However, Extras raised the same prickly issues for me that the other books in the series did. My years as a student steeped in cultural studies and gender theory make it pretty much impossible for me to read works of popular fiction without subjecting them to critical analysis, and Westerfeld's books certainly lend themselves to this sort of critique.
Especially if you are like me. Like most dystopian science fiction, Westerfeld's books cast a critical eye on disturbing aspects of our present-day society -- obsession with looks, fame, etc -- by taking those aspects to extremes and weaving them into the very fabric of the future society. In Extras, people earn money, respect, and privilege through the "reputation-based" economy, which rewards those who can make a name for themselves by publicizing and popularizing their thoughts, exploits, etc through the "feeds" read: Internet.
In all of these books, the main female character desperately wants to be pretty, special, popular, famous or whatever, but ends up questioning the values of her society when she meets outsiders who don't subscribe to those norms. The problem I have with Westerfeld's books is that these critiques, which are intriguing and thought-provoking, don't actually go far enough. Although the main character openly questions and in some cases initially resists the societal mandate to become pretty, special, famous, etc, she ALWAYS eventually ends up becoming pretty or famous even if it is against her will.
Unlike all the other unenlightened pretty or famous folks who have never questioned their society's structure, however, she is well-aware of the pitfalls. So although Westerfeld is clearly trying to show the reader how screwed up the dystopian society's norms and by implication our own are, in the end, he simply reinforces them.
In Westerfeld's world, you can be hip to the ways in which our society's obsession with looks and celebrity oppress others and rail against the system, but you can still benefit from them at the same time. There's no sacrifice to make. And I guess that's why, as much as I enjoy Westerfeld's books, I can't help thinking that ultimately they're as shallow as the cultural norms they purport to critique.
I really struggled to finish this book, and I thought it was significantly worse than the others in the series. A lot of the dialogue was agonizingly stilted. The characters actually said things like "Not good! Those lines drive me crazy enough in movies. I was horrified to find them in a book. At one point, characters from two different countries meet and have some communication difficulties. After a few pages, the author seems to forget about the language barrier and the characters converse naturally, as if they're all speaking the same language.
Then, toward the end, things get awkward again. Sloppy writing, I say. Thoughout the series, the characters were pretty one-sided. Tally the protagonist from the first three books entered this book about half-way through, and I was surprised to find her totally changed; whereas in the first three books she was a victim, thrown about by circumstances and surgeries, in this book she was suddenly a confident, rough-and-tumble leader. I just didn't buy it.
I don't think Westerfeld wrote very well from a teenage girl's point of view. Neither Aya nor Tally were very strong characters, and the "ew, bugs and mud! I was also confused by the fact that this story took place in a different country from the first three. I wish that had been well established early on so that I didn't have to wonder what the location was for such a long time. Wow, this review has gotten WAY longer than necessary. To sum up: There were some really good, interesting, creative ideas in the Uglies series, but they weren't good books.
Kat Lost in Neverland. Finally done. This is how this book made me feel; because it was such a disappointment. If that had sucked as bad as this one, I would have loved to give that a one star, then the pattern would be complete. Honestly, this book was kind of a disappointment. I liked how it was all accumulated around the Japanese society, but other than that, I was expecting much more of this book. In my opinion, Aya is a very whiny, self-absorbed suck up. I don't like the way Scott Westerfeld portrays Tally in this either because he renders her as a know-it-all b word, to say the least.
Which, I don't think Tally has ever been. Her character is not put to justice in this book. Ahmad Sharabiani. Aya Fuse is a young girl living in the futuristic city of Yokohama. One night, accompanied by her hovercam Moggle, she crashes a party in New Pretty Town hoping to track down a group she saw surfing a mag-lev train, a story which she believes will make her famous. She follows one of the group's members, Eden Maru, out of the party, but they nearly get away when she is distracted by Frizz Mizuno, a more beautiful and far more famous person who compliments Aya.
Aya leaves without telling Frizz her full name, because she is embarrassed by her comparatively low face rank. She then follows Eden into a cave, where she is ambushed by the mag-lev riders, who call themselves the Sly Girls. The group's leader Lai gives Aya a chance to join them, but to do so she is forced to drop Moggle into an underground lake. The next day, she visits her famous brother Hiro in New Pretty Town, another kicker who is celebrating reaching the "top thousand" - a list of the thousand most famous people in the city.
Hiro and his friend Ren Machino refuse to believe Aya's tale of the Sly Girls, who are an urban legend in the city, but Ren, who designed Moggle, agrees to help Aya retrieve him.
Aya also happens upon a story about Frizz, discovering that he started a clique based around a brain surgery called Radical Honesty, which enforces honesty and makes a person unable to lie. That evening, Aya goes mag-lev surfing with the Sly Girls, enjoying the experience in spite of not having a camera to film it with. During the journey, the girls are surprised when the train stops, and they see inhuman figures loading the train up with a variety of items hidden within a secret underground room.
Extras is the fourth book in Scott Westerfeld's critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling series originally it was a trilogy. They are easily worried about Saber, despite knowing that she is capable of handling herself well.
They are also courageous, willing to fight alongside Saber even knowing the danger such a thing would pose. Incapable of remembering anything, they are understandably terrified of Altera when they encounter her in Titan Form and look for the easiest chance of escape when made a prisoner. However, after discovering Altera's pain and sorrows, they are more willing to try and find a way to save her, even though in doing so risks the destruction of the Moon Cell, which they tried to prevent in the first place.
A recurring trait of Hakuno is their unwavering determination to never give up hope. This is evident when numerous opponents - and even Hakuno's own Servants - repeatedly request Hakuno to give up on their fruitless journey.
Even when faced with superior enemies, Hakuno never backed down. Hakuno begins as a student and friend of Shinji. During the Prologue where the player plays the Initial Protagonist , the two versions of Hakuno can be seen during the week since they are in the same class as Shinji and the Initial Protagonist. By the last day, after the player chooses one of them, they are revealed to perceive something strange about the school, and wind up also following Leo and the Initial Protagonist through a secret doorway.
After obtaining their own effigy, they come across the Initial Protagonist's body after he had failed to defeat another effigy. Hakuno is also defeated by the effigy, and while dying, begins to lament their fate. They refuse to give up their life, as they are afraid of the pain, losing their senses, and becoming a corpse. Feeling that they shouldn't have to disappear for no reason at all, after all of the pain and headaches, they decide that they need to rise up because they have yet to fight of their own volition and on their own terms.
Thus, they are answered by Saber , Archer , or Caster. Unlike the other participants, Hakuno does not regain their real memory once the war begins, and has no recollection of their true identity or reason for joining the war. With no wish to make, they fight only to survive, becoming increasingly disturbed over the fact that they must murder others with no real purpose other than raw survival.
After defeating all opponents, they become the victor of the Grail War. Pieceman , who tries to convince the protagonist to use the Moon Cell to wish for the advancement of the human race through war. Hakuno refuses and defeats Twice's Servant Saver , killing Pieceman. The female Hakuno Kishinami is portrayed in flashbacks as the original Hakuno of Last Encore's timeline and dies in the opening scene.
HAKUNO Kishinami, the protagonist of the show, is not the original male version, but a collection of grudges from dead Masters given form using Hakuno as a template. Hakuno was the former Master of Saber, and together they defeated a number of opponents including Julius and Leo until they reached the final floor and fought against Twice H.
Pieceman and Saver, a battle which they ultimately lost. Saber eventually arrives at the site of Hakuno's death and leaves a flower on the spot, asking for forgiveness for leaving her alone for so long.
As part of a promise to not let Saber die alone, Hakuno appears one more time in the final episode, just as Saber begins to fade, to fulfill said promise through HAKUNO. Each gender has an alternate costume like the three Servants.
The player can also summon Gilgamesh as their new Servant. In this timeline, Hakuno had contracted with a Berserker -class Servant and successfully made it to the sixth round. Hakuno had also chosen to rescue Rani during Rani's battle with Rin, meaning Lancer and Berserker were their opponents. BB 's meddling caused Hakuno to lose their Servant and require them to contract with one of four optional Servants.
They are not in the body of the sleeping original in Japan, but rather an abandoned facility in a different location. She gives them an artificially created, complete human body with their mind and memories from the Far Side transferred into it.
They have no way of knowing how the Holy Grail War on the Near Side will end after leaving, and there still exists the version of Hakuno within the war that still has the possibility to win and arrive at the core.
As proof of their kingship, they have obtained the Regalia ring. At some point in time, Hakuno had encountered the admin of the Moon Cell , Archimedes , who informed them of a terrible threat known as the Umbral Star , a predatory planet that consumed and harvested life every 14, years. As it happened, the Moon Cell's update programming was around the same time as the Umbral Star, or the Velber, would reawaken and resume their quest of destruction.
Not wanting their servant to get involved, Hakuno went with Archimedes to the Dark Zero, where the Vanguard of the Velber was sealed away when it first attacked the Moon Cell. However, to Hakuno's surprise, the White Titan was a giant woman, sleeping inside a room filled with golden treasure. Archimedes, panicked, says that they should defeat the Titan now with the Regalia, though before Hakuno can act, the Titan awakens. At first, it shows no hostility, even greeting Hakuno until it becomes hostile after Archimedes repeated shouts that they should eliminate the Titan.
Hakuno is then captured by the Titan. It is then learned that Archimedes was, in fact, a servant of the Velber, who was going to eliminate Hakuno if they had gone along with his plans, but to his joyous surprise, they were unwilling to attack the Titan upon seeing its calm nature. Realizing that if the Regalia is destroyed, and the Moon Cell left vulnerable, Hakuno makes a last resort decision to split themselves into three parts; Mind, Body, and Soul.
This action shocks Archimedes, believing that they wouldn't even be so desperate, but as a result of their actions, the Regalia is separated into three pieces. The Mind of Hakuno Kishinami has returned to Nero Claudius' side, while the Soul has returned to Tamamo no Mae, who has begun to set herself up as a tyrant of her own land.
Unfortunately, the action has horrible ramifications as later learned. Without a Soul or Body to stabilize the Mind, Nero's Master would suffer the effects and even go into a catatonic state at the end of the Flame Poem Arc.
The Body is much in the same way, though in contrast, it would degrade and eventually break down without a Mind or Soul to help it function. The Soul, on the other hand, would be able to function all by itself without the aid of Hakuno's Mind or Body.
The Body of Hakuno also serves as the Master of Artoria in her side story, though it is worth noting that the game never outright considers them as her Master in the narrative. The Mind of Hakuno dreams of their encounter with Altera and future events, such as Saber battling against her Titan form - Sephyr.
However, due to the mechanations of Archimedes, they are unable to recall most of anything. At best, they recall Altera as a black giant. They eventually awaken in the Throne Room of the territory ruled by Nero, who is initially worried about their amnesiac state.
She then catches Hakuno up to speed: they defeated countless Masters and Servants and prevailed, becoming the rulers of SE. PH, with the Regalia on Saber's ring signifying her status. After a moment of rest, Saber introduces her generals, though she is initially confused by Nameless' presence. Afterwards, she and Hakuno depart to claim the new lands being constructed by the Moon Cell, though encounter opposition in the form of enemy programs, commanded by Elizabeth Bathory.
Nero and Hakuno make quick work of the enemy, but shortly after, they suffer from the effects of the split. At that moment, Tamamo makes her appearance, declaring war against Nero whilst also revealing her possession of Hakuno's Soul, as well as one of the three Regalia pieces.
Additionally, she reveals she has claimed half of SE. PH, much to the shock of Nero. The following day, Nero investigates the mysterious anomalies and tries to access the Moon Cell's core for information, only to discover that, in spite of possessing a Regalia, she does not have access to this information. At this moment, the Caster-class Servant Archimedes arrives. The fragment of a messiah that hates, endorses conflict. This is a fight against stagnation, the evil nature of humans.
Will you advance while shedding blood? Will you advance while taking someone's hand? After despair, will you reject travel all over this?
After despair, will you affirm settle this? The ghost inquires about such right and wrong. As a responsible party born in the past, reflected in the present. This future has already approached a dead end. Humanity is unsightly ending halfway without bearing fruit.
This "stagnation" itself is proof. Rin thought that this came from the rule of Western Europe Plutocrats. That Leo and the others were suppressing the progress of technology, the undulation of emotions to their own convenience. Leo too had such self-awareness.
That the Plutocrats are controlling the world in this manner. Howerver… Leo never told Rin until the end. The Western Europe Plutocrats has made arrangements so that society would stagnate, but other than that no definite choice has been produced so far. Rather than going forward, it is much more comfortable to stand still. To begin with… humans are enough happy as it is.
More progress than this, for sure that is something unnecessary - the consciousness of people say so. Then there is no meaning to this. If it was just about wishing for happiness, it would have been better to remain as animals from the beginning. You people - we all - have shed much blood while seeking for something greater than happiness.
Why are people so weak, when they are that much strong? Such ending, is it really worth 2, years? Struggle for existence is indeed the basis of life. The means to survive, in the true sense of the word. Conflict is indeed the path of progress.
Open a path Spread. If you kill this planet, then leave this planet behind and reach the cosmos sky. That is the bare minimum responsibility of humans. Contemplate that growth. Conflict nurtured you.
Predicament changed that flesh and blood into steel. It let you surpass even first-rate hackers. Yet… you, who knows its preciousness, will reject this strife wish? They are both humans from the past. Two of the few people that can express objective impressions about this future. The king of conflict rejects this future. However, you do not hold such point of view.
Even if this future is all somebody else's problem. Even if the time ahead that we dreamed about is a foolish dead end.
I cannot reject the life of the people that live here. I cannot approve it. The reason why its virtual world has the image of a sea. If the basis of life is conflict, then the basis of the eye of the moon is to watch over. That way of being was unconsciously understood by the Masters who arrived at the moon. But only he, who managed to reach the Nucleus faster than anyone else, did not understand the strength of that way of being. Stagnation this place is our reality.
The responsibility for stealing must be fulfilled. While accepting the premonition of defeat, the fragment of a messiah takes up his sword without yielding his pet theory. Until the , it was the growing period. But, after experiencing the adolescence the immature era meant to follow it, the golden age that was finally supposed appear was practically non-existent. Like a decomposed fruit. The most rich and prosperous period was entirely missing.
That, was too much sinful.
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