Plot Holes

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battle plan, fantasy, Lord of the Rings, plot, Sauron's battle plan

I bought several audio books on Cyber Monday (MAJOR SALE) and had high hopes for them. So far, Mount Dragon has more plot holes than Sauron’s battle plan.

“I Didn’t Have a Choice”

Tags

books, fantasy, fiction, plot, reading

“I was studying. I didn’t have a choice.” -Rory, Gilmore Girls.

“That’s different. I didn’t have a choice.” -Andy, The Devil Wears Prada.

“Looks like I don’t have a choice.” -Meghan, The Iron King.

Sometimes, we don’t like either option, but we still have a choice. Rory could have chosen to not study and fail her test (or at least go into it well rested but less prepared). Andy could have refused to go to Paris in Emily’s place and risked Miranda firing her. Meghan could have left her brother in the Never Never, drunk Puck’s potion, and gone on with her life thinking the changeling was actually her brother. In the last case, I think that option was so unacceptable that Meghan didn’t see it as an option, but the option was offered to her.

Why is this an important distinction? Claiming “I didn’t have a choice,” transfers blame (and credit). If something goes wrong, “I didn’t have a choice” really means, “it’s not my fault.” In the reverse, when something goes right, the character isn’t painted as brave or strong. Fate, being in the right place at the right time–if the character didn’t actively make the decision, it isn’t his or her victory.

-Eliabeth Hawthorne

__game review: Far Cry 3

Tags

ending, far cry 3, game review, plot, stories, vaas

Far Cry 3

by Ubisoft

genre: action, fps, adventure

Stunning setting. Open world. Fun. 4 out of 5 stars!

Summary

(Taken from Expert Reviews)

[Far Cry 3] is an open-world shooter set on an island somewhere between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The game starts off with quite a jolt. After a montage of you and your friends drinking, partying and skydiving, having the time of your lives, you wake up chained to a bamboo cage with a Mohican-toting madman standing over you.

You’ve been captured by pirates, and it’s up to you, Jason Brody, to rescue your friends and get the hell off the island.

Review

This was a fun game. Emphasis on the fun. It was good, it may even touch on great, but I think the best word to describe it was fun. Quick note, this game is mature. It touches on sensitive themes such as human trafficking and slavery but also has some nudity and sexual references (including nonconsensual ones).

Something everyone agrees on is that the island is stunning. It’s menacing and alluring. There is so much to explore (I didn’t even explore that much and was still impressed). You hunt animals which help you craft items, there a mini-games and quests to do, you also climb radio towers and liberate outposts for the Rakyat people. And this is separate from the main plot.

As a story girl, I love plot. So… I didn’t feel like Far Cry 3 held up in the same way other games such as Bioshock Infinite did. The best character by far was Vaas. I really disliked Jason. The group of white friends all seemed shallow but they didn’t have to be. I wish there was more development in that regard. The only real contact we had with them was in the act of saving them. And Liza…well I didn’t mind her but Jason was just a real douche. I guess it was part of the ‘getting lost in the jungle’ thing.

“Now Rewind” Plots: Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em?

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books, James Patterson, movies, plot, reading, Revenge, Tangled

I’m referring to story lines that start in the middle, then go back and explain everything leading up to that point, then continue to the end of the story.

While I can appreciate plot lines that break out of the conventional chronological timeline, I find that I become disinterested. The suspense is missing when I know what will happen, even if the writer has done a good job and tricked me. I’m disconnected from the character or story because I think I know what happens, whether or not I’m right.

There’s only one that I thought did it well, Tangled. Looking back, that’s because it was pretty much a one-liner that simply gave away that Flynn dies. By the end, I had forgotten, so in some ways it doesn’t count. I had the same problem watching Revenge, even though the character you are lead to believe dies is still alive at the end of the season, I never connected with him because of his impending doom.

Right now, I’m reading a James Patterson novel that uses this middle, beginning, end plot line. Even though the story is wonderful, there’s no suspense through the first 40+ chapters. I’m not invested in the court case because I know the verdict within the first chapter. It’s interesting, and I enjoyed the little twists, but it wasn’t as interesting as if it had started in the beginning, leaving me to wonder if they would take the plea bargain or if they would be found guilty.

What about you? Love ’em or hate ’em?

-Eliabeth

Book Review: Fade by Lisa McMann

Tags

action, book, book review, dream catching, high school, language, lisa mcmann, love, paranormal, plot, romance, sexual predators, stories, writing, YA

Fade

by Lisa McMann

genre: paranormal, YA

Are you fascinated by dreams? Did you like WAKE? I am and I recently read Wake, so when I heard about this sequel I had to read it!

Summary

(Taken from Goodreads)
For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They’re just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.

Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody’s talking. When Janie taps into a classmate’s violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open — but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie’s in way over her head, and Cabe’s shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability — and it’s bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what’s to come is way darker than she’d feared….

__little gems

Tags

carlos fuentes, dean koontz, description, genre, little gems, plot, preference, reading, style, writing

I have read a lot of books in my time. They have ranged in styles and genres and so it can be hard to know your own. I have been writing since I was very 12, starting out with fanfiction because of my obsession with Harry Potter. I wasn’t sure what my style was then; I just wrote. and now that I am older and more aware of what I am doing and getting feedback on my work… I’m still a little lost.