Post by Shiryu on Jul 1, 2010 11:57:33 GMT -5
Soooo, I've managed to get hold of both Shida Advent and Worldmind, read them straight away (took about a week) and here are my comments!
First thing first, I loved them both! It had been a while since the last book so I didn't remember all characters straight away, but,despite a rather sudden and dramatic start of Shiva Advent, it took only about 10 minutes for it to flow all back, and it was nice to read these people in action again. As with the previous trilogy, it's clear at every turn that Van is a great lover of Marvel (and, in at least one instance, DC) comics, as the books are absolutely filled with references. I daresay hardly 3 or 4 chapters go by before another one pops out -- some are pretty obvious (Anna Maldini / Black Cat), others are more in the realm of trivia (Esro's "roller skates" or his new faceplate, for example), but they are all there for the fan to find.
Talking of the plot, as with the first trilogy there is always a lot going on at any time. I found some storylines to be incredibly interesting, especially Ultraa's past (at last! and what a surprise it turns out to be!), the Trimurti, Wolf (greatest character of these new books) and Vanadium's trial. Others left me a bit cold (Star Knight, Worldmind, Stellarax, Anna Maldini), and a couple I could have done without (the Blight, the Black Terror, Minerva and especially the Galactic Council, which came across just as unsufferable as I suppose it was meant to be.) I think it's safe to say I liked the character-driven plotlines more.
A few times I wished more than one consecutive chapter would be dealing with the same matter (especially in Shida Advent, not quite so much in Worldmind) and more than a few times I skipped a chapter or two to continue and then went back to see what I had missed. I think Shiva Advent gave me a feeling of being slightly dispersive at times, especially in the thick of action, with little progress in most individual plotlines, but I suppose that it was inevitable, being the first of the trilogy.
Having said this, I really hope we won't have too many new plots popping out in "Stellarax" ^^'
Now to the characters. Quite a few new ones are introduced, and again I'll discuss them more in detail later, but I had a strong feeling that at one point Van had to face a problem of... overpopulation, we could say. In fact, out of the old group of heroes, only Esro, Mondrian and Pulsar really star in both new books. Ultraa is away, one way or the other, for most of the time in both books, Vanadium makes a welcome return in the second after being out during most of the first, and the poor Fury and Heavyweight are pretty much MIA.
This is both good and bad at times, but it serves the purpose of giving the spotlight to the new characters. However, it could prove to be a problem later on, when everyone will (hopefully) be reunited.
Going to the individual new characters, if I were to sort them by liking, from most to least, it would be
- Wolf: best new character for me. He is complex, self-righteous, selfish, arrogant, amoral and smart, but I also found him fascinating. I wouldn't classify him as either good or bad, he is... complex. He is sorry to be unable to return Ultraa's gem to him, gave away such a powerful item as the Trident for love and extends his hand to save Anna, while at the same time giving the impression he would be happy to sell his own mother if it could prove useful. And I really like his speech pattern, very refined.
- Shiva: great look and cool powers, but perhaps a bit lacking in personality. I think Van uses him a bit as Ultraa's replacement in the group, so they would always have a strongman with them, but at the same time has to face the problem of having to make him very distinct from Ultraa, so that they don't come across as photocopies. It certainly works, and the silent, brooding type is always interesting, but I hope we will discover more of him later on, as he adapts to his new role.
- Star Night: the rookie is always fun to read, but I found his armour to be the most interesting thing. I really liked how the screens and displays react to his thoughts and even switch from visual to mental in the heat of battle, very clever.
- Anna Maldini: I didn't like her in S.A. but enjoyed her a bit more in Worldmind, although if she were to suddenly die I don't think I'd miss her. She is the Black Cat with opposite powers and doesn't seem the smartest of persons as she is unaware of them whereas Esro and Wolf figure them out in 5 minutes (and why does she steal if she is so lucky, she could have won a few lotteries and be happy). The most interesting thing is that Kabaraak can't see her, hopefully it means there are a few surprises to come that way.
Regarding the old characters, Esro is quickly becoming my favourite, smart and funny. Ultraa and Vanadium are close seconds, they both make some really impressive speeches at one point, and Vanadium in particular is almost moving when he decides to go back and face his trial.
Mondrian has one or two nice moments, while Lin is starting to become my least favourite original Sentinel.
I didn't mind her in the original trilogy, but now... it's almost like too much effort is being put in making her likeable, and it's backfiring... we have Wolf thinking how smart she is, Kabaraak determining she is the second best thing after Ultraa (!), everyone depending on her once or twice, what came across as a tiny, little hint of potential romance from Star Knight, and she always seems to take just so much narrative space. At one point I hoped she would end up in a coma for a book or two ^^ or simply leave the spotlight to the others more.
Besides Lin, the only other thing I wasn't too crazy about were the enemies throughout the two books. It's almost inevitable that cosmic menaces don't have sparkling personalities, and this was no exception. The Blight is... well... foam. You can fear it, respect it, but as it is it's not something you look forward to read, it doesn't have any personality, more or less like the Xorex. Vanguard was emotional to the point of irrational, and seemed to spend an awful long time complaining about one thing or the other, but, when push came to shove, deprived of the element of surprise he didn't seem able to live up to his reputation. Worldmind was a bit like the Blight, no real personality detectable other than the occasional moment of annoyance or anger, and he also didn't seem the smartest of cosmic guys, being infected by the Blight and not even realizing.
The Little Gray Man was there only a quarter of the time of the others, but, IMO, outshone them all by far.
But none of them was comparable to the good old Warlord... it's a bit like in comics, you have the Egos and the Galactuses, the Celestials and the Beyonders, but at the end of the day it's Doom or Kang or Ultron who's everyone favourites. Less power but far greater carisma and personality. The Black Terror looks promising though, I'm curious to see what will become of him.
What else... internal art was good, cover art was absolutely fantastic (albeit not too faithful to the descriptions given in the book). And, put side by side, the covers make a larger picture! I'm looking forward to the third now!
So, all in all, so far I slightly prefer the original trilogy, but still two very very enjoyable books. I'm looking forward to Stellarax (when will it be out?) and would definitely recommend them to everyone enjoying superheroes and space adventures!
First thing first, I loved them both! It had been a while since the last book so I didn't remember all characters straight away, but,despite a rather sudden and dramatic start of Shiva Advent, it took only about 10 minutes for it to flow all back, and it was nice to read these people in action again. As with the previous trilogy, it's clear at every turn that Van is a great lover of Marvel (and, in at least one instance, DC) comics, as the books are absolutely filled with references. I daresay hardly 3 or 4 chapters go by before another one pops out -- some are pretty obvious (Anna Maldini / Black Cat), others are more in the realm of trivia (Esro's "roller skates" or his new faceplate, for example), but they are all there for the fan to find.
Talking of the plot, as with the first trilogy there is always a lot going on at any time. I found some storylines to be incredibly interesting, especially Ultraa's past (at last! and what a surprise it turns out to be!), the Trimurti, Wolf (greatest character of these new books) and Vanadium's trial. Others left me a bit cold (Star Knight, Worldmind, Stellarax, Anna Maldini), and a couple I could have done without (the Blight, the Black Terror, Minerva and especially the Galactic Council, which came across just as unsufferable as I suppose it was meant to be.) I think it's safe to say I liked the character-driven plotlines more.
A few times I wished more than one consecutive chapter would be dealing with the same matter (especially in Shida Advent, not quite so much in Worldmind) and more than a few times I skipped a chapter or two to continue and then went back to see what I had missed. I think Shiva Advent gave me a feeling of being slightly dispersive at times, especially in the thick of action, with little progress in most individual plotlines, but I suppose that it was inevitable, being the first of the trilogy.
Having said this, I really hope we won't have too many new plots popping out in "Stellarax" ^^'
Now to the characters. Quite a few new ones are introduced, and again I'll discuss them more in detail later, but I had a strong feeling that at one point Van had to face a problem of... overpopulation, we could say. In fact, out of the old group of heroes, only Esro, Mondrian and Pulsar really star in both new books. Ultraa is away, one way or the other, for most of the time in both books, Vanadium makes a welcome return in the second after being out during most of the first, and the poor Fury and Heavyweight are pretty much MIA.
This is both good and bad at times, but it serves the purpose of giving the spotlight to the new characters. However, it could prove to be a problem later on, when everyone will (hopefully) be reunited.
Going to the individual new characters, if I were to sort them by liking, from most to least, it would be
- Wolf: best new character for me. He is complex, self-righteous, selfish, arrogant, amoral and smart, but I also found him fascinating. I wouldn't classify him as either good or bad, he is... complex. He is sorry to be unable to return Ultraa's gem to him, gave away such a powerful item as the Trident for love and extends his hand to save Anna, while at the same time giving the impression he would be happy to sell his own mother if it could prove useful. And I really like his speech pattern, very refined.
- Shiva: great look and cool powers, but perhaps a bit lacking in personality. I think Van uses him a bit as Ultraa's replacement in the group, so they would always have a strongman with them, but at the same time has to face the problem of having to make him very distinct from Ultraa, so that they don't come across as photocopies. It certainly works, and the silent, brooding type is always interesting, but I hope we will discover more of him later on, as he adapts to his new role.
- Star Night: the rookie is always fun to read, but I found his armour to be the most interesting thing. I really liked how the screens and displays react to his thoughts and even switch from visual to mental in the heat of battle, very clever.
- Anna Maldini: I didn't like her in S.A. but enjoyed her a bit more in Worldmind, although if she were to suddenly die I don't think I'd miss her. She is the Black Cat with opposite powers and doesn't seem the smartest of persons as she is unaware of them whereas Esro and Wolf figure them out in 5 minutes (and why does she steal if she is so lucky, she could have won a few lotteries and be happy). The most interesting thing is that Kabaraak can't see her, hopefully it means there are a few surprises to come that way.
Regarding the old characters, Esro is quickly becoming my favourite, smart and funny. Ultraa and Vanadium are close seconds, they both make some really impressive speeches at one point, and Vanadium in particular is almost moving when he decides to go back and face his trial.
Mondrian has one or two nice moments, while Lin is starting to become my least favourite original Sentinel.
I didn't mind her in the original trilogy, but now... it's almost like too much effort is being put in making her likeable, and it's backfiring... we have Wolf thinking how smart she is, Kabaraak determining she is the second best thing after Ultraa (!), everyone depending on her once or twice, what came across as a tiny, little hint of potential romance from Star Knight, and she always seems to take just so much narrative space. At one point I hoped she would end up in a coma for a book or two ^^ or simply leave the spotlight to the others more.Besides Lin, the only other thing I wasn't too crazy about were the enemies throughout the two books. It's almost inevitable that cosmic menaces don't have sparkling personalities, and this was no exception. The Blight is... well... foam. You can fear it, respect it, but as it is it's not something you look forward to read, it doesn't have any personality, more or less like the Xorex. Vanguard was emotional to the point of irrational, and seemed to spend an awful long time complaining about one thing or the other, but, when push came to shove, deprived of the element of surprise he didn't seem able to live up to his reputation. Worldmind was a bit like the Blight, no real personality detectable other than the occasional moment of annoyance or anger, and he also didn't seem the smartest of cosmic guys, being infected by the Blight and not even realizing.
The Little Gray Man was there only a quarter of the time of the others, but, IMO, outshone them all by far.
But none of them was comparable to the good old Warlord... it's a bit like in comics, you have the Egos and the Galactuses, the Celestials and the Beyonders, but at the end of the day it's Doom or Kang or Ultron who's everyone favourites. Less power but far greater carisma and personality. The Black Terror looks promising though, I'm curious to see what will become of him.
What else... internal art was good, cover art was absolutely fantastic (albeit not too faithful to the descriptions given in the book). And, put side by side, the covers make a larger picture! I'm looking forward to the third now!
So, all in all, so far I slightly prefer the original trilogy, but still two very very enjoyable books. I'm looking forward to Stellarax (when will it be out?) and would definitely recommend them to everyone enjoying superheroes and space adventures!
It should be out maybe in the spring.