Felicia Day

Sorry for the delay in postings this week. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I have become responsible for making a website for my webisode by this Friday. Thank goodness I used those slow days this winter to teach myself Dreamweaver!

The good news is that it looks like I will finish, yay! We’re hoping to have episode number one of “The Guild” up by Friday or Saturday. I don’t think I’ve mentioned specifics before, but it’s about a group of online gamers.  A world I know intimately, of course.  The director and producer and me and many other people who have donated their time are working round the clock to get it finished and uploaded. I’m really excited, I think it’s really funny, but who would have thought 5 minutes of film would be so much work!

The sad thing is I have to make a MySpace page after I finish the website, which, due to the absolutely inept layout of that organization, will be harder than making one from scratch. And those MySpace layout sites…shudder. Some of those backgrounds a scourge on the eyes, flashing pink glitter fonts, Justin Timberlake’s face looming through the “People I’d Like To Meet” Column.  I might just leave it at default.

Anyway, I should have links up on Friday or Saturday at the latest, and at least a half-done website

Hopefully in the next week or so the first episode of my pilot will be online (YAY!) and I’ll be updating a lot about that. The edit is almost locked, the credit animation will be done Monday, and after 10,000 other things are done that I probably forgot about, it will be online! That will be another post though.

I’ve been under the weather this last week, feeling better thanks so much to you well wishers, and besides dealing with things with the film, I’ve basically been playing Super Paper Mario on my Wii and reading. (Running out to buy Harry Potter in the morning, of course. ) I just finished “Acacia” by David Anthony Durham last night. It’s rare that I say go buy this book in hardback, but I’m saying it now: Go buy this book in hardback.

Cover art good: Check. Interesting world building: Check. Good characters: Check. Amazing twists you’ll never expect and genre cliche’s thrown on their head: definite check. I would say the closest similarly veined series I can think of is George RR Martin’s Fire and Ice, which is my absolute fave. “Acacia” is more violent, more unexpected and darker. Check, check, check.

I don’t want to give a synopsis because I even think the cover description gives too much away and ruins the fun of the beginning of the book. Reviews that say that the first part of the book is slow because the synopsis at the front negates reading the first 90 pages or so, which is stupid. Vaguely, it deals with assassination, slavery and drug abuse and lots of graphic disembowlings. The deliberately contrary approach to what you’d expect to happen in a “destiny” royal family saga feels very fresh. This author is a neophyte to this genre, and I think approached it with a deliberate eye not to fall into expected traps. He mostly succeeds in his quest, I think. Each character is flawed and believable as individuals and the next book is set up beautifully. The world is built as an amalgamation of many different cultures and races in our own world, and is a grand parable for something if I cared to look that deep

There are certainly things I wanted more of: I felt his pacing was a little rushed for a book of this type and a few things seemed too easy for the characters to accomplish. Also, I didn’t feel a consistency in his magical realm, it seemed vaguely defined and not wholly connected. I sensed a reluctance to deal with the magic specifically, because he was afraid of going into cliches, and this book is all about avoiding the expected. Hopefully he will explore this part of the world more in the next book because it deserves it.

Those mild critiques aside, I don’t regret picking this puppy up for full price at all. This is the author’s first foray into fantasy, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

My Spam Comment Filter is evidently being very aggressive with some people. I apologize for that! I will restore comments that aren’t Cialis/Viagra related and investigate why it’s picking on my readers. Bad spam filter!

Just finished this book. I’m a little on the fence about it, although I certainly enjoyed it. The effort to bring vampires down to a real level (AKA more mainstream fiction) was interesting. I liked the characters a lot, which was a requirement because it’s completely character driven: Not much HAPPENS. It’s basically about a girl growing up, and her strange relationship with her father, and the mystery around their family. One gets the sense at the end that the author is JUST getting to the more interesting stuff about vampires and society, and you have to wait until next year to find out what exactly that is.

It’s the kind of book that deftly straddles genres: dark fantasy, mystery, and mainstream novel, but in that straddling leaves a vague dissatisfaction. Like a movie that appeals to all age groups. I felt the same way about “The Historian” last year, so if you like that one, you’ll definitely like this one. I certainly will buy the next one, but I won’t have a raving recommendation for people about this one. Trade paperback worthy, not hardcover.

Also, the cover is too sophisticated.  I like a little cheese with my literature