The Man in the High Castle

Good Evening, 7th February 2022

Peter Germany Health, Life, Lifestyle, Men’s Mental Health, Mental Health, Movies, Sci-Fi, TV, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hey Folks,

How are we all doing tonight?

I’m going through one of those periods where my sleep is all over the shop. So I’m working on trying to adjust my evening routine so that I hopefully get some sleep. Part of that is watching an episode of a tv show or a movie I haven’t seen before. Something that’ll relax my mind a little. I’m also hoping it’ll help me get through some of my backlog of TV shows and movies that I need to catch up on.

I’ve fallen into the rut of rewatching a lot of shows and movies I’ve seen before, so pushing me out of a comfort zone which is toxic. It is comforting to know what happens in a show, but it can also suffocate us a little because we’re not experiencing new things. We’re not feeding our souls, and as creatives it leads to us stagnating. (Some, not all of us). We need those new tales to fuel our own creativity.

That’s what I’m working on. I’ve recently watched the newest adaptation of Nick Hornby’s book, High Fidelity. Now, I’m a fan of the original film (am yet to read the book). Okay, it has its faults and has some great examples of double standards when it comes to genders. It’s still a fun watch though. When I heard that not only was it being remade but with a gender flipped main character I was curious as to how it would come out. I was a little unsure about Zoe Kravitz in the lead role, and I’ll admit those first few seconds I feared that concern was going to have truth to it. I was wrong though, as soon as she started talking I was in. She had it down, perfectly. The rest of the cast was pretty spot on, and I liked the changes they’ve made from the original movie. I will read the book one day, because it’s a story I’ve always enjoyed.

Right now though, I’m watching The Man In The High Castle. I’m about three episodes into season three, after having a couple of years away from it for a number of reasons. Which I regret. I wished I’d watched these last two seasons sooner. I enjoyed the first two seasons immensely, and so far season three is proving to be as intriguing as the previous two. It’s very different from Phillip K. Dick’s original novel, but I like what they’ve done with it.

Let’s end with a little writing update. I wrote 300 words today on the short story I’ve been working on, it’s taken a turn I wasn’t expecting and what was going to be a secondary character has become the protagonist of the piece. I’m not sure if I can weave it and the original story together, but I’m going to move forward with the intention of the original story being a part of it.

My editor wasn’t very helpful, like normal 🙄🤣

The Man In The High Castle

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I’ve just finished watching the second season of The Man In the High Castle, and WOW! what a fantastic conclusion to the season. I though the first season ended well but this one took it up a couple of notches.

This is a show that I’ve enjoyed a lot but I’ve not been rabid for it like I am with Sense8, Marvel’s Netflix series, and Orange Is The New Black. When I do start watching it through, I have trouble turning it off. It doesn’t seem to be trying to shook, or cause offence, it feels like it’s just trying to tell a story. Some shows I’ve watched leave me feeling like the creative team behind it or the studio or network are just trying to do something that infuriates the fans, and that really isn’t a good way to go in my opinion. The Man In The High Castle feels like it knows what it wants to say and it’s doing it very well.

I like the changes they’ve made from the book, I honestly don’t think a literal adaptation of the book would work in either TV or movie format. I’m not going to go into comparing the two, because they are different entities. I’m not someone that feels that a book or comic adaptation has to replicate everything in the source material, that is seriously not possible. With this adaptation I think they’ve stayed loyal to the heart of the book but opened it up to create a world that they can explore. With the second season they have really opened up what the world might have turned out to be like had Germany and Japan won the Second World War.

This story wouldn’t work without the right actors, and I think they got them. The core cast of Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans, Luke Kleintank, DJ Qualls, Joel de la Fuente, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brennan Brown, and Rufus Sewell are all fantastic. Each one plays their role in the show with a lot of depth and it’s hard taking your eyes off of them when they’re on screen. The rest of the cast all hold their own very well as well, which makes it all so much stronger.

I really hope we get a few more seasons of The Man In The High Castle. I haven’t heard much from the producers and so on from the show, so I don’t know if they’ve indicated a timespan they’ve got to get the story to its conclusion, but if they keep up this level of quality then I hope we get more and I’m eager to see where this journey takes us. Bravo Amazon for letting the all the people involved in this show getting it made and out there.

Rising From A Slump

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Today has been one of those days where I’ve not had much time to get any writing done during the evening. After leaving work I did a little shopping and when I got home my aunt and cousin were here. Once they’d left and I’d had a bath and had eaten it was pushing 8:30 and I was feeling pretty wiped.

I’d resumed watching The Man In The High Castle, and as I watched it I decided to scribble down a few more sentences to what I wrote during my lunch break, and probably added about 250 words to what I’d already had for the day. About 400 all in all.

This last couple of months feel like they’ve been pretty un-productive. I have done a lot of editing but as I’ve not been writing new words it feels like I’ve slacked off more than I normally do, but it feels like that’s over now. These last few days I feel like I’m finding my flow a little again and am eager to write when I can. So that’s what I’m doing and I’m going to try to keep it going. Especially with NaNoWriMo coming up it’ll be good to get back to where I as earlier on in the year.

What I’m Reading: 4/3/16

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Last night I finished reading The Man In The High Castle by Phillip K. Dick. Overall I liked it a lot; the plot was very subtly woven into the lives of the characters. The universe building was done much the same way; everything that Dick needed to get across to the reader was done through the characters.

There’s obviously a lot more to the story than I’ve written so far, but its a story where I think I’m going to be thinking it over for a while. There’s so much going on in it that I don’t think I’ve quite got a handle on yet. I’m thinking about getting it as an audiobook so I can go through it again.

Speaking of audiobooks I’ve just started listening to The Dark Tower, the final book of The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I’m really eager to see how King finishes this series. I’ve got a few ideas of how it is going to end; but seeing that it’s a book by Stephen King, and it’s his Dark Tower series then anything is game.

I’ve not got stuck into Deadpool and Cable just yet, but I’m going to try and get into this coming week.

I’ve now got the hard decision of choosing what book to read next. I’m prioritising the books that I got at DemonCon a few weeks ago, but I’m not sure what I’ll go for first. If I’m honest It’ll probably be one of the Dan Abnett ones, but I haven’t decided yet.

 

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Reading Update

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Here’s just a little update about how I’m doing with reading.

I’ve finished Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens comic. This was actually a lot of fun I thought. I’m just a proper sucker for anything Judge Dredd and am looking forward to exploring the comics a little more.

I’ve now moved onto the Deadpool and Cable Vol. 1.

I’m still about halfway through The Man In The High Castle, and it seems like we’re getting to the plot of the story. So far it feels like we’ve just been teased by a plot line in amongst the smaller storylines of the characters we’ve been following. Now it looks like we’re getting into the guts of the story. I really like how Phillip K. Dick has built up this story so far. I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Audiobook wise, I’m over halfway through The End Is Nigh, and I’m really enjoying it. Each story is just getting better and better and I really hope the next two collections are as strong.

Start It Again

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Just a quick little post this evening.

I got a decent start with this story but it quickly lost steam and momentum. So instead of getting a mood on and moping for a couple of days I just started it again. Well not fully, I’ve pretty much kept the first scene of the story but started fresh from there on. So far I’m happy with it and I think it’s going in the right direction.

I’m glad I wasn’t further along than I was because the thought of throwing away a lot more is always a little sickening, but it’s needed at times. Sometimes we need to look at what we’re doing and if it’s going wrong then we’ve got to put an end to it before we get in too deep.

Reading wise, I finished book one of Bitch Planet. Overall I really enjoyed it and will be buying book two in the near future. I haven’t read much more of The Man In The High Castle, and haven’t listened to any more of Song Of Susannah.

What I’m Reading

Peter Germany Audiobooks, Books, Comic Books , , , , , , ,

I haven’t spoken much about what I’ve been reading much in the last few months so I thought I’d write a quick post about what I am reading or listening to at the moment.

At any one time I’m reading a novel, a comic book, and listening to an audio book. The novel I’m reading at the moment is The Man In The High Castle by Phillip K. Dick. This book has been on my bookshelf for a couple of years now but I’ve only just now gotten round to reading it. One of those reasons is that It’s been adapted for a TV show that I really want to watch, but in these cases I always try to read the book that’s been adapted first. So far I’m liking what I’m reading. It’s the first Phillip K. Dick book I’ve read and I can see why people like his work so much. His story telling, in this book at least, is really quite discreet and it doesn’t feel like he’s telling a larger story. At the moment it’s more individual storylines but with a bigger storyline being teased in the background.

The comic I’m reading is Bitch Planet: Book One by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro. This is a really interesting comic book. I’m liking how the world is set up and how the story is being built up. The artwork is pretty cool as well. I’m about halfway through this and I’m looking forward to seeing how this first one wraps up.

And finally, the audiobook I’m listening  to is Song Of Susannah: The Dark Tower Book Six by Stephen King and read by George Guidall. This is a series which is taking some fascinating turns and I’m trying to power through quickly so I can get to the end and see how it all wraps up.


  

What I Want To Read In 2015

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I didn’t read any where near enough last year. I can think of a half a dozen books that I really wanted to read but just didn’t get around to (Wool, Pandemic, Feed, The Man in the High Castle, Soul Asylum and The Earthsea Quartet). Those are just the ones off the top of my head. Lets add in some shorter pieces by Dan Abnett (set in his Gaunt’s Ghosts series) and J.C. Hutchins novella series, The 33.
Then I’ve got novels by Justin R. Macumber, Terry Mixon, Paul E. Cooley, Armand Rosamillia, Mimi Black and Christopher Stocking. (Dan Abnett also has a full length Gaunt’s Ghosts novel out this year too, yes I’m excited!).
I’d also like to read the second Lincoln Rhyme book, The Coffin Dancer by Jeffery Deaver and the first Harry Potter book read early on this year as well.
I’d really like to get start on the fourth Dark Tower book as I finished the third recently, but as it’s taking me a while to get through this series by Stephen King I’m a little reluctant to make a start on Wizard and Glass while I’ve got so many other books that I’m itching to read. That said, if I get through enough by the mid-point of the year then I may dive into it. I was thinking about giving it a go as an audiobook but these Dark Tower books seem so complex I’m not sure I’ll absorb them as much as I would do if I read them. I am a big fan of audiobooks, but I do miss the odd thing while listening (interruptions while at work) and also, I’ve read the previous three books and I think it’ll feel weird not reading the other four.

These are all books I’ve already got, either on my bookshelf or on my Kindle app or my iBooks app.

I will be listening to a lot of audiobooks this year as well. I’ve got eight or nine in my Audible library already.

I’ve set a Goodreads target of 60 books this year. With the audiobooks, comic books and the shorter pieces I’m planning on reading I think I’ll manage that. If I’m well ahead of target early on I may increase it but I’ll see how I’m doing.