Friday Ketchup compares book covers and tell you about her favourites. See if you have the same taste!
Gertrude Matshe discusses how Taco Bell is putting back into the community by helping teens. The gift of time is so much more valuable than the gift of money.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/getrude-matshe/the-precious-gift-of-time_b_3531518.html
Christopher Kneipp reviews both movies.
In the last two weeks I have seen two movies, Star Trek Into Darkness and Man Of Steel, and was surprised to realise how much they had in common (warning, spoiler alerts ahead). Both were entertaining reboots of older franchises. Both were well acted and built up towards action filled climaxes. But, (and you knew there’d be a “But”,) where they both failed to grab me, they managed to do in exactly the same way.
Both movies used the bad guys from the second instalments in their original series. In Star Trek Into Darkness, the antagonist was Kahn. This genetically engineered super-baddie was first seen in the TV series and then again in the second Star Trek movie, The Wrath Of Kahn. Then you have Man Of Steel’s villain, General Zod, the same bad guy from the 1980 film Superman 2.
I’m not a big fan of the “this’ll make money,” motivation for resurrecting an old idea. Both movies contained scenes that were reflections of scenes from the originals, and in Star Trek some of the dialogue could have been cut and pasted from the original. Instead of giving a subtle nod to its predecessor, the film-makers seem to be trying to cash in on whatever made the original a success.
With a reboot, the film-makers must tread a very fine line between the expectations of those that hold a special place in their hearts for the original, and entertaining a brand new audience. They have to give enough back story to clue in the newbie, without losing the old school devotee by making them sit through a retelling, like one of Grandpa’s tales about the war. Unfortunately, I felt that both movies did not succeed in reaching either goal.
The plot line of Man of Steel borrowed heavily from the 1979 and 1980 Superman films, trying to squeeze as much Superman history into the one movie as they could. It kind of made me want to yell at the screen, “It’s Superman, dammit! Get on with the story!”
What the makers of both of these movies appear to have forgotten is, most people who choose to spend the money on a ticket to see a Star Trek or Superman film, probably have a pretty good grasp on the history of the characters.
I’m all for recycling, making something brand new made from the old. This can work well, (see “The Dark Knight”) but reboots are tricky beasts and I came away from both movies feeling a little let down.
Don’t get me wrong, I was entertained by both films. I just have the feeling that the writers, directors and producers of both films forgot the first rule of fiction. Know your audience.
We are scared of the unknown. Death is just the beginning for Wren and the other kids with KDH (a horrible disease that almost wiped out the human race) in their systems who manage to ‘reboot’.
They come back from the dead and are bigger, better, stronger from the process. Once the Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation (HARC), steps in and offers to give the rebooted kids a purpose, it becomes standard practice for the kids to become super soldiers, keeping the human population safe from itself, and the spread of KDH.
But what happens when the kid who took the longest time to ‘reboot’ picks the kid who took the least about of time to ‘reboot’ as a trainee? Can they both survive his curiosity? Is this life with HARC all there is for them? Could the grass be greener on the other side?
The popping mint green and an eerie looking eye glaring back at you are just the beginning for design elements that stand this book apart from all the others. There are frames around every page, which, when the book is closed, create the image of the eye from the front cover on the page edges. It made me say holy cow.
With all this uber coolness going on even before I’d opened the book, I was curious as to just what lay in wait for me. I am over the moon to announce that the book was a-freaking-mazing. It made me question my habit of taking things for granted, and going with the flow because it’s easier, because it’s safer, because it’s all I’ve ever done.
Wren (178) and Callum (22) make a delightfully amusing odd couple. You really get the feeling that it’s them against the system. The adversities they must overcome, keep you on the edge of your seat and the tension has you turning pages so quickly that the last page jumps at you and makes you scream for more.
The setting is post apocalyptic Texas, and it works effectively to highlight the differences between the haves and the have nots. Amy’s description makes me completely positive I wouldn’t survive a day in Wren’s world.
I recommend reading Reboot if you are starting out in the dystopian/post apocalyptic genre, as it isn’t as brutal as others I have read; that being said, it is unflinching enough for a fan of Dark Angel to be able to read happily.
Book two is as yet untitled, but is expected hopefully at some stage in 2014. Which isn’t as far away as it sounds.
Paperback 384 pages
Published June 2013 by Allen and Unwin
ISBN13 9781743315507
Marianne’s upcoming picture book from Books to Treasure publishing has a lovely cover illustration done by Rachel Annie Bridgen.
The book is now available online for pre-order and looks like it will be released in October.
