Movie Review: Hugo

On the weekend I finally got out to see HUGO, a film I had been trying to get out to see for weeks since I’d heard such good things. Of course, with last week’s Oscar Nominations and HUGO leading the pack with 11, the theatre was absolutely rammed for the matinee. I was pleased by such a large turnout at this late date after the film was released.

HUGO is a film that is about a number of things. It is about Paris, books, loss, happiness, wonder, cruelty and most of all it is about film itself. Martin Scorsese, most well know for his mature film fare, takes a shot at directing a children’s/family film and scores big time.

It’s not often that I walk out of a movie and feel really, truly good. A movie that can make you smile from ear to ear hours after the fact is a good movie. For frame of reference, AMELIÉ, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO and LOVE ACTUALLY all make me feel that way. I can now add HUGO to that list, as I thought it was about as wonderful and whimsical as a film can get.

The film is about Hugo Cabret, the orphaned son of a clockmaker, who lives in the walls of the Paris Train Station thieving and hiding from the station guard to survive. He thieves from an older man who runs a toy shop in the station and gets caught, losing the notebook his father kept about a mysterious, broken mechanical man/automaton to the toyshop owner. Stemming from his attempts to recover the beloved notebook, Hugo meets Isabelle (goddaughter of the toyshop maker) and the two begin an adventure that will lead them across Paris, into the inner workings of the train station, and into the very heart of early filmmaking. That’s the extent I am willing to give you of the plot, since I’d rather not spoil anything.

The actors in the film play a myriad of characters that pepper the landscape of the train station with flair and charm. There is the clumsy, war-wounded Inspector Gustav (Sacha Baron Cohen), the woman he is crushing on who is a flower stand owner Lisette (Emily Mortimer), the bookshop owner Monsieur Labisse (Christopher Lee), the café owner Madame Emile (Frances De La Tour), the newspaper seller Monsieur Frick who can’t seem to get close to her (Richard Griffiths), right down to the more main characters or Isabelle (played wonderfully by Chloe Grace Moretz) and her cranky toyshop owner godfather (played by the ever amazing Ben Kingsley). Hugo and this large cast of larger-than-life characters populate the day-to-day life of the train station to such a degree that as a viewer you are sucked immediately into 1930’s Paris and whisked away on the wings of the story. Hugo himself (played expertly by newcomer Asa Butterfield) is our guide and his past and present make for compelling storytelling that you won’t want to blink an eye and miss.

Scorsese has done what I didn’t think was possible. In a popular culture filled with a glut of children’s films and family films that simply have little charm beyond their initial ideas he has taken a beloved book (THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick) and crafted a charming, magical movie that would make even the adults in the theatre grin with wonder and cheer. In fact, not since the HARRY POTTER films have I been this impressed with a children’s/family film, and what that continues to show me is that when prolific, well-received directors turn their eye toward making this type of film then it is almost always a success. I welcome more of such films, since I’d like one day to be able to take my children to films that will whisk them away and dazzle them the way that HUGO has the capacity to do.

The 3D (a feature I am never too sure of going in) was stunning, not at all overbearing, and well shot. The design of the film is simply marvelous and really brings 1930’s Paris to life, this includes the outside shots, and even the inside ones. Nice touches like having Django Reinhart playing the guitar in a little street performer cameo, or the playbills to 30’s-era art were quite well placed nods to the time. I think the thing you might walk away with most is just how hard Scorsese and his team worked to create an utterly believable Paris of the day, have it be totally charming, and then use it to tell an emotionally resonant, captivating story.

Howard Shore’s score is as incredible as you assume it would be from someone like him. It is both quiet and emotive, and thunderous and exciting in equal measure. You won’t find a note out of place.

HUGO is worth every accolade that it has earned thus far. It is everything that people are touting it to be, and succeeds as not only being relevant, but entertaining and the kind of film that will only impress you further the more you think about it. It’s been two days since I saw it and I already want to go back and see it again. For a film to not only capture audiences and critics alike, but to be the front-runner of many Awards shows as well might seem a bit unbelievable, but trust me when I say that you would be hard-pressed to have seen much better than HUGO in 2011.

Podcast: The Giggle Loop #06 - Alcatraz, DC Logo-polis, & The Wheel Of Time

Oh yes, it is that time again folks. It’s time for another installment of our Podcast The Giggle Loop, where Chris and I talk discuss debate argue about the nooks and crannies of the wide world of popular culture. This time we discuss TV with new J.J. Abrams show ALCATRAZ, The new DC Comics logo, and even get into a bit of a convo about THE WHEEL OF TIME, amongst many other things.

Please note: This Podcast was meant to include our interview with Riyria Revelations author Michael J. Sullivan. When we interviewed Michael, we ended up having such a good discussion that time got entirely away from us. So instead of making the podcast more than twice as long, we have decided to post the interview in its entirety (which clocks in at around 1hr 30min) as a separate audio upload next week (probably Monday or Tuesday). So please stay tuned for that as it gives some good insight into the Indie-turned-major-published author.

Until then, we give you the Podcast that we know you love where Chris and I ramble (somewhat coherently) about things.

Awesome Sidenote: We finally went legit and purchased ourselves a microphone, which I think you will notice makes us sound much clearer. Huzzah!

Doh! Sidenote: The intro music is very long this time. I meant to only edit a 30 second snippet in, and ended up throwing the whole 1min thing in accidentally and didn't notice till it was uploaded. Sorry about that folks. It will be fixed next time.

The Giggle Loop #06 - Alcatraz, DC Logo-polis, & The Wheel Of Time
Running Time: 1:09:16
Downloadable MP3 HERE

Doctor Who Re-Watch: Series 1, Episode 11 (Boom Town)

Sorry, it's been a little bit since the last entry. It was the holiday's after all.

The 11^th episode of Series 1 of DOCTOR WHO is not very good overall, but it has moments of real greatness as well. It’s not awful by any stretch, but BOOM TOWN is certainly, without a doubt one of my least favourite of Series 1.

Aside from the return of the last surviving Slitheen (let the human-suit-wearing farting resume) this episode doesn’t really offer us a lot beyond the basic of the overall arcing plot.

The Doctor and Company (which now includes Mickey and Jack Harkness) have landed in Cardiff, Wales because there is a Rift in space-time there that will recharge the TARDIS power cells. They spend an afternoon relaxing when they discover that the last Slitheen has become mayor of Cardiff and has hatched a plot to build a nuclear power plant that will cause the Rift to rupture destroying earth which she will escape by fleeing on a “space surf board” (no really). The Doctor, after catching her, plans to take her back to her home planet of Raxacoricofallapatorius for trial (where she was a member of the gangster family Slitheen), and even after she tells him they’ll kill her for her crimes he doesn’t relent.

The rest of the episode trundles along this creaky monster of the week plot to expected conclusions. If you guessed that she would try win enough of the Doctor’s sympathy to wiggle her way out, but to no avail…only to eventually be given a “second chance” (in an odd way) at her messed up life later on…then you guessed correctly.  Which is the proper theme of the episode, but to me it has nothing to do with the Slitheen plot at all. Read on…

The saving grace for the episode is Mickey. Ah Mickey Smith. What was once a foil of a character who existed so Rose would be able to run from something (AKA, her footy-loving, lazy, going-nowhere boyfriend) to her new life in the TARDIS, is now something much deeper. This is where I feel that RTD really shines in his writing. Where other writers might feel like Mickey had played out his usefulness and left him by the wayside leaving him to move on with his life post-Rose…Russell lets us dwell longer on him. Not only that by Mickey speaks the words that the rest of us only get to cry from the couch. Where have you been? We were worried sick! While you were gone I started dating someone else. You weren’t there for me. I got lonely. All the normal stuff that other writers “handwavium” or simply ignore, RTD brings front and centre in all its ugly glory. “Here” he says “This is what life is, this is how proper real humans really would react to this situation! Feelings are hurt, lives inevitably went on.”

So it is that Mickey grows a spine, tells Rose a lot of the things he truly feels. He tells her he loved her, but that with her missing there was only so long he was willing to wait. Rose reacts (as she always does) by attempting to appease Mickey and apologize while still giving off the vibe that where she really wants to be is with the Doctor. What’s truly heart-rending is that Mickey leaves without telling Rose (or anyone else) goodbye. She realizes this, and the Doctor offers to wait for him, but she says no, deciding maybe they both need a “second chance” as well.

Next Time: We get into the penultimate episode of the Series with BAD WOLF.

Riddick Update

In case you aren't aware of Iceberg Ink's deep and abiding love affair with the RIDDICK franchise you should check out this old podcast where we go on at length about our hetero man crush .

In the meantime, check out this pic of Vin Disiel, from the man's Facebook Page, in costume for the latest installment to the franchise.

Every forum conversation about every publishing decision DC ever made...

Fan 1: DC IS VIOLATING MY CHILDHOOD!

Fan 2: Dan Didio can go to hell, he’s going to get fired any day now.

Fan 3: This is why I don’t read DC. Thank God Marvel still know how to make good comics.

Fan 4: WRITER X sucks. Why do they still have him on this book ? Back when WRITER Y wrote THE FURIOUS ADVENTURES OF FUNTIME JACK is the only time this character was being written well.

Fan 5: Batman would never do that. It’s clearly established in Issue 708 that he took the PURPLE batmobile that day. This is why DC comics is going under. They don’t even bother to read their own books anymore.

Fan 6: Too dark! Comics need to be fun and light, like back in the 60s.

Fan 7: This comic sucks! WRITER Z hasn't done anything good since the 1980s when they were too busy destroying modern comic books.

Fans 8 and onwards: Increasing and incessant levels of never ending snark, punctuated by the occasional fan who tries to a) say the like what’s happening or b) appeals for sanity and rationality when discussing the decision and who is subsequently shot down by everyone else.

(See also, A Comic Publisher's Form Letter)

Book Review: THE STRAIN by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Ephraim Goodweather, heads up the Canary Project for the CDC, an early response team designed to handle unexpected biological events. When a Boeing 777 lands at JFK airport with only four survivors Ephraim’s team is called in to process the scene. What he discovers on board defies scientific understanding, an unknown pathogen has consumed the dead passengers converting their bodies into something he has never seen before.

Across the city Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian watches the news of the mysterious plane with mounting dread. He knows in his heart that an ancient vampiric evil has just come to New York, one that he has met before. When the bodies of the dead passengers vanish from morgues all across the city Abraham’s worse fears are confirmed.

Soon vampires stalk the streets of New York, their numbers swelling with each passing night. Their thirst is unquenchable, their desire for blood undeniable. As events unfold at a blistering pace Ephraim and Abraham rush to contain a seemingly unstoppable viral outbreak before it breaks out of the city and consumes the entire country.

Reading THE STRAIN by co-writers Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan was a bit of a surreal experience for me. Broken down into its component parts the book had me shaking my head in frustration at almost every page. And yet I couldn’t stop myself from reading it, despite its glaring structural problems. When the shit hit finally started to hit the fan THE STRAIN had me hooked.

At its heart STRAIN is essentially the logical continuation of Del Toro’s work in the second BLADE movie, with vampirism being portrayed as an unstoppable disease vector instead of the overly fetishized wretched love story that has become the norm today.

Tragically THE STRAIN’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. The book is impeccably well researched, stupidly well researched even. Researched like the brown nosing kid in your math class who throws his hand up every time the teacher asks a question. Because it’s not enough for him to know he’s smart, he needs to make sure every other kid in the class needs to know it too.

Right from the get go, this dedication to sharing knowledge kills the book’s tension and momentum. I don’t need to know every aspect of how an airport functions, or the history of uniforms in the CDC or the million other useless pieces of trivia that are thrown my way. I applaud the writers’ devotion to getting it right but not at the expense of the story they’re trying to tell. By all means feel free to drop some of the more salient and interesting pieces to me, but stop wasting paragraphs assuring me that all this stuff the characters are doing is 100 per cent procedurally correct. Because when I start finding the massive technical inconsistencies that crop up in later pages it’s only going to make me resent you for trying to pass yourself off as something you clearly aren’t.

But where the commitment to research works for the book, and not against it, is in its analysis of how vampirism as a disease would really work. I’ve always appreciated the scientific reimagining on the origins of classic movie monsters. While some people might bemoan the changes I find that attempting to look at these fantastical creature in a realistic manner actually makes them more frightening. STRAIN’s in-depth examination of the physiological and psychological metamorphosis of vampire victims is insightful, interesting and realistic. Well, as realistic as a disease that transforms your entire being practically overnight can be. But, bottom line, it’s clear the writers have put a LOT of thought into how this strain of vampirism works and for a reader I really enjoy that.

(It’s not perfect of course, there are still some elements of the mythical kicking around Del Toro and Hogan’s vampires, for example they can’t cross running water without being invited in by someone. So the whole reimagining doesn’t hang together quite as well it should but it’s a valiant effort nonetheless.)

One of THE STRAIN’s biggest failings are its characters. This book is populated almost entirely by paper thin caricatures and one dimensional stereotypes. Seriously to be a woman in this book is to doom yourself to being marginalized and otherwise unneeded. The books two female characters, Nora and Kelly, only gain any depth or personality through their interactions with stereotypical science hero, Ephraim. Otherwise they’re written off like needy flibbertigibbets who are better seen and not heard. In particular, it frustrated me that Nora is supposed to be a Type-A, high level scientist like Ephraim, doing nearly the same job, but is reduced to being a quiet tag along whose only real value is to babysit Ephraim’s kid because he’s too busy saving the world to do it himself.

More personality is given to victims who have been bitten and are undergoing the vampiric metamorphosis as they ruminate about the changes happening in their lives and how it affects their relationships with their loved ones. Seeing that Del Toro and Hogan have the ability to write characters as more than caricatures is disappointing since they obviously didn’t extend this same approach towards fleshing out their lead characters.

About the only character who comes off as well rounded individual in this book is that of aged vampire hunter Abraham Setrakian, although even he isn’t free from the curse of poor character development. Setrakian is revealed to have fought vampires in the 1940’s when he was a prisoner of the Nazi concentration camps. And while I can see why it might have seemed like a good idea to tie Setrakian’s personal backstory into the fertile backdrop of WWII all it really does is cheapen the tragedy of those who suffered and died at the hands of the Nazi’s in those horrible places. Surviving those concentration camps was a nearly impossible act in and of itself, somehow imagining that one could do so and prepare an elaborate plan to destroy an ageless vampire at the same time is simply ludicrous.

Basically THE STRAIN is an action movie in novel form. The book is structured like a fast paced thriller, everything happens so quickly that it’s impossible for the good guys to get a handle on events until after the catastrophe blows up. You can’t help but think that a five minute breather and some well-placed phone calls would give the heroes the opportunity to mitigate the worst of their problems. This high octane approach effect might create tension in a movie, but in a book it just showcases the instances where rational thought has been asked to take a back seat in order to keep the story moving forward.

As a result, logical inconsistencies are rife throughout THE STRAIN. I find it impossible to believe that in a world of SARS, bird flu and H1N1 that when an entire plane of people are killed, without any easily identifiable reason, that a little sabre rattling from an eager lawyer will get the survivors released without any institutional resistance. Governments are simply far too paranoid about disease and potential pandemics to let potential carriers waltz out the front door of a hospital without trying to stop them.

But despite all my bitching I really enjoyed this book. It’s well written, well thought out and well executed. Yes, there are an extraordinary amount of frustrating, head pounding against the wall brain farts but for whatever reason THE STRAIN seems to transcend its failings and remain an interesting, almost captivating book. I’m not sure I quite understand it myself. But there it is.

Video: The Joy of Books

Have you seen this video yet?

Done in Type Books, a local book store that I sadly haven't been inside of, the video shows what books really get up to when people aren't around.

Sort of a stop motion TOY STORY if you would. (Although I shudder to think what's going on in my book collection when I turn out the lights)

Anime Wednesday: January!

I’ve got a confession to make. Some of you may wonder where this entry has been. I’ve not done an Anime Wednesday post since August. Well, unfortunately life got in the way and I had been unable to even WATCH any new Anime, let alone write up a post about it. I had also sworn I would not do my long write-up on EVANGELION until I’d at least watched the 2nd REBUILD movie EVANGELION 2.22 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE. Thankfully I have done so now.

So here is the clean slate. I have decided (moving freshly into 2012) to make room for anime watching (whatever it be) at least a few nights a month, so that I will have the fodder to keep the Anime Wednesday posts coming at regular intervals. I usually do my Anime up by eating Japanese food, watching something I’ve heard good things about, and finishing it off by noisily devouring Pocky.

So here it is, promised back in August.

The EVANGELION-centric post.

SPOILER NOTE: We cannot discuss Eva if you haven’t seen it. No matter how hard I try I could never do this post minus-spoilers. So if you have any plans to watch the show and know nothing about the series or the movies, stop reading and go do so. Then come back after.

Back? Okay good.

I am going to begin with a brief run down of the history of the series (and my involvement), and about midway through we will discuss it as of the REBUILD films (of which two have been released internationally with English dubs)

Eva: A History

I began my journey with NEON GENESIS: EVANGELION (the original show’s full title) when I was about 21 in 1998 and had the series on VIDEOCASETTE…if you are unsure of the technology I speak of, you are too young. What struck me first was the cover. Shinji in his Plug Suit looked strange but interesting, and I had not watched decent giant mech anime since Robotech as a kid. So I grabbed the first tape and after watching became so enthralled by the show that I quickly began to snap up subsequent tapes. I had one friend who was into Anime and he and I would watch the series when he was around, but I mostly watched alone. You may think that watching a TV show alone is no big deal, but as things progressed in the series it was like having watched THE USUAL SUSPECTS and not having anyone to talk to about it. It was blowing my mind and I couldn’t share it with anyone.

Sadly, I never got to watch the end of the series on tape. Back then Anime was REALLY PRICEY and was considered an addiction that was fed by video tapes (4 episodes on each) that cost upwards of $40-50 EACH! I was without a job for a time and couldn’t afford to feed my addiction. So I was left wondering what had happened to Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Gendo, Ritsuko Misato and Kaji…

A few years later they began to release the series on DVD, and with my new player I was able to buy them to watch. I bought the DVD set which not only had the series (all 26 episodes), but also the two subsequent movies (DEATH & REBIRTH, END OF EVANGELION) that “fixed” the ending (I’ll get to this in a moment). I was finally able to sit down and watch the entire TV series.

And I was…perplexed. The TV show ending had been much maligned on the interwebz, but I’d never wanted to find out why for fear of spoiling the ending for myself. Now I got to see why it was so maligned.

Sidenote: Hideaki Anno, creator of the series, apparently had come out of a four-year suicidal depression prior to writing Eva. Eva was his response to the world that he initially rejected and he felt lost in. Here was a show that was about everything under the sun. It has Judeo-Christian aspects, Apocryphal aspects, Heavy Philosophical aspects, Kaballah aspects, Nature of Life aspects, Reality-Bending aspects, Oedipal Aspects, and Sexual Aspects. Under all that was a show about growing up and accepting life as it comes and is about as coming-of-age as it gets including all things teenagery. And sandwiched on the other side of that is a show about grown adults, acting like teens even amongst each other using giant robots to try to circumvent the will of the gods or Titans. I mean, even attempting to sit down and think about this series for too long will melt your brain away into a hot mist. That all of that exists within an Anime simply does my head in. When I found out that Anno had been suicidal prior to making it, then it all made more sense. If ever there was a stream-of-consciousness TV show, then Eva would be it. The other point I ought to note is that as production of the show went on Anno became very disillusioned by the Otaku lifestyle even going so far as to famously call it a form of Autism.

So the ending of the TV series (the last two episodes) was what fans might have deemed a copout. Shinji realizes that Human Instrumentality means the evolution and merging of humanity into one, all-understanding sentience that has to deal with none of the foibles of humanity as individuals. In fact, those last two episodes are nothing more than a bizarre stream-of-consciousness, philosophical diatribe about how accepting that is okay…but then rejecting it is a happier choice and that having Shinji come to that realization is (and was) the goal of the show. Nothing of the resolutions of ANY other characters besides Shinji is presented, and even his resolution is really all in his head.

Now, In terms of the narrative this is about as big of a copout as is possible in a series. This is a huge, middle finger to fans that have watched this show for that long and become so obsessed with it. Anno received many a death threat apparently after the finale aired. As a fan myself, my reaction wasn’t that strong, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I was pissed. Then I looked up the history of the writing and Anno’s personal struggles and issues. And it suddenly all made sense. Looked at from the POV of a man who has suffered severe depression, and was attempting to sort out his place in a world he seemingly was at odds with, then this show is in fact the PERFECT allegory for that ailment. Once I found out about that I was FASCINATED by it. Here was a man who actually WROTE his own dark and brooding therapy and then had it broadcast to the world! Sorry, but to me that is fucking BRAVE. Not only that, he had to deal with the fallout after people felt slighted by not getting a proper ending.

The Films (and the Fix)

So then came the films. DEATH & REBIRTH was fairly straightforward. A boiled-down retelling of the first 24 episodes with redone (read: film quality) animation and the like, but it didn’t stray much at all from the story told. No, it wasn’t until the second film came out in 1997 (two years after the show had finished) END OF EVANGELION dropped that audiences and fans of the show got to see what they had waited all that time for. A retelling of the 25th and 26th episode, but instead of a philosophical and somewhat nonsensical copout where Shinji sort of accepts Human Instrumentality so he doesn’t have to feel alone and then sort of doesn’t by accepting humanity as it is… to a round of applause by his friends (no seriously, that’s how it ends!) and what we see is all in his head with no other plot resolutions…In END OF EVA we see what really happened at the end in Nerv HQ and see what happens to everyone involved when Gendo attempts to produce the 3rd Impact and FORCE humanity into evolving (and all because he lost his wife, the selfish bastard). So basically with END OF EVA, Anno finally gave everyone an ending to the “narrative” that had been missing or too “assumed” with the original ending. There is the notion that the episodes were done this way on purpose because Gainax didn’t have the budget to end the show properly with all the bells and whistles, but I have never believed that for a second.

END OF EVA is probably one of the most visceral, surreal, heart-rending and emotionally draining experiences I have ever had with ANY fiction of any kind. Imagine a film in which you watch a young man’s mind break. He goes from frightened, abandoned youth to cringing, unsure teen spending weeks and weeks staving off certain insanity from the events happening around him only to have something happen that just snaps him clean. That is what END OF EVA is. This is the breaking and subsequent healing of a teenager.

It’s funny to realize that two years removed from the ending of the TV series, Anno had progressed far enough from his depression that he actually slightly changes the decision Shinji makes. Instead of the acceptance of being alone and breaking of the shell around him (to congratulations from the other characters) rather ambiguously, Shinji instead finds his courage in END OF EVA in a much better way. After 3rd Impact/Human Instrumentality is enacted, Rei/Lilith, a godlike, gigantic all-soul encompassing being, gives Shinji final choice. He rejects instrumentality and this kills Rei/Lilith (who is essentially a representation of his mother, this notion cooks my brain like a fried egg) reducing her/it (AKA the majority of humanity) into an ocean of LCL (essentially life blood fluid or primordial red ooze; humanity in goo-form) Shinji rejects Instrumentality and accepts that being individual is part of life. He makes his decision and accepts that pain and death and loneliness are all a part of life and that attempting to escape them is utterly pointless and selfish. The film ends with an inexplicably alive Asuka (her evisceration inside her Eva Unit earlier was what drove him over the edge and snapped him clean) laying on the beach by the LCL and Shinji goes over to her and his impulse is to strangle her (which is what he had been doing when Instrumentality started) but after a second (and a caress) he realizes what he is doing and stops. This section is perfectly poignant to show Shinji that  “pain” is once again part of life and to live it, he must accept that. So in the end the love of one person brings him back fully from Instrumentality and the brink and gives him a reason. A reason to live. The presumption on that rather ambiguous closing scene is that since he wills it, Shinji has decided that humanity can return and life can progress. That is how I have always seen it and that anyone who “died” VIA Instrumentality will be able to come back…if they wish to. It may seem (on first glance) to be utterly, unrelentingly bleak…but it’s really not and in fact has a very positive resolution.

END OF EVA basically took a series I love and was enthralled by and gave it the BEST ending it could ever have. I was pleased as punch with it.

REBUILD!

Many people, online and off, talked for years about a sequel. There were rumors of a sequel series where Shinji and Asuka had grown up, 3rd impact was a memory the likes of the 2nd was for their parents. No one knew what the heck it would have been about, but they wanted it. There was even a poster called REPRISE OF EVANGELION that showed the 3 pilots as adults and fandom nearly exploded. It never came to be naturally, but people didn’t stop dreaming. Personally I don’t even know what I would WANT from a sequel. The originals being so very amazing and having basically put their protagonists through the end of the world…what else could they do to them?

Then along comes a new idea. REBUILD OF EVANGELION. Eva was always known as a cheap anime. Gainax was not flush with funds and so they skimped on production costs by having pages and pages of character discussion happen on a single stationary shot for long periods of just talking. One of the more famous ones was to have the characters riding the escalator down into Central Dogma for 15 minutes. The backdrop was stationary and the only movement was the escalator, thus cutting production costs for animation. Another aspect was the complexity of the series was not able to truly be explored in a proper manner since they didn’t have the time or money. I always used to say that Eva should have been at least TWO full seasons long as it is simply so crammed with revelations. Eva, for me, was rewarding because of the time you had to put in understanding it all. It was work.

REBUILD was a plan by two new studios in conjunction with Gainax and Hideaki Anno to retell the Eva story in 4 theatrical films. Anno took writing duties and the first 3 films are meant as a retelling of the series and the 4th will be a completely new ending. One of the main goals was to do the show justice and create state of the art animation and give the story 4 movies in which to tell the complex story.

Having seen the first two films (in English, in the theatre. I don’t need to tell you what a treat that was!) EVANGELION 1.0: YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE and EVANGELION 2.0 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE I can honestly say I was not expecting this. REBUILD has redone the animation TOTALLY and it looks flat out GORGEOUS and actually shames the previous Eva material with the quality. The second immediate thing you’ll notice is that the writing is tighter, new characters have been added (like new Eva Unit 05 pilot Mari Illustrious Makinami) and new (or different) plot points have been added and all of that serves to make the story click more with the viewer. Where I had to really work before to understand, everything is suddenly much clearer. While I don’t MIND having worked for it before, this feature of the new films will definitely add to the viewing enjoyment of a new audience who are just being introduced to the series.

What this achieves is a film series that not only trumps the original in animation, but wholly improves on it story-wise and makes for a (if this is possible) even more enthralling and addictive narrative. I’d rather not go into things they have changed in the story, but you will notice most of them in the second film as a few things happened I was wholly not expecting.

Also, new fave character: Mari. She’s just so beguiling!

One small thing I wanted to note. Eva was always known as a self-aware show and even made fun of itself at the end of each episode professing that the next episode would have more Fan Service.

Anime Otaku Note:

Fan Service – Urban Dictionary Definition:

In general, fan service refers to scenes designed to excite or titillate the viewer. This can include scantily-clad outfits, cleavage shots, panty shots, nude scenes (shower scenes especially), etc. Some broader definitions also include things like cool mecha, big explosions, battle scenes, etc. Basically, if it has little plot-redeeming value, but makes the viewer sit up and take notice, it's probably fan service in one form or another.

That’s a show that KNOWS it’s female character are portrayed in a certain way to titillate viewers and embraces it without descending into blatant nudity for nudity’s sake.

The films do this as well, but now it’s almost better. Asuka gets a new Plug Suit (to pilot Unit 03…”what?!” You say. “Where’s Toji?!”) and it’s (if possible) even more skin tight and “pushy” than her regular one and she actually remarks “Could this plug suit GET more revealing? Who designs these things?!”. That was a funny beat and reminded me that the folks behind the production (especially Anno) are aware of the ridiculousness of Fan Service, but instead of shunning it they make it part of the humour. I have to admire that.

The 3rd film in the series is set to drop on Japan in the fall, titled EVANGELION 3.0: YOU CAN (NOT) REDO for the English dub, it is bound to melt my brain again.

Not So Crackpot Theory: There are faint hints and whispers that REBUILD is not a remake as we’ve all thought it to be. That it is actually a sequel and no one realizes it yet. That the reason there is new directions and new characters is not because the first one didn’t happen…but rather that after Instrumentality is rejected, the world rebooted and this is the do-over. An alternate version of the same events when those involved are given the second chance by Shinji in the END OF EVA. I would be REALLY impressed if this was the case. I’d love to get to the end of the 4th movie to see Shinji’s choice in END OF EVA make sense and that his faith in humanity was well placed. So far, enough of the story is different that I start to wonder if this rumor might indeed be true and what we are watching with REBUILD is in fact the sequel and not a remake at all. Of course if that happens my head will explode in a shower of LCL and this series will jump further up the ladder of excellence.

This series is Anime 101 and even to some of us, Anime Royalty. These TV shows and films defined what I expected out of adult animation. They pull no punches, and they don’t shy away from anything in the effort of the story. A narrative that allows nothing in its way can only achieve good things.

Eva is a brave, groundbreaking, thought provoking Drama-Action series. It was initially written by a man who had for four years lost his tether to himself and suffered horrendous depression, and was animated by a company with little money and yet has since then been embraced by millions.

This is Anime.

Not Quite A Book Review: Odd & The Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

 

I am a self-avowed, unabashed, fairly die-hard Neil Gaiman fan. I have been such for many years now. I believe the first thing I ever read by him was STARDUST way back in 1999, and I found him through a roundabout way as well. I found out (through my fanboyism) that Tori Amos (whose music I listened to almost exclusively as a teenager) was friends with Neil and that he was a writer…so I looked him up. The rest is history, as after STARDUST I read pretty much everything else he wrote that I could get my hands on. As subsequent releases came out I would snatch them up from the new release shelf with much aplomb and dive right into them.

The only thing I hadn’t read by him was his entire DC Vertigo SANDMAN run (something I am currently rectifying in as many spurts as my pocketbook will allow since I am buying those gorgeous ABSOLUTE editions), and up till this morning I had been holding off on the last book I had by him that was unread. That book was ODD & THE FROST GIANTS.

Sidenote: Attempting to review Neil Gaiman’s work is like attempting to review the sun for being a good star in the heavens and keeping us bright and warm every day. It’s just never failed me as fiction and so I’ve always been a bit daunted by trying to objectively review an author whose work I so clearly adore.

Why have I not read this book yet? You might ask me.

Well it’s easy. I didn’t want to KNOW that I had no more new novels to read by him, so I purposely put off reading this latest YA title by the man as a result. I have actually owned the book since it came out in 2009, and it has sat patiently in my ToRead pile. It begged, it pleaded, it cajoled to be read. It did inky black cartwheels in the pile. It whispered gothic secrets and great big shouts into my ear. I ignored it.

“I know you.” I said. “If I read you, there is no more. At least not for a while. No, you shall not trap me book.”

The book was clever though; it set a trap for me. A long con if you will. Most of my ToRead pile is actually at my girlfriend’s condo since I am there a lot these days. That day I had only brought the book I had been currently reading home to my place, and in a flurry of reading, I finished it. I didn't realize.

I looked at my shelf, and there it was. Grinning. Chuckling. It was aware that it was the only unread thing in my apartment.

“I knew it!” the book said, “I KNEW I would get you if I waited.” It howled with manic book-like laughter.

I sighed, and realized that it was right. It had conspired to be the only book left on my shelf at home. I never go without reading material so I gave in.

Thankfully, this little tale satisfies in spades. It’s a Norse mythology story about gods, and small folk, and giants, and wishes, and beauty. It’s short and sweet and utterly wonderful. It is indeed very short and so I don’t want to spoil anything plotwise, but sufficed to say that if you enjoy Mr. Gaiman at all, then this little nugget will please you to no end.

Secondly, I ought to mention the art. Each chapter has pictures that are sketched GORGEOUSLY by Brett Helquist. Even the chapter title cards are done by him with a deft and lovely hand.

The resultant package is a quick morsel of a tale with a point, and a meaning and yet it still takes the form of a full novel with ease. Gaiman is right at home with talking animals, larger than life Frost Giants, and even the most beautiful woman in the world.

I’m now sad that I will have to wait for Gaiman’s next book, but I am really pleased that ODD & THE FROST GIANTS did not disappoint and is a wonderfully magical story.

Book Review: The President's Vampire by Christopher Farnsworth

Christopher Farnsworth busted out of the gate with his debut novel BLOOD OATH (which I gushed about). A novel in which, over 100 years ago the president used a sworn oath to wrangle Nathaniel Cade (a vampire, obviously) into America’s service against a myriad of other and worse supernatural beasties that threaten the country. The premise and the book itself work quite well, and I was impressed enough to pick up the 2nd book in hardcover.

THE PRESIDENT’S VAMPIRE picks up the story not long after BLOOD OATH left off, and rockets right off about a new supernatural threat. You recall in the first book when I noted the brief mentions in the Reliquary (Cade’s underground hideout and beaten-beastie treasure trove) of Lovecraftian, Innsmouth minions? Yes, well this book picks up that strand and runs with it…in a direction I wholly wasn’t expecting.

I expected a full out battle in R’lyeh between Cade and Cthulhu and Shoggoth!

No wait. I didn’t…but how cool would that be?

Okay, I kind of admit I did want that. I wouldn't be a nerdy fanboy if I didn't!

Shut it, leave me alone.



No, what happens here has to do with more of a fish-lizardy menace that bears links to those old stories, but exists as its own evolution. Farnsworth takes it in his own direction and creates a really scary villain (s) for the book, so that even though I know how strong he is…I still feared for Cade and I certainly feared for Zach (Cade’s handler…pay attention!). The various directions the story went in that I wasn’t expecting were to do with other plot elements that came to bear as the novel progressed. Various famous American events and historical mysteries were brought in, and I initially wondered if it might all be too much and overwhelm the story. Thankfully it doesn’t and not only does Farnsworth juggle all these plot points well, he weaves them together into a very cohesive and very readable thriller.

The prose is workmanlike, but addictive and reads in spurts. Having the narrative cut down into shorter than average paragraphs and sections is a great trick that I have always enjoyed to speed up pacing and make things pop at you like rice krispies in milk (Yeah, I just used a cereal analogy, what?). Farnsworth proves himself an old hand at this, since the story skitters around like an action movie and is kind of relentless. So here is a meal melding of Urban Fantasy and Action Thriller seasoned liberally with History and Mystery. There’s not much more to add but the kitchen sink, and it just clicks together better than I ever thought it could.

Is the book perfect? No, it has a few issues like being a little bit more of the same thing in the main arc area as the first book and it includes a kidnapping section that I found a little off-kilter, but none of that really takes away from the narrative enough to really bother me. In fact, those are pretty small points, but in the spirit of an honest and balanced review I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention them. If you enjoyed BLOOD OATH, you will enjoy this one as well, it just doesn't go much further into new territory is all.

Oh and I’m not going to lie, Farnsworth wrote a really steamy sex scene in this book. As I was reading it I actually said (out loud, to no one in particular) “Oh my!” It was quite scandalous and would rival any author who tackles that sort of thing on a regular basis. So well done on that front Christopher.

Are you looking for a book that includes the staples of supernatural fantasy, but has the mindset and the paces of a thriller? I think Farnsworth might be for you. He adds little chapter preludes that are always interesting (sometimes concerning the story at hand, sometimes not) little tidbits about the real world interacting with the supernatural one. I really relished those in the first book and did so again here. Though he brings a few mentions in of fictional movies from the 80's as if they actually happened, and that kind of threw me a bit.

THE PRESIDENT’S VAMPIRE is a very well-written sequel to BLOOD OATH and while I don’t see the series quite firing on all its pistons yet, I have much faith that it will do so as it progresses. The best compliment I can give is that these two books made me feel like I did when I read Jim Butcher’s first two Dresden Files novels, I KNEW we might be on the verge of something awesome. Anyone who knows me is aware that the Dresden Files really ramp up as of Book 3 and onwards…and that’s why I am REALLY looking forward to the 3rd of Farnsworth’s Cade books as I think we may be again, on the verge of greatness.

Book Review: WHEN THE SAINTS by Dave Duncan

The four remaining brothers Magnus have gathered to help their brother and newly minted count defend his castle from being overrun. Surrounded on all sides, with no hope of help from the outside world, the odds are stacked against them even making it through the night alive.
But the brothers have a secret weapon, the youngest of them, Wulfgang, has the power to speak with dead saints. These saints, or demons depending on whom you’re talking too, can perform miracles and might just be the solution the brothers’ problems.

But there’s a problem, Wulfgang has been marked by the Catholic Church and is about to be hauled in front of the Inquisition for dealing with the devil. He also happens to be madly in love with his brother’s fiancé as well as being used as a pawn by scheming politicians who want to use his abilities for their own personal gain.

Torn by competing loyalties, unsure of his own motivations and unable to find a moment to make sense of it all Wulfgang stumbles along, doing the best he can, to serve love, his family and his country. If only his best was good enough.

WHEN THE SAINTS is the second and final entry in writer Dave Duncan’s BROTHERS MAGNUS series. The book isn’t so much a standalone novel in its own right, but rather the continuation of events from the first entry in the series, SPEAK TO THE DEVIL. In fact, the story picks up less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the first book and deals with nearly all the same sub plots that consumed the characters in the first entry.

I found the character work in this book is where Duncan really shines as an author. In SAINTS he manages to sketch out fully fleshed characters with only a few scant lines. Working from these thumbnails, readers are able to visualize distinct personas without being bogged down by endless description. These are not bland and interchangeable walk ons, but vibrant personalities brought to life through Duncan’s incredible ear for dialogue.

There’s a wonderfully rich underworld being built in this book. In SAINTS magic use is supposed to be a secret, it’s very use concealed and controlled by various religious orders, with only a small group of independent users running around. When magic is applied it’s done so covertly, in a manner as to give everyone involved maximum deniability.

Like all of Duncan’s forays into the world of magic, the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of its existence is almost as interesting, if not more so, then its actual application. Magic has hard and fast rules here, it’s not simply a liberal dose of hand wavium to be applied whenever the author has written themselves into a corner. Learning the rules, and more importantly, learning how to break the rules is part of what makes SAINTS so compelling a read.

SAINTS paints a picture of a world, much like ours, but where some of the names have been changed in order to take dramatic licence. Sprawled roughly across Renaissance Europe the book attempts to incorporate established historical facts, such as the meteoric rise and fall of Joan of Arc, and blend them with the myth and legends of the doings of Catholic Saints. It seems all those unexplained phenomena weren’t the rumblings of the ignorant after all, but rather ordinary humans, or workadays, catching a glimpse of magic users plying their craft. The friction between history and myth, magic and mundane, creates a series of increasingly unsustainable scenarios that constantly propel our ‘hero’ Wulfgang along and forcing him to play a running chess match in a game he doesn’t totally understand.

Riveting? You betcha.

Dave Duncan is one of those authors I’m continuously trying to push on people. I’m like some bookstore drug dealer, offering you the first taste for free in order to get you hooked.* It can feel like a Sisyphian task at times because Duncan doesn’t seem to have the profile of other genre writers. But he fits easily in my list of favourite authors because his books are just so damn good.

One of the elements I love about Duncan’s writing style is his clean, straightforward prose. Don’t confuse uncomplicated storytelling with simplistic narratives. Just because he’s not here to mince words doesn’t mean his subject matter and his approach to examining it is in any way neutered.

There’s a connection between writer and reader in any Duncan book. Duncan trusts the reader to bring their own imagination to the table and flesh out some of the story elements. Nothing drives me nuts faster than when an author wastes valuable real estate examining the wall tapestries or explaining the socio-political underpinnings of a mythical space empire. Even worse, when characters ruminate endlessly to themselves, forever dithering over even the most basic decisions because the writer has confused internal monologuing with internal conflict.
We’re here to reader a bloody story, it’s perfectly acceptable to set the stage, but if you start endlessly mucking about with the minutiae of the individual trees you’re going mar the perfection of the entire forest.

WHEN THE SAINTS is vintage Dave Duncan, a smart story told at a blistering pace and populated by compelling characters. It is exactly why you read books in the first place.

*seriously, why aren’t you reading WEST OF JANUARY or the RELUCTANT SWORDSMAN trilogy or the MAN OF HIS WORD series?

Book Review: Deep Sky by Patrick Lee

The anomaly called the Breach is the government’s most carefully guarded secret.
But there is another secret even less known . . . and far more terrifying.
As the U.S. President addresses the nation from the Oval Office, a missile screams toward the White House. In a lightning flash, the Chief Executive is dead, his mansion in ruins, and two cryptic words are the only clue to the assassins’ motives: “See Scalar.”
 
Now Travis Chase of the covert agency Tangent—caretakers of the Breach and all its grim wonders—along with partner and lover Paige Campbell and technology expert Bethany Stewart, have only twenty-four hours to unearth a decades-old mystery once spoken of in terrified whispers by the long since silenced. But their breakneck race cross-country—and back through time and malleable memory—is calling the total destructive might of a shadow government down upon them. For Travis Chase has a dark destiny he cannot be allowed to fulfill . . .

Patrick Lee is a bit of an anomaly in the “thriller” genre of fiction. While his books do fit solidly into said category, they also contain an air of the fantastical, and even science fiction aspects. So where other thrillers always seem to take current, cutting edge technology and weave it into murder mysteries, historical mysteries, or even chase fiction, Lee jumps up a step and takes the FRINGE route. He’s created books that always contain “Breach” artifacts, which seem to be WAY beyond our human technology and do the most wonderfully insane things.

That’s a good thing.

And that is why he stands out from his contemporaries.

It’s also why I think he stands in a fresh category all his own. Though I’m not positive what to call it.

He also writes a killer action thriller that usually never stops for breath.

I went into the 3rd (and last of the trilogy) of Lee’s “breach” novels, DEEP SKY, with very high hopes. Strangely the first 100 pages or so (beyond an initial “wtf” moment in the opening) are much slower than I had been used to in the two previous volumes. The first two novels rocketed off from the first page and were relentless all the way through. I’m convinced (after finishing it) that Lee may have done this slow burn as a purposeful build-up for his 3rd act though. At any rate, while I enjoyed those 100 pages, they didn’t quite blow me away as much as the other books in the trilogy. That said, AFTER the 100-page mark the narrative skips off to hyper speed and we are back to the ridiculous, rocket ship pacing I am used to.

The story also starts to throw more “WTF” moments at you than you could ever hope to count. How long could the pace and revelations and messed up “Holy crap, did I just read that!?” moments keep up? It turns out that they do so for the REST of the book! While I read the first 100 pages in two or three sittings, after that I read the following 300-ish pages in one sitting yesterday afternoon. The book grabbed hold of me, would not let me go.

While Travis and Paige are front and center for most of the book, tech nerd Bethany kind of gets relegated to the back burner as only a helper/tagalong this go. Considering her up front position in GHOST COUNTRY that was to be expected, as this IS Travis and Paige’s story so her smaller presence here wasn’t really disappointing for me. The breach entity that is used here (the Tap, which I won’t explain here, go READ the book!) is a really, really interesting one and is certainly equal to those that came before in odd traits.

The final act. Wow. Just Wow. The 3rd act of the book is so batsh*t insane and also so completely amazing that it melted my brain into a puddle of goo. This is one of those novels that makes you marvel at the forethought the author put in from the beginning, and it twists and turns when you don’t expect it to. I had my jaw on the floor more often than not. I was speaking with another Lee reader about it and the more we tried to figure out the logistics of the events in third act of DEEP SKY, the more awesomely, brain destroyingly mixed up we got. And naturally the more I thought about it, the more impressed I am by what Lee has achieved with the trilogy.

Lee has created an enthralling story with these books and ended it in very strong in a way. A way I don’t think anyone will expect. The pace at the beginning is the only snag in an otherwise brilliantly executed finale to the “breach” novels. Lee is one to watch in the future, as he has a distinct voice, and his mind has crafted a clever, thought-provoking, riveting series that can be puzzled over and enjoyed by anyone.

Can’t wait to see where he takes us with his next books.

Book Review: Percepliquis by Michael J. Sullivan

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS...THE ELVES HAVE CROSSED THE NIDWALDEN. TWO THIEVES WILL DECIDE THE FUTURE.

NOTE: This review is totally spoiler-free. So fear not readers if you've not yet read the other volumes in the series, this review won't spoil anything.

 

I talk, and write a lot. I have always been known as the person in my family who rarely shuts up. So you can imagine what it takes to make me speechless.

This morning when I read the final page of PERCEPLIQUIS (6th and last novel of the Riyria Revelations) by Michael J. Sullivan I was speechless. I’ve actually taken most of the afternoon to let the tale I read to sink in, but I also didn’t want to let too much time pass before I wrote up my review, and so here we are.

As I went into reading this novel I had some trepidation, as is the norm for the final book in a series, about reading it. Would it live up to the books that had come before it? Would it meet my expectations? Would it all be worth it?

I am very happy to report that PERCEPLIQUIS was even better than my expectations. It is an absolute triumph in every sense of the word. All the groundwork that Michael had laid down in the previous volumes, some of which was decidedly subtle, comes to full fruition here. And again, as I have discovered is the norm with Michael’s work, there is not a stone out of place within the narrative. Every sentence has a purpose. He has not lost the lovingly detailed, yet simple, easy prose that so defined the first book, and though the story grew and became part of a much, much larger world, this is still a very character-driven novel. In fact, PERCEPLIQUIS may in fact be the MOST intimate of all six books.

This book really does have it all. If you were wondering on what sorts of levels it delivers...there are twists, turns, revelations, sweeping action, emotions, history, heroics, and certainly devious villainy.

I found myself immediately drawn back into the story and the world of Elan. The very first thing you will notice about this book is how visceral and realistic a lot of the chapters are. They jump off the page at you and grab you by the collar pulling you along. There are sections that are about as harrowing as it gets. A few moments actually had me with sweaty palms as the tension and danger mounted. The pace flies along as fast as the fastest of the series has ever done. What is even more interesting about that is PERCEPLIQUIS is actually enormous! Clocking in at a whopping 550-ish pages, it is certainly the largest of the six books and funnily enough not a page here is wasted. Where some other fantasy novels can suffer from a bit of bloat, once again Sullivan sidesteps that pitfall and shows me that every word belongs on the page, and of course before I knew it I’d been reading for hours and had devoured half the book!

The characters we have grown to love in this series are all evenly spread out in the narrative, and judiciously handled throughout to be honest. It really was like visiting with old friends. I also wanted to note that the assembly of most of these characters together really felt like The Avengers to me. We have had books that have concentrated on each of these people in really individual and direct ways, where we have delved into their personalities and seen a lot of what makes them tick. Well here Michael gets to break out the action figures and display them together. So all these people who all have very distinct and excellent personalities are assembled into a moving organism of awesome. I mean watching Mauvin interact with Hadrian, or Magnus interacting with Degan Gaunt, or even simply Alric and Arista together again was a total treat. Everyone gets to come out and play, but moreover everyone gets to be part of the larger tapestry in some way. That said, it should be noted that there is growth on display here as well, no one stagnates and everyone continues to get deeper and develop more layers as the novel progresses. Myron is one example of growth in the series that’s kind of unparalleled. He begins his story in THE CROWN CONSPIRACY as a very meek, survivor monk who loves learning and books but is fairly unworldly otherwise. By the time we get to PERCEPLIQUIS he has grown, but not in the way you might think. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by his (and others) character growth, even in the final novel of the series.

Emotions. Okay, I am not a suck by any stretch. I’m the type of guy who holds tears back in a gruff manly way, gritting my teeth and forcing myself not to cry while the tears well up and make me glossy-eyed. Well, I am not afraid to admit that Michael pulls no punches in the book and I had *ahem* manly tears at least two times, sobbed uncontrollably once, and even one moment where I found tears springing out on my cheeks and I had no idea they were coming on beforehand. If you recall my comments about Myron and the Tree in THE CROWN CONSPIRACY and how beautiful a moment I thought that was...well Michael has outdone himself and there is a moment in PERCEPLIQUIS that is probably the loveliest thing he’s put on paper so far. It is without a doubt a master storyteller moment, and one that utterly gutted me to my core emotionally. It’s not often, like I said above, to make me speechless but this book did it. I simply closed the book and sat there for a few minutes just letting it all sink in.

This book achieves something most series set out to do, but some never reach. It uses what has come before as the blocks with which to finish the story, but it also finishes it as strongly as possible. PERCEPLIQUIS is an absolutely breathtaking triumph of a book. It will make you cheer, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will make you happy. Michael J. Sullivan’s work is a gift to the fantasy genre. PERCEPLIQUIS proves that to me in spades, as it is a clever, thought-provoking, wonderfully classical novel. It lifts you up and allows you to deftly drift along above it watching the narrative unfold below you, but it also dips you down into the thick of things for long intervals during which you’ll be hard pressed to find anything more intimate or heartfelt. Sullivan has done it here; he’s created a series that will be looked upon as a classic that will stand proudly on reader’s shelves for ages to come next to contemporaries like J.K. Rowling, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, and Jim Butcher. It will certainly do so on my shelf.

When I started the series I was super excited about it, but the fact that is has brought me here to this place where I feel like I now have a gaping hole in my chest where the series was, I didn’t expect that. I have only felt this way twice before (once with the final HARRY POTTER and once with the final Steven Erikson MALAZAN novel) and both times I found it hard to accept that the story was done. Thankfully, I will happily re-read this story down the line. It is one that I am positive I will get even more out of on re-reads, and it will be nice to visit again with old friends.

They sometimes say that a series has ended on a high note, and I think that phrase would definitely apply here. But of course with Riyria Michael has ended it on a high note that is sounded from a golden horn on a crisp, winter’s day. Its music carries across forests and villages, passing by curls of woodsmoke, tall intricate elvish towers, huge majestic mountains and coursing crystal waters.

In every sense of the word, fantasy.

So I’ve reached the end of the series and I’m really quite sad now that there is no more to look forward to. I hope that Michael continues to write for years to come as I truly believe he is a master of his craft, and an author that should be treasured.

Thanks Michael.

Note: This book will be published VIA Orbit within the final omnibus THE HEIR OF NOVRON on January 31st, 2012 in the US, CAN and the 26th in the UK