Chapter 23
I'm sorry, today it's all spoilers:
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Mistborn Liveblog 23
Chapter 22
There's an element of storytelling that I do enjoy, but find I really enjoy when it is broken. Stories are filled with heroes who reach their goal, overcoming ever-worsening odds, but in the end they are victorious. It's a great part of stories. But it's done so often, the rare moments of utter failure or great sacrifice become that much more precious to me as a reader.
Take Harry Potter. I expected him to die at the end, sacrificing himself to defeat Voldemort. I did not like the 'not-really-dead' sequence. It felt like JK Rowling was trying for a twist ending that wasn't really one-- trying to force emotional reactions that were not really there. Had Harry actually died and stayed dead-- the emotion would have been real. Certainly, not everyone would have been happy with that ending, but I saw it as a lost attempt to show the world that less-than-ideal endings can still be great.
How does this all relate to Mistborn? Spoilers below...
There's an element of storytelling that I do enjoy, but find I really enjoy when it is broken. Stories are filled with heroes who reach their goal, overcoming ever-worsening odds, but in the end they are victorious. It's a great part of stories. But it's done so often, the rare moments of utter failure or great sacrifice become that much more precious to me as a reader.
Take Harry Potter. I expected him to die at the end, sacrificing himself to defeat Voldemort. I did not like the 'not-really-dead' sequence. It felt like JK Rowling was trying for a twist ending that wasn't really one-- trying to force emotional reactions that were not really there. Had Harry actually died and stayed dead-- the emotion would have been real. Certainly, not everyone would have been happy with that ending, but I saw it as a lost attempt to show the world that less-than-ideal endings can still be great.
How does this all relate to Mistborn? Spoilers below...
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Mistborn Liveblog 22
Chapter 21
Whenever I read a book and begin to visualize the scenes, I find that I become rather fond of those images-- in fact, the reason I dislike many movie adaptations is that they do not reflect my experience. Nor should they, but it does create a bias in my mind. Often when a story suddenly reveals something that thwarts my original image, I feel annoyed.
But not this time.
It's a small thing that was revealed, and I doubt it carries much weight with other readers, but it does for me. It's got some spoilers, so you'll have to click past to see them.
Whenever I read a book and begin to visualize the scenes, I find that I become rather fond of those images-- in fact, the reason I dislike many movie adaptations is that they do not reflect my experience. Nor should they, but it does create a bias in my mind. Often when a story suddenly reveals something that thwarts my original image, I feel annoyed.
But not this time.
It's a small thing that was revealed, and I doubt it carries much weight with other readers, but it does for me. It's got some spoilers, so you'll have to click past to see them.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Mistborn Liveblog 21
Chapter 20
Today's post is going to be short. I've been thinking about character foils recently, and I've been trying to identify them in this book. At first, I thought Dockson was Kelsier's foil, but I'm not so sure any more. I think there's a better foil in a different character. Vin's got her brother's voice as a foil, but I'm starting to wonder if there's some part of her and Kelsier that are foils of each other. I've not found it yet-- Kelsier having a far more direct and powerful foil-- but I'd really like to see it.
On to some spoilers:
Today's post is going to be short. I've been thinking about character foils recently, and I've been trying to identify them in this book. At first, I thought Dockson was Kelsier's foil, but I'm not so sure any more. I think there's a better foil in a different character. Vin's got her brother's voice as a foil, but I'm starting to wonder if there's some part of her and Kelsier that are foils of each other. I've not found it yet-- Kelsier having a far more direct and powerful foil-- but I'd really like to see it.
On to some spoilers:
Friday, July 13, 2012
Mistborn Liveblog 20
Chapter 19
While I don't know how I feel about the pacing lately, I realize it may be a product of reading the story one chapter at a time. I've discussed this earlier, but I definitely feel the effects of my stuttering pace through this book. It seems the more I stop to think about the book, the less fluid the story feels.
Normal readers don't force or limit their reading arbitrarily like I am. Normal readers continue out of interest, concern, curiosity or sheer will. Normal readers stop with they run out of time, fall asleep or hit a mini-resolution and can put a book down-- unless they stop out of boredom or disinterest. Normal readers do not limit themselves to a chapter-a-day, so they don't suffer this kind of stuttering effect.
So, I'll give Mistborn the benefit of that knowledge. Onto some spoilers:
While I don't know how I feel about the pacing lately, I realize it may be a product of reading the story one chapter at a time. I've discussed this earlier, but I definitely feel the effects of my stuttering pace through this book. It seems the more I stop to think about the book, the less fluid the story feels.
Normal readers don't force or limit their reading arbitrarily like I am. Normal readers continue out of interest, concern, curiosity or sheer will. Normal readers stop with they run out of time, fall asleep or hit a mini-resolution and can put a book down-- unless they stop out of boredom or disinterest. Normal readers do not limit themselves to a chapter-a-day, so they don't suffer this kind of stuttering effect.
So, I'll give Mistborn the benefit of that knowledge. Onto some spoilers:
Thursday, July 12, 2012
MIstborn Liveblog 19
Chapter 18
I'm having a bit of trouble picking a writing element from this chapter, but I have begun to think about something tangential. This week will end my fourth week of doing this Mistborn reading journal. There have been days I've been eager to get to it and days I felt I'd rather let it slide by. There are days I posted a bit early and days I've come close to letting the clock run out. But I'm still here.
That's more than I can say for my current work in progress. I've hit a pretty heavy wall and I'm spending more time analyzing how to scale it than actually putting my hand to the wall and lifting my body upward. There's a commitment to writing that I can't say I fully have yet. It's coming. But it's still fragile.
Like this blog, though, I just have to do it. Every day.
Mistborn spoilers below:
I'm having a bit of trouble picking a writing element from this chapter, but I have begun to think about something tangential. This week will end my fourth week of doing this Mistborn reading journal. There have been days I've been eager to get to it and days I felt I'd rather let it slide by. There are days I posted a bit early and days I've come close to letting the clock run out. But I'm still here.
That's more than I can say for my current work in progress. I've hit a pretty heavy wall and I'm spending more time analyzing how to scale it than actually putting my hand to the wall and lifting my body upward. There's a commitment to writing that I can't say I fully have yet. It's coming. But it's still fragile.
Like this blog, though, I just have to do it. Every day.
Mistborn spoilers below:
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Mistborn Liveblog 18
Chapter 17
Today's chapter has got me thinking on the idea of character growth in a story. I would venture to think that the best stories include an aspect of character growth through the challenges and conflicts of the story. After all, if a character is static and unchanging through an entire novel, the challenges and conflicts would lose some of their impact. No one goes through life completely unchanged, and traumatic or difficult events are always influencing us, so that should certainly be reflected in the characters.
I'll save the details of character growth in Mistborn for the spoiler section, but I want to look at a few well-known characters. Take Star Wars, for example. Han Solo is likely one of the more loved characters in the original series and I think it's because the extent to which we see him grow. Sure, Luke grows as well, but his growth is along a predictable path-- to learn the Force and fight the Empire. Han follows a less plot-driven path from watching out for only himself and his ship to caring for those around him. He's the hardened shell that we get to see chip away as he falls for Leia.
Compare that with the prequel movies. Sure, we already know the path that Anakin will take, much like we know Luke's, so looking at some of the side characters, instead... and we don't see the same kinds of growth. Obi Wan doesn't change much during any of the movies. His overall arc has a bit of change, but he's so fastened to his promise to train Anakin that he can't see the obvious. Where's his growth? Even Padme, who's emotionally closest to Anakin's downfall in the second and third movies, she is pretty static. Certainly those aren't the only downfalls of the prequels, but it likely helps explain why they flopped so badly compared to the original. I'm not saying anything new here, I'm sure-- it's just to illustrate the importance of character growth.
Okay, onto the Mistborn spoilers:
Today's chapter has got me thinking on the idea of character growth in a story. I would venture to think that the best stories include an aspect of character growth through the challenges and conflicts of the story. After all, if a character is static and unchanging through an entire novel, the challenges and conflicts would lose some of their impact. No one goes through life completely unchanged, and traumatic or difficult events are always influencing us, so that should certainly be reflected in the characters.
I'll save the details of character growth in Mistborn for the spoiler section, but I want to look at a few well-known characters. Take Star Wars, for example. Han Solo is likely one of the more loved characters in the original series and I think it's because the extent to which we see him grow. Sure, Luke grows as well, but his growth is along a predictable path-- to learn the Force and fight the Empire. Han follows a less plot-driven path from watching out for only himself and his ship to caring for those around him. He's the hardened shell that we get to see chip away as he falls for Leia.
Compare that with the prequel movies. Sure, we already know the path that Anakin will take, much like we know Luke's, so looking at some of the side characters, instead... and we don't see the same kinds of growth. Obi Wan doesn't change much during any of the movies. His overall arc has a bit of change, but he's so fastened to his promise to train Anakin that he can't see the obvious. Where's his growth? Even Padme, who's emotionally closest to Anakin's downfall in the second and third movies, she is pretty static. Certainly those aren't the only downfalls of the prequels, but it likely helps explain why they flopped so badly compared to the original. I'm not saying anything new here, I'm sure-- it's just to illustrate the importance of character growth.
Okay, onto the Mistborn spoilers:
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