What is "Watership Down" about?
Dom
-cried at "Old Yeller".
books and magazines are also pretty awesome
Re: books and magazines are also pretty awesome
Rabbits. Fighting. A lot. There was probably more to it, but danged if I can remember it right now. Still have a copy somewhere.Dominic wrote:What is "Watership Down" about?
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138 Scourge
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Re: books and magazines are also pretty awesome
They're bailing out of their old warren/society because one of 'em sensed danger. As it happens, he was right because a big ol' suburban neighborhood's going in right where they live. So the protagonist rabbits are heading out. Most of their friends and families are staying behind to die, though.Shockwave wrote:Rabbits. Fighting. A lot. There was probably more to it, but danged if I can remember it right now. Still have a copy somewhere.Dominic wrote:What is "Watership Down" about?
There's interesting stuff with the highly theoretical rabbit society and mythologies. They're not treated as being particularly cute at all.
Dominic wrote: too many people likely would have enjoyed it as....well a house-elf gang-bang.
Re: books and magazines are also pretty awesome
As the title implies, this post is a quick review of some recent reading.
Branded Conservatives: This one is tough to review for a few reason. I read it in chunks over sveral months, and I know the author. That said, Cosgrove does a good job of describing how marketing and politics intersect, and how the Republicans have done a good job of understanding and using that fact. In places, Cosgrove's writing falls into the same traps that much academic writing falls into, and comes across as a bit anemic. But, for the most part, "Branded Conservatives" is more readable than many other political science texts. Cosgrove falters a bit at the end however. He is correct is saying describing how marketing and politics mix. He is correct in saying that this might not be the best model. He is also correct in saying that having an engaged public would be a good solution to this problem. However, he comes close to calling for the sort of media regulation that is unlikely to foster an exchange of ideas as a way to force the public to be more intellectually and politically engaged.
Grade: B
At Fight's End: The latest "Transformers" text store from Fun Publications, (offered online to fan club members), is...pretty well craptastic. Despite the title, and the setting, (after the end of the original Marvel run of the comics), this story reads more like the sort of filler one would find in an old UK annual than an sort of definitive wrap-up to a long running story. In fact, it does not even read like a good UK text story. Sinclair and Wittenrich make all manner of fumbles that one would expect in a fanfic. (Remember, this story is presented as part of a membership package one would pay for, meaning it is theoretically a professional effort.) They use obscure character models without decribing them before hand, mixing and matching elements that even a fan (such as myself) would have trouble keeping track of. There are more than a few "fixes", including the end which reads almost like an after thought. Evan Gauntt's illustrations are nice, but look to be over-cropped to fit. This is one of the few times when it probably would have been better to remove text to make room for more art. All told, I am glad I read a friend's copy.
Grade: D
A Thousand Sons:
The most recent "Horus Heresy" novel is one I long anticipated. Sadly, McNeill falters a bit. As I understand it, this was intended to be the second book depicting the conflict between the Space Wolves and Thousands Sons, but Dan Abnett's health problems delayed "Prospero Burns". Perhaps this books' schedule was pushed up to compensate for the effectively missing "Prospero Burns". (If anyone has any hard information on this, feel free to write in and let me know.) Most of the problems in "A Thousand Sons" are of the sort that could have been solved with another round of moderate to intensive editing. And, there are some moments of real brilliance that prove McNeill was not writing to fill space. As with most of the "Heresy" series, the morality is suitably murky, and the characters are presented in a suitably epic manner while the writer conveys how unhealthy it is for them to be viewed as such in context. There are a few "wink and nod" moments for long time fans that will likely serve as red-herrings for new fans, even if "A Thousand Sons" is not well executed enough to be used as a starting point for new readers.
Grade: C/D
Dom
-has a print out of "At Fight's End" if anybody wants it.
Branded Conservatives: This one is tough to review for a few reason. I read it in chunks over sveral months, and I know the author. That said, Cosgrove does a good job of describing how marketing and politics intersect, and how the Republicans have done a good job of understanding and using that fact. In places, Cosgrove's writing falls into the same traps that much academic writing falls into, and comes across as a bit anemic. But, for the most part, "Branded Conservatives" is more readable than many other political science texts. Cosgrove falters a bit at the end however. He is correct is saying describing how marketing and politics mix. He is correct in saying that this might not be the best model. He is also correct in saying that having an engaged public would be a good solution to this problem. However, he comes close to calling for the sort of media regulation that is unlikely to foster an exchange of ideas as a way to force the public to be more intellectually and politically engaged.
Grade: B
At Fight's End: The latest "Transformers" text store from Fun Publications, (offered online to fan club members), is...pretty well craptastic. Despite the title, and the setting, (after the end of the original Marvel run of the comics), this story reads more like the sort of filler one would find in an old UK annual than an sort of definitive wrap-up to a long running story. In fact, it does not even read like a good UK text story. Sinclair and Wittenrich make all manner of fumbles that one would expect in a fanfic. (Remember, this story is presented as part of a membership package one would pay for, meaning it is theoretically a professional effort.) They use obscure character models without decribing them before hand, mixing and matching elements that even a fan (such as myself) would have trouble keeping track of. There are more than a few "fixes", including the end which reads almost like an after thought. Evan Gauntt's illustrations are nice, but look to be over-cropped to fit. This is one of the few times when it probably would have been better to remove text to make room for more art. All told, I am glad I read a friend's copy.
Grade: D
A Thousand Sons:
The most recent "Horus Heresy" novel is one I long anticipated. Sadly, McNeill falters a bit. As I understand it, this was intended to be the second book depicting the conflict between the Space Wolves and Thousands Sons, but Dan Abnett's health problems delayed "Prospero Burns". Perhaps this books' schedule was pushed up to compensate for the effectively missing "Prospero Burns". (If anyone has any hard information on this, feel free to write in and let me know.) Most of the problems in "A Thousand Sons" are of the sort that could have been solved with another round of moderate to intensive editing. And, there are some moments of real brilliance that prove McNeill was not writing to fill space. As with most of the "Heresy" series, the morality is suitably murky, and the characters are presented in a suitably epic manner while the writer conveys how unhealthy it is for them to be viewed as such in context. There are a few "wink and nod" moments for long time fans that will likely serve as red-herrings for new fans, even if "A Thousand Sons" is not well executed enough to be used as a starting point for new readers.
Grade: C/D
Dom
-has a print out of "At Fight's End" if anybody wants it.
Re: books and magazines are also pretty awesome
No comics for me this week. So, here is a short book review.
Prospero Burns by Dan Abnett:
Wow. The last book I reviewed here was "A Thousand Sons". And, now, damned near a year later, I am reviewing the other half of the duology. "Prospero Burns" shipped about a year late owing to Abnett's severe health difficulties. As mitigating a factor as those difficulties were, the simple fact is that this novel would merely qualify as adequate were it released on time. Given the year delay, it feels more than a bit shabby.
The high concepts are memory and theories of what can/should be known. Abnett delivers competently on these. But, in some places, Abnett's phrasing is redundant, and in others, it is simply awkward. These flaws would be more forgivable in a novel that was not about a year late.
The last minute save at the end of the novel, (the protagonist's consistent, and never before referenced, inability to correctly learn another character's name), come across as something one would expect from a parody of the genre rather than the resolution to a novel as important in-context as "Propero Burns" was supposed to be.
Abnett also indulges in the cheap genre parlor trick of adding faux weight to a book by gratuitious (and none too subtly) referencing history. The protagonist is a reference, (in and out of context), to the historic Kaspar Hauser. There is also a not so subtle reference to Victor of Aveyron's cinematic counterpart.
This one really should have been better.
Grade: C/D
This is, depending on how one counts, either the 13th or the 15th "Heresy" novel, with 3 more promised for this year. Given the scale and nature of the series, it could easily justify well over 20 novels. But, after nearly 5 years and over a dozen novels, it is difficult not to wonder if the series has lost its earlier focus and direction. There are definitely signs, (including this most recent novel), that GW is not putting the same level of quality and editing into the "Horus Heresy". It is arguably becoming just another imprint of the "War Hammer" brand. Still, the story is progressing, if not in a strictly linear fashion.
Dom
-actually working through "Nemesis" as of this writing.
Prospero Burns by Dan Abnett:
Wow. The last book I reviewed here was "A Thousand Sons". And, now, damned near a year later, I am reviewing the other half of the duology. "Prospero Burns" shipped about a year late owing to Abnett's severe health difficulties. As mitigating a factor as those difficulties were, the simple fact is that this novel would merely qualify as adequate were it released on time. Given the year delay, it feels more than a bit shabby.
The high concepts are memory and theories of what can/should be known. Abnett delivers competently on these. But, in some places, Abnett's phrasing is redundant, and in others, it is simply awkward. These flaws would be more forgivable in a novel that was not about a year late.
The last minute save at the end of the novel, (the protagonist's consistent, and never before referenced, inability to correctly learn another character's name), come across as something one would expect from a parody of the genre rather than the resolution to a novel as important in-context as "Propero Burns" was supposed to be.
Abnett also indulges in the cheap genre parlor trick of adding faux weight to a book by gratuitious (and none too subtly) referencing history. The protagonist is a reference, (in and out of context), to the historic Kaspar Hauser. There is also a not so subtle reference to Victor of Aveyron's cinematic counterpart.
This one really should have been better.
Grade: C/D
This is, depending on how one counts, either the 13th or the 15th "Heresy" novel, with 3 more promised for this year. Given the scale and nature of the series, it could easily justify well over 20 novels. But, after nearly 5 years and over a dozen novels, it is difficult not to wonder if the series has lost its earlier focus and direction. There are definitely signs, (including this most recent novel), that GW is not putting the same level of quality and editing into the "Horus Heresy". It is arguably becoming just another imprint of the "War Hammer" brand. Still, the story is progressing, if not in a strictly linear fashion.
Dom
-actually working through "Nemesis" as of this writing.
Re: books and magazines are also pretty awesome
And, my scifi binge continues....
"Nemesis" by James Swallow:
This is possibly the most uneven of the "Horus Heresy" series. In some places, it is not only better than the previous, (though still lackluster), novel, but it hits all of the points that a one of the "Heresy" novels should. The power of belief and the need that people have for it is shown clearly. There are continuity nods showing the early animosity between different arms of the imperium. There is even a fair amount of the moral ambiguity and infighting shown in both of the main factions.
Unfortunately, the novel is marred by the sorts of problems that are all to common to the genre. The plotting and pacing are predictable in places, with some points feeling almost obligatory even as they make the novel more disjointed than it needed to be. There are some bad "genre-101" contrivances, complete with long-lost siblings re-uniting and everybody ending up in the right place at the end of the novel being explained simply as being the workings of the universe. The last confrontation between the Imperial kill team and the insurgent's assassin reads like an adaptation of a slasher movie.
If you are not already reading the "Horus Heresy" series, this is not the book to start with.
Grade: C/D
Dom
-nearly caught up with "The Horus Heresy".
"Nemesis" by James Swallow:
This is possibly the most uneven of the "Horus Heresy" series. In some places, it is not only better than the previous, (though still lackluster), novel, but it hits all of the points that a one of the "Heresy" novels should. The power of belief and the need that people have for it is shown clearly. There are continuity nods showing the early animosity between different arms of the imperium. There is even a fair amount of the moral ambiguity and infighting shown in both of the main factions.
Unfortunately, the novel is marred by the sorts of problems that are all to common to the genre. The plotting and pacing are predictable in places, with some points feeling almost obligatory even as they make the novel more disjointed than it needed to be. There are some bad "genre-101" contrivances, complete with long-lost siblings re-uniting and everybody ending up in the right place at the end of the novel being explained simply as being the workings of the universe. The last confrontation between the Imperial kill team and the insurgent's assassin reads like an adaptation of a slasher movie.
If you are not already reading the "Horus Heresy" series, this is not the book to start with.
Grade: C/D
Dom
-nearly caught up with "The Horus Heresy".
Re: books and magazines are also pretty awesome
Well, this review will kind of ruin a mystery for Scourge. But, considering that I have already posted reviews for 2 of the 3 books I sent him as extras in our recent trade, he could simply use process of elmination to figure out which of the 3 was any good.
The First Heretic (Aaron Dembski-Bowden):
After two disappointing outings, ("Nemesis" and "Prospero Burns"), I was seriously considering dropping the "Horus Heresy" series. But, I already had a copy of "The Last Heretic" and the "Horus Heresy" is the only non-comic fiction I am reading now, so I put off making a decision. "The Last Heretic" justifies my procrastination.
Dembski-Bowden manages to deliver everything that made the initial "Horus Heresy" novels (first published ~5 years ago)worth picking up. The high concepts of belief, loyalty and betrayal are prominently displayed. The plot gracefully weaves big ideas and big reveals together.
The biggest flaw with "The Last Heretic" is Bowden's over-use of verbal Easter Eggs. Sevatar the Night Lord being revealed as the first traitor to utter the phrase "death to the false Emperor" was well handled. Unfortunately, there were also a few instances with characters "subtly" using catch-phrases and slogans from the game that read like they were mandated by marketing. While none of slogan-drops were as obnoxious as the "wet leopard" growls in "Prospero Burns", having characters talk about the constant wars in "the grim darkness of the far future" and "the laughter of thirsting gods" is more than a bit cheap.
Grade: B/C Over all, a strong novel, but weakened by some pointless shout-outs.
Aside: While GW could still fall back on "unreliable narrator", "The Last Heretic" picks up and expands on the idea that the initial loss of the Primarchs was not accidental, though it may have gone worse than the Emperor had planned. It is also explicitly, (albeit through the same unreliable narrator), stated that the Emperor drew on the powers of Chaos to create the Primarchs.
There is a sequence showing a number of Primarchs landing on the planets they will eventually take as their own. The only one that is named specifically in this sequence is Lorgar, leader of the Word Bearers legion that "The Last Heretic" focuses on. I had to cheat on a couple of them, but here is a list of the Primarchs, in order of appearance.
The Primarchs as they appear/land: (unreliable narrator)
-Johnson: The primarch is described as having hair as black as the armour of his future legion. Pre-Heresy Dark Angels wore black armour. Additionally, the planet is described as being forested.
-Fulgrim: The kid has marble white hair. Who else could it be?
-Perturabo: The planet is decribed as being mountainous. One of the mountains is stated to have a fortress. Perturabo's Iron Warrior's are described as being masters of seige warfare.
-Conrad Curze: The planet is described as perpetually dark, a perfect place for the Night Lords.
-Angron: Pain and rage, (the first things the kid experiences after a violent landing), are associated with Angron and his World Eaters.
-Mortarion: All of the "sick and yucky" imagery associated with the planet's atmosphere make it obvious that this the leader of the Death Guard.
-Magnus: The little red kid with psychic powers crashing in an area with pyramids is the leader of the Egyption themed Thousand Sons.
-Horus: I had to cheat on this one. But, the grey eyes are something of a hint.
-Lorgar: Explicitly named.
-Alpharius/Omegon: The Alpha Legion's twin primarchs are not shown emerging from their pod. But, it is noted that there is clearly more than one child in the pod.
Dom
-and yes, GW seems to know what "astartes" means.
The First Heretic (Aaron Dembski-Bowden):
After two disappointing outings, ("Nemesis" and "Prospero Burns"), I was seriously considering dropping the "Horus Heresy" series. But, I already had a copy of "The Last Heretic" and the "Horus Heresy" is the only non-comic fiction I am reading now, so I put off making a decision. "The Last Heretic" justifies my procrastination.
Dembski-Bowden manages to deliver everything that made the initial "Horus Heresy" novels (first published ~5 years ago)worth picking up. The high concepts of belief, loyalty and betrayal are prominently displayed. The plot gracefully weaves big ideas and big reveals together.
The biggest flaw with "The Last Heretic" is Bowden's over-use of verbal Easter Eggs. Sevatar the Night Lord being revealed as the first traitor to utter the phrase "death to the false Emperor" was well handled. Unfortunately, there were also a few instances with characters "subtly" using catch-phrases and slogans from the game that read like they were mandated by marketing. While none of slogan-drops were as obnoxious as the "wet leopard" growls in "Prospero Burns", having characters talk about the constant wars in "the grim darkness of the far future" and "the laughter of thirsting gods" is more than a bit cheap.
Grade: B/C Over all, a strong novel, but weakened by some pointless shout-outs.
Aside: While GW could still fall back on "unreliable narrator", "The Last Heretic" picks up and expands on the idea that the initial loss of the Primarchs was not accidental, though it may have gone worse than the Emperor had planned. It is also explicitly, (albeit through the same unreliable narrator), stated that the Emperor drew on the powers of Chaos to create the Primarchs.
There is a sequence showing a number of Primarchs landing on the planets they will eventually take as their own. The only one that is named specifically in this sequence is Lorgar, leader of the Word Bearers legion that "The Last Heretic" focuses on. I had to cheat on a couple of them, but here is a list of the Primarchs, in order of appearance.
The Primarchs as they appear/land: (unreliable narrator)
-Johnson: The primarch is described as having hair as black as the armour of his future legion. Pre-Heresy Dark Angels wore black armour. Additionally, the planet is described as being forested.
-Fulgrim: The kid has marble white hair. Who else could it be?
-Perturabo: The planet is decribed as being mountainous. One of the mountains is stated to have a fortress. Perturabo's Iron Warrior's are described as being masters of seige warfare.
-Conrad Curze: The planet is described as perpetually dark, a perfect place for the Night Lords.
-Angron: Pain and rage, (the first things the kid experiences after a violent landing), are associated with Angron and his World Eaters.
-Mortarion: All of the "sick and yucky" imagery associated with the planet's atmosphere make it obvious that this the leader of the Death Guard.
-Magnus: The little red kid with psychic powers crashing in an area with pyramids is the leader of the Egyption themed Thousand Sons.
-Horus: I had to cheat on this one. But, the grey eyes are something of a hint.
-Lorgar: Explicitly named.
-Alpharius/Omegon: The Alpha Legion's twin primarchs are not shown emerging from their pod. But, it is noted that there is clearly more than one child in the pod.
Dom
-and yes, GW seems to know what "astartes" means.
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Re: books and magazines are also pretty awesome
I love the Harry Dresden series, and I don't think anyone's mentioned it here, yet.
Many people try to get me to read Game of Thrones, but I finished the first book and was more bored than I've ever been.
Many people try to get me to read Game of Thrones, but I finished the first book and was more bored than I've ever been.
Check it out, a honey bear! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkajou
Re: books and magazines are also pretty awesome
Grayson
by Lynne Cox
I picked this up about 5 years back, after hearing about it on NPR. The book outlines the authors experience finding a lost baby whale while training for a swimming competition. The entire incident took a few hours of real time. But, Cox's recounting also includes information about the setting (the coast of norther CA), whales and other animals, along with the local economy.
Given my habit of finding and trying to help strays, this was something of a must, (if not immediate), read for me. Cox's style is a little "foo-foo". But, I had every reason to expect that Cox was the sort to write like that. And, most of the people buying this book are the sort who would appreciate it more than I.
Grade: B
by Lynne Cox
I picked this up about 5 years back, after hearing about it on NPR. The book outlines the authors experience finding a lost baby whale while training for a swimming competition. The entire incident took a few hours of real time. But, Cox's recounting also includes information about the setting (the coast of norther CA), whales and other animals, along with the local economy.
Given my habit of finding and trying to help strays, this was something of a must, (if not immediate), read for me. Cox's style is a little "foo-foo". But, I had every reason to expect that Cox was the sort to write like that. And, most of the people buying this book are the sort who would appreciate it more than I.
Grade: B