On the end of the world

I think I may be a tad obsessed with apocalyptic and post-apocalytic scenarios…I can’t quite recall when this started but it certainly wasn’t there in my earlier years. I think it developed gradually with the realisation of how throughly humans have messed things up, coupled with a creeping cynicism. A reboot of the human race seems necessary and though yes, I’d be sad to see many fine people gone, it seems inevitable and at least we’d all go together XD
I think what also appeals to me (and apparently millions of other people) is the chance to return to basics,  a fight for survival and reliance on wits…it’s a grand-scale adventure with the direst of consequences. And thus whether it be the Day AfterTtomorrow scenario, the 2012 scenario, the Zombie Apocalypse, it doesn’t matter – it’s all very thrilling and has a morbid pull. As these types of scenarios become more popular, I have to wonder if it’s a growing global disillusionment with the way we’ve managed the planet, the realisation that we’re ultimately all doomed anyways (the sun will after all explode in a few million years) or something else entirely…

In any case, last night I saw World War Z – a movie I’ve been most excited to see ever since I saw a blurb about it last year, which actually prompted me to buy the book the movie is based on. I loved the concept of the book, which is sort of an anthropologically-centered global oral account by survivors of the zombie war 10 years after the outbreak. It was a fascinating twist and I wondered how it would translate to the big screen. Turned out it translated not so well. Not in its original form, that is. XD. The movie was beset by many challenges including numerous rewrites and at the last minute they reshot the entire ending (!) I must say I very much prefer the ending we get to see in theatres now, as the original ending was a bit of a downer…
But for a proper review of the movie:

The Pros: it was very well executed with the actors doing a great job (and I have just loved Mireille Enos ever since the first season of The Killing). They had to cut many, many details and aspects from the book, but it worked very well for the medium of film. The pacing was vibrant and I can’t remember the last time I was so tense at some parts of a movie – it really sucked one in. The musical score was noteworthy from the opening credits and at several points I turned to hubby and said ‘I love this music!’ XD . Turns out a lot of the music I loved was done by Muse, and Brad Pitt took especial care to ensure the score would be exceptional. Bravo Brad it shows!

The cons – This is a very personal drawback and for some people might actually be a pro, but the lack of gore was very disappointing XD. The movie is rated PG13 (which is really interesting for a ‘zombie’ movie) and there’s a noticeable lack of blood and gore of any kind. As a huge Walking Dead fan, I guess I’ve come to expect to be shown that shot of the zombie’s brain being splattered. It’s really a visceral satisfaction that World War Z deprives you of. Though mind you, the acting and editing compensates for it – I’m not sure non-zombie fans would even notice it.

My last comment is again a personal preference. The movie distorted and changed certain stories from the book (as is inevitable I guess) but the one concerning Israel was a bit disappointing. The book attracted me because of it’s global scale – I mean which other novel can you recall that mentioned both Guyana and Barbados?! – something missing in many apocalytic stories, which tend to either focus on the US or the UK and might occasionally throw in a cut-away mention to say, oh Japan or the MiddleEast, as if to say ‘Yea we didn’t forget about the rest of you guys, you’re being affected too’. The book paid due to almost all the corners of the Earth and it was a very refreshing change.

In the final analysis, I would wholeheartedly recommend the movie (and obviously the book). Go see it and then start working on your zombie survival plan…I know I have 😀

On the King…Stephen King

I must’ve always known I’d never be particularly wealthy, because my career aspirations as a youngster never included anything that would improve net-worth substantially. Psychiatrist, ballerina, generic scientist-type, nuclear physicist… OK, so maybe actress and novelist were the exceptions, but the former was a pie-in-the-sky thing at best.

I was serious about wanting to be a writer though, and the man who most inspired me towards this goal was none other than the ‘Maine’ man: Mr. King (some bad Constant Reader pun right there for ya..).
My love affair with King dates back to my first reading of Carrie at the delicate age of 11. I would read that book so many times it literally fell apart. It was my introduction to ‘adult’ horror, but with the subject matter, entirely relate-able. I’ve always loved the ‘Tales from the crypt’ graphic mags, so it was inevitable I’d expand my morbid curiosity, and King was the perfect outlet for that. I only read a few more of his early work during that time (Christine and Pet Semetary, I think), and it wasn’t until the next big indelible book that I became a King fan for life. That book was ‘It’ (hah! another pun!). I was around 14 years old and I remember skipping class to finish it. It also solidified the creeping suspicion I had that clowns are to be feared and avoided at all costs…I think it was sometime around then that I wrote to Mr. King (not knowing his exact address, mind you) telling him how much he’d inspired me. Imagine my surprise when I got a response (standard issue, of course, but still!) with a lovely set of extra tips on writing! A letter from Stephen King to a teenager in Guyana in the pre-internet era was an amazing thing, in hindsight, and I wish I still had that letter, which got lost somewhere in the constant moving that was to come.

I would go on to consume all the King I could lay my hands on, with Gerald’s Game, The Stand, Dolores Clairbourne and the Shining especially prominent in memory. By the time I started University however, I’d come to regard King novels as a sort of guilty treat. The novels were way too mainstream and devoid of literary value (or so I believed). It was a time when I cultivated snobbery of a lot of things, what can I say…The fire smoldered for about five years then re-ignited when I moved to Barbados and craved the comfort of the ‘known’. I read all the more recent works then, including Cell, Everything’s Eventual, Lisey’s Story etc, but it was catching up on the missed books that were more enjoyable. ‘The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon’ was an especially vivid read of a book I will always remember.

Strangely, after all this time and having read roughly 60% of King’s ridiculously prodigious ouput, I had managed to avoid what some would call the linchpin of his work: The Dark Tower series. Back in the 90s I started ‘The Gunslinger’ and never got into it. That all changed in 2011 as I re-discovered this amazing series of books. To say it, as a whole, rivals the Lord of the Rings, would not be an overestimation for fans. It is indeed, epic, sweeping, fantastical, memorable and all-encompassing. King even tries out some nouveau linguistics in it – introducing words that will stick with you, such as ‘sai’, ‘kan-toi’, ‘kan-tet’ etc. The series is 8 books strong, written over almost 3 decades and there are some weak books in there, but the stronger ones make up for it. I’m sort of glad I waited until the last book was published before I got drawn into the world/s of the gunslinger, because I can’t imagine having to endure such a long break in the stories. Even waiting a day between books was too much for me! I think I took about 10 days to complete the whole thing. An all-absorbing, glorious 10 days!

Since then I’ve continued to read and re-read King’s books. My latest read – 22/11/63 – was what inspired this post. It’s one of his best works – easily top 10 – and I’m amazed at how critics have signaled his career end over and over, but the man manages to surprise us equally as often. By the way, if you’re not much of a horror lover, give 11/22/63 a whirl. It’s more historic fiction, with no gore or anything particularly scary, and a surprisingly well executed love story (if you like that sort of thing)

So is King thrash or treasure? No doubt he is an incredibly gifted story-teller. Some persist in decrying his literary merits, like this dude in the LA Book Review. Readers in the comments section were quick to point out the flaws in his argument however and the comments section got especially lively 🙂 I am convinced that King is the Dickens of our day – some of his works are undoubtedly classics already and time will prove the persistence of his legacy. If nothing else he is an inspiring example of someone who has earned much wealth from doing something he loves and still has the drive to continue to do it.

I had a similar brown typewriter I used as a teen…wonder if it would help focus me to get one again…

On fantastical things…Mr. Neil Gaiman!

On the topic of books and writing, I recently discovered the brilliance that is Neil Gaiman and thought I’d share him with you. I knew of some of his famous ‘pieces’ like the movie Coraline which is based on a book of his and I’d heard of the Sandman graphic series but that was about it. I started following him on twitter and he has the most interesting blog posts so I finally sank teeth into some of his material.

The Sandman graphic novel series deserves all the hype I read – it is a superb piece of fantasy/horror storytelling and art. I ‘ve only read the first collected volume – Preludes and Nocturnes – but apparently it gets even better. I can’t wait! The next Gaiman book I read was ‘American gods’. It basically asks the question of what if the gods of different mythologies and times were real people still alive today? Transported to different places in the memories and hearts of people who worship them. And what if there are new gods in the various guises of modern technology and convenience? And there is a war brewing between these old and new gods? The book reads a little like a thriller and a little like a fantasy. It has its slow moments but the language and story are thoroughly engaging with these slightly off tangent vignettes that are scrumptious to the read.

I intend to eventually read his entire body of work. And I highly recommend you give him a whirl too. To get a taste of the man 🙂 listen to this story below:

 

 

Toodles!

Nasx