Rabbit Trail Reviews
Dec. 10th, 2011 01:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meltintall3Cut for lengthy chunnerings and spoilers, though it's possible I'm just incomprehensible to the unsuspecting reader. At least I've amused myself!
Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson
I waited for this book for two years (really? that long? my how time can fly...), knowing that it was going to be different than my normal reading fare, and I was cool with that because it sounded fascinating. Synesthesia. Mental patients who aren't really mental--are they? Possible paranormal. I still managed to be surprised and maybe a little let down by what I think of as 'the twist' (that's the part that if you ask me about this book I go "Really?! Really?! That's the explanation for the weirdness?"). Somehow I missed the hints. It was also about eleven o clock at night and I couldn't put the book down and go to bed or read slowly while I was reading so it's not like they weren't there. I just... *confused flail* I can't decide if I liked that part or not.
But without it, you couldn't have reached the part that stopped me dead with how beautiful it was. It reminds me of the reveal in The Man Who Was Thursday. Something about both scenes just grab you and make you take a second look, and the veil grows thin and you get a glimpse of something so much bigger than the small in-novel world, and it's just heart-wrenchingly gorgeous and...
If I were really clever I would have worked in a TMWWT pun (I'll use it as cut text instead) and some sort of graceful transition to mentioning Dorothy Sayers' Letters to a Diminished Church and Flannery O'Connor's Mystery and Manners. The two talk about similar things, which was surprising to me because I known nothing about Flannery O'Conner and picked the book up because the title was interesting and maybe it was about old detective stories? It was a pleasant surprise to find that the essays are rather about why a writer writes and what they are trying to convey to the reader.
Moving from squee to shining squee...
FullMetal Alchemist episodes 1-10
I started out watching this one with the dubbed dialogue, and while I suppose I could live with Ed's voice (because you can think of this series as something separate from the manga or Brotherhood, it's just... the voice reminds me of the Disney Hercules, Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet and the younger dog in Homeward Bound. Whether there is actually a tonal resemblance I have no idea at this point but the thing is that's what I think of, and it just feels cliche rather than connecting with the character as a character rather than a character type!
So I reverted to watching with subtitles because not only does that have gruff!Ed which I <3 to pieces and which just means I'm a flailing fangurl who likes what she likes and that's that! (Reasonable reason is REASONABLE!) but I am also picking up bits and pieces of Japanese which will probably never be useful because while "Thank you" and "Thank you very much" are good to know, even if I needed to ask about the philosophers stone and homunculus... I wouldn't know what the reply meant.
I quite liked the expanded visit to Diore (Liore?). It did a good job of explaining the incident in itself, as well as leading into the backstory. I quite enjoyed the train incident with more Hughes! Falman and Team Mustang! That was a change to the timeline I thought I could live with.
On the other hand, while I sort of like the theory of Ed and Al staying with the Tuckers while Ed is studying for the test, and the mini-storyline of Ed figuring out that he can transmute without using the circles... getting to know Nina and Shou Tucker better took away some of the horror of what happened to Nina and Alexander. In Brotherhood you felt the loss with the brothers; there was so much there that could have been and wasn't, and the second time through I noticed just how little there really was of the family and was amazed at how much I'd cared for someone I'd barely met. In this version it was still sad but not tears dripping onto the keyboard sad; the whole thing felt a little more sugary-sweet (though Elicia's birth---awwwwwwwww; if that replaces the Rush Valley one I think that was a change I like) and I was also trying to analyze what I thought of the Scar story arc that's being set up.
I'm thinking I don't like this change so much. In Brotherhood we meet Scar when he's full of vengeance and you have only the opening credits to suggest that there's more to him than it seems. Here, we see him floundering before the descent, and really, I'd just like to smack him so that he doesn't go on a killing rampage. And you don't get the sense that he does view killing Nina as a mercy; it's more of a, "Oh, I can do this?" sort of thing. Which I suppose on one hand makes it that much more tragic, but it's something of a loss for his character.
Then there's Barry the Chopper. That was an episode that had me on the ups and downs. First there was the lady in the cafeteria and you go, "There's something suspicious about her..." and then you see the truck. My first thought was, "They made Barry a girl?!!!" and my second was, "This can't be good." I was right. That is one scary episode, and Barry really is creepy, rather than just being "I want to chop things!" and rather amusing. But now Al can't say, "Sorry, I've never heard of you." *sad face*
Finally, the next episode looks like it's based on the first of the tie-in novels which is kind of exciting, because while I wasn't all that impressed with the story in that one, one can hope that we'll see the one where Ed pretends to be Mustang's son and gets kidnapped. *glee* And the one with the Ishvalan boy and the crazy scientist was fairly good as well. I'm not sure how they'd work in the story about Hughes and Mustang and Armstrong on vacation, but that one would be cool to see, because the kids houses were great...
Merlin: Season One
Merlin! And Arthur! And Gaius! And Morgana! And Gwen! And even Uther...
Need I say more? Okay, I will.
Something about the show reminds me of the feel of the BBC Narnia. There's a sense of wonder to it. It's too bad the BBC didn't do the Narnia TV series this decade--that would have been amazing... assuming the script stayed more or less the same...
My favorite episode so far, hands down, is the one with Mordred. The whole show you're with Merlin and Morgana, arguing that ever effort should be put into rescuing the boy, and my heart was breaking when Mordred pleads with Merlin to change his mind and keep his promise. Because why not try to make friends with him? They'd saved his life, and he'd be grateful! Then at the end, Mordred looks back, and we'll never know if it's because Merlin tried to make the right choice and change history that Mordred bears a grudge because he does have an inkling of what's going to happen; or if he'd have taunted him anyway and, and, and....!!!! It sets up Merlin's tender heart and lack of true foresight so well.
The one episode where there's something I'd definitely change... and it's such a small thing! Back at Merlin's village, when they save it and Arthur wants to know who used magic and then the other boy saves Arthur and claims that it was him--when Arthur asks if that was what Merlin wanted to tell him, Merlin should have said, "No, I was going to say it was me." Because Arthur would absolutely believe that Merlin would claim to be a sorcerer to save his friend, and he could have rolled his eyes and called Merlin an idiot because while they could have left the friend in the village and not mentioned it to Uther, Merlin has to go back. Instead, Merlin doesn't say anything. *grumble grumble* It makes him look like a coward--when he isn't.
I know I was thinking that Morgana would have believed that it was really Merlin, but I can't remember exactly why, if it was just so she could know and appreciate that it was Merlin who saved Arthur from the Sophia; and maybe so Merlin could thank her for giving him the clues he needed to find Arthur in time, which even though that wouldn't necessarily mean that he'd disobey Gaius and tell her the dreams are true... Well, I guess that means I have my own little AU universe where things goes right instead of tragically wrong...
Finally, Loveleaves and Woodwender is part of why I'm now waiting impatiently for Kersten Hamilton's Tyger, Tyger and In the Forests of the Nights to come for me at the library. The other part is that the William Blake poem is one of my favourites. But the short story is quite lovely; I can easily imagine that it was found in a collection by Grimm, Perrault, Hans Christian Anderson, or the Oxford Book of Fairy Tales, or maybe one of Andrew Lang's Fairy Books or something like that, and it has the same depth and feel to it as Factotum or The Ill-Made Mute...
Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson
I waited for this book for two years (really? that long? my how time can fly...), knowing that it was going to be different than my normal reading fare, and I was cool with that because it sounded fascinating. Synesthesia. Mental patients who aren't really mental--are they? Possible paranormal. I still managed to be surprised and maybe a little let down by what I think of as 'the twist' (that's the part that if you ask me about this book I go "Really?! Really?! That's the explanation for the weirdness?"). Somehow I missed the hints. It was also about eleven o clock at night and I couldn't put the book down and go to bed or read slowly while I was reading so it's not like they weren't there. I just... *confused flail* I can't decide if I liked that part or not.
But without it, you couldn't have reached the part that stopped me dead with how beautiful it was. It reminds me of the reveal in The Man Who Was Thursday. Something about both scenes just grab you and make you take a second look, and the veil grows thin and you get a glimpse of something so much bigger than the small in-novel world, and it's just heart-wrenchingly gorgeous and...
If I were really clever I would have worked in a TMWWT pun (I'll use it as cut text instead) and some sort of graceful transition to mentioning Dorothy Sayers' Letters to a Diminished Church and Flannery O'Connor's Mystery and Manners. The two talk about similar things, which was surprising to me because I known nothing about Flannery O'Conner and picked the book up because the title was interesting and maybe it was about old detective stories? It was a pleasant surprise to find that the essays are rather about why a writer writes and what they are trying to convey to the reader.
Moving from squee to shining squee...
FullMetal Alchemist episodes 1-10
I started out watching this one with the dubbed dialogue, and while I suppose I could live with Ed's voice (because you can think of this series as something separate from the manga or Brotherhood, it's just... the voice reminds me of the Disney Hercules, Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet and the younger dog in Homeward Bound. Whether there is actually a tonal resemblance I have no idea at this point but the thing is that's what I think of, and it just feels cliche rather than connecting with the character as a character rather than a character type!
So I reverted to watching with subtitles because not only does that have gruff!Ed which I <3 to pieces and which just means I'm a flailing fangurl who likes what she likes and that's that! (Reasonable reason is REASONABLE!) but I am also picking up bits and pieces of Japanese which will probably never be useful because while "Thank you" and "Thank you very much" are good to know, even if I needed to ask about the philosophers stone and homunculus... I wouldn't know what the reply meant.
I quite liked the expanded visit to Diore (Liore?). It did a good job of explaining the incident in itself, as well as leading into the backstory. I quite enjoyed the train incident with more Hughes! Falman and Team Mustang! That was a change to the timeline I thought I could live with.
On the other hand, while I sort of like the theory of Ed and Al staying with the Tuckers while Ed is studying for the test, and the mini-storyline of Ed figuring out that he can transmute without using the circles... getting to know Nina and Shou Tucker better took away some of the horror of what happened to Nina and Alexander. In Brotherhood you felt the loss with the brothers; there was so much there that could have been and wasn't, and the second time through I noticed just how little there really was of the family and was amazed at how much I'd cared for someone I'd barely met. In this version it was still sad but not tears dripping onto the keyboard sad; the whole thing felt a little more sugary-sweet (though Elicia's birth---awwwwwwwww; if that replaces the Rush Valley one I think that was a change I like) and I was also trying to analyze what I thought of the Scar story arc that's being set up.
I'm thinking I don't like this change so much. In Brotherhood we meet Scar when he's full of vengeance and you have only the opening credits to suggest that there's more to him than it seems. Here, we see him floundering before the descent, and really, I'd just like to smack him so that he doesn't go on a killing rampage. And you don't get the sense that he does view killing Nina as a mercy; it's more of a, "Oh, I can do this?" sort of thing. Which I suppose on one hand makes it that much more tragic, but it's something of a loss for his character.
Then there's Barry the Chopper. That was an episode that had me on the ups and downs. First there was the lady in the cafeteria and you go, "There's something suspicious about her..." and then you see the truck. My first thought was, "They made Barry a girl?!!!" and my second was, "This can't be good." I was right. That is one scary episode, and Barry really is creepy, rather than just being "I want to chop things!" and rather amusing. But now Al can't say, "Sorry, I've never heard of you." *sad face*
Finally, the next episode looks like it's based on the first of the tie-in novels which is kind of exciting, because while I wasn't all that impressed with the story in that one, one can hope that we'll see the one where Ed pretends to be Mustang's son and gets kidnapped. *glee* And the one with the Ishvalan boy and the crazy scientist was fairly good as well. I'm not sure how they'd work in the story about Hughes and Mustang and Armstrong on vacation, but that one would be cool to see, because the kids houses were great...
Merlin: Season One
Merlin! And Arthur! And Gaius! And Morgana! And Gwen! And even Uther...
Need I say more? Okay, I will.
Something about the show reminds me of the feel of the BBC Narnia. There's a sense of wonder to it. It's too bad the BBC didn't do the Narnia TV series this decade--that would have been amazing... assuming the script stayed more or less the same...
My favorite episode so far, hands down, is the one with Mordred. The whole show you're with Merlin and Morgana, arguing that ever effort should be put into rescuing the boy, and my heart was breaking when Mordred pleads with Merlin to change his mind and keep his promise. Because why not try to make friends with him? They'd saved his life, and he'd be grateful! Then at the end, Mordred looks back, and we'll never know if it's because Merlin tried to make the right choice and change history that Mordred bears a grudge because he does have an inkling of what's going to happen; or if he'd have taunted him anyway and, and, and....!!!! It sets up Merlin's tender heart and lack of true foresight so well.
The one episode where there's something I'd definitely change... and it's such a small thing! Back at Merlin's village, when they save it and Arthur wants to know who used magic and then the other boy saves Arthur and claims that it was him--when Arthur asks if that was what Merlin wanted to tell him, Merlin should have said, "No, I was going to say it was me." Because Arthur would absolutely believe that Merlin would claim to be a sorcerer to save his friend, and he could have rolled his eyes and called Merlin an idiot because while they could have left the friend in the village and not mentioned it to Uther, Merlin has to go back. Instead, Merlin doesn't say anything. *grumble grumble* It makes him look like a coward--when he isn't.
I know I was thinking that Morgana would have believed that it was really Merlin, but I can't remember exactly why, if it was just so she could know and appreciate that it was Merlin who saved Arthur from the Sophia; and maybe so Merlin could thank her for giving him the clues he needed to find Arthur in time, which even though that wouldn't necessarily mean that he'd disobey Gaius and tell her the dreams are true... Well, I guess that means I have my own little AU universe where things goes right instead of tragically wrong...
Finally, Loveleaves and Woodwender is part of why I'm now waiting impatiently for Kersten Hamilton's Tyger, Tyger and In the Forests of the Nights to come for me at the library. The other part is that the William Blake poem is one of my favourites. But the short story is quite lovely; I can easily imagine that it was found in a collection by Grimm, Perrault, Hans Christian Anderson, or the Oxford Book of Fairy Tales, or maybe one of Andrew Lang's Fairy Books or something like that, and it has the same depth and feel to it as Factotum or The Ill-Made Mute...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-12-16 04:07 am (UTC)Ultraviolet: I just finished this one! (Which is part of the reason---the other part being finals---it's taken me a while to comment) I too thought it sounded really cool, which was why I ILL-ed. Like you, though, I was a bit let-down by the twist---all of a sudden, halfway through, it's BAM! Aliens are real, and they're part of the reason everyone thought Alison was crazy. Oh, and the guy who Alison thinks is the coolest thing ever is one of them. So...Sanjay might not be so crazy? It almost felt like a cop-out to me, in that I think it would've been cooler (more cool?) to have had a more 'reasonable' answer for it. Also, I don't have a problem with aliens showing up in general, but it didn't feel like it fit---it felt like we spent a long time building up to the fact that Alison wasn't crazy for her synesthesia, that there was a perfectly logical and believeable reason for it, and then we're asked to believe that aliens and wormholes are also that logical and believeable in that world. It just didn't fit for me. I think I actually would've been pretty happy if she'd spent the entire time in Pine Hills, and we got to hear more about the other patients instead. ;))
I know exactly what part you're talking about, but it didn't wow me the same way. It probably should've, but it just felt a bit shoved in-there, like there wasn't any lead-up to it. Like she never contemplated the issue before and then, BAM! decided that she should have a grand revelation. I don't know, did I just miss it? I have been rather distracted with finals and projects, so... ;))
Also, I was kind of annoyed by Faraday. I liked him at the very beginning and then he started getting weird, and I really disliked his and Alison's relationship. He could've been so cool, too. :( I really liked Tori, though. :D And what exactly was up with the wormhole magnifying Alison's synesthesia?
The Sayers and O'Conner books sound cool. :D
FMA: *squees at you watching it* Haha, doesn't surprise me that you went back to the subtitles. Though, I never thought of Ed's voice the way you did. ;)) What'd you think of Al's dubbed voice, though?
;)) Hehe, well, at least if you get stuck in some really remote part of Japan, you can be polite even if you're clueless. ;)
I think it's Liore. :) Yeah, the train incident was pretty fun---Hughes gushing about his family and then going, "She didn't think we were being serious, did she?" when Hawkweye got fed up was amusing. So, the question is, was he only pretending to be serious about it to make sure the line was secure, or was he only pretending to be pretending to be serious? ;) I think it's some of both.
Since I saw it first, I actually thought this version of the Tucker incident was the more poignant. But I wasn't expecting it, so... Nina going with Al to see Ed's alchemy test was so cute, though!
*sits and nods her head* I'm not sure how much you want me to give away with regard to spoilers (I know I've given several away *blushes*), but re:Scar, I agree it's kind of a loss for his character. On the other hand, though, the character motivations/actions are rather different for him here than for in the manga/Brotherhood. That actually holds true for most of the characters: while they may have the same outward actions, a lot of times there's a slightly different reason for them doing it.
Okay, I definitely want to hear about the vacation one! :D
(End of Part One)
no subject
Date: 2011-12-20 02:06 am (UTC)I would highly recommend Sayers' book, and O'Conner too, though I felt like most of the really interesting stuff from her was in the first half and the second half was more niche.
FMA: re:subtitles - I am predictable. :D I do wonder if his voice would have bothered me if I'd been introduced to the English dub in the first episode rather than accidentally in the second or third; or if I'd gone head over heels for gruff!Ed anyway just because it was so different? I don't notice the difference between sub!Al and dub!Al; they both have the same sweet, young and innocent tonality.
re:Hughes, I think I'd have to rewatch the episode to give an opinion. I think I remember thinking that it was just Hughes getting the important stuff (talking about his family) out of the way first.
Nina and Al going to see the alchemy test was very cute. I liked that very much. :D Since I knew what was going to happen, I was trying not to get too attached to her, so I'm sure that played a part in it; besides just feeling that the writers were trying too hard to make Nina 'cute'. Having the scene where the boys confront Tucker fleshed out just a little more was easier to follow. So... there's parts I like and parts I don't like as well. :)
The only spoiler I remember you mentioning is that Scar and Rose die after some sort of hijinxs, so if I've confused that, don't set me straight. :p
I know there was only so much manga released when they started writing the show, and so the anime writers had to tie everything together at the end without knowing what the author intended to happen. So I'm trying to be cool about him having different motivations.
Hehe, the vacation is called 'Roy's Holiday' and it's in FullMetal Alchemist: Under the Faraway Sky.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 02:12 am (UTC)Okay, good. I shall keep your comments in mind re: Sayers and O'Conner. :)
;)) Yes, a bit predictable, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Hmm, I don't know; it may've made a difference, but I don't know if it would've been enough of one to change your mind. ;)
Ah, yes, that makes sense as well. ;))
Mmhmm. :) I suppose they were rather trying to make Nina cute---but it kind of worked. ;)) Makes sense; I have similar thoughts about things I did and didn't like with the series overall. :)
Hehe... *zips mouth shut*
Right. :) Keep an open mind, and try to just take them as two different things and you should be okay. ;)) Mmhmm, I think also that the author didn't really want to give her end-game away so early in the series, which makes sense, so she kind of encouraged them to just take it in whatever direction they wanted to. :)
I shall have to keep an eye open for it. :D
no subject
Date: 2011-12-16 04:09 am (UTC)Oooh... *sobs a little at the idea of the BBC Narnia with Merlin-like setting/treatment* That could've been brilliant!
*doesn't remember tons about those episodes and so just nods* I remember liking the Mordred episode pretty well, even though I really don't like Mordred. ;)) But it was VERY interesting, especially knowing what we know about Mordred... As for the other episode, I think I remember having similar thoughts re:the magic confession. Oh well. :)
Yeah, I think Morgana would've believed Merlin. :) But I'm not sure that, in the long run, that would've been a good thing necessarily.
Ooh! That was a very cool story. :) You'll have to let me know how the books are.
(Also, will try to get to comments on your story conversation about heroes etc. after finals are done.)
(End of Part Two---the comment was too big to post in one piece. :">)
no subject
Date: 2011-12-20 12:47 am (UTC)Mordred-in-the-show or Mordred-in-the-legend? Because Mordred in the legend is usually not a nice person at all; although there is Elizabeth Wein's Winter Prince... which features a conflicted!Mordred...
Like I said, now I have my own little head AU where everyone is friends. I'll just have to wait and see how things go; if there's enough good stuff to balance out the sad stuff I know is there...
Hehe, I'm squeeing incoherently over the books. The first one stands alone, more or less, but the second one is a cliffhanger.
Do you remember how we were talking about MacDonald and his men turning into beasts and beasts into men? Well, the author references that; as well as throwing in all sorts of literary references which is cool but may end up dating the book somewhat... Hmmm. Also the same idea of faeries influencing people that shows up in Knife/Spellhunter; though this time the inspirers are creepy and malevolent. So, even if you don't enjoy them as much as I have so far, I bet we'd get some good conversation fodder out of it. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 02:18 am (UTC)Mordred-in-the-legend, which carries over some into Mordred-in-the-show but not as much as it carries over with Lancelot. ;))
:D You'll have to let me know what you think. :)
:D Yay! I'll have to look them up then. :) Woah, just looked it up and the library has Tyger, Tyger. :D Mwahahahahaha...Another book to add to my mental list when I go pillaging at the library tomorrow. ;))
Yep, I remember. :) Ooooh, neat. :D Hmmm...well, I'm not entirely sure some of Anderson's faeries weren't creepy and malevolent. ;) Well, I shall read the first one and then we shall talk! :)