The seventeen stories that make up Volumes Two and Three of the Emmy® award-winning Netflix Original series Love, Death & Robots. Featuring best-selling authors and screenwriters from all over the globe, curated by filmmakers Tim Miller and David Fincher, and Supervising Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Stories by Neal Asher, Paolo Bacigalupi, J. G. Ballard, Alan Baxter, Justin Coates, Harlan Ellison, Joachim Heijndermans, Joe Lansdale, Rich Larson, Alberto Miego, Jeff Fowler & Tim Miller, John Scalzi, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick.
Plus, I'm still at awe how my favorite NETFLIX episodes corresponds to my favorite book short stories. And I'm not even jumping in a bandwagon of Jibaro superfans. I liked "The Very Pulse of the Machine" more, though "Jibaro" is also crazy good.
Anyways, my highest recommendations for this series!
Amikor egy könyvet, novellát megfilmesítenek, abban benne van az esély, hogy az eredetivel egyenértékű, esetleg még jobb mű szülessen - most így hirtelen a Mechanikus narancs vagy a Ragyogás jut eszembe. A filmek "novelizációja" (megkönyvesítése? :-)) ritkán jár ilyen eredménnyel, inkább marketinges fogás, hogy legyen "long tail", azaz újabb műfajban is bevételre lehessen szert tenni - kb. mint az akciófigurákkal.
Néha azonban sikerül nettó értéket létrehozni: a könyvben "elférnek" a film szereplőinek vizuálisan csak nehezen ábrázolható gondolatai, érzései, kibontható a karakterek háttere, és így többet kapunk, mintha csak a képernyőt néznénk.
A Love, Death + Robots a Netflix egyik meglepően eredeti animációs sorozata volt, az első évadot talán túl gyorsan követte a második és a harmadik is, a színvonal érezhetően csökkent, de azért mindkét folytatásban maradtak értékes epizódok. Érdekes, hogy a kötet elsősorban azokhoz tud hozzáadni extra tartalmat, amelyek kicsit kevésbé működtek filmen. Az "Automated Customer Service" vagy a "Bad Traveling" nem nyert túl sokat a plusz szöveggel, a "Swarm", az "In Vaulted Halls Entombed" és a "Jibaro" viszont gazdagabbak lettek.
‘Bad Travelling’ - better somewhat than the animated short - as in Torrin seems less noble and more vengeful and resenting of the crew, he actively punishes them for throwing him at the Thanapod (also, brilliant name!) initially; and there was a moment when I got the sense he thought himself better than the folk with whom he sails. All in all, a great depiction of a morally grey character, an antihero even.
‘The Pulse of the Machine’ - who would have thought an astronaut, Olympic winner athlete would have an inferiority complex? Martha is so accomplished but all she sees is her playing second fiddle to others, she is so very human, I could weep! And the idea that a machine was waiting for her, only her to know, to love to care for her - she truly deserved the animated ending, becoming one with Io!
‘Mini Zombie Apocalypse’ - the animation was funnier.
‘Kill team kill’ - funnier in animation, more badass in writing. Apparently there were three grizzly bear abominations created and our team managed to terminate two of them. Also, in the story they don't die at the end.
‘Swarm’ - not much is changed, perhaps more details are given as to what drives humankind to enslave another race. Dialogues are expanded.
‘Mason's Rats’ – is much the same with Mason’s disdain for the suits more apparent.
‘In Vaulted Halls Entombed’ - eldritch horror, great execution in animation, great story to read. I found the story to be more chilling though.
‘Jibaro’ – amazing both in animation and in writing. Kudos to the animators though, they really brought the characters to life with no dialogue! Volume 2 is worth a read, too. I especially remember ‘ICE’ where the ending is changed from the short story. ‘Pop Squad’ will remain in my memory for the short story is compelling to read and it retains an air of mystery still. ‘The Drowned Giant’ will haunt me because in writing I found it hit harder – an essay about mortality and decaying and perceived memory even after death.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I had a fantastic time reading volume 1 of this series, and I absolutely loved the second and third seasons of the show, so I was very eager to get to the next volume. This collection runs a narrower gamut than the previous, with both fewer goofy stories and fewer high-art opuses, but with much more interesting medium-strength adventure stories. More explorations of alternate humanities, our own dystopias futures, and stunningly vivid images of the horrors just beyond our understanding. There were so many great stories in here, by classic voices and new talents alike. I really do hope they make more. Some favorites: Pop Squad, The Very Pulse of the Machine, Swarm, In Vaulted Halls Entombed.
Exactly as expected, some of the stories are just as good in written or visual form (The tall grass, All through the house and Mason's rats), some are better in written form (Automated Customer Service comes to mind for one reason only: Netflix changed the cat to a dog) and others are MUCH better as animations (The very pulse of the machine and The Drowned Giant). I have to add that John Scalzi and Joe R Landsdale are really shining in both anthologies.
Thought that Snow in the Desert by Neal Asher was better than the animated episode made from it. Thought The Tall Grass by Joe Lansdale was not as good as the episode made from it. Thought Swarm by Bruce Sterling (probably the most visionary thing here) is about as good in either format. The Very Pulse of the Machine by Michael Swanwick is absolutely awesome in both versions.
Not as good as the first volume. The only five-star one is Michael Swanwick’s The Very Pulse of the Machine. And then the ones by Neal Asher are not bad, among which my favorite is Snow in the Desert. The other ones are okay, but I’m not too impressed.
Some of the short stories were way better than others! I really enjoyed some of the longer stories that expanded on the episodes of the show. Other short stories I liked the episode more than the story.
A fitting continuation. I love these anthologies with different short stories and their plot twists that remind me of the twilight zone. Had lots of fun reading and imagining continuations of each story.
The show and short stories are almost exact copies, but the stories are so good you will burn through this book! There is a little extra from John Scalzi as well.