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Archive for Arts

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Mar11

$T2eC16VHJIkE9qU3kIJrBQ)UY6QwS!~~_35Title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author: Stephen Chbosky

Genre: Coming of Age

Length: 224 pages

Read: March 2, 2013

Summary: intensely readable

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To be clear, I actually saw the film before I read the book, but I’ll discuss the novel first as its the original. Perks is a teen coming of age novel set in 1991. It has no supernatural elements at all.

This is a compulsively readable book. Casually,  before picking at the flaws, this is the kind of book you read in one sitting. Every time I run across something this engaging, I feel an intense relief — pleasure really — because so much of what I read is a bit of a chore. Probably just me being jaded. So while I’m going harass Chbosky on a few fronts, any criticism should be framed in context: This is a novel that really sucks you in and holds you.

As to voice. Technically, the book is epistolary. The protagonist, Charlie, writes letters to some imaginary friend. It’s a gimmick that neither adds or subtracts. This is basically a first narrative with a slightly confused back and forth between past and present tense. The writing is deliberately clunky. Chbosky is trying to sound like a 15 year-old boy — and a gifted one at that — but he does it by being wordy and stilted. I’ll give an example:

I am trying now to practice not to do that. He also said that I should use the vocabulary words that I learn in class like “corpulent” and “jaundice.” I would use them here, but I really don’t think they are appropriate in this format.

My inner editor would rewrite this as:

I’m trying to practice not to. He also suggested I use the vocabulary words from class like “corpulent” and “jaundice.” I would, but they might not be appropriate in this format.

This clunk-factor lessened after the first third, and I’m not sure if it was because I adapted or because the character was maturing. Either way, it does provide a bit of youthful feel and the frank honesty of the voice is highly engaging. Charlie is a straightforward reporter, cold even, rarely leaping to extreme judgement. He is most definitely not snarky.

For me, the early 90s setting was a big plus, as it’s free of some of the annoying distractions of the post internet age (cel phones, Facebook, etc). It’s also nostalgic, being closer to my own high school era, even if Charlie is a good seven years younger (my Freshman year was 1984, his 1991).

The character development is very good. Charlie, Sam, and Patrick are all very well crafted and distinct. Likable too.

In retrospect, after finishing the book, I feel several elements of the story construction are a little forced. It seems unlikely that two seniors like Sam and Patrick would take a Freshman under their wing and into their social circle quite so easily. Not impossible, just a bit contrived. More substantially, the major “twist” in the story feels a bit forced, unnecessary even. This is a book with a clear theme. The writer even states it, several times: “We accept the love we think we deserve.” Fine. But there sure is a lot of abuse flying around. Like 90% of the major characters experience it at some time or another in their lives. I don’t mind these themes, but to have the same “startling” thing happen to not one, not two, but many characters feels forced. All this thinking was only in retrospect. While reading, the novel just draws you in from start to end.

Having seen the film first, which is sexually rather tame, I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a bit of frank sexuality in the novel. I’m not sure why it was removed, and it’s presence provided punch. Nevertheless, it’s pretty incomprehensible that a smart well read 15 year-old like Charlie wouldn’t already know about masterbation. Again, a little forced. This book has a lot of forced moments, they just play off well.

So I must reiterate, these are intellectual nitpicks on a compulsively readable novel. One last observation: It’s odd that Chbosky published this in 1999, went on to sell a bundle, yet has never published another novel.

My review of the film can be found here, or

For more book reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Story of a Girl
  2. Sophomore Slump – Delirium
  3. Book Review: Lost It
  4. Book Review: Across the Universe
  5. The Wise Man’s Fear
By: agavin
Comments (14)
Posted in: Books
Tagged as: Arts, Book, Book Review, Literature, Perks of Being Wallflower, review, Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Adventures in the Screen Trade

Feb01

adventures-in-the-screen-trade-william-goldman_mediumTitle: Adventures in the Screen Trade

Author: William Goldman

Genre: Memoir / Writing Guide

Read: January, 2013

Summary: Fascinating and Terrifying

 

Having recently begun adapting my novel Untimed into a screenplay, I’m doing my usual slog through the relevant homework. What more can we say  about William Goldman than: The Princess Bride (both the novel and the screenplay). If that doesn’t make you feel invincible, then take Marathon Man, All the Presidents Men, or Butch  Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And those are but a few of his produced films. Last year, I read the equally famous Save the Cat, which is a good book, but I marveled that the late author, while a hugely touted screenwriter, hadn’t written any good (produced) films. So not true of Goldman.

This work is fascinating, but it’s only about a third writing manual. It’s really three books: 1) a witty and insightful skewering of Hollywood, 2) personal stories from the trenches about each of Goldman’s pre 1982 films, 3) the Butch Cassidy screenplay, discussions of its strengths and weaknesses, and an adaption of a short story into a screenplay.

The skewering is caustic, hilarious, and even thirty years later, dead on. Goldman is famous for his “nobody knows anything” quote and how true it seems. His discussions of studio executives, agents, stars, and the intertwined nightmare of power is insightful bordering on clairvoyant. Most of the trends that he sees in motion in 1982 have continued and accelerated to bring us to the moderately dismal state of contemporary filmmaking (there are exceptions of course). Think both Entourage and the brilliant “The Day the Movies Died” GC article. Also, having worked with/for Universal, Sony, and Fox… well it was just all too funny and familiar.

The personal section terrified me. I hope to see Untimed make the leap to film, as it will make a great one, and it’s made vividly clear in Adventures that even a major screenwriter like Goldman is but a candle in the wind before the studio gale. This is made all the more peculiar by the fact that the screenplay is the single most important ingredient that goes into a movie. Film is a highly collaborative and commercial medium, but you really can’t make a good movie out of a bad script (unless you rewrite it to be a good script). You can however, make a lousy film out of a great script, or a hit film out of a bad one (Transformers anyone?).

Part three isn’t a good introduction to either writing screenplays or writing, but I sure did find it useful. Goldman hammers home many of the oft-repeated (but for a reason) messages of screenwriting, particularly his emphasis on structure. He’s a wonderful storyteller and his adaption example is so ridiculous, that it’s impressive to watch how he makes such a trite concept almost work.

If any of these topics fascinate you, give Adventures a read. Besides, Goldman’s such a good writer, he could make cereal-box copy a bestseller.

For more book reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. The Inside Story
  2. Save the Cat – To Formula or Not To Formula
  3. Book and Movie Review: Let Me In
  4. The Trade Paperback is Launched!
  5. Movie Review: Adventureland
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Books, Writing
Tagged as: Arts, Book Review, Reviews and Criticism, Screenplay, Screenwriting, William Goldman, Writing

Reading in School Made Me Who I Am

Jan02

Reading doesn’t separate the men from the boys, it separates the educated from the ignorant. Seriously. There is no other conduit for absorbing information and broadening oneself that is so accessible and so efficient. Every medium has its advantages, but the book has it all in regards to breadth and depth. There are books on more topics, and more specific topics, than any other format. Probably by several orders of magnitude. And nothing holds as much information in as few bits.

So I read a lot in school.

But this doesn’t mean what you might think. I read in school. Literally.

From fourth grade on I had a novel shoved in my desk, hidden in the pages of my textbook, or propped on the floor. I read on the bus to school. I read in the library before school. I read in class. I read standing in the hall between classes. I read in the playground. I read at lunch. I read all the way home.

While the class slogged through fractions, I flew to different planets. While the teacher lectured on Jamestown, I crossed under Moria with Gandalf and crew. Everyone else had science, I had Science Fiction.

But, again, seriously, this worked. While other students memorized vocabulary, I read it in context. Instead of hearing about history, I lived it through characters. Instead of diagramming sentences, I saw them used: sometimes poorly, often well. Lectures on civil rights? I got to be a girl, an old lady, a slave, black, white, Asian, alien!

And besides, it was exceedingly good practice at multitasking. Try answering a teacher’s question when you’ve been reading a pulp adventure novel for the last hour! Or practice reading at the same time you proof the spelling homework, pencil in hand.

But joking aside, reading broadens the mind. It doesn’t always even matter what you (or your children) read, except that you develop the habit. When you read ten books a week there’s always time to toss War and Peace onto the pile. Actually, the pile is always hundreds deep, but if you keep digging at it, you make progress. Even a few minutes a day — every day — will move you along. If you’re willing to read, you can learn anything (well, once I tried to master breaststroke from a book — not so successful).

The bar is surprisingly low. When, in the mid 90s, I wanted to learn about wine, I read three hefty tomes. Suddenly, I knew more than people who had been serious for years! When I was building my house, I read a bunch of books on 18th century furniture and found I knew far more than the interior designers we interviewed. We hired the one who could tell Régence from Rococo.

Fiction — even genre fiction — has even more impact. You only get to live once. Perhaps you can try out a few things. But via novels you can almost become someone else. Again and again! Want to know what happens when you spend your whole life blitzed out of your mind? Read a Jim Morison biography! Been there, done that, no need to overdose on heroin. Time travel? Totally possible in literature, both the Science Fiction sort and the more metaphoric variety offered by Historical Fiction.

So, yeah, I learned a lot reading in school!

Related posts:

  1. A Fiction Frolic for All Hallow’s Read
  2. So you want to be a video game programmer? – part 4 – School
  3. Book Review: Across the Universe
  4. Book Review: Uglies
  5. Book Review: XVI (read sexteen)
By: agavin
Comments (35)
Posted in: Books
Tagged as: Arts, Book, Gandalf, Moria, reading, School, Science Fiction

Prometheus Rebound

Nov02

Title: Prometheus

Cast: Noomi Rapace (Actor), Michael Fassbender (Actor), Ridley Scott (Director)

Genre: Science Fiction

Watched: October 25, 2012

Summary: Trying to go long! (7/10)

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In many ways, Prometheus, harkens back to 60s and 70s Science Fiction (novels). Not only is it Ridley Scott’s vague take on a prequel to his own 1979 Alien, but it ambitiously tackles gigantic open ended questions in the manner of Rama, Gateway, and the like. But does it succeed?

Not entirely.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sftuxbvGwiU]

This film is certainly broader and vaster than Alien — which is a contained “monster in a box” sort of story, albeit a brilliant one — and the actors are pretty good, but Prometheus feels a little rushed. Most of the characters seem to be acting on mysterious hidden agendas that don’t make total sense. And they proceed with a crazy sort of recklessness — given the obvious high level of risk even before it devolves into a total cluster f**k. I mean, come on, who sends a team that doesn’t know each other to the other side of the galaxy? Who thinks it’s a good idea to take off your helmet in a giant alien pyramid or stick your fingers in xeno-goo?

Also, despite the pretense of “hard sci-fi”, there are a lot of liberties taken with physics, biology, and the like. Can gigantic alien donut ships really roll and flop across the ground? I don’t think so, big objects don’t have the tensile strength to topple like that, look what happened to the twin towers. Can you outrun one on foot? Or why does an expedition that auto maps every millimeter of their surroundings with glowing holographs need to ask crew members what “coordinates” they’re standing at?

Still, I enjoyed the film. Ridley at least tried to make a great film, even if he only ended up with a good one. This is no mindless action romp with unmemorable talking cardboard cutouts. It’s a real solid effort, starkly gorgeous to boot, and definitely better than Robin Hood!

For more Film reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. John Carter and Writing Don’ts
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  3. Book Review: Uglies
  4. Back to the Future Part III
  5. Ship Breaker – desk jockeys beware
By: agavin
Comments (19)
Posted in: Movies
Tagged as: alien, Arts, Film Review, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Prometheus, Ridley Scott, Science Fiction

Coffin Hop for Halloween

Oct24

This year I am taking part in the fangtabulous Coffin Hop Blog Extravaganza. Over a hundred masters of horror all sharing their work with the world.

In the meantime please take the opportunity to go and hang out with some of my horror writer pals by taking part in this year’s Coffin Hop Blog Hop.

GO HERE TO LINK UP WITH ALL THE BLOGS TAKING PART

You’ll discover some amazing reads and very talented writers along the way.

First off, if you want to be really creeped out, just pick up my dark fantasy novel The Darkening Dream. The book fuses intense action with a love of history and all things supernatural. On the eve before creation God created ten special things, among them the Archangel Gabriel’s horn, destined to sound the End of Days. But what happens if you’re a seventeen year-old girl and an ancient evil thinks it’s hidden in your basement? Find out here.

Or you can check out for free the sinister origins of Pastor John Parris, warlock and lover of all things demonic.

CHECK IN WITH THE COFFIN HOP HEAD QUARTERS BY CLICKING HERE. You will be able to find out more about the event, the authors, artists and giveaways.
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If you are hankering for some winning, I’m running two different contests:
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  1. You can win paperback copies of The Darkening Dream, drawing will be held on Halloween!
  2. Or win all sorts of signed video game and book swag at The Naughty Dark Contest!
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Related posts:

  1. Harvard Divinity
  2. The Look – Pastor Parris
  3. Near Dark – The Hurt Coffin
  4. Big Giveaway!
  5. Truly Deeply Sick and Twisted
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Writing
Tagged as: Arts, Coffin Hop, Contest, Fiction, Halloween, horror

Harvard Divinity

Oct17

As readers of The Darkening Dream are aware, nothing is ever black or white. Certainly this is the case with Pastor John Parris. Is he a villain or victim? Well… villain, but even the most evil come from somewhere. In this short story, which began life as a chapter in an older larger versions of the novel, we explore some important questions about the creepy little man: 1) How did he come to dabble in witchcraft? 2) Who was Grandmother Grace, and what was the manner of her unpleasant death? 3) Is shit really useful for spellcraft? And most importantly, 4) When did Parris meet his succubus lover, Betty?

It turns out, one weekend reveals all four.

I’m publishing this in short story for free as part of this year’s Fiction Frolic.

Read the story here.

Related posts:

  1. Short Story: The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate
  2. On Writing: Passes and Plots
  3. Call For Feedback
  4. A Fiction Frolic for All Hallow’s Read
  5. Book Review: XVI (read sexteen)
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Darkening Dream
Tagged as: Andy Gavin, Arts, Fiction, John Parris, Online Writing, Short Stories, Short story, The Darkening Dream

A Fiction Frolic for All Hallow’s Read

Oct03

In honor of the coming invasion of demons, witches, and the like, I and The Darkening Dream are participating in Fiction Frolic for All Hallow’s Read, an event supporting Neil Gaiman’s All Hallow’s Read.

Each of the participants is doing three different themed posts. My first one is about reading in school:

Reading doesn’t separate the men from the boys, it separates the educated from the ignorant. Seriously. There is no other conduit for absorbing information and broadening oneself that is so accessible and so efficient. Every medium has its advantages, but the book has it all in regards to breadth and depth. There are books on more topics, and more specific topics, than any other format. Probably by several orders of magnitude. And nothing holds as much information in as few bits…

Read the full post at the frolic by clicking here.

And — almost as cool — is an awesome Rafflecopter running (click the link or the banner to see) where you can win oodles of juicy swag from yours truly and the other participating authors!

Related posts:

  1. Book and Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  2. Book Review: XVI (read sexteen)
  3. Book Review: Forever
  4. The Newbie’s Guide to Publishing
  5. Great Free Fiction
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Books, Contests
Tagged as: Arts, books, Education, Literature, Neil Gaiman, reading

BlogTalkRadio Interview

Aug22

Yesterday I did a really fun one hour radio interview on BlogTalkRadio about The Darkening Dream, with tangents into writing, video games, TV, and all that good stuff. You can find the page for it here, or listen directly below (click the play button).

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/blog_talk_radio_show_3658587.mp3

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Darkening Dream
Tagged as: Andy Gavin, Arts, Blog Talk Radio, BlogTalkRadio, interview, radio, Talk radio, The Darkening Dream

More Awards

Aug19

The Darkening Dream has recently won a few more book awards for both the novel itself and the awesome cover. The full list can be found here.

Related posts:

  1. Award Time!
  2. Kindle Select – The Results
  3. Beginnings and Endings
  4. Done Again, Hopefully
  5. Short Story: The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Darkening Dream
Tagged as: Arts, Awards and Bestsellers, Book, Darkening Dream, Literature

Maximum Weird – Perdido Street Station

Aug06

Title: Perdido Street Station

Author: China Miéville

Genre: Gothic Steampunk Fantasy Scifi Horror

Length: 710 pages and  lots of words

Read: July 16-24, 2012

Summary: Astonishingly Imaginitive

 

I am in utter awe with regard to the creativity oozing from this novel.

While perhaps not for everyone, and not perfect, this is a  first rate work of fantasy. And I mean that in the broadest sense because the book is set in a unique milieu that is part Dickens, part steampunk, part fantasy, part Blade Runner, part Lovecraft and a whole lot more. As one agent said of my first novel’s early drafts: Perdido Street Station suffers from an extreme case of too-much-ness. It has too many words, too many characters, too many points of view, too much description, too many subplots, too many races, too many kinds of magic, too many villains, too many heroes, too many really really big words, or old words (I had to use the dictionary every couple of pages). Still, it works, even rises to greatness.

Amazing things about this book:

1. The prose: which is highly descriptive, deft, and subtle, building elaborate piles of intricacy out of slashes of words.

2. The main characters: Isaac, Yag, and Lin all have some real depth.

3. The world: is just so creepy, slimy, and cool — although not for the faint of heart. This book is dark. It makes The Darkening Dream seem like vanilla icing.

4. The monsters and the weird: nice and creepy. This is a book where human on bug sex is the sweet part!

5. The clarity: for all its length and bewildering array of everything, the book is easy to follow and read (provided you have a dictionary handy).

6. Imagination: No shortage of amazingly cool ideas, images, races, monsters, technologies, places, etc. in this puppy.

Things that aren’t as strong:

1. Pacing: the masses of description, which while evocative, effective, and downright creepy, are constant and unrelenting. The city itself is a character and this slows things down a bit. It doesn’t drag, but it isn’t lightning fast either.

2. The tangents: there are more than a few here, and not all of them worth it.

3. The minor points of view: A number of characters pop in, have their couple POV pages in the sun, and then vanish (usually into  the deadpool). This isn’t always maximally effective.

4. The baroque plot: The story is easy enough to follow, but it does take A WHILE to get going and is not always full of classic drama created from thwarted desire. In fact, the first third or so is distinctly short on that, but is fast paced mostly because the world is so fascinating.

5. Actions of the government and other non-protagonist forces: There are some big chunks in here where the government is trying to do stuff, and only indirectly involves the regular characters. This stuff is less effective because of the emotional disconnect.

6. Deus ex machina: oh-too-coincidental happenings and escapes occur a number of times.

Overall, in the same way that Vegas transcends cheese by way of pure magnitude, Perdido climbs to greatness on the strength of its positives, rising above any petty flaws. If you appreciate flights of imagination, good writing, and the weird, it’s required reading. No question. Not for the square, the staid, the boring, or the grounded who do not at least dream of flying.

For more book reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Ford’s Filling Station
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Books
Tagged as: Arts, Bas-Lag, Book Review, China Mieville, Fantasy, Perdido Street Station, Science Fiction, Steampunk

Ship Breaker – desk jockeys beware

Jul25

Title: Ship Breaker

Author: Paolo Baciqalupi

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Read: July 9-11, 2012

Summary: Great voice, great characters, great world

 

Hugo and Nebula wining author of the Sci-Fi novel, The Windup Girl, brings his unique vision of the future to YA. The conventions of this younger demographic solves my biggest problem with Windup, which featured way too many characters and way too byzantine a plot. Ship Breaker has a single narrator and a straightforward enough story. The setting is the American Gulf coast some hundred years in the future after the collapse of our oil dependent technology. This could be the same world as Windup, or is perhaps merely similar. It doesn’t matter, it’s fascinating.

The first 50-60% of the book is absolutely first rate, fantastic. Baciqalupi has a great voice: third person, yet personal, detailed, yet fast paced. I loved the introduction to the world of the ship-breaking yards (see below for more on their real-life inspiration). The protagonist is very likable and the secondary characters mostly well developed. I loved the introduction of “Lucky Girl” (his love interest) and their time together (approximately 30% – 60%, the second act).

However, the third act involves her near complete disappearance from the book. Nailer, our protag, goes after her, but this section felt weaker and more disconnected. Even at the end, she’s only around for about two lines of dialogue. Additionally, this part of the book features more traditional “big action” and this doesn’t seem to be Baciqalupi’s strong point. The early parts of the novel contained a great deal of physical tension and that was handled flawlessly, but I didn’t totally buy some of the final scenes. And the resolution with the primary villain felt slightly off.

I’ll have to go with perhaps 8 out of 10 on this book. Very very good, with a lot going for it, but not a total stunner. Still,absolutely worth reading.

It’s worth a moment’s discussion on real Ship Breaking, a strange and dangerous global market niche which is almost entirely done in Bangladesh, at the famous ship-breaking yards. In these real life places, old tankers and the like are driven aground on the beach and then swarms of Bangladeshi workers tear them apart for raw materials. Many are children and working conditions make 19th Century Cotton Mills look pleasant. Check out these amazing photos here. Old ships contain a wealth of valuable materials, but there is no environmentally sound or automated way to scrap them. The current practice takes advantage of the extremely poor to do it “cheaply.” The cost, of course, is more human.

For more book reviews, click here.

Child labor, still alive and kicking at the ship-breaking yards of Chittagong

Related posts:

  1. Book Review: The Windup Girl
  2. Book Review: Across the Universe
  3. Book Review: Uglies
  4. Plotter vs. Pantser
  5. Sophomore Slump – Delirium
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Books
Tagged as: Arts, Bangladesh, Chittagong, Fiction, Paolo Bacigalupi, Science Fiction, Ship Breaker, Ship breaking, The Windup Girl, Windup Girl, Young-adult fiction

The Amazing Spider-Man

Jul18

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man

Cast: Andrew Garfield (Actor), Emma Stone (Actor), Marc Webb (Director)

Genre: Comic Book

Watched:  July 9, 2012

Summary: Characters First! (9/10)

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This new Spider-Man has to be one of the fastest reboots in film history. Ten years, just five since the wretched Spider-Man 3! So valuable is this franchise that in recent decades, Sony Pictures has only made money during Spider-Man years.

But the truth is, everyone loves a good origin story. Because of the quick reset, the new Spider-Man doesn’t look radically different technically or stylistically. If anything, the CGI is actually a tad more subtle, even though there is more of it. What the film does differently, is take a tighter even more Peter Parker centric view of the world.

The action scenes have been stripped down to make room for good stuff: character development. Not that there isn’t action, but the fights are the right length instead of being gratuitously overextended. And there is only one villain. The writing is strong and direct. We focus on Peter, his feelings, and his relationships: With his aunt and uncle, with his missing dad, with Gwen (the new MJ replacement), with his mentor/villain, etc. We focus on his life in high school before, then on the feelings of transformation as he becomes the webslinger. Certain elements are mostly dropped, like his photography and the entire Daily Bugle angle.

2012 has been a good year for comic book films. First The Avengers, then this. Maybe it’s karma, maybe it’s the fact that the director’s name is Webb, but it almost seems that Hollywood has learned to focus on story and character. But probably they just got lucky and picked talented filmmakers by accident.

The acting/casting is even better this time around too. Emma Stone is cute, perky, and has real personality and The Lizard isn’t too over-the-top (Wilhelm Dafoe, I’m looking at you!). But Andrew Garfield is the one who really steals the show. In the previous incarnation, only the second film really worked. The one with Doc Oct. The first started off strong, but devolved into Green Goblin nonsense, the third… well we won’t go there. This time around, Toby’s wooden and brooding Peter Parker is replaced with a quirky, smart, funny, everyman who really takes a pounding. In short — and I did read the comic for most of the 80s — Spider-man.

For more Film reviews, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Movies
Tagged as: Amazing Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, Arts, Comics, Emma Stone, Marc Webb, Peter Parker, Spider-Man

John Carter and Writing Don’ts

Jun15

Title: John Carter

Cast: Taylor Kitsch (Actor), Lynn Collins (Actor), Andrew Stanton (Director)

Genre: Science Fiction (liberally)

Watched:  June 9, 2012

Summary: Dull and overdone (4/10)

_

When I first saw the trailer for John Carter I was intrigued and full of questions.

What is this? How do those late 19th century western images fit in with the “other world” and alien thing? I liked the music. Somehow I felt I was supposed to know who the hell John Carter was. I didn’t. It took me months to find out.

And the irony is that I’ve actually read A Princess of Mars, albeit nearly thirty years ago, but failed to remember the hero’s name. Perhaps a hint that this even was Mars would have helped.

In any case, none of that affects the film itself.

I’m not going to describe the plot, but instead talk about what works and doesn’t. Fundamentally, I think it could have been a great movie — but it’s not. In fact, only the effects make it vaguely watchable.

The writing is a mess. We have about four different beginnings. The opening prologue is set on Mars with the bad guy (sort of) that is totally useless and out of place. This is an “earth man goes to other world” story and by opening with the other world completely pops the mystery bubble. I’ll try to delete that scene from memory. The next is better, a bit of prologue presumably borrowed from the book’s attempt at verisimilitude where we learn that the titular John Carter died and left his estate to his nephew. This includes a journal of his adventures. Then we cut back to said adventures a decade earlier. In a fairly useless bit of Western which attempts to introduce our protagonist (in our third segment!) he illustrates that he is a jerk, belligerent, and manages to get himself teleported to Mars via Arizona. From there there the real story begins.

Several basic rules of straightforward writing are violated: 1. Start with your protagonist. 2. Make him or her likeable.

Plus, the direction is forced and hamhanded. In an early scene on earth, JC is “shows” he is resistant to authority by repeatedly (and foolishly) trying to escape the US army officers who merely wish to talk to him. This is done in a series of cuts. I know what the director was going for, but he fails utterly. The sequence comes off as forced and cheesy. In general, the over bombastic John Williams style score tries to sell a level of drama that the script does not create. The net effect is that you know how you are supposed to feel, but don’t: Melodrama.

This is not helped by the “additions” to the original novel’s plot. For some reason, a bunch of manipulating shape-shifting priests of undetermined origin and purpose are working behind the scenes to manipulate the moderately byzantine political landscape of Barsoom (aka Mars). This does nothing but make the principal villain seem lame and stupid. In short, a tool. Scenes feel rushed and suffer from a level of hamminess reminiscent of 1960s epic films. The actors who played Julius Caesar and Mark Antony in the excellent HBO Rome reprise their roles as campy Martian versions of the same part. In every scene they seem to be winking at the camera, all while wearing diapers and leather straps.

Even the effects and sets, as gigantic as they are, seem recycled. Part of this is a form of reciprocal IP theft between Edgar Rice  Burroughs, George Lucas, and the producers of this film. Lucas lifted all sorts of feel and elements from the original novel for the Star Wars universe, and the John Carter producers felt the need to emulate much of the visual style he created. I don’t blame George, his world is a unique vision build from the parts of pop and pulp Science Fiction. But despite the extraordinary influence of A Princess of Mars, the John Carter film adds nothing to the genre.

That is not to say that it’s bad looking (diapers aside). The effects are well executed and the big open Western-style spaces impressive and moody. It’s just that without any real connection to the cardboard characters, it’s hard to care.

For my review of the original 1917 novel, click here.

For more Film reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Lispings ala John McCarthy
  2. Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing
By: agavin
Comments (22)
Posted in: Movies
Tagged as: A Princess of Mars, Andrew Stanton, Arts, Barsoom, Edgar Rice Burrough, Film Review, John Carter, Mars, Science Fiction, Taylor Kitsch

Diablo III: Wrath

May08

Blizzard has released Wrath, an animated short by directory Peter Chung (Aeon Flux) depicting an ancient battle between the angels of Sanctuary and Diablo. Pretty cool.

Strangely though, I am reminded a bit of Ralph Bakshi’s bizarre The Lord of the Rings.

Related posts:

  1. Diablo 3 – Beta Preview
  2. Diablo 3 Opening Cinematic
  3. Expansion of the WOW Factor
  4. Diablo 3 – Commercial
  5. Conan the Barbarian – Lamentation of their women
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Games
Tagged as: Animated cartoon, Animation, Arts, Blizzard, Blizzard Entertainment, Diablo, Diablo 3, Diablo III, Peter Chung, Ralph Bakshi, Wrath

The Hunger Games – Novel & Film

Mar31

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Genre: YA Distopian

Length: 388 pages, 99,000 words

Read: 2008

Summary: Intense!

_

The book: I read it four years ago on the recommendation of a friend. The beginning didn’t totally wow me, but the second 2/3 certainly did.

It’s written in a tight first person present, which for this kind of thing is my favorite tense/POV combo (I use it in my novel Untimed). Collins expertly builds sympathy for the character of Catniss via her harsh circumstances, sympathetic voice, and self sacrifice. This crucial “inciting event,” the selection of Catniss’ sister as tribute, occurs at the end of the first chapter, at the 5% mark. First rate construction. Our heroine’s choice and the voyeuristic need to find out what happens in the arena drags us through the 30% of preparation and political mumbo-jumbo.

I had mixed feelings about this future world. I liked certain elements. I enjoyed the setup, the whole lottery thing with escalating danger of more copies of your name being added every year or in exchange for food. But I just didn’t buy the political scenario as a whole. America is a big place, yet this district 12 felt like a small mining town where everyone knows each other. Small towns are less than 15,000 people. I would have bought it better if Catniss’ town were one among many in a whole region that was district 12. I know it sounds minor, but I’m a stickler for these kind of things. The level of economic/technical imbalance between the capital and the provinces seemed too great. How could this one little mining town really be that important? How could a whole continent be represented by one city?

But none of that really mattered once you pop into the arena at the 40% mark. Here Collins’ set up combines with the tight visceral present voice to work some serious magic. The action of young kids fighting and killing each other in a televised Lord of the Flies smackdown just worked. It felt real. It felt intense. There is some great survival writing here and that is what — for me — this book is all about. It’s made richer by sympathetic and well painted characters and by Katniss’ need to chose between her feelings and the practical requirements of survival (which includes the interest of her family). Nothing like a helpless little sister to up the sympathy factor.

Great stuff. A book doesn’t have to succeed on every level. This is one that hits 10/10 in perhaps 3/4 areas, and that is more than enough.

I can’t say I felt the same about the sequel which languished for too long in political marshland. But being a reader of real history, I have high standards with regards to politics.

_

Film: The Hunger Games

Director/Stars: Jennifer Lawrence (Actor), Josh Hutcherson (Actor), Gary Ross (Director)

Watched:  March 28, 2012

_

The film: Of course this is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, particularly for book lovers. I have to say that it executed effectively and faithfully as a translation. The story is identical to the book, although reduced of course. At a meta-level I thought that the pre-arena period, although a tad too long, was actually slightly better than in the book, and the area slightly inferior.

Overall, it lacks the true visceral intensity of the novel. Not that it isn’t well done, or isn’t engaging, but I sensed a restraint or hesitation on the part of the filmmakers to commit to the full reality of a bunch of teenagers killing each other in the woods. The movie is superbly cast. Jennifer Lawrence is great and does a fine job acting to fill in the missing narrative voice. She can’t make up more than some of the distance, but she does as well as any actress could. Interior connection and emotion is a strength of the novel format. Film can’t compete.

But it does do better at grand scenes. And I thought the costumes and makeup of the funky 19th century nano-punk world very effective. Perhaps not realistic, but certainly entertaining to look at. The adult actors are all good. Donald Sutherland is boilerplate but pitch perfect as President Snow. The sometimes annoying, sometimes fun Woody Harrelson leans toward fun. Lenny Kravitz is great as Cinna. Katniss’ mom kinda sucked.

The movie feels medium budget. The effects serve, but occasionally seem a little cheesy. This is just an observation, and for the most part, not a detraction. An exception involved Catniss’ two flaming outfits. Maybe it’s just the concept brought to life, but they fell pretty flat. The director does employ an interesting overall stylistic approach. By combining minimalist scoring, a sort of Appalachian feel (underscored literally by the soundtrack), and loose handheld shots, the film comes across as “underproduced” or “not very Hollywood.” This was an effective stylistic choice. He manages to squeeze a bit of genuine emotion out of us at the appropriate moments, like the death of Rue.

A couple nitpicks: The secondary tributes (basically everyone but Catniss, Rue, and Peeta) felt indistinct and underdeveloped. No one got very dirty. Come on, if you are living for a couple of days in the woods fighting for your life, you get really grimy and smelly. Hell, camping as a kid we looked downright gross without any homicidal incidents. Even as she’s dying, Rue’s cute little fro looked all perfect. The film felt to me like an 8/10, but if it had fully embraced the dark and nasty side, it might have been a 10.

For more book and film reviews, click here.

Or read about my own historical fantasy novel here.

Related posts:

  1. The Hunger Games Trailer
  2. Fright Night (2011) – Not a waste of film
  3. Kushiel’s Dart
  4. Before I Fall
  5. Story of a Girl
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Books, Movies
Tagged as: Arts, Book Review, Donald Sutherland, Fiction, Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, Katniss Everdeen, Lenny Kravitz, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Woody Harrelson

Untimed – Meet the Tocks

Mar13

I finished the line editing on my second novel, Untimed, last December, but that doesn’t mean the work is really over. On one front, it’s out to various agents and editors, but on the other I’m working on spit and polish.

I had it professionally proofread and just finished going over all those little fixes. This is just an extra step to make sure it’s as free of errors as possible and that the comma, hyphen, and spelling niceties are as consistent as possible. And apparently I don’t like commas half as well as I should.

But far more exciting is that I’m having the book illustrated! I know it’s relatively rare to illustrate novels, but I love art and believe — well done — that it really adds to the overall experience. Working with the agent who represented the awesome cover artist for The Darkening Dream, I found a talented illustrator named Dave Phillips (his website is here and some portfolio samples here). He has a real knack for character (see this for example) and knows how to capture lifelike personality in his figures. Over the last few weeks we’ve been developing character designs and now the first (more or less) finished image.

To the right, our hero Charlie (in front), confronts the mysterious Tick-Tock, a rapier-wielding clockwork man who serves as the only link to Charlie’s missing father.

But Tick-Tocks are full of surprises, including the ability to punch holes in time!

Two free Naughty Dark tickets to the first reader who guesses the exact physical location of the scene (reply in comments here). You must not be one of my beta readers or one of their relatives. Hint: “Ghost H…”

Related posts:

  1. Untimed – Two Novels, Check!
  2. Untimed – The Second Cover
  3. Untimed – Two Novels, Two Drafts!
  4. Untimed Fourth Draft Finished
  5. Untimed – Off for Line Editing
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Untimed
Tagged as: Andy Gavin, Arts, books, Cover art, Dave Phillips, Fiction, Illustration, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tocks, Time travel, Untimed, Writing and Editing

Story of a Girl

Mar05

Title: Story of a Girl

Author: Sara Zarr

Genre: YA contemporary

Length: 192 pages, 43k words

Read: March 4, 2012

Summary: Great little character study

_

Nominally, this is an issue novel, about a 15 year-old girl dealing with the fallout of having slept with a guy when she was thirteen. But really it’s just a well written and well characterized slice of teen life story — reminiscent even of something like Judy Blume’s Tiger Eyes.

The prose is first rate. Told in first person past, the narrator’s voice is pitch perfect. Funny, poignant, honest, all without being forced. And the characters are all great. The don’t feel like they exist to serve the plot. They exist as people exist. This was just a great little read — a kind of quick escape into someone else’s head. It felt effortless, but I know it wasn’t. The basic three act structure is there. Girl has a problem — and not really the external one she thinks she has — but instead a need for internal change. She messes up, comes to crisis, and grows.

A simple formula. But everything is in the execution.

Or for more book reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Book Review: The Windup Girl
  2. Book Review: Girl Walking Backwards
  3. Short Story: The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate
  4. The Inside Story
  5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Books
Tagged as: Arts, Book Review, books, Fiction, Judy Blume, Literature, Reviews and Criticism, Sara Zarr, Story of a Girl, Tiger Eyes, YA contemporary

Game of Thrones – Invitation to the Set

Feb21

As we ramp into GOT season 2, HBO releases yet more and more goodies. Here we have one of those overwhelmingly positive video previews – but with lots of good footage. Enjoy.

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – The Houses
  2. New Game of Thrones 2 Teaser
  3. Game of Thrones – Season 2 Trailer
  4. Game of Thrones Season 2 Peek
  5. Making Game of Thrones
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Television
Tagged as: Arts, drama, Game of Thrones, HBO, Television, World of A Song of Ice and Fire

Kotaku Dreams

Dec30

Gaming site Kotaku has run a quick little feature on The Darkening Dream today.

What do you do after founding and retiring from one of video games’ most successful development houses? If you’re Naughty Dog co-founder Andy Gavin, you write books.

The first of said books is The Darkening Dream, a shadowy fantasy novel about a young girl caught up in a battle that pits ancient supernatural forces like vampires and Egyptian gods against each other.

You can check out the full post here.

Thank you guys! And I’ve already seen a big sales jump. I hope all the fans of my old stuff love my new stuff too.

Discover more about my novel, The Darkening Dream, here.

Related posts:

  1. Done Again, Hopefully
  2. Call For Feedback
  3. Beginnings and Endings
  4. The Darkening Dream
  5. Video Game Page & Book Status
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Darkening Dream
Tagged as: Andy Gavin, Arts, Darkening Dream, Egyptian pantheon, Fiction, Kotaku, Naughty Dog, press, The Darkening Dream, Video game

Developing a Look

Nov29

I’m very busy right now with different stages of both my novels. I’m line editing Untimed and trying to get my first, The Darkening Dream, ready for publication. One of the more fun parts of this is the art design. The book has seven points of view and each chapter is written from one perspectives. To help subliminally differentiate them, I thought it would be cool to commission chapter heading engravings specific to each character.

The book is set in 1913 and packed with occult workings based on extensive research into real religious, pseudo-religious, and just plain magical belief systems. By real, I mean that people before 1913 believed and wrote about them. But in the book, they’re really real. This is a world consistant with ours, but where the creepy sordid and supernatural crawls just beneath the surface. And truth is stranger than fiction.

Given that the images needed to be black and white, I thought a style reminiscent of classical occult engravings of the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries would be perfect. Iconography of demons, witches, and magic from creators who actually believed in them!

Below are historical engravings I dug up (google for the win!). I provided them to my artist to illustrate the mood and style I wanted for my original pieces.












The above examples are for STYLE, not for content. I like to think of these as reflecting the “occult engraving” style I want to emulate. They are engraved with a naive sensibility, hatched shading, awkward proportions, and western occult symbolic motifs. As a stickler for detail, I must confess that some of the above images are actually nineteenth century, such as the demon Baphomet (the goat headed one with one arm up and one arm down). Although these are cool I decided to target my style to the older wood block type (these later ones are probably copper plate) as the nineteenth century artist probably crafted the images more out of a sense of exotic and less out of true belief like the earlier more hysterical age that was prone to burning at the stake.

Unless you’re lucky enough to work with an artist who is willing to immerse themselves in your book and related materials, it’s essential to provide a clear direction, usually illustrated with a group images hinting at the style you want. Without reading your book and knowing as much as you do (fat chance) it’s unlikely that they are going to spontaneously generate a style that is consistent with the feel of your work. In future posts, I’ll show the examples I used to art direct my specific character images, and the results these produced.

Find out more about the writing of The Darkening Dream here.
Or specific articles on the look for: al-Nasir or Parris.

By: agavin
Comments (10)
Posted in: Darkening Dream
Tagged as: Adobe Photoshop, Andy Gavin, Arts, Baphomet, Engraving, Esoteric and Occult, graphics, Icon, Image Editing, Interior book layout, Occult, Photoshop, Religion and Spirituality, The Darkening Dream, Visual Design, Visual effects
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