I dearly want to write on Orphan Black, but I honestly don’t feel worthy of it. The more I watch the more I’m impressed by how concise and clever the writing is: the plotting, the themes, the characterization. Perhaps with this latest rewatch I’ll be able to muster up the courage to say something meaningful about it.
This is a great piece on “concern trolling” when it comes to our treatment of female characters in romantic relationships, and the painful transparency of fandom when it criticizes girls for getting in the way of other ships being bad feminist icons because of their romantic attachments. (The article actually links to one that I originally commented on; so I like to think I may have helped inspire it!)
Eight days left until season two of Sleepy Hollow!
The other day I went for a walk in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, and to my surprise, the door that adjourns Christ’s College (which I call the Narnia door because it reminds me of the one in The Silver Chair) was open! I’d never seen it open before, so I took the chance to slip through and take some pictures of the beautiful stonework on the buildings there:
Whew, I only have time for a quick update today, but rest assured that a lot of good stuff is on its way.
I’m well underway with my Narnia re-read, and the review for Prince Caspian should be up soon – and it's significantly shorter than my previous one for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, thank goodness. I’ll rewatch the film tonight and hopefully have it posted tomorrow.
Though it’s been out for a while now, I’ve only just sat down and absorbed the latest trailer for Doctor Who season eight, with our clearest look yet at Peter Capaldi in the lead role.
I’ll admit, I’m still a little bit miffed that Capaldi has been stolen from The Musketeers (he was a sublime Cardinal Richelieu), especially since my interest in Doctor Who has been on the wane recently. Too many of Moffat’s party writing tricks have gotten stale, and I can’t say I’m hugely invested in the search for Gallifrey (assuming that’s what the new episodes revolve around, and no I haven’t touched the leaked scripts).
Still, I’m interested in the new dynamic between the Fourteen and his Companion (hopefully an older man will eliminate all traces of UST), so I may watch casually and do a season-long review as opposed to my usual episode-by-episode posts. Like Sherlock and Game of Thrones, this is a show that has to be seen if you want to understand at least 60% of Tumblr's joy, outrage, tears or OTT wailing into the void.
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Here's our first glimpse of Elsa in Once Upon a Time, which makes me feel I made the right decision to call it quits at the end of season three. It’s hard to really articulate why adapting Frozen of all things was the straw that broke the camel’s back in regards to me watching this show. Because it feels like blatant pandering and/or bandwagon jumping? Because Frozen only came out last year, putting rest to the insistence that there is any sort of “master plan” going on? Because the show now feels like elaborate cross-over fan-fiction starring your favourite Disney characters as opposed to a subversive look at how familiar fairytale characters would cope in modern times?
I don’t know exactly, but more than anything else this show has tried to pull off, this one really rubs me the wrong way. For those sticking with it, I legitimately hope you enjoy what’s to come, but there'll be no more reviews from me on this front.
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If you have a spare ten minutes, then please check out this wonderful little short-story called Little Knife by Leigh Bardugo, a companion story (along with two others) to her novel Ruin and Rising. It’s a fairytale, vaguely Scandinavian/Russian in atmosphere, with all the familiar motifs you’d expect: a beautiful girl, a greedy father, a suitor’s challenge, a threefold trial, and a supernatural helpmate – but with a satisfying twist on expectations.
Here’s a taste:
The river dove through the earth, moving with strength and purpose, leaving caverns and caves and tunnels in its wake. It crossed the length of Ravka, from border to border and back, as the rock tore at its current and the soil drank from its sides. The deeper the river plunged, the weaker it became, but on it went, and when it was at its most frail, little more than a breath of fog in a clump of earth, it felt the coin, small and hard. Whatever face the metal bore had been long worn away by time. Reading it is like enjoying a refreshing yet spicy hot drink, and it looks like I’ll have to add yet another book to my already dizzying TBR pile.
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Yesterday I attended a Bear and Doll Show, which took place in a room full of elderly women engaged in knitting, crocheting or other forms of embroidery, and a hopeful little boy trying to sell pink candy floss.
I thought I’d share some photos as – you have to admit – bears and dolls have a power and appeal that can’t properly be explained. They were the companions of our childhood, our very first friends and confidants; and so as adults they become windows back into the past, vessels of nostalgia and carriers of that mysterious quality of earliest childhood.
Walking around brought back a lot of memories, and so many of the dolls and teddies on display were genuine works of art: tiny little personalities staring up at you with doleful eyes. I snapped some pictures of my favourites:
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Finally the Writer’s Festival starts in Christchurch this August, and I’m in the midst of putting together my time-table for the event. There are so many interesting seminars and guest stars, that it’s a bit like being put in front of a buffet table and told you can only fill up one plate.
I’m going to stick to my specific interests, which always has (and probably always will) be Young Adult, Kid Lit, fantasy, sci-fi, history and the supernatural, and luckily there’s a lot to sate my appetite on this score.
If you live in New Zealand, be sure to check out their webpage and if you’re interested, here’s my (current) itinerary:
Saturday 30th August Creating Worlds: Young Adult Readers(Elizabeth Knox, Laini Taylor, Karen Healey, Tania Roxborogh, Meg Wolitzer) The Truth About Writing KidLit(Gavin Bishop, Melinda Szymanik, Tania Roxborogh) Margaret Mahy's The Changeover: 30 Years On (Stuart McKenzie, Elizabeth Knox, Karen Healy) Sunday 31st August Supernaturally(Laini Taylor, Elizabeth Knox) Beyond the Veil: Historical Ghost Stories(Diane Setterfield, Rosetta Allan, Coral Atkinson) Even more exciting, it looks as though I’ll have the chance to interview Laini Taylor, the author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy! I plan on refreshing my memory with a re-read of her books, and I’ll let you know more as soon as I can confirm a date/time.
It’s been a fairly blah week in my corner of the world: the weather is awful, it’s freezing cold, and I definitely don’t feel as though I’m on holiday. I’ve been trying to track down the second half of Arrow to watch and review, but that’s proving to be quite a challenge, and my creative juices are running low in regards to any original fiction I may or may not be trying to concoct (you’d think a gender-flipped take on Beauty and the Beast set in a manor house built on a time nexus would write itself, but it really doesn’t).
Oh, and to top things off – we’ve just had a power cut. Things suddenly went black just as Elementary was wrapping up, and we’ve had no lights or electricity since. I’m currently writing this on battery power.
But THIS caught my attention when it popped up on my Tumblr dash this morning: a Narnian readalong that starts on July 12th and carries on into August. The idea is to read all seven books in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia series and subsequently share various thoughts, metas, GIFs, artwork and so on with whoever else is involved in the project.
Believe it or not, I based my Master of Arts degree on The Chronicles of Narnia, as part of a contrast/compare with Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials (specifically on how both authors utilized the Fall of Man to shape the theological backbone of each saga), and I haven’t read the books since.
Much like Philipa Boyens, who I recall bemoaning the loss of any enjoyment in reading The Lord of the Rings after such a close study of it for so many years in writing the screenplay for the film trilogy, I felt over-saturated by Narnia after finishing up my thesis.
Oddly enough, I wouldn’t say that they were ever formative books of my youth, as though I came to them at a very early age, they were never my absolute, number one, eclipses-all-others type reading material. But I do have very vivid memories of experiencing each one for the first time, of the “light-bulb” moments I got when their interconnected nature became apparent (a consequence of reading them out of order across the course of several years), and the vague sense of awe when the Christian subtext became impossible to ignore.
So I think enough time has passed for me to re-read the books with fresh(er) eyes, so I’m going to fully commit to this project. So in the coming weeks you can expect a lot of cross-over between this blog and my Tumblr, as well as reviews and metas and other Narnia-related thoughts.
I'm ready
BTW, if you want to read my thesis, you can find it on-line HERE. I started reading it and quickly scurried away in embarrassment (hey, it’s been a few years now) but I’m not going to miss the chance to plug it considering it’s probably only been read by six people – two of whom were my supervisors.
It’s been a bit of a rough week. I sent out ten queries and so far have six rejections – which is only to be expected as it’s damn hard trying to get the attention of an agent via the slush pile, but I’m determined to keep trying and keep a record of every failure. There are probably thousands of other writers in the exact same position as me, so hopefully being upfront about how difficult and disheartening this whole process can be will hopefully help alleviate that sense of isolation.
But there’s plenty to keep me busy in the meantime.
You know what I like most about television as an entertainment medium? There’s always more of it. Every time a show or season wraps up, something else will inevitably rise up to replace it. Both Orphan Black and Game of Thrones have only one episode left to go, but to compensate we get the first trailer for The Legend of Korra and some promotional pictures for The Musketeers. It’s like watching a constantly revolving stage; when one play ends, another begins.
First things first, Colin Salmon (who I'm currently watching on Arrow) and Antonia Thomas are joining the cast of The Musketeers as guest stars. The show was quite good regarding its inclusion of POC in its first season, but this is the first time a WOC has been featured, and she looks fab!
Apparently they’re a father/daughter duo from Spain, though I’m struggling to decide what class they come from. He looks a bit like a monk, but she’s definitely decked out in jewellery.
And then there’s our first trailer for The Legend of Korra: Changes ...
Jeez. The animation looks as fantastic as ever, though things go by so fast that you have to watch at least ten times to get a clear look at everything.
It looks as though the show is expanding in regards to geography; instead of just staying in Republic City or a few select locations, there is a huge variety of terrains and locations featured here: a silver city, the desert, the air-bender temples, mountain regions and of course, the spirit world. It looks as though the gang will be dispersed throughout the world this time around, which feels like a wise decision. One of the best parts of the original series was the beauty and detail of the world-building, and the whole quest/training narrative made this possible.
From what I could gather, the villains of this season are going to be criminals of some kind. There are a few glimpses of characters in what look like prison cells, and given their designs and propensity to stand around in the shadows, they definitely have the appearance of enemies. Let’s see; a girl with an eye on her forehead (like Combustion Man), another woman water-bending (and who reminds me of Hama), tattooed man doing chin-ups, and a guy who can apparently lava-bend!
There are definitely more air-benders out there in the world. Not just acolytes, but actual air-benders. As well as that, there are a lot of reappearances from past organizations: air-bender acolytes, metal-bender cops, the White Lotis Society, and the Dai Li.
Blink and you’ll miss them, but Bumi and Kya are in there, as well as Jinora, Eska, Skoochy (that urchin from Book 1), Lin Be Fong, and the usual crowd: Mako, Bolin and Asami, the last of which gets one of the most interesting-looking scenes in the whole damn trailer:
And of course, the cameo that got everyone jumping out of their chairs: ZUKO! I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t even realize it was him the first time around, but yup – there he is. Facial scar and all, still alive and kicking.
Apparently the woman below is the Earth Queen, which makes me wonder if we’re ever going to see Zuko’s daughter, the Fire Lady (wasn’t her existence confirmed by Bryke?) Unfortunately this woman isn't exactly setting off "good guy" vibes, which is a shame as a regal and benevolent Earth Queen would have been awesome. Let's just hope she's more competent and savvy than the last Earth King.
Dragons! Gliders! Airships! A surprising lack of spirits... But whatever. I’m officially pumped.
It’s a great first look at Book 3, and a beautifully paced trailer. Every time you think it’s winding down, the action kicks in again, Jeremy Zuckerman’s score is as haunting as always, and its most innovative feature is its tantalizing lack of dialogue. They’ve done that for a number of trailers now, and it’s a brilliant idea; keeping the storylines under wraps whilst still delivering a beautiful set of visuals.
Finally, two interesting articles caught my eye which I’m linking here: How To Get Back To Narnia, which explores the nostalgia/difficulties in re-reading these books in adulthood (and takes C.S. Lewis to task for some of his dubious storytelling choices) and Hell Hath No Fury Like a Superfan Scorned, which explores the backlash against Veronica Roth after the publication of Allegiant, the last in the Divergent trilogy. There’s something about the passionate response of fans to stories that exist outside their control that always fascinates me – and hey, I’ve been there. When characters you love die, it hurts. And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.
The next Arrow episode review should be up later today.
