Insurgent (Book Review)

It's been a while since I did a book review. The last one I wrote was for a book called Divergent, a YA dystopian about a future where the city of Chicago is split into several ideology-based factions. That was five months ago. So it's highly coincidental that the next book I was to review was its much anticipated sequel, Insurgent.

Insurgent picks up right where Divergent left off, with Tris, Four and others struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of the Dauntless invasion on the Abnegation sector. They start by taking shelter with the Amity, who live just outside the fence surrounding the city. But their stay is short-lived when the Amity headquarters is stormed by Dauntless traitors (those still on the side of the Erudite, the faction responsible for all the atrocities from the previous book).

The bulk of the story is spent travelling from one faction to another, as Tris and Four try to elude capture and at the same time garner the support needed to foil the plans of the Erudite leader, the villainous Jeanine Mathews. Jeanine seeks to control all the other factions, and the only ones standing in the way of her plans are the Divergent, those who are immune to the various mind-controlling simulation serums developed by the Erudite.

We get to meet other key players along the way, like the various faction leaders. The most important though is a woman named Evelyn Eaton, leader of the Factionless, who is seeking the complete abolition of the factions. It quickly becomes apparent that the Factionless hold more power than was previously thought and could very well determine the outcome of the forthcoming civil war. But that was hardly ever a surprise to begin with.

I think my main problem with Insurgent was the presence of too many side characters, most of whom didn't contribute much to the development of the plot. I know there are so many books out there with countless side characters, like those in the Harry Potter series for instance. But some of the ones here are so forgettable that you end up mixing one up for the other.

Then there were quite a number of logic-defying encounters, none of which I can reveal for fear of ruining the book for those of you yet to read it. I'll just say that the Dauntless traitors guarding the Erudite headquarters are quite possibly the most incompetent security force in the realm of fiction. The end result of these problems was a book that felt padded out and much longer than it really was.

On the plus side, Veronica Roth somehow managed to answer all the questions I'd raised at the end of my Divergent review, while giving us a better understanding of the book's main character(s). Let's hope the as-yet-unnamed final book in the series brings the trilogy to a satisfactory close.

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first ever post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

In case you're reading this and you don't know what that is, it is something that comes up every first Wednesday of the month, and was started by Alex Cavanaugh, whose blog I'd discovered during the Blogging from A-Z Challenge this past April. It is a platform for writers to talk about, you guessed it, their insecurities, and how they plan (or were able) to overcome them. So without wasting much time, on with the post!

Right. Where to begin? Well, it's been roughly six months since I put my 3 science fiction novellas up on Amazon. And since then, I've somehow managed to sell some 50 or thereabouts copies of these books, with little or no promotion to boot. Not bad. Sales could be better though. WAY better. But I'm in it for the long haul as the saying goes.

During the intervening months since publication, I've been hard at work on a 6-part epic fantasy series called Guardians & The Lost Paradise. Uhm, actually, I've been working on this for close to 6 years now, but I've made tremendous progress in recent months. As things stand, I am now a climax and denouement away from completion.

The plan is to self-publish the entire series over the course of the next 6 months. Very ambitious, I know. But quite doable. The main consideration though is getting these stories ready for prime time. I am already in talks with professional editors and cover artists, and quickly discovering just how much money I would need to pay for their services. A staggering $3000! [insert appropriate whistle sound here]

There are very few avenues for me to raise that much money within a relatively short timeframe. I could always sell my dog; but after investing all those years in schooling it in the art of Jiu-jitsu, that would seem like such a huge waste, wouldn't you agree? One avenue I've found myself constantly dwelling upon is the possibility of crowdfunding through websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. But then my production costs would have to go up to $5000, when you also factor in the need to fulfil perks/rewards.

So what do you think? Is Kickstarter/Indiegogo the way to go? Or should I just self-edit and knock out the book covers in my graphics editor of choice?

The Kreativ Blogger Award

I was blog hopping the other day (week?) when I found that I'd been nominated for another award. This one is called the Kreativ Blogger Award, and it was passed on to me by Resident Gamer. To accept, I need to list 10 randoms facts about myself, and then nominate 6 other blogs.

Random Facts:
1. I am a huge fan of Spongebob Squarepants.
2. As much as I like movies today, I would pick a good book over one any day.
3. Despite spending a considerable amount of my childhood around swimming pools, I never quite managed to learn how to swim.
4. My favorite reality TV show till date was a British show called Fame Academy; it was a sort of cross between Big Brother and American Idol.
5. My favorite movie actor used to be Vin Diesel for some reason. But based on quality of recent performances, I'd say it is now between Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeremy Renner.
6. I've had the song, "Burn It Down" on near-constant repeat for over a month now in anticipation of the new Linkin Park album, "Living Things."
7. I still don't think The Avengers has any chance of surpassing Avatar and Titanic at the box office.
8. I know this is not a fact, but why, oh why, has the release of the Rockstar video game GTA V been shifted to 2013!?
9. I've been struggling to find the time to read Veronica Roth's Insurgent for the past three weeks now, which is a testament to how distracted I've been of recent.
10. It's taken me nearly two weeks to write this post.

Nominees:
1. Pensuasion
2. Sarah Allen
3. Scouring Monk
4. Empire's 5-star 500
5. The Geek Twins
6. Kyd Evolution

P.S: I've been planning towards something major; a project with almost six years in the making. More on that in the near future.

First Loves Blogfest

It's been a long and hectic weekend, during which my sister got married and my grandma marked her 100th year on this planet. I'd envisioned I'd spend today, and the better part of this week, recuperating, but then I remembered I'd signed up for this First Loves Blogfest, created by Alex J. Cavanaugh.

So without wasting much of your time, what follows are my various first loves spanning movies, music, books and people.

Movie - Starship Troopers

I have to admit, when you think science fiction movies, Starship Troopers isn't exactly the first one that would come to mind. But this was the first movie in the genre that I completely fell in love with, a movie that has since shaped my tastes and craving for over-the-top action and excessive blood and gore. At its heart, Starship Troopers is a war movie, one I still consider superior to more recent efforts like War of the Worlds and Battle: Los Angeles.

Music - Linkin Park

While I consider The Red Hot Chili Peppers to be one of my favorite bands of all time, I'll have to bestow the honor of First Band that I loved to none other than Linkin Park. Here is a band that not only managed to find tremendous success during the Nu-metal/Rap Metal craze, but one that has continued to grow and evolve in the years since. Put simply, Linkin Park is the reason why I have close to 10,000 songs on my iTunes today. They basically awakened my love for music.

Book - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Prior to reading Harry Potter, I could comfortably count all the books I'd read from start to finish on one hand, and still have a finger or two to spare. But ever since discovering this first installment in the series, I have read and reread countless other titles, having had my eyes opened to the wonders that lie in printed words. No other book could have pulled me away from my dogged belief that movies were a better storytelling medium than books. I have since come to see the error in my ways.

Person - None

Sorry, but I'm not a big people person, and even if I was, I wouldn't be able to give out any real names or descriptions, especially since the most likely candidate for this title is now married with children. Oh well.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

Reflections on the 2012 A-Z Challenge

I can't believe it's been a full week since writing my final A-Z post. Mostly because my brain is still very much scrambled up, though I blame that more on the presence of distant relatives than burnout from the actual challenge. What's the occasion? Well, my sister's wedding is this Saturday, and our once quiet abode is literally teeming with said relatives. The good news though is that once everything is over, I'll be that much closer to getting the TV (and Xbox) all to myself... [insert evil laugh here].

Right. Back to the subject of my post. The 2012 Blogging from A-Z challenge has been wonderful. I have not only discovered a number of great blogs out there in the blogosphere, I have also learnt the value of blogging with a theme, something I hope to adopt in the weeks to come, once I've taken care of several so-far-neglected activities. It's been an enriching experience for me, and the main obstacle to that experience was my blogging platform itself: Google's Blogger.

I am one of the (assumed) minority who blogs from their mobile phone. I use a BlackBerry, and I enjoy getting instant e-mail notifications whenever someone comments on my posts (or one of the posts I have subscribed to). But I am forced to jump over quite a few hurdles before my posts are up and running. I have already ranted about this before, but it bears repeating, especially now that I have some eyeballs on my posts: Dear Google Developers, please, please, please create a dedicated Blogger app for BlackBerry, or at least a website optimized for mobile devices.

I would like to applaud the various co-hosts for giving fledgling bloggers like myself the opportunity to meet and interact with like-minded individuals. The list is endless, but what follows are the names of those blogs whose posts I looked forward to throughout my A-Z journey:

Annette Thomson
Empire 500 5-star Reviews
Scouring Monk
Resident Gamer
S.L. Hennessy

Thanks guys for making the Challenge that much more interesting. Can't wait to do this again next year, as crazy as that sounds. :)

Thanks Everyone

It's been a rather lengthy past couple of weeks. Those of us who participated in the Blogging from A-Z challenge should know precisely what I'm talking about here. Who knew that blogging everyday of the week can take such a toll. I seriously applaud those of you who already do so on a regular basis. As for me, well, let's just say it's back to being a writer.

I'm aware we're all supposed to do a reflection post on the A-Z challenge sometime next week, so I'll save most of the mushy stuff for that post. For now, I'll just like to thank all my fellow participants for making the month of April my best month since becoming an active blogger December last year. I've discovered some truly great blogs, owned by equally great people, and I have myself been found by others who'd been willing to grace my pages with their pure awesomeness.

Thanks everyone, and I look forward to reading your posts and following your little adventures in the weeks and months to come. :)

Zombieland (Movie Review)

I absolutely love zombie movies. I've seen everything from the good (Dawn of the Dead, 2004), to the bad (Day of the Dead, 2008), to the downright horrific (The Evil Dead, 1981). So you can understand my curiosity and immediate need to experience Zombieland when it opened to high praises and rave reviews in 2009.

In a post-apocalyptic United States plagued by a virus outbreak, a young man (Jesse Eisenberg) journeys east in search of both parents. The main obstacle to his goal, aside from the complete breakdown of society, is the ever-present danger of being eaten alive by the infected. To help him better survive this zombie apocalypse, he comes up with a list of rules. This includes things as trivial as avoiding bathrooms and travelling light. It is this list though, coupled with his reclusive nature, that has kept him alive thus far. But he soon finds out that some rules are made to be broken.

His journey brings him in contact with an interesting cast of characters: Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a hard-as-nails zombie killing machine with a soft spot for Twinkies, and the sweet but conniving sisters, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). Together, they embark on a road trip to what might be the only safe haven left in the country, an amusement park.

I went into Zombieland fully prepared to hate its guts. This was not only due to the fact that it was infringing on the territory of one of the funniest movies I've ever seen (Shaun of the Dead), but because it had successfully dethroned my favorite zombie movie (Dawn of the Dead, 2004) as the highest grossing zombie movie of all time. I soon realized however that I was just being silly.

Zombieland excels for a number of reasons. It is funny, action-packed and its characters show a surprising level of depth. What it lacks though is true scares. It quickly becomes apparent that while the movie might be graphic and violent, it is closer to an action-comedy than a horror-comedy.

All that said, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Zombieland and would highly recommend it to anyone, like me, with a love of all things undead.

Young Adult (Movie Review)

High school never ends. At least not in the way we all hoped it would. We leave the nest, get jobs, get married and start a family. But no one truly ever grows up as evidenced by Jason Reitman's dark comedy, Young Adult.

Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a 37-year-old ghostwriter for a (former) bestselling series of young-adult novels. She is also a divorcee, one who is clearly unsatisfied with her present bachelorette lifestyle. She is on a deadline to turn in the pages of the last book in the series to her editor (J.K. Simmons), but struggles to meet it due to a general lack of inspiration. That was until she'd received an e-mail from her former high school sweetheart, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson), who is now happily married, announcing the arrival of his newborn daughter.

Mavis experiences an epiphany and comes to the conclusion that she must journey back to her hometown of Mercury, Minnesota, in a bid to win back the affection of her ex-boyfriend and reclaim the life that should be rightfully hers. Getting there, she forges an unlikely friendship with a man named Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), a former classmate that was almost completely crippled during a beating back in high school. She divulges her plans to him and he takes on the role of reluctant sidekick. And as she slowly executes her plan, she quickly discovers the inspiration her writing needed.

After attaining back-to-back success with both Juno and Up in the Air, it was somewhat surprising to see Jason Reitman take on a movie like this one. It is not only darker than both movies, but also has a main character that is almost impossible to empathize with. But what Young Adult lacks in terms of overall charm it more than makes up for with dry humor.

X-Men: First Class (Movie Review)

After the shoddy X-Men: The Last Stand brought a disappointing end to the previous series, I was more than pleased when it was announced that a reboot of sorts was in the works. With the new series, they planned on focusing on the individual characters' orgins. Thus X-Men Origins: Wolverine was born, with Magneto's origins next in line for a similar treatment. But after being largely panned by critics, it seemed all hopes of a sequel were dead in the water. Until X-Men: First Class crawled out of the woodwork.

X-Men: First Class opens with the very same scene from Bryan Singer's original X-Men movie, where a young Magneto manages to bend a metal gate after being separated from his parents in a WWII concentration camp. He is later forced to perform a similar feat by a German scientist named Schimdt (Kevin Bacon). He tries but fails, and his mother is killed before he finally shows the scientist the extent of his powers, which were apparently triggered by emotions.

The movie then jumps to a scene where a young Charles Xavier meets a young Mystique, and the two go on to be best of friends right up to college. Meanwhile, an adult Magneto (Michael Fassbender) is actively seeking to exact his revenge on Schidmt and the other German soldiers responsible for the death of his parents.

Schidmt on the other hand becomes a businessman named Sebastian Shaw, and is revealed to be a mutant as well. He believes in the superiority of all mutants and thus sets into motion a number of events that would eventually lead to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, with the hope that regular humans would end up destroying themselves. Now Magneto must set aside his quest for revenge and join forces with Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and his First Class of mutants if they plan on stopping him.

My first concern upon seeing First Class was how were they going to do an X-Men movie without Wolverine in it. Those initial doubts were put to rest the moment I discovered James McAvoy's take on the character of Charles Xavier. Apparently, Professor X was a real swinger, and a bit of a playboy, back in the 60s. He was the spark that would eventually set the movie on fire, and was helped along the way by an equally competent ensemble.

It's anybody's guess why they didn't call this movie X-Men Origins: Magneto as originally planned. But after what happened with the previous movie, I think I understand why they'd want to distance this one from it. The good news though is there is another Wolverine movie in the pipeline, slated for a 2013 release, and supposedly set in Japan. Hopefully, this would give Wolverine the origin story he truly deserves.

Watchmen (Movie Review)

The Hurt Locker, District 9, Inglourious Basterds, Up and of course the present all-time box office champion, Avatar: what do these movies all have in common? Well, they are not only some of my favorites, but they each saw wide release in the year 2009 as well. The one movie I would always remember 2009 for though is Watchmen, mainly because it cemented Zack Snyder's position as one of my favorite directors.

After making his directorial debut with his incredible 2004 remake of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, and bringing his adaptation of Frank Miller's 300 to the big screen, Zack Snyder decided to prove to the world that his success was no fluke with yet another graphic novel adaptation. This time around it was another one of Alan Moore's creations.

Watchmen gives an account of an alternate history, one in which costumed heroes had risen to fame in the 1940s. In this timeline, Americans had managed to win the Vietnam War, largely due to the involvement of a superhero known as Dr. Manhattan, a nuclear physicist named Jon who through an accident is reborn with the ability to bend matter to his will. This victory has allowed Richard Nixon to run for and secure a third term as the U.S. president. It has also increased the threat of nuclear war with the Russians exponentially.

The year is 1985, and the narrative begins with the murder of a costumed hero known as the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who was at the time of the murder working as a government agent. This prompts an investigation by one of his fellow Watchmen, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), a man labelled a masked avenger/vigilante after all costumed heroes were outlawed 7 years before. He breaks the news to the remaining Watchmen, Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Silk Spectre (Malin Åkerman) and Ozymandias (Mathew Goode), and warns them of his theory that someone must be picking them off one by one. Now, they must all get to the bottom of the mystery, while dealing with the possibility of an imminent nuclear holocaust.

If I had the chance to be any costumed hero I wanted to be, then the choice would be an easy one. I would be Rorschach. Not because of his marked dislike of baths, but because he is easily one of the coolest badasses there is, right up there with the likes of Spawn and Wolverine. And a more perfect actor couldn't have been cast for the role. Jackie Earle Haley very much deserved an Oscar nod for his portrayal of a man dealing out street justice in a city teeming with crime and corruption. Pity he had to go and ruin that image by starring as Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

Zack Snyder has gotten a rather lukewarm reception for two of his previous efforts, his 2010 children's book adaptation, The Legend of the Guardians, and his 2011 action-filled mind bender, Sucker Punch. Now he is returning to comic book material with his reboot of the Superman franchise, entitled Man of Steel, scheduled for release next year. Can't wait to see how well his signature stylized action scenes blend with telling the story of the greatest superhero of all.