[Letters From the Labyrinth]
Hi. I'm Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth, a newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
There will be no newsletter next week, due to the holidays. And today's is going to be a bit different, because:
a) I have no news to tell you.
and
b) My 9-year old and I spent the weekend at the movies watching THOR: RAGNAROK and STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI.-- and those two things are pretty much the only thing on my brain right now.
Don't worry. I won't spoil either of them for you. If you haven't seen them, you can safely read on.
THOR: RAGNAROK ended up being one of my favorite of the Marvel films. A lot of that is down to the writing and the characterization. And the humor. But a fair amount of my enjoyment also came from seeing Jack Kirby's influence on the film. Trust me, he is all over that movie. And it is delightful.
I also have thoughts on THE LAST JEDI, but we saw that just an hour ago, and afterward I dropped my son off at his mother's and came home and am tying this, and I haven't fully unpacked those thoughts yet. But...
The new Star Wars trilogy serves two purposes -- bringing closure to the story-arcs of the classic characters, while introducing a new generation of characters to take the franchise into the future.
With that in mind, it is clear now that THE FORCE AWAKENS was Han and Finn's movie, THE LAST JEDI was Luke and Poe's movie, and the forthcoming Episode IX would have been Leia and Rey's film. Unfortunately, since Carrie Fischer's untimely death prevents that from happening, I would like to see it become Rey's movie, along with Chewbacca and the droids. I mean, Chewbacca's still waiting on the damned medal he never got after A NEW HOPE, right?
THE LAST JEDI is a fine film, It really is. But as the credits rolled, I had a definite sense of... that chapter of my life closing or me. That story is over now. I'll still go see Star Wars films, but I'll see them through my 9-year old's eyes -- a little boy who idolizes Finn, Poe, and Rey the way I used to idolize Han, Luke, and Leia when I was his age.
Sooner or later, all stories comes to an end. But the movie? The movie goes on, with new people watching. That's how life works. We're all merely players.
May the Force be with you.
That's it for this week. A few reminders:
PATREON - Where I post new short stories, a serialized ongoing novel, and behind-the-scenes stuff.
TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly.
Happy Holidays. See you in two weeks.