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Lit Apropos of Nothing - ACKBAR IN CAPITALS - The Lit Forum Social Thread, v2.0.15

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Master_Keralys, Jan 1, 2009.

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  1. AdmiralNick22

    AdmiralNick22 Retired Fleet Admiral star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 28, 2003
    I spotted a Manderlay merman among Rob Stark's officers at the Red Wedding, which makes me happy. I love the Manderlays.

    I am bummed that Greatjon Umber wasn't there. He was always with Rob in the books, but he hasn't appeared since season one. In general, Northern houses and banner men don't get a lot of focus in this series, other than the bad ones like Bolton.

    --Adm. Nick
     
  2. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    I can get that, but I guess I've always wondered why it's always "can't read the books, it will spoil the show" (at least that's what I consistently hear from friends), rather than "don't want to watch the show yet, it will spoil the books". Just makes more sense to me to start with the source material, then do the adaptations, rather than the other way around.
     
  3. Sable_Hart

    Sable_Hart Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2009
    So, I haven't watched GoT (or read the books) ever until last night when, in a hotel room for work, I flip on the tube and witness a most morbid wedding reception....
     
  4. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Speaking for myself, reading just the books that are out already would be a commitment of most of a year. I have to be picky with what large series I choose to get into, and watching the show was a less time-consuming way to try out something that I might end up not caring for--or to put it another way, something that I now love but maybe wouldn't have bothered with if it only ever existed in novel form. Fantasy is a hard sell for me, and ten hours a year is much more appealing than ten months (or one month, for that matter) of reading--only to end up with a multi-year wait for the rest of the books.
     
    Mia Mesharad likes this.
  5. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    That makes sense. I've always been a fairly fast reader, so I don't think the time gap is too significant; 12 hours for a season of the show, roughly 20-25 (rough guess) for the book, but I imagine that is effected quite heavily by most people not reading more than a chapter or two a day or less often, where with a TV show most will watch it by the episodes. 50 chapters or so a book makes for much more spread out reading than 12 episodes does .

    Still... I'll continue to be annoyed at the people sending complaints and death threats (yes, I've seen some) for something they're only now catching up on :p
     
  6. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Don't be annoyed at them for being late--be annoyed at them for being stupid. [face_peace]
     
  7. blackmyron

    blackmyron Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2005
    What irritates me is that they are acting like this is the end of the story. "It's not fair that Family X gets away scot free!" I've read time and time again - they really think there isn't consequences to actions?

    It's not that bad people are rewarded and good people die. Things happen for reasons, and as many people have helpfully pointed out, there were a number of clues to what was going to happen in previous episodes. And people they think got off "scot free" certainly don't in the long term... (and you fellow book readers know exactly which people I'm talking about).

    But back to VB - Star Wars references galore in this one... actually a huge amount of references to everything. Buck Rogers, Star Trek, Batman, Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green. Doc and Jackson have definitely not lost their touch. (And if you didn't notice, the Halloween episode actually falls within the first commercial break).
     
    krtmd likes this.
  8. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    well all the Stark fans whining about things just need to remember that the Targaryens were exterminated first.


    It's just like how people whined about the Solo kids dying off -- well hey you know, you guys killed off Palpatine and Vader first! Seriously, the end of ROTJ is like my Red Wedding. :p
     
  9. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    Soooo Saints Row the Third is being made available for free on playstation plus this week. Looks like I'll be taking RC-1991 advice to play it much sooner than I expected.
     
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  10. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Yeah, but you have chosen the infinitely inferior medium. I've honestly given up on the show at this point because of how frustratingly bad it is in comparison to the books. And it's not that it's awful -- the books are just that much better. Very little of what's great about the books is transferring over, and the bad adaptation decisions are piling up, and there's none of the visual spectacle that is the actual point of a translation to a visual medium.

    You show-only people are driving me nuts because it's like droves of people refusing to eat chocolate cake because, hey, these pretzels are pretty good and they're easier to eat with our hands! I just want to, like, take you by the hand and teach you about the virtues of chocolate cake.

    [​IMG]

    It's for your own good, man.
     
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  11. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009
    As enjoyable as the show is, like Hav said it's infinitely inferior to the books. And it has led me to believe that the Malazan novels should never, ever be adapted into a TV show, because it would turn out horribly and be dumbed down beyond belief. Don't get me started on how they have screwed up Robb.

    With that being said, quite a few of the actors do pull off the roles extremely well. Tywin Lannister, Arya Stark, Roose Bolton, Ramsay Snow, Sansa Stark, Theon Greyjoy, Jaime Lannister (even though they weirdly made him a kinslayer), Ned Stark, Tyrion Lannister, and Barristan Selmy are all very well acted and true to the books.
     
  12. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004

    Hü? They keep calling him Kingslayer, just like in the book.
     
  13. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009
    He's still a Kingslayer, but in the show they also had him kill his cousin the Cleos Frey stand-in, and it's weird and very un-Jaime-like. So he's also a kinslayer on the show.
     
  14. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    I have a rebuttal for you and it is this:

    :-B
     
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  15. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    Malazan is one of those things that, at this point of time, simply can't be adapted. It's much too large to be a movie, and way too expensive to be a TV show... and for that matter, probably too expensive to be a movie. I mean, in the first book you have a character (Raest) that say's "I'm back" by blowing so much **** up that he creates a volcano. If it were adapted, it would have to be significantly changed. Wheel of Time is actually very similar (later volumes feature heavy use of destructive magic: the last book in particular features Malazan level carnage). It's better just not to touch it, though they already have a film trilogy planned, which will almost certainly be mediocre to awful.

    Of course, I hate the ever growing idea that books and comics are nothing but fodder for Hollywood to adapt. A book doesn't "make it" until it's given an adaptation. Brian K Vaughan, in writing Saga, said that he specifically wrote the story to take advantage of his medium, comics: again, too large and dirty for a movie (R rated blockbusters are very rare), too expensive for TV. There are things that, at present time, visual, live action media simply can't do.

    For the record, though, for at least the first two seasons, I do believe Game of Thrones has done an admirable job in an adaptation, especially in comparison to other attempts at adapting a fantasy series to television (the first episode of Legend of the Seeker: in addition to bad writing that's hard to escape from the books, the effects look like they're straight out of the 1980's). I have my own personal criticisms, but they have captured the human drama very well. Don't get me wrong, I'm not so grumpy that I'm not greatly anticipating the "fantasy craze" that I see coming, where Hollywood will likely adapt every fantasy series they can get their hands on. If this means an adaptation of Joe Abercrombie's stuff, or God help us, Stover's Caine series (that would make a damn good HB0 series: and who knows, maybe I'd get a writing credit for suggesting something on his facebook that he, apparently, would actually incorporate into his screenplays :p ), then I'm all for it. But this shouldn't become a contest for the studios to stake their claim and, consequently, crap all over every good fantasy series they can find. Some work. Some simply won't.

    One avenue of adaptation that I feel is sometimes overlooked, however, is in video games. I have read most of The Witcher source material, and while it may because I cannot read Polish and had to read translated versions, I can say with full confidence that I enjoy CD Projects The Witcher video games even more. Now, imagine a game with that level of care to the storytelling, character crafting and world building, but set in the Malazan universe? My mouth waters at the idea.
     
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  16. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009
    On the video game front, I would settle for a well-done Malazan mod for Mount And Blade: Warband.
     
  17. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    No way could Malazan be adapted....
     
  18. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    I actually haven't heard of this. Might check it out.

    On a similar thought: I'd love to see a really well done fantasy RTS game. Imagine a Total War style game with destructive magic implemented. I can already think of some really fun strategies that could be used with a few units of mages...
     
  19. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009
    There aren't any Malazan mods, as of yet- I've scoured the internet, and found one that was centered on Genabackis and hadn't had any updates in a year or two.

    Re: Malazan adaptations- I agree with ID and Ben. However, I will note that visually, the guy who plays Thoros of Myr would make a decent Fiddler.
     
  20. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    So the other day I apparently dined at The Eye of Sauron Factory.

    [​IMG]

    You wouldn't think it, based on the films, but Mordor is delicious.
     
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  21. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    LOL, what restaurant is that?

    My brother used to talk about eating at "stuff-on-the-wall restaurants", which is how he referred to Applebee's and those type places.

    Nothing like eating at "Eye of Sauron in the booth" restaurants.
     
  22. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Cheesecake Factory.
     
  23. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Damn...that was going to be my first guess.
     
  24. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    So these days I don't play many games that aren't RPG's (those are time consuming enough, y'know). So, quick opinion check:

    FTL: Faster Than Light. Worth a purchase?
     
  25. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004

    Imho it is fun playing through once or twice, but otherwise nothing that great.
     
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