Thread: Divergent, the books and the movie
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Old 03-21-2014, 11:58 AM   #14
frahse
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Quote:
Originally Posted by missimpossible View Post
I quite liked it. It's got a pretty ridiculous premise, but if you can look past the obvious unlikelihood of everything that's going on, it's a pretty enjoyable story. It's definitely not very challenging, but I found it engaging and fun. I actually enjoyed it more than the Hunger Games. I definitely agree that it has nothing on Harry Potter, but it's the very definition of escapism.
The real question of course is whether the movie is good. I have to admit that the movie Hunger Games had some good things but was mostly a bust in my mind. I skipped the read.

Example: the movie ET was great. The book was worthless. I bought it but never finished and just gave it to Good Will.

As for the "pretty ridiculous premise," Gordon R Dickson did something like that in the Childe Series and produced one of my favorite books:
Soldier Ask Not.

Quote:
Gordon R Dickson
The Childe Cycle series
Soldier Ask Not
It is part of Dickson's Childe Cycle series, in which mankind has reached the stars and divided into specialized splinter groups. It takes place at roughly the same time as Dorsai! and a few characters appear in both books. Themes from the rest of the cycle are echoed here, particularly the actions of a key person, like Paul Formain, Cletus Grahame and Donal Graeme in the other novels, who can drastically affect history due to his ability to analyze and influence the behavior of others. Unlike the other protagonists, however, Tam Olyn is no hero.
When I was in the service from time to time I would quote Soldier Ask Not.

Hymn of the Friendlies by Gordon R. Dickson, within book of the same title (1923–2001), published 1965

"Soldier, ask not - now, or ever,
Where to war your banners go.
Anarch's legions all surround us.
Strike - and do not count the blow!"

For the remainder of the hymn see:

Hymn of the Friendlies

(My eyes tear up when I read it.)

And while I am on this tear, I will give another great quote but from the great movie Man of Steel.

Quote:
Faora: "A good death is its own reward."
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