Blog

  • Panem et Circenses: Thoughts on The Hunger Games Trilogy

    The concept of the Hunger Games is chilling. I ask you, dear reader: would you willingly enter an arena, and, televised live to viewers across the country, attempt to survive by killing your fellow competitors to be crowned victor? All the while knowing that their path to victory is your death? Now imagine being forced to live under that threat – that seemingly at random, your name could be picked at the annual reaping to be your district’s next tribute, the next competitor in this sadistic tournament? All to prove the point that overthrowing the government is a fruitless endeavour.

    That concept alone is enough to set this series apart from the dregs of pitiful fiction on bookshelves aimed at the young adult market.

    It hasn’t been for a (very) long time that I’ve read a book – or a series – that has left an indelible mark on my mind. That’s stuck with me, compelled me, made me question things. Leave me feeling really depressed that the series is over, and that I have to return from the fantastical world and characters that the author lovingly crafted to the mundanity of real life.

    It happened with the Harry Potter series; I experienced this feeling again when I completed The Casual Vacancy (with that one, it wasn’t so much sadness from leaving the world than from the tragic events that stuck with me). And now, most recently, after reading Suzanne Collin’s masterful The Hunger Games Trilogy. Yes, it’s young-adult fiction (YA for short). Yes, the lead character is only 17 in the final book (Mockingjay). Yes, it’s science fiction and dystopian. But these are the ingredients that make it just so irresistible to this geeky science-fiction writer.

    The series is harrowing. It’s gripping, heart-wrenching, adrenaline-fueled and with so many plot twists that the narrative is more interlaced than Pan’s Labyrinth, the myth upon which the series is based.

    Let’s start with the lead character, Katniss Everdeen. Through the sixteen-year-old’s eyes we experience the plight of Panem, a country built on the ashes of what was North America. We see a twisted world where a corrupt state governs 12 districts under the philosophy of panem et circenses – “bread and circuses”. The districts provide the food and commodities for the Capitol’s citizens to enjoy their cozy lives, and they also provide the “circuses” – the entertainment, in the form of the Hunger Games. Katniss is perhaps the strongest female lead character I’ve yet read. She’s brave, clever, cunning, and not without flaw. That’s what makes her so human, and thus such a powerful force. The “girl on fire” is the pawn in a ruthless game to take back Panem and end the injustice of Capitol governance, and the vileness that is the Hunger Games.

    I’ve been wary of first-person books, and perhaps that reason drew me away from the series. But after watching the film adaptation last year, I was convinced about the series’ merit. The books’ style is impressive. Collins’ idea to write the books in first-person present tense was a great one; she’s certainly a good writer and has executed the narrative with aplomb. She manages to add enough surprises and build events up sufficiently to ensure that all three books – The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay are impossible to put down.

    The dystopian world of the future is beautifully crafted. Katniss’s narrative paints a picture of a planet recovering from the cancerous effects of a civilisation shrouded in greed and disregard for what’s actually going on. The fact that the Capitol’s citizens (well, most of them) can live their lives in peace without questioning the turmoil going on in the districts in order to maintain their lush existence is proof that Collins has created a world in many ways mirroring our current times.

    This is where the series has its most power I think. Despite it being a YA, it carries strong messages to our generation about what a screwed-up world we live in. A world where, whilst one group lives a life of gluttony, people out there starve and pay for the decisions of an apathetic select few. A world that is ruled by a degenerative culture of entertainment in the form of reality television that can be powerful enough to staunch individual critical thinking. Where the importance of celebrity overrides the merit of work in the aid of advancing our species. A world where poverty and injustice and crime is so common that it’s easy to turn a blind eye to it. Where war is an inevitable method for settling differences, and despite History teaching us of its devastation, it still seems possible for us to continually use it as a means to a supposed end – a delusional quest for peace.

    Finishing the books has left me with that strange, hollow feeling of finishing something so good it’s hard to find a suitable replacement soon enough. My mind asks, “now what?” Is this what real life feels like? Being wrenched back to reality as the back cover is turned and the Mockingjay is put to rest on the bookshelf is in itself quite a harrowing experience.

    I cannot recommend this series enough. It is powerful. Its characters are damaged and scarred; they are not the clinically-clean do-gooders that so many dreadful young adult books portray today. Katniss is not the whiny, self-insufficient female lead that that “other series” depicts. She’s strong, brave, and imperfect. She’s also defiant, and displays moments of teenage angst and rebellion that are befitting of her and her predicament. Like the characters, the plot isn’t without blemishes. The final book, Mockingjay, does leave a lot of questions unanswered. Many disagree about those final events, and the series’ dénouement. Some even argue that the epilogue was unnecessary. But the overall consensus from this avid reader and now a major convert to the franchise is: go and read this series, because it will make you see things and question other things, and hopefully inspire you to become part of the change our world so desperately needs to avoid going the way of Panem.

    Ratings (out of 5 ✮s):

    Plot: ✮✮✮✮

    Characters: ✮✮✮✮½

    Setting: ✮✮✮✮✮

    Pace: ✮✮✮✮✮

    Style/Tone: ✮✮✮✮

    Overall: ✮✮✮✮½

  • Writing Sequels

    In 2011 I wrote a short story that I personally consider to be one of my best. It’s a piece that I wrote in one sitting; it was a moment, you could say, of pure creation. I had this urge to write a story like that, I sat down, fired up WriteRoom on my old MacBook, and blasted out a tale about three astronauts living on Mars, and the amazing discovery they make.

    It’s a story that grew me in a few ways: it was written in first person (I’ve avoided this style for a while prior to the story – and subsequently), and it was one of my first science fiction stories.

    You can read it here

    Now, I don’t often like to talk about my work. But I thought my experiences with this particular story might be of interest to fellow writers out there.

    A few months after writing Red Phantom, I decided to write a sequel. I thought that the world of these three astronauts, and the discovery, was interesting. I thought I’d be able to continue it. I even ended up writing a sequel. But here’s the thing: I failed, miserably. The sequel was, unlike the original, anticipated. There was no spark that made me want to write it; I was following a path, not forging a new one.

    That’s why I haven’t (as yet) published a continuation of that story. I probably will give it another attempt at some later time, but right now it’s difficult to capture the essence of that story for me, personally, like I felt I was able to with Red Phantom.

    Through this experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that sometimes it’s best to leave a piece as-is. Don’t tamper with it if you can’t best the original attempt. Writing sequels has always been a challenge. The “second film” scenario has challenged many a writer. When faced with such a situation, rather focus on creating new things, finding new sparks to ignite.

     Incidentally, I haven’t written many more short stories since “The Walker“, which I published here after Red Phantom. Sorry for that; I have been busy with other projects. I hope to write more flash fiction/short stories in 2013 – look out for them!

     

  • Welcome to another new year

    It’s already 2013. To kick-off the new year and the possibilities that it embodies, here’s a brilliant manifesto I stumbled upon at a great blog called Brain Pickings. Visit that site for an eclectic blend of inspiring connected ideas. I hope this manifesto gives you the inspiration and energy to fulfill the dreams and aspirations you have for the year. Happy new year, and I wish you the very best for 2013.

    holsteemanifesto

  • Why I Choose WordPress for Blogging

    I’ve been blogging for a long time now. One of the things I’m asked often by aspiring bloggers and website owners is “which platform should I choose?”

    We’re certainly spoilt for choice today when it comes to starting a blog. There’s a multitude of platforms to choose from, and it can be quite daunting. So I’m going to attempt to tell you why I swear by WordPress for my blogging adventures.

    1: Platform connectedness. WordPress takes care of optimising my blog for all devices – mobile and desktop. I can just focus on the content, and WordPress will handle the look of Pixelated Thinking  on iPad, iPhone, Android and the plethora of other web browsers out there. And it looks pretty good too.

    2: Blog from anywhere. Whilst I do use Evernote to draft posts sometimes, there’s no denying that the native WordPress app for BlackBerry and iOS is excellent. It allows me to monitor site stats, reply to comments. Oh, and even write entire posts if the inspiration strikes me when I’m out and about. Like all other things WordPress, it looks beautiful too.

    3: Themes. WordPress has some awesome themes. There’s a lot to choose from (which can lead to massive procrastination), and the themes look trés professional. They just convey the feel of a stable, content-rich blog. I find Blogger (Google’s answer to WordPress and the platform I started out with back in 2007) to be a bit less to my taste; they have, however, improved their design and functionality of blogs. But I’ll still stick to WordPress thanks.

    Lastly, Akismet spam protection is one of the best features. It protects my blog from the bombardment of spam comments.

    If you’re considering going out into the blogging world, I truly recommend giving WordPress a try. If it’s good enough for the professionals (GigaOM, TIME), then I’m sure it’ll be perfect for you.

  • So, here’s the problem with doomsdays

    Well, they’re utter bulls**t, of course. But there’s more. Obviously. See, the thing is, the world today is more connected than ever before. And this means that learning has become something that extends beyond the classroom. To survive intellectually in this age, one needs to adopt a sense of skeptical thinking. A scientific way of approaching things. A measured, calm, analytical mindset.

    Unfortunately, this way of thinking critically is only possessed by a select faction of society. And that’s where the mass-hysteria surrounding pseudoscientific beliefs like the 2012 apocalypse proliferate. And we don’t have to look farther than our beloved World Wide Web to note that ideas catch on faster than wildfires.

    Skeptical thinking doesn’t mean the rejection of all ideas. No. It means listening to all ideas (good or bad), and then assessing them critically, considering the validity of them, sometimes testing them scientifically or using logical thinking or accepted theories to determine whether said ideas are plausible.

    It’s a refreshing change from submitting oneself to the hysteria surrounding claims that, for instance, there will be a magnetic shift of the Earth’s poles, or that some (fictional) planet called Nibiru will collide into us.

    It’s very easy to succumb the mind to these claims. After all, it’s a lot more exciting than accepting the scientific approach (advocated by people like NASA, that December 21st will be just as ordinary as any other day). It allows one to feel like they’ll soon be living in some outlandish Hollywood film (I’m looking at you, 2012).

    Technological streams such as Web 2.0 services (Twitter, Facebook, social networks and chat platforms) allow the more paranoid of our species to propagate irrationality. Sometimes I think theses guys thrive on the panic. It’s like some kind of weird mystical energy… jokes.

    For us logical beings, December 21st is probably going to be just as hellish as the Mayans supposedly predicted. The Facebook updates, Tweets and BBM broadcasts are going to reach a frenzy. But when the storm passes over, when the day ends and December 22nd dawns, we shall once again be able to breathe as the tin foiled folk emerge from their bunkers to a world just as unchanged as when they’d retreated. Problem is, though: they’ll be fueled and ready to go for the next bout of doomsday predictions.

    So please, I urge you: adopt the scientific way of thinking, and tell your friends about it too. It doesn’t bite (or cause any apocalypses…). I promise.