Book: The Silver Dream

“As Walkers, Joey Harker and his fellow InterWorld soldiers can pass between multiple dimensions–a skill they use as part of their mission to maintain peace as rival powers of magic and science threaten to control all worlds.

When a stranger named Acacia Jones does the impossible and follows Joey back to Base Town, things get complicated. No one knows who she is or where she’s from–or how she knows so much about InterWorld.

Dangerous times lie ahead for Joey and the mission. There’s a traitor hidden among them, and if Joey has any hope of saving InterWorld, the Altiverse, and the mission, he’s going to have to rely on his wits–and, just possibly, on the mysterious Acacia Jones.“

This book might say it’s about one thing, but it’s about something else.

Acacia Jones is a red herring, although she does play into the events that unfold in The Silver Dream, she is not as instrumental to the grand design as the book blurb will make you believe.

That warning aside, let us now dive into the sequel for InterWorld:

It’s not as good as the first one. Definitely. By leaps and bounds. And once you’ve come to accept that, you’ll learn to like it for what it is–which is, a good adventure book. That’s how it was for me.

It probably has to do with the diminished participation Neil Gaiman has on this book, but the worlds we visit aren’t as rich as they were in the first novel. Then again, we don’t really dwell too long in any world for any of them to make much impact. The sequel deals more with the interpersonal relationships of the many incarnations of Joseph Harker.

Story-wise, it’s actually very hard to judge the quality of The Silver Dream. Not because it’s not good. It’s just not complete. By the time you finish the novel, it becomes clear that the whole thing is a set-up for something bigger. And you can’t say a book is good, or not good, if the story isn’t finished.

Unless, of course, this was supposed to be a complete story–and then, I must say, it’s really bad. Because it cuts off just as things are about to get interesting. It builds up and builds up, and just cuts off–

Now, if this were a character-driven story, I’d say it’s okay. But our protagonist, while embarking on a journey of self-discovery, is still on the cusp of actually doing something about said self-discovery. His journey has just reached its climax. Or is about to reach it.

So, no. It’s not good in that aspect as well.

Nor is it any good at building up the characters that already exist–or the ones it introduces in this book.

Come to think of it, The Silver Dream isn’t very good at pacing itself either. Things happen. And then something else happens. And midway, yet another thing happens. By the time we reach the latter half of the novel, we see the random things get connected together. But it’s only in the last few pages that we actually see how everything relates together, and by then, it’s being blown up to be bigger than what we thought it to be.

And then the novel ends.

The Silver Dream is a very frustrating book to read, if we’re going to be brutally honest about it. I remember enjoying the adventure aspect of it when I put it down. Going back to it now, I’m questioning what exactly I liked in the book.

I can’t think of a single reason.

I think I have to read the next book, the obvious continuation, to see if this whole thing was worth it.

This begs the question, though, why the publishers (and the writers) thought it would be okay to publish just this part of an obviously bigger story. Why not just release the whole thing as one? Why put in a cliffhanger? This is not television.

Movie: Star Trek Into Darkness

“When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.“

A little underwhelming, if you ask me. Then again, so was the first movie from the rebooted universe. Fortunately for the latter, it had enough charm to propel it into a blockbuster. The second one falters in this aspect, relying mostly on Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho), and Kirk (Chris Pine) for the emotional hook. Well, on Scotty and Kirk. Sulu was just an awesome badass.

Admittedly, I did have higher expectations this time ’round. I’m not a Trekkie. I don’t have an extensive background on the universe Gene Roddenberry created with Star Trek. And I was very much intrigued with the trailer and synopsis released.

The intrigue died after the first fight between Kirk and Spock, leading to the demotion of the former and the reassignment of the latter. That’s not a spoiler, so much as it’s the first act of the film.

Remember what I said about Iron Man 2? I didn’t like it because the problems felt superficial. The main protagonist was superficially weakened, just so we can root for him.

I wish that’s this film’s only problem.

See, the writers of Star Trek Into Darkness tries to rehash the previous film by having Kirk down and out again. Except, as you go deeper into the story, there really was no need.

John Harrison, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is not an ordinary adversary. He’s an evolved human, which makes him a strong enough antagonist that you don’t need to cripple your protagonist beforehand. But because the writers do, we lose time on bridging the trust gap between our core characters, instead of using said time on developing the relationship between the characters.

As a result, we get shortened screen time for most everyone. Sure, each one gets enough of a hero moment to make a mark, but it’s only well and good for everyone individually. Collectively, the Enterprise crew is no better than they were at the end of the first film. Which made one of what was supposed to be the film’s emotional highlights feel empty and fake.

And then there’s Zachary Quinto.

I liked him as Sylar back in Heroes, and he’s done a bunch of unmemorable but pretty okay roles since then. I liked him enough in the first Star Trek film from the rebooted universe. But for some reason, I really couldn’t connect to him in this film. Is it because of the fact that he is Vulcan, and that he is repressing his emotions? Well, it was the same deal in the first film and I didn’t have a problem then.

Maybe it’s because this was supposed to have already been addressed in the film. Maybe it’s because we were cheated off actual relationship development between Spock and Kirk.

Zachary Quinto’s supposed crowning moment, during his fight with John Harrison, falls flat because there’s a disconnect between what the audience is feeling at the time, and what the film is telling the audience to feel.

And then, everything that happened after was very paint-by-numbers. Nothing original happens.

I left the theater feeling less than impressed.

Television: Doctor Who and the Name of the Doctor

“Clara is summoned to an impossible conference call, alerting her that the deadly Whisper Men are closing in on Vastra, Jenny and Strax. Someone is kidnapping the Doctor’s friends, leading him toward the one place in all of time and space that he should never go. It’s a deadly trap that threatens to unravel his past, present and future…“

I’m unsure about how I should feel about this episode.

On the one hand, I’m highly satisfied with how they wrapped up the Impossible Girl storyline–and how they wrote in the Great Intelligence into the fabric of Doctor Who history. What I didn’t like so much was how the whole episode didn’t feel like a proper Who episode.

Thing is, I don’t even know how to explain that. But one thing’s for sure. It starts with River Song.

Before we go forward, I would just like to explain how I’m very much a fan of River Song. Until Series 6 happened, that is. But I thought The Angels Take Manhattan did a great job at bringing back the River Song I liked. And then we get the one in this episode.

On the one hand, I liked the fact that Steven Moffat chose the version of River who knew everything to appear in this episode. On the other hand, this raises so many questions for me. Like, how did Madame Vastra manage to contact the consciousness of River Song in the very, very far future–where she lives in a centralized processor that only exists in a planet far away?

The timey-wimey bit worked with Clara, as we already saw that type of sending messages through time in Blink. But I’m really curious as to how they got River.

And why River? Because she knows the name of the Doctor? Because of Trenzalore? But this was just a conclave to talk about saving the Doctor, is it not? Did they know that they would need the name of the Doctor?

If we’re going for people who care about the Doctor, wouldn’t the Paternoster Gang attempt to contact Amy and Rory? Or Jack Harkness? Maybe Martha Jones? People who can actually help the doctor. So why not them? I understand the reality of returning cast members and budgetary constraints–but a clear explanation of why not them would help. Immensely. Especially since the recent run of episodes have all thrown homage to previous episodes–and it’s leading us toward the fiftieth anniversary special.

This is not to say that the episode was bad though. I thought it was exceptionally well-crafted. I just couldn’t get over the fact that for an episode leading to the anniversary, and for a finale episode, this felt really… small. As I said, it didn’t feel like a Who episode. Especially after the big episodes that led to the finale. Where was the grandeur of The Crimson Horror? The impossibility of The Wedding of River Song? Where was the heart-tugging moment of The Rings of Akhaten? The spectacle of The Bells of St. John? Where was the feel of adventure that they’ve been infusing the series with since Series 6′s mid-series finale A Good Man Goes to War?

There’s a feeling of something missing in The Name of the Doctor.

I must say though, Jenna-Louise Coleman did exceptionally well in this episode.

And I really do like the explanation we get as to why Clara became the Impossible Girl.

And I hope that this really is the end of the prophecy that Steven Moffat started in Series 5. That after the Pandorica opens, silence will fall when the question is asked. The Pandorica has already opened. Silence already fell. (And has fallen again.) And the question has been asked.

Let’s go back to the simpler arcs. Like Bad Wolf. Like Vote Saxon.

Or like the cracks in the universe.

Speaking of which. Have we already found out what made the TARDIS explode back in Series 5?

That’s something we’ve yet to discuss, isn’t it?

Well, we’ll hold off on it for now, as we digest the game-changing reveal at the end of The Name of the Doctor. Or we could discuss it during the six months wait we have to endure before the fiftieth anniversary special airs on November. Sound off in the comments section below.

Television: Doctor Who and the Nightmare in Silver

“Welcome to Webley’s World of Wonders! Roll up, roll up. Miracles, marvels and more await you. The wonder of the age. The miracle of modernity. They were defeated a thousand years ago, but now they’re back to destroy you. So fast, so smart, and so strong that fighting them is suicidal. Nightmares in silver! Ladies and gentlemen, behold- the 699th wonder of the universe – the Cybermen! As you’ve never seen them before…“

And so we finally get a proper Cyberman story after 2006′s two-parter episodes Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel. Unless I count 2009′s The Next Doctor. Which I should. But I didn’t like it. I liked the two-parter from Series 2. I loved Nightmare in Silver.

Going into this episode, I actually feared that my bias would color my enjoyment of the episode. To the point that, I might over analyze, and… well, not like the episode. And all because I’m a Gaiman fan.

But I had nothing to fear. Gaiman delivers. And in spade.

The Doctor’s Wife from the last series had a great emotional hook in Amy and Rory, and had the gimmick of turning the TARDIS human. In Nightmare in Silver, Gaiman doesn’t have the luxury of having companions that are already well-loved, that people already care deeply about. His gimmick for the episode isn’t something that all fans are looking forward too–it’s something people are actually apprehensive about: the return of the Cybermen.

Nothing against the previous writers who handled the Cybermen, but when you make emotion their biggest weakness, it makes the Cybermen a bit of a wuss. It was interesting the first time it was done, back in 2006, because it was new. But their subsequent appearances were as easily resolved.

The Cybermen are enduring enemies of the Doctor, but unlike the Dalek, they don’t seem scary at all. Which makes me wonder why lists featuring scariest Doctor Who monsters always include them. Well, Gaiman’s Nightmare in Silver shows us why.

The Cybermen have become too human. To make them scary again, Gaiman took out the humanity. And what we get is an exceptional episode that even includes a great relationship development for the Doctor and Clara.

I do have two gripes for this episode.

Number one, when the Doctor notices the cybermites for the first time, he knew he couldn’t leave the planet. But why have the children stay in the planet instead of in the TARDIS?

Number two, Matt Smith is a great actor, yes–but I thought his CyberPlanner persona was a bit too flamboyant–and not unlike his portrayal of a very happy Doctor. Except more sinister.

I mean, I love the nuances that made Mr. Clever, the CyberPlanner, very distinct from the Doctor. And I get that there’s a bit of tomfoolery in the front that Gaiman wants to keep viewers guessing which Doctor is interacting with Clara. But prior to this–when it’s just the Doctor and the Cyber puppets–I really found it disconcerting that the CyberPlanner and the Doctor were essentially the same.

Unless, there’s a statement there somewhere.

Overall though, excellent episode.

I just hope next week’s finale lives up to the recent exceptional episodes.

Television: Doctor Who and the Crimson Horror

“There’s something very odd about Mrs Gillyflower’s Sweetville mill, with its perfectly clean streets and beautiful people.

There’s something even stranger about the bodies washing up in the river, all bright red and waxy. When the Doctor and Clara go missing, it’s up to Vastra, Jenny and Strax to rescue them before they too fall victim to the Crimson Horror!“

I wasn’t a fan of Mark Gatiss’s work on Night Terrors and Cold War, but I really enjoyed The Crimson Horror. Come to think of it, this is the first Gatiss-written episode of Doctor Who that I enjoyed since The Idiot’s Lantern from Series 2.

But that’s not to say the episode was perfect. I do have a gripe on how we shift main characters mid-way from Victorian Jenny, who carried most of the first half of the episode, to the Doctor without so much as a passing of a baton. Once we see the Doctor again, he immediately takes helm of the whole thing and we seem to forget that there are other characters who we might want to follow as well.

That gripe aside, I thought the episode was–and I’m borrowing from the Ninth Doctor here, fantastic. It’s was a fun mix of comedy and action, with a story that stood alone, and yet moved the plot forward. Sort of.

Which brings me back to the mystery of Clara.

I really thought we would get some traction into the mystery by this episode. After all, Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax all knew the Victorian Clara, and they reacted as I thought they would when they realized that the Doctor was running around with a different Clara. Alas, Gatiss doesn’t delve deeper into it, nor does he even allow the Doctor to talk to the Victorian gang about what’s going on. It’s complicated.

And then, the Doctor takes Clara back to her time. As promised. It’s a similar arrangement, I’m guessing, to the one he had with the Ponds. Influenced, I dare say, by the time he spent with the Ponds. These companions need to be able to live their lives out while they are with him. What happened with Rose cannot happen again. What happened with the Ponds cannot happen again.

I must say, I like this development in the Doctor.

And seeing as Clara lives with children, who both seem to be savvy netizens. Well, let’s just say next week’s episode will be very interesting.

I just hope the tease about Clara’s mystery will lead to answers soon. We do only have two episodes left.