / Review
I’ve decided to start reviewing the shows I watch when I finish them, and I may extend this to books and movies as well. These reviews won’t necessarily be a critical evaluation so much as a personal opinion, but I’ll try to take objective flaws into account.
These posts will also contain some spoilers, so in order to avoid spoiling anything for those who are simply scrolling past, these posts will exist as unlisted pages, linked to only in blog posts like this one.
Here is the link to my review of Scrubs. Specifically, my thoughts on it after rewatching the entire series.
What if Blank, But Too Much? | Black Mirror Season 4 Review
I’ve decided to start reviewing the shows I watch when I finish them, and I may extend this to books and movies as well. These reviews won’t necessarily be a critical evaluation so much as a personal opinion, but I’ll try to take objective flaws into account.
These posts will also contain some spoilers, so in order to avoid spoiling anything for those who are simply scrolling past, these posts will exist as unlisted pages, linked to only in blog posts like this one.
Here is the link to my review of Black Mirror Season 4. It’s been a few weeks since I viewed it, so it may not be as detailed as future reviews will hopefully be, as it’s not fresh in my mind.
Book Review: Mistborn & Audible First Impressions
No, this blog post is not sponsored by Audible. I’m legitimately talking about their service. But, firstly:
The following review contains no specific spoilers, though as always, if you wish to enter into a series completely blind then I recommend you skip this review. If you’re interested in the Audible portion of this blog post, scroll until you see the header text.
When casting around for something to read after Harry Potter some time ago I discovered that a series of books I’d kept my eye on – namely, the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson – was on sale on Kindle for £1 per book. Being the eager beaver that I am, I almost dived right in and bought all seven available books, but I decided on this one occasion to hold back and buy only the original trilogy, in case the series wasn’t to my taste and I wasted my money. Boy, was that a mistake. I need more. Not that the conclusion to the trilogy wasn’t satisfying – it was, and it was brilliant – and that’s all I’ll say on the ending.
I’ve seen Sanderson’s works described as avoiding fantasy stereotypes expertly, and I can only agree with this notion. The method of magic in the Mistborn novels isn’t something I’ve ever read about before. Not to spoil too much, I’ll stick to saying that it’s very logic-based and contains limitations which reach a balance of not being too restricting, whilst avoiding any deux-ex-machina type plot holes. If I was to write a self-indulgent piece of fantasy, I admit that I’d likely base magical power on will rather than skill. Skill-based abilities, however, make your characters more admirable when they’re badass. And Vin is certainly that.
I’ve always said that written works are inferior to other platforms of fiction when it comes to scenes of action. One notable moment when I’ve found myself wrong on this has been when reading the novel Stormrage. This is another one of those moments. Allomancy allows for very momentum based combat, with the ability to pull yourself onto and push yourself off of various metals, as well as being able to enhance your strength. One of the first fight scenes in the first book, The Final Empire, sees Kelsier facing off against a group of soldiers who are trained to kill allomancers. Limited to what he can use his powers for, he finds a metal paperweight at his disposal, and the way in which he manipulates its trajectory to attack these soldiers is something that you have to read for yourself.
The world is as unique as its magic. The premise presented on the blurb of the first book is of a world where the bad guy has won, and ruled for a thousand years. This is what drew me into it. Sanderson creates a world of mists, ash and little colour without making any of it feel drab or overly depressing. Flowers are a forgotten legend. Stars are known only to those with the power to enhance their vision, to part the mists. And the world makes do. Any action against the Lord Ruler is typically more to do with stopping his tyranny than with fanatical dreams of revitalising the world, for this is the world that mankind has known as home for a thousand years.
My favourite thing about this series is how intricately plotted it is. The powers, races and state of the world all add up together towards the end of the trilogy in multiple moments of revelation. You’ll race alongside the characters to the truth as they discover deception, lies, and world-changing secrets dating back a thousand years or more. And without giving away too much, I feel like it’s important to praise the ramping up in scale of events over the three books that’s both impressive and believable, right up to the climax of the series.
Branderson (that was a typo but I’ll leave it in) has written more Mistborn novels set some centuries after the original trilogy, around the time of industrial revolution with trains being made popular, skyscrapers being built and electricity being discovered. These are the next novels I need to read – I’m very interested in what a more modern world would look like in a world where metals can be manipulated by allomancy. What really excites me is that Sanderson has stated that he also plans to write more Mistborn novels set even further in the future, in a time further ahead in technology than our own. The prospect of a series graduating from medieval setting to a futuristic one is something I’ve never seen done before – unless you count the narrative in World of Warcraft slowly become more sci-fi-esque – and I greatly look forward to reading more.
And that’s the review. If you’re skipping this bit, you can read on from here.
I’m kind of hoping that the other Mistborn books go on sale again. In the meantime, I found myself casting around for something to read again, and decided to finally use my Audible trial. Now, I could have used my free book to obtain The Alloy of Law, the next book in the Mistborn series, but I’d rather not own a continuation of a series in a different format. Brandon Sanderson has won my attention, though, and I decided to use my free Audible book token to grab The Way of Kings, the first book in the Stormlight Archive series. Well… more like the first two books, as in the UK it’s typically split into two 500 page paperbacks. So that’s 1,000 pages and 45 hours of listening I’ve just obtained for free. Except that when I went to cancel the subscription, they bribed me to stay with a second book token, so I claimed the sequel, Words of Radiance, which is equally as long. And then I cancelled my trial to no charge.
I’m going to be good for fiction for the next 94 hours of listening, then. I only hope that this still counts as a purchase on the author / narrator’s side of pay.
I’m like, 3 chapters in, so I have nothing to say about the story yet, other than it seems familiar and good. I’m here to discuss audio as a mode of listening. My first impression is that I have to pay attention. Not that it isn’t captivating, but if I’m on the edge of sleep and my mind begins to wander I have to either rewind by 30 seconds to catch the names of new settings, characters and powers I’m not yet accustomed to, or decided to switch it off for the night. I’ve also found that when reading, I’ll pause after being introduced to a new name – be it place, character or power – and go back and turn it over a few times in my head. You can’t control the pace so easily in an audiobook. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet.
I have listened to audio dramas before, though, and whilst it’s a bit different hearing everything being read by just one person, it’s also a welcome return to the experience of listening to fiction. There’s something about being able to lay back, close your eyes and allow your imagination to fully take over whilst hearing the story narrated to you. And at the end of the day, when I look back on the first three chapters and compare them to other reading experiences, I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed them just as much as any other book. I look forward to enjoying these two long-ass books, and seeing how they compare to the Mistborn series.
Revisiting Harry Potter
Kindle Unlimited is a service that’s been interesting me for some time now, and as my reading habits have been slipping more and more, I decided to claim my free month trial. Rather than using this trial to read new and interesting books, as was the plan, I was instead distracted by the fact that the Harry Potter books were on there, and thus set about re-reading Rowling’s famous series.
Now, whilst I’m comfortably familiar with the series thanks to the movies (which I’ve seen on multiple occasions), I’ve only read the actually book series once, and that was when I was around fourteen. Whilst it was enjoyable, I don’t remember being particularly blown away by the novels, and apart from filling in some of the gaps from the movies, they soon fell into obscurity. However, reading through the series a second time round has proven to be a splendid idea. I’m now positively entranced by the wizarding world that Rowling has created, and rather than taking the story at face value, my mind now reels with the possibilities of further stories told within that some world (perpetuated, of course, by the recent release of Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them, which I have yet to see). I’m enthralled by the idea of apparition; intrigued by the consequences of living in a world where things such as the polyjuice potion, the pensieve and invisibility cloaks exist; excited at the prospect of what other Dark wizards get up to and the potential narratives behind that; curious as to the magical governing of other countries; and, of course, tickled by the idea of the wizarding world existing alongside a 2016 world, where there are smartphones (and therefore cameras) everywhere.
There’s also a rich vein of rediscovery to be found from having foreknowledge of the series. Knowing the perspectives and plans of certain characters can be invigorating, enticing and exciting; the ability to understand why Dumbledore’s eyes light up “triumphantly” at a particular spot of bad news at the end of Goblet of Fire, for example, allows you to see the story from a whole other angle as it unfolds. Furthermore, reading this from an adult perspective offers even further insights into the behaviours of some characters, such as why information is withheld rather than shared, and what some unheard conversations between teachers and adult characters might sound like. And finally, I found myself taken off guard by the amount of comedic moments found in the series; some of them, like Fred and George bouncing snowballs off the back of Professor Quirrel’s turban, are even funnier with foreknowledge.
Finally, as somebody who was once caught up in the popular idea that J.K Rowling’s actual writing is overrated based on her popularity, I have this to say: that is incorrect. I’ve found her writing to be easy to read, excellently descriptive, accurately characteristic through applications of free indirect style, to contain very slight and clever foreshadowing, and most impressively, to be thoroughly well-plotted and consistent throughout a myriad of fully-constructed characters, events and in an extensively designed world. There are some minor plotholes that I’d raise, such as why Harry doesn’t see Thestrals pulling the magical carriages at the end of Goblet of Fire, but none of these compromise the story when pulled up for closer inspection, which is a rare trait to find in a lot of fiction nowadays.
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.
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.
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.
Book Review: Stormrage by Richard A. Knaak
Let’s try something new. This will be my first ever book review.
Mild spoilers for Stormrage by Richard A. Knaak below! If you want to approach the book with no preconceptions, avoid reading this blog post.
Stormrage, it must immediately be noted, is a novel that takes place within the game World of Warcraft, and, like the other WoW books I’ve read, successfully expands the narrative outside of the confines of the initial game. In the case of Stormrage, it depicted an event within the narrative which I was not previously aware had even occurred, and thus added to my enjoyment and knowledge of the game world as a whole. As with the other WoW books I’ve read (namely War Crimes, Illidan, and Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, in that order), it has been an enjoyable fantasy novel for me, but not one that I’d consider recommending to somebody who isn’t already acquainted with the Warcraft universe, as there are often many settings, character relationships and events which have been conceived and developed outside of the book series.
Out of the aforementioned Warcraft books I have read, Stormrage is that first I’ve read that has been written by Richard Knaak, the others being written by either Christie Golden, or newcomer to the series William King. Having heard some previous criticism of Richard Knaak’s writing, I entered into my reading with caution, and indeed did find some criticisms which I shall note further on.
Stormrage, then, is a novel which depicts events taking place between the World of Warcraft expansions Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm. The Emerald Dream has long been an alternate plane of existence in which the blueprints of a perfect Azeroth could be experienced, with no demonic or otherwise sentient meddlings shaping the world. Maintained by the druids of Azeroth, it has long been a place of paradise and prosperity. However, when an unearthly mist starts causing the citizens of Azeroth to fall into a comatose state, it becomes clear that all is not well, and it soon becomes apparent that Arch-Druid Malfurion has been captured within the Dream, which is rapidly becoming tainted by what is soon to be known as the Emerald Nightmare.
If I had to describe this book in one word, it’d be ‘long-winded’. I’ll immediately emphasise that I did enjoy the book, and I don’t regret reading it, but the malign forces which beseech the characters keep growing in stature, and when reading about setback after setback it might soon occur to the reader that the narrative might be shorter and sweeter should a few of these setbacks fail to occur. I found myself somewhat lost in the geography of the story arc when almost exactly midway through, I began reading what felt like a (hard-fought) climactic struggle. The narrative also suffers from the task of portraying too many abstract concepts, such as the barriers between Azeroth and the Emerald Dream breaking down, and a druid (whom I shall not name) wielding powers of global proportions sometime in the narrative.
One thing this novel does right, though, is provide an excellent platform through which to explore the characters we have already seen in-game, and challenge their deepest fears as they face the onslaught of their worst nightmares. Tyrande, in particular, is noted as fearing her evil predecessor as leader of the night elves, and the corruption which threatened to lead her people into darkness. Stormrage also introduces lesser characters such as Broll Bearmantle, whom I severely hope will make an appearance in an upcoming World of Warcraft expansion. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, Knaak is tasked with portraying some very abstract concepts which I feel many writers would choose to avoid if given the chance, whereas Stormrage, being in the rare position of depicting events of what is typically a visual and interactive world, must make do attempting to describe them; Knaak’s writing, whilst imperfect, never left me clueless as to the events unfolding before me. I do feel the need to make an example of some of his stiff writing, however:
The vision had so troubled her today that Shandris could no longer sit still. Hoping to clear her thoughts, she had personally begun patrolling the length and breadth of the capital, wending her way from the fortified bastion of the Warrior’s Terrace down into the commercial sections of the Tradesmen’s Terrace, on through the mystic Temple of the Moon and across the lush, sculptured islets of the garden. There, she had made a detour to the industrious Craftsmen’s Terrace before returning to her quarters in the Warrior’s.
The only purpose this paragraph serves is to portray Shandris’ uneasy state of mind, and there are much faster ways with which this could have been achieved. Knaak’s description of her patrol through Darnassus was, whilst descriptive, an entirely futile endeavour, and I regret to say that the novel is riddled with similar such passages. The other pet peeve I have is the way Knaak will hint at a character’s discovery, discuss it at length, but fail to inform the actual reader what the character is talking about until at least a few pages later. All this does is make me feel lost and irritated, rather than in suspense, as is likely the intention. Perhaps if the novel was not dealing with such abstract concepts, this style of writing would be more forgivable.
If you are a World of Warcraft fan, though, I recommend this book nonetheless. One of the upcoming raids of the next expansion has players actually fighting in the Emerald Nightmare, so this will be some good background reading, and despite my criticisms of Knaak’s writing, he does the job of providing an entertaining narrative featuring some fan-favourite characters. I must admit that I prefer other works within the series from Christie Golden and William King, but I’ll certainly not shy away from reading other Knaak books.
Perpetually Perturbed 