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.

The Serial Killer

"SQUIRREL!!!" - Doug (talking dog from Up)

No, this is not about a murderer. It is about books killed by serial overload. I'm saying that if a book is part of a huge series, then many people do not have the focus or speed to read through them in order. It is different if the author simply has many books--many of my favorite writers do--but if there are twenty books in one string, they have to be pretty darn good for me to read all of them *cough, Robert Jordan*.

The same applies to the telly. Many things I have begun or plan to have a bazillion seasons in order, and while some of them are almost definitely worth it (Doctor Who), I simply don't get enough time to watch all - especially since nobody mentioned the good shows until a year ago. I don't watch a whole lot of TV, but there are certain things of interest. Another thing is that I don't always have the time.

I don't expect you guys to read every post I've ever written--you don't need to scan through them all to understand this one, do you? If there is a technique to doing so, please comment and tell me.

The recently deceased (rest in peace) Brian Jacques seems somewhat of an exception to me. I am listening to his first in the series (book and series both called Redwall) and have the one for the prequel, Mossflower. There are, I believe, twenty-one books in order, but this one is pretty good so far. I plan on at least listening to the first two, and eventually the whole series. This is because it retains interest, and because each book sounds like it has its own ending (not "To Be Continued").

I have school in about an hour, so I'll leave it there. I don't think I've ever blogged this hour on a school day before. Also, I seem to be BEDA-ing without exactly meaning to--I've been blogging a lot, but not because it is April.

Anyway, take care.
Lewis