Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

I have started posting over on Ideology of Madness! My first post is up and I talk about Marvel Heroic Roleplaying. So, take a moment to go over and read and comment. I highly suggest listening to Funnybooks with Aron and Paulie as well. The best damn podcast about comics out there.

Squee!

Emotional Spectrum

I've been working on personal improvement over the last year and will be making this process a standard part of my life. One of the things I've tried to do on this blog is to address the issues that I've dealt with by putting them down on the screen and letting others read what I've went through. The problem I've faced is that I have difficulty putting these things into a format that I think would be useful to others as well as to me.

I was cogitating upon this conundrum as well as contemplating my membership in the tribe of geek and realized that therein lay the solution to my problem. The emotional spectrum presented in Green Lantern provides a nice framework on which to hang my ruminations. I understand that this arbitrary organization of emotions around colors is a bit simplistic. Despite this simplicity, It provides a bridge between personal conflicts and a story line that I enjoyed. This will provide a touchstone for me to discuss things both painful and uplifting while providing a common language that most of the people I know share. Those that are unaware of the significance of the different colored lanterns will be educated and shown the correlation with my own trials and tribulations. It becomes a win/win situation!

I'm looking forward to writing these posts.

John Carter

I've been awaiting the release of John Carter since I heard that Disney was going to try their hand at the science fiction classic. I've watched all of the attempts at bringing this work to any screen that I could get my hands on. I loved this movie.

I must admit that it has been years since I've read the John Carter books. My recollection of the plot of A Princess of Mars may be spotty, but I didn't notice any glaring problems in the production besides the red martians not actually being red. I didn't have a problem with that either. Instead of painting all the actors red, they made sure that they were all covered with a large amount of red tattoos. This made the budding love story between John and Dejah more believable for me. I understand that it waters down the transformation that John goes through to love Dejah somewhat, but this one simple thing made John's attitudinal change easier to accept in the movie. I also loved how John's back story was interwoven visually with the current story line. Watching as the past that had broken him mirrored the present that was making him whole was a thing of beauty. It was this scene that makes me want to see this movie again. The movie does an excellent job of showing that John is a broken man as well. The opening scenes with him trying to get supplies to continue his mining endeavor provide a fine insight into the brokenness of John Carter. It is also a counter point to the reveal of the ultimate cause for his breakdown that occurs later in the movie.

The visual effects were stunning, of course. I didn't really expect much less from Disney. One of my concerns had been the green martians. One of the problems with CGI critters is that they seem to bend and flex in odd ways but this was not a problem with the green martians. They had four arms but they moved in a believable fashion and their facial expressions were lively and not cartoonish. The sky-ships were also a vision to behold. I loved the feel of the ships with the solar panels that served as wings. The feeling that these things were both high-tech and old came across well and it added to the the flavor of the movie. The moving city was also astounding. The feel of desperation that it gave when it was on the move was palpable but without being an anchor that pulls the rest of the movie down.

The pacing of the movie was also done well. The introduction itself was a three-fold process. We get introduced to the problems that are facing Mars, the problems that are facing John Carter from his past, and what he is trying to do to solve a problem that we don't even know exists yet. I've read on twitter where this was viewed as trying to put to much into one opening, but I disagree. For me, I liked getting to see where the two main characters are at the beginning, and the third intro provides for a good denouement at the end. There is a point around the middle of the movie that things slow down. You are given space to breath and take in what you've just seen before the action begins again. I appreciated this bit of decompression as I think it made the action in the latter part of the movie more potent.

If I was Ebert, I would give this movie thumbs up, but I'm not. So, I give it my highest recommendation which is I would love to see this movie again on the big screen.

DC Comics and the new 52

I have a new post up on Zero Fortitude. I discuss DC Comics and the New 52 and my thoughts on them. You can check it out here.

Go give it a read and let me know what you think.

Blood and Bullets

He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities help him take out any kind of supernatural threat. But now an immortal evil has this bad-ass bounty hunter dead in its sights. . .

This is the tag line for Blood and Bullets, the debut novel of James R Tuck. This is an urban fantasy novel with a definite focus on action with a mix of pulp and noir thrown into the mix. It was this mix of elements that created a quick and exciting read. Deacon Chalk, the narrator of this tale, is a monster hunter in Atlanta. The book leaps right in with both feet as Deacon faces down a vampire that resembles his dead daughter. To add insult to injury, the vampire is asking for his help. We quickly learn that Deacon's family has been dead for five years but that he is a broken man since that loss. It doesn't take long for the situation to spin out of control and violence to ensue. Thus begins the first adventure of Deacon Chalk.

One of the first things I noticed about this book was the plethora references strewn through out. When Deacon talks about his profession as a monster hunter, he makes sure to list off several others that he knows of in the business. The list is a description of people ranging from Anita Blake to Blade. I liked this part as it was a tip of the hat to those who have came before and is Mr Tuck illustrating that he knows the pedigree of the milieu in which he is working. These references carry over into the supporting cast as well. We quickly meet Kat and Father Mulcahy. So, I think you can see what I'm talking about in regards to references. I admit that this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I appreciate acknowledgement of the other things I enjoy. It makes the experience a bit more personal. I am aware that there are other methods for doing this, but this happens to be one of my favorite. It is done in a matter-of-fact style avoiding the tongue-in-cheek manner in which this is usually done.

another thing that I enjoyed about the book is that Deacon still has a strong moral core despite being a broken and violent man. This is illustrated throughout the book, but shows up early when he is describing lycanthropes. He points out that they are just people that transform into animals and animal hybrids. Just like people, lycanthropes can be either good or evil and should be judged on their own merits. The idea of humanity versus monstrosity comes up repeatedly throughout the book. In addition to lycanthropes, renfields are also introduced. These are humans that tie themselves to a vampire for power and longevity. Even here they are still viewed as human that have made a bad decision. Deacon tries to deal with them in a less than lethal fashion due to this core moral dilemma. I find it refreshing that in a book about a monster hunter that the definition of monster is very flexible.

To these things, Mr tuck adds a solid masculine tone to the narrative and a combination of unique takes on old monsters making for a fast paced entertaining read. I easily add Mr Tuck to the list of Jim Butcher, Myke Cole, and Larry Correia. If you are a fan of fast-paced two-fisted action, I say pick up Blood and Bullets and you will not be disappointed.

The Woman in Black

"Do you believe in ghosts?" is the tag line for this new movie starring Daniel Radcliffe and directed by James Watkins.

This is the story of Arthur Kipps. He is a young lawyer in Edwardian England and a broken man. He lost his wife in child birth and we learn that he has never really recovered from this horror. He is a man running out of options and is given one last chance by his law firm. He must head out to an isolated seaside village and wrap up the affairs of the recently deceased Alice Drablow and complete the closing of Eel Marsh House estate. He is being sent because the lawyer in the town is being uncooperative and this business needs to be drawn to a close. What follows is a traditional ghost story that is well told.

The cinematography of this film is very good. The pall which hangs over Arthur is easily seen on the screen. The oppressive feeling of London where Arthur begins his journey is carried over into the grey open landscapes of the seaside village. The use of the entire frame also serves the story well. It keeps you engaged with the film as you watch for things in mirrors and windows as Mr Kipps moves through the story. The performances of all the players in this drama maintains this feeling as well. Daniel Radcliffe portrays a broken young man skillfully. The points where the protagonists behavior could be taken as stupid, are portrayed as just another facet of the damage that Mr Kipps has suffered. It is his portrayal of this broken man that makes these scenes where a normal person would run more believable. The supporting cast does an excellent job of carrying this feeling of brokenness throughout the film.

I had not watched a ghost story in quite some time and I was very impressed with this film. The atmosphere of fear and anxiety was maintained without ever becoming hokey or forced. The unfolding of the tale was well paced and made a short movie carry a greater emotional impact. I highly recommend this to anyone that likes a good ghost story as it has re-ignited my interest in the genre.

I only wonder why it wasn't released in October?

Low Town

Low Town is the debut novel of Daniel Polansky. I picked this book up the same day I picked up The Last Werewolf. It was also a staff pick at my local Barnes and Nobles. It was the back cover that actually sold me on picking up the book. "Drug Dealers, Hustlers, Brothels, Dirty Politics, Corrupt Cops...and Sorcery. Welcome to Low Town." This was intriguing and allowed me to get over my reticence to read standard fantasy.

Low Town is the slums of Rigus, the finest city in the Thirteen Lands. As the saying goes, the brighter the light, the deeper the shadows. The Warden, lord of a small part of this benighted place, is our guide through this tale. He is a man of indeterminate years, though I place him in his early thirties from comments strewn throughout the book. Life has been hard on him and his final choice of career, drug dealer, has not made it easier. I was quickly disabused of the notion that this career choice was made for purely monetary reasons as the Warden wakes in the morning and takes a hit of "Pixie's Breath" to start the day. The description of the buzz that it gives is enough to let me know that the Warden is a user as well. The story doesn't let up on the Warden at this point either. He lives at The Staggering Earl, of which he is co-owner with his friend Adolphus and his wife. His life style being a choice is made apparent within the first few pages of the book. This is not a nice man, whether he is a good man is still to be determined. In the process of seeing a day in the life of the Warden, you learn that a little girl has gone missing and that Low Town is abuzz with this news. The momentum of the story begins when the Warden discovers the body of the little girl. He knows that something isn't quite right and that the guard will not do much about the death of someone in Low Town. Thus, we are thrust into the life of the Warden as he tries to discover what is going on.

This isn't a standard fantasy. This isn't a standard crime story either. It is a hybrid of the two genres using all the tropes of both to make for a more entertaining story. The fantasy is done with a very light touch by Polansky. Instead of bashing you over the head with great blocks of exposition, bits of the fantasy landscape are introduced piecemeal through the Warden's interactions. Polansky allows the reader to do the heavy lifting at these points as well. His descriptions are well done with enough connections to tropes to allow the reader to fill in the blanks normally filled by heavy handed world-building. Each of the Warden's contacts typifies this and is something I would love to see in more standard fantasy. I get a feel for the different areas of Polansky's world without being spoon-fed the information. I also appreciated the gritty realism that is applied to Low Town. It is a place filled with cut-throats and thieves but also populated with people just trying to get by with what they have. Each character that is introduced has a depth which unfolds throughout the story. This is even seen in characters that only get a page at most to strut upon the stage. The standard tropes of crime stories are here as well. The murder of the little girl and the reasons behind it are standard fare in this genre. What isn't standard is the weapon and the reasoning behind the crimes. In a world that has magic, it is a weapon that adds a new dimension to these standard tropes and freshens them up a bit. I am not blind enough to say that this has not been done before, but this is my first time reading such a blend of these two genres and both come out better for it.

In the end, the story is one of redemption. Not the high-handed redemption where the angels come calling, but where choices are made that lead to the lessening of suffering in a world where sometimes that is enough.

I highly recommend giving this book a read. It takes all the tropes of two genres and reinvigorates them. It takes you on a trip through a world filled with grey without making you feel worse for the journey.