Showing posts with label Prequel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prequel. Show all posts

Sunday, August 21, 2011

On Sequels

"Call no man happy ... until he is dead." - Neil Gaiman, American Gods

"Obla di, obla dah, life goes on, bruh! La-lala-lala-la!" - The Beatles

Sometimes we accomplish something and feel great about our victory. Sometimes we lose something and despair. Never is it the end. That's what I like about the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and the novels of Brian Jacques: the adventures continue, as in life. Now I don't mean to contradict my older post "The Serial Killer" - Hollywood certainly does not know when to stop with sequels and remakes and so on - but if done properly, a second story and so on can be great. Not necessarily a continuation of where the last one left off; it can also be an entirely different story in the same universe.

I was very happy when I got out of middle school, but it was not the end. New adversities popped up, and t obe quite frank I am glad they do. Life's no fun without a bit of spice, and while the outcome might not always be favorable, if it was I'd get bored. Olivia posted a while back about the novel Things Fall Apart and how just because Okonkwo dies at the end, that doesn't make it less of a story. (Spoilers, sorry! Too late.) And I agree wholeheartedly.

Life does not end until death. And perhaps not even then.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Book Review: Mossflower by Brian Jacques

This is a prequel to Redwall (which I reviewed a while back) and is the second book in the Redwall series. I loved the first one, as well as this one, but this one was less awesome than the first. Not to say it wasn't brilliant, but it just wasn't quite as brilliant.

The hero is a mouse called Martin the Warrior - a legend by the time the first book takes place - and when he travels to Mossflower country, he finds it ruled by the wildcat Tsarmina, Queen of the Thousand Eyes. Martin believes that to slay Tsarmina, he must find the mythical mountain of Salamandastron and meet the badger Boar the Fighter. It's got great description of landscapes and great-sounding food, as well as delightful characters such as the hares of Salamandastron and the mousethief Gonff.

But certain parts, such as Martin's and Bella of Brockhall's characters (Matthias and Constance), and the riddle-solving, seemed a little too close to Book One. I like it when series can produce something entirely new with each installment. Overall I liked it, however.

Final Grade: B