The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf |
| Posted: 10 Nov 2012 11:15 PM PST This Walking Dead tie-in novel is fast-paced but its story is sorely lacking in ambition. The Walking Dead: The Road To Woodbury ZOMBIE novels are getting to be like the hordes of the undead, packed together like sardines on bookstore shelves, hungry for your cash and oblivious to, if not disdainful of, the vampire romances also jostling for shelf space. And more than a few of them stink. (Though given the choice between drivel that makes me imagine my brain being eaten, and drivel that will melt my brain and cause it to drip slowly out of my nose, I'll pick the flesh-eaters any day.) The Road To Woodbury is one such shambler, a tie-in novel that has showed up just in time for Season Three of The Walking Dead TV show. Timely, because it deals in large part with the series' arch-villain, The Governor, who just made his debut in the episode screened on Astro on Nov 4. Co-author Kirkman created the comic-book upon which the TV show is based, and this novel is closer to the comics' depiction of both the Governor and his town of Woodbury (they really put the "graphic" in "graphic novel"). For the uninitiated, The Walking Dead is the story of a small group of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. The TV show has just reached the point in the saga where they take refuge in a (largely) abandoned prison, while some of their number encounter the despotic Governor, who leads a well organised community of survivors in Woodbury. This novel is mostly the story of young Lilly Caul, a character who may be known to readers of the comic for pulling the trigger on a major character. Well, two characters actually ... but let's not get ahead of ourselves. When we meet Lilly, Woodbury is still some distance in her future and she is part of a large group of survivors trying to rally together into a community of sorts, just a few months after the start of the zombie outbreak. With all the death and slaughter in its pages, The Road To Woodbury is no better or worse than any other survivor's tale from this series. As such, don't expect too much in the way of substance and story. It's a pretty lightweight read, but the authors do well to keep the pace fast and the proceedings absorbing enough to make you keep turning the page – even if it's just to find out how much worse things can get. The book also springs numerous undead surprises on its characters, giving the reader a sense of unease throughout, no matter how safe or tranquil the setting of any given chapter may be. The most effective thing about The Road To Woodbury, just like almost everything else bearing the Walking Dead brand, lies not in its depictions of the carnage inflicted by the ravenous undead but its reminders of just how scary the living can be. It's not only the Governor with his collection of severed heads and a chained-up zombie daughter in his mansion; many other survivors are nasty people who think the breakdown of civilisation means there's no need to be human any more. When you compare the two sources of horror in the book, you will realise that nothing the zombies do is as repulsive as what the living do to each other – as the tagline for Season Three says, "Fight the dead, fear the living". Getting back to those crowded bookshelves, The Road To Woodbury is one of those books that could easily have been lost in the shuffle if not for the huge "The Walking Dead" emblazoned over its title. It's not a stinker, but it shows a distinct lack of ambition in choosing to just flesh out the backgrounds of existing characters instead of going off into uncharted territory and exploring a whole other part of the post-apocalyptic wasteland. If you really want to try something unusual as zombie stories go, check out The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell – it is everything that this one isn't, haunting and lyrical and capable of evoking a sense of beauty and wonder in a grim setting where such things shouldn't even exist. |
| Posted: 10 Nov 2012 11:14 PM PST IT'S Friday today, as I write this, and the last day of school. I think I'm as thrilled as my children are about not having to wake up at the crack of dawn on weekdays. However, I do know that many parents are dreading having their children at home 24/7 for close to two months: Oh, the noise! The whining! The mess! This morning I posted a photo on my Facebook page of my two younger ones in their school uniforms, with a caption about how happy we all were about the school holidays starting. A friend commented about how she was at a loss at what to do with her children during the break, and she asked for suggestions. I know enrichment centres do very well with their school holiday programmes because parents are desperate to get their kids out of their hair, but they're not cheap and I feel sorry for some of these kids who are practically forced to attend extra classes. When I was a kid, I spent my holidays lazing about, playing with friends, and reading loads. Thank goodness parents back then didn't think it necessary for their children to be mentally stimulated all the time. I like the idea of children amusing themselves during the holidays. I realise that some kids will choose to stay in bed all day, or in front of the telly, or computer. I'm not sure if that's such a bad thing, actually, but that's a discussion for another time and another place. I'm fortunate that I live in a low-rise condominium with plenty of open spaces. There are trees, grass, a playground, a pool, and friends and frenemies, so my children aren't trapped in a concrete tower, or behind a padlocked gate. I love the fact that they can play outside with other kids their age. While they love watching TV and playing computer games, I think they do less of those activities because they have the option of hanging out outdoors and don't have to rely on an adult to make it happen – as they would if they had to go to a park for their outdoor fix. Anyway, as this is a column about books, here are four book-related school holiday activities for children to do, with or without their parents: > Get your kids to organise your or their own (or the whole family's) book collection. This can take the whole holiday depending on what you mean by "organise". It might just mean giving the books a dust and wipe-down. It might mean sorting out the books into "must keep" and "for charity" piles. It might mean arranging the books in whatever order is the preferred family style (alphabetical by author's surname? Genre? Colour of spine?). It might mean actually cataloguing the books using some sort of computer programme or website (Excel, Good Reads, etc) or in a notebook. > Challenge your children to organise a book drive for charity. They can start by identifying a specific centre, school or organisation to benefit from the drive. They should then find out what kinds of books are needed. They can do this by speaking to staff at the place. Next, decide on whom to appeal to. Just family and friends? Neighbourhood? Advertise accordingly, on Facebook or just by word of mouth. Collect the books, sort them, pack them, and deliver. This might be the start of a regular school holiday activity. > Suggest that your children create a scrap book about a topic of their choice. Allow them access to the Internet so they can do research. Encourage them to refer to newspapers and magazines, or to interview people for their information. Offer a monetary reward for the finished product – perhaps a different sum depending on how much research was done and how the scrap book is put together. > Plan a reading list with your children. Offer a reward for every book read (money, a treat, etc). Perhaps you can choose titles according to theme. Or choose books that have been made into films and plan to read the books and then watch the films as a family activity. I'm actually quite impressed with the list I've come up with and may try to propose some of the activities to my own kids. If you have any bright ideas of your own, do share them at star2@thestar.com.my. Happy Reading and Happy Holidays! Daphne Lee reads to wonder and wander, be amazed and amused, horrified and heartened and inspired and comforted. She wishes more people will try it too. Send e-mails to the above address and check out her blog at daphne.blogs.com/books. |
| Posted: 10 Nov 2012 11:10 PM PST FOR the week ending Nov 4, 2012: Non-fiction 1. Another Forgotten Child by Cathy Glass 2. Unstoppable: The Incredible Power Of Faith In Action by Nick Vujicic 3. The Power Of X Qualifying The 10 Gods by Joey Yap 4. Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started (100% Official) by Justin Bieber 5. Guinness World Records 2013 by Guinness World Records Ltd 6. Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo & Lynn Vincent 7. The Power Of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy 8. A World Without Islam by Graham E. Fuller 9. I Declare: 31 Promises To Speak Over Your Life by Joel Osteen 10. Steven Gerrard: My Liverpool Story by Steven Gerrard Fiction 1. Fifty Shades Of Grey by E.L. James 2. The Sins Of The Father by Jeffrey Archer 3. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling 4. Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda 5. Life Of Pi by Yann Martel 6. The Garden Of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng 7. Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult 8. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire 9. The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom 10. One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern Weekly list compiled by MPH Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur; www.mphonline.com. |
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