strange and random happenstance

Superhero fatigue is real. I honestly want to know if there's someone out there who has watched all of the almost forty movies out there in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and loved every single one. Because I sure as hell haven't. There were ones I liked and enjoyed, but there are literally only three that I can watch over and over. They're Captain America: The First Avenger, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, if you were interested to know. The thing that amazes me most is that Marvel takes actors I really like and makes them almost unwatchable. Seriously, what is that accent Benedict Cumberbatch is using? And as for Paul Rudd's Ant-Man? I'd rather watch his CoBro. But the actor and character criminally underutilized is Tom Hiddleston's Loki. Therefore I couldn't at first bring myself to actually watch Loki, we shall ignore the fact that I actually didn't get Disney+ until long after it started. Yes, Marvel seems to have a far better handle on their television properties, but for every win like Agent Carter, there's a massive loss. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D anyone? How did that show last seven seasons? I don't know if I got beyond season two it was so bad. Tom Hiddleston has been in seven movies as the God of Mischief and they just never knew what to do with this character and his glorious purpose. Well, his glorious purpose was this show. A show that's written almost as a play. Loki is notorious for monologuing, but by teaming him up with Owen Wilson's Mobius he has someone perfectly dispositioned to play off of and chew the scenery with. This show makes Marvel more cerebral. You actually have to think versus mindlessly enjoy. It's multilayered and deals with Loki's true purpose, his villainy, and his possible redemption. There's a Wizard of Oz quality to the first season's arc, to the reveal of the Kang behind the curtain. And that's where we start to encounter a possible problem, Kang. Not just that Loki was what jump-started Phase Four which begins Marvel's Multiverse Saga which is built around Kang, but they felt a need to link it into the greater mythos. Therefore Loki suffers a bit because it feels like it's serving the Multiverse versus just serving itself. And lets not even get into the problem that is Jonathan Majors. All this means is going into season two the stakes were even higher, especially given how disappointing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania performed and how depressing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was. But the thing about how Loki is written is, for the most part, it doesn't make sense until the end. It's this big puzzle and they know where every single piece is going to slot and you have to just have faith. And episode three, "1893," really tried my faith. Aside from the fact they somehow actually made The World's Columbian Exposition boring and obviously didn't know where Wisconsin was, we are NORTH of Illinois not "across the lake" not that that matters seeing as that boat was going south and would be shortly in Indiana, but they really failed the female stars of the show. A trend that was consistent throughout this season. Sylvie was almost a nonentity, and as for Renslayer? Her and Miss Minutes should talk to their agents. But then the ending happened. The most perfect episode that rested completely on the shoulders of Tom Hiddleston. Loki's "Glorious Purpose" was revealed and he was redeemed, and who knows, he might not just have saved all timelines he might have saved the MCU. Rarely is an ending so perfect that I don't want more. It's a compliment to this show, the cast, and the writers, that I don't want more. Take a bow, you've earned it. Bonus points if it's in a seventies tux.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agent Carter, And the Emmy Goes To, Ant-Man, Benedict Cumberbatch, Captain America, CoBro, Glorious Purpose, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jonathan Majors, Loki, Mobius, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, Tom Hiddleston, Wisconsin

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Published by: Picador USA
Publication Date: September 19th, 2000
Format: Paperback, 639 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

In 1939 Europe isn't safe if you're Jewish. Josef Kavalier lives in Prague but is unable to use the travel visa his parents obtained for him due to the ever changing policies of the Nazi Party. "Joe" was studying escapology and his teacher, Bernard Kornblum, has a plan. To smuggle Joe out with the Golem of Prague, a prize the Reich desperately wants. Concealed in the coffin Joe eventually makes his way to New York City and his cousin Sammy Klayman. Joe's one mission on reaching New York City is to find a way to get his family to join him. This requires money. Upon learning of Joe's artistic abilities as well as his knowledge of escapology, Sammy comes up with a plan that he pitches to his boss, Joe and Sam, under the moniker Kavalier and Clay, are going to write a comic, The Escapist. The Escapist will fight Fascism and punch Hitler in his ugly mug and laugh in the face of Germans with his Golden Key that lets him escape any bonds. But the creators of the comics, while decently paid, often didn't get the monetary rewards or fame they deserved. Even when the comic makes the leap to radio. The cousins grow frustrated. Joe has his family to rescue and a girl he's fallen for, while Sam has literary ambitions and is coming to grips with his sexuality, awakened due to the voice actor who plays the Escapist. These aspects of themselves and their desires play out in the worst way possible. Joe's family dies. Even his younger brother, Thomas, whom he had managed to get out of Europe. Thomas's boat, The Ark of Miriam, was bombed by a German U-boat and he now lies dead on the ocean floor. Meanwhile Sam is involved in a police raid on a getaway with several other homosexuals. He is violently assaulted and raped by FBI agents. When he finally makes his way back to New York City he finds that Joe is gone, he's enlisted in the Navy, and his girl, Rosa, is pregnant. Sam's trauma after his assault makes him sublimate his homosexuality and he wants to live a "normal" life. A nice nuclear family in the suburbs with a white picket fence. Which is what he offers Rosa. They can marry and raise little Tommy as their own. Only they will know the truth. That is until one day when Joe finally returns to their lives. Will Kavalier and Clay reunite or will all their lives once again implode?

I have repeatedly tried to embrace Michael Chabon and I just can't. There's no doubt he has immense talent as seen in his stunning prose. I just don't like what the prose are about or how they're structured. And I really think that it's not just his writing I dislike, I dislike him as a person. But it hasn't evolved to the hate I hold for his microdosing wife. So yes, applaud his use of obscure and verbose language, which, coming from Columbia University leads to Pulitzers, but coming from me, is a backhanded compliment. You shouldn't need a dictionary to read a book. And the thing is, I really tired with this book. I really really did because it's one of my friend's favorite books and to just have to say it wasn't for me left my stomach completely tied up in knots. Seriously, the stomach acid produced was extraordinary. I had to see my doctor. But this mix of magical realism and historical fiction with a weird Lovecraftian sidequest just didn't work for me. Though what it really came down to is Jack Kirby. It would not be hyperbolic to say that comics as we know them would not exist without Jack Kirby. Kirby, with the occasional assist from Stan Lee, co-created some of the most famous superheroes that now make up the MCU, from Captain America to Thor to the X-Men. With Joe Simon he created the single most famous comic book cover of all time; Captain America punching Hitler. That cover was published in March of 1941, nine months before the United States finally entered WWII. And for many it felt like the call to arms it was. But also a shocking statement from an unexpected source, a Jewish comic book artist. Kirby died in 1994 and tragically his later years were spent fighting Marvel to exert control over properties he had created. A struggle that his children continued. Marvel wanted to consign Kirby to history while Stan Lee "hijacked" Kirby's legacy to embolden his own and become "the man." The only way to sum up Kirby's legacy is that he was done wrong by. Therefore I have major issues with this book. I know that in his afterword Michael Chabon states that he wants "to acknowledge the deep debt I owe in this and everything else I've ever written to the work of the late Jack Kirby, the King of Comics." So, you were so in his debt that you did what everyone else had done before and hijacked his life to create your fictional story!?! You had other artists creating his Captain America cover when real comic book artists appear in this book. You could defend Chabon by saying that his characters are an admixture of several real life comic book artists... And yet he singles out Kirby. Chabon, I don't care who or what you are but you done wrong by Kirby and therefore you done wrong by be.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Captain America, Comics, For the Love of Book Clubs, Golem, Homosexuality, Jack Kirby, Joe Kavalier, Michael Chabon, Pulitzer, Sam Clay, Stan Lee, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Escapist, WWII

I unabashedly adore Northanger Abbey. This is something that took me quite a long time to discover. I had actually never re-read Northanger Abbey after first reading it right after high school when I was too naive to get the Gothic parody aspect and therefore ranked it as Austen's worst novel. Older, and hopefully wiser, I reevaluted the novel and adored it for it's humor. And as for Henry Tilney? He instantly became my favorite Austen hero. Why? Because he is a fully rounded character, not some ideal. He has a sense of humor, he loves to read, and well, he's not perfect and somehow that makes him perfect. Which brings me to the masterful portrayal of Henry Tilney by J.J. Feild. In fact, I'm sure that my reconsideration of Henry was in no small part helped by J.J. There's only so much a book can do until you can affix a visual to a character, which is why I often dream cast books as I read them. I couldn't have done better than J.J. for Henry Tilney. The humor? The arch looks? He's perfection. He nails the comedy but he can combine it with pathos and stern censor yet all coming from the heart. He became my heartthrob. I've watched everything he's been in since, yes, even Captain America. I even tried my hardest to like TURN with his little rat tail, but even he couldn't elevate that show. But while I'll always point to Northanger Abbey as the true beginning of my crush, the zenith is Austenland. Though I do wonder if the little Gothic fantasies of Catherine might supersede the perfection of Austenland. These are not only hilarious, I think they are the key to the dramatization of Northanger Abbey. It's not just seeing Catherine actually dressed up as the heroine she wishes herself to be pursued by villains, it's that these overacted vignettes show perfectly her overactive imagination and how she is later able to suspect Henry's father of murder. What's more they perfectly capture the tone Austen was aiming for in her parodying of Gothic literature. Northanger Abbey was written from a place of mocking love, you can see Austen herself has read and devoured these novels from Mrs. Radcliffe and Lewis, how else could she know them so well to then poke fun of them? And J.J. as a "vampire?" Really, that's all I should need to say for this entire review, J.J. is a sexy vampire. The end.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrew Davies, Austenland, Captain America, Catherine Morland, Felicity Jones, Fifty Years a Masterpiece, Gothic, Henry Tilney, J.J. Feild, Jane Austen, Lewis, Mrs. Radcliffe, Northanger Abbey, Parody, TURN, Vampire

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
ARC Provided by the Publisher
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

The Fae have an interesting way of showing their displeasure. They disappeared into their reservations and have slowly been letting their more dangerous monsters into the world just to hint at what they could do, given the motivation. One of those monsters happens to be attacking the Cable Bridge which spans the Columbia River, right smack in the middle of the Colombia River Basin Pack's territory. Mercy and Adam's pack. The pack stops the troll, at the cost of the bridge, but luckily not at the cost of any lives. It is obvious that the Fae need to be brought to heel, and at just the right moment Tad and Zee walk back into Mercy's life perhaps with the answer. They have brought with them a young boy Aiden. Or at least Aiden was young once before the Fae and Underhill took him and played with him for perhaps centuries. He is now Fire Touched, but more importantly a link to Underhill. If there's anything the Fae want above all else it's to reestablish their link to Underhill and it's magics. The Fae want Aiden and Mercy has Aiden. Perhaps an agreement can be reached? But the Fae never play fair and attempt to take the boy by force, but Mercy has pledged the pack's protection, even at the risk to their own lives. Yet Aiden himself is dangerous and therefore negotiations are eventually opened. As Mercy and Adam journey into the realm of the Fae they will be lucky to survive whatever underhanded tricks might be headed their way, but a successful outcome could be a boon to all.

I feel like I've started my reviews for the last few Patricia Briggs books talking about the harsh realities of long running series and how some of the books just won't be as good as others. You're being judged against your best and therefore if you stumble, well, your book might be a higher rating for another author, but not for you. And it's not that I haven't liked continuing on these adventures with characters I view as my friends, I just haven't enjoyed the ride as much with these last few forays. The apex for me in recent years was 2011's River Marked. The reason that this book stands out is because the narrative was streamlined. There are a lot of characters inhabiting Mercy's world, some have even gotten their own stories or series, so it's hard to get them all in on the action. With Frost Burned, Night Broken, and now with Fire Touched, Briggs seems determined to bring everyone by the Hauptmans house just to say hi. This is making the books unwieldy, with these drops ins compromising the time in the book that should be spent on plot development. I would rather the story have a solid groundwork than have Mercy baking brownies for the pack with orange oil. Between the knock down drag out fights and Fae politics, I didn't feel as if there was actually anything to this installment.

In fact, my major grip over the recent books is the increasing time spent on pack politics and Mercy's unsuitability as a mate for Adam. Firstly, I think Mercy has proven time and time again that she is more than capable of being the Alpha's mate of the Colombia River Basin Pack. Isn't that basically what every book is? Showing her suitability? Therefore to have these politics brought up again and again, it is really starting to fray my nerves and try my patience. When it was decreed in this book that there would be no more pack political infighting about Mercy I quite literally shouted for joy. The biggest hurtle in my enjoyment in these recent installment had been removed, and quickly replaced with Fae politics. I mean seriously? I feel like Mercy, can I never catch a break? To finally remove the politics only to have OTHER politics fill the void? Ugh, you have got to be kidding me. I feel that this is some kind of punishment. At the end of Fair Game when the Fae basically declared war on humanity, I was really excited to see how it would all play out. I was hoping for all out war and bloodshed. I should have taken into account that I was thinking from a very human perspective. The Fae don't operate in expected ways; and therefore, the politics have taken over.

Here's the thing about me and politics. I don't like them. I avoid them at all costs. And not just governmental politics, oh no, even petty academic politics drive me round the bend. Some of the worst moments of my life have to do with getting my BA in Theatre and the weekly tech meetings we had that were never about what we needed to do and all about the politics of the department. I was once literally brought to tears. As for governmental politics, well, yes, I am paying attention at the moment because this is an election year, but if this wasn't the case I'd be attempting to bury my head in the sand. Now why would I want to read about politics give how much I hate them? The answer is that I don't. As for otherworldly politics? I want to read about them even less. The politics have taken over this series and if this doesn't change I seriously don't know what I'm going to do. There wasn't really a plot, there was no suspense, and if it wasn't for the last forth of this book nothing would have happened at all. Yes, a book CAN be all about politics. Should it? Not if you want me to read it. And of course, I know this book wasn't written just for me, but I'm sure there are people out there with the same aversion to politics as me who just want a cracking good story.

And yes, that means I want a story. I want a plot. I want some sort of narrative that combines what is bound between the two covers into a whole. I don't want politics, fight scene, politics, fight scene, politics, fight fight fight. I am not a fan of the big budget movies because I do not want to watch a three hour fight. I remember all my friends going on and on about how good the second Captain America movie is. So I watched it; and I hated it. In fact hate might be too weak a word for my feelings. All that movie was was one action scene after another. The first Captain America movie was more my style, a period superhero movie with an actual plot. But the thing is, plot is becoming less and less important in this age of spectacle. This is why I have given up on Marvel movies. In fact almost any "blockbuster" movie in general. Mad Max: Fury Road... Mad Eliza: Where's the Plot. Fire Touched felt like it wanted to be a blockbuster movie opening up on the big fight scene that decimated the Cable Bridge. If you think I tune out watching a fight, I tune out even more reading about a fight, because something in me just doesn't care to visualize it. Something in me just doesn't give a damn. I always think of that Eddie Izzard bit when he's talking about car chases in books... it's not that they don't happen, it's that they rarely work.

The redeeming factor of this book is that more mystical aspect of the Fae: Underhill. Underhill is that most interesting of places. This is the only mystery of the book, and that's because the whole place is a mystery, shifting and reshaping itself like a living breathing entity. The journey Mercy, Adam, and Aiden undertake in this realm focuses what was hundreds of pages of politics and pugilism into a story I was interested in. Fae politics are boring, which almost seems impossible given how fascinating the Fae and their world can be given the right writer. This is what the whole book should have been! A journey taken through fairy to mend the rift between the magical and non-magical worlds so that we can move beyond the politics and onto something new. The whole book could have been this epic quest, heck Tolkien got a whole trilogy and then some out of a similar quest. Save the world by journeying through strange lands! The moment I think that this whole series clicked for me was the first time Zee brought Mercy to the reservation and in her coyote form she accidentally slipped into Underhill and was there in that mystical realm. This was a magical moment for me, realizing a had found a new series I loved. For a few minutes I found that initial love again and most of the flaws of this book were forgiven, if not forgotten. Hopefully.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adam, Captain America, Coyote, Eddie Izzard, Fae, Fights, Fire Touched, Frost Burned, Mad Max, Mercy Thompson, Night Broken, Patricia Briggs, Politics, River Marked, Underhill, Werewolves, Zee

I have never attempted to cast Jane till now. Much like her nom du guerre, she has been a mystery, though a mystery who might have been played by Paloma Baeza. Always there, always watching, waiting, the perfect society beauty that could kill you if you only knew. Therefore I wanted an actress that could be that society beauty but could totally kick ass, and that's why only Agent Carter herself could play Jane.

Name: Hayley Atwell

"Dream" Character Casting for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Jane Wooliston

First Impression: The first time I saw Hayley Atwell was as the fabulous JJ Feild's sister Rosa in The Ruby in the Smoke. What struck me about her was not only her assurance as an actress, but that the character wasn't pretentious and let her heart, not society, lead her choices. Plus she got a kick ass wedding in the follow up, The Shadow in the North. I mean look at that wedding dress!

Why they'd be the perfect actor for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Demure bride by day, kick ass action hero redefining gender stereotypes by night... who else could play Jane? She has the acting skills to bring off that demure society beauty while the physical skills to beat you down. If you really want to see Hayley at her best, watch the thirteen minute mini pilot that was made for Agent Carter. I actually like it more than the series, despite my love of Jarvis. The reason being she is a lone agent, a rogue who can do anything. Which is what Jane has become.

Lasting Impression: Captain America. As you know I totally saw Captain America for one JJ Feild, but his co-star Hayley really stole the show. She went her own way, put up with no nonsense, and seriously is awesome. She went on to form S.H.I.E.L.D. after all! A strong female lead in a male dominated Marvel franchise is sure to make us women viewers sit up and take notice. We're finally not the damsel in distress, we're saving the day!

What else you've seen them in: The Prisoner, Mansfield Park, Brideshead Revisited (and doing a better job than Diana Quick EVER did), The Pillars of the Earth, and The Duchess. Until her stint in Captain America, Hayley really was the go-to actress for period films, no matter the period. In fact I would very much argue that the reason I love Captain America so much is that it's a period piece that just happens to be part of the Marvel universe. Since Captain America Hayley has been in quite literally almost all Marvel films, which makes me actually watch the others occasionally. And let us not forget she is the first female Marvel character to have her own TV show! How freakin' awesome is that?

Can't believe it's them: Cinderella. And yes, I did for some reason go to this overly Technicolor live action reinterpretation of the cartoon which couldn't figure out which time period it was meant to be in. Seriously, what is with Cate Blanchett? She's dressed for the golden age of Hollywood in rural France! What was so odd though was Hayley playing the bucolic and dying mother of Cinderella who looked like she had stepped out of a painting by Rossetti. Also, seriously, what's up with the blond hair? That is SO obviously a wig!

Wish they hadn't: Any Human Heart. Seriously, DO NOT WATCH this piece of shit show. It is depressing and just weird. I mean Matthew Macfadyen, whom I love and adore, plays such a scumbag, he sleeps with his dead son's girlfriend if I recall correctly. The only reason to watch this would be to see the brilliance of a young Sam Claflin, but as soon as he turns into Matthew Macfadyen, yes they play the same character, just stop. It's not worth it waiting for Hayley to show up, she dies in a bombing raid. Oops, did I spoil it? Good. Now you won't watch it.

Bio: Hayley was born to two motivational speakers in London who soon divorced and she spent her childhood divided between the school year in England and the summer in the US in Missouri, being a dual citizen. But having two such outspoken parents led to some interesting experiences, such as walking on hot coals at the age of nine and going on anti-vivisection rallies as a teenager. Her mother believed that theater was an important communal experience and Hayley was taken to productions at an early age, once at the age of eleven seeing her future co-star Ralph Fiennes as Hamlet. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2005 and getting her first role in a TV movie about Charles and Camilla starring Laurence Fox as Prince Charles. But it was her role the following year in Andrew Davies's The Line of Beauty that really brought her into prominence, getting a role in a Woody Allen film the following year. Though film and television aren't her only outlets, she is also an accomplished stage actress earning a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for the 2009 revival of A View from the Bridge. Most people site 2011, the year Captain America came out, as her big breakthrough, but I think she's been brilliant from day one, seriously, just watch Mansfield Park. Her rise to fame was just inevitable. Plus she has some wicked Dubsmash skills.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agent Carter, Brideshead Revisited, Captain America, Cinderella, Hayley Atwell, J.J. Feild, Jane Wolliston, Lauren Willig, Mansfield Park, Pink Carnation, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Ah Colin Selwick. The time has finally come. For years I didn't picture JJ as one of my true dream men, only in the casting sense, and then something clicked this past year and now I can't see any adaptation of Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation books without him in them. I think just writing this makes me need to go watch Austenland STAT before I go into JJ withdrawal.

Name: JJ Feild

"Dream" Character Casting for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Colin Selwick

First Impression: I believe the very first time I saw JJ was in The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton, oddly enough with Anna Madeley whom I dream cast as Penlope! There's a slim chance it might have been The Ruby in the Smoke, but I'm like 75% sure it wasn't. Mainly because I didn't like JJ at first! Well, he was a bit of a dick in The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton. You have this lovely wife whom you cheat on and give syphilis to! Shame!

Why they'd be the perfect actor for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Um, everything. He's pretty, he's witty, and he looks amazing in Regency Clothes... oh wait... he's in the modern times. He he. OK, the real reason is that he was one of my back-up casting choices for Richard Selwick, Colin's ancestor, and I thought, hey, wouldn't it be cool if JJ was his decedent? Or JJ could play both, do it like Tobias Menzies on Outlander. Double the JJ makes me doubly happy.

Lasting Impression: Northanger Abbey, oddly this time with my dream casting for Amy Selwick! Which also might be one of the reasons I saw him as Richard Selwick... But back to Northanger Abbey. This might literally be my most favorite Austen adaptation ever. Not only did Andrew Davies perfectly capture the humor and parody that is central to this book, but he also added in those delicious little Gothic fantasy sequences that made me love JJ all the more for showing his humorous side along with his dramatic side.

What else you've seen them in: Captain America, Austenland, To the Ends of the Earth, Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North (with an amazingly sexy bedroom scene which doesn't appear on my DVD, for shame PBS and your "editing!), Marple, Poirot, The Musketeers, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The Night Watch, I have watched them all and I have loved him in every single one. And yes, I did actually see the first Captain American movie in the theater solely to see JJ on the big screen. But of all his films my favorite, hands down, is Austenland. With this film he shows that he is able to parody the rather significant historical period career he has built for himself. Yes, JJ might just be my dream man, that perfect combination of looks and self-deprecating humor. Sigh Mr. Nobley.

Can't believe it's them: The Musketeers, seriously, he's so gruff and yum all at once. Literally, I didn't even recognize him when he first showed up on the screen. About half-way through his two-parter arc I sat up and was like JJ!?! That just shows what an amazing actor he is. He can so thoroughly inhabit a role that you don't even recognize him and are so involved in the story that this knowledge comes as a shock. I wish they hadn't killed your character so that you could come back.

Wish they hadn't: Gotten Neve Campbell pregnant and thus ruined my chances with him? But seriously... TURN! Oh how I hate this show. I watched all of season one, before they added that "Washington's Spies" on the title to liven it up, and, ugh. It is slow, it is unbelievably badly directed, this is the only way I can account for such a stellar cast failing so hard. AND it inexplicably was renewed for a second season when better shows are cancelled all the time and thus tying JJ into this sinking ship and not freeing him up to do other, better, projects. Though, I have one thing to say as a pro for this show, it made me see that rat tails on men can be sexy.

Bio: Despite that luscious accent, John Joseph Feild was born in Boulder, Colorado, making him, shock, gasp, American! Though he comes by that accent naturally, moving with his family to England as a baby. In school he found his love of acting going to the Fine Arts College followed by the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. In his year off he backpacked around Tibet with his two older brothers. He quite literally got his first acting job the year he left school and in the past sixteen years has amassed quite a repertoire from period dramas to theatre. Besides stealing my heart as Mr. Tilney, he has stolen the heart of Neve Campbell, the Scream actress with whom he has a child. Hopefully TURN will soon be cancelled and we can look forward to JJ showing up on our big and small screens in something fabulous in the near future. WTF, TURN was renewed!?! Can they kill JJ's character, he needs off this show now!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anna Madeley, Austenland, Captain America, Colin Selwick, Dream Casting, Henry Tilney, J.J. Feild, Lauren Willig, Mrs. Beeton, Northanger Abbey, Outlander, Pink Carnation, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments Book 5) by Cassandra Clare
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: May 8th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 535 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy

Jace is now bound to Sebastian. He has unwittingly turned to the dark side and is the center of a world wide manhunt. Yet the Clave think it's a simple kidnapping, little do they know that the two are bound together. One cannot be harmed without the other getting the same wounds. Therefore, if found, Sebastian cannot be killed if Jace is to live. The two want Clary to come and join them, which she secretly does, but only because she feels that by going with her brother and her true love that she can find some way of separating them and saving Jace. Clary is unprepared for the depths her brother will sink, but luckily her friends are willing to sink to equal depths in order to save her and Jace. Team Good is on the job, raising demons and summoning angels all to find a way to save Jace. Yet even if the separation succeeds can they find out Sebastian's plans and stop him before it's too late?

One thing that is really big right now is to have everything interconnected. Now, I don't mean everything as in EVERYTHING, but it's becoming so that book and television series are no longer independent. You can't just read or watch one thing without having to read and watch all this other stuff as well, from online exclusives to ebooks. Now more then ever it is about the whole universe a story inhabits. The worst perpetrator of these crimes against consumers is Marvel. The Marvel Universe is so interconnected that you literally have to watch everything to know what's going on. You can't just watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., oh no, you have to also go see the new Captain America movie because apparently the whole first season was building to the reveal in the movie, which someone could have warned me about.

I mean seriously, I got so lost between two episodes because I didn't have the time to go see Captain American: The Winter Soldier and everything on S.H.I.E.L.D hinged on that movie that I almost swore off Marvel then and there. And yes, I know Marvel has always had this interconnected universe, but these days it's getting out of hand, being more about forcing the consumer to want it all then just letting them stick to what they like, and FYI, I like Captain America in WWII, not in modern times, so there.

For series I love, I do want it all, but with the caveat, they can be connected not dependent. Thor and S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America and The Avengers, they can have jokes and characters crossing over all they want as long as I can enjoy each one individually. They must be separate and enjoyable on their own. Cassandra Clare has fallen prey to this trend and it's making me want to throttle her more then usual. After the third book in the Mortal Instruments series she had her first Infernal Devices book come out, Clockwork Angel. This series is set in the same world but in the 1800s, and due to some of her characters being immortal, well, those characters carry through, most notably Magnus Bane.

Flash forward to present day and the Mortal Instruments and book four, City of Fallen Angels, and references to Clockwork Angel pepper the text, liberally. I was kind of ok with it... at first. By the time this book, City of Lost Souls, was released another book in the Infernal Devices series had been published and Clare doubled down on the references. Now not only is her book lacking in plot, believable characters, and continuity, it is now at the point where tons of references are going over my head because I didn't read two of her other books. The thought of having to read more of her writing makes me want to scream. The fact that this book has a whole new level of things to infuriate me makes me wonder how I will ever finish this series.

But here's the nail in the coffin for me and Clare, she doesn't care about her writing so why should I? You might be wondering how I reached this opinion, well, it's right there on every page of her books if you look. Her writing is lazy. And by lazy I mean the writing feels like it was just vomited onto the page without anyone ever going back and checking for overuse of words (seriously, don't use the same phrase two sentences in a row), not to mention continuity, where windows randomly appear in windowless rooms (a common occurrence) and futons have bedposts.

Yet for me the issue this all ties back to is her plagiarist tendencies. A good author will create a unique and wonderful world that has originality and won't make you think that the book is half Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix half Buffy the Vampire Slayer season two. But even if the world did feel like that, a good author could make it their own with character development and dialogue. Instead Clare just relies on the words of other writers versus coming up with her own. I actually lost count as to how many direct lifts there were from Buffy. I knew from the end of the previous book that City of Lost Souls was shaping up to be very much Angelus wreaking havoc on Sunnydale, but seriously, this is how it ended? THE EXACT SAME WAY AS BUFFY!?! Look to the screencap as proof because you don't need to take my word for it!

Does assembling real work by others into a vague plotless book make you an author? I don't think so. It makes you a lazy bitch who is just churning these books out as fast as you can to rake in the cash probably only stopping to call your lawyer to see if a sentence is changed just the right infinitesimal amount so that you can't be sued. And it looks like Clare is going to keep on doing this... it's people like her that make me worry about the future of writing; lazy ass people who feel entitled to do whatever they want, damn the consequences.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Agents of SHIELD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Captain America, Cassandra Clare, City of Lost Souls, Clockwork Angel, Harry Potter, Infernal Devices, Magnus Bane, Marvel, Mortal Instruments, Plagiarism, Thor