“Watchmen’s whodunit plot was not allowed to kick into gear until late in the day and climaxes with Ozymandias spouting Postmodern art theory in his snowbound eyrie (“phosphor-dot swirls juxtapose; meanings coalesce from semiotic chaos before reverting to incoherence”). Even that old windbag the Silver Surfer might have hung his head in shame.” As its twentieth anniversary approaches, Critic Tom Shone revisits The Watchmen for Slate. Frankly, the piece begins and ends as almost a parody of the too-frequent needlessly contrarian Slate article: “The Watchmen is not as good as you remember!” Next up: “Torture good, Ice Cream bad!” Still, it’s worth reading regardless.
Month: December 2005
Ravens Aflight.
By way of Cliopatria, the folks at Crooked Timber have held another online sci-fi symposium akin to their earlier one on China Mieville’s Iron Council. This time the subject is Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and the respondents include John Quiggin, Maria Farrell, Belle Waring, John Holbo, Henry Farrell, and — finally — Susanna Clarke.
A Troubled Sparrow.
Avast, ye scurvy dogs…The teaser for Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest is now online, and it looks in keeping with the spirit of the first.