The Invisible Man? - Christopher Priest

Go to most science-fiction/fantasy sections in bookstores in this country and you will see some of the giants of that genre: Pratchett, Dick, Martin, Wells and Tolkien. The list is endless. But most stores will be lacking one man who belongs in any debate about the greats of this genre. Christopher Priest. For such a prolific and skilled writer, this is inexcusable in my view.

As mentioned his work is often absent from large amount of bookstores and it's place are works of less intelligence and narrative craft. However it is by no means impossible to find Mr Priests novels in bookstores, as they often found more easily in smaller independent stores (at least this from my experience, but even if you are lucky enough to walk into one that does then you are usually met with two of Mr Priests more recent novels, The Separation and The Prestige (the book which Christopher Nolan’s 2006 film was based upon). Now this is by no means a negative, do not think about that for one second, both are genuine masterpieces in my eyes, and both should be regular staples in any science fiction section.

The Prestige for anyone who hasn’t read the novel or seen the film is about two feuding magicians in Victorian England. It would be a fair assumption that more people will have seen the film than read the novel. The book offers much more ambiguous characters, not having the rules of film narratives to consider of having a clear (as much as it is possible with these characters) protagonist and antagonist, which was something Nolan commented on regarding his and his brothers adaptation.

The story of the book while similar in principle, varies significantly in places from the plot that was used for the film, while all the major twists remain in place, and pack just as much punch as they do in the film, the novel spans a much greater time frame and really gives us a chance to see the intricacies of each character and the long and twisted story they share.

The other previously mentioned book is The Separation, a World War Two novel unlike any other you are likely read. Asked to sum up in one word, the first that comes to mind is: Complex. It tells the story of two twins during the war, and the roles they play in the conflict, it is told through a kind of diary structure, although it is told at times from different points of view. The way to understand what I am no doubt struggling to explain is to read the novel and experience for yourself an intelligently structured puzzle box of a story that throws up many surprises even to the last sentence.

My reasoning for writing what appears like microscopic reviews of these novels is to now show what many readers of this genre are missing. As infrequently these novels are found in shops, it is even rarer to find some of his other works, some that in this person’s views are stronger than the two that I have just briefly written about. I could talk about all of his novels, but will instead just keep to what are in my opinion Mr Priests two most fascinating and captivating books: The Affirmation and Fugue for a Darkening Island.

Fugue is a disaster story, but it doesn’t have any form of environmental or other worldly event as its disaster. Instead, the disaster an invasion by a very large group of people from Africa of London, and then later the rest of England, after their continent is essentially written off and is slowly becoming completely unliveable. At first, the refugees are at a controllable level, but as more boats arrive, the situation quickly gets out of control and parts of the country is over run.

The story follows the life of one man during several different time periods, leading up to and during the invasion as he tries to at first live his life despite everything going on, and then to protect his family and survive as best he can in this new horrifying version of England.

The basic story of this book, and how a country is invaded by another race, and forced to change it’s ways to take them in and bargain with them is a relevant now as it is today, in most developed countries around the world, and could allude to a number of races as the invading force, or it may not even be referring to any kind of racial issues.

As with all of Christopher Priest’s work, there are several meanings and metaphors within each novel. As I didn’t live through time period, I would hate to mumble out what I believe a major message in the work, only to be completely wrong as I lacked any detailed knowledge of the period, which caused me to misinterpret a parts of the work.

The Affirmation tells the story of Peter Sinclair, a man who after a catastrophic series of events retreats to a friends cottage, and eventually writes a biography of himself, but which is slowly invaded by another reality, and a totally different other world. This small blurb, unfortunately doesn’t even begin to hint at the levels of depth that the novel has. As with all his work, Christopher Priests work has to be experienced first hand.

This novel, above all others is probably his best work, and is in my opinion the quintessential Christopher Priest novel. Nearly every mark of his literary skill and story telling ability appears in this book at one point or another, in later stories he may have taken certain narrative tools and fine tuned them, but none offer such an insight into the worlds that Mr Priest creates in any one novel that The Affirmation does.

This may seem like an article written by a publisher as a way of getting readers to go and buy an author’s books. I write this for no other reason that to talk about a great writer that at times isn’t given the recognition that one of such talent deserves. Very rarely now do we get writers in this genre that offer plots as complex and compelling, along with a literary flair that is lacking in many of the genre’s other writers.

So why aren’t more of Mr Priests novels in book stores, is it that only one of his books have been adapted into a films or television shows, unlike many of the other writers I mentioned earlier. At face value this may seem like an unrelated factor, but consider how many films have been made from Phillip K Dick’s books, Sky frequently use Terry Pratchett’s books for festive specials and we all know how successful Tolkien’s works have been received in the last decade, and how it has spawned an entire industry in and of itself.

So if you are looking for your next book, be it online or in a book shop, consider this article for a second when you are thinking over the choices. Yes you may have to wait a few days to order the book, but isn’t it worth to know that you are going to experience something new and exciting, and that you are reading something from one of not just science-fictions greatest writers, but from one of the greatest writers of the last fifty years.

Completing The Circle: The Dark Knight Rises

About two weeks ago the first trailer for The Dark Knight Rises arrived in theatres (if you went to see Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows) and online through the film’s bare facebook page. Before I was even aware it was out there, and friend of mine asked me what I thought of it, at the time I was somewhere where I had no chance of seeing it. For the next day I thought about what could possibly be on it, I didn’t want to ask and have it tainted for me. I wanted to go press play, knowing absolutely nothing about what I was about to see.

Before I go any further, there are no spoilers what so ever in this piece of writing for The Dark Knight Rises, as I don’t know any, and don’t want to know any.

The trailer is obviously very heavy on the end of a journey theme. One of the final images of the trailer is of the cloud filled bat symbol descending onto the dark city of Gotham. There are two ways to look at this, if you were to read into this imagery, and take it as being at all relevant to the overall plot.

Firstly, there is the, Batman will die at the end of the film way of thinking. Secondly, you could go that it is Batman saving onto the city and finally earning the trust of all its law-abiding citizens and it’s officials. Both at this time are perfectly plausible from a story point of view, more so the later as it would directly continue the story on from The Dark Knight where Batman sacrificed himself for the good of city, regarding Harvey Dent’s post accident business.

As Christopher Nolan has alluded to “bringing the story full circle”, then maybe this is the scenario we could see playing out in the story. Bruce Wayne finally achieving what he set out to do all those years ago when he returned from his seven-year absence. To become something that the people of Gotham could have faith in, and look up to, knowing that he is there to protect them from any danger. The trailer uses some dialogue from Batman Begins where Ra’s Al Ghul talks about what Bruce could be capable of, “making himself more than a man, and by doing that becoming a legend.

I am aware that the term Legend can be used in many different ways when referring to any kind of person, fictional or real. While the use of the line The Dark Knight Legend in the trailer could be seen as a way of merely stating that this is the end of this particular story, what I believe will probably be known as The Dark Knight trilogy, and the hyping the last instalment of a franchise always helps to get people into the cinema (look at The Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings numbers), it could also mean that by the time the credits roll Bruce Wayne may be dead.

The trailer throughout doesn’t hold much joy for both Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon, who is the character we see the most of. Gordon lays in pain and talks to a mysterious man for majority of the trailer, by what Gordon says and the way in which it is edited, we are led to believe it is Bruce Wayne, as he talks about the Batman coming back. No doubt, if this is an actual scene from the film, then Bruce more than likely has told Gordon who he is. The image of Gordon, who has suffered throughout the series, despite being the genuinely good man is a shock, and no doubt that was the point of using this for the trailer.

As I mentioned earlier, Gordon has suffered throughout the series, no more so than in the finale of The Dark Knight when his family’s future is decided on the flip of a coin by Harvey Dent. However, the state he is in on that hospital bed, is something else entirely. It’s more akin to severe beating or someone involved in a vehicle accident. By using a bit of comment sense, it wouldn’t be far to imagine that Gordon has had a run in with Bane, having to deal with him without Batman.

But the most shocking image of the trailer is saved for the last one or two seconds. It shows Batman staggering backwards, exhausted as Bane pounds into view up a flight of stairs, from our point of view, full of energy. It’s clear to see that this shot was chosen for a specific reason, it puts the idea of Batman dying as a very real possibility. However, knowing Christopher Nolan’s history with his Batman films, and their trailers, this shot could not even be from the last act of the film. Neither the trailers for Batman Begins or The Dark Knight had imagery from the finales in them. By finales I mean the siege of the Narrows or the Monorail fight in Begins or the skyscraper siege and coin toss sequence in Knight. This is however my assumption, and me going off what we have seen previously.

It is here I must admit to their being maybe a slight whiff of a spoiler, by my own fault I came across three set photos from the shoot in Pittsburgh.

If you don’t want to know anything, like myself then please jump to the next paragraph. Which features two pictures of Batman and Bane in a different location, fighting again, and which could make be the finale, if you take into consideration the contents of the third. Which feature neither Batman nor Bane, but certainly gives one or two clues away. Nothing though that any fan of Batman with a decent amount of knowledge of the characters history and the full cast list wouldn’t be able to put together if they had some spare time on their hands. Without knowing anything, I did think it was one way for them to link some characters together, and it seems at least going from this picture that I could be right.

Something to take into account when considering what the death of Batman would mean. Would the citizens of Gotham stand up and defend themselves and each other, making the city a better place, riding itself of crime and corruption. As much as we would all like to believe a city would do that, it would be unlikely. Gotham would quite possibly regress to what it was, but with the more dangerous criminals also in the mix. Christopher Nolan at times, especially with his Batman films encourages us to think about the possibilities after the film ends, the Joker card a prime example. How would Gotham fair with Batman gone, if the Joker were to escape or one of the other rogues emerged. The possibilities go are endless.

With the news that Warner Bros. will reboot the Batman franchise after this film coming out earlier in the year it is hard to say what the Nolan’s and David Goyer have in store for us this time next year. We don’t even know what kind of reboot they mean, it could be route that Marvel have taken with Spiderman, and starting a fresh with a knew cast and crew, or they could be just be passing the creative responsibility onto a new team, albeit with Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas serving as producers. This character especially in this version continuity has proven very popular, and it would be a strange decision for everyone involved to merely step away from it. Batman is one of the few comic book characters that has always been able to attract the big names, both in front of and behind the camera, and given the success of the first two, and it’s a safe bet to say the third, then attracting another talented team would not be difficult.

The one fear is that Warner Bros are rebooting Batman so as to one day put together their own team-up movie with the Justice League, as a way of rivalling Marvels The Avengers. Why they would want to do this, I have never understood, a good Batman film will always do better that these kind of films in both financial and critical terms.

Will we see Batman die next summer and become a legend that the people of Gotham look up to when they are lost or their city is in danger? Or will we see Batman finally become Gotham’s protector, accepted by all.

We’ll have to wait to next July to find out.

A Worthwhile Gamble: Owen Hargreaves

May 22nd 2011 was for me one of those days that fans of football clubs worldwide dread, the moment one of your favourite players leave the club you love. They may have done many things while at the club, a goal scoring machine, the driving force in the machine, or a defender ready to throw himself in the way of a screaming shot on a rainy miserable November night.

When the news broke that Manchester United wouldn’t offer Owen Hargreaves a new contract I was sat preparing to watch the final game of the season against Blackpool, where we would finally be presented as Champions. For the first hour I sat there dumbfounded, it didn’t make sense. Why Sir Alex I thought, Hargreaves can still a job for us, I knew it, but no one would listen to me as I ranted to whoever would listen to me.

Justifications came thick and fast, he’s better than some of our other players, he’s what we’ve been missing. A week later, Barcelona showed us that our we needed a world class defensive midfielder to protect our back line.

A work colleague, a Liverpool fan said to me before the final, “The player you need to beat them hasn’t played for you properly for the last two years”, a perfectly valid comment that people have pointed out about both the 2009 and 2011 finals, both of which have seen us lose the game in the middle of the pitch, although Darren Fletchers presence was also missed in these two games.

When Hargreaves signed with us back in 2007 I was overjoyed, he was the midfield enforcer we needed and much more, his versatility was vital throughout the season, no more so than in the two semi-finals against Barca, in which we shut them out over both legs, and the thrilling final in Moscow. Playing at right back, right wing(as part of an adaptable midfield quartet) and in his natural central midfield role throughout the extra time periods.

Often when Manchester United fans think back on the 2007/2008 season, they think of one man, Cristiano Ronaldo, and being fair it is hard to look past the phenomenal season he had, and it is fair to say that without Ronaldo, the campaign may have gone differently. But looking back through the games, were many other star performers, the back four and goalkeeper (usually consisting of Edwin Van Der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and Wes Brown) were imperious, especially at the start of the season when the attacking players weren’t hitting the heights they would later in the season.

Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez instantly developed an almost telepathic understanding, finding each other in and around the box without evening looking up. Finally the midfield, which was without doubt the strongest it had been in years, offered a multitude of options and combinations for Sir Alex Ferguson.

The additions of Anderson and Owen Hargreaves could have been seen as a way of finding a new version of the Paul Scholes and Roy Keane combination that served the club so well towards the end of the last decade and the start of this one. Hargreaves and Anderson even showed early signs of developing a great partnership, the home game against Middlesbrough was one their stand out performances.

It would be far fetched to say that Owen Hargreaves was the most important member of that part of the team, although he did repeatedly manage to draw out great performances from those he was partnered with in the middle, Paul Scholes being the obvious exception to this claim, his consistent form and quality on the ball over the duration of his career has been a joy to watch. In recent seasons, Anderson and to some extent Michael Carrick, a man who was pivotal in his first two or three or seasons, and no doubt contributed to all three league titles significantly, have seen their form dip and come under criticism.

It would seem to be a valid theory that Hargreaves absence has been felt by these two players, maybe it was Hargreaves reading of the game and defensive mindset that helped his team mates, winning the ball back in situations that would generate space for them, allowing them to play their own game, in Carrick’s case, dictating the pace of the game, for Anderson it would be driving forward with the ball and having the freedom to express himself in the final third.

It wouldn’t be a fair discussion about Owen Hargreaves without bringing up the obvious subject of injuries. It has been a long time since were saw Hargreaves play a full game, but when he consider some of the previous events. At the start of the season, renowned knee surgeon Dr Richard Steadman claimed, angering Ferguson in the process, that Hargreaves was ready to return. Ferguson rebuffed these comments. Steadman could have been talking from the perspective of a surgeon, in as much as that as far as he could see, the tendinitis had been addressed and the problem solved, as much as it can be. Where as Ferguson was most definitely talking in terms of Hargreaves playing Premier League football.

Then we have the unfortunate game against Wolves in November. Clearly Ferguson wouldn’t have played him if he didn’t think he was capable of playing, the hamstring injury could be attributed any number of possibilities. The shoulder injury in the last two months of the season just seemed to come out of nowhere, and effectively ended his United career, despite reports that he had been training well, and was doing everything to get back into the team.

But the biggest indicator has come from the player himself, in not choosing to retire, despite what many journalists and fans have suggested. This surely is this biggest fact to take note of, as no one will know his body better than himself, so surely he feels that he is capable of getting back into a top flight club.

In the crazy world of football the chance of seeing Owen Hargreaves pulling on Manchester United shirt again is impossible. Who would of thought we would ever see Michael Owen in Manchester United shirt? Stranger things have happened in this game. But it would be a long road, and the odds are against him, but if for one year he played at either a promotion chasing Championship team, or a mid table Premier League side, Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion have both been rumoured, and were to find his old form and prove that he was physically able to compete in the top leagues week in, week out. Then who is to say that on a free transfer Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn’t make that call again.

I’m sure that my optimistic, or deluded point of view on Owen Hargreaves would be ridiculed by some fans, and turned away with comments of “He had his time” by fellow Manchester United fans. But faced with the possibility of a resurgent Owen Hargreaves a year from now, I would find it hard to believe that many of them would turn down that option if our midfield was still lacking that disciplined energy.

So to the managers out there considering the move for Owen Hargreaves as a risk, consider not the pitfalls, but contemplate the positives, then rethink that decision.