Green's my favorite color!

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Christopher Paolini’s long awaited conclusion to the Eragon saga meticulously wraps up every plot thread that the young author has spun in the almost ten years since he was professionally published (something that I found a little irritating). Still, Inheritance was a must-read for me as I loved the first book. But sadly, the sequels Eldest and Brisngr didn’t eclipse the first book’s excellence, and Inheritance is no different. I think that actually made me dislike Inheritance more than I otherwise would have. Instead of going out with a bang, Paolini gives us more of the same with no surprising plot twists or breathtaking revelations. Like with Eldest and Brisngr, Inheritance suffers from long stretches of uninteresting filler chapters, and wooden melodramatic dialogue, with an ending that is sour and anticlimactic. I did like this book, but only because I loved the first one.
P.S – If Star Wars and Lord of the Rings had a baby, and then was adopted by Dragon Riders of Pern, it would look like the Inheritance Cycle….just sayin….




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Warbreaker

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but this art - while good in its own right - captures none of the essence of the story. In fact, it put me off and I only read this because of my man-crush on Sanderson. Excellent writing, and a good story, but needs a new cover.



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Alloy of Law Review

So no clever title for this post. It probably has to do with the pain meds I am taking for a surgery I just had, so if something in this review doesn't make sense...Eh. Alloy of Law takes place three centuries after the closing scenes of Hero of Ages, the world now in a technological state comparable to the late 1800's in the U.S. The plot centers around Waxillium, an allomancer frontier law-man who returns to the city of Elendel after the tragic death of his lover. Now returned to the life as a nobleman he rejected, Wax struggles to find his place in high society. Unable to leave crime fighting alone, he quickly becomes involved in working against a gang of train robbers calling themselves "The Vanishers" - something that draws the condemnation of his noble peers. What can I say? I love Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and Hero of Ages. Those are my absolute favorite Sanderson titles, and he has proved time and again that he won't disappoint me. While Alloy of Law does a decent job of explaining the rules of Allomancy and Feurochemy, this book really is for those already familiar with the Mistborn novels. As with Sanderson's other works, Alloy of Law has a thoughtfully planned plot that unfolds with plenty of twists and turns and endearing characters. My only real complaint about Alloy of Law was that it was too short. If you liked the Mistborn Trilogy, Alloy of Law is a must-read. "A" for the short, but enjoyable Alloy of Law.

The Story that Might Have Been...Part One

Journey back with me if you will to May 1999, before internet ticket buying, and assigned seating (God bless those who invented assigned seating). You are standing in line outside the newest multi-screen theater, publicly ridiculing but secretly admiring those who dressed up. After about two hours, the ushers start letting you into the theater where you will wait another half hour illegally saving seats and buying overpriced candy and soda. The enthusiasm of the crowd is electric, and you can't help but feel like a kid on Christmas, especially if you have waited twenty years for this moment. The lights go down, the familiar music blares out of the DTS sound system, and your entire childhood seems to return in an instant. But about ten minutes into the movie, your heart starts to sink, and you realize that, as flashy and pretty as it is, this is not YOUR Star Wars.

Yes, I was describing my experience at the opening night of The Phantom Menace, and with the 3D version soon hitting theaters, all of that old pain and disappointment has been drudged up. So, I am finally going to put all of my complaining and criticizing to a constructive use in order to help others see the story that might have been. Think of this as my "Ninety-Five Thesis" except less important, and not as long - although because I have a lot to say, I will split it into parts, this being the intro.

Why the Hero's Mentor Has to Die.

Obi Wan Kenobi, Dumbledore, Brom, Kelsier, and Gandalf. What do these fictional characters have in common? Well, they were all mentors to great heroes, but each of them also did not live to see their protégé’s win the day (well Gandalf cheated and came back to life). So why does a hero’s senex have to die? Do they have to die? What would happen if they didn’t die or leave the hero to finish their work? I believe the answer to this question is yes, the mentor must die (or leave) in order for the hero to rise to his or her full potential. Why? Well, let’s look at an everyday example.

Stevie is a 25 year-old, single male who lives in his parent’s basement. He has a part time job at the local burger-joint, but doesn’t pay rent, buy groceries, or worry about dependents. The only way Stevie will see the need to go to college, save money, or get a full time job is if he is forced out of his moocher’s, comfort zone. In short, Stevie’s parents have to kick him out in order for him to develop ambition or go anywhere in life. You get the point.

When a hero embarks on his journey, he or she is usually weak, vulnerable, and always inexperienced. Consequently, they need protection, training, and an education. They need someone to give them a reason to fight, a reason that is driven home by the sacrifice of their mentor. Think about it. How much more motivated did Luke Skywalker become in fighting the Empire when Ben Kenobi was reduced to a pile of robes by Darth Vader? He didn’t really start growing up until everything Obi Wan taught him about the evil of their enemies was illustrated in his being slain by those very villains. Therefore, the mentor capstones all of his preaching and moral instruction with an object lesson – one that says “this is what you’re fighting and this is how important it is for you to fight it.”

But how does the death of the mentor make the hero stronger? Aside from galvanizing the hero into determined action, the absence of the mentor exposes the hero to the full threat of his enemies (Harry Potter 7 is an excellent example of this). Like the resistance of weight-training, the facing of death and danger forces the hero to stretch, draw on all of his or her resources, forge their own alliances, and ultimately grow stronger. Without this, the hero would never rise to the challenge of changing the world.

So the next time someone says, Dumbledore shouldn't have had to die, you can answer; if he didn't Harry would've never saved the world.

Night Angel 3

Brent Week's compelling Night Angel tale wraps up in the final installment of the trilogy, Beyond the Shadows. Having helped save Cenaria from Khalidor and it's god-king, Kylar Stern goes to make good on his promise to the Wolf to find Curoch and hurl it into Ezra's wood where it will be safe from those who would use it for evil. From there he becomes involved in the power struggle between Ceura, and Cenaria's unlawful (and incestuous) queen. But that is just the beginning of a journey that will conclude in a Return of the King-style battle against legions of undead creatures. Weeks continues to demonstrate that he is better at characterization than he is at story mapping. What do I mean by that? Well, while Weeks excels in creating likable and endearing characters, the flow of this story sometimes felt inorganic and disharmonious. This wasn't a problem in the first volume of the Night Angel Trilogy, but seems to become prevalent in the second and third installments. Let me be clear. I liked this book - a lot. But I finished it feeling like Weeks hadn't taken full advantage of the intriguing world he has created (parts of which he borrowed heavily from Robert Jordan). It is only in the end of the third book that the characters encounter another Kakari, and that is a vague scene that left me with several unanswered questions. Also, the strongest story thread of Beyond the Shadows was not the main character’s journey, but that of the prophet Dorien. Having rejected his birthright as successor to god-king Gareth Ursuul and using the dark magic of Khalidor’s goddess, Khali, Dorien returns from exile to rescue his future wife. Unfortunately, while trying to escape from Khalidor, Dorien is cornered and forced to draw on the Vir to defend himself, thus taking his first step to becoming what he hates, a tyrant like his father. The story of Dorien’s fall from grace and ultimate redemption is so compelling, that it alone made this book worth reading.
B minus for the compelling, but disappointingly thin, Beyond the Shadows.

What motivates your villain?

Let's face it, there really aren't that many different kinds of villains, not when you get down to the basics of it. For example; there are those bad guys who want power, those who want revenge, those who act on uncontrollable impulses, those who have noble intentions but use evil means to reach their goals, and then there are those that just want to cause mayhem and destruction for the sheer thrill of it. If you think about it, all the villains in our favorite stories are really just variations or mixtures of these archetypes. The key, then, to crafting a compelling villain, is not to invent a new type of antagonist (which really isn’t possible), but to put a fresh spin on one or more of these themes. I will illustrate using five examples.

Those who want power: In my opinion, this is the default villain of choice. It's easy to create someone who just wants to "rule the world." Therefore, the trick is to give your power-hungry baddie an interesting motive for wanting ultimate power. A good example of this would be Anakin Skywalker from Revenge of the Sith. Anakin starts out a hero, but turns to the dark side because he believes it will give him the power to save his wife. But the price of that power ends up being Anakin's soul (and ironically his wife) and he becomes iconic, space-boogieman, Darth Vader.

Those who want revenge: Two Face from the Dark Knight is a great example of this. Once a hero, tragedy filled him so full of grief and hate that his moral boundaries collapsed, and the only thing that ended up driving him was the desire to make someone pay for his loss.

Those who can't control their evil impulses: Whether it be anger, lust, or addiction to something, these villains have turned their wills over to external forces. An example of this would be Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Like real-life junkies, Smeagol innocently finds his addiction, the ring of power, and instantly becomes enslaved to it, so much so that he strangles his brother to get it. From then on, all he cares about is the ring and all the evil and vile things he does are to the end of serving his desire.

The "ends justify the means" villain: These characters are usually not depraved psychopaths, but normal, well meaning people who have made deals with the devil in order to accomplish something good. I like Walternate from Fringe as an example of this. He is simply trying to save his world from a plight caused by someone else. Sure in the process he has to annihilate a parallel universe to do it, but he's willing to make that sacrifice. And that's how he really sees it, a sacrifice and himself a sort of moral martyr.

And finally there is my personal favorite, the villain who wants to cause chaos and death because it's just so darn fun! I thought of several examples of this (the Joker gets an honorable mention), and came up with two flavors of this villain; the sociopath who gets his jollies from causing pain and suffering, and the nihilist who wants to destroy because he believes it a preferable alternative or an inevitability. My two examples come from the Wheel of Time. First, we have Padan Fain, a wretched creature who becomes the embodied antithesis of life. Fain has no agenda save to kill Rand al'Thor and joys in being a living blight upon the world - a truly compelling, and frightening villain. We have our second example in Elan Morin Tedrona AKA Ishamael/Moridin. Elan was once a respected statesmen and philosophical genius who came to believe that fighting against the Dark Lord was futile, because the turning of the Wheel of Time and the Dark One's eternal nature made his victory inevitable – he could just keep waging war on mankind until he got it right. Thus, without desire for power or glory, Elan became the betrayer of hope, because for him, there was just no other option.

Are you sensing a theme here? To make a villain truly compelling, your audience has to be able to connect with them on some level. This makes them believable and in some cases even pitiable. You want your reader to think "Holy cow, what if that was me? Would I have made those choices? Would I have ended up like him/her?" You do this by showing the good, and humane side of your villain. I don't believe there are many people who are "pure evil," and most people consider mankind generally good. So what took your antagonist from a decent human being to a crazed cannibal that likes to target practice with puppies? Like Anakin Skywalker, the power of a villain to standout is rooted in the journey that took them to villainy. It is also in showing their humanity. Even serial killers sometimes feel bad about what they do, so make your villain human. Shiny, perfect, Boy Scout heroes make a story bland, and so do villains that dance around and sing about just how bad they are and how much they love it. Complexity, gray areas, moral stratification, and self deception are the keys to crafting good villains.