I love a book that starts with maps. You just know you're going to be thrown into a rich, detailed world and showered with more information than you strictly need.
And "A Game of Thrones" doesn't disappoint. The story is slow-burning and rich in detail, containing a rare mix: the right amount of well-paced plot with the right amount of background, history and legend. You're in for the long haul when you start it: as none of the plot points are resolved by the end of the novel you are committed to following the army of characters through the series, waiting for the plot lines of Targaryen, King's Landing and The Wall to collide.
The plot twists and turns with various surprises along the way. This book is never predictable, and when a character dies it's not in a meaningless background-character-snuffing-it-but-publicised-beyond-all-reason (*cough* Cedric Diggory) but it's a main character. And it's more than once, and it has a profound impact on the story. Nothing is irrelevant to the story as Martin creates political intrigue, wars, grudges and revenge.
"A Game of Thrones" has a huge cast of characters, with the supporting characters being largely indistinguishable from each other. Jon Snow's black brothers are all rather generic, as are Khal Drogo's bloodriders and the array of knights at King's Landing. Trying to sort out who was who became a little frustrating as I worked through the novel: many of the characters were not memorable and this is a long book, when they came round agan I had forgotten who they were.
The older generation of main characters, Tywin Lannister; Robert Baratheon; Old Bear Mormont; Khal Drogo and Eddard Stark are well drawn and rich with their own conflicting values and ideas. They fight amongst themselves whilst a growing conflict with the younger generation materialises. Joffrey Baratheon; Daenerys Targeryan; Robb Stark and Jon Snow maneouvre themselves to front of stage, highlighting the theme of conflict between old and new, and the recurring theme of conflict between fathers and sons.
Tyrion Lannister, The Imp, is a triumphant creation. He's witty, sarcastic and vulgar by turns and his sections are lively, ironic and vivid as he grows from risible "bastard" towards the respect of his inferiors and family.
I have heard this book described as masochistic and sexist. There is no doubt that it depicts a man's world, and the women of the lower class are either hideous, or whores, or both; but the female main characters, Cersei Lannister; Catelyn Stark and Daenerys Targaryen grow in strength throughout the book and have a huge amount of influence over events in their own story threads. The struggles between the two girls, Sansa and Arya Stark reflect the difficulties of a woman trying to find her place and make her mark. Their differing choices set them on diverse paths, and differing destinies.
"A Game of Thrones" is book one in the series "A Song of Ice and Fire" and it is grand in scope, rich in detail, and filled with surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and look forward to treating myself to the remainder of the series.
Rating: 5/5
Reviews of "A Song of Ice and Fire"
"A Clash of Kings"
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Film Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
This is an origin story, and much like the JJ Abrams "Star Trek" Movie serves to reboot a familiar brand: delivering a taste of the familiar, but giving itself the freedom to stray away from canon and build a new franchise.
I enjoyed spotting the many references to the original films: A TV in the Ape enclosure showing Charlton Heston; the launch of a manned mission to Mars; the line "Get your filthy paws off me you damn dirty Ape". Further viewings will yield further nuggets, I like that sort of thing.
I also enjoy a good origin story. And this is nothing like a good origin story. The plot seeks to address two issues in the transition from "Earth" to "Planet of the Apes": the fall of mankind, and the rise of the Apes. Lazily, both elements are handled with a catch-all "miracle drug" that simultaneously makes Apes more intelligent, and kills humans. It also kills the plot, as there is nothing to develop except the tedious process of manufacturing different strains of the drug. This slows the movie to a crawl, and detracts from the much more interesting story of Caesar's move from human society, to integration with his own kind, to leadership and rebellion. The Ape elements of the story are far more compelling and much more skilfully drawn than the human ones; the two together jar and lurch towards the film's finale.
The character of Caesar is well rendered: WETA CGI and the performance of the incomparable Andy Serkis lead him through tumultuous development on his road towards his destiny, and he is by far the best character in the movie. Again, the humans are weak and badly drawn. And oh, so many cliches. The characters are either very very good animal lovers, such as the bland Will and his insipid girlfriend, or very very evil animal haters, such as the money-hungry head of Gen-Sys, and the cruel curators of the Ape house. Yawn. These characters add nothing to the story, don't develop and stand as little more than background scenery for the CGI light show. Double Yawn. And what on earth Tom Felton is doing in the movie, I'll never know. He certainly isn't trying to escape type-casting, as he delivers his nasty-little-shit Draco Malfoy routine with the lamentable addition of The. Worst. Fake. American accent I have heard in a LONG time. Yikes.
Some interesting themes developed during the confrontation on the Golden Gate Bridge: something was struggling to surface about the violence of man, versus the violence-averse survival instinct of the Apes. The Apes for the most part commit no violence in their escape, killing or harming only when directly forced to by attacking humans. It also seemed to tie in the idea of the differing responses of humans and apes to the aggressive virus strain. I liked that, the idea of a victory won through non-response to the aggression of an enemy. But it came a little late to save the film.
There is talk of sequels, but with such a shaky foundation I have to doubt the shelf-life of the franchise.
This is another (yet another) film in which CGI precision is shoved to the forefront in an attempt to disguise a weak plot and weaker characters. I am so sick of seeing films like this, because you get the impression that in someone else's hands, this could have been so much better.
Rating: 2/5
I enjoyed spotting the many references to the original films: A TV in the Ape enclosure showing Charlton Heston; the launch of a manned mission to Mars; the line "Get your filthy paws off me you damn dirty Ape". Further viewings will yield further nuggets, I like that sort of thing.
I also enjoy a good origin story. And this is nothing like a good origin story. The plot seeks to address two issues in the transition from "Earth" to "Planet of the Apes": the fall of mankind, and the rise of the Apes. Lazily, both elements are handled with a catch-all "miracle drug" that simultaneously makes Apes more intelligent, and kills humans. It also kills the plot, as there is nothing to develop except the tedious process of manufacturing different strains of the drug. This slows the movie to a crawl, and detracts from the much more interesting story of Caesar's move from human society, to integration with his own kind, to leadership and rebellion. The Ape elements of the story are far more compelling and much more skilfully drawn than the human ones; the two together jar and lurch towards the film's finale.
The character of Caesar is well rendered: WETA CGI and the performance of the incomparable Andy Serkis lead him through tumultuous development on his road towards his destiny, and he is by far the best character in the movie. Again, the humans are weak and badly drawn. And oh, so many cliches. The characters are either very very good animal lovers, such as the bland Will and his insipid girlfriend, or very very evil animal haters, such as the money-hungry head of Gen-Sys, and the cruel curators of the Ape house. Yawn. These characters add nothing to the story, don't develop and stand as little more than background scenery for the CGI light show. Double Yawn. And what on earth Tom Felton is doing in the movie, I'll never know. He certainly isn't trying to escape type-casting, as he delivers his nasty-little-shit Draco Malfoy routine with the lamentable addition of The. Worst. Fake. American accent I have heard in a LONG time. Yikes.
Some interesting themes developed during the confrontation on the Golden Gate Bridge: something was struggling to surface about the violence of man, versus the violence-averse survival instinct of the Apes. The Apes for the most part commit no violence in their escape, killing or harming only when directly forced to by attacking humans. It also seemed to tie in the idea of the differing responses of humans and apes to the aggressive virus strain. I liked that, the idea of a victory won through non-response to the aggression of an enemy. But it came a little late to save the film.
There is talk of sequels, but with such a shaky foundation I have to doubt the shelf-life of the franchise.
This is another (yet another) film in which CGI precision is shoved to the forefront in an attempt to disguise a weak plot and weaker characters. I am so sick of seeing films like this, because you get the impression that in someone else's hands, this could have been so much better.
Rating: 2/5
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