"I have a slight flaw in my character"

I recently revisited one of my favorite novels: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart and it occurred to me that it would make a great subject for my blog. In case you haven't heard of it, Bridge of Birds is a fantasy-novel set in (to quote directly from the cover) "an ancient China, that never was". Our narrator is Yu Lu, better known by his nickname; Number Ten Ox. When the children in his village are afflicted by a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox seeks out a wise-man in order to save them. The wise-man he finds is a certain Li Kao, a sage with (as he himself puts it) "a slight flaw in my character". Together, the duo embarks on a quest to find the Great Root of Power, the only thing that can save the children. Of course, doing so turns out to be easier said than done.

In case you haven't read Bridge of Birds yet, I insist you go find yourself a copy. The book itself is quite short, clocking in at under 300 pages. However, it's so filled with adventure, excitement and a sense of wonder that it puts plenty of doorstopper-novels to shame. Li Kao and Number Ten Ox are both great characters that compliment each other beautifully, with the latter pretty much playing the Watson to the former's Holmes.

The comparison between Li Kao and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective is not as random as it may seem, for Bridge of Birds is not only a fantasy but a mystery-story as well. Our heroes' quest soon involves them in a crime which once shook the very foundations of Heaven itself and leads them to having to confront China's true ruler; the immortal Duke of Ch'in.

Barry Hughart also wrote two more books featuring Li Kao and Number Ten Ox. I haven't read them so I can't say if they live up to their predecessor. However, one thing is for sure; Bridge of Birds is enough to establish Hughart as one of my favorite authors.

Templar

Written By: Jordan Mechner, 

Art by: Leuyen Pham and Alex Puvilland

First Second, 2013

My first encounter with Templar was back in 2010, when it was called Solomon's Thieves. Originally, the idea was for the story to be published annually in three volumes, Solomon's Thieves being the first. This idea was later scrapped and First Second decided to publish the entire story in one gloriously thick volume instead.

The Story of Templar begins in the year 1307 when the entire order of The Knights Templars are arrested on trumped-up charges by order of the king of France, who wants to use the order's accumulated wealth to line his empty coffers.

The main character, Martin, narrowly escapes and upon learning that the treasure of the order has been hidden away in a secret location, rallies a band of surviving Templars to find the treasure and smuggle it out from under the king's nose.

Jordan Mechner, creator of the Prince of Persia games as well as one of my favorite games of all time, The Last Express, has crafted an immensely enjoyable tale of adventure, fraught with perils, swordfighting, chase-scenes, scheming and even some romance. In short, Templar is just the kind of comic I enjoy the most.

I found the characters of Templar, historical as well as fictional, to be well-written and interesting. Our band of heroes are all deeply flawed and yet despite their flaws (or perhaps because of them?), they're very easy to like, sympathize with and root for. Out of all the characters in Templar, my absolute favorite would have to be Cassim, a saracen who converted to christianity and became a member of the order but now finds himself an outcast in both worlds. That said, all the characters are good.

The artwork by Pham and Puvilland is a great mix between cartoony and realistic. They are especially good at the more action-filled scenes, (such as Martin's swordfight with Nogaret's right-hand man), which are very exciting and dynamic. Why yes, I would like to see an animated movie based on this comic, thank you.

To sum it up: If you want a ripping good yarn in the spirit of Alexandre Dumas' work, I definitely recommend checking Templar out.

My Favorite Creators

For my first real post I thought I'd take a page from other  bloggers and make a list of my favorite creators of fiction, whether movies, comics, books, games etc. The list is an alphabetical order and is by no means complete, since I'm bound to forget someone (I may go back and add new names to it, depending on how I feel). Anyway, these are the men and women whose work have inspired and enchanted me over the years. How many of them would be on your list?

Adam Hines

Agatha Christie

Akira Kurosawa

Alan Burnett

Alan Furst

Alan Moore

Alexandre Dumas

Alfred Bester

Alfred Hitchcock

André Franquin
Andreas Martens
Andrew Miller

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Barry Hughart

Bernard Deyriés

Brad Bird

Bruce Timm

Carl Barks
Charles Dickens

Chiaki J. Konaka
China Mieville

Chris Avellone
Clark Ashton Smith

The Coen Brothers

Colleen McCullough
Cormac McCarthy

Dante Alighieri
Dashiell Hammett

Dave Sim
David Lynch
David Milch
David Simon
Dennis Potter
Donna Barr
Dorothy Dunnett
Eddie Campbell
Edward Whittemore
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar P. Jacobs
Eichiro Oda
E.R. Eddison
Fabien Nury
Fabien Vehlmann
Floyd Gottfredson
Fred
Fritz Lang
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Gen Urobuchi
Gene Wolfe
Geoffrey Chaucer
George MacDonald Fraser
George R.R. Martin
Georges Simenon
Gianfranco Manfredi
Gosho Aoyama
Goseki Kojima
Graham Greene
Graham Yost
Greg Weisman
Guillermo Del Toro
Guy Davis
Hayao Miyazaki
H.G. Wells
Hector G. Oesterheld
Hergé
Los Bros Hernandez
Hilary Mantel
Hirohiko Araki
Homer
Hugo Pratt
Ingmar Bergman
Jack Pulman
Jack Vance
James Ellroy
Jane Austen
Jason Aaron
Jean Chalopin
Jean Giraud
Jean Van Hamme
Jean-Michel Charlier
Jim M. Thompson
Jim Woodring
John Le Carré
John Milton
J.R.R. Tolkien
Jordan Mechner
Jorge Luis Borges
Katherynne M. Valente
Kazuo Koike
Keiko Nobumoto
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Lauren Faust
Len Deighton
Luc Brunschwig
Makoto Yukimura
Mark Twain
Martin Scorcese
Mary Shelley
Masaaki Yuasa
Matt Kindt
Maurice LeBlanc
Mel Brooks
Mervyn Peake
Michael Chabon
Michael Curtiz
Michael Ende
Michel de Montaigne
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Mike Carey
Mike Mignola
Mitsuru Adachi
Monty Python
Nancy Pena
Naoki Urasawa
Neil Gaiman
Noah Hawley
Orson Welles
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Dezaki
Paul Feval
P.G. Wodehouse
Philip K. Dick
Pierre Gabus
Ray Bradbury
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Macherot
Robert Graves
Robert Louis Stevenson
Romuald Reutimann
Ross MacDonald
Rumiko Takahashi
Serge Le Tendre
Sergio Leone
Shigeru Miyamoto
Shinichiro Watanabe
Sigrid Undset
Sophocles
Stan Sakai
Stanislaw Lem
Takeshi Shudo
Tim Powers
Tove Jansson
Umberto Eco
Ursula Vernon
Vince Gilligan
Virgil
Walt Disney
Wilkie Collins
William Faulkner
William Shakespeare
Yoshihiro Togashi
Yoshiki Tanaka

A Quick Introduction

Hello and welcome to my so-called All-Purpose Blog. I plan to write about whatever comes to mind, mostly about various works of fiction I've consumed and perhaps I'll post some work of my own as well.

That's it for now. Enjoy your stay.