Mare Somniorum

I’ve been reading “The mind’s I” and “Labyrinths” on and off for a while now, and as good as both works are, they’re just not the type of book you sit down and read until the end.  They both practically beg you to stop for a bit, think about that last bit, and contemplate yourself relative to what you’ve just read.  This is just dandy, but it leads to a confusing jumble of reading material on my desk.

So, to solve the problem, I picked up “Redemption Ark” by Alastair Reynolds with rather high expectations — and the intent of having something less surreal to read on the way to work in the mornings.  After reading a hundred odd pages in “Redemption Ark” all I can say is that Reynolds is quite the weaver.  Yes, the book does draw on “Revelation Space”, yes, it’s a good idea to have read it beforehand (the opposite order spoils things like who survive and such), but the concepts are new.  It’s not a rehash, a “Revelation Space” remade and refitted.  I have to admit I find the book really hard to put away.

So, “Stardust”. One of my favorite books becomes a movie. This could be bad — actually, this is usually bad. The novel is another of Gaimans masterpieces, a fable so well written one could mistake it from being a fairy tale from eons past, and then some. I loved the book when I read it. So yes, I was worried. There was so much magic, so many characters, so rich a world, so many details, how does a movie capture it faithfully?

Truth is, you don’t. You have to cut some corners. And to do that you have to understand the content. You have to realize what the story is about, how it works, why it works, and transfer those concepts onto the screen. There have been successful transfers like this (“Lord of the Rings” worked, “Sin City” was outstanding, to mention a few), but for every success there are probably a half-dozen failures. “Stardust” is solidly entrenched into the category of transfers that are successful. No ifs, no buts, no doubt. It works. It’s as magical as the book. And that, well, that is a feat.

Of course, the old saying that “the book was better” is true, in the sense that you’re comparing very different works.  I loved the book but I’ll readily admit to loving the movie as well.   Now, you don’t get as much Gaiman in the movie as you did in the book, for obvious reasons.  However, in the book, you don’t get De Niro in one of his best performances in years (“The Good Shepherd” aside), a Michelle Pfeiffer who’s rarely been better in recent memory, and Claire Danes who literally shines.   Actually, there isn’t a single weak link in the cast.  The smallest parts are played out exceedingly well, a rare experience in a picture, and yes, that means that the “lesser known” people do a fantastic job.

Is the book worth reading?  Yes.  Very much so.  Is the movie worth seeing?  Considering I’m getting myself a DVD, yeah, I’d say so.

Come on.
Walk with me.

My world,
my space,
my being,
my soul.

Walk with me.

I am fire,
I am ice,
I am life,
I am death.

Walk with me.

Quelled by the path,
fixed into destiny,
swallowed by the drummers beat,
walk with me.

Walk with me,
you will be all you can be.

Take my hand,
there is no other.

Walk with me.

For whence you came,
you will never return.
My hand is right here.
Walk with me.

I will be your companion,
on the long road.

My place is at your side.
Fate is what it always will be.

Come on.
Walk with me.