tempestuously (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tempestuously) wrote2010-02-18 07:34 pm
tempestuously) wrote2010-02-18 07:34 pm
One stone's black and the other is white
In my brilliance, I realize that I forgot to send in my logs. I guess that settles the apping debate for me. But I wasn't really feeling it this round anyway.
I am so tired of people bitching at the WaPo for putting Olympic winners on its front page. I'm sorry people, but the news is not a spoiler. This isn't some scripted entertainment (mostly); this is sports. You don't hold sports news just because a network won't get to air it until later in the day. NBC's failing is not the newspapers' responsibility.
I shall do my Percy Jackson overview in two parts, one dealing with the final book and the other dealing with my issues of Luke as a character and why I feel that Riordan failed him terribly.
I shall do this in the classic plus/minus fashion.
+ Excellent homage to Achilles and Patrolocles from the Iliad with Clarisse and Silena. I saw it coming, along with the identity of the spy once Silena ran off, but still wonderfully handled. From the armor to the dragging of the drakon, it rocked.
+ Love the backstory behind May Castellan/Hermes as well as Hades' backstory. Poor Hades. I knew I loved him for a reason. I also love Hermes.
+ Love Tyson finally getting to fight and make his Daddy proud.
+ Thalia just being fucking awesome.
+ Rachel Dare in general but particularly her turning into the Oracle.
+ NICO. His dream, his coming back for Percy, his forcing Hades to fight. Love.
+ Great execution of the prophecy.
+ Annabeth's showdown with Kronos/Luke.
+ Cameo by Mr. D.
+ Percy forcing the gods to honor their children and the minor gods.
- Annabeth saying she didn't love Luke as he was dying. Not only is this statement BLATANTLY FALSE given that her crush on Luke is emphasized constantly in the series but her saying it to him and staring at Percy while Luke was dying just felt mean. It's like Riordan didn't think his readers would understand that Annabeth can love Percy AND Luke and still choose Percy.
- Rushed redemption of Luke with shoddy explanation that it was attacking Annabeth that broke the Kronos spell. Too little too late, buddy.
- General uneveness of the end going from horrific deaths to party/happy atmosphere with very little reflection on the dead until two chapters later and even that was overshadowed by the Annabeth/Percy thing. I think it made the deaths, particularly Luke's, feel less important and quickly forgotten, despite Percy asking for his wishes. The rewards chapter was just too damn happy. It was like Riordan was afraid of letting the deaths sink in. It reminded me of The Guy With Glasses' comments about when Bambi's mother dies and the next scene is singing birdies. Bleh.
+ Overall, a great book and a great series, with minor issues in the uneveness of the storytelling and Luke.
I want to emphasize that my issues with Luke are actually not the character himself. In fact, my main complaint is that Luke virtually has NO character outside of the first book and the rushed bit at the end of the series. He lacks agency and is largely an extension of Kronos. I understand Riordan tries to remedy this with the flashbacks of Thalia and Annabeth and the truth about Luke's mother. But while that shows how others see Luke, it still doesn't let Luke tell me about Luke. I don't empathize with his wish to make his father pay for abandoning his mother because it does seem like Hermes genuinely cares but is stuck by laws and Luke is just too young to understand. Even if I could empathize, I have general issue with Luke turning to Kronos and being his servant for much of the series. The Luke we get before the Kronos takeover is essentially a pissy Draco brat, with a soft spot for Annabeth. A soft spot that is usually rushed and gives little time for character introspection.
Luke becomes frustrating because Riordan's desire to make him an antihero is clearly felt, but the author simply cannot deliver. For an antihero to work, he must be his own person and we must see his motivation. As Luke is basically Kronos or Kronos' lackey through much of the series, Riordan fails at this task. I can't even blame the problem on Percy's POV because Snape was clearly hated by Harry in that series but yet Snape's character and his flaws and his personality generally remained so readers could make their own interpretations. Outside of Book 1, Luke barely has a personality. I am also less than satisfied with his sudden decision to fight back against Kronos. I get that we couldn't see the struggles against the titan since if Percy would have had those specific dreams, he would have been influenced. But I still think that Luke's sudden change of heart feels heavily scripted and therefore lacks the emotional punch, further weakened by Riordan's refusal to stick with the scene long enough for it to sink in. The whole scene becomes mostly about Percy and his decision to trust in Luke and less about Luke. Again, lack of agency. Say what you will about Rowling's sloppy handling of Draco, but the character still had his own drive through most of the series. With Luke we must rely on the knowledge of other characters to get to the truth behind him and ultimately the payoff is surprisingly weak, with the character, even up until the end, acting as an agent of fate/destiny and still not making his own decisions.
That said, I would not mind side stories about Thalia, Luke and Annabeth when they were on the run. Nor would I mind reading fanfiction that further explored Luke's character. I just think Riordan's Luke is unsatisfying and little more than a tragic figure. He is lacking in voice.
I am so tired of people bitching at the WaPo for putting Olympic winners on its front page. I'm sorry people, but the news is not a spoiler. This isn't some scripted entertainment (mostly); this is sports. You don't hold sports news just because a network won't get to air it until later in the day. NBC's failing is not the newspapers' responsibility.
I shall do my Percy Jackson overview in two parts, one dealing with the final book and the other dealing with my issues of Luke as a character and why I feel that Riordan failed him terribly.
I shall do this in the classic plus/minus fashion.
+ Excellent homage to Achilles and Patrolocles from the Iliad with Clarisse and Silena. I saw it coming, along with the identity of the spy once Silena ran off, but still wonderfully handled. From the armor to the dragging of the drakon, it rocked.
+ Love the backstory behind May Castellan/Hermes as well as Hades' backstory. Poor Hades. I knew I loved him for a reason. I also love Hermes.
+ Love Tyson finally getting to fight and make his Daddy proud.
+ Thalia just being fucking awesome.
+ Rachel Dare in general but particularly her turning into the Oracle.
+ NICO. His dream, his coming back for Percy, his forcing Hades to fight. Love.
+ Great execution of the prophecy.
+ Annabeth's showdown with Kronos/Luke.
+ Cameo by Mr. D.
+ Percy forcing the gods to honor their children and the minor gods.
- Annabeth saying she didn't love Luke as he was dying. Not only is this statement BLATANTLY FALSE given that her crush on Luke is emphasized constantly in the series but her saying it to him and staring at Percy while Luke was dying just felt mean. It's like Riordan didn't think his readers would understand that Annabeth can love Percy AND Luke and still choose Percy.
- Rushed redemption of Luke with shoddy explanation that it was attacking Annabeth that broke the Kronos spell. Too little too late, buddy.
- General uneveness of the end going from horrific deaths to party/happy atmosphere with very little reflection on the dead until two chapters later and even that was overshadowed by the Annabeth/Percy thing. I think it made the deaths, particularly Luke's, feel less important and quickly forgotten, despite Percy asking for his wishes. The rewards chapter was just too damn happy. It was like Riordan was afraid of letting the deaths sink in. It reminded me of The Guy With Glasses' comments about when Bambi's mother dies and the next scene is singing birdies. Bleh.
+ Overall, a great book and a great series, with minor issues in the uneveness of the storytelling and Luke.
I want to emphasize that my issues with Luke are actually not the character himself. In fact, my main complaint is that Luke virtually has NO character outside of the first book and the rushed bit at the end of the series. He lacks agency and is largely an extension of Kronos. I understand Riordan tries to remedy this with the flashbacks of Thalia and Annabeth and the truth about Luke's mother. But while that shows how others see Luke, it still doesn't let Luke tell me about Luke. I don't empathize with his wish to make his father pay for abandoning his mother because it does seem like Hermes genuinely cares but is stuck by laws and Luke is just too young to understand. Even if I could empathize, I have general issue with Luke turning to Kronos and being his servant for much of the series. The Luke we get before the Kronos takeover is essentially a pissy Draco brat, with a soft spot for Annabeth. A soft spot that is usually rushed and gives little time for character introspection.
Luke becomes frustrating because Riordan's desire to make him an antihero is clearly felt, but the author simply cannot deliver. For an antihero to work, he must be his own person and we must see his motivation. As Luke is basically Kronos or Kronos' lackey through much of the series, Riordan fails at this task. I can't even blame the problem on Percy's POV because Snape was clearly hated by Harry in that series but yet Snape's character and his flaws and his personality generally remained so readers could make their own interpretations. Outside of Book 1, Luke barely has a personality. I am also less than satisfied with his sudden decision to fight back against Kronos. I get that we couldn't see the struggles against the titan since if Percy would have had those specific dreams, he would have been influenced. But I still think that Luke's sudden change of heart feels heavily scripted and therefore lacks the emotional punch, further weakened by Riordan's refusal to stick with the scene long enough for it to sink in. The whole scene becomes mostly about Percy and his decision to trust in Luke and less about Luke. Again, lack of agency. Say what you will about Rowling's sloppy handling of Draco, but the character still had his own drive through most of the series. With Luke we must rely on the knowledge of other characters to get to the truth behind him and ultimately the payoff is surprisingly weak, with the character, even up until the end, acting as an agent of fate/destiny and still not making his own decisions.
That said, I would not mind side stories about Thalia, Luke and Annabeth when they were on the run. Nor would I mind reading fanfiction that further explored Luke's character. I just think Riordan's Luke is unsatisfying and little more than a tragic figure. He is lacking in voice.
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