Just finished re-reading the last two books in The Clone Republic series – The Clone Elite and The Clone Betrayal. As noted before (see previous post re The Inheritance Trilogy) I think these books are well-written, effective pacing and a good mix of action/character development. I have enjoyed the entire series so far and have read all the books twice now, pretty sure.

Although some major characters’ motivations remain opaque in some situations (Ray Freeman most notably) the series does a good job of drawing you into Wayson Harris’ world (and how it progressively alienates and isolates him into taking the law into his own hands by the time of the events depicted in The Clone Betrayal). I will leave it to the reader to spoil the series’ plot (so far) for themselves by reading the Amazon page 🙂

This series is primarily military sci-fi first and foremost, and explores far more of the action/warfare side of things than anything else. On the human side of things, I’m not completely sure if centering nearly everything on Wayson Harris’ point of view is meant to make a bigger societal commentary or not, however – given he is a clone (and the last of his kind – a Liberator) there are plenty of underlying themes possible here:

a) a clone race created to serve man smacks heavily of slavery and ‘disposable people’;

b) the initial conquest of the galaxy followed by a revolt/religious war, followed by a war with aliens could be seen in many contexts given current world events, etc.);

c) the continual rivalry between the clones and humanity – on the part of the humans – pretty much solid prejudice despite what clones do for them and instead of them – on the part of the clones – given their mental programming to believe they are in fact human – disbelief when proved otherwise (or a building hatred of and frustration with humanity for those clones like Harris who figure it out and survive).

The author doesn’t seem to use the ‘symbolism so thick you can cut it with a knife’ approach of say, many Spike Lee movies to make allegories or imply a different meaning, either. I guess it’s up to the reader to decide.

But Wayson, despite his regular penchant for violence and increasing alienation by the end of this book, is in many ways a product of his environment and increasingly sympathetic (to me?). Kent definitely explores Harris’ awakening humanity and emotions despite the bad side arising at the same time (his vendetta against Earth and the Unified Authority, started in The Clone Betrayal but likely continuing in at least the next book or two).

I am definitely looking forward to the next book expected out later this fall, hoping it won’t disappoint – there are several loose ends still out there I’d like to see tied up (but I won’t spoil anything for you).

just got back from seeing IM2 – pretty good! Was *slightly* disappointed to not see Terrence Howard back in this one, but Don Cheadle is about the best sub they could have hoped for (otherwise, we might have seen Chris Tucker or Eddie Murphy? – I like them both, but not here!) One pleasant surprise was Mickey Rourke as the bad guy Ivan Venko – I think he’s been on a roll since Sin City, really – and seems to have left loser movies like Wild Orchid far behind, thank god. Sam Rockwell is always funny and entertaining, too, and I’m glad they didn’t really try to have him be the second coming of Jeff Bridges from the last movie, either.

While at least one situation was a bit too much (ok, yeah TS owns the F1 car, but kicking out the driver just before the race is to start and having Tony Stark drive it instead? Yeah…..) – but all in all, this was a good summer movie, good performances all around and they tell us more about Nick Fury and SHIELD, too, so that’s not a bad thing either.

here’s another review (spoiler alert on it) – IMHO it’s way too cynical – lighten up! This is a COMIC BOOK MOVIE, for pete’s sake – not Saving Ryan’s Privates! Just go to IM2 and count the days until TRON Legacy 🙂

candybowl

Finally popped up on my hold list at the library, and was able to watch the original Ghost in the Shell movie (again – saw it several years ago once before) tonight.

While the first two GITS movies have the same characters but an almost completely different storyline than the two series and much later 3rd movie, it’s interesting now to go back and watch this one again, having seen all the rest. It’s obviously older – there isn’t any CGI in this one, all classic animation (although I guess it has since been remade itself and incorporated some CGI). The characters, excepting Aramaki, all seem somehow ‘younger’ – almost as if you are seeing The Major in her late 20s or something. It’s not impossible to believe that her merger with The Puppetmaster program by the end of this movie made her into the arguably colder, more calculating/mature and ‘older’ Major of the later series? Interesting to think about at any rate. Batou seems younger too, as if he’s all but ready to *tell* The Major he loves her, but as per usual, seems torn up about it? Hard to say. He’s definitely a colder fish in the first TV series, if not the second.

As the story here (and in the second original movie) are again, not part of the rest – seeing them before/after everything else is fine, you aren’t losing out – there are only really five characters here from the later series – The Major, Batou, Togusa, Chief Aramaki, and Ishikawa. Saito gets mentioned but they never show him, and Borma/Paz don’t exist here.

I think of the three movies, I like this one best. Its story can stand alone, even though of course it was easy to build a sequel and later series from it. Of the two series, the first one was better for me (see earlier post on this). Great stuff, definitely top-tier anime, for sure.

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So I finally finished the Inheritance Trilogy – the 3rd trilogy in a series – the first is the Heritage Trilogy and the second is the Legacy Trilogy. Ultimately, this is a nine novel series about the ‘US Marines in space’ – and how they end up battling a mysterious and powerful alien menace (the Xul) several times while morphing into an interstellar fighting force that support’s mankind’s galactic expansion.

As with other military sci-fi I’ve read recently – there are positives and negatives with this type of space opera. On the one hand, I don’t really expect philosophy or complex characterizations (say, compared to Childhood’s End, Stranger in a Strange Land, or even the Hyperion series) but on the other hand, I *do* expect to be entertained, I do expect there to be a purpose (bad, good or indifferent) behind what the main characters are doing, and I do expect some historical setup/context to be provided.

I think on most counts this series succeeds. While I don’t think it’s quite as good with the ‘interpersonal politics’ as the Clone Republic series – it has many similiar themes (central characters are mostly ‘fish out of water’ as regards society; most love battle and seek it out in most situations; most soldiers are played pretty sympatheticallly to the reader – which might not necessarily be the case in reality, etc.). The back-story and history set up here is more diverse (and potentially interesting) than many, even if fairly focused on the Marines above all other story elements. Mr. Douglas – if you put out any other books using this universe/these characters, there are a LOT of great potential alien cultures and potential side-stories here to be explored – just a thought. 🙂

Besides the human themes noted above, there are plenty of other tidbits to interest the reader. Douglas does a good job of setting up, describing and carrying the reader through the various battles with a sufficient level of detail. You get a decent sense of ‘you are there’ despite the novels being set in the far future with far more advanced technology, weapons, etc. Ever since reading several Tom Clancy novels a few years ago, it’s always clear who can adequately describe combat, technical details and the human element all at the same time, successfully. Clancy certainly does (although not science fiction) – and I’ve tended to measure novels with a strong dose of military action in them by that yardstick since. Douglas does not disappoint.

I’d rather not spoil anything – but I would also recommend starting with the 1st trilogy (Heritage) if you think you might want to read them all – because if you mistakenly start with one of the last books, it will spoil much of the earlier books due to quick summarizations of earlier events from the previous trilogies. In my case, I missed out on the middle trilogy largely for that reason. But if you like the early stories, you will most likely enjoy the rest of the series.

candybowl