“I’m geekin’ out here!”
-Syndrome, The Incredible’s
(And now you know.)

In this age of the endless hyperlinks, and a culture truly ruled by fans I find my self in wonder at the powers of the new god, the Internet. I’m not even sure how to explain what I mean by that.(Best example, Harry Potter.)

I picked up a copy of Frank Beddor’s The Looking Glass Wars knowing nothing about it but that it was an Alice in Wonderland parody. I read the novel and found it fascinating, an imaginative and interesting take and twist on the whole story from beginning to end. And because of that I found it almost totally unsatisfying. Beddor didn’t go deep enough for me, and deeper only takes a few more words, a few more sentences to please me. The action was high and kept building with a pace and ingenious that I find envious. The ending however was dissatisfying, it was rushed and the lack of explanation, and detail was so glaring I found it even harder to enjoy the story. However this disjunction between reality and imagination that Beddor portrays in Alyss’s world (that seems to be very purposeful) goes just a little too far for me. As gaps open in the narrative we try hard to stay on the same page with him, it’s obvious he’s brilliant, however writing the equivalent of the statement “like, you know, with the thing!” is less so. As the story went on I felt like begging the author for more, more description, a tighter narrative. I understand and like the placement and use of some of these gaps but some seem just so glaring that it became difficult to continue to read. I feel as though the author didn’t do his own vision justice.

Come to find out, that apparently there are other books to go with this one, one after the end of the current narrative, one for Hatter alone, and a card game. It seems people that like to fill in the gaps and I’m just greedy.

A friend directed me to the website, where I’ve discovered music inspired by the book, and a movie in the making. Is this a normal practice I was not aware of? Writing books that are in and of themselves teasers, addictive, artful trailers to merchandise; a lure to bring you into the world the writer has made so that you will stay awhile? I don’t know how I feel about that. This doesn’t seem to be malicious, but I don’t know how I feel about the change in media and approach to story telling that this seems to represent.

Looking into Frank Beddor himself, it seems he’s a producer/free style skier/veritable renaissance man, and the movie is entirely his own idea with help from friends and associates in the industry. Well that all makes a little more sense now. I had wondered why it felt like I was reading the narrative of a film.

 

Why does everything need a card game? Who’s playing them all, really?

 

…..

 

I suppose understanding now that the whole thing is headed toward being a movie, it says more about the movie industry diversifying and trying to make a better connection with the reader/viewer and less about a globalized inability to appreciate subtlety and detail, or to pay attention that has become so grievous that everything has to make noise, have flashing lights, and read like someone made a narrative out of cliffnotes.

 

Still, this doesn’t explain the utter lack of originality in today’s mainstream media.

 

More on that later, I’m sure.