MINI REVIEWS - PARKS & RECREATION, THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE, ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE & NI NO KUNI
Well hello there blog! You missed me? I feel awful about breaking my blogging rule of roughly a post a week, so I will now tell you about a few awesome things that I've been reading/watching/playing RAPID-STYLE:
PARKS & RECREATION
I have been told I need to watch this show by a number of people. But I must admit the strange title of it threw me off. Well, I am glad I did not let it stop me!! Parks & Rec has quickly become one of my favourite shows. I think I might love it as much as I love Scrubs. And I have seen all eight seasons of Scrubs literally dozens of times (yes, I know about the ninth season, no, I don't think it counts - but that is a rant for a different post). So Parks & Rec is about a very ambitious, passionate, sugar-frenzied government employee, Leslie Knope, who works for the Pawnee Parks & Recreation department. I will not say any more on plot-related things as it is too good a show to wreck for people who haven't seen it, but simply put the writing is brilliant. For me, it is quite an original concept for a show, and it gives you interesting insights into the way local government operates in America (of course, given a margin for artistic licence..) The dynamic of all the characters is what makes it so funny and loveable. They are all crazy in their own special ways. You might not find out what that crazy thing is for the first few seasons (for some characters), but whenever you do it always just seems to build on the strength of the character. The dedication to strange decisions in writing is admirable too. Often in sitcoms writers will ret-con controversial decisions (e.g. those two characters were getting married?! Oh, whoops! The protagonist forgot the name of his fiancée [Yes, I'm looking at you Friends!]) so the show never ends up being about change in people's lives and how they deal with it, because everything always becomes happily-ever-after. Parks & Rec sticks to the changes it makes, and you accompany the characters through some really difficult changes. For me, this is one of the main reasons why the show is so relatable.
THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE
No, I am not Amanda Palmer and have not (probably) had the pleasure of reading the manuscript for Neil Gaiman's latest book before publishing! But, I have something that comes pretty close!! I was not sure of the release date of the book, but I knew it was soon, so I headed down to my local book store to check if they had it, and inquire if they did not. This question was answered in an unexpected fashion when I found they were handing out free samples of the first fifty or so pages of the new book! The idea of leaving the store without paying for this treasure seemed ludicrous... so I may have purchased another book in order to feel less guilty about taking it! I read it last night and it is one of the most intriguing openings I've read. It seems like it's going to be low fantasy, similar to Neverwhere, and about the protagonist exploring his childhood - written in that kind of dreamy, descriptive style that makes you never quite sure whether you are experiencing a memory, dream or the reality of the protagonist. The book is set for release June 18 and you should be really excited to read it!
ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE (FARSEER TRILOGY)
A friend recommended this series to me months ago, so when I saw it for sale at an op shop for $3.00 there was no way I could pass it over! Besides that, it has some very high praise from George R.R. Martin on the back, something along the lines of it being "a diamond in a sea of zurconia". I am only a few chapters in, and intend to do a proper review once I've finished the book, but so far it is really great. The style of writing is quite similar to Martin's only a bit easier to read as there aren't quite so many characters (yet!) to keep track of. It is really subtle fantasy writing which is something I love. I am not so keen on fantasy books that open with something along the lines of "Persephone flew into the courtyard aback her magical dragon Gandoon with the heads of the Orc cheiftans dangling from her belt"... ok well maybe that is a lie, because that sounds like the opening of a Warhammer novel and I do actually read some of those... but only the ones written in a style that doesn't require extensive knowledge of fantasy lore in order for the story to make sense! I think maybe that is why I am not so keen on High fantasy settings unless they are written well - another good example I can think of is The Riftwar Trilogy (Raymond E. Fiest). The first book (Magician) is really great because even though it is heavy fantasy you are introduced to all the elements of it as an outsider, alongside the protagonist, Pug. The sequels in the trilogy were not as enjoyable, in fact they became kind of unreadable by the third book, and I think it was because the setting had come to rely so heavily on prior knowledge. Anyway! Assassin's Apprentice has a great style and intriguing plot and I will let you know more when I've finished it!
NI NO KUNI
Ok, this one is probably the most exciting, yes! You read right! More exciting than a new Neil Gaiman book is the JRPG miracle I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for! Ni no Kuni is a project made by Level-5 (Dark Chronicle) and Studio Ghibli who, I feel, need no introduction. The game has been out for a couple of months now but it was super expensive upon release, so I have been patiently waiting and yesterday I finally cracked! I decided to get it as a reward for finishing my essays! YAY! And I did not even notice until I got back from buying it, but I must have looked like the biggest Studio Ghibli fangirl... wearing my Spirited Away T-shirt, with my little soot sprite on my bag, purchasing Ni no Kuni.. Anyway, embarrassing love affair for Studio Ghibli films aside, I played the first two hours of the game last night and it was fantastic! I have read a lot of mixed reviews since it came out, so I was nervous that it wouldn't meet my expectations (in fact, this is another reason I waited so long to buy it), but after playing it I can say it is amazing, and that the people reviewing it negatively probably didn't like it because they don't like JRPGs (which is fair enough, it certainly isn't the genre for everyone!). The animation is beautiful - both in game and cut scene animation is really great. But it is not just the animation art which is great, there is heaps of in-game content, all of which is illustrated beautifully. The spell-book that Oliver carries around? You are literally able to view every page of it, which looks like a medieval spell-book complete with illumination. It also has this very cool feature where you can keep the Japanese soundtrack and just have English subs, and for somebody like me (studying Japanese) this is probably the most awesome feature they could have added. AND they made their own script for the game - the Nazcaan script. The system for caring for familiars is extensive too - you care for them as you would in a Pokemon-meets-Tamagotchi style scenario. There is just so much to be impressed by in this game. Again, I intend to do a more thorough write-up once I've completed the main story line. But if the rest of the game is as awesome as the first two hours it will probably be less a review, and more a love letter to the game!
PARKS & RECREATION
I have been told I need to watch this show by a number of people. But I must admit the strange title of it threw me off. Well, I am glad I did not let it stop me!! Parks & Rec has quickly become one of my favourite shows. I think I might love it as much as I love Scrubs. And I have seen all eight seasons of Scrubs literally dozens of times (yes, I know about the ninth season, no, I don't think it counts - but that is a rant for a different post). So Parks & Rec is about a very ambitious, passionate, sugar-frenzied government employee, Leslie Knope, who works for the Pawnee Parks & Recreation department. I will not say any more on plot-related things as it is too good a show to wreck for people who haven't seen it, but simply put the writing is brilliant. For me, it is quite an original concept for a show, and it gives you interesting insights into the way local government operates in America (of course, given a margin for artistic licence..) The dynamic of all the characters is what makes it so funny and loveable. They are all crazy in their own special ways. You might not find out what that crazy thing is for the first few seasons (for some characters), but whenever you do it always just seems to build on the strength of the character. The dedication to strange decisions in writing is admirable too. Often in sitcoms writers will ret-con controversial decisions (e.g. those two characters were getting married?! Oh, whoops! The protagonist forgot the name of his fiancée [Yes, I'm looking at you Friends!]) so the show never ends up being about change in people's lives and how they deal with it, because everything always becomes happily-ever-after. Parks & Rec sticks to the changes it makes, and you accompany the characters through some really difficult changes. For me, this is one of the main reasons why the show is so relatable.
THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE
No, I am not Amanda Palmer and have not (probably) had the pleasure of reading the manuscript for Neil Gaiman's latest book before publishing! But, I have something that comes pretty close!! I was not sure of the release date of the book, but I knew it was soon, so I headed down to my local book store to check if they had it, and inquire if they did not. This question was answered in an unexpected fashion when I found they were handing out free samples of the first fifty or so pages of the new book! The idea of leaving the store without paying for this treasure seemed ludicrous... so I may have purchased another book in order to feel less guilty about taking it! I read it last night and it is one of the most intriguing openings I've read. It seems like it's going to be low fantasy, similar to Neverwhere, and about the protagonist exploring his childhood - written in that kind of dreamy, descriptive style that makes you never quite sure whether you are experiencing a memory, dream or the reality of the protagonist. The book is set for release June 18 and you should be really excited to read it!
ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE (FARSEER TRILOGY)
A friend recommended this series to me months ago, so when I saw it for sale at an op shop for $3.00 there was no way I could pass it over! Besides that, it has some very high praise from George R.R. Martin on the back, something along the lines of it being "a diamond in a sea of zurconia". I am only a few chapters in, and intend to do a proper review once I've finished the book, but so far it is really great. The style of writing is quite similar to Martin's only a bit easier to read as there aren't quite so many characters (yet!) to keep track of. It is really subtle fantasy writing which is something I love. I am not so keen on fantasy books that open with something along the lines of "Persephone flew into the courtyard aback her magical dragon Gandoon with the heads of the Orc cheiftans dangling from her belt"... ok well maybe that is a lie, because that sounds like the opening of a Warhammer novel and I do actually read some of those... but only the ones written in a style that doesn't require extensive knowledge of fantasy lore in order for the story to make sense! I think maybe that is why I am not so keen on High fantasy settings unless they are written well - another good example I can think of is The Riftwar Trilogy (Raymond E. Fiest). The first book (Magician) is really great because even though it is heavy fantasy you are introduced to all the elements of it as an outsider, alongside the protagonist, Pug. The sequels in the trilogy were not as enjoyable, in fact they became kind of unreadable by the third book, and I think it was because the setting had come to rely so heavily on prior knowledge. Anyway! Assassin's Apprentice has a great style and intriguing plot and I will let you know more when I've finished it!
NI NO KUNI
Ok, this one is probably the most exciting, yes! You read right! More exciting than a new Neil Gaiman book is the JRPG miracle I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for! Ni no Kuni is a project made by Level-5 (Dark Chronicle) and Studio Ghibli who, I feel, need no introduction. The game has been out for a couple of months now but it was super expensive upon release, so I have been patiently waiting and yesterday I finally cracked! I decided to get it as a reward for finishing my essays! YAY! And I did not even notice until I got back from buying it, but I must have looked like the biggest Studio Ghibli fangirl... wearing my Spirited Away T-shirt, with my little soot sprite on my bag, purchasing Ni no Kuni.. Anyway, embarrassing love affair for Studio Ghibli films aside, I played the first two hours of the game last night and it was fantastic! I have read a lot of mixed reviews since it came out, so I was nervous that it wouldn't meet my expectations (in fact, this is another reason I waited so long to buy it), but after playing it I can say it is amazing, and that the people reviewing it negatively probably didn't like it because they don't like JRPGs (which is fair enough, it certainly isn't the genre for everyone!). The animation is beautiful - both in game and cut scene animation is really great. But it is not just the animation art which is great, there is heaps of in-game content, all of which is illustrated beautifully. The spell-book that Oliver carries around? You are literally able to view every page of it, which looks like a medieval spell-book complete with illumination. It also has this very cool feature where you can keep the Japanese soundtrack and just have English subs, and for somebody like me (studying Japanese) this is probably the most awesome feature they could have added. AND they made their own script for the game - the Nazcaan script. The system for caring for familiars is extensive too - you care for them as you would in a Pokemon-meets-Tamagotchi style scenario. There is just so much to be impressed by in this game. Again, I intend to do a more thorough write-up once I've completed the main story line. But if the rest of the game is as awesome as the first two hours it will probably be less a review, and more a love letter to the game!
