Buffy’s where the story’s at

So, crazy (and easily addicted) girl that I can be, I went and watched all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the suggestion of a friend. The crazy part? I watched it in about a week and a half. But I had to, otherwise school would be in full and swing and I would only be thinking of what was going to happen between Buffy and Spike…

In the past, I was reasonably intrigued by the show. I remember watching a couple of episodes here and there back in the day when it was still airing on TV, and I remember thinking it was scary and hilarious, but I didn’t quite get it, probably because I didn’t watch it consistently enough. My friend had some of the dvds and she made me watch the first season, which didn’t really pull me in, so I finished it and stopped watching any further. When she noticed this, she was severely disappointed in me and forced me to watch the second season at least. The second season was such an unholy improvement – courtesy of Faith the awesome bad girl – that I had to start watching the next season right away, which she didn’t have on DVD!! Doomsday, anyone?

Enter online video hosting websites: Oh wonderful streaming videos… you shall be my downfall!!

I’m not a huge series watcher, probably because my schedule is such that I usually can’t really follow a story long enough to get into it. I think I got into “Lost” and “Heroes” for a while, but the moment I missed a few weeks, too many apocalyptic things happened and too many characters joined the crew or ‘died’ that it didn’t matter anymore.

But, wow, I really enjoyed Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What a crazy, well-written story that brings up interesting complications and ideas to ponder on.  The scripts are just so smart and funny, and there are very few if any loop holes that could bother a crazy, detail-watcher like me. And they pull this off season after season, remembering certain details from previous episodes of previous seasons and elaborating on the story and the character, just to make you love it more. I love watching all the characters grow-up and be changed by things that I was witness to on the other side of the screen – so this is how it feels to watch a series in its entirety! It was like watching your little brothers or sisters grow up. Especially Willow! Her change was the most dramatic and is the basis of season 6. Xander, he owns “the moments”, and he’s yet to fail to make me laugh when things get too serious.

Favourite episode is the finale of season 5: The Gift – that was the first time I’ve ever cried while watching a TV show. Joss Whedon and crew just built up the whole story arc for that season so nicely that when the inevitable time came, it was all the more powerful and emotional. I bawled and wished I could discuss how great it was with my friend then realized it was 2AM in the morning and she’d probably hit me.

Funniest episode: Hmm, off the top of my head, the episode when Giles gets turned into a demon. Hehehe. He’s funny enough as a rambling, dreamy Englishman, but as a bumbling demon he’s even more hilarious. Especially when he had to ask Spike for help. Also, I loved those episodes when Anya invites her demon friends and they all try to have a civilized conversation with the humans – it was all so surreal.

Scariest episode: That’s tied between the famous “Hush” episode in Season 4 and “Killed By Death” in Season 2, I think. “Hush” was creepy simply because you couldn’t scream when those things started stabbing at you while you were in bed, and they would glide silently around lead by those hump backy minions. I remember when I watched that episode, I was just about to go to bed, but, after that I had to watch another episode until I stopped feeling freaked out. Because I do get freaked out easily. And that ugly demon thing in “Killed By Death” with those little squiggly suckers that come out of his eye sockets…. *shudder*.

Most annoying character: Riley Finn. Just say the word “commando” and I’ll feel like ripping someone’s hair out, or, if you wave any technologically advanced devices over my head, dropping them to the floor and grinding them under the heel of my boots with epic satisfaction. Sorry, people who believe he was “right” for Buffy. Just sayin’ – he was aggravating. His friends were even more aggravating. I rejoiced when Professor Walsh got zombiefied. I giggled with glee when Forrest became patchwork doll. There’s something about using advanced human technology on ancient demons that grated on me, I almost felt bad for those demons who were unethically treated, haha.  I do admit, Riley does show an interesting side to Buffy and her dynamics with her guys, though.

My favourite character is undoubtedly Spike. He’s just so messed up and his relationship with Buffy is so complicated yet so simple. He’s such a hilariously wicked character, but in moments when it really matters, he pulls through for Buffy and Dawn. I especially like him because he didn’t have a soul, yet he would still do and think crazy things about Buffy, and, even though it might have been his chip speaking, he was loyal and he never really tried to promise to Buffy something he wasn’t able to pull through in some way. He respected Buffy for who she is (after years of intense hatred, of course… which is so much more romantic).  And, of course, there was something magnetic about his character (aside from his sizzling looks) that members of the female variety go crazy over, especially since he “reformed” himself somewhat, for Buffy. Unlike some characters, pasty-ness looks good on him and fangs…. grw! (Oh, and wasn’t Alive Spike so deliciously bumbling and fragile? Hehehe) Spike and Xander together make for hilarious moments. I didn’t care too much for the Buff-Angel relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I love David Boreanaz (he’s awesome in Bones), but I guess I had their whole relationship all figured out and didn’t find anything as interesting to chew on. I was mildly annoyed when he was given a second chance, and came back. Oh great, more episodes of Buffy and Angel knowing how they can’t really be together but they can’t really be friends, and can’t do certain deeds or else Angel becomes Bad-Angel and will have to be staked again.  Ahem.

So, herein ends my rant about BtVS. Watch it if you haven’t! You can’t not love the Scooby Gang!

See that shadowed form in the night mists? Could it be…a good story?

I just finished reading a most amazing book: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (using Caribousmon’s Random Reading Challenge to attack my bookshelf). Get ready for a long review of it…

Days to read it: So, I started off slow, reading on and off and being easily distracted. As I made my way through the story, my fingers began flipping faster through the pages of their own accord. My eyes burned holes through chapters. Next to me, the clock blinked silently, keeping track of hours I wasn’t aware of. I ended up going to bed at 5 o’clock this morning, after some long, and most absorbing, questing. In other words – about 2-3 days.

Genre: Epic, Fantasy

Synopsis

Mistborn took a little getting used to, that’s why it was such slow reading at the beginning. But the world – once you get to know it – is mysterious and fantastical. How do I begin to describe it? Well, imagine a world that is dark and smoggy, full of falling flakes of ash… always falling and building up and having to be cleared away. There is no green in the city, there is no flicker of life, especially in the eyes of the skaa who are the peasants of the city. The Lord Ruler, one who rarely appears outside of his palace, controls even the amount of hope his peasants can feel. When he does appear in public – it is obvious he could easily and dismissively destroy it and its people. At night, everyone barricades themselves inside their homes, fearing the mists for reasons they’ve forgotten. At night, all is muffled and silent. But, night time is when the most interesting things happen for Kelsier, a first and only survivor of the terrifying mining pits where the condemned are sent to work to their deaths. At night, Kelsier can move freely and undetected through the mists, up and down sheer walls, spinning from spire to spire. Why does he dare brave the Lord Ruler’s wrath? He is a mistborn. And one seeking vengeance.

Mistborn use up the energy of certain metals and alloys to gain access to latent powers. By swallowing small flakes of pewter, for example, mistborn can enhance their physical endurance and strength, something which comes in handy when you want to survive a fatal blow from an opponent…or wrench yourself free from the dungeons. Such people are rare, and are usually found in the ranks of the nobility. Kelsier himself is an exception. He was born among the skaa people, the dirt and sweat of the city. It is the skaa people who toil in the fields and fulfill all the menial labour – all great nations need something to enslave, after all, don’t they? But, something is abnormal about the skaa people. Why don’t they rebel? The sheer size of their population should easily be able to overwhelm any corrupt ruler. There is something more sinister at work in the streets of the Lord Ruler’s city, something a mistborn can detect. The Lord Ruler, O immortal one, keeps his secrets well hidden. Who are the Inquisitors, those skeletal beings with spikes driven through their eyes and horrifying skills at rendering bodies apart? They were once familiar men but now have become creatures with uncanny abilities, seemingly much stronger than even a mistborn. Kelsier is determined to help the skaa rebel against the Lord Ruler and this oppressive force that lies over his city. But he can’t do it alone.

Enter the crewmembers: Breeze, Ham, Clubs, Marsh, Spook, Dockson and Vin. Together they’ll form the grunt work for the secret rebellion, pitting their intelligence and skills towards a task that for thousands of years people have attempted and failed – kill the Lord Ruler and reclaim their city.

"Mistborn" by sweed84

Vin herself is a mistborn, but she never knew it until the day Kelsier found her and saved her from a potentially torturous death at the hands of an inquisitor. She is a slight wisp of a girl who prides herself in mistrusting others and keeping to the shadows. It will take a lot of trusting and getting used to newfound powers before this young beaten down skaa can transform into someone whose cleverness and instincts can very well determine the fate of the entire skaa rebellion.

So there’s my synopsis of the story, with a few tantalizing bits thrown in.

Impressions:

It’s ridiculously easy to lose yourself in the story. That’s just how Brandon Sanderson writes. Intensely, philosophically, emotionally – it’s all there.

Whenever you read about someone who’s agile and quick-thinking, descriptions get interesting. By burning steel and iron in their bellies, these mistborn can practically fly through the air. By burning copper or tin, they can detect or protect themselves from detection by other Allomancers (or people like them who can access powers using metals). Brandon Sanderson describes the antics of a mistborn with satisfying detail, like no other fight scene I’ve read yet. Just, for example, imagine someone having to describe a scene where Jackie Chan has to fight a whole mob of yakuza using trickery and acrobatics. To me, that’s daunting. But I relish reading about how Vin uses her brains and what available metals she has, exploiting their strengths and weaknesses with such intuition and ingeniousness that she always comes up with something to surprise her opponents.

"Mistborn" by Inkthinker

The way the story is set up, there are secrets within secrets to be discovered. It kind of becomes a theme in the story. As you read, you uncover layers of them as Vin and Kelsier put two and two together, and gain a new realization about the world they live in and some potential tidbits about how to defeat the Lord Ruler. But – you’ll still be surprised! At least, I was. The idea that there are still secrets to be discovered about the Lord Ruler keeps Kelsier hopeful that he will find a way to defeat him.

The Lord Ruler himself is a cryptic character. You hardly ever meet him. Most of the information you get about him comes from all those rumours and legends that people spread about the thing they fear. He also has some interesting history, so he’s more than just the evil villain stock character.

There are some noble themes threaded into the story too, notably of the immortality of hope. Kelsier, a ‘prince of thieves’ in his city, gets everything he knows and loves torn away from him and he is sent to the cruel pits to mine for a precious metal. Out of this hell, he discovered his powers, and he vowed to no longer be beaten down by the whips of the obligators and inquisitors, or the formless oppressiveness of the Lord Ruler himself. Even when his plans begin to fall apart, he keeps it together, because the common people look towards him as their leader, and he fiercely believes he and his crew can make that extra difference that will change the way things have been for thousands of years. Kelsier is determined to prove that hope is one thing that the Lord Ruler cannot completely wipe out. On the topic of the politics of leadership, Brandon Sanderson has lots of say.

Another interesting theme: the fine line between heroism and tyranny. Throughout the book, there are excerpts from an interesting logbook detailing the thoughts of a hero from the past….a hero who was prophesied to end some abstract force of darkness and evil, back during the time when the Lord Ruler appeared and came into power. In his logbook he often questions his motives, questions his leadership, questions whether or not he deserves the looks of hope that the common people give him. It all forms an interesting philosophical backdrop to the story. It also nicely parallels Kelsier’s own doubts and the doubts of his crewmembers.

Geez, what an awesome book. I cried, I gripped the pages, I bit my lip, I tripped around the house with my eyes attached to the pages. In other words, this is one of those books that have an ‘epic’ feel to them that I allowed myself to enjoy. Normally, I hate epics, because they’re too grandiose, and I can just hear the trumpets and horns announcing each epic moment. But this one was different, kind of like how The Lies of Locke Lamora was epic but not epic. Okay, ahem, need to clarify – I guess I mean that (though the plot is epic in scope) because I felt very attached to one or two characters in particular, understanding their worries and hopes, the story felt more private and less matyr-istic. Yes, I am one of those people who’ve tried and failed to finish reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I associate the epic-but-private feeling with the likes of Abhorsen, Shade’s Children, Book of a Thousand Days among others. I can only achieve that epic-but-private-world feeling if I’ve been more than sufficiently attached to the characters, if I really and truly care about how they turn out. And, maybe it’s because I didn’t read that far into LOTR, but I didn’t care about them. The movie did it for me, though.

Anyway, aside from a few annoying typos (and obvious grammatical errors…:P), I very very much enjoyed thinking about some of the concepts and ideas integrated into this book, and moreover, just enjoying some good story telling.

Excerpt:

“Overthrow the …[Lord Ruler?]” Mennis looked up, frowning. “You really expected to do something like that??”

“Of course,” Kelsier said. “Why else would I gather an army like this”?

“To resist,” Mennis said. “To fight. That’s why those lads came to the caves. It wasn’t a matter of winning or losing, it was a matter of doing something – anything – to struggle against the Lord Ruler.”

Kelsier turned, frowning. “You expected the army to lose from the beginning?”

“What other end was there?” Mennis asked. He stood, shaking his head. “Some may have begun to dream otherwise lad, but the Lord Ruler can’t be defeated. Once, I gave you some advice – I told you to be careful which battles you chose to fight. Well, I’ve realized that this battle was worth fighting.

“Now, let me give you another piece of advice, Kelsier, Surivivor of [the pits of] Hathsin. Know when to quit. You’ve done well, better than any would have expected. Those skaa of yours killed an entire garrison’s worth of soldiers before they were caught and destroyed. This is the greatest victory the skaa have known for decades, perhaps centuries. Now it’s time to walk away.”

With that, the old man nodded his head in respect, then began to shuffle back toward the center of the camp.

Kelsier stood, dumbfounded. The greatest victory the skaa have known in decades…

That was what he fought against. Not just the Lord Ruler, not just the nobility. He fought against a thousand years of conditioning, a thousand years of life in a society that would label the deaths of five thousand men as a “great victory.” Life was so hopeless for the skaa that they’d been reduced to finding comfort in expected defeats.

“That wasn’t a victory, Mennis,” Kelsier whispered. “I’ll show you a victory.”

He forced himself to smile – not out of pleasure, and not out of satisfaction. He smiled despite the grief he felt at the deaths of his men; he smiled because that was what he did. That was how he proved to the Lord Ruler – and to himself – that he wasn’t beaten.

No, he wasn’t going to walk away. He wasn’t finished yet. Not by far.

Quote from Brandon Sanderson:

Mistborn is an epic fantasy series that came from two ideas, one of which was, what if the dark lord won? I’ve read a lot of fantasy. I love epic fantasy, but a lot of it deals with the concept of the hero’s journey against this great dark evil. I wanted to say, what if the hero didn’t lose? What if Frodo kept the ring? What if Harry got to the end and Voldemort killed him? Then I asked, why haven’t I seen a good fantasy book that does the heist genre with characters that have different magical powers that combine together to accomplish a great goal as magical specialists?

So those two ideas came together to become Mistborn, a world where a thousand years ago, evil won. A gang gets together and says, the prophecy wasn’t true and the hero didn’t save us. It’s really the background for the story of a young woman who is recruited into a team because they need somebody who can be their mole among the nobility. Their faces are too well known so this girl named Vin is brought into the team, trained to use the magic in the world and the backdrop is that it’s this team trying to overthrow the empire. It’s her story.

Brandon Sanderson seems very enthusiastic.  How adorable…

Other Reviews:

Bookdaze – “This is a heist-style story set in a fantasy world with lots of political intrigue. I loved the creative magical system in this book – magic is based on metals, and Mr Sanderson has an almost scientific approach to it (in a good way!). Well-developed characters and great action scenes as well. I didn’t like the random POVs he started introducing towards the end of the book, but according to his annotations (excellent btw – I read them after I finished the book, and thought it was a fantastic behind-the-scenes type bonus), he used them purposefully to introduce a sense of climax and chaos”

Kristen from Fantasy Cafe – “Mistborn: The Final Empire was a strong and fun sophomore effort. It was nothing extraordinary, but it is certainly worth the time of epic fantasy fans.”

Fyrefly from Fyrefly’s Book Blog – “Other people have referred to the “Sanderson avalanche” – where the book starts out slow, but halfway through it’s like rolling down a mountain, and you can’t stop reading. That wasn’t my experience with this book at all – it pulled me in right from the get-go and didn’t let me go until it spit me out at the end. Original story, likable and realistic characters, well-written dialogue, description, and action scenes, a detailed magical system, and an unpredictable end with a few good surprises thrown in along the way – I can’t ask much more out of fantasy than that. 5 out of 5 stars.”

Graeme from Graeme’s Fantasy – “‘Mistborn’ was an infuriating read where I always knew that something amazing was just round the corner but I had to slog through mindless detail to get to it. Luckily the intrigue, cool concepts and strong characterisation made up for it enough for me to want to give the next book a go. I just hope the next one is a bit more streamlined…”

Kay from the Infinite Shelf – “I finally did it; after looking at it with a suspicious eye, I finally bit the hook and read Mistborn. And I loved it!”

Thea from The Book Smugglers – “Holy burning metals, Batman! Mistborn is flipping fantastic. Though it had a bit of a slow start, I soon became fully immersed in this new, dark world of ash and mist, where Allomancers “burn” certain metals to work magic, and a cruel tyrant rules with an iron fist (pardon the pun). At 700 pages long, I was scared that I might not be able to finish Mistborn in time to review it this week, but I needn’t have worried. I devoured this book. From the superb worldbuilding to the wonderful leading characters to the action-packed plot and overwhelmingly oppressive atmosphere, I loved Mistborn. A brilliant start to what looks to be an incredible trilogy.”

Onefinemess – “So, I was quite surprised when this book turned out to kick some major fantasy ass. It’s sort ofTolkien-esque in the sense of “odds stacked massively against the heroes”, and it starts in an even darker place than Tolkien did, but that’s a good thing. I genuinely felt like the “heroes” might not pull it off…right up until the end I was still thinking that, in the vein of the rest of the book, and the excellent atmosphere Mr. Sanderson built up, I was still expecting the worst. Sure, bad things happen, but they could have been worse. Of course, the sense of impending dread is still there. He built up a really interesting universe that is not quite like one I’ve seen yet.”

Yet there are statues – “What the trilogy does really well, however, has to do with the plot and backstory. Because I’ve already said that I found Mistborn decent but not amazing in the areas we traditionally grade fiction (characters, world-building), this is going to sound like faint praise. But the fact is, there are tons of sprawling fantasy series being written these days and hardly any of them come together in a reasonably satisfying way. Either the author loses control of the story, or the ending makes no sense, or the whole thing is brutally predictable. Sanderson, displaying perhaps the same rigor he used in developing his magic system, has done a superlative job laying out a backstory and plot that never are hard to understand but also steadily dole out surprising revelations.”

A nice mix of reviews for Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn! This book is a good stand alone and I’m satisfied with it. But… maybe I’ll read a little more into the trilogy. Oooo and special thanks to Kay from the Infinite shelf! It looks like I finished all the books I mooched from her “5 star reads list” and other places and put onto my wishlist. And I liked them all! Yay for bookblogging communities. What would I do without you guys..

My Rating: 5/5 Vials of atium

Xmas loot?

Happy Holidays y’all!

My to-be-read-and-re-read-and-general-haven’t-read-in-a-while pile. It didn’t snow for us, this xmas

Avatar: a ______ (insert adj. describing enthusiasm) film!!!

Every time I hear of the word Avatar, I can’t help but associate it with that anime, where everyone has these elements they can harness and they fight evil… So when I was asked if I wanted to watch Avatar, I didn’t immediately feel interested. And then I watched the trailer and was blown away by the possibilities.

So I went to watch it today.

It. Was. Amazing.

It was an epic of a story. And so realistic. The Na’vi people and the world of Pandora are breathtaking. Envision a lush forest landscape, a very very very old world where there are trees embedded deep into the earth and reaching to pierce the sky. Floating islands, curls of mist… harmony. Eden.

Delicate creatures twirl and float in the moist air. Luminous flowers open and close at the lightest touch. Creatures, too. Both familiar and strange (since Pandora is very similar to Earth?). And a vast network of roots ancient as the planet. It fills you with the urge to tread deep into the middle of a jungle/forest and feel the heartbeat of the earth. Especially those scenes where delicate tendrils of life itself envelop you and you feel something that acknowledges your presence within the cosmos. Sorry, I like being abstract. Well, just watch it, will you?

The Na’vi, “synthetic” as they are, were very convincing both as aliens and as reflections of human beings. Every nuance of expression looked natural, I think they did a good job capturing the complicating current of emotions that can pass through a human-like face in an instant. I did some major gushing over the way the Na’vi people move, – with such elegance and strength. They were true to the “humanoids” they are, moving like how people living in tune with their environment would move. Especially how they shoot those arrows. Wow. It looks like they’re dancing.

Whenever you talk about “The New World” and learning about it and making friends with the beings and life forms in it, there’s going to be friendships, romance, tensions and tentative trust which can be dashed and reformed. Think Pocahontas. The main character, Jake Sully, is an interesting character. His twin brother was a scientist involved in the “Avatar” project. This project consists of building a Na’vi body that is compatible with a human so that a few select scientists can further their studies on the Na’vi culture and the biology of Pandora. They connect mentally with a biologically engineered Na’vi body that also contains twists of the human genome. Basically, they plug themselves into something which can transfer their consciousness to the biologically engineered Na’vi-like body. I guess, think Matrix? But, into a different body instead of into the matrix. Anyway, these Na’vi bodies are expensive and take years to develop, so, when Jake’s brother dies, Jake is the next best replacement, since biologically, he’s very similar to his bro.

Jake himself has been paralyzed hips down due to time served in a war on Earth. So, to be able to move again, to be able to run again – of course, it’s fantastic. Except the more he “inhabits” his Na’vi body, the more he feels like this is who he truly is. He is no longer the Jake who is crippled waist down, who is weary and cynical of life, listless…lost. He’s kind of found himself again, found his own importance and vision of life. It’s very touching and dramatic and epic.

Of course, there were some kind of stock-type characters: there’s a half-crazed-going-on-fully-nuts Colonel-type character complete with scalp scars, a greedy-high-strung-indoor-golfing-corporate dude who calls the shots on the whole Pandora project, a tough-girl-army-chick with her wits and morals about her. But they weren’t too stock. They were some untold stories there.

There are so many themes running through the movie. The destructive powers of human consumerism. The insane possibilities that technology can open up. The intricate web of life and man’s relation and awareness of his role within it. More abstract themes that deal with the concept of the human spirit and the circulation of energy… the soul, perhaps? Sitting in the dark theatre, I collected all these sensory experiences and melded them together and felt like I needed to search past all the nice wrappings and accessories I put around my life and get back to the core of it. It’s a nice feeling.

Here’s an interesting quote from James Cameron (the director and script-writer) I found from reading the Wikipedia article about the film:

“the Na’vi represent something that is our higher selves, or our aspirational selves, what we would like to think we are” and that even though there are good humans within the film, the humans “represent what we know to be the parts of ourselves that are trashing our world and maybe condemning ourselves to a grim future.”

In essence, it really is great storytelling and entertainment. Easily takes the title of “Best Movie I’ve seen this Year”.

The Hunger Games and the politics of survival

How are things going in the book lover’s community? I just finished a whole slew of finals and have only one to go (Shakespeare Course), but its at the end of the week, so no worries.

After my intense chem final, I kicked back and read all day… and into the night… and well into the next day. I swear, I never pull all nighters to study for my finals, but I do pull all nighters to read.

Guess what I was reading?

The Hunger Games speedily followed up with Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. The entire month of school related reading has made my reading experience of these two books all the more awesome. Ah, the irresponsibility of staying up all night to do what you will. And now, I’m eating fettucine and silently cursing Suzanne Collins for leaving such a cliff hanger to her books. Agonizing. The third book comes out in August…

Did I ever mention I’m a sucker for books about survival? I love dystopian novels where the characters have to deal with long hours of loneliness and fear. I’m a Hatchet, Castaway and Survivorman lover. I eat up all the details about how they scrounge for food, make a shelter, fight against the raging elements and the slinking beasts. Use their wits to stay sane. Especially if the beasts are mutants. It gets so much more interesting.

I think the appeal comes from the fact that life gets so much simpler when all you focus on is survival. The world is seen in a new perspective. Every day is beautiful because who knows if you’ll survive to see the next day. You might as well be true to yourself, or face your fears, because its now or possibly, never.

When you were little, did you ever pretend that you were lost out in the wilderness and you only have these many items… what would you do to try to survive? I used to spend hours outside, playing with my brother, mashing up “herbs” and building makeshift forts.  I find myself thinking that if there ever was an apocalyptic event, I’d die before the real surviving even began. I’d die trying to make a fire. I’d die eating something poisonous. I’d die from cold. Maybe I’ll die because of something stupid, like I’m too weak-willed to skin and gut a cute cuddly animal. I’m so ignorant when it comes down to real survival. Isn’t that the irony of living a comfortable life? We’re really removed from the basic skills of survival. Humans are incredibly intelligent and advanced race, however, there are still many of us who don’t even know how to keep ourselves alive for a day if anything were to happen.

The Hunger Games is a sadistic game that a few powerful people in a city called the Capitol, make the youth of their districts do. The gist of it is that 24 youth are randomly chosen to assemble in an arena, which is usually a distinct landscape (i.e. jungle, forest, desert etc.), and they have to fight to their death. The last one standing wins. All this is aired across the 12 districts, and everyone is obliged to watch it on TV.

So you get to read all about how this girl from the Seam, (the poor area of her district), steps up to replace her younger sister in the Reaping (the day when they randomly chose who has to go). She and another boy from her district are herded away from their home and sent through all these pre-game preparations. Politics and general scheming ensue, as all the contestants must try to vie for sponsors (who pay for certain necessities in the games), and general audience appeal.

There is an interesting relationship between Katniss and Peeta (the boy chosen from her district), which I won’t reveal because it may spoil the book for you. It involves romance, of course, and much more in terms of complications of deciding who to ally with and who to watch out for. Everyone has to die, ultimately, in order for you to win. So that’s another thing to keep in mind. It’s basically a psychological as well as a physical battle that a bunch of bloodthirsty, violence desensitized people from a city far away and safely protected, can view for their own enjoyment. Even when Katniss is apparently by herself in the wilderness, she has to watch what she says, because hundreds of thousands of viewers may be tracking her and watching her every move. This also shades and colors all her decisions and cause inner turmoil that she can’t sort out. It makes for an interesting read.

Catching Fire … well, I can’t really even say what happens in this one unless you’ve already read Hunger Games. So, we’ll leave it at that.

As a heroine, I like Katniss. She does her survival thing really well and proves that she has her wits about her for the most part. She herself doesn’t feel like the heroine that the audience vie for (they place bets on who will win, and she’s a favorite), she doesn’t fully understand how her actions are impacting the people from all across the twelve districts,  even in the Capitol, where people are half insane already. That makes me frustrated sometimes. I want her to make a huge scene, cause a ruckus, but she’s not that type of girl yet. She’s changing, though, as she realizes that trying to keep her tiny private world protected becomes more and more impossible if she keeps on with her current mentality.

I like Peeta, too. But he’s frustrating sometimes, too. He’s a great character and I think he’s much smarter than Katniss gives him credit for. I think he and Katniss need to be apart so that he can act on his own, make his own decisions and own up to them, instead of always basing his decisions on how will it affect Katniss.

As for Gale, is he even in the story, really? Aside from being in Katniss’ thoughts and ocasionally kissing her and reminiscing with her about the good ol’ times – I don’t feel like he’s that important of a character right now. He definitely helps to add complications that Katniss needs to sort out, though. Maybe in the third book he’ll have his time in the limelight.

Haymitch. Interesting character. Very secretive. Outwardly a drunkard, but knows more than he lets on. I like how he and Katniss are so alike and in tune with each other so that Katniss can interpret the significance of certain things happening based on what Haymitch sends her during the games. There’s more in store from Haymitch, that’s for sure.

Oh, when will the Capitol and President Snow be overthrown? I hate Snow’s guts. But I guess he’s not really the only problem that Katniss has to face. He’s just a representation of how insanely warped these people have gotten in their desire to oppress and stay in power. Most of the people in the Capitol are too drugged up or insane to think about the state of things clearly. Until it hits them in the face and they can’t distance themselves from it.

Rating: 4.5/5 mockingjays for both of them.

Virginia Woolf

I have always avoided Virginia Woolf. I thought she was depressing and complicating and bizarre (not that she isn’t, but I thought all the worst of her for it, why was I such a reading-prude?? Beats me.). This avoidance was most likely because I tried reading “To the Lighthouse” by myself and didn’t get all those undertones and symbolic nuances she put in there. To me it was a weird story. I saw the movie, “The Hours” starring Nicole Kidman, and I didn’t really get it either, and I vaguely remember thinking it was depressing. Well anyway, through my uni years, I’ve somehow managed to avoid having to read any V. Woolf, too (you know, those old professors get carried away on lengthy tangents and some works end up having to be cut out of the syllabus and it always happens to be a Woolf work). This year, it was almost cut out again, but, at the last minute, it was reinserted and Graeme Greene’s “The Destructors” was taken out instead (which I’m totally okay with since I did an in-depth analysis of it in high school – I vaguely remember thinking that the kids’ idea of creation was destruction or something like that – plus, I was getting increasingly curious about Mrs. Woolf).

People in my class didn’t really enjoy “The Death of the Moth”. They were all, like, “this is boring”, “she comes to such a depressing conclusion”, “she wrote this before she committed suicide by putting rocks into her pockets and walking into the river”. I thought it was a beautifully written essay, where the life of a moth becomes the muse for which the writer can project her thoughts and observances about human life. I thought she was just being practical, of course the moth’s gotta die. Everything living dies. But the difference is that Woolf emphasizes the nature of life with the presence of death. Death focuses how we value our life. See? Virginia Woolf won me over with this essay. I’ve gone from studiously avoiding her to obsessively looking for more insight about her (did you know there is only one recording of her voice?). And now, I’m defending her.

“The Death of the Moth” started me off hunting for more Woolf-y things. I read her essay on “How should one read a book?” and other works. I’ve come to really enjoy her stuff now. She’s not judmental, she’s observant, she’s slightly removed, yet I feel connected to her writing, I feel like she’s subtly guiding my thoughts in one direction and prompting me into self-reflection, too. I also feel some sort of sincerity in her writing, as if she really seeks to put her true thoughts into paper, no matter if they end up contradicting each other a little. Maybe it’s her use of stream of consciousness that’s seducing me.

Things I did before the day even really began…

- bump my head on a cabinet door corner so hard there was instant tears. I want my mummy!!

- put salt in my tea (and it took me a whole minute to realize that was why the tea was salty…I’ll never be able to enjoy English Toffee Tea the same way ever again).

- shampooed my hair with conditionner and conditioned with shampoo and only realized it after I had done it.

- left for class earlier than I had to because I was mistaken on what day it was. I could have slept in for another hour.

The whole morning’s been hazy as a consequence… perhaps I should get my head checked, literally.

I know it’s been a while, but here’s another review!

The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favourite sword under the sink

I flipped open this book, read this first line, and shut the book quickly. Too much awesomeness too soon!

Let me just tell you, I was strangely giddy about this first line. The contrast there is….thrilling!

This book was like a delicious candy dangling in front of my eyes as I try to eat healthier foods, like organic chemistry (:P). Thanks to Kay from the infinite shelf for enticing me to read it!

Title: The Demon’s Lexicon

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Genre: urban fantasy

Pages: 322

Days to read it: far too long… but only because I do have a life outside of reading A week of comfortable reading should have done it.

Synopsis:

Nick is a heartless, arrogant, bad boy with a sword. He and his brother Alan are frequently on the move because pesky things like evil yellow fog, murders of ravens, zombied corpses and other scuttly spies from the Magician Circles in town want their hands on something his mother has. Except that Nick doesn’t really care for his mother’s safety – she hates the sight of him anyway, and the feeling’s mutual. The only person Nick cares an iota about is his brother, Alan, who is nothing like him. Nick’s only humouring Alan by going to school, trying to act normal…tolerating his mother. Alan cares too much, spends too much time worrying about others, wants to help annoying people even if his life is at risk because of it. And Nick has almost had it with these two annoying people in particular that Alan’s taken under his wing. But one thing soon leads to another as they do in exciting books. The local magician circle has got their eyes on this patchwork family of his and Nick inevitably learns a tiny little detail about himself…that explains a lot.

Impressions:

Heeheehee. This book was dark, sarcastic, gritty, heart-wrenching, glee-inducing, and just fantastic! Sometimes when I read something I really like, I start heeheehee-ing because I’m so delighted.

First off, the casual contrasts. Like the one on the first page. Picture this: two young men standing about in a kitchen. One of them’s got a good-natured smile on his face as he makes dinner. One of them’s glaring but fiddling around under the sink. It’s a Thursday night, and dinner’s ready. Even though their mum appears to be an invalid, and therefore the older brother must act like a father and take care of his younger brother, everything in the scene is picture perfect.  Then, with a glass-breaking entry, things start streaming into the kitchen, and, always prepared, the two brothers pull out their weapons: a sword for the baleful-eyed one and a gun for the angelic one. After deposing of these Thursday evening intruders, they dust their hands off and manage to salvage the dinner before it gets cold. There are so many instances of these contrasts that just made the story that much catchier.

In this story, England is turned into a country where ancient magicians and even more ancient demons lurk. And there are places like the Goblin Market and the House of Mezentius both of which are creepy in their own ways.

Nick’s emotionally dead character, instead of boring me, actually made me want to read more. And though there were some bits in the story where the plot slowed down (somewhere in the middle, for some reason), the ending just blew all those negative comments away. So now I can’t even think of a specific part of the book where I was feeling less compelled to read it!

These days, urban fantasy is so prevalent. And I absolutely love urban fantasy. The magic is happening in our world – that’s just so neat! But, that doesn’t explain why I love this book so much. That can be explained by the well-thought out scenes, the carefully chosen words; in general, all the story-making details that Sarah Rees Brennan obviously took the time to flesh out properly. The difference in reading experience is tremendous. I was reading the book, not only because the plot ideas presented were so creative and intelligent, but the writing itself was a gem. Every scene was used to its full dramatic advantage. And mixed into it was this element of zooming off on a thrilling, dark adventure full of dangers and curious things, tentative love and self-discoveries. I love when I’m able to trust the writer to not let me down too much!

Apart from the writing itself, you can wholeheartedly read this novel for the great story. I try not to, but, if there’s a mystery involved, I’ll unconsciously hoard hints and clues in the text to try to solve it before the climax. If I’ve solved it correctly, no harm done, I can still enjoy the story. But it is an added bonus if the author surprises me to an even greater level than I expected, which was the case in this book. I thought I had it all figured out, and for a chapter or two it seemed I was right, but by the end I was so pleased that I was wrong! And in a smart, subtle way, too (because if the text did not support the plot twist that would just be stupid)!

I suppose this book could be compared to the TV show Supernatural. But, even though my roommates gush with obsession about that show, I was never really drawn into it. Some of the concepts are similar. Nick and Alan fight demons. I guess those two guys do, too. In any case, this book drew me in on the first page and straight on to the last, in which I blinked a few times and realized it was finished. But I’m not worried, because Sarah Rees Brennan has planned to make Nick and Alan’s story a trilogy. A trilogy! In my opinion, that’s the best. Not too atrociously long like a never-ending series, and not too unsatisfyingly short, like a standalone. And she’s planned this all out in advance, too, which means she had time to put lots of thought into it, as compared to when writers feel compelled to write another book because of fans. Sometimes those books don’t work out so well.

So, I guess apart from some slow bits in the book, I loved the story! I think the guy on the front cover looks like he has too much lip gloss on, but, forcefully ignoring that by removing the jacket cover, the story was a very compelling, addicting read.

Excerpt:

Here’s an excerpt to further tempt you:

Nick was about to tell them exactly what he thought of their babbling and exactly what he would do to them if they didn’t go away at once and never breathe a word of what they’d seen, when Alan moved from the doorway into the light.

“Mae?” he said, his voice incredulous, and then quickly, “Nick, put that sword down!”

Mae said, “Bookshop Guy?”

Nick looked at her, tilting his head and recalling Alan’s wistful speeches on the subject of the pink-haired girl who liked the Beat generation. He put two and two together and came up with the fact that his entire situation was ridiculous.

This was Alan’s latest crush, then.

Nick drew the sword slowly away from the girl’s throat and lowered it until the tip almost but not quite touched the ground, holding himself ready just in case. He let his gaze follow the blade, toward the ground and away from Mae.

“Whatever you want,” he said softly.

Jamie was staring at Alan. “You helped me find Catcher in the Rye today and now you shoot people?”

“He only shot one person,” Nick remarked. “But the night is young.”

So, I guess I’ll put this book under Carl’s R.I.P. Challenge, because I’m seriously worried I won’t have time to read that much from now until Halloween.

Other reviews:

My internet’s really slow for some reason, so I kind of gave up searching for other reivews, but here are a few that I got before getting impatient:

- Anastasia from the Birdbrain(ed) Bookblog: “There are a few problems, such as Mae-the-Mary-Sue, but the twist was very well done, and by the time I got to the end I was having a lot of fun”

- Yan from Books by Their Cover: “It was within the intricate plotline, the evasiveness, the twists and turns that I have come to believe that SRB is a wonderful story teller. I had no idea what she had in mind, when she laid out the small little details, that flew together so smoothly in the end. I am still quite speechless about how well it was executed! Magnificent!”

- Charlotte from Charlott’e Library: “But Brennan only puts in just enough humor to lighten the story without distracting–Nick and Alan’s journey remains dark, and ominous, and completely gripping, in a “character-driven magical violence and suspense” kind of way.”

- kay from the Infinite Shelf: “Now, what to say about the world the author created? Mysterious, dark, and a little disturbing, it is our world filled with mystical beings who, mostly, have no good on their minds. My first thought was Supernatural meets Buffy meets something else that makes it unique. It really was different from the usual vampire or werewolf urban fantasy, and it’s also a book that I wouldn’t hesitate recommending to both boys and girls.”

- Michelle from See Michelle Read: “I really enjoy urban fantasy in general, but this strangely dark and often creepy book contained so much character development and interesting secondary characters that I couldn’t tear myself away.”

- Thea from the Book Smugglers: “Ms. Brennan flips convention through the eyes of a very different anti-hero protagonist. I cannot stress enough how much I loved that Nick was not written as a badass with a heart of gold – NO ONE in this book is what they seem.”

- Kristi from the Story Siren: “This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The plot twists…. totally did not see them coming AT ALL. The foreshadowing is very light, it’s there but you’ve really got to pay attention. Once the big twist is revealed, the story takes on a whole new light.”

Rating: 4.5/5 fever fruits

Something I happened by

I was over at Enchanted Serenity of Period Films today, and she posted about the 20 minute film “Butterfly Circus” (watch it here). I admit, I tried really hard not to cry. I knew it was going to be some sort of motivational film, I knew something heart-wrenching but triumphant was going to happen, and that when you do that sort of thing in a movie, you risk going on the lame side and instead of making people feel moved, you might end up making them roll their eyes ever so slightly. I’ve never heard of Nick Vujicic before either, so this was my first time hearing about him.

I watched the film with my brother, and we both sort of share the same taste in films, so I knew he was also going to be skeptical about it, too. But we thought, “it’s only 20 mins, let’s watch it since we’ve procrastinated projects all day anyway”, so we watched it. Scene after scene flashed by, and the creator of the film, Joshua Weigel, successfully made me feel somewhat emotionally connected in the span of 10 minutes. But still, you can imagine me, sitting in front of the screen, with my arms crossed, thinking in my head, “yeah, I get what you’re trying to do.” I totally thought I had it all figured out. Then, at the end of the film – one scene, one wordless scene, and BLAM, all the tears started trickling out, slowly. And then, my brother looked down at me and pointed wordlessly, and I opened my mouth to tell him to “Shut up” (I wasn’t thinking straight ) but then saw that he was wordless because his eyes were a little wet, too.

Then we burst out laughing. Who knew the watching of this little film would become a test to see who could resist crying (he won’t admit it, so typical..). I’m such a cry-baby in private, but when people are around I feel uncomfortable about letting those droplets loose. Maybe it’s from years of watching mum bawl at every little remotely emotional scene out there and teasing her about it. I feel so hypocritical Anyway, watch the movie, it’s only 20 minutes long, and tell me what you think about it! It’s a Doorpost Film Project winner (though I don’t really know what that means to the film community).

I Capture the Castle in half an hour

Quickly! Must post!

I’m posting this in between classes. I have half an hour! Hence the possible poor quality of the review and the multiple grammatical/typo mistakes…

Last night, I stayed up late to watch the film adaptation of Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle.

It was at around 11:30pm when I started watching it. It was around 2AM when I went to sleep!

It was so hard to stifle my giggles – though I suspect my roommates aren’t so peeved since I saw lights under their doors, too.

Set in the 1930s, Cassandra Mortmain and her family of eccentrics arrive at an old castle, where their father will hopefully be able to write a masterpiece. After 12 years of nothing published, everyone is desperate, especially Cassandra’s sister Rose, who dreams of a better life, of luxuries and love. Cassandra herself vows that she’ll never fall in love. When the landlord americans of their castle arrive, however, her entire life and that of her family whirl completely our of control. Result: lots of giggling moments, lots of touching moments, lots of sad moments, all taking place on a beautiful English Countryside, castle in no-man’s land kind of backdrop.

Cassandra is played by Romola Garai, who I thought played the role to a tee. At least, based on what I remember of the book (I must re-read it!). She was innocent and loyal and helpful and a total romantic, despite being afraid of falling in love.

Rose is played by Rose Byrne. I don’t remember much about Rose from the book, except that she must’ve been very pretty and playful. Despite having forgotten accurately how Rose was like, I love the Rose in the movie. Her character dripped with dramatic flair. Her costume bubbled with eccentricity. It altogether made for some snort-worthy scenes.

Henry Thomas plays Simon Cotton, with the sweet face and the romantic goo-goo eyes. I remember him from Legends of the Fall. And, Marc Blucas plays Neil.

The cinematography was…beautiful, just so picturesque.  The music, by Dario Marianelli, was beautiful and subtle and haunting.

There are so many little things that I loved about the movie, and I’m all about the little things sometimes. Like the talk of inheriting a portion of their Aunt’s inheritance, which makes everyone look at the dilapidated wardrobe in the corner of the bedroom.  After a moment, Cassie quips, “I hope it’s the door.”

Or having the rich folks over to dinner at the old castle. There is no food, no proper tableware, not even a proper table. Father basically says, “We’ve got doors we can unhinge, don’t we?”

I’m pretty sure I got some tea up my nose during those moments. But, to be fair, if I could’ve hollered healthily at those scenes, such dangerous incidents wouldn’t have happened. But it was midnight. On a school night. Hence the slow suffering snickering.

There are some spoilers after this!

The first scene caught me. Imagine driving up a windy road by a sparkling bay, and there, in the middle of an undulating grass field: an old dilapidated castle that will be your home. It was quite dramatic – the lone tower sticking out, looking haunting and peculiar.

When we meet seventeen year old Cassandra, she’s writing in her diary/journal, and all around her is the usual family havoc: step-mum Topaz, sister Rose and brother (whose name I can’t remember!!??) working with some green scouring powder (?) in the middle of a medieval-like setting. That scene was so lovely and eccentric and funny-worthy. In the middle of this day-to-day normal eccentricity, Cassandra is day-dreaming, and she thinks, “I am never going to fall in love. Life is dangerous enough.”

Then there’s the scene where the two Cotton brothers arrive, and in the rain storm, trying to free herself from constraints of all sorts, is Topaz, naked and exposed to the weather like a mad woman. And when the men arrive into the castle, Cassandra is stark naked as well, in her tub, eating chocolate. And, I don’t remember why, but Rose enters with grand flair, tottering down the stairs like a drunkard. Everyone is so innocent to how crazy they look to these Americans, of which this is probably their first taste of life in England. But, they took it all in stride well enough, with a few moments of awkwardness from the brothers that were misread to be as a result to an electric attraction to Rose.

My favourite scene, and it was around midnight when I choked on my tea, was when Rose and Cassie went to pick up the fur coats from their recently deceased Aunt. They were discussing how hideous the furs looked: Rose’s was bear and Cassie’s was monkey.

On the train ride back, well, by some utterly hilarious coincidence and misunderstanding, the two girls become the prey of a hunting party, mistaken for bears… in England. They caused such a whistle blowing ruckus, and to the mortification of the girls, somehow inspired the hunting instincts of one of the two brothers who immediately launches into a story about the feats of bear hunting.

Okay, got to run. But look – I even put pretty pictures in!