@ www theotherpress.ca

 

Livia’s Library

By Livia Turnbull

 

ollowing an event known as the
Pests in the not too distant future,
several devastating wars have torn

the world apart. Those who aren’t already
dead have either been stricken with disease
or struggle as scavengers. These scavengers
include 15-year-old Stephen Quinn and his
family, led by Stephen’s grandfather, a tough
ex-marine. All too quickly though, Stephen’s
grandfather dies from an illness, and his father
winds up in a coma. Now on his own, Stephen
manages to find a group of people who take
his father and him to a place called Settler’s
Landing, where residents attempt to replicate
the pre-war world. But just as Stephen is
adjusting to his new life, a post-war threat
emerges, requiring Stephen to put all his years
as a scavenger to good use.

While The Eleventh Plague has some good
arcs, such as Stephen’s adjustment to pre-war

: ‘The Eleventh Plague’

We take a look at Jeff Hirsch’s debut novel

 
  

life, the characters overall just seem bland.
Stephen especially, despite being presented

as a scavenger, feels flatter than a blackboard.
Of course, that could just be the point of

his character, but considering his role as
protagonist, I felt as though he could use more
fleshing out.

The supporting characters ranged from
annoying to simply bad, with the exception
of one: Jennifer Tam, an adopted child. Being
of Chinese descent, her character must deal
with feelings of alienation from the rest of the
group. Personally, I thought the story should
have been from her perspective. However,
seeing as we already have enough female
protagonists in Young Adult dystopian
novels, maybe it was best to change things up,
regardless of Stephen’s bland persona.

The setting is described as your standard
post-war-torn world, but I liked how author
Jeff Hirsch managed to describe how big
and empty the decaying world was at the
beginning. Overall, while this debut novel
does have a few good ideas, it misses more
than it hits.

 

Ue eR Ue ee eae

“The Eleventh Plague hits disturbingly close to home... . An excellent, taut debut novel.”

ELEVENTH

 

New tricks from Netflix

Netflix to premiere its first original series, ‘Lilyhammer’

 

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

nly in the past year has the
(_)rrrcn godsend Netflix

made waves up here in
Canada. While it’s been something
of a hassle defending Netflix’s
significantly limited Canadian
space, it’s also been a treat watching
the selection of films and television
shows grow over time.

answer to the question, people
were left wondering where all
this additional money was going.

February.

Lilyhammer follows Frank
“The Fixer” Tagliano (Steven
Van Zandt), a New York resident
who was previously a member of
“the mafia.” After ratting out his
superiors, members of the Delucci
family, Frank is relocated to the
Norwegian town of Lillehammer
(which he pronounces as “lily
hammer”), a place he’s been fixated
on since seeing it in the ‘94 Winter
Olympics. With hopes of leaving
his criminal past behind him,
Frank attempts to get a fresh start,
but quickly finds that life as an
immigrant isn’t particularly easy.
With few other options to have the
comforts and respect he once had,
Frank sees no choice but to return
to his old ways in a new town.

Honestly, after finding a decent

“When they’re literally offering their audience the competition,

they need to come up with something more original.”

amount of information about the

But, as we continue to pay
our original $8 per month fee,
the U.S.’s Netflix service has had
several price increases applied to
its various rental deals. Of course,
this didn’t sit well with the service’s
many, many customers; while it
can be assumed there’s an obvious

Well, despite a few share decreases,
part of Netflix’s immense net
worth will now be going towards
original programming. That’s
right, American Netflix is officially
recognizing itself as a legitimate
network, and will be premiering its
first original series, Lilyhammer, this

show, I have to say it doesn’t sound
very interesting. On a “network”
that hosts quality programs like
Breaking Bad, Mad Men, heck even
classic Simpsons, the stakes of
producing original programming
are rather high. When they’re
literally offering their audience the

   
    

THE

competition, they need to come up
with something more original. Not
to mention the fact that stills of the
show, along with its Norwegian

location, give off the appearance of
something reflecting a low budget.

Not to sound judgmental,
but seeing as though this is a bare
bones American production, the
tired concept of being in the shoes
of the not-so American boy could
probably be a hit over there. It’s
similar to how CBC and CTV
constantly try to come up with
quirky and “original” Canadian
programming, the only ones of
which I’ve been able to legitimately
enjoy being Corner Gas, What It’s
Like Being Alone, and Robson Arms—
and yes, I am well aware that each
of these shows carries its own
stigma. What I’m trying to say is
that for a multi-million company
that more or less successfully
understands how to operate a
quality service, why they would
invest their money in what looks to
be an eight-episode train wreck is
baffling.

Of course, before I can make
any serious decisions about the
show, it’s only fair to see it first.
Lilyhammer will be premiering on
American Netflix services (which
I already know many of you have
found access to) on February 6,
and will most likely be available
to torrent and YouTube by the next
day.