Book Review: The Exile

I'm still trying to make up my mind about this one. It's a graphic novel set in the Outlander universe. Hell, it's set within the first half of the novel Outlander. So the story is a very familiar one to fans of the novels. The point of view however is completely different. Instead of focusing on Clair's point of view, this is told mainly from Jamie and Murtaugh's view points.

I will say, that I do love the way the story is told. Murtaugh has always been my favorite character, and to see inside his thoughts for once was an interesting experience. There was a layer of the story there that I never picked up on from the novels, though I wonder if it was there. Won't tell what it is fr spoilers sake, but it was a revelation into the character of Murtaugh. It was also interesting to get Jamie's view on things. I had forgotten how young he was at the beginning of the saga. So different from the man at the end, but the similarities are there as well.

The part that keeps me up in the air is the art style. I honestly can't make up my mind about it. It tells the story wonderfully and it is gorgeous, but it doesn't quite suit the story in my opinion. The highly Asian influenced style, and it just doesn't click with the Scottish story. It is beautiful to look at however. The depiction of Claire is spot on. Jamie is young and handsome. But Murtaugh just doesn't look rough enough. In none of his panels does he really come close to looking the way that I pictured him. He's just too soft and good looking. lol I take that back, the opening pages are exactly how I pictured him, but there aren't any close ups there.

Overall, if you're an Outlander fan, go pick this up from the library at least. Give it a shot. You'll finish it in well less than a day. And if you like it, then go get it. There's probably a Borders closing somewhere near you and they have it 50% off. Well worth it.

Book Review: Songs of Love and Death

Time for another book review. After stretching it out as long as possible, I finally finished the last in this fantastic collection of short stories. There isn't really much I can say about this. Found a couple of authors that I'm going to have to look up other works. But the fact that it's a collection of short stories by authors like Neil Gaiman, Diana Gabaldon, and Jacqueline Carey, edited by George R. R. Martin should be enough to convince anyone who is a fan of sci fi and fantasy to give this a shot. Like all collections, some stories stand out more than others, but I can't say that there were any that I just didn't enjoy reading. There is a lot more of the love than death than the title would suggest, however. There weren't any that were just plain morbid. Gabaldon's and Carey's stand out above the others. They fill in several areas that fans of their writing will really enjoy. Gaiman's story was his usual mind trip of wonderful prose. But all around, if you don't buy this book, at least go to the library and check it out. It's really fantastic and I recommend it all around.

Again, I've been bad

Once more I've been a bad blogger, reneging on the promise I made to myself and anyone else who does keep reading this, that I would be blogging regularly again. So much going on, so many things that I want to talk about, but unable to to figure out where to start, I've paralyzed myself again. I'm awful, and I know it. So much has made me angry, and riled so much emotion, and that is a position that I hate writing from. What it adds in passion, it takes away from the logic and reason of the argument. And while sometimes the raw passion is a good thing, with most of the things I enjoy writing about, it is a downside.

But, where should I start? Most pressing in the news at the moment is Libya. So why not start there? If I could pick one place in the world to be right now, this would be it.

Revolution has finally caught up with Gadhafi. He was the bogey man for a while when I was a child. The man responsible for the Lockerbie bombing. The first world leader that I can remember being talked about as funding world wide terrorism. Of course this was at the time when we were supporting Saddam in Iraq. lol But now the people have risen up in a long overdue rebellion. Rebellion against a corrupt regime is always a good thing. Even I didn't dare imagine that what started in Tunisia and Egypt would move to the country that is sandwiched between them.

But what is the point of rebellion? It is to topple the unjust and replace it with something better for the people. Not necessarily something better for the world. Due to the impact that the rebellion is having on oil prices, the temptation is there for intervention from the outside. There are calls for UN and US air strikes, mobilization of ground forces, and the whole 9 yards. Iraq has shown that doesn't work. Is Gadhafi as bad as Saddam? Yup. Has he treated his people with the same kind of disdain? Yup. The difference is that in Libya the people have risen and are willing to go as far as it takes to topple a corrupt leader.

A light hand is needed in dealing with situations like this. Should the world abandon the rebels to whatever the army may do to them? No way. but support should be subtle, under the table. Not overt shows of force and occupation. Self determination has been the correct policy of international relations since the collapse of the British Empire. Imperialism has no place in the modern world. Support for just revolution should be offered without condition, without expectation of pay back, but for the simple fact that it is the right thing to do.

A heavy handed military response would feed the anti Western sentiment in the Islamic world. It would fuel the fires of radicals that have been taking arms and preaching jihad for years. But an Islamic country that rises up against a cruel dictator, that chooses a western style democracy, the way of life that is raved against, is better than any publicity or propaganda that we can throw out about ourselves.

Alright, that's enough of a rant for now. Agree? Disagree? Love it? Hate it? Leave a comment and let me know.