My Top 3 Trilogies (of Recent Years)

Ah, the trilogy. The seemingly arbitrary fantasy structure. Book 1: Meet the hero, start the quest. Book 2: Things get worse, and there are complications with the love interest. Book 3: The big battle, where the hero, against all odds, triumphantly conquers the evil trying to overthrow the land, gets the girl, and lives happily ever after. Sound familiar? Maybe some of you like this. Myself, though... well, I find it pretty boring. When a trilogy comes along that acknowledges these tropes and grows far beyond them, I take notice. That said, here are my three favorite from the past five years or so:

3. The First Law Trilogy. Joe Abercrombie burst out onto the fantasy scene, needing no introduction and veritably defecating upon the classic bland ideas' heads. Except Abercrombie would be a bit more blunt. Always witty, full of characters to love/hate at the same time, and defying all expectations, The First Law is a dark, gritty riot. Abercrombie has a way of getting inside the characters' heads, to the point where chapters written from a certain character's perspective will sound totally different from chapters written with another POV. He also is phenomenal with the action scenes. Leave your ideas about fantasy at the door and give this one a try.

2. The Night Angel Trilogy. Brent Weeks just had to make a ridiculous entrance. Ridiculous as in, hey, let's publish the whole trilogy over the space of three months! But it's good, really good. The Night Angel Trilogy is gritty and dark, too, full of assassins and mysterious magic, but there's a lot more heart at the center than can be found in Abercrombie's fiction. You learn to root for Kylar Stern, even as he has to do tough things and his whole perspective changes. Plus, there are a couple of neat things about the setting and the magic system, though they're kept in the background to allow the characters and story a better chance to breathe. Weeks isn't scared of taking risks or killing major characters, and the trilogy is improved by it. Seriously, there's a lot of great stuff here, and it's near impossible to put down.

1. Mistborn. Brandon Sanderson. It's only my second list, and already you come up. Sanderson has, via dark contract with a devil of some sort, gained the ability to write extremely good novels extremely quickly. Since 2005 he has authored/co-authored a solid dozen novels, some of them brick-sized. The Mistborn trilogy was Sanderson's first published attempt at a series, and its success makes me very hopeful for his much larger and more recent Stormlight Archive epic. A story about a hero of prophecy who failed, a girl who can do magic with metal, and the end of the world, Mistborn does in its first book what most authors only dream of doing in three, and with considerable style and depth, too. From there, the story gets even better, as we're in entirely new territory, and the final book, The Hero of Ages, earns its title with revelations and twists abounding. The characters are memorable, the magic system is fantastic, and the larger mythology of the world is compelling. I cannot recommend this trilogy highly enough.

And there you have it. Again. However, when Patrick Rothfuss finishes his Kingkiller Chronicle, I may have a new winner. Both The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear were amazing. As before, sound off on your favorite trilogies below.

My Top 10 TV Shows

This is an unusual list for me. I'm not as skilled at catching shows while they're on TV as most people. I'm more one of those "let me catch up when it hits DVD... or maybe Hulu" people. However, I really do like TV as a storytelling medium, and I think that the time constraints can usually allow shows to cut a lot of the fat. That said, here are some of my favorites:

10. 24. A show like this is very unusual to watch and devilishly tricky to create. The "real-time" aspect of 24 is why it had such a popular start, and viewers were greeted with lots of action and drama. Think of how tired Jack Bauer has to be when each day is over! I'd probably go to sleep for months, and... oh yeah. That's sorta how the TV medium works. I haven't actually seen all of this show, to be perfectly honest, because I rent each season individually and watch the episodes pretty much back-to-back, like it's one long action movie. Which is the point. Yeah, there are cliches, and some of the characters are obviously there to get killed, but 24 packs in a lot of great moments too.

9. STAR WARS: The Clone Wars. I didn't expect to like this show. The movie was only so-so, and let's face it, George Lucas isn't exactly a shining example of great moviemaking. But he took a backseat here, allowing Dave Filoni to do most of the grunt work, and The Clone Wars benefits from it. The characters are fleshed out a ton more than in the movies, the action is creative and exciting, and there's some excellent foreshadowing. The show gets better and better as it goes, and it isn't afraid to shy away from some of the darker moments. Impressive, most impressive.

8. The Office. Here goes my comedy lineup. Three in a row. The Office is a treat, though. The characters are actually really interesting, and there's a lot of real life mixed in with Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson's antics. There's romance, unemployment, and a growing understanding of oneself addressed here. Scranton's crew of white-collar eccentrics have their ups and downs, but there's a great mix of comedy and heart. Plus, the recent Threat Level Midnight episode is a riot.

7. The Big Bang Theory. The most consistently funny sitcom on television. Certainly the most formulaic show on this list, BBT is also the one that hits home the most with me. I live in a place where I'm surrounded by nerds (and, to be fair, I'm one too). There are a lot of guys I know who are just one step away from being a Sheldon. I even know a guy who's uncomfortably similar to Howard Wallowitz. The show is charming, witty, and full of moments where I say, "Yeah, that's about right."6. Mystery Science Theater 3000. A TV show about bad movies. Sound like torture to you? Just watch an episode. A man trapped in a satellite is forced to watch B (and C and D) movies, and he keeps his sanity by building two robots to make fun of the movies with them. Suddenly, films that would otherwise be unwatchable are now comedy gold! There are so many brilliant one-liners to be found, from Manos: The Hands of Fate to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Be warned, you might find yourself doing this on your own if you're stuck in a theater watching Twilight, Clash of the Titans, or other such "masterpieces"!

5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ah, Joss Whedon. It's been too long. I had to get to you at some point, right? A misguidingly comic title covers a show that does just about everything. And it does it all well. There's overturning horror movie cliches, character development, comedy, action, romance, and some genuine scares too. The scripts are almost always snappy and fun, and Buffy is good at giving out shocks. No character is truly safe or stagnant, and no generic episode format will do. This show slays audiences (I'm sorry, it was just too easy) with all its memorable moments and characters. A show this good earns its seven seasons.
4. Kings. A show this good nowadays, however, gets pulled from the air before it gets much of its story told. Loosely based on the Biblical story of King David, this near-future show is consistently dazzling. The acting is top-notch, from Chris Egan as David to Ian McShane as King Silas. The writing is beautiful, the cinematography is beautiful, the themes are beautiful. It's heartbreaking that a show like this could only last 12 episodes, but not surprising. Kings is an emotional tour-de-force on a grand and intensely personal scale, unabashedly showing the gray areas in even the most spellbinding, courageous figures. Watch it now.3. Chuck. Hey, this one's still on TV! And it's even in the top 3! I've been watching this one since the beginning, and it's rare that I miss an episode. Chuck is an action-comedy-romance-spy thriller about a geeky guy who got kicked out of Stanford years ago... only to have his former roommate send him a file of encrypted government secrets called the Intersect. The characters are the real draw here. A more dynamic bunch it's hard to find. All the characters have arcs, and they change in believable and exciting ways. It's a wonderful treat to see them each week, and I really hope it doesn't get cancelled.

2. Firefly. Joss Whedon. We meet again. Another case of a show killed before its prime, Firefly is best described as a sci-fi western. A crew of well-intentioned troublemakers aboard the ship Serenity do anything they can to keep afloat and keep flying. The characters are unique and a heck of a lot of fun. The performances are unanimously excellent. The special effects are actually pretty decent. The atmosphere is fantastic. And I'm incredibly happy that there's a movie, Serenity, that ties up a lot of loose ends. The overriding story is a blast to watch unfold. Joss Whedon, you win again.

1. LOST. What can I say about this one that hasn't been said? It's lightning in a bottle. A show that's always entertaining, critically acclaimed and a hit with audiences too? That shouldn't be able to exist. Yet somehow, for 6 seasons a dedicated crew transported us to a mysterious Pacific island where a smoke monster and a being known as Jacob are locked in subtle combat. Literary allusions abound. The characters are enthralling. Jack Sheppard's journey from Man of Science to Man of Faith, John Locke's unwavering belief in the goodness of the island, Desmond Hume's quest to return to the woman he loves, James "Sawyer" Ford's thirst for vengeance on behalf of his family, Jin and Sun's tumultuous but unerringly strong love, Kate Austen's hope for redemption, Charlie Pace's attempts to pull himself out of his own mess, Sayid Jirrah's battle with his inner demons from past wars, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes' struggle to escape his streak of bad luck... it all comes together in a near-perfect viewing experience. It's not often a show can tell one long story from beginning to end, but LOST has achieved the impossible. And I dare you not to cry at the finale.

Well, that's about it. There's always more I can say, but after awhile my hands will get tired. Do you agree with my choices? Are there shows I overlooked? If you're out there, feel free to sound off in the comments below.

A Weird Sort of Blog

So this is me. I love to write, and I also love movies, TV, and books. This is just a fun stop that I can update preiodically with bizarre lists. There will be spoiler warnings assumed from this point forward, for obvious reasons. I may also give the occasional writing update or blather on about something new that I really, really like.

There's no deeper meaning here, I promise. This isn't a place to think hard. This is A Place for Lists.

Welcome aboard.