Empire Star, Bladerunner

When deciding whether to read through Babel 17 or Empire Star, I decided to go with Empire Star. It seemed like a more interesting read. One particular draw was the idea of the novel being narrated by an "alien" so to speak. Ok, whether or not the narrator, Jewel, is an alien or not I am not actually sure of. But the way the character is described and presented definitely in my opinion makes Jewel seem other-worldly. Which is of course true anyway; being that Jewel is one of the two individuals rescued from the ship wreckage by Comet Joe. I find it to be quite a clever and intriguing way to have a narrator for the story. As opposed to simply having a non-existant character be the narrator, the narrator is one very close to the hero character Comet Joe. And the ability for the narrator to know so much about the story to be able to tell it is actually justifiable in this novel's case; being that Jewel, in the crystaline state, is able to see multiple points of view. Aside from the narrator, the story itself is interesting. While the story is essentially a coming of age tale for Comet Joe, I do personally enjoy stories that span large amounts of time, or even an entire character's life. I enjoy seeing that character evolve and change, going through "character arcs" as we say in Computer Animation. This is what kept Comet Joe as a character, for the most part, engaging.

I was quite excited to discover we were watching Bladerunner today in class. I first saw this movie back in June this year, and liked it quite a bit. I guess I like cyber-punk, although in all honesty I didn't know what cyber-punk was before it was brought up today relating the Bladerunner. It just makes up a really cool setting. The reason I first watched Bladerunner was actually because of many video games I've played in the past, such as Mass Effect and Fallout 3. Both games have references to this film, and since I loved that games I took it upon myself to watch the movie. I was not disappointed. There are many facets of this movie that are really good, but my favorite would simply have to be the dark, grungy, yet still futuristic setting.

Stars my Destination

Sci-Fi time... Probably my overall favorite genre. While I love aspects of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, science fiction has to be my favorite. This is really because I grew up playing science fiction video games such as Perfect Dark and Halo. The genre has stuck for me and of course branches into every form of entertainment and not just video games. Although to be most specific, my favorite genre would have to be the science fiction horror. Thank Alien for that.

Onto the Stars my Destination. This is quite an interesting story being told. The main character, Foyle, is intense, to say the least. He is the highlight of the novel. He is a character that you as the reader both root for and reel away from at the same time. The way he is described as being an empty, near worthless individual at the beginning of the novel makes you feel sympathetic and pitiful for the character. In a way it gives the reader faith in the character, knowing that he has the entire novel for things to turn around in his life and start going his way. The reader gets excited for Foyle when he suddenly gets motivated for revenge. For the entirety of the novel, Foyle's intense determination for his vengeance is what keeps the audience interested and excited, because we know that when he gets his revenge he will be fullfilled and will have done something worthwhile in his life. That is what the reader wants; we want to see Foyle find meaning in his life- even if it's through revenge. However, some of Foyle's actions make him quite a shocking character. So much so that more than just a few readers would likely turn away from the novel. He is not a nice guy. Foyle is brutal and often it is hard to remember he is the protagonist and the character the audience wants to root for- and some of us probably won't.

One extra note is the tattoos. That is an extra tidbit of the novel I quite like, for obvious reasons. The way Foyle's face tattoos appear when his emotions run high is a very cool, unique mechanic in a story. It is the standout part of the novel that really sticks in your mind as something you remember when thinking of Stars My Destination in general. It's the novel with "the cool face tattoos that reflect animalistic emotions."

Anansi Boys

For me, the class discussion on this novel quite greatly expanded my knowledge on the work itself. Even more so than the other class discussions on other novels we've read, and for a few reasons. Mainly I did not realize the novel's story was based on a form of African beliefs/religion. I will say right now that I have no cultural knowledge on any of these specifics, so I may sound unfamiliar with what I am talking about. I simply thought the premise and god-like characters were just a fantasy element that author Neil Gaiman thought up for the sake of the novel. And as with others, I did not realize that the characters were of African descent. I would have most likely read through the entire novel without ever knowing, just assuming every character was white. It was not until the in class discussion that I found out otherwise, which was somewhat of a suprise. After the class discussion however I felt as though I would have preferred reading American Gods instead of Anansi Boys. From what I heard it seemed like the type of novel that I would have found more interesting, wheras Anansi Boys wasn't all to my taste with the African animal-type god characters. What I mean is the characters themselves somewhat disinterested me. I like animal-type characters, but the characters in Anansi Boys were somewhat uninspired in the way of their divinity, I should say? Well, for example, I was turned off from the novel when the character Spider essentially shapeshifted or magically disguised himself as Charlie. To me that's just a little on the cheesy side of things. The novel went more and more down this road as it went on and to me it was hard to focus because it really stretched my believability.

Golden Compass

Now here is an interesting novel to look at. I originally heard of the Golden Compass a few years ago because of the movie that was released. I also remember the movie getting a negative response which kept me from ever getting too interested in it. At the time, as far as the movie goes, it seemed as if it was a less interesting or less unique version of the film Pan's Labyrinth. Both movies followed a young girl protagonist with mythical and animal companions, grounded within both a fantasy world and a real world. I also never knew the Golden Compass was based on a fantasy novel. Having become more familiar with the novel now, the Golden Compass in my opinion comes off a bit too much on the scale of being a children's fantasy tale than what I would prefer- despite the more mature ending. I also find the main character Lyra to be quite unlikable. This in turn really makes it hard to enjoy reading. Reading a novel or story based on a character you don't like really just takes you out of the experience, and it frustrates me as a reader in a way. It prevents me from enjoying the read. Lyra comes off as a brat to me. She is somewhat snarky, annoying kid that puts me off of the story. I'm not interested in the peril she gets in, or her eventual "hero's journey" because I don't care about the character in the first place. The most interesting character in the novel is Lord Asriel, who has a lot of depth. He gives off an impression when first introduced, and as the novel progresses more and more of his character is revealed. The ending especially reveals a lot about the character's true motives and person. While not neccessarily a character arc, the way the reader learns more and more about Asriel, with their views of him changing as they learn more, make him a very multi-dimensional character. As for the story, the ending is definitely the most interesting part of the story. And you can be sure that was the author's intention, since it is meant to get you excited and want to read the second novel. The pathway to an alternate world is always a very intriquing concept, the reader will always want to learn more. The possibilities with alternate realities are endless, and it is always a treat for a reader to delve into the author's perception of the alternate world.