As I sit here, waiting another 30 minutes or so before I have to go to work, (and, by the way, I really don't wanna) I can't help but reminisce over a certain series of characters I've been writing since 2010.
It occurred to me a few months ago that, once I finish these last two projects, (one of them being a short story collection, and the other being the final part of the core trilogy) I'll be done with these characters. And, even though I'm more excited right now than I've been for this series since the beginning, I'm also sad. Once I type the last paragraph, and whoever might be left alive have their stories closed, that's it; I'll never see these guys again. I love every one of these crazy, dark, sometimes foul-mouthed, tortured people. Saying goodbye to this group is going to be the single hardest thing I've ever had to do as a writer, I think.
But, I digress. The main question I have here goes out to all my writer friends specifically: Have you ever found it so hard to let go of a cast of characters after living with them for an extended period? Maybe even to the point where you considered purposely extending your story or series so you can keep them around, even though it's past their time? And if so, why?
For me, I know I'll be able to let go of Avice, Destiny, Terrence, Nadia, Gideon, Gabriel and Vlad. But, I also know it's going to be like sacrificing my firstborn. Yes, even the sick, twisted little Gabriel is going to be missed on some level. (And yes, guys. He'll be back in book 3. Bwahahahahahahahaha!)
It's strange, this feeling of excitement for new things, coupled with a sense of loss over these good friends I've gotten to know over the last four years. I've never had this kind of attachment to the characters I've written, and maybe that's precisely why this series has gone as far as it has. I've created characters that people both love and hate, depending on who you talk to. And it's always a strong reaction on either side, never in-between, and I love that.
So, again, to my writing friends:
Have you ever had a hard time letting go of a character or setting?
Have you ever tried to draw a story or series out (or thought about doing so) just to keep your darlings around?
For you, what makes a character/setting get to that point, in your eyes?
Looking forward to seeing what sort of responses I get from this.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Melatonin (Interview with Author John Durden)
What's up, guys?
Today, I thought I'd do something a little different and jump into an interview with a local author from Alabama. I've known this guy for several years, and he just released his first book last week.
A lot of people often wonder what goes through a writer's mind when they're crafting their next big story, so here's your chance to get in on the ground floor!
So, I made what I thought to be a decent list of questions and fired away at him. For the sake of the interview, I told him to treat the questions as if they were being asked by a random interviewer he'd never met.
Here's what he had to say:
So, how long have you been writing, exactly?
JD: I started writing at about 10th grade in High School. So, about 10 years, give or take. I used to just sit in class and write, when I didn't have anything else to do.
Would you say you have a specific Writing Style?
JD: Well, a lot of it is Discovery-Writing. I usually have an idea about what type of story I want to do, like Horror, Parody, etc. But beyond that I just sit down, let my mind go, and let the story take care of itself.
Would you say Discovery-Writing is superior to Heavy Outlining?
JD: I wouldn't say it's superior. I know a lot of writers that use outlines for their stories and the end product is a great read. I think it really depends on the type of person you are. Some people need heavy outlines to stay on track. For me, most of my work is spur of the moment, so I don't need a heavy outline.
What writers have had the biggest influence on your style?
JD: Definitely Voltaire. He was the first person to get me interested in writing. His first work, Candide, was the first book I ever knocked out in one sitting. He helped me understand that you have to be a great reader to be a great writer. Also, a lot of my humor comes from both him, and Christopher Moore. And lately, although I thought it would never happen, Stephen King has had a rather big influence on me. The way he develops his characters is brilliant.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider to be your mentor?
JD: When I think mentor I think on a very personal level. But, really as a mentor, I have to say Cam Crowder. I'd given up on writing for a long time before I met him. Then, one night, while we were out having drinks he looked me in the eye after I told him about an old story I'd never followed through on because of an old rejection letter and he said "You're an idiot. Go finish your damn story or you'll regret it for the rest of your life." So, without him, I wouldn't be writing at all.
What are you reading right now?
JD: I'm reading Stephen King's Different Seasons. Specifically, Apt Pupil, and I have to say it's the most psychopathic, gore-filled story I've ever read. (Think I might even use it for inspiration for my 2nd book.)
Knowing that your first book has been out for about a week now, how does that feel?
JD: Well, initially, I was excited and terrified, but so far I've gotten nothing but a lot of positive feedback. I've given out a lot of copies, had someone come up almost immediately and tell me how great it was. For awhile I didn't even want to put anything out because I was scared, so this has been kind of refreshing. I'm sort of a local celebrity right now, and it feels pretty good.
Can you give us a brief description of your first book?
JD: I think I give a different answer for that question every single time. *laughs* It's set in two different worlds, and at first you think the two main characters can't possibly be related, but they are. Then there's this demon, who happens to be my favorite character, who starts getting involved in both their lives, and you start to see how they're connected.
And this is the first in a trilogy, correct?
JD: It is. That wasn't the plan at first, but when I wrote the last chapter, I knew I had to keep going. I'm super excited to be working on the second book, and it's coming along pretty well so far.
For those who might have already read the first book, what can they expect in book 2?
JD: They'll definitely see a lot more of Joel, and a lot more deception. You can also look forward to a lot more emotional and mental anguish, which I personally enjoy, and I hope you do, too. *grins* Oh, and if you like the old man that appears in the first book, he might be working his way back into the pages, but I can't say when or where.
Is there a message in your books that you want readers to grasp?
JD: I think the overall message is really gonna be: bad things happen, and sometimes there's no justice. Sometimes there's always going to be hell to pay. Also, don't let go of the things you cherish most, or you might never get them back.
Any advice for other writers starting out?
JD: I'll tell you what all the author interviews I watched told me: Read a lot and write a lot. Some people say they're afraid to read someone else while they write because it influences them too much. But that's OK!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should plagiarize, but reading other authors sparks your imagination and opens your mind to new ideas. Everyone has their own style, and odds are you're going to have some traits of the writers you read the most, same thing with the movies you watch, but you still have your voice.
Also, writing is something that should always be fun, and if you're just in it to make money, give up now. Put your pen down and just stop, because you'll never make it. You have to focus on it because it's what you love, not just another check.
****
Today, I thought I'd do something a little different and jump into an interview with a local author from Alabama. I've known this guy for several years, and he just released his first book last week.
A lot of people often wonder what goes through a writer's mind when they're crafting their next big story, so here's your chance to get in on the ground floor!
So, I made what I thought to be a decent list of questions and fired away at him. For the sake of the interview, I told him to treat the questions as if they were being asked by a random interviewer he'd never met.
Here's what he had to say:
So, how long have you been writing, exactly?
JD: I started writing at about 10th grade in High School. So, about 10 years, give or take. I used to just sit in class and write, when I didn't have anything else to do.
Would you say you have a specific Writing Style?
JD: Well, a lot of it is Discovery-Writing. I usually have an idea about what type of story I want to do, like Horror, Parody, etc. But beyond that I just sit down, let my mind go, and let the story take care of itself.
Would you say Discovery-Writing is superior to Heavy Outlining?
JD: I wouldn't say it's superior. I know a lot of writers that use outlines for their stories and the end product is a great read. I think it really depends on the type of person you are. Some people need heavy outlines to stay on track. For me, most of my work is spur of the moment, so I don't need a heavy outline.
What writers have had the biggest influence on your style?
JD: Definitely Voltaire. He was the first person to get me interested in writing. His first work, Candide, was the first book I ever knocked out in one sitting. He helped me understand that you have to be a great reader to be a great writer. Also, a lot of my humor comes from both him, and Christopher Moore. And lately, although I thought it would never happen, Stephen King has had a rather big influence on me. The way he develops his characters is brilliant.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider to be your mentor?
JD: When I think mentor I think on a very personal level. But, really as a mentor, I have to say Cam Crowder. I'd given up on writing for a long time before I met him. Then, one night, while we were out having drinks he looked me in the eye after I told him about an old story I'd never followed through on because of an old rejection letter and he said "You're an idiot. Go finish your damn story or you'll regret it for the rest of your life." So, without him, I wouldn't be writing at all.
What are you reading right now?
JD: I'm reading Stephen King's Different Seasons. Specifically, Apt Pupil, and I have to say it's the most psychopathic, gore-filled story I've ever read. (Think I might even use it for inspiration for my 2nd book.)
Knowing that your first book has been out for about a week now, how does that feel?
JD: Well, initially, I was excited and terrified, but so far I've gotten nothing but a lot of positive feedback. I've given out a lot of copies, had someone come up almost immediately and tell me how great it was. For awhile I didn't even want to put anything out because I was scared, so this has been kind of refreshing. I'm sort of a local celebrity right now, and it feels pretty good.
Can you give us a brief description of your first book?
JD: I think I give a different answer for that question every single time. *laughs* It's set in two different worlds, and at first you think the two main characters can't possibly be related, but they are. Then there's this demon, who happens to be my favorite character, who starts getting involved in both their lives, and you start to see how they're connected.
And this is the first in a trilogy, correct?
JD: It is. That wasn't the plan at first, but when I wrote the last chapter, I knew I had to keep going. I'm super excited to be working on the second book, and it's coming along pretty well so far.
For those who might have already read the first book, what can they expect in book 2?
JD: They'll definitely see a lot more of Joel, and a lot more deception. You can also look forward to a lot more emotional and mental anguish, which I personally enjoy, and I hope you do, too. *grins* Oh, and if you like the old man that appears in the first book, he might be working his way back into the pages, but I can't say when or where.
Is there a message in your books that you want readers to grasp?
JD: I think the overall message is really gonna be: bad things happen, and sometimes there's no justice. Sometimes there's always going to be hell to pay. Also, don't let go of the things you cherish most, or you might never get them back.
Any advice for other writers starting out?
JD: I'll tell you what all the author interviews I watched told me: Read a lot and write a lot. Some people say they're afraid to read someone else while they write because it influences them too much. But that's OK!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should plagiarize, but reading other authors sparks your imagination and opens your mind to new ideas. Everyone has their own style, and odds are you're going to have some traits of the writers you read the most, same thing with the movies you watch, but you still have your voice.
Also, writing is something that should always be fun, and if you're just in it to make money, give up now. Put your pen down and just stop, because you'll never make it. You have to focus on it because it's what you love, not just another check.
****
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Girl Power (The Sequel)
For this post, I'm going to have a little help. Please welcome my lovely fiancee', Anna Smith. Say hi, sweetheart.
"Yo!"
Yes, I know, she's a conversational mastermind.
Anyway, since I had to cut the list short the other night due to it being 5am and my brain deciding to short out on me, I'm coming back to it, because I feel it deserves it.
And for those of you who want a good read, check out Anna's Blog!
Now, let's dive right in!
Mulan
C'mon, you knew she'd be on here. Admit it!
Anyway, Mulan is one of the few Disney female characters to notably hold her own, not only in combat against male characters, but in a male-dominated world altogether. The Han Dynasty era of China was, as you might have guessed, an era where women were little better than second-class citizens, so a woman being in the military was unheard of. But Mulan don't give a darn!
She starts the film showing how bad she is at being a typical girl in her society, and she's made to feel inferior for it. However, by joining the army in her father's stead, she discovers that she can find happiness without catering to the societal structure for women of her time. But, just because she picks up her dad's sword and kick Hun butt left and right doesn't mean she loses her femininity. Quite the opposite in fact. While in the army she meets Li Shang, and they later get married (but for the love of God don't suffer through the second movie like I did to figure that out). Mulan shows us that a woman doesn't have to be a "girly-girl" to be feminine.
Clair Huxtable
Clair Huxtable is a force of nature. This is a woman with five kids and a full-time job--as an attorney, no less. She enjoys the same power and prestige as her husband (which, if you look at TV families, is pretty rare). She manages an impossible balance between work and household duties (I'd use the phrase "second shift" here, but people's eyes tend to glaze over when they hear feminist phrases like that).
Though Clair was often showed filling traditional "mom roles," it was clear that she was not second-in-command to Cliff, but she was his partner. And she made sure everyone knew it.
Like this.
Clair may not have fought off an army or defied the social scripts of her society in quite as drastic a way as Mulan, but there's no denying that Clair was strong.
Big Barda
If you're not familiar with Barda, here's a picture for reference.
"Yo!"
Yes, I know, she's a conversational mastermind.
Anyway, since I had to cut the list short the other night due to it being 5am and my brain deciding to short out on me, I'm coming back to it, because I feel it deserves it.
And for those of you who want a good read, check out Anna's Blog!
Now, let's dive right in!
Mulan
C'mon, you knew she'd be on here. Admit it!
Anyway, Mulan is one of the few Disney female characters to notably hold her own, not only in combat against male characters, but in a male-dominated world altogether. The Han Dynasty era of China was, as you might have guessed, an era where women were little better than second-class citizens, so a woman being in the military was unheard of. But Mulan don't give a darn!
She starts the film showing how bad she is at being a typical girl in her society, and she's made to feel inferior for it. However, by joining the army in her father's stead, she discovers that she can find happiness without catering to the societal structure for women of her time. But, just because she picks up her dad's sword and kick Hun butt left and right doesn't mean she loses her femininity. Quite the opposite in fact. While in the army she meets Li Shang, and they later get married (but for the love of God don't suffer through the second movie like I did to figure that out). Mulan shows us that a woman doesn't have to be a "girly-girl" to be feminine.
Clair Huxtable
Clair Huxtable is a force of nature. This is a woman with five kids and a full-time job--as an attorney, no less. She enjoys the same power and prestige as her husband (which, if you look at TV families, is pretty rare). She manages an impossible balance between work and household duties (I'd use the phrase "second shift" here, but people's eyes tend to glaze over when they hear feminist phrases like that).
Though Clair was often showed filling traditional "mom roles," it was clear that she was not second-in-command to Cliff, but she was his partner. And she made sure everyone knew it.
Like this.
Clair may not have fought off an army or defied the social scripts of her society in quite as drastic a way as Mulan, but there's no denying that Clair was strong.
Big Barda
If you're not familiar with Barda, here's a picture for reference.
Yeah, she's kinda boss. When Jack Kirby left Marvel (because they were scumbags) and created the New Gods for DC, Barda, along with her husband, Mister Miracle, became two of the fan favorites. Unlike Scott (Miracle's real name), she's not the elusive escape artist; she'd rather pound the crap out of everything in her way. That makes her really fun. She's also bigger and stronger than her husband, but neither of them seem to care.
It's really hard to tell you just how awesome Barda is, so I'll let this next clip do the talking.
And with that, we'll go ahead and call it a night. Thanks for taking the time to follow along with the extended list, and maybe in the future we'll touch on this again.
Goodnight everybody!
More Than Just A Scene
There was an incident a few weeks ago involving a member of the FGC (Fighting Game Community) involving a fairly prominent player, Noel Brown. And of course, right on cue, Kotaku rushed onto the scene to report on the tragic turn of events. The article, as per usual Kotaku style, was the only thing they'd posted about the community in a very long time, and of course they waited until something negative popped up.
Now, Kotaku made the argument that even sports writers inform the public when an athlete is, say, caught doing steroids. And yes, that's true, but sports writers also tell you the score to the freaking games! If Noel Brown had gone on to win the tournament that weekend, no one outside of the community would have known. Also, because of this article, people seem to think that Brown is a prominent member of the community, and therefore a reflection of the rest of the players, when in actuality, Brown hasn't won anything significant in a very long time, and in no way reflects the attitude of the rest of the community.
Kotaku is well-known for doing things like this in other communities as well, where they only cast light on the negative, so I'm not going to tear down Kotaku in this post (they do that pretty well themselves). Instead, for those of you who may not be familiar with the FGC, I'm going to tell you a little bit about my experiences with it, and give you a little insight into why I call it home.
Yeah, that's right, I'm an author, but I'm also a proud member of the FGC, and I intend to be until the day I die. I can't say I've been in the community for too long; I'm what the FGC refers to as an '09er, since I didn't start getting into the scene in any real capacity until after the fighting game revival when Street Fighter 4 hit our shores in 2009.
I've been lucky enough to become a part of the FGC in Birmingham, Alabama. It may seem like a small dot on the map (and it is) but we have some of the best talent in the country as far as I'm concerned, and I see a lot of potential for growth. We have other groups scattered across the state as well, and I've met a lot of the people in them; some I like, some I'm not particularly fond of, but that works both ways. We may not always see eye to eye, but there's a mutual love of fighting games that ties all of us together, and that's what we focus on.
I can honestly say I've never felt a more warm welcome than when I became a part of this community, so it makes me sad when I hear people who only know the Kotaku-side of it saying we're all anti-social and rude; that's just not true. Yes, just like any group you have your loudmouthed, obnoxious morons, but in my experience that's a vast minority. Most of the people I've met, after beating the crap out of me the first time we played, sat down with me later and showed me what I was doing wrong so I could hold my own next time. And that's one of the special things about the FGC: we're never complacent. Complacency is the place you hit right before you get knocked out of a tournament; you can't afford it. So, we help each other around our own strategies and tactics, and in doing so, we don't just help the other player, we help ourselves, because next time they'll know what to expect and we'll have to think on our feet.
There are a number of things to love about this community, and if I tried to list them all I'd never get done, but one of the most important is the unity we have. In each individual community, we have a sort of family, and when one of us falls, it hurts everyone, so we all keep each other strong. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it felt the first time I had almost the entire group behind me in a tournament, cheering me on. It takes everything to a whole new level, and that was the first time I truly felt like I was home.
So, don't let all the negativity fool you, because the FGC is a place of unity and family, above all else.
And, there you have it. That's all I have to say for now. I know this was a fairly brief post, and pretty rushed, but I hope I've given everyone some insight into why this community is so great. And before I sign off, I leave you with one of the most hype moments in fighting game history for your viewing pleasure: EVO moment #37.
Now, Kotaku made the argument that even sports writers inform the public when an athlete is, say, caught doing steroids. And yes, that's true, but sports writers also tell you the score to the freaking games! If Noel Brown had gone on to win the tournament that weekend, no one outside of the community would have known. Also, because of this article, people seem to think that Brown is a prominent member of the community, and therefore a reflection of the rest of the players, when in actuality, Brown hasn't won anything significant in a very long time, and in no way reflects the attitude of the rest of the community.
Kotaku is well-known for doing things like this in other communities as well, where they only cast light on the negative, so I'm not going to tear down Kotaku in this post (they do that pretty well themselves). Instead, for those of you who may not be familiar with the FGC, I'm going to tell you a little bit about my experiences with it, and give you a little insight into why I call it home.
Yeah, that's right, I'm an author, but I'm also a proud member of the FGC, and I intend to be until the day I die. I can't say I've been in the community for too long; I'm what the FGC refers to as an '09er, since I didn't start getting into the scene in any real capacity until after the fighting game revival when Street Fighter 4 hit our shores in 2009.
I've been lucky enough to become a part of the FGC in Birmingham, Alabama. It may seem like a small dot on the map (and it is) but we have some of the best talent in the country as far as I'm concerned, and I see a lot of potential for growth. We have other groups scattered across the state as well, and I've met a lot of the people in them; some I like, some I'm not particularly fond of, but that works both ways. We may not always see eye to eye, but there's a mutual love of fighting games that ties all of us together, and that's what we focus on.
I can honestly say I've never felt a more warm welcome than when I became a part of this community, so it makes me sad when I hear people who only know the Kotaku-side of it saying we're all anti-social and rude; that's just not true. Yes, just like any group you have your loudmouthed, obnoxious morons, but in my experience that's a vast minority. Most of the people I've met, after beating the crap out of me the first time we played, sat down with me later and showed me what I was doing wrong so I could hold my own next time. And that's one of the special things about the FGC: we're never complacent. Complacency is the place you hit right before you get knocked out of a tournament; you can't afford it. So, we help each other around our own strategies and tactics, and in doing so, we don't just help the other player, we help ourselves, because next time they'll know what to expect and we'll have to think on our feet.
There are a number of things to love about this community, and if I tried to list them all I'd never get done, but one of the most important is the unity we have. In each individual community, we have a sort of family, and when one of us falls, it hurts everyone, so we all keep each other strong. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it felt the first time I had almost the entire group behind me in a tournament, cheering me on. It takes everything to a whole new level, and that was the first time I truly felt like I was home.
So, don't let all the negativity fool you, because the FGC is a place of unity and family, above all else.
And, there you have it. That's all I have to say for now. I know this was a fairly brief post, and pretty rushed, but I hope I've given everyone some insight into why this community is so great. And before I sign off, I leave you with one of the most hype moments in fighting game history for your viewing pleasure: EVO moment #37.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Girl Power
In today's post, I'll be talking about a few strong female characters. If you haven't read or watched or played anything with these characters, you should fix that. I'm sure I'll overlook more than a couple on this list, so if you know of something I should've included, please let me know.
Alright, here we go...
Buffy
This first one is probably the most blatantly obvious choice, so I thought I'd get her out of the way first.
Buffy is among the most iconic female leads of all time, and for good reason. She's the stereotypical pretty, blond cheerleader you see in a ton of highschool movies even today. But, there's a little more to her than you'd catch at first glance. Yes, she's pretty and athletic, but she also kick the crap out of monsters after nightfall, keeping the world safe for the rest of us to walk around without fear of getting our blood sucked.
One of the defining features of Buffy that people tend to overlook due to her "I am woman, hear me roar" traits is that, even though she can beat monsters down all day, she's not perfect. For one, she's not the brightest bulb in the box academically, quite the opposite. The girl would probably flunk out of most of her classes if it wasn't for her good friend Willow always being on hand to tutor her when necessary (and it's necessary a lot). Put the girl in a fight, her mind works great, but put her in front of a blackboard and ask her to write out the Pythagorean theorem, you might as well be asking her to cure cancer.
Her academic shortcomings aside, Buffy had proven herself a more than capable fighter time and time again, despite overwhelming odds. She's stronger, faster, and more able-bodied than any man (or woman for that matter) in her world (until you get to the last season, but I digress). She remains one of the poster girls for strong female archetypes, and I don't see any reason why that should change.
I could go deeper into her character, but I don't really see any need to, since most of you are probably familiar with her anyway.
Death (The Sandman)
There was no way I was going to make this list without Death. When Neil Gaiman first introduced Death in Sandman #8 in the late 80's, he did something no one had ever done before: he played Death as a cute, perky Goth girl.
Death always wears a smile as she goes about her job with a smile and sunny disposition, in contrast to her brother, Dream, who tends to be all morbid and mopey 24/7. Her smile can light up a room and she just happens to have complete control over the fate of your soul. The first time you see the girl she's quoting Merry Poppins and then she takes Dream along while she goes on her route for the day. She's just so freakin' adorable!
The fact that Death always seems to be so cheerful might be because Neil Gaiman wanted to point out that death is a natural end to all things and nothing to be frightened of. This is highlighted when, in issue #8 Death says, "... Gets me down, too. Mostly they aren't too keen to see me. They fear the Sunless Lands. But they enter your realm each night without fear," to which Dream replies, "And I am far more terrible than you, sister."
Death also seems to be the one of the Endless (the seven siblings which include Dream) with the most compassion. Not only does she sometimes apologize to her charges that their time is up, but there's also a moment in the series where she berates Dream for his treatment of a young woman long ago, where he had her forever imprisoned in hell just because she wouldn't be with him. Most of the Endless don't really have much regard for humans, Death and Dream being two exceptions, but Death is more self-aware than Dream.
No matter how you look at her, Death is easily one of the most powerful female characters in literature, and how could she not be, considering she's, y'know, Death.
Moiraine Damodred
Finally, a Wheel of Time character! And not just any WoT character, but my personal favorite in the entire series.
When we first meet Moiraine (assuming you start with book 1 and not the prequel) she's a mysterious woman who appears with a stone-faced (not literally) guard named Lan, in the small town of Two Rivers mere hours before it's attacked by a force of Trollocs. At first the group is mistrustful of her, upon learning she's Aes Sedai (you'll have to look them up), but in seeing no other alternative, they follow her anyway.
For the next several books she does nothing but try to help out Rand, Perrin and Mat, but these dumb kids all suspect she's manipulating them with her "Aes Sedai wiles" and rail against her at every turn. She remains steadfast, however, and is determined to do everything in her power to keep them safe and ensure the survival of the human race during the Last Battle.
Moiraine is unique among Aes Sedai in that she is a faithful backer of Rand, knowing he's the Dragon Reborn. Unlike most of her colleagues, she knows that he can't be kept on a leash for the Tower's uses, and fights not only to keep him alive for the Last Battle, but to keep him out of the Tower's clutches.
Throughout the series she shows much patience and wisdom (and more than one instance of powerful magic displays that decimate slews of Trollocs) and without her, it's safe to say that the three blockheads from the Two Rivers wouldn't have survived even to the end of the first book. Heck, she even takes on the Forsaken (the most powerful magic users from the Age of Legends) on more than one occasion and comes out on top, even though she's not the strongest in the One Power.
And that's all I've got for tonight, folks. It's after 3am and I'm hours past exhausted. But, if there's enough interest here, and I get enough feedback I'll come back and update this post in the future. Until then, goodnight all!
Alright, here we go...
Buffy
This first one is probably the most blatantly obvious choice, so I thought I'd get her out of the way first.
Buffy is among the most iconic female leads of all time, and for good reason. She's the stereotypical pretty, blond cheerleader you see in a ton of highschool movies even today. But, there's a little more to her than you'd catch at first glance. Yes, she's pretty and athletic, but she also kick the crap out of monsters after nightfall, keeping the world safe for the rest of us to walk around without fear of getting our blood sucked.
One of the defining features of Buffy that people tend to overlook due to her "I am woman, hear me roar" traits is that, even though she can beat monsters down all day, she's not perfect. For one, she's not the brightest bulb in the box academically, quite the opposite. The girl would probably flunk out of most of her classes if it wasn't for her good friend Willow always being on hand to tutor her when necessary (and it's necessary a lot). Put the girl in a fight, her mind works great, but put her in front of a blackboard and ask her to write out the Pythagorean theorem, you might as well be asking her to cure cancer.
Her academic shortcomings aside, Buffy had proven herself a more than capable fighter time and time again, despite overwhelming odds. She's stronger, faster, and more able-bodied than any man (or woman for that matter) in her world (until you get to the last season, but I digress). She remains one of the poster girls for strong female archetypes, and I don't see any reason why that should change.
I could go deeper into her character, but I don't really see any need to, since most of you are probably familiar with her anyway.
Death (The Sandman)
There was no way I was going to make this list without Death. When Neil Gaiman first introduced Death in Sandman #8 in the late 80's, he did something no one had ever done before: he played Death as a cute, perky Goth girl.
Death always wears a smile as she goes about her job with a smile and sunny disposition, in contrast to her brother, Dream, who tends to be all morbid and mopey 24/7. Her smile can light up a room and she just happens to have complete control over the fate of your soul. The first time you see the girl she's quoting Merry Poppins and then she takes Dream along while she goes on her route for the day. She's just so freakin' adorable!
The fact that Death always seems to be so cheerful might be because Neil Gaiman wanted to point out that death is a natural end to all things and nothing to be frightened of. This is highlighted when, in issue #8 Death says, "... Gets me down, too. Mostly they aren't too keen to see me. They fear the Sunless Lands. But they enter your realm each night without fear," to which Dream replies, "And I am far more terrible than you, sister."
Death also seems to be the one of the Endless (the seven siblings which include Dream) with the most compassion. Not only does she sometimes apologize to her charges that their time is up, but there's also a moment in the series where she berates Dream for his treatment of a young woman long ago, where he had her forever imprisoned in hell just because she wouldn't be with him. Most of the Endless don't really have much regard for humans, Death and Dream being two exceptions, but Death is more self-aware than Dream.
No matter how you look at her, Death is easily one of the most powerful female characters in literature, and how could she not be, considering she's, y'know, Death.
Moiraine Damodred
Finally, a Wheel of Time character! And not just any WoT character, but my personal favorite in the entire series.
When we first meet Moiraine (assuming you start with book 1 and not the prequel) she's a mysterious woman who appears with a stone-faced (not literally) guard named Lan, in the small town of Two Rivers mere hours before it's attacked by a force of Trollocs. At first the group is mistrustful of her, upon learning she's Aes Sedai (you'll have to look them up), but in seeing no other alternative, they follow her anyway.
For the next several books she does nothing but try to help out Rand, Perrin and Mat, but these dumb kids all suspect she's manipulating them with her "Aes Sedai wiles" and rail against her at every turn. She remains steadfast, however, and is determined to do everything in her power to keep them safe and ensure the survival of the human race during the Last Battle.
Moiraine is unique among Aes Sedai in that she is a faithful backer of Rand, knowing he's the Dragon Reborn. Unlike most of her colleagues, she knows that he can't be kept on a leash for the Tower's uses, and fights not only to keep him alive for the Last Battle, but to keep him out of the Tower's clutches.
Throughout the series she shows much patience and wisdom (and more than one instance of powerful magic displays that decimate slews of Trollocs) and without her, it's safe to say that the three blockheads from the Two Rivers wouldn't have survived even to the end of the first book. Heck, she even takes on the Forsaken (the most powerful magic users from the Age of Legends) on more than one occasion and comes out on top, even though she's not the strongest in the One Power.
And that's all I've got for tonight, folks. It's after 3am and I'm hours past exhausted. But, if there's enough interest here, and I get enough feedback I'll come back and update this post in the future. Until then, goodnight all!
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Characters That Keep Us Coming Back
If you're anything like me, then once or twice in your life you've been reading a book/watching a movie/playing a video game and suddenly realize that one the characters you're following is something really special and unique. This will be a list of characters from various media that have had an impact on me for one reason or another, and I'll try my best to do them all justice and be as thorough in my analysis as possible.
Also, this is by no means a complete list. There's no way I could compile a list that extensive, so I'm going to shoot for the ones that aren't huge pop-culture icons, like Batman or Superman (and they would both be on that list).
Rand al'Thor
I decided to kick this list off with Rand because, unlike most characters, he had a span of 23 years and 14 books to grow. When we first meet him, he's just reached marrying age in his village, and has no ambitions beyond becoming a sheepherder like his father.
Rand is unique because, unlike most High Fantasy, he's not just the farmboy that discovers he's the hero of ancient prophecy destined to save the world. That's a part of who he is, but in a lot of Fantasy, we see those heroes quickly vanquish the all-devouring evil and then their story is done. In The Wheel of Time, however, we get to watch Rand grow from sheepherder to ruler long before the series ends. Instead of wondering how a simple farmer could run a kingdom of any sort, we actually get to watch all of the stupid mistakes firsthand, and that makes his struggle more compelling.
Beyond that, we watch Rand slowly turning insane from the pressure and the growing madness inside him stemming from his use of the tainted male half of the One Power (the magic of the WOT world). A lot of the time you're wondering if his use of the One Power is what's causing him to lose his sanity more rapidly, or if it's the constant pressure of having to cover his mistakes and look as strong as possible to keep his subject from turning on him in his weakness.
Another interesting note: Rand is also different in that once he achieves every child's dream of ruling the world, he quickly wants to throw it away and go back to the way things used to be. I've read too many stories where the farmboy rises to power and everything's just hunky-dory, unicorns and rainbows, and having that power is everything they dreamed it would be. The idea of a simpleton like young Rand in any form of political power is terrifying (although he stills does a better job than any politician I've ever known).
Odysseus
I mentioned Odysseus in my first post, but wasn't able to discuss my fascination with him in as much detail as I would've liked. I touched on the fact that he was, by today's standards, the "wrong" way to write a hero because he's too perfect. That's the thing that draws me.
Most heroes in today's fiction are as broken and as humanized as possible (even Superman) to make them easier to relate to. Odysseus, despite his lack in this department, transcends that and makes you care about his struggle. Here's a guy who plays dice with the gods, essentially, and manages to come out on top, despite being a mere mortal. He outsmarts gods! More than once!
Homer constantly refers to him as "resourceful Odysseus" throughout the texts.... Understatement of the century! Odysseus was MacGyver on steroids centuries before a MacGyver even existed, with a little Batman on the side! As soon as Polyphemus (the Cyclops) asks his name, Odysseus already smells a rat and tells him "Nobody", so that when he puts Polyphemus's eye out later and his brothers come running to ask him who did it, he can only tell them "Nobody did this to me! Nobody is to blame!" and they think he's lost it and ignore him.
But, despite all of that, Odysseus does have one thing that makes him truly believable (or two things, rather): Telemachus and Penelope. Referred to by Homer, respectfully, as thoughtful and wise. These two are pretty much his Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen (except Telemachus is noticeably less useless than Jimmy). Odysseus's countless struggles are all made worth it when he finally sees his family for the first time in a decade. Rather than stay on an island with Calypso (a gorgeous nymph who thinks he's the shiz) he spurns her advances because he only wants to return to his family. He's inhumanly steadfast in this and will let nothing keep him away from the people he loves.
John Wayne Cleaver
This kid is probably among the more unique on this list. He's a 14 year old sociopath who fights the urge to become a serial killer ... by only killing monsters.
We're first introduced to John in I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells. It's a first-person narrative, and John tells you from the beginning that he has to set strict rules for himself to follow so he doesn't become one of the serial killers he's fascinated by. But, when a coldblooded murderer comes to his quiet town, John finds that getting so close to the murder scenes is awakening an obsession in him that isn't healthy. By the time he finds out that this killer is actually an ageless monster (or demon as he calls it), John realized that he's in so deep that he has to kill something, and if it's a demon, that should make it acceptable.
The kid is brilliant and very good at hiding his sociopathy from his friends at school. He also works in a mortuary with his mom and aunt, which comes in handy when the murder victims come through to be embalmed. His cold, calculated analysis of each body that comes through is somewhat unsettling when contrasted with his mother's insistence that the corpse still be referred to as "he" or "she", while John argues that there's nothing there anymore and sees no problem with calling them "it".
His most interesting aspect, in my opinion, is that he actually does have a personality, even though he doesn't seem to think so. As a reader, it's easy to see his quirks while he ignores them and thinks he's slipping further and further away from his humanity.
He's a unique hero for sure, and if you haven't read any of his books, I highly recommend them.
Magik (Illyana Rasputin)
She's a character that's very underrated and infinitely appealing. She got her start in X-Men as Colossus's baby sister, then, after she fell through a portal to limbo for a split-second and was pulled back out by Kitty Pride, she was a grown teenager.
We find out later that, although it was only an instant in the normal world, she had spent years in Limbo, where a demon named Belasco took shards of her soul in an attempt to allow his lords into the mortal world to feast. Time and again, she's lost her soul and had to fight to get it back. She's the textbook definition of the tragic hero, making me fall in love with her over and over again.
Illyana is so endearing because she's done a number of questionable things, and not because they were for the betterment of mutantkind, but because she had a personal vendetta against the people she saw as responsible for losing her childhood. Recently, she endangered the entire world simply because she wanted to strike back against the Elder Gods and fully restore her soul. This seems very selfish, but in reality, wouldn't some of us do the same thing, especially if we'd faced her hardships?
On more than one occasion I've gone back and re-read the couple of trades I have featuring Illyana, and every time I find something new that I didn't catch before, strengthening my attachment to her. Is she my favorite Marvel character? Well, no, that slot goes to Gambit, but Magik easily clenches the second slot.
I'd love to see her get more mainstream attention than she's gotten since her creation more than 30 years ago. We have a lot of tragic heroes in our culture, but noticeably few that are as strong and compelling as Illyana, and that's really a shame. She's also a female tragic hero, which is surprisingly rare.
If you'd like to get to know Illyana and don't mind old school comics, then you should check out Magik: Storm and Illyana. Or, if you don't like that style, you can go with X-Infernus; it's out of print now, but you can still find it reasonably cheap if you look in the right places. I'd say those are the two best places to start before you dive into any New Mutants stories.
Aoshi Shinomori
A character from the manga/anime Rurouni Kenshin. Since I was a young teenager this has been my absolute favorite anime, and mainly because of the title character, Kenshin Himura, but putting him on the list would have been too obvious, and everyone who's watched a single episode of the anime or read a chapter of the manga knows Kenshin's story. Aoshi is a very different animal.
When we first meet Aoshi, he's leading a band of mercenaries who've been hired by a drug lord named Kanryu Takeda and we're given the impression that he's a heartless monster, dragging a young woman named Megumi back to Kanryu so she can continue producing poison for him. But, after capturing her and taking her back up to her room to be locked away, we see our first hint that there's more to Aoshi than meets the eye. He offers Megumi a way out, by tossing her a small dagger and telling her she can end her suffering. Now, that might seem cold, but for one, he's actually going against his boss's orders at this point, and beyond that, he's a warrior, and death is a natural end to all things in his eyes, so in offering Megumi the dagger, he really is showing compassion.
After that, there's a big fight in which all of the men in his charge die protecting him from Kanryu, and we find out the their reason for their devotion to him is because, after the war, Aoshi was offered a head position in the new army, but the others were just "simple killers" who would never be able to find any other line of work. Aoshi refused to abandon his men to this fate after recruiting them, so rejected the offer and continued to lead them as mercenaries, while still using the name Oniwaban Group to be recognizable. This light on Aoshi's true nature is astounding the first time you watch the series or read the manga, because it hits you from out of nowhere almost.
We don't see anything from Aoshi for awhile after that, but we know he still has a grudge against Kenshin, and promises to come back and kill him someday. When he finally does come back, he's beaten, but takes a lot out of Kenshin in the process. This proves a problem when Kenshin goes to fight Shishio and ends up getting knocked unconscious, Aoshi blames himself for taking too much out of Kenshin and offers to fight in Kenshin's stead to buy time for him to wake up. He's well aware that he's walking into a beatdown, but his honor won't let him walk away.
He's the ultimate underdog throughout the series, even more so than Kenshin. It makes him stand out in my mind, and on some days I actually like him over Kenshin.
Raziel
OK, here we go. My single favorite video game character in history. Heck, he's probably my favorite fictional character of all time, period.
Raziel is the lead protagonist of 3 of the 5 games in the Legacy of Kain series. OK, technically it's 2 1/2, since he shares lead with Kain in the last game. Since Soul Reaver 1 I've had nothing but love for this guy, and the way he used and manipulated at every turn makes you want to give him a puppy just to see if it can brighten his day a little.
I'll admit, I'm a sucker for a good redemption story. I've been that way all my life, and I honestly can't tell you why. But I can tell you that Raziel's story is among the best and most tragic redemption stories I've ever experienced and is probably my favorite.
When we first meet Raziel, he's telling the story of his millenium serving under Kain. Kain had by this time embraced his vampiric nature and decided to take over and raised six lieutenants to serve under him, each over their own province of the kingdom. Raziel was the first of his brothers raised to vampirism and serves as Kain's right hand.
The way vampirism works in the LoK world is that, once every X number of years Kain would enter a sort of hibernation and emerge with a new power. A few years later, his lieutenant would get the same gift, but through some bizarre turn of fate, Raziel acquired a new gift first. Check out the video below to see what happened.
That voice Raziel hears after waking up belongs to the Elder God, a creature that's willing to give Raizel the power to exact his revenge on Kain. The Elder God wants to keep his Wheel of Fate turning, and immortal beings (like, y'know, vampires and stuff) keep things from running smoothly. So, Raziel becomes a devourer of souls and sets out to exact his revenge.
At first, Raziel is simply a revenge-driven force of nature, plowing through all of his former brother, who have now devolved into monstrous bottom-feeders, just to get to Kain. But along the way he finds out that the Sarafan, and ancient order of priests dedicated to hunting vampires, are a little closer to him than he ever thought. It turns out that he and his brothers were all high-ranking Sarafan, and Kain had thought it delicious irony to turn the very people who hated and hunted him into the very thing they fought against. Raziel didn't appreciate this, as you can tell in the video below, which takes just after the end of the first game, where Kain strikes Raziel with the Soul Reaver, only to have it shatter on impact and become one with Raziel.
Throughout his next search for Kain, all the while lamenting his lost humanity, Raziel discovers new secrets about the Sarafan, proving Kain's words right. He's manipulated at every turn by the Elder God, Moebius, and of course, Kain.
Finally, his journey leads him to a confrontation with his past self, as a fanatical Sarafan. It's here that it dawn on him that he's trapped in a loop, forced to kill himself, be resurrected by Kain.
And that's not even where the story ends. There are about a zillion and seventy-three more twists and turns before the story winds down in the final game, but I've given you enough info here to prove my point.
Raziel's struggle is wrought with bitterness, vengeance, hatred, confusion and desperation. He wants nothing more than for the "powers that be" to stop playing him like a pawn. We find out later that, because Kain threw him into the abyss, Raziel is unbound from the Wheel, and therefor, the only one of them that truly has free will. Even so, because of that, Raziel is manipulated at every turn, causing him to doubt his free will.
If there's ever been a more compelling character in all of fiction, I'm not sure who it is.
Well, that's it. As always, questions and comments are welcome (and encouraged). If you have any ideas about what I should talk about next, let me know! (Also, subscribe! I want to get as many people following and discussing as possible.)
Also, this is by no means a complete list. There's no way I could compile a list that extensive, so I'm going to shoot for the ones that aren't huge pop-culture icons, like Batman or Superman (and they would both be on that list).
Rand al'Thor
I decided to kick this list off with Rand because, unlike most characters, he had a span of 23 years and 14 books to grow. When we first meet him, he's just reached marrying age in his village, and has no ambitions beyond becoming a sheepherder like his father.
Rand is unique because, unlike most High Fantasy, he's not just the farmboy that discovers he's the hero of ancient prophecy destined to save the world. That's a part of who he is, but in a lot of Fantasy, we see those heroes quickly vanquish the all-devouring evil and then their story is done. In The Wheel of Time, however, we get to watch Rand grow from sheepherder to ruler long before the series ends. Instead of wondering how a simple farmer could run a kingdom of any sort, we actually get to watch all of the stupid mistakes firsthand, and that makes his struggle more compelling.
Beyond that, we watch Rand slowly turning insane from the pressure and the growing madness inside him stemming from his use of the tainted male half of the One Power (the magic of the WOT world). A lot of the time you're wondering if his use of the One Power is what's causing him to lose his sanity more rapidly, or if it's the constant pressure of having to cover his mistakes and look as strong as possible to keep his subject from turning on him in his weakness.
Another interesting note: Rand is also different in that once he achieves every child's dream of ruling the world, he quickly wants to throw it away and go back to the way things used to be. I've read too many stories where the farmboy rises to power and everything's just hunky-dory, unicorns and rainbows, and having that power is everything they dreamed it would be. The idea of a simpleton like young Rand in any form of political power is terrifying (although he stills does a better job than any politician I've ever known).
Odysseus
I mentioned Odysseus in my first post, but wasn't able to discuss my fascination with him in as much detail as I would've liked. I touched on the fact that he was, by today's standards, the "wrong" way to write a hero because he's too perfect. That's the thing that draws me.
Most heroes in today's fiction are as broken and as humanized as possible (even Superman) to make them easier to relate to. Odysseus, despite his lack in this department, transcends that and makes you care about his struggle. Here's a guy who plays dice with the gods, essentially, and manages to come out on top, despite being a mere mortal. He outsmarts gods! More than once!
Homer constantly refers to him as "resourceful Odysseus" throughout the texts.... Understatement of the century! Odysseus was MacGyver on steroids centuries before a MacGyver even existed, with a little Batman on the side! As soon as Polyphemus (the Cyclops) asks his name, Odysseus already smells a rat and tells him "Nobody", so that when he puts Polyphemus's eye out later and his brothers come running to ask him who did it, he can only tell them "Nobody did this to me! Nobody is to blame!" and they think he's lost it and ignore him.
But, despite all of that, Odysseus does have one thing that makes him truly believable (or two things, rather): Telemachus and Penelope. Referred to by Homer, respectfully, as thoughtful and wise. These two are pretty much his Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen (except Telemachus is noticeably less useless than Jimmy). Odysseus's countless struggles are all made worth it when he finally sees his family for the first time in a decade. Rather than stay on an island with Calypso (a gorgeous nymph who thinks he's the shiz) he spurns her advances because he only wants to return to his family. He's inhumanly steadfast in this and will let nothing keep him away from the people he loves.
John Wayne Cleaver
This kid is probably among the more unique on this list. He's a 14 year old sociopath who fights the urge to become a serial killer ... by only killing monsters.
We're first introduced to John in I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells. It's a first-person narrative, and John tells you from the beginning that he has to set strict rules for himself to follow so he doesn't become one of the serial killers he's fascinated by. But, when a coldblooded murderer comes to his quiet town, John finds that getting so close to the murder scenes is awakening an obsession in him that isn't healthy. By the time he finds out that this killer is actually an ageless monster (or demon as he calls it), John realized that he's in so deep that he has to kill something, and if it's a demon, that should make it acceptable.
The kid is brilliant and very good at hiding his sociopathy from his friends at school. He also works in a mortuary with his mom and aunt, which comes in handy when the murder victims come through to be embalmed. His cold, calculated analysis of each body that comes through is somewhat unsettling when contrasted with his mother's insistence that the corpse still be referred to as "he" or "she", while John argues that there's nothing there anymore and sees no problem with calling them "it".
His most interesting aspect, in my opinion, is that he actually does have a personality, even though he doesn't seem to think so. As a reader, it's easy to see his quirks while he ignores them and thinks he's slipping further and further away from his humanity.
He's a unique hero for sure, and if you haven't read any of his books, I highly recommend them.
Magik (Illyana Rasputin)
She's a character that's very underrated and infinitely appealing. She got her start in X-Men as Colossus's baby sister, then, after she fell through a portal to limbo for a split-second and was pulled back out by Kitty Pride, she was a grown teenager.
We find out later that, although it was only an instant in the normal world, she had spent years in Limbo, where a demon named Belasco took shards of her soul in an attempt to allow his lords into the mortal world to feast. Time and again, she's lost her soul and had to fight to get it back. She's the textbook definition of the tragic hero, making me fall in love with her over and over again.
Illyana is so endearing because she's done a number of questionable things, and not because they were for the betterment of mutantkind, but because she had a personal vendetta against the people she saw as responsible for losing her childhood. Recently, she endangered the entire world simply because she wanted to strike back against the Elder Gods and fully restore her soul. This seems very selfish, but in reality, wouldn't some of us do the same thing, especially if we'd faced her hardships?
On more than one occasion I've gone back and re-read the couple of trades I have featuring Illyana, and every time I find something new that I didn't catch before, strengthening my attachment to her. Is she my favorite Marvel character? Well, no, that slot goes to Gambit, but Magik easily clenches the second slot.
I'd love to see her get more mainstream attention than she's gotten since her creation more than 30 years ago. We have a lot of tragic heroes in our culture, but noticeably few that are as strong and compelling as Illyana, and that's really a shame. She's also a female tragic hero, which is surprisingly rare.
If you'd like to get to know Illyana and don't mind old school comics, then you should check out Magik: Storm and Illyana. Or, if you don't like that style, you can go with X-Infernus; it's out of print now, but you can still find it reasonably cheap if you look in the right places. I'd say those are the two best places to start before you dive into any New Mutants stories.
Aoshi Shinomori
A character from the manga/anime Rurouni Kenshin. Since I was a young teenager this has been my absolute favorite anime, and mainly because of the title character, Kenshin Himura, but putting him on the list would have been too obvious, and everyone who's watched a single episode of the anime or read a chapter of the manga knows Kenshin's story. Aoshi is a very different animal.
When we first meet Aoshi, he's leading a band of mercenaries who've been hired by a drug lord named Kanryu Takeda and we're given the impression that he's a heartless monster, dragging a young woman named Megumi back to Kanryu so she can continue producing poison for him. But, after capturing her and taking her back up to her room to be locked away, we see our first hint that there's more to Aoshi than meets the eye. He offers Megumi a way out, by tossing her a small dagger and telling her she can end her suffering. Now, that might seem cold, but for one, he's actually going against his boss's orders at this point, and beyond that, he's a warrior, and death is a natural end to all things in his eyes, so in offering Megumi the dagger, he really is showing compassion.
After that, there's a big fight in which all of the men in his charge die protecting him from Kanryu, and we find out the their reason for their devotion to him is because, after the war, Aoshi was offered a head position in the new army, but the others were just "simple killers" who would never be able to find any other line of work. Aoshi refused to abandon his men to this fate after recruiting them, so rejected the offer and continued to lead them as mercenaries, while still using the name Oniwaban Group to be recognizable. This light on Aoshi's true nature is astounding the first time you watch the series or read the manga, because it hits you from out of nowhere almost.
We don't see anything from Aoshi for awhile after that, but we know he still has a grudge against Kenshin, and promises to come back and kill him someday. When he finally does come back, he's beaten, but takes a lot out of Kenshin in the process. This proves a problem when Kenshin goes to fight Shishio and ends up getting knocked unconscious, Aoshi blames himself for taking too much out of Kenshin and offers to fight in Kenshin's stead to buy time for him to wake up. He's well aware that he's walking into a beatdown, but his honor won't let him walk away.
He's the ultimate underdog throughout the series, even more so than Kenshin. It makes him stand out in my mind, and on some days I actually like him over Kenshin.
Raziel
OK, here we go. My single favorite video game character in history. Heck, he's probably my favorite fictional character of all time, period.
Raziel is the lead protagonist of 3 of the 5 games in the Legacy of Kain series. OK, technically it's 2 1/2, since he shares lead with Kain in the last game. Since Soul Reaver 1 I've had nothing but love for this guy, and the way he used and manipulated at every turn makes you want to give him a puppy just to see if it can brighten his day a little.
I'll admit, I'm a sucker for a good redemption story. I've been that way all my life, and I honestly can't tell you why. But I can tell you that Raziel's story is among the best and most tragic redemption stories I've ever experienced and is probably my favorite.
When we first meet Raziel, he's telling the story of his millenium serving under Kain. Kain had by this time embraced his vampiric nature and decided to take over and raised six lieutenants to serve under him, each over their own province of the kingdom. Raziel was the first of his brothers raised to vampirism and serves as Kain's right hand.
The way vampirism works in the LoK world is that, once every X number of years Kain would enter a sort of hibernation and emerge with a new power. A few years later, his lieutenant would get the same gift, but through some bizarre turn of fate, Raziel acquired a new gift first. Check out the video below to see what happened.
That voice Raziel hears after waking up belongs to the Elder God, a creature that's willing to give Raizel the power to exact his revenge on Kain. The Elder God wants to keep his Wheel of Fate turning, and immortal beings (like, y'know, vampires and stuff) keep things from running smoothly. So, Raziel becomes a devourer of souls and sets out to exact his revenge.
At first, Raziel is simply a revenge-driven force of nature, plowing through all of his former brother, who have now devolved into monstrous bottom-feeders, just to get to Kain. But along the way he finds out that the Sarafan, and ancient order of priests dedicated to hunting vampires, are a little closer to him than he ever thought. It turns out that he and his brothers were all high-ranking Sarafan, and Kain had thought it delicious irony to turn the very people who hated and hunted him into the very thing they fought against. Raziel didn't appreciate this, as you can tell in the video below, which takes just after the end of the first game, where Kain strikes Raziel with the Soul Reaver, only to have it shatter on impact and become one with Raziel.
Throughout his next search for Kain, all the while lamenting his lost humanity, Raziel discovers new secrets about the Sarafan, proving Kain's words right. He's manipulated at every turn by the Elder God, Moebius, and of course, Kain.
Finally, his journey leads him to a confrontation with his past self, as a fanatical Sarafan. It's here that it dawn on him that he's trapped in a loop, forced to kill himself, be resurrected by Kain.
And that's not even where the story ends. There are about a zillion and seventy-three more twists and turns before the story winds down in the final game, but I've given you enough info here to prove my point.
Raziel's struggle is wrought with bitterness, vengeance, hatred, confusion and desperation. He wants nothing more than for the "powers that be" to stop playing him like a pawn. We find out later that, because Kain threw him into the abyss, Raziel is unbound from the Wheel, and therefor, the only one of them that truly has free will. Even so, because of that, Raziel is manipulated at every turn, causing him to doubt his free will.
If there's ever been a more compelling character in all of fiction, I'm not sure who it is.
Well, that's it. As always, questions and comments are welcome (and encouraged). If you have any ideas about what I should talk about next, let me know! (Also, subscribe! I want to get as many people following and discussing as possible.)
Friday, July 12, 2013
A Slave To Interpretation
I came across an interesting article tonight (well, technically it's morning) where a columnist was listing their 10 (from best to worst) Stephen King movie adaptations. I saw before I clicked over to the main article that The Shining was listed at #1, and immediately thought "Well, surely they're talking about the miniseries SK did in '97", but I was wrong. For some reason I couldn't fathom, they had not only put the Kubrick movie on the list, but at #1, above every other adaptation.
So, after reading the entire list, I went back to the top and re-read the description, which I'll just quote here:
"The Shining was one of King's best novels. The movie was outstandingly bad and I can't believe anyone who rates the movie highly even read the book. Stanley Kubrick is/was one of the world's most over-rated directors. The television mini-series version of "The Shining" was a vast improvement over the cinematic version."
"The Shining #1????? That was the most pathetic adaptation of a Stephen King book on record! Shawshank Redemption should have been #1 with The Mist a lot higher than it was ranked. The rest of the list is pretty well spot on."
But then I read further down and found comments like:
"" This is my number one Stephen King adaptation because it transcends King himself and is not only one of the best thrillers ever made, but one of the best films ever made." Agreed. Stephen King is my hero but I do agree that the movie was done well. It wasn't what he envisioned, but obviously it resonated with readers, and they have the book (as well as his own Shining movie series) for his idea. Besides, a major part of writing is begin interpreted in endless ways."
And there were a few others who agreed with this person which, as a writer, really bothered me.
Now, I don't claim to know everything about writing (which is part of the excitement that keeps me going) and I can't speak for every writer, but there are certain ways I NEVER want my work to be interpreted. If I feel it's a complete bastardization of the work I lovingly cultivated over months or years, then I have every right to fight against it, in my mind. The idea of a novel "transcending" the writer in a way the writer is vehemently against is something that should never happen, and yet it happens everyday.
Exhibit A: Alan Moore
Moore has been very outspoken over the years about not wanting his work, saying, "They were written to be impossible to reproduce in terms of cinema. So why not leave them as a comic, in they way they were intended to be?"
Initially, Moore was content to just take the money for the film and keep his mouth shut, then he stopped taking any royalties at all and insisted that his name be stricken from the titles. And I can see why after so many of his stories were outright ruined by Hollywood, even before Watchmen. For some reason, even with Moore's constant protests, studios continue to gain access to movie rights due to his publishers' moneygrubbing.
____
Now, I consider it different when a writer is closely involved with the filming process, like O'Barr was on The Crow. This was an instance where the writer personally signed off on everything the director wanted, and was pleased with the final product. In cases like this, if the writer has any complaints after filming, it's really their own fault.
Anyway, I guess the main thing that irked me about the article was the fact that people (most of whom didn't even seem to have read the book) were running to the defense of a pitifully-done adaptation of a great work. If the movie had been called anything other than The Shining, I probably wouldn't have any problems with it, in all honesty, but when you use the name, you're making certain promises to the viewer, and I felt that those promises were broken by Kubrick.
If you'd like to check out the article for yourself, I'm leaving a link below, so feel free to check it out. And if you get a chance, please comment and give me your opinions on this. Should a writer always be a slave to unwanted interpretation?
Stephen King's Books Turned to Films, From Best to Worst
So, after reading the entire list, I went back to the top and re-read the description, which I'll just quote here:
"Stephen King famously hated Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining. His
major grievance with the Kubrick film is his feeling that the director
downplayed the supernatural element of the story as much as possible and
emphasized the psychological origins of main character Jack Torrance’s
madness. He also suggested, probably correctly, that casting Jack
Nicholson in the role would diminish the effect of an otherwise normal
man descending into derangement, as Nicholson had mostly played unstable
characters up to that point. However, I think what is so powerful about
The Shining is its open-endedness and the idea that we may never know exactly where
our demons are coming from. It would be easy enough to blame Torrance’s
meltdown on some external evil entity but the film is much more
compelling because that is not made explicit. All of this aside, Kubrick
is a visual master and a director whose vast attention to detail and
style give this film its unique and stunning look. This is my number one
Stephen King adaptation because it transcends King himself and is not
only one of the best thrillers ever made, but one of the best films ever
made"
Well, that's....
I'm sorry, but doesn't "best adaptation" imply that it's the most faithful to the source material? Am I missing something here?
The main part of that whole spiel that bothers me is the last line: "...because it transcends King himself and is not only one of the best thrillers ever made, but one of the best films ever made." So, in a roundabout way, it seems like the writer of this article is implying that King's beefs with the so-called adaptation are unfounded, which is wrong, in my opinion.
Anyway, after re-reading the description a second time, I decided to hit the comments and see what other people were saying about it, and the first couple of comments gave me hope, with people saying thinks like:
"Shawshank Redemption is one of the best movies of all time so it should be number 1 without a doubt. Kubrick’s self indulgent butchering of the story in The Shining should make it a choice on the worst list."
Well, that's....
I'm sorry, but doesn't "best adaptation" imply that it's the most faithful to the source material? Am I missing something here?
The main part of that whole spiel that bothers me is the last line: "...because it transcends King himself and is not only one of the best thrillers ever made, but one of the best films ever made." So, in a roundabout way, it seems like the writer of this article is implying that King's beefs with the so-called adaptation are unfounded, which is wrong, in my opinion.
Anyway, after re-reading the description a second time, I decided to hit the comments and see what other people were saying about it, and the first couple of comments gave me hope, with people saying thinks like:
"Shawshank Redemption is one of the best movies of all time so it should be number 1 without a doubt. Kubrick’s self indulgent butchering of the story in The Shining should make it a choice on the worst list."
"The Shining was one of King's best novels. The movie was outstandingly bad and I can't believe anyone who rates the movie highly even read the book. Stanley Kubrick is/was one of the world's most over-rated directors. The television mini-series version of "The Shining" was a vast improvement over the cinematic version."
"The Shining #1????? That was the most pathetic adaptation of a Stephen King book on record! Shawshank Redemption should have been #1 with The Mist a lot higher than it was ranked. The rest of the list is pretty well spot on."
But then I read further down and found comments like:
"" This is my number one Stephen King adaptation because it transcends King himself and is not only one of the best thrillers ever made, but one of the best films ever made." Agreed. Stephen King is my hero but I do agree that the movie was done well. It wasn't what he envisioned, but obviously it resonated with readers, and they have the book (as well as his own Shining movie series) for his idea. Besides, a major part of writing is begin interpreted in endless ways."
And there were a few others who agreed with this person which, as a writer, really bothered me.
Now, I don't claim to know everything about writing (which is part of the excitement that keeps me going) and I can't speak for every writer, but there are certain ways I NEVER want my work to be interpreted. If I feel it's a complete bastardization of the work I lovingly cultivated over months or years, then I have every right to fight against it, in my mind. The idea of a novel "transcending" the writer in a way the writer is vehemently against is something that should never happen, and yet it happens everyday.
Exhibit A: Alan Moore
Moore has been very outspoken over the years about not wanting his work, saying, "They were written to be impossible to reproduce in terms of cinema. So why not leave them as a comic, in they way they were intended to be?"
Initially, Moore was content to just take the money for the film and keep his mouth shut, then he stopped taking any royalties at all and insisted that his name be stricken from the titles. And I can see why after so many of his stories were outright ruined by Hollywood, even before Watchmen. For some reason, even with Moore's constant protests, studios continue to gain access to movie rights due to his publishers' moneygrubbing.
____
Now, I consider it different when a writer is closely involved with the filming process, like O'Barr was on The Crow. This was an instance where the writer personally signed off on everything the director wanted, and was pleased with the final product. In cases like this, if the writer has any complaints after filming, it's really their own fault.
Anyway, I guess the main thing that irked me about the article was the fact that people (most of whom didn't even seem to have read the book) were running to the defense of a pitifully-done adaptation of a great work. If the movie had been called anything other than The Shining, I probably wouldn't have any problems with it, in all honesty, but when you use the name, you're making certain promises to the viewer, and I felt that those promises were broken by Kubrick.
If you'd like to check out the article for yourself, I'm leaving a link below, so feel free to check it out. And if you get a chance, please comment and give me your opinions on this. Should a writer always be a slave to unwanted interpretation?
Stephen King's Books Turned to Films, From Best to Worst
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