Dante can seem overwhelming. T.S. Eliot’s peremptory declaration that ‘Dante and Shakespeare divide the modern world between them: there is no third’ is more likely to be off-putting these days than inspiring. Shakespeare’s plays are constantly being staged and filmed, and in all sorts of ways, with big names in the big parts, and when we see them we can connect with the characters and the issues with not too much effort.
The post Why we should read Dante as well as Shakespeare appeared first on OUPblog.
Secret Wars is turning out to be the place where classic crossovers and stories are being revisited for our enjoyment. Today, Marvel added yet another country to its Battleworld map with INFERNO. The 1989 crossover will enter Secret Wars under the “Warzones!” tie-in banner. Inferno will be written by Avengers Arena writer Dennis Hopeless with art by Javier Garron.
The premise of the series analogs Marvel’s What If line; Inferno takes place in a version of reality where the X-Men weren’t triumphant against the demon hordes and Manhattan succumbed to being a permanent “Hell on Earth,” with readers joining the story five years after the fall of Manhattan. Colossus and a small group of mutant survivors embark on a mission to rescue his sister llyana Rasputin, but she definitely won’t be the one in need of rescuing.
With the forces of Limbo running roughshod over the Marvel Universe, readers can expect to see demonized versions of some of their favorite characters. Hopeless talked about some of the fun details he planned on bringing back from the original crossover. Among them were Goblin Queen Madelyne Prior, former New Mutant Boom Boom and a brainwashed Alex Summers.
No word was given on how long this series would run but Marvel did show off a gorgeous Adi Granov variant for the first issue.
What do you think of this latest Secret Wars announcement? Will you be checking it out or is there such a thing as too much Secret Wars?
“Ha!” you say. “Dan Brown is a hack. He doesn’t deserve his millions of followers.
He head hops, shows instead of tells, dumps info, layers the adverbs, and has clunky descriptions.”
All of that may be true, but he does several things that you should emulate to make your thriller thrilling.
1. Use the treasure hunt or bread crumb mystery skeleton.
2. Employ the chase.
3. Place your protagonist in danger.
3. Start the timer.
4. Include obscure historical facts and theories that intrigue your readers enough to want to know more about them.
5. Raise controversy. Nothing spawns sales like someone asking for your head.
6. Add a love interest.
7. Introduce an unusual protagonist.
I read Brown’s earlier books, Digital Fortress and Deception Point, before I read The Da Vinci Code. Both were solid suspense thrillers and I hope they make them into movies. As much as I love Langdon, the follow-up books have gotten progressively weaker. I keep reading them in the hopes of regaining that original thrill.
It was the controversy of The Da Vinci Code that made Brown headline news. However, controversy comes with risks. Be sure you can withstand the heat of the fires they set to roast you.
And, if you aren't willing to raise your level of craft, be prepared to be picked apart. Darling Dan is thumbing his nose all the way to the bank, but it wouldn't kill the guy to perfect his prose. Please, for the love of Fibonacci.
Looking for some hot releases for the first half of 2008? Publisher's Weekly has kindly compiled a list of titles scheduled for release up to the end of June. I myself am eagerly awaiting The Pigeon Wants by Mo Willems. Check out The Pigeon Wants a.....contest as well if you want to try and win a school visit from Mr. Willems himself! All those years working for Sesame Street have made the Pigeon website just about the most entertaining character site on the web.
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I think the only proper response is, “Thank you, Marvel!”
Inferno is still the gold standard of company-wide crossovers to me (for much more than simply for having my favorite in a starring role) and I’ve been hoping to see Hopeless back on an X-book.