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Nov. 15th, 2011
So over the vacation and into the weekend of our return I watched lots of Avatar: The Last Airbender, all of Book 2 and good pieces of Book 3. Re-watched I suppose I should say as I've seen most of the episodes but never in order. Every time I watch an episode or a season I am blown away by how good a series it was and really wish current TV had similar offerings. It's interesting how it wasn't until watching the extras on season three that I clued into how every female character is a strong woman (tm). I mean it's pretty obvious but the series never makes a big production of it. The woman just are and that's how woman should be in movies and television. I'm reminded of this speech by Joss Weddon and his quote about how often he is asked "Why do you write these strong woman?" and his many responses; my favorite being "Because you're still asking that question."
And Iroh kicks all sorts of ass but that just stating the obvious.
I've also finally finished Sunshine by Robin McKinley and let me say I am pretty blown away. It is a wonderful urban fantasy with a hint, or dash, of paranormal romance. Featuring vampires as the big bad, I loved the fact the vampires are monsters and are clearly not human, both in mannerisms and thought. The feel of the book is very Gothic or Romantic to me, I could see touches of the Bronte sisters or Jane Austin in the story threads and themes. The narrative does wander a lot. It is a first person narrative and when such is done honestly, there is some amount of wandering but at times this was distracting to me. I do wish the author used comas a bit more as there were a few times when I had to reread sentences to figure out what was being said.
This is also the type of book that you need to sit down with a few hours to spend and no distractions as it is an atmospheric book that needs to suck you in to get it's true character out. I was only able to spend half an hour or an hour here and there and was usually interrupted whilst reading (such is the life of a married man and father) but still the book had it's hooks in me. I just know that if I had been able to give it the time and attention it needed, I would have been drawn in more. One thing that helped with the wandering narrative was keeping in mind that there would not be a sequel so this book was it for getting the idea of the world out.
I also loved how honest and human the main character was. She never miraculously changed from the fearful baker to the bad ass vampire slayer and when she did succeed in slaying the "dragon", the emotional repercussions nearly ruined her as such a stressful situation would.
All in all, 4 out of 5 stars and I would suggest 15+ for age.
And Iroh kicks all sorts of ass but that just stating the obvious.
I've also finally finished Sunshine by Robin McKinley and let me say I am pretty blown away. It is a wonderful urban fantasy with a hint, or dash, of paranormal romance. Featuring vampires as the big bad, I loved the fact the vampires are monsters and are clearly not human, both in mannerisms and thought. The feel of the book is very Gothic or Romantic to me, I could see touches of the Bronte sisters or Jane Austin in the story threads and themes. The narrative does wander a lot. It is a first person narrative and when such is done honestly, there is some amount of wandering but at times this was distracting to me. I do wish the author used comas a bit more as there were a few times when I had to reread sentences to figure out what was being said.
This is also the type of book that you need to sit down with a few hours to spend and no distractions as it is an atmospheric book that needs to suck you in to get it's true character out. I was only able to spend half an hour or an hour here and there and was usually interrupted whilst reading (such is the life of a married man and father) but still the book had it's hooks in me. I just know that if I had been able to give it the time and attention it needed, I would have been drawn in more. One thing that helped with the wandering narrative was keeping in mind that there would not be a sequel so this book was it for getting the idea of the world out.
I also loved how honest and human the main character was. She never miraculously changed from the fearful baker to the bad ass vampire slayer and when she did succeed in slaying the "dragon", the emotional repercussions nearly ruined her as such a stressful situation would.
All in all, 4 out of 5 stars and I would suggest 15+ for age.