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Post by N3B on Apr 17, 2010 0:27:57 GMT -5
Just finished reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and followed it with a viewing of Blade Runner. Both are of course very enjoyable, and while it's quite natural for a film to have a very different take on the devices of a novel, I ultimately prefer the book. The movie was a treat to watch (the visual depiction of Dick's dystopian earth and lots of the screen composition, including the score), but it omitted way too much of what made the book enjoyable.
In fact, every single one of the book's major themes is missing in the movie. Really, the only things that the movie has in common with the book are the protagonist's name and profession, and the fact that androids are outlaws on earth. Oh and the voight-kampf test. Trouble I had with the movie was trying to figure out what the point was. It's basically the same story but it lacks all of the metaphors and allegories of the book, and those are what made the book stimulating, because I pick up on those things as I read and wonder how they'll be resolved or explained.
Anyway. Probably move on to some Heinlein next.
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Post by N3B on May 4, 2010 11:32:19 GMT -5
Finished Heinlein's Job: A Comedy of Justice.
Not strictly sci-fi, though it has minor traces of sci-fi in it, a bit of a deviation from Heinlein's traditional works. Although I will qualify that by saying that, though his "traditional" stuff has heavy elements of sci-fi, the root of the stories and characters are usually quite similar to what we have here in plain old time and space.
While it was enjoyable, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's recommendable, and it probably won't make it onto a list of cherished reading experiences. It was interesting at first, but spent way too much time in limbo, which kind of ruined the climax because I'd become so exasperated and tired of the dense limbo-maintaining status quo that I just like "whatever."
Started Ender's Game, 50 pages in, little Ender is in Boot Camp (or Battle Camp). I can already say that he's the type of protagonist that audiences (or at least, those like me) love to root for. Intellectually strong and competent, but ostracized by peers for qualities beyond his control (the monitor, being a third, perhaps physical size); he's that fringe character whose every success in spite of adversary is like a sweet spice.
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Post by N3B on May 13, 2010 1:08:03 GMT -5
Finished Ender's Game. Great book.
I enjoyed the emphasis on everything being a game, despite that it was taken so utterly seriously. The imagery in the "desk" games was pretty provocative, with the tie-in at the end making the ending (and thus the whole book) touching and memorable. I especially like that Card didn't stoop to the level of intentionally screwing Ender with circumstances beyond his control -- there were plenty of times when he was put to the test under stressful situations, but Ender was always in control.
It's usually a lame tactic to boost tension by putting the protagonist in situations where they can't do anything, where they're utterly thwarted and subjugated to their opponent's will for the next chapter or two. Problem I have is that the tension disappears in those situations because you can't root for the protagonist anymore, you just sit and wait for something to happen.
At the very least, it makes me somewhat interested in reading some of the other novels in the same setting. I like the ending of Ender's Game and don't necessarily want to ruin its resonance, but some of the parallel spin-offs might be worthwhile.
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Post by Draxas on May 13, 2010 17:27:29 GMT -5
Honestly, it sort of goes downhill from there. Ender's Game is a fantastic book, Speaker for the Dead is pretty good, and I can't even remember the title of book 3 because it was simply unremarkable and dull. If I were you, I would probably stop after Speaker.
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Post by Notesurfer on May 18, 2010 21:06:19 GMT -5
Honestly, it sort of goes downhill from there. Ender's Game is a fantastic book, Speaker for the Dead is pretty good, and I can't even remember the title of book 3 because it was simply unremarkable and dull. If I were you, I would probably stop after Speaker. I agree almost completely. Ender's Game and Speaker were the only two I felt were worth reading, but I actually felt that Speaker was on par with, if not better than, Ender's Game. They are two very different stories, so it's not really comparable in terms of quality - rather, I related in a different way to the latter. Both are great, and the greatness ends there. I wouldn't waste your time with the Hegemon series, although if you do, post about it. I was unable to get all the way through any of them, as I found them to be, as Draxas stated, dull.
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