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Tag Archives: frankenstein

Book Review | ‘Marvels’ by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross

15 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Book Review

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

alex ross, civil war, comic books, frankenstein, greek mythology, Human Torch, john milton, kurt busiek, mark millar, Marvel, mary shelley, paradise lost, prometheus, science fiction, victor frankenstein, violence


MarvelsMarvels by Kurt Busiek

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here’s yet another graphic novel with an explosive cast, another ‘alternative’ view on superheroes. But unlike Millar’s ‘Civil War’, the ‘Marvels’ creators Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross get the art AND the storyline spot on. This time the story actually works and I think that may have something to do with the fact that not only are they putting the reader firmly in the place of ‘helpless spectator’, but cementing this angle with a narrator who (by default) is in that situation too.

Meet Phil Sheldon, a rookie photojournalist who recounts first-hand experiences and close encounters with the ‘otherly race’. Sheldon is unique in that he witnessed the initial advent of these synthetic gods and takes us not only through their creation and evolution, but also conveys the hopes and fears their presence triggered among mankind. Initially hailed and feared as gods, they are later reviled, and then supported as heroes only to fall yet again in the eyes of the public. This is a complex story to tell, especially from the perspective of your average American citizen who is struggling with his own inner demons.

As a character Sheldon was extremely likeable. I found that he added credibility from both a professional and private stance. Him being a photojournalist meant we really COULD look at things through a ‘lens’ of sorts, and experience what the average person would feel if a world full of unruly superheroes was our everyday reality. Too many graphic novels glorify superheroes; make them the safe, good guys. At least here there is a questioning of motives and a look at the destruction that they leave in their wake and what this really means for normal people.

Other aspects of the book I applaud is the literary nod in the direction of Mary Shelley, as Busiek cleverly parallels the legendary creation of Frankenstein’s monster with that of ‘The Human Torch’. The panels are artfully done, and the short history of ‘The Human Torch’ really does strike a mixed chord of terror, pity and sympathy.

Using ‘The Human Torch’ was a stroke of genius, as the little known second title of ‘Frankenstein’ is in fact ‘The Modern Prometheus’. For those that don’t know, Prometheus is famous in Greek myth as the man who stole fire from the gods and was duly punished for his transgression. Needless to say, this ties in very nicely with the Busiek’s ‘homage’ to Shelley and also (maybe I’m reading too much into it) Milton’s Paradise Lost, as angel’s are purported to be made of ‘holy fire’, which makes ‘The Human Torch’ the perfect character to use.

I don’t want to give away the story too much, but it is definitely worth a read. I was especially amused by a section at the back of the book that showed how the creators captured poses by using models (usually themselves, family and friends) to make the characters more realistic. The colour scheme suited the 1950’s feel of the story/ setting giving it a retro effect that I thoroughly enjoyed.

One thing: I would dearly like to know what happened to the alien-faced girl. She was a great character and I still feel very sorry for her, but she just disappeared from the story without a trace. Very frustrating. Please, if anybody knows about her, let me know!

View all my reviews

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  • Alan Moore and Superfolks Part 2: The Case for the Defence (comicsbeat.com)
  • Artist Feature – Alex Ross (printsblog.com)
  • Cleopatra (worldofblackheroes.com)

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The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

19 Friday Nov 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Book Review

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

book review, frankenstein, london, Lord Byron, mary shelley, percy bysshe shelley, peter ackroyd, Romanticism


Ackroyd being the expert on London and the Romantics, is in his perfect element here, as he winds through the delicate passages of Shelleyan research that he has impeccably dissected and rearranged in order to form his own grotesque monster-myth. Frankenstein has always been a firm favourite of mine, and I was a little doubtful as to whether I should read Ackroyd’s fictionalised version of events. To be honest, I was a little scared that I might be disappointed in discovering yet another clumsy rehash of the classic story – but I was wrong. Ackroyd’s fine-tuning of the essays and academic findings regarding Mary Shelley‘s modern classics shows his attention to detail. A turn of phrase, a meaningful allusion placed in the right moment adds a well-structured depth to the simple story of the man who deigned to be the modern Prometheus.

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein

The special thing about the book is that it’s both highly readable for the average reader, yet shows it’s academic foundations very clearly to those who know a bit about the prose and poetry of the era, especially of Byron, the Shelleys, Polidori and Godwin. The scenes of 19th Century London were also vividly brought to life. There were moments were I could almost smell the filth of the city. I also enjoyed the description of the grave-robbers, which were a reailty back in the 1800’s.

I derived more pleasure spotting the moments where Ackroyd used his historical sources (even going as far as guessing down to the essay/works it was derived from) to support his dynamic storyline. The only weakness I can speak of that truly hampered the plot, is the weakness of the creature (though his confrontation with Victor was a watered down version of the one in the book) and the ending itself. Not to spoil the book for anyone, in case they should decide to read it, I will only say this much; it was a bit of a cheap trick Ackroyd… I’m sure you could have done much better than that.

So far I have read one other novel by Ackroyd, and that is ‘The Lambs of London‘. I can honestly say that ‘The Casebook of Frankenstein’ is by far his better novel.

I give this 3/5 stars.

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Literary Blog Hop! – What Is Literary Fiction?

05 Friday Nov 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Meme

≈ 26 Comments

Tags

1984, frankenstein, george orwell, japanese horror story, Koji Suzuki, literary fiction, mary shelley, meme, science fiction


 Don\

Welcome to the ‘Literary Blog Hop’, a meme hosted by The Blue Bookcase for book bloggers who focus on reviewing literary fiction. This weeks’ hop comes with the question:

“What is your favourite book, and why would you consider it as ‘literary’.”

When I received news of this meme in my inbox, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to talk about a popular Japanese trilogy that has been on my mind ever since I read it about 5 years ago. The books I’m
talking about are known as ‘The Ring Trilogy’. The three books ‘Ring’ (1991), ‘Spiral’ (1995) and ‘Loop’ (2002) were written by Koji Suzuki and became a literary phenomenon all over the world. While ‘Ring’ is the most popular book in the series, ‘Spiral’ and ‘Loop’ provide an excellent follow-up to the chilling story of the cursed videotape that kills its’ viewers in seven days. Here is a short synopsis of each book without any spoilers.

‘RING’ – BOOK 1

Ring (Book 1)

“One night in Tokyo, four healthy teenagers die simultaneously. Autopsy reports list the cause as heart failure, but for journalist Kazuyuki Asakawa whose niece was among the dead, it seems something more sinister is afoot. Asakawa’s suspicions drive him to investigate further, which leads him to a strange videotape found in a mountain lodge the teenagers visited together over the holidays. At first, the tape is nothing more than a random series of unrelated images. However the images end abruptly, and what follows is an inexplicable message that condemns the viewer to die in seven days unless they complete a charm. But to Asakawa’s horror, the instructions have been erased. Now it becomes a race against the clock to find out the mystery of the tape, the truth behind the curse and who made it. 

Soon Asakawa realises the images themselves are a series of clues, which point to a terrible secret and an insatiable revenge against humanity.” 

____________________
‘SPIRAL’ – BOOK 2

Spiral (Book 2)

“Dr. Ando suffers from nightmares. In his dreams he is trying to save his drowning son. But everyday he wakes to the cruel reality of his death and the fact that his marriage has all but fallen apart. The only thing keeping him going is his job – performing autopsies. That is, until his old rival Ryuji Takayama, turns up on the steel slab. In High School, Ryuji was famous for being a  codebreaker. He would have remained undefeated, if it wasn’t for Ando. Yet here he is, and ironically Ando has the honour of doing the last duties. But Ryuji’s death soon turns out to be as cryptic as the codes they used to crack back in school. A blood test reveals the impossible truth that Ryuji died from a virus supposed to be extinct, and it turns out he isn’t the only one to have been infected. Being the only person ever to have beat Ryuji, Ando gets the unshakable feeling that his friend is controlling things from beyond the grave by chosing him to solve this mystery.

It’s not long before Ando’s investigation leads him to a videotape, and a crucial choice between life, death – and rebirth.”

____________________

‘LOOP’ – BOOK 3

Loop (Book 3)

“In the ‘Ring’, vendetta came in the form of a videotape. In ‘Spiral’, a mutating virus threatened the entire diversity of life. In ‘Loop’, everything about the ‘Ring’ universe is turned on its head, as the story opens on Kaoru Futami, a precocious ten year old boy born to an era on the brink of a cancer epidemic. This new, aggressive form of the illness is incurable; yet Kaoru has hope as his father lies dying in a hospital along with many other patients. Now a medical student, Kaoru sets out to discover the origins of the disease which takes him to the barren desert of New Mexico and the abandoned HQ’s of the elusive ‘Loop’ project. What he discovers there is an advanced artificial life programme designed to imitate all stages of human civilization. As Kaoru watches events unfold, he realises that a virus mysteriously wiped out the inhabitants of the virtual world; a virus that managed to escape the ‘Loop’ project and somehow find its way into reality.

Yet that isn’t all. Kaoru also finds himself facing a shocking personal truth and a destiny requiring the ultimate sacrifice.”

The reason I chose these books is because despite of their place in popular culture and the ‘hype’ generated by their film versions, I strongly believe they deserve to be recognised as literary fiction.

“The Ring Trilogy? Wait a minute… isn’t that mainstream fiction, Science-Fiction, Gothic horror? How the ‘Ring’ compare to the likes of ‘The English Patient’ and ‘The Catcher in the Rye’?”

Well, it can’t. Purely because of the difference in genres, but more importantly because books like the trilogy only begin to work on a literary level when it is perceived as a synergistic whole. In other words, you have to read them in order to get the full effect of the intricate way in which the seemingly disconnected plots come together to form the ‘big picture’. Suzuki also provides access to Japanese folklore, offering insight into how various supernatural beliefs developed in this culture. There is also the way each book takes mythological themes of death, life and rebirth and re-works them into a perspective the modern reader can easily relate to. One common problem is that literary fiction is often confused with the  ‘Classics’.  While the canon will always remain as a set number of key texts, literary fiction is the quite the opposite. If it can be regarded as a genre, it is the most flexible of them all, as literary fiction can turn up in any style of writing.  To clear things up, I feel a great need to classify once and for all exactly what literary fiction means.

Literary Fiction – A Short Introduction
The term itself is very difficult to pin down and is surrounded by a plethora of preconceived ideas, most of which are often negative to say the least. The words ‘literary fiction’ are often associated with highbrow art that is often written in a way to be largely unintelligible to the average reader, and more often than not, with a focus on garnering as many awards as it possibly can.

While some of these are tell-tale traits of literary fiction, I am glad to say that it isn’t as straight-forward or narrow as that. ‘Literary’ means ‘of words’, and a work of literary fiction often indicates one to be of considerable merit within its own respectful genre. It may also mean that the book is written with a focus on style, psychological depth or character development.The best thing about literary fiction, is that it often has something important to say about its subject matter or about the art of writing, which means a relatively new book can be classed as literary fiction.

These are traits carried by the books as each one takes the ‘viral’ theme and develops it in a new direction. While some people may not like the progressive changes Suzuki made in his follow-up novels, I thoroughly enjoyed them, as it challenged me to refocus my own theories and assumptions about the plot which taught me a lot about how important it is to keep a story as creative as possible. It was also wonderful to see a work that straddles more than one genre keep the plot balanced between the two. Even though horror and science-fiction do go quite well together, it is difficult to produce a story that is ‘credible’ enough to keep the reader involved, and this is a very important factor for both these genres. If you think of literary classics like Orwell’s ‘1984’ and Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, both depicted at the time, a fantastical future that was thoroughly make-believe. But what made them so popular for later generations was their grounding in the political and scientific theories at the time. Of course today’s critics hail them as works of immense foresight, as some of those fantastical things have become a reality.

Frankenstein’s monster was created by various body parts and resurrected through ‘galvanism’ or lightning. Today, doctors can perform amazing surgical feats such as skin grafts and organ transplants. We have also discovered that the human body has its own electrical current and cloning is now a reality. ‘Big Brother’ was the theme of Orwell’s dystopian story, as people are ruled by a despotic government that perpetrates mind control, constant surveillance of its citizens and torture. This scenario is not far off, as some governments i.e. China and Iran constantly monitor, block and censor information on the internet that goes against it’s policies. In a time where freedom of speech and thought has never been so relaxed; there are still parts of the world where people are punished for their thoughts. 

In the ‘Ring’, the now extinct smallpox virus finds it’s way onto a video tape, which when viewed infects its audience in the form of a curse. In ‘Spiral’ this virus mutates, finding it’s way onto the internet and to millions of viewers. The result is an epidemic on an unprecedented scale. Contrary to popular belief, in reality the smallpox virus is all but extinct. It is still kept alive in two places; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in United States and the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in Koltsovo, Russia. There have been rumours that the virus is intended for use in biological warfare.

The viral theme however does not end here, as in ‘Loop’ we are introduced to the concept of artificial intelligence; something that many programmers are working on. Lately gaming systems like the Nintendo Wii have made physical interaction a part of the gaming experience. There is a great desire to create an ‘intuitive’ relationship between man and machine. The iPad is a great example of how this what with the development of the ergonomic touchscreen and the facility to flip the screen any way you like. I feel that it’s only a matter of time before a totally independent artificial intelligence program is created. What something like this will bring only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, art often does imitate life which gives me the feeling that fiction offers us an uncanny glimpse into the future.

These are but a few of the big themes these books analyse. As technology takes over making our lives more easier, we tend to lose other things. We become alienated from the organic and the natural. What Suzuki tries to illustrate is what happens when the unnatural begins to control our lives as it changes it against our will. The symbol of the virus comes to mean many things. The mutation of it throughout the three books shows the relentless process of evolution and the fact that we haven’t arrived at out final state and we are still a work in progress. The creation of artificial intelligence (playing ‘god’) brings about the ‘curse’ or the cross all humanity has to bear for making something it cannot even begin to fathom. I could go on and on, but I would be giving away a lot of spoilers, and that wouldn’t be fair for those who wish to read and find out for themselves.

Oh, and for all those who think that Suzuki might have stolen the ‘world within a world’ plot from the Matrix films, think again. ‘Loop’ was first published a year before Matrix Reloaded was screened. How’s that for predictive fiction?

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Hallowe’en Poetry | ‘The Raven’ by E.A. Poe

30 Saturday Oct 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Authors, Poetry

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

brandon lee, christopher lee, christopher walken, dracula, edgar allan poe, eric draven, frankenstein, halloween, james earl jones, jekyll and hyde, john astin, peter ackroyd, poetry, the crow, the raven, vincent price


‘”While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.”
… You heard me rapping, right?’ – Eric Draven, ‘The Crow’

Even though I do not celebrate it, the Hallowe’en spirit is something that I am very fond of. I suppose it’s my love for Romantic Gothic literature that has me looking forward to it every year. It’s any old excuse really for classics like ‘Frankenstein’, ‘Dracula’ and the ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ to be pulled off the shelf and given a once over. This year however I have changed tack; instead of immersing myself in the epistolary accounts of Jonathan Harker and Victor Frankenstein I have decided to revisit Poe and his wonderfully morbid collection of short stories and poems. So since this is my first hallowe’en blog post I thought what better way to celebrate it than with the famous Gothic poem: ‘The Raven’.

This poem holds a very special place in my heart, as it evokes the true spirit of the Gothic: terror of the unknown and melancholic desire. Peter Ackroyd’s short biography ‘Poe: A Life Cut Short’ has also thrown some very interesting light on the popularity of the poem that I wish to share. In the chapter entitled ‘The Bird’ I discovered its origins and the reason why it has endured as one of the most popular ‘recited’ poems of all time. After it was published, ‘The Raven’ became one of those rarest of things; an overnight success. This intricate masterpiece of form and meter was the only real commercial fame Poe ever gained in his lifetime as he was suddenly being hailed in the street as the ‘raven’ (very apt as he always wore black) and the words ‘nevermore’ had quickly been adopted and immortalised by actors.  

However, the thing that excited me most, was that Poe himself was frequently asked to read the poem out loud. Yet this all began when a famous actor and friend of Poe recited it for the first time in Poe’s office. From that moment ‘The Raven’ has remained as a famous narrative poem that has continued to be recited by famous actors throughout history. Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, James Earl Jones and John Astin are to name but a few who have lent their voices to it, but the version I love most is the one by Christopher Walken. So here it is, complete with scary sound effects that reminds me of that Tim Burton classic ‘Sleepy Hollow’. Enjoy!

Now, the question poses itself: Which famous actor would you like to hear recite the poem? My choice would be the late Brandon Lee who starred as Eric Draven in ‘The Crow’. In the film, he only recited a couple of lines (see caption of image), but it was absolutely fantastic.

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Book Review | ‘Lunar Park’ by Brett Easton Ellis

26 Saturday Jun 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Authors, Book Review

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

7th March, american psycho, Benicio Del Toro, Brett Easton Ellis, frankenstein, Lunar Park, Patrick Bateman, stephen king


Lunar Park
Word is Benicio Del Toro has been talking with Brett Easton Ellis about getting this on the silver screen. I’m quite excited about that, considering that Del Toro and Ellis are both big risk-takers in their respective professional fields. It would be quite a strange but spectacular piece of cinema. As usual, Ellis uses his signature style of incorporating his previous creations at various intervals within the novel. More than once, the ice-cold, manicured visage of Ellises most gruesome anti-hero Patrick Bateman appears like a doppelganger. Just as the monster haunts his creator in Shelley’s Frankenstein, so Bateman stalks his creator, reminding him that he is his ‘hideous progeny’, and there is no escape from the infamy of it. Ellis revisits old subjects like love, loss, hysteria, meaningless horror, addictions and obsessions, but with a bit more sensibility. I couldn’t see any traces of the Ellis that wrote ‘American Psycho‘ (thank god), but this also somehow disappointed me.Considering the above, I honestly believe that Lunar Park was a bit tame for me. Having read American Psycho, I was expecting something a little more graphic… but Ellis seems to have matured over the years. His writing has taken on the flavour of Stephen King, where it’s not the ‘horror’ that gets to you, but rather the ‘terror’ of possibilities that the novel brings to the reader.

There is however one very cool thing I have to mention about this novel that I especially got kick out of. Now, not many people would be proud that they share the same birthday as Ellis (they’d be afraid and very, very concerned) but I am. nd for this novel, he makes a very cool motif of it. It gave me the feeling that I was reading something very personal, something almost written for me, which is very rare. If you are lucky enough to be born March 7th, and like gothic/ horror novels, treat yourself to this one. Oh, and Bateman popping-up in obscure places will be the least of your worries; it’s the dog and the crow that you should watch out for… that was disturbing.

Ellis explores the broken paths of family relationships and psychic degeneration and the negative effects this has on the various fictional members of his family. He especially touches on the father-son connection (which, some of you might know, reflects Ellis’ own personal problems with his father). The conflicts are subtle, the changes that occur are like the passing phases of the moon, edging the characters into a lunacy that they have felt creeping up on them for some time.

Although it’s not as GRAPHIC as I hoped it would be, it is nonetheless a powerful novel. I certainly felt that Ellis was doing what he is best known for, going to a place deep inside himself that the majority of writers would rather avoid. Part autobiography, part fiction, Ellis ventures the darkness of his own psyche, and invites us along for the ride. I give this 3/5 stars.

Note: if anyone knows just WHAT Lunar Park stands for, give me a buzz… I still haven’t worked it out yet.
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