A-STYLE | MEDIA MATTERS
  • News & Updates
  • For Patrons!
  • Editorials
  • Reviews
    • My Grading Scale
    • Top Lists
  • Behind the Scenes
    • About
    • FAQ
  • Fan-Works

A Court of Silver Flames - SJM | A Disgustingly Problematic display of Shameful Mental Health Handling...

6/23/2021

0 Comments

 

I wanted to like it, I truly did, but there is simply nothing here worth pretending is acceptable...

              Well, I have to say unequivocally that the very best thing about this book (and maybe even about the series as a whole) is the Making of the super-sassy House of Wind. The way it happens, how it becomes a sentient BFF that reads romance novels and gossips with the girls and mimics up tiny pegasi for kicks and sleep-over whimsies... It's GREAT. Everything else about this book? Not so much..
Picture
            There WILL be spoilers in this review, and crude language (not all of it me cursing at the thing, but some actual quotes & paraphrases that address SJM's tone)... But for now, let me say, this felt like a knock-off stage production housed in a low-rent theater, created by a psychotically invested artiste of a wanna-be director and acted in by 2 people who kind of care about the director and therefore managed to drag their half-resentful friends along to auditions...
          The prose is limp and lame, her dialogue tagging conventions are irksome, and the metaphors she uses are very galaxy-brain bits of nonsense that feel like symptoms a dangerous drug-high. Also. There's no plot. Like at all. (I'm all for character-driven stories, but seriously, for character-driven narratives to be at all effective, the characters have to be slightly more exciting than damp cardboard... Final non-spoilery points: there was too much sex that didn't do anything to contribute to the narrative, the mental health handling (read: dismissal) was pretty insulting, and it was way too frickin long a lead up for a predictable, boringly obvious ending that rendered all of the hyper-attentive foreshadowing utterly useless.
           Beyond all that, the new covers are hideous.
       I liked the House and the blossoming of female friendships. But that's about it...
            Strap in, folks, because this one's a ride. I nearly hurled a few times, definitely gagged.
          I wanted to like this one, I really did. It's just been a few years of SJM not writing up to her potential, but still showing that potential... I walked into this with low expectations, high hopes, and a careful detachment that would let me read this without my dislike of Nesta getting in the way of my enjoyment.
       Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Nesta. I've just always found her rather irksome; she was annoying but interesting enough that her purpose as a foil to her sisters worked rather well. She was never main character material because she was never meant to be. SJM actually did alright with fleshing her out enough to hold up a main character role, but Nesta just isn't a piece on the board. She's not significant enough to the world to NEED to be anything more, which means she's just there far too much of the time to be interesting as a central figure. 
           This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Any story needs its side characters. To promote a side character to MC status is difficult, but can be done, so long as you reframe the rest of the narrative along with them. SJM didn't.
Which means that all the elegant character building and world crafting she put into the first three (*cough* Frost and Starlight was a travesty that I will forever ignore *cough*) just evaporates. Because to make Nesta seem fleshed out and solid, the rest of the characters became pitifully flimsy cardboard cutouts of themselves.
         Like even Mor and Azriel were barely there and only the slightest bit participatory. It was tragic. Az had a few good quips, but it was an SNL skit of Clinton with Bengazi compared to the world-shaking political impact of the Shadowsinger's true glory.
           That was the main thing for me. This was a character-driven story without any truly great characters... And zero plot. 700-something pages of hints and preamble, but with zero follow through. 
​
Again, here there be spoilers. Very direct, spoilery spoilers:

Read More
0 Comments

The Last of Us: Part II - Triggering, Cyclical, and Just plain Pathetic...

5/23/2021

0 Comments

 

I enjoyed the first one, wanted to like this follow up... but just could NOT.

Picture
     My Associated Human and I have been playing through this together the last couple of week and it has over all been a deeply enjoyable experience, though 2 big sticking points kind of ruined it for me. This review will have specific spoilers, so short review here and then a detailed one below the 'read more' jump.
      Long story short, I DO NOT recommend this one. At least not buying it. Find a friend and borrow it, but do NOT give Naughty Dog more money for this vile piece of triggering shit. 
    It's a huge shame that I hate it like I do. The gameplay was fun, the graphics were astoundingly gorgeous, and most of the story was deeply enjoyable and extremely well-written... I fricken LOVED most of it. But I fucking HATED the ending. 
       Firstly, I just disliked it. Secondly, it was cheap-ass story telling.
       Thirdly, it was an example of a grown ass man foisting his own damn trauma onto a barely-hanging-on teenage girl (whom his dead brother loved like a daughter) and explicitly asking her to do something he knows will be traumatizing because he is too physically disabled to do it himself.
       And finally, that ending was a display of grossly misogynistic violence that the player is forced to carry out actively and personally, not watch as a cut scene.
      Which all combined to absolute, visceral hatred of the ending for me.

      Reminder, from here on out, there will be explicit spoilers.


Read More
0 Comments
    Come check out my Patreon Page for the latest updates and insider exclusives!
    If you have Questions about my Terminology, Bias Bands, or any other FAQ click HERE.

    Categories

    All
    Business
    Capitalism
    Ecology & Conservation
    Gender Issues (Fem/Mas/Misc)
    Historical Accuracy
    History Is NOT Your Buddy
    International Media
    Internships
    Mental Health
    Musicianship
    Mv Explanation
    Narrative
    Personal Issues
    Philosophy
    Response
    Rookie Groups
    Seoulbeats
    Sexuality Issues
    Shark Week!
    Slavery
    Socio/Geo Politics
    This Is WAR.
    Trainee Systems
    Transmedia
    Triggering & Problematic
    Video Games
    What Makes It Literature?
    Write Life
    Writing Stage: Burnout / Reset
    Year End Assessments

    The name, layout, opinions, and analysis displayed on the Music Matters® website belongs to A-style® and are the intellectual property of Alexandra Swords.

    Archives

    March 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2012
    March 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.