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Sunday, August 31, 2008

In At the Death

And so Harry Turtledove's great American counterfactual history epic ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper. I finished reading In At the Death and this book really drove home why Turtledove is both the best at counterfactual history stories and why he needs to scale it back a little.

For those of you unfamiliar with Turtledove's work, he specializes in counterfactual tales. That means that he rewrites history and then runs out the new timeline to its obvious (or not so obvious) conclusion.

In this case, Turtledove started about a dozen books ago with an intriguing (if overdone) premise: what if the Confederate States of America won the Civil War? How would the North American continent develop if it contained two countries, both of which calling themselves Americans? Turtledove then asked an even more interesting question: what if, in World War I, the North sided with the Germans and the South sided with England and France?

That series led into another, where the South finds themselves on the losing side and beaten pretty badly. As a result, a die-hard racist named Jake Featherstone ascends to power at the head of a political body known as the Freedom Party. Jake blames both the U.S. and the African American population for the C.S.A.'s defeat and he aims to make them both pay. The parallels to Hitler and the Nazis are very obvious.

In At the Death is the conclusion of Turtledove's alternate history of World War II. The Confederates are on the run after failing to cut the U.S. in half. The U.S. has discovered the C.S.A's concentration camps. Both sides are struggling to perfect a new type of weapon called "the uranium bomb." Whoever gets there first might just have a leg up and could win the war. But who will it be?

Sounds like a lot of fun, right? Sadly, Turtledove collapses in the telling.

For starters, we have the sheer bulk of characters. While Turtledove didn't exactly develop a cast of hundreds for his story, he came pretty close. There are so many people to keep track of that oftentimes, I didn't have a clue who I was reading about. Not at first, anyway. And since there are so many of them, you had to get used to Turtledove's pattern. He'd spend three or four pages on a character, describing what they're going through, before jumping to someone else. You'd have to wait three or four very long chapters before he'd come back to that character.

What also makes this frustrating is that the characters sound very much alike. Sure, there are some differences. Jefferson Pinkard has a distinct way of talking, one that sets him apart from a guy named Clarence Potter. The African American characters have their own dialect. But the characters aren't that distinct from each other. Sure, they have different backgrounds, but so what? There are simply too many of them.

Not only that, but Turtledove's writing got repetitious on more than on occasion. For example, two characters are put on trial for war crimes toward the end of the book. Turtledove starts out both accounts with the accused calling it a "kangaroo court." Same phrase for both characters. That may seem minor, but that's only one example out of many.

And finally, as things wound down, Turtledove had to abandon some plotlines. In the previous books, the U.S.A. has had to deal with Mormon terrorists in Utah and a rebellious Canada. Yet there's little to no mention of these major plots in this, the final book. It's almost as if we're expected to believe that these two troublemaking areas finally settled down.

Does this mean that I wouldn't come back if Turtledove wrote another book? No, I'm not saying that at all. He's still excellent at what he does, and he left enough questions unanswered that I'd be interesting to see what his version of post-World War II America would look like. I'll just have to take better notes, I guess.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

CSFF Blog Tour: Broken Angel Day 3


I suppose it’s ironic that I think what Brouwer has to say about government in Broken Angel will drum up more controversy than the choice of his heroine, namely Caitlyn. Once again, there will be some spoilers here, so consider yourself fairly warned.

Like I said two days ago, Caitlyn is an unusual girl. Thanks to genetic manipulation, performed "Outside," she’s not truly human. She’s a hybrid, human and bird at the same time. At one point, Brouwer comments that this was only possible because no one was "Outside" to object to the morals of experimenting on a human’s DNA.

This is pretty much in line with what Christians teach about genetic manipulation. It’s never considered a good thing to mess with God’s creation in such a way. But that just brings up the question: how much manipulation is bad? Is any amount acceptable?

Obviously giving a girl wings is a bit over the top, so let’s dial back the potential outrage factor a bit. Suppose some day, scientists discover a way to genetically manipulate a fetus to eliminate a horrific condition like Tay Sachs. Would that be acceptable? How about altering a child’s DNA to make sure it has the "correct" eye or hair color? Or to make him smarter or more athletic?

If we oppose genetic manipulation since it changes God’s creation, then does that apply to cosmetic surgery? If we can’t change a child’s appearance before she’s born, why can she change her appearance through breast implants, collagen injections, or botox? Or on a simpler level, what about hair dye or simple make-up? And it’s an issue for men too, with dyes that take away gray hair.

Now maybe I’m being a little ridiculous with that final example, but I went to those lengths to show a great strength of speculative fiction in general. I’ve said this before, but speculative fiction, such as Broken Angel, allows us to dive into uncharted territory and wrestle with issues before they present themselves in reality. Caitlyn, with her wings, makes us ask ourselves, "How far is too far?" Rather than present a knee-jerk reaction, it’s best for us to sit down and genuinely think through the issue. If it’s bad, why is it bad? Where do the lines fall? Through speculative fiction, we can do our best to figure it out.

Go and see what the other tour participants have had to say:


Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Mark Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Katie Hart
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Magma
Margaret
Shannon McNear
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Sean Slagle
James Somers
Donna Swanson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Laura Williams

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

CSFF Blog Tour: Broken Angel Day 2


About halfway through Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer, I set the book aside and commented to myself, "Someone’s obviously been reading his Gregory Boyd."

For those who haven’t read this month’s book, you may want to stop reading. I don’t know how much of what I’m about to explain will ruin the plot, but just to be on the safe side. As I said yesterday, the book is set in the near future in a totalitarian theocracy called Appalachia. The citizens are kept illiterate and are monitored at all time through devices they’re forced to carry called vidpods. No one is allowed to own a book, not even an audio version of the Bible. Punishment for violating Appalachia’s laws is severe, namely stoning. It’s a harsh life, the depiction of which is bound to make many Christian readers uncomfortable.

What amplifies that discomfort is the fact that those who wish to escape Appalachia want to get to what’s called "Outside." In Outside, there doesn’t seem to be a church of any kind. There are no morals restraining their actions. And yet, it’s this God-less society that so many people consider a better alternative to Appalachia’s religious atmosphere.

It’s a very dark picture that Brouwer paints. Would a modern theocracy be so bleak?
I happen to think it would, mostly because it’s a confusion of God’s two kingdoms, a mixing that isn’t beneficial to either.

This is an idea that Martin Luther played around with during the Reformation. Luther taught that God has two kingdoms, the kingdom of the right hand and the kingdom of the left hand. The kingdom of the right is the Christian Church and is founded on grace. This is the kingdom that Jesus speaks of to Pilate in John 18:36 when He says that His kingdom is not of this world. It is a kingdom of grace, forgiveness, and faith.

The kingdom of the left hand are the governments of the world. It is the way that God governs the rest of humanity, by working through the authorities of this world. Paul talks about this in Romans 13:1-7, where he tells the Romans, "there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God." It is a kingdom of law, meant to curb the evil that human beings often engage in.

It was Luther’s contention that the two kingdoms should not mix because they will either dilute or taint each other. A government ruled by true Christian forgiveness would be too lax in administering the law, which would only lead to chaos. A Church involved in the administering of laws could easily tip toward legalism and forget about grace. In short, the Church should never wield the sword of government. Luther even went so far as saying that it would be better to be "ruled by a good Turk than a bad Christian prince." (And remember, the Holy Roman Empire was facing an invasion by the Turks when he said that!)

Gregory Boyd, in his book The Myth of a Christian Nation, expands on this theme. It’s a book that I think all modern Christians should read. He points out that Christ didn’t ask for us to spread his kingdom through political means. Instead, it’s better for Christians to work as servants where they are. He details a number of reasons why this mixing of the two kingdoms is such a bad idea. The most persuasive to me is that the sins of "Christian" government can easily be laid at the feet of the Church. For example, by calling America a Christian nation, Christianity’s critics can blame such debacles as slavery, racism, or eugenics on Christian teaching, even though such things aren’t compatible with the faith.

Brouwer’s setting for Broken Angel is, I think, a natural outgrowth of what Luther and Boyd wrote about. In this dystopian theocracy, the politically active Christians finally get sick and tired of being marginalized and ignored. So they take their ball and go home, so to speak. They set up shop behind a high wall, set up an economy based on cheap labor and selling carbon emission credits (a very cool touch, I thought), and enforce their version of Christianity, harsh and legalistic.

It’s a cautionary tale, one I think more American Christians should consider. Christ never called on His followers to force anyone into His kingdom or coerce their behavior through political means. Christ’s true kingdom is one of service, not swords.

Agree? Disagree? Either way’s fine. But Brouwer’s book is good food for thought, as is Luther’s teaching and Boyd’s book. If nothing else, it’s something that all Christians should at least consider ... especially during an election year.

Go see what the others think of Brouwer’s book:


Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Mark Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Katie Hart
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Magma
Margaret
Shannon McNear
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Sean Slagle
James Somers
Donna Swanson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Laura Williams

Monday, August 25, 2008

ACFW Advance Scout Week 1: The trip to the Conference and what to do

Hello, fellow ACFW-ers! Some of you know me, some of you don’t. I’m John Otte, a speculative fiction author and I’ll be attending the ACFW conference in a little over a month. As you all know, it’s being held in Minneapolis this year.

Many ACFW-ers are doing conference prep in their blogs, discussing pitching, one sheets, conference etiquette, and so on. Well, the conference is being held just 20 miles from my home. I thought it might be fun to be an advance scout for all of you. This is the first of four "scouting reports," a sort of unofficial orientation to Minneapolis and its environs. I hope to post one each week on Monday night until the week of the conference.

Let’s start with something that I’m sure is on many of your minds.

The Weather -

Many of you have probably heard stories about Minnesota’s weather, especially our winters. This is because when you come right down to it, Minnesota only has two seasons, namely "road construction" and "winter." But luckily for all of you, you’re coming in September. That’s a very pleasant time of year, with temperatures hovering right above freezing. It’s also the time of the annual polar bear migration. If you have time, be sure to check that out. It’s a really impressive sight.




A picture from last year's migration


I’m kidding, of course. The temperatures average around 70 degrees for a high with a low of 50 degrees or so. It did get down to 33 degrees 17 years ago, but that probably won’t happen this year. Of course, we’re also going to be spending a lot of time in the hotel, so you won’t have to worry too much about the outside weather.

Many of you will arrive at the Minneapolis International Airport. I thought you might like a brief tour of what you might see on your way from the airport to the hotel.

My guess is that the hotel shuttle or taxi you’ll take will go along 494. If so, pay attention on the left. You’ll drive right by the Mall of America. I won’t go into too much detail about that now; come back next week and the week after for more details.

The trip will probably take you at least ten minutes depending on when you arrive. If you have the misfortune of making this trip during rush hour, it might be longer. The reason why is our next landmark, namely the corporate headquarters for Best Buy.


This impressive building sits close to where 494 hooks up with I-35W. You might even be able to spot it as you’re coming in for a landing. Consider it a sort of architectural rorschach test. What you see in these buildings might tell you a lot about yourself. For example, those with a more historical or nautical bent might see three ships. If you’re a sci-fi fan like me, you’ll see Jawa sandcrawlers.



Whatever this campus looks like, it’s the cause of delays during rush hour. When the Best Buy corporate employees are loosed, they snarl up the traffic. That, plus the intersection of two major freeways, always means traffic congestion. So if you have the misfortune of trying to drive by during rush hour, expect to crawl for a while.

But the Best Buy buildings also mark where you’ll see our hotel for the first time. As you come up a small hill, if you look out the front of the car, you’ll see the Sheraton in the distance. There it is! Your journey to the conference is almost at an end!



That is the hotel. Really!


But based on some of the threads in the forums, it would appear that some of you are car pooling. That’s great! If you’re coming in on I-35 or coming from the west on I-90, might I suggest two landmarks to visit?

The first is about 35 miles west of where I-35 and I-90 intersect. In a small town called Blue Earth, there is a 55-foot tall statue of the Jolly Green Giant. Stop by and have your picture taken with it.


The second is 20 miles to the east of the same intersection. In the town of Austin, we have the Spam Museum. I’ve never been myself, but I hear it’s pretty entertaining.



Either of these might be a little out of your way, but hey, when’s the next time you’ll be in the Land of 10,000 Lakes?

Tonight I also want to make a few suggestions for those of you who might be traveling with spouses or children. If your spouse or offspring are not participating in the conference, they may be looking for some things to do in the area. What follows is an incomplete list of attractions in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area:

1) The Mall of America -


The hotel has a shuttle to the Mall (more on that in two weeks). There’s a lot of stuff to do at the Mall, but again, I’ll talk about that in two weeks. Just to get you salivating a little earlier, I offer seven little words: No sales tax on clothing in Minnesota.

2) The Minnesota Zoo or Como Zoo -

The Twin Cities offers two zoos. Como Zoo is free to the public and has a pretty good selection of animals. Como also has a conservatory (also free) and an amusement park for littler kids (not free).

The Minnesota Zoo is a bit pricey, but it includes a brand new exhibit about animals from Russia. They also have dolphin shows and a monorail that takes you through the exhibits.

3) The Minnesota Renaissance Festival -

This isn’t that far from the hotel. If you like people dressed in period costumes and medieval shows and crafts, this is for you. Sadly, one of the best acts at RenFest is incomplete now. "Snot" of "Puke and Snot" died recently.

4) Museums -

We have a number of cool museums in the Twin Cities:

The Walker Art Center - Just what it sounds like. It’s an art museum. And it’s been a while since I’ve been there, so I couldn’t tell you what they have. Sorry.

The Science Museum of Minnesota - This is really cool. They will have a CSI-themed exhibit, along with a number of dinosaur fossils, a museum of medical hoaxes, among other things (including an Egyptian mummy!).

The Minnesota Children’s Museum - While geared for younger kids, this is a fun venue with lots of activities that trick kids into learning.

The Minnesota History Center - I’ve never been here but I hear it’s cool.


5) The Water Park of America -

If your family gets sick of the hotel’s pool, have them head on over to this water park within a stone’s throw of the Mall of America (hence the name). This facility has large water slides and a number of other fun water-related rides. While it’s connected to a hotel, it is open to the public (but definitely not for free).

6) Comedy Sportz -

This is a high energy, family friendly improv comedy troupe. If you’ve ever seen "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", you’ll like their show. Only they’re live and they don’t have the luxury of editing out the non-funny jokes.

So there are just a few ideas of what non-conference family members can do. It’s not a comprehensive list (obviously). If you want more ideas, head on over to the Explore Minnesota website. You’ll find all you need there.

That’s it for this week. Next week, we’ll talk about the hotel itself and the meal options for Friday night. In the meantime, if you have any questions about Minnesota or the Twin Cities, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.

See you in a month!

A Most Portentious Day:

Happy birthday, Isaiah!

CSFF Blog Tour: Broken Angel Day 1



This month, the blog tour looks at Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer.

Set in the not-too-distant future, the story follows the frantic flight of Caitlyn, a young girl trying to escape from Appalachia, a splinter nation from the former United States of America. She’s being hunted by Mason Lee, an infamous and vicious bounty hunter, and Carson Pierce, an agent from Outside. Her only hope of escape is to find the Clan, a mysterious group who can get her beyond the walls of Appalachia. But why does everyone want Caitlyn? And what secret does she harbor?

The book itself is a fast-paced, exciting ride. It’s a short read, which helps ratchet up the tension. Part of the fun for me was reading about this theocratic dystopia and how it developed. That, in and of itself, makes this a worthy read if, for no other reason, to provoke some serious thought and discussion amongst politically minded Christians (but more on this tomorrow).

I do have a gripe with this book and it has to do with the main character, namely Caitlyn. Caitlyn is an unusual girl. She’s slender in build and bone. She’s hairier than most girls. She’s very strong. And she has an unusual lump on her back. Don’t worry about spoilers. All of that comes out in the first several pages.

There’s a mystery about Caitlyn. Or at least, there’s supposed to be. But if you’re paying attention to the title and one sentence in the earlier part of the book, you can figure out what the mystery is. That’s especially true if you’ve got even a passing familiarity with the X-Men. I figured out Caitlyn’s secret almost before I started reading. In the story, though, Brouwer doesn’t reveal the secret until what should be a climactic moment. But because I had it figured out, it came off more as an anticlimax. There was no tension. I knew how Caitlyn would get out of the situation already.

But like I said, that’s a minor issue. If you’re looking for a fun adventure, set in a thought-provoking setting, this is a book you can’t miss.

Be sure to check out what the other blog tour participants have to say about it. I know I’ll be paying attention:

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Mark Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Katie Hart
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Magma
Margaret
Shannon McNear
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Sean Slagle
James Somers
Donna Swanson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Laura Williams

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Twilight



I just don't get the hype.

Maybe it's because I'm the wrong gender and twice as old as Stephanie Meyer's target audience, but I just don't understand why people are so excited about Twilight.

Part of the problem is the slow start with Bella wondering who Edward is. Duh, he's a vampire. Says so on the back of the book. Maybe the original edition didn't include the tripartite dilemma Bella faces, but the one I read did. As a result, I was getting more and more frustrated as I waited for Bella to figure it all out.

A major problem with the book is craft. I kept running over point-of-view problems as well as poorly crafted sentences. The story itself was interesting. Meyer certainly reworked the vampire lore in an interesting way. And she set up the dilemmas that Bella and Edward will face in the rest of the books well. But to me, the story didn't get interesting or exciting until I was 300 pages in.

Again, it might be a gender or age issue, but this wasn't for me. Clearly.

On the plus side, this did make me hungry (or thirsty?) for John Olson's upcoming book, Shade.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Wicked

Earlier today, I finally finished Wicked by Gregory Maguire. This one has been in my "to be read" stack for a while now. Other books would routinely usurp its place, slowly creeping up the pile and keeping this one on the bottom. In many ways, the book's situation reminds me of Elphaba, the heroine.

After finally finishing it off, I can honestly say, it could have stayed on the bottom of the stack permanently. I know that many people love this book. I know it spawned a musical. Doesn't matter. I had to force myself to keep reading more than once.

For those who are unfamiliar with the story, Maguire recasts the familiar story of "The Wizard of Oz" and tells it from Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West's point of view. She is now the heroine with Glinda, the Wizard, and even Dorothy as the "bad guys," so to speak. He traces Elphaba's childhood as the daughter of a unionist minister, her academic career with Glinda as her roommate, her days as part of the underground, and so on. Some of the subplots and characters were memorable. I particularly liked Boq, the diminutive Munchkinlander with a serious crush on Glinda.

But I just couldn't enjoy myself. Part of it was Maguire's voice. I couldn't stand it. I can't put my finger on it, but I had this feeling that Maguire thinks he's more clever than he actually is.

Another major problem I have is that Maguire really didn't mesh this story with the source material that well. At least, I didn't think he did. When you're creating a story like this, I think it's imperative to work around what's already been established. Maguire didn't, not as well as he could have. I'm all for taking a familiar story and setting it on its ear (the best example of this is how, in two short sentences, Timothy Zahn was able to recast the entire Star Wars saga with Palpatine as the hero in Outbound Flight). But Maguire seemed to just take the familiar characters, keep a rough outline of the original, and then did his own thing.

And finally, I had a hard time swallowing Maguire's obsession with all things sexual. Too much. That's my opinion, but there you go.

Monday, August 11, 2008

I've been tagged!

I was tagged a while ago and I've been a bit lazy .... er, distracted to actually follow through on this. Blog Tour Overlord Rebecca Luella Miller came up with a new blog-tagging game. Her rules are below:


I’m going to list five MUST Read novels and five Keep Your Eyes on These
novels, then tag five bloggers who I’m asking to post my lists on their site.
They may then add one book to each list but must also subtract one book. Finally
they should tag five other bloggers, link here at A Christian Worldview of
Fiction, and comment to this post so visitors here know to check out how they
may have changed the list.

If you aren’t tagged but want to play, copy the how-to paragraph above,
make your own list of MUST Reads and Keep Your Eyes on These, and tag away. It
will be fun to see if we can generate some book wars … uh, I mean, discussions …
good, healthy, respectful discussions! ;-)


So here are the lists as I received them. I've highlighted my changes in red.

My five MUST Reads:
Demon: a Memoir by Tosca Lee (NavPress)
Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer (WaterBrook)
To Dance in the Desert by Kathleen Popa (Cook Communications)
Children in the Night by Harold Myra (Zondervan)
The Restorer by Sharon Hinck (NavPress)

My five Keep Your Eyes On These:
Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead (Thomas Nelson)
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (WaterBrook)
Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet (WaterBrook)
Winter Haven by Athol Dickson (Bethany House)
Hero, Second Class by Mitchell Bonds (Marcher Lord Press)

My rationale:
Children in the Night was one of the first CSFF books I ever read and masterfully utilizes the symbolism of light and darkness. Myra's world, one where light simply does not exist, is well crafted and believable. I would have listed the sequel, The Shining Face, but you really have to read the first book first.


While Hero, Second Class hasn't been published yet, I think that, based on the description on Marcher Lord's website, it's going to be a wild, fun ride. Just the kind of story I enjoy reading.


So there we go. There's the list with my changes. And as for who I'm going to tag:


Sharon Hinck
Mir
D.G.D. Davidson
Christopher Hopper
Tim @ Fantasythyme


If they've already been tagged, well, I guess that's just my dumb luck. But there you go.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Star Wars: The Clone Wars


Thanks to my young son, I was given the chance to attend a special advance screening of Star Wars: The Clone Wars this morning. My understanding is that this movie will be spun-off into a cartoon sometime in the not-too-distant future.
As movies go, there are lots of battles, lots of explosions, and a few lightsaber fights. None of them were as good as the Maul vs. Kenobi & Jinn in Episode I or Anakin vs. Kenobi in Episode III, but I digress. In terms of quality, I'd say it's better than Episode I for sure but overall isn't all that spectacular. It's a good diversion, certainly fun to watch, but it was just okay.
Part of the problem is that I kept wondering about some of the characters they introduce. For example, there's the puzzle of Ashoka Tano, Anakin's new padawan apprentice.
Now it figures that at some point, Anakin would have been assigned a padawan. That makes sense. But my problem is how Ashoka fits into the overall story. Obviously she doesn't show up in Episode III. Does that mean she was killed at some point in the War? If so, great premise for a kid's show. While scrappy and a bit funny, Ashoka bugged me thanks to two nicknames she saddled on main characters. Just did not like those at all.
I also wondered about introducing Asajj Ventress into the larger Star Wars universe. Sure, she's been a staple of the Extended Universe for a while now (featuring in the first part of the animated Clone Wars series on Cartoon Network and in the Clone Wars series of comic books), but she's thrown into this movie without much of an introduction. She's just called "Dooku's assassin" and we're told that she wants revenge on Skywalker. Why? It's never explained. A little research might help there.
The plot between the Republic and the Separatists is pretty mundane, nothing noteworthy.
There are a few gripes that I have with the movie, starting with the music. By and large, the score put together by Kevin Kiner was okay. But in the opening, he decided to "update" the Star Wars theme a little. Nothing too drastic, but I was disappointed. It would have been better to stick with the classic in my opinion. And when Kiner tries to evoke a certain noir feeling for one scene, I knew things were going downhill fast.
Speaking of which, pay attention for that noir music. That's the signal that you're about to cross into some really ridiculous territory. But I won't say much more than that. Just think about the character you meet and ask yourself, "How and why is he different?" Really poor.
So how does it all add up? If you're a kid or have one, it should be a good time. If you're a Star Wars purist like me, maybe go to a matinee. Otherwise wait for the DVD.