Virtual Kingdoms

So a while ago I wrote about expectations and how they can ruin a book if they happen to be different then you expected. Well I’m here again to say I now partly disagree with myself. (After all according to Emerson “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”)

The other day I was at the Library and there amongst all the normal teen fiction and fantasy was The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I liked Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series (which I read a long time ago) and I like old books, and it just seemed so out of place and refreshingly different so I picked it up. On the cover was a picture of dumb looking old school dinosaurs and the title immediately put me in mind of the movie Jurassic Park. These two things, made me think it would probably be full of description and have a lot of cannon fodder being eaten by giant rampaging dinosaurs. Then the first chapter was about a flimsy, despicable girl that the main character was madly in love with, but who refused to marry a nobody. This started making me very nervous. A whole book about a guy risking his life for a girl that doesn’t deserve him did not give me high hopes.

Well to keep this thing simple: I was wrong about the cannonfodder, the excessive use of dinosaurs, and the love story. And it made the entire story SO much better. Although some of the science  parts were quite unrealistic (because they just didn’t know as much as we know now) all the characters were very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was humorous and intelligent.

Expectations: I guess it just depends on the expectations. If you want something to happen and it doesn’t its depressing. But on the other hand if you think something is going to happen but you hope it doesn’t and then your hope is fulfilled, well that makes for a much happier ending.

Not that this is that profound or anything, but I thought it was interesting.

The cover praise says “fleet and fun. . . a welcome breath of fresh air.” Not quite the words I would have used, unless Lord of the Rings solemnity is a “breath of fresh air.” But despite that, this is a quality book, worth rereading. It is unusual and imaginative. Talk about some excellent first lines — maybe we should just call them hooks. Brandon Sanderson, the author,  kept me jumping, he was continually surprising me, and making life very interesting. It is a high fantasy novel, not a series, although it easily could have a sequel. His world is very detailed, and I was surprised about the amount of religion he put in. If I was to write about a fictional world I think I would be hesitant to write much about religion. The Aon alphabet was also very cool. His characters are strong, and believable, and he doesn’t kill them all off (I wondered at one point). Not all of his characters are particularly likeable, but most have depth. Sorry I’m not going into specifics, I don’t want to give away anything. So yeah, if you like Fantasy, especially High Fantasy, and you don’t mind a little violence and death and destruction, try this one out. It’s a little hefty but very worth it.
I also recently read Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier which is equally hefty, equally good, and still rather depressing at times. But it is a retold fairytale. So if you like Fantasy, especially Retold Fairytales, and you don’t mind a little hopelessness, dress descriptions, and jerks, try this one out.

What does Prince Caspian, and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe have to do with the Jane Austen-esq North and South?

Well, they are all entertaining  movies based off well written books.  And I have recently watched them all.

To make a movie, or any story is a tricky thing, but to base it off another story is probably even harder. Thus it is impressive that these movies were as good or even better then their books. The movies are all slightly different from the books, unsurprisingly as they are done in different mediums. Usually these changes seem to be made for two reasons, (1) to avoid the same mistakes as the authors, and (2) to make it into a movie.  In most cases the directors made wise choices, that made the story flow better, and work well. And most important of all, I think, that these movies stay true to the spirit of the book.

Prince Caspian, was changed the most, but for the most part, I didn’t mind (it’s a weird book), but the struggle of trusting to Aslan is still there. The realistic powerstruggle between High King Peter and Prince Caspian is added, but that just enhances it, and adds another way to relate to C S Lewis’ somewhat flat characters.

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, still keeps the incredible power of the book, and story. Unfortunately it adds some silly things like chain mail dresses. Perhaps it makes up for it in Edmund’s character development, not to mention the other siblings.

North and South is a Pride and Prejudice like story with a lot less of the niceties of societies and a strong subplot of the workingman versus the master in Industrial England. (This comparison with Jane Austen seems to bring either a-death-knell or a-love-at-first-sight reaction.)  The movie is incredibly faithful to the book, the most important change seemed to be from a inner turmoil over a lie to an outer awkwardness and jealousy over a misunderstood chance encounter. Both of which happen  in book and movie, but the book was more about the inner guilt.  This change of focus to the latter in a visual medium like a movie, is highly understandable.

Perhaps I have rambled too long, but if you haven’t read or watched any of these, try them out.

Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
For a sappy love story, this book sure includes a lot of disturbing images. Life in the untamed wilderness was hard and brutal. But also beautiful and meaningful. I liked the blend.


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A new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince came out. You can check it out on the Leaky Cauldron. It looks amazing. A nice break from the drivel that Hollywood has come out with recently. Unfortunately its Twilight coming out next week and not HBP. We have to wait till July… I’m kind of surprised it hasnt already been leaked.

So I have been playing a little bit of Age of Empires 2: Conquerors lately. It still entertaining but it really makes me miss some features that Spring has. Such as the orbital view. And being able to select as many units as you want. Oh and just a little thing… Like how your soldiers dont just run wherever they want all over the map chasing down one guy. How they listen to your commands in Spring. In AOE your army is only barely under control. Look away and there is utter chaos. You have to constantly prevent them from running to their deaths in front of the enemy castles. You have to watch them so one halberdier doesnt destroy all your cavalry one by one.

I guess the reason why I have played AOE is because I have been wanting to play a good fantasy RTS. TAK is good but it would be nice to try something new and different. Like if Glest didnt stink so bad. It has good graphics (well mostly the dragon just looks dumb. Dragons are supposed to be big and majestic not short and stumpy looking) but it just doesnt deliver. The interface is quite rudimentary not that your guys live long enough to use it very much anyways. Probably the biggest problem with Glest is the factions are incredibly boring. They units are pretty much 1:1 copies of each other. One being the dark magic summoners and the other humans who embrace “technology”. The Tech’s super infantry unit are walking clockwork mechs I’m sorry but those are just plain illogical and dumb. (Yes I know they are in the Iron Plague as well. But it doesnt make me like them) How would they have the same strength as Magic’s troll or whatever its called. I guess I also like battles that are on a greater scale then Glests average 20 to 50. If you have small numbers it would be more interesting if they had more RPG elements such as heroes that you can advance. I think it would really liven it up and make you care more about your units and battles. Glest has the same problem as AOE you can only select a small number of units. They all add up to leave me with the feeling like I’m not in control. You have to fight your guys to get them to do what you want.(For Glest and AOE) If you know of a good fantasy game out there(preferably open source) enlighten me.

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting C. S. Lewis sermon (disguised as fiction) on the necessity of fully “divorcing” all evil in order to be able to live in heaven.


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Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Nice thin book to bring on the plane with me. Plenty of deep ideas and an extremely detailed and well thought out universe that leaves me feeling a little lost sometimes. By the end of the book, they find a way to essentially conquer death. Are the full implications of that explored in the rest of the series?


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The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Nice book about a community coming together to bring storks back to their little town.


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WB announced that they are delaying the Half Blood Prince till July 21 2009. So that they can make more money. At least the wait between the HBP and the DH wont be as long. The Twilight movie is scheduled to take the November 21 slot instead. Now there’s no movies to look forward to this year, for me at least.

Work on the betrayer has been stagnant partly because I went on a trip to the East Coast. but It will go forward sooner or later.

The last three books I’ve read all had bad endings. Bad endings leave a bad taste in your mouth (or at least mine!) and ruin the rest of the book. But as I was thinking about bad endings I realized that most of the reason why they are bad is because my expectations are different then the outcome.

If I had realized that Normandy took over and slaughtered the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings before I started the book The King’s Shadow, it wouldn’t have been quite so depressing. Although I think it would have helped if the author, Alder, had made Evyn write a personal memoir of Harold. Instead he is saved from death just to write twenty blurbs about Harold’s life (like where he went and who he fought) that any monk from the time could have written, it just seemed pointless.

O Pioneers I expected to be a story of hardship and toil, long suffering and companionship. If I had known it was about a late 1800’s love affair gone bad, I wouldn’t have been so frustrated with the ending. Because of course I wouldn’t have read it in the first place.

So I guess I shouldn’t blame bad endings on the authors, I should blame it all on me. After all it’s my own expectations that ruin it, right?