Results tagged “reviews”

Man vs. Machine

It is one of the oldest themes in science fiction.

What does it mean to be human? How far can we use machines until we become machines ourselves? Movies like Blade Runner, The Matrix, I, Robot, Tron and many others have shaped these questions, all looking at them differently.

Terminator Salvation does so as well but in a weaker fashion.

The Terminator movies are well known. James Cameron directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first two movies of the franchise—the first a cult classic, the second one of the best movies made in the 1990s. Fans embraced these two movies because while they were action oriented they delved into the idea of man versus machine and fate versus destiny. Viewers could easily put themselves in the shoes of Sarah Connor or John Connor or Kyle Reese—and even at times the terminator.

Then Terminator: Rise of the Machines was released a few years ago—and ruined my childhood.

It was horrible. Horribly written. Horribly directed. Horribly cast. Horribly acted.

I may be being harsh, but as a Terminator fan that is how I felt.

So, the main question: How does Terminator Salvation stack up to the other three?

The truth is somewhere in the middle.

I swear it isn’t my intention to write a weekly movie review here at Suvudu. OTOH, the mere fact that there are enough science fiction, fantasy and comic book films coming out to make it a viable possibility is really kind of awesome. I love living in a world where the geeks have won.

Now, look. I go to movies to be entertained. I’m willing to forgive plot holes as long as they don’t distract me in the moment, and I’m almost always willing to be pleasantly surprised. I had hopes, but not much confidence, in Wolverine, and was, well, pleasantly surprised.

But Star Trek. Man. I remember watching the original episodes (in re-runs) when I was less than five years of age. I watched TNG and DS9 and most of Voyager and…hardly any Enterprise, honestly. I loved the even-numbered films, particularly Star Trek Saves The Whales and Star Trek Does Hamlet. So the possibility of JJ Abrams screwing this up was nerve-wracking to me. Forget half-naked Hugh Jackman; Star Trek was this summer’s must-see TV (as it were) for me, and I couldn’t restrain my hopes. I was either going to love it or be crushingly disappointed.

The fact that the trailers, right from the very first one with the Enterprise in spacedock and Leonard Nimoy’s “Space: the final frontier” voice-over, were apparently hard-wired to my tear ducts was both a positive and a negative sign. If I was that affected, maybe they were doing it right. But if I was that affected, holy crap, if they screwed up I was going to spend a week sobbing under the bed.

As far as I’m concerned, they hit it out of the ballpark. (Continued without spoilers below.)

It is a rare thing that living in Ireland offers a scoop on films, but I have just gotten back from Wolverine, and as a die-hard screaming X-Men fan girl, I have one important thing to say:

Gambit didn’t suck.

Non-spoilery comments on the film behind the cut, but one other thing if you’re like me and don’t read these kinds of blog comment thingies at all (ah yes, I are a professional writer, do not try this at home) until after you’ve seen the movie: stay through the credits.

Terry Brooks, the New York Times bestselling author of the high fantasy Shannara series, has reviewed Robert V.S. Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy for Amazon!

Here is Terry’s review for The Red Wolf Conspiracy:

“Robert V. S. Redick has accomplished something rather extraordinary in his new fantasy adventure novel, The Red Wolf Conspiracy, the first in what I predict will be an eagerly awaited series. His accomplishment is in crafting a story that is a throwback to the days of the European Adventure story writers—Stevenson, Dumas, Scott and the like—a tale that is a gripping page-turner accessible to all ages. I seek stories like this constantly and seldom find them. Here we have a good one. The characters are memorable and fully realized, from the lowly tarboy Pazel Pashkendle to the unwilling young bride Thasha to the half-mad captain Nilus Rose to the powerful sorcerer Ramachni. As the story proceeds, we come to know and care about all of them, the good and the bad, the high and the low. We want to know their fates, and we will follow the writer to wherever we need to go to learn what they are.

So trust me on this one; you won’t be disappointed. Except, of course, like me you have to sit by patiently waiting for the next book. The anticipation is akin to what I experienced growing up with chapter books, when it seemed that every single installment ended in a cliffhanger, and the characters and I were all left hanging together. In an effort to minimize the damage to our fingernails, I will use whatever magic I can conjure up to prod Mr. Redick onward towards completion of book two. You have my promise.”

—Terry Brooks

Intrigued? I am. I have been ever since Terry finished reading The Red Wolf Conspiracy and told me it was the best thing he’s read in a long time.

If you are as intrigued and if you loved The Golden Compass, The Briar King and The Name of the Wind, you should pick up a copy!

After all, Terry blurbed those books as well!

The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett has now made its splash on this side of the pond, in the United States.

And it seems like it was a large enough splash to create more than a few ripples!

A great deal goes into a book release, and even more goes into a great book release both here in the US and in the UK. A fantastic cover in both countries. Check. An artful book layout in both countries. Check. Excellent publicity in both countries. Check. But above all, a great yarn!

Check!

Well, some bloggers out there on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean are heralding The Warded Man and I had to share what some of them are saying! Here are some short excerpts from bloggers who have reviewed The Warded Man (titled The Painted Man in the UK) with links to their reviews, followed by some thoughts from Peat about the Wards that make up his series:

• A Dribble of Ink: “As debut novels go, Brett’s The Warded Man stands among the best.”
• Grasping For the Wind: “I cannot recommend The Warded Man highly enough.”
• Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review: “Not only did I enjoy what I’d read but I’m left in the position of eagerly waiting to find out what’s to come…”
• Dave Brenden’s Fantasy & Sci-Fi Weblog: “You will find yourself reading late into the evening, hoping beyond hope that the wards will hold, hoping that you will not be cored when you finish the novel, you may find yourself thinking that the wait for Book Two may be too long.”
• Blood of the Muse: “Let’s get this out of the way first. The Warded Man is the best debut novel since Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind.”

Here is Peat on the magic in his book:

Read a Special Extended Excerpt with introduction from Anne Lesley Groell, Senior Editor Del Rey/Spectra.

Don’t you think it is time to read The Warded Man and see for yourself!

“The book is always better than the movie.”

As I sat in the theater last Monday and waited for the opening credits and the beginning of Watchmen, that all too true saying repeated in my mind. For decades Hollywood has pilfered great novels—and most of the time squandered them to mediocrity or downright failure. A very small percentage have been adapted to the silver screen to the delight of readers, even fewer still well-done adaptations of sci-fi/fantasy/comic book stories. Carrie, Contact, The Green Mile, The Lord of the Rings, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Iron Man—these adaptations have proven a great movie can come from books and graphic novels.

Would I be able to add Watchmen to that list?

Almost.

So much I can almost taste it.

Alan Moore, the man who wrote Watchmen and who is also responsible for V For Vendetta, once related he didn’t think Watchmen could be adapted in an honest way:

“There are things that we did with Watchmen that could only work in a comic, and were indeed designed to show off things that other media can’t.”

Alan Moore is right—to a point. Like many Hollywood adaptations from other sources, a lost in translation moment happens when it comes to elements of the original source. A graphic novel like Watchmen is extremely complex, working on many levels, and it would be impossible to try to interweave all of those threads, many of them taking place in characters’ thoughts, into one coherent film—a medium that simply does not allow for it.

The shortcomings of the film Watchmen lie in that place.

It’s on to the new year and there’s plenty coming down the pipes*, but before we jump head first, let’s take one last look back on some of the stories that captivated both us, the posters, and you, the readers here on Suvudu.

Which posts captured your and our attention? Here’s how it broke down, top ten style:

The Top 10 Horror Movies of 2008
Consider this a list of must-view horror flicks from our previous year. Our resident horror expert, Matt Schwartz, counts down the ten best horror movies of the past year and tells you what sets them above the rest.

10 SF and Fantasy Writers Who Should be Nobel Prize Winners
Things got a bit touchy as the reactions came in to this one. Who knew the Nobel Prize could be this, well, entertaining? Feel free to continue adding comments, we love a good debate.

Origin of Urban Fantasy?
It would appear that a lot of you out there are like me - fascinated to find out that there’s another side to Raymond E. Feist’s and Terry Brook’s storytelling. It’s fun to “discover” things like this isn’t it?

Top Ten - Best Fashion in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Fashion week in Paris apparently has nothing on Fashion week on Tatooine…

[more after the jump]

Flight 5 Edited by Kazu Kibuishi

So if you’ve been reading this site for a while, then you must have seen this selection coming. I ran off at the mouth keyboard about this series earlier this year, but the release of Flight 5 this year bears singling out. This series keeps getting better and better, and I think that’s saying something as editor Kazu Kibuishi began the series already possessing a strong editorial voice. I’m not sure from where his comics submissions come, but I don’t envy him the job of whittling down his list. I am glad he’s doing it though.

It’s difficult to cover all the reasons why Flight 5 is so fantastic a read as it’s been written and drawn by so many different hands. Instead, it’s easier to cover just a few of the highlights, then sit back and let you discover all the other gems to be found.

Which I’ll do now…after the jump.

Well hello again. It’s been too long since last we palavered. Won’t you sit a spell while I tell you some news? Well, actually it isn’t so much news as it is recommendations. With the year coming to an end, I thought I’d give you a brief run down of some of my favorite graphic novels from this past year. I whittled the list down to eight and I’ll be counting them down in a series of posts (because otherwise I’d be publishing a manifesto post).

Now, before I dive in, let me throw out this caveat that my list is in no way a complete representation of all the GN’s published over the past year. Oh, I wish I had time to read that many, but I don’t. So what you’re getting is a list of some of the best of what I managed to read. To that end, if you have your own additions, something you’d like to see other people reading, then by all means, throw down in the comments section.

Okay, enough of my gibber-jabber. On with the recommendations:

Chiaroscuro by Troy Little

Look at this. One pick in and I’m already bending my own rules. I’m throwing this one in because 1. it’s a great book and 2. the paperback edition was published this year, so it kinda-sorta qualifies on a technicality. If I had to choose one book out of this list to urge you to find a copy and read, this would be the one. Author/illustrator Troy Little’s book is about the creative process, the creative industry, what it takes to get on in both world, and about a case of mistaken identity…among other things. The artwork in this book is amazing. Little moves his panels around to great effect, never forcing them into a scene. The detail work is impressive as well, you’ll find yourself taking time to just stare at the pictures from time to time. Or, you will if you’re like me. It’s clear that a lot of love and hard work went into creating this book and you, the reader, will reap the benefit.

More after the jump…

You may never have read a Philip K Dick (or PDK, because it’s easier to type) novel, but chances are good that you’ve heard of his works. His works have proven to make successful movie fodder, like Minority Report (still one of my favorite movies), A Scanner Darkly, and Blade Runner. These were all also great books.

The thing I love about PKD is his willingness to step outside (sometimes way outside of genre norms to deliver an intriguing story. You need look no further than his Valis series, in which the author explores the nature of God, spirituality, and divinity through a scifi lens, than to see this. His works also tend to be more character driven and if forced to peg him as such, I would argue that PKD’s voice remains one of science fiction’s more literary. And yet, so very accessible.

I’ve read a lot of PKD and the latest book, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said might just be my favorite. It’s a book about memory, identity, what’s real and what’s imagined and the incredibly paranoid and debilitating feelings of not knowing exactly which is which. Those are some of the demons PKD dealt with in real life, and here he deals with them in print as well. And then, as if his own book was springing to life, the real world and his fictional one seemed to collide in a strange series of events that seems almost too fantastic to be believed.

More after the jump…

Legend of the Seeker, the television series adapting the Terry Goodkind book Wizard’s Fire Rule, premiered this weekend on ABC in the United States. I posted my initial thoughts on this series HERE after only seeing the 10-minute preview posted on their website.

I have to say I enjoyed my two hour time period with this opening of the series. It’s not a feature length movie, of course, and the commercial breaks drive me crazy, but it was well done. From my memory it follows the book fairly accurately with some minor changes that I found allowable. I’m not sure how the devout of the Goodkind readership liked or disliked the two hours; I’d love to hear from them if they are out there…

The acting was mostly neutral—nothing spectacular but not subpar. One of my major fears has been cooled, as I was worried this series would be similar in campy style to that found in Xena and Hercules. None of that was in evidence, all of Legend of the Seeker drama. At the risk of sounding like a school boy fantasy nerd, I think I have a crush on the woman who plays Kahlen.

The CGI was great for network television. It made some feature length movie CGI look terrible in comparison. If Legend of the Seeker can gain an audience, perhaps the quality will be maintained.

To be honest, watching this couldn’t have come at a better time. Like many of you out there, I am experiencing election-itis. It was great fun escaping from this all-important election for a few hours. For those of you who missed these opening two episodes, I’m sure they will be uploaded in various places soon.

Let me know what you think if you watched it!

David Anthony Durham, author of Acacia, also does a bit of writing for The Washington Post from time to time. David is one of the smarter people you’ll ever meet, a writer who has a flair for the balanced and is not prone to rash statements or obtuse thinking.

It is no surprise to me then that when The Washington Posts asked him to review Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, David would approach it with the same balanced outlook he brings to the rest of his life. The review, For Fantasy Fans, the Dragons Fly Again, is a fair look at the new book from the perspective of another fantasy writer who is an adult still retaining some aspect of that young boy who used to play D&D; once upon a time.

After reading David’s review, I got to thinking: What does Christopher Paolini bring to the genre?

When the Coen Brothers decide to take what surreal ideas they have and create a tangible movie out of them, magic usually ensues.

It has happened once again in Burn After Reading!

When Marvel Comics announced they’d be working with Stephen King to not only adapt The Gunslinger and Wizard & Glass but also use the comic book medium to fill in some of Roland Deschain’s back story, someone had to peel me off of the roof!

Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born was released two years ago and Dark Tower fans loved it! The creative team Marvel brought together—artist Jae Lee, colorist Richard Isanove, writer Peter David and plotter Robin Furth—really did a fantastic job of bringing King’s original vision to the initial seven issue mini-series.

Marvel was doing it right!

Then the five issue mini-series Dark Tower: The Long Road Home continued the story, but with a twist. The Long Road Home was all original content no Dark Tower fan had previously known.

The creative team handled it just as smoothly as the first mini-series!

Now Dark Tower: Treachery #1 has been released. And I can already tell you the creative team has taken their endeavor many notches higher now that the fledgling gunslingers have returned to their home of Gilead!

Two weeks ago, I began a little Suvudu column called My Reading Pile. Like any self-respecting bibliophile, I have stacks of books in my home that demand attention, books I know are worth my reading time but I can’t find the time needed to crack them open. That has left some of the better-reviewed books of the last few years waiting for me…

I gave you all six books to vote on: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss won by a few votes, making it the first book to review out of my My Reading Pile .

But since Alan Moore’s Watchmen got many votes and it would be a quick read, I decided to read it over the weekend.

And I’m happy I did!

I have been a voracious reader since I was about 13 when I first discovered The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Ever since then I couldn’t get enough of the science fiction and fantasy genre. To me, the genre allows writers to analyze what is going on in our real world, holding a magnifying glass up to problems we face today—or lets us escape from that reality for a while!

That means, however, there are a lot of books coming out and I only have so much time! So after looking at my book pile, I decided to pick out some of them and let you all decide what I should read next!

Going in to this past weekend’s Eisner Awards, I was convinced that The Dark Tower would take home the award for Best Limited Series. I had read all but one of the competitors and believed that I had seen enough in The Dark Tower to know that it would stand up against the field.

Color me wrong.

Gerard Way’s victory sent me to the comic store with a mission: find Umbrella Academy and see what all the fuss is about. So that’s what I did. And now that I’ve read the engagingly original Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, I can tell you, I get it.

In much the same way Dr. Impossible inadvertently created Corefire, the world’s greatest superhero, Austin Grossman has created the novel for superhero comics fans in Soon I Will be Invincible.

With Soon I Will be Invincible, Austin Grossman has created a novel that, while humorous at times, treats superheroes and supervillians seriously, as humans (or metahumans, if you will). This is no deconstruction of the superhero genre, it is, instead, an almost loving exploration into what it would be like to join a super team, and what it must feel like to be constantly beaten by them.

An ancient Tibetan form of meditation? The name of a new hybrid vehicle? A new nightclub in the heart of Manhattan? The middle name of an astronaut? These were some of the interesting answers people gave to this question:

“What is Suvudu?”

If the answer is none of those given, then what is the answer?

Suvudu is a new website catering to news from all sci-fi and fantasy creative media—books, audiobooks, gaming, manga, comic books and movies! Content will include podcasts, videos, reviews, interviews and original blog posts, all brought to you by some of the best talents in the sci-fi, fantasy, graphic novel and gaming industries.

Imagine the San Diego Comic Con—but on a website all year round!

Sounds great, right?

That’s just the beginning. Sci-fi and fantasy fans will also play a role in Suvudu. Visitors are encouraged to comment on the posted content, contribute information they deem pertinent, and send in suggestions to make Suvudu the best it can be. Links to offsite blog and website content will be highlighted. As a community sharing and growing with one another, every relevant bit of news will have benefit—given voice on Suvudu for those who would hear it.

Suvudu will grow over time. In the coming months Suvudu will not only be a news blog but will evolve to include a library of free science fiction and fantasy books, advanced reads of forthcoming projects, exclusive looks inside the creative process of the publishing world, and incorporate a forum for like-minded fans to converse with one another.

So what is Suvudu, you ask? It is many things. But it is also a beginning—thrusters given life for the launch!

Welcome to Suvudu!