Gareth Roberts, I apologise. Last week, I confidently predicted that I would loath this episode with a passion. I thought that given his past record of churning out that this episode would be the same. That the crowd-pleasing inclusion of Corden Bleu would be a senseless, irritating addition. How wrong I was. This was, despite a few issues, an entertaining, jolly romp. Just the sort of light relief needed before we plunge head-first into the high-octane thrills of the finale. Hit the link for my full review of The Lodger, and, as always, strong spoilers from the very beginning.
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Category Archives: Books
4 ways to go wrong in a fantasy novel ft. Christopher Paolini
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’ve read a fantasy novel or two. I’ve read far more than I should have, and indeed, am currently in the process of writing one. It’s not as arduous as it sounds, but it’s time-consuming all right, and I’ve noticed a few mistakes that keep being made, by others as well as myself (although I try my best to mitigate against them. With than in mind, here (in no particular order) are my top 4 ways to go wrong in a fantasy novel. To make this more interesting, I’ll frame it in the context of my favourite literary whipping boy, Eragon, because, as Bill Watterson said, things are funnier when specific than when generalised. By the way, for a very funny deconstruction of the book, I recommend Impish Idea’s ‘Everything Wrong With Eragon‘, which is much funnier that this has any hope of being.
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My Problem With… Lawrence Miles, Doctor Who and fan fiction
Or, how not to write an overlong, tedious blog post
When I was ten, and really starting to get into Doctor Who, I read a book called Interference, (actually, two books) by a guy called Lawrence Miles. It was good, but in retrospect, not really a book for a ten-year-old, burdened as it was with subtext and subtlety, and abstract storytelling devices that I can recall confusing me a little. Earlier today, I was reading a review of Victory of the Daleks on Behind the Sofa, which linked to a review that this chap had done of Interference, from which I somehow got a link to a rather long interview with Mr Miles (from before the new series) in which he made some rather… unflattering comments about some other Doctor Who book writers (or at least discussed having done so in the past). I sought out his blog, which I would thoroughly recommend to anyone. It’s a little odd, not least because he puts up reviews and then takes them down again rather quickly (for what reason I’m not entirely sure). While I may not always agree with him, he always substantiates his arguments and puts them across with great eloquence and verbal alacrity. And if you think I can be overly cynical and acerbic, this guy is Charlie Brooker-scale cynical and acerbic, (who writes posts longer than some of mine) but it has more sting, because it’s tinged with bitterness.
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