Category: Reviews

Reviewed by Diana Pinguicha

If you have a TV, or just go to shops that sell DVDs, you have probably heard about The Walking Dead (which I’m going to shorten to TWD from now on), the AMC TV series that is an adaptation of the comic books of the same name.

Please be advised that the series contains mature content that is not suitable for people under 16. Its content is extremely graphic in both TV and comic books. There will also be spoilers to both TV and the comic books, so if you haven’t watched/read either, follow my advice: read the comics first. They’re far better than the TV adaptation.

So, let’s start on why I decided to watch the show: I love zombies. I’ve been a fan of the Resident Evil games since I was young (and they scared the crap out of me back then). Also, the series was greatly publicized in my college (Instituto Superior Técnico, in case you don’t know)—and when I say it was greatly publicized, I mean it was greatly publicized. I’d never seen a TV series being so advertised in Portugal—I mean even our lunch trays had TWD paper protections. So a mainstream TV series with zombies? How could I not watch it?

The start was pretty interesting—the main character, Rick, gets shot and when he wakes up, he’s in a deserted hospital and the zombie apocalypse has already ravaged everything around him. He does not know if his wife and kid are still alive. He doesn’t know where to go. He finds a group of survivors and after some trouble, they lead him back to camp where he finds his wife (who, by the way, thought he was dead and was having an affair with his best friend, Shane) and son. The premise is simple: survive. But what makes The Walking Dead so much better than other zombie-apocalypse works is how truly tragic and realistic everything is.

Characters in TWD don’t really suffer from the “Oh no, my sister is a zombie! I cannot kill her!” syndrome. They do what they have to do. In the first two seasons, the TV series mainly followed the comic book storyline. However, the more the TV version progresses, the further it gets from its source material. Which is, in my honest opinion, a disappointment.

The casting is mostly spot-on. That’s where I can hardly fault the people behind the TV adaptation. Same for the characterization and environments. Zombies really do look like zombies, not some watered down version of such creatures.

There’s also a character in the TV version that is not in the comic books (Daryl) and he’s actually my favorite character on the show. He’s a great addition and Norman Reedus plays him perfectly, walking a thin line between selfish bad-ass and likeable anti-hero. The writing is mostly solid and believable, as well as everyone’s performances.

Now is where I rage about on how they’re not doing the source material justice. I knew some things were way too hardcore to show on TV, but with such violent shows out there, I thought they would maybe still do them. They didn’t and it really, really saddens me.

In its comic book form, TWD is really not about zombies, but about the cruel things people are capable of once they’re threatened. It’s about how people can really become monsters that are worse than walking corpses who feast on living flesh.

They have also, IMO, changed certain characters. While I cannot fault the casting of Danai Gurira, the writing they gave her pretty much made Michonne, who is an amazing, strong character, seem like an overly-suspicious woman who has little reason to be that way. Andrea, also one of my favorite characters in the comic, is constantly making poor decisions in the TV show, and attaching herself to the first alpha male she sees. Even Lori, Rick’s wife, is somehow worse on TV—and that’s saying a lot, since I hated her in the source material. Certain things the characters do on TV don’t make much sense because they’ve decided to cut crucial aspects for TV.

For instance, Shane’s death is much better in the comic. Same for Lori’s. In the books, Shane is killed by Carl. Lori is killed by the Governor when he attacks the prison, along with her baby daughter. Michonne has a much more valid reason to hate the Governor and an even greater reason to confront him before running. These things have much more impact in their original form than they did in the adaptation.

Still, TWD is a good TV series.

My recommendation is: if you like raw, graphic, ruthless depictions of a zombie apocalypse and an in-depth look at a man’s true nature and what a person does to survive, read the comics. If you just want an hour a week of zombies and don’t mind the slightly softer version of things, watch the TV series. 

Few romantic stories are as complex as those written by a futurist; and Bruce Sterling proves this case to the elegant extreme.

Love is Strange is just what the title suggests; an exploration of romance that is destined to take the protagonists places far beyond the norm. But then the main characters themselves cannot claim to be mainstream, so their journey seems custom tailored the their eccentric dispositions.

Gavin, a young Seattle project evaluator working in a venture capital firm, is a guest speaker at a futurist conference in Capri. Using the conference as a cover for his company’s somewhat shady business deal with a Brazilian cultural minister he enlists the help of his nomadic translator, Farfalla, to help him get in contact with her past client.

Deeply rooted in her mystic upbringing, Farfalla immediately develops an attraction to Gavin; believing him to be “The One” spoken of by her occult mentor. She also rapidly takes on a semi-maternal role with Gavin’s sister; a young Goth musician who is as certain of her eventual fame as Farfalla is of her supernatural connection to Gavin.

The story soon delves deep into the complexities of love, especially when two completely separate narratives seem to be running side by side. Gavin’s journey is taking him towards either the salvation or destruction of his old-money family. Farfalla’s own road to happiness is also strewn with complications revolving around her communist parents and oblivious circuit designer boyfriend.

Love is not only strange but horrifically difficult in Sterling’s tale; and certainty is as much of a hindrance as ambiguity. It is often hard to consistently empathise with both Gavin and Farfalla at the same time, as their opinions clash repeatedly making this story an emotional tug-of-war with no clear line in the dirt.

During the novel Sterling maintains his consistently expressive style that is inherent in many of the greatest futurist writers. There is the constant reverence for what has come with the hope of what is to come, and on the edge there is always a hint of possible destruction. These things are what makes a great tale, and Love is Strange is no exception simply because it is a romance story above all.

Solid writing, evocative scenes and twisted underlying narratives all come together to create something that is neither one thing nor another, but a mixture of many different subjects that prove that love is very strange indeed.

Publisher: 40k Books (December 22, 2012)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Language: English

ASIN: B00ASBPAWY

Fade to Black is everything you could want from a debut novel, and so much more. Raw and passionate, without the trappings of an author trying to squeeze out the next tale in a series, it grabs you by the scruff of the neck and refuses to let go.

That isn’t to say that Francis Knight has written something that lacks style or flair; far from it. But in this case the fluid language, wonderfully depicted settings and deep characters are far more the tools used to convey the heavy plot than the tale itself.

Fade takes place in a film noir style metropolis of both magic and technology. The setting isn’t any one thing and nor are the characters, everything takes on a double or triple meaning; from the sterile and strict Upside to the raucous heartbeat of Under. When Rojan Dizon, bounty hunter and mage in hiding, begins his search for his missing niece – taken by those who don’t fit into his world – he sets off a chain reaction that leads him into a society that should never have existed.

The story sweeps across jagged turns, never quite staying on a single path for the reader to get comfortable, but making sure they stay on the ride until the end.

Characters are multifaceted, often having multiple agendas, and this includes Rojan himself. As the tale twists and turns through the three-hundred or so pages it becomes clear that as a narrator he is keeping something close to his chest. From a purely academic viewpoint these are some of the most realistic characters in fiction, as is evidenced not only by their hopes and fears but also by how they have been shaped by their surroundings.

Most of Fade to Black is dark and dirty, as is everything beneath the Heights. Emotion is the key to its success, as it is very easy to start empathising with every individual. Including the unpleasant ones. And while it is a very serious novel, with an underlying mystery that has a habit of scraping at your heart, it maintains a sense of humour that prevents the reader from dropping too far into the Black.

Once the mystery begins to unfold it is impossible to put it down. Fade to Black will leave you feeling raw and satisfied.