Literature of Horror

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy BBC audio play was really entertaining. I especially liked it  because I could work on some artwork while getting lost in the galaxy along with the main characters Arthur and Ford. Reading requires my full attention but with the audio play most of the work was done for me, with the addition of multiple voice actors and some sound bits, I felt immersed in the the story right form the get go. The writing felt so fun and creative, but it also tackled themes of government and religion in a way that just made it look ridiculous. It was also hilarious to see how technology in the story kind of mirrored what is happening with technology now a days with devices that have so many useless features that just create more of an inconvenience instead of aiding the user. I really enjoyed this and I can for sure see myself revisiting it.

For this week I read the manga Blame! written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei. This story is based in a future version of earth were technology overtook humanity like a plague and now humans are the minority. Technology is always expanding in this world to the point were the inhabitants of the city don't even recall what land looks like. The main character, Kyrii, is in search of the net terminal gene which if found could potentially help humanity restore itself. Cyber punk is one of my favorite genres, I love the look of worn and used advanced technology. Especially in "Blame!" where the city looks like a concrete jungle with cables for vines. Overall the story kind of lacked in character development and I constantly felt like there was some missing information that I should know to better understand what was happening. But I still enjoyed it quite a bit and found myself pretty invested in the story.

Space opera is a genre that even at its worst I still find it to be really appealing. For this week I read the comic-book Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. I really liked the way it was illustrated and found it to be a really fun read. I especially liked how right from the get go we're plunged into some crazy action with little breathing time. My favorite aspect of this comic book is how even the villains have good motives and have their own reasons for being the way they are. A good example of this is Will, the freelancer/bounty hunter who is in pursuit of them. Even he has problems and inner demons he is facing and I like seeing that hidden side to characters that aren't the main focus of the story. I really enjoyed the forbidden love aspect to the story too and how they are pursued by officials from all over the galaxy. It's pretty charming to see it be narrated by their daughter who we witness grow up. This is definitely a story Im going to keep reading. 

For this week I read Horns by Joe Hill. A decent example of urban fantasy where the main character goes from being this soft spoken and kind hearted guy to a literal devil. His life took a turn for the worst when he was blamed for his girlfriend's murder which made him look like the town villain, infamous for just getting away with something so cruel because of his family's wealth. One day in a drunken splurge, Iggy, the main character drives to his girlfriend's grave. Full of rage he thinks of the most vile thing he could do at the time, and so he started peeing on a little virgin Mary statue that was laid on her grave. With no actual explanation, Iggy wakes up the next day in his house hungover and with horns protruding out of his forehead. To his advantage these horns came with a hidden power. Kind of the devil resting on your shoulder, Iggy's horns granted him the power to convince people to act on their most vile and wicked desires. Iggy used this new found power

Fullmetal Alchemist is a manga that definitely tackles issues of whats right and wrong in world were alchemy is used as a weapon. The main characters are two brothers who are in pursuit of finding a way to get their normal bodies back. Edward and his brother Al tried to bring their mother back to life using alchemy but in a failed attempt, the kids bit more than they could chew and their bodies were used as tribute. Quickly learning that in alchemy human kind can not gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain something of equal value must be lost. I didn't grow up reading books when I was younger, all I ever read was manga. This one in particular really had impact in my life. For this week I chose to revisit and actually finish reading the story. I was surprised to find how dark and real the story was. Definitely missed a few things when I was younger. But it made me think about things like sacrifice and human nature that really added to my premature cynic

I remember watching the Lord of the rings movies with my dad as a kid and I never forgot how invested I would get with the story and the characters. The word "epic" is what comes to mind whenever I hear anybody talk about lord of the rings. As a fan of the movies the books always seemed too intimating and quite long for my taste. With the hobbit I had a similar hesitation and honestly it was kind of a tough read at times, I didn't really enjoy how things were overly described in some cases and it kind of thru me off when the characters broke into song (not hating on the story but I personally don't like musicals and stuff like that). With that being said tho I really liked how it felt like more of a parable that was being told to me. It felt magical less dark than the lord of the rings. In retrospect it would've been a lot better if I listened to the audiobook, I probably would've enjoyed the songs and other things a bit more. It's incredible how one pe