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elothwen's review
2.0
A psychotic and harrowing picture of post-apocalyptia but lacquered over as a pornographic rape fantasy. It doesn't tell you much more than women are worth nothing, nothing at all.
zskelton's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lipsandpalms's review
5.0
You can tell how deeply this story influenced the Fallout video game series. This idea of loyalty to a partner that goes deeper than a fleeting romance is a theme that I rarely see explored.
The hard choice should be made and characters, especially main characters, should be flawed and unique just like real life human beings.
Once again Harlan has surprised me with his creativity. I'm going to read more of what he's written.
The hard choice should be made and characters, especially main characters, should be flawed and unique just like real life human beings.
Once again Harlan has surprised me with his creativity. I'm going to read more of what he's written.
shalloodesign's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
white_flame69's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
turnpikesteve's review
5.0
I didn’t know where he was going with this, and then it all clicked. Really good.
some_okie_dude27's review
I enjoy video games quite a bit. I wouldn't call myself a fanatic, I'm not obsessive over achievements or showing off my skills. I usually try to focus on the story, the characters, and the world that the game attempts to present. I started out young, playing the Lego game versions of franchises that I had grown up loving such as The Indiana Jones films, the Star Wars saga, and my favorite superhero Batman. I would move on to play shooters such as Call of Duty, eating up game after game until I realized its complete dip in quality, though it's seemed to have bounced back in recent years. I then went on to play more story driven games, which has how I've managed to acquire the taste that I have now.
Roger Ebert once asserted that video games would never be art, an egregious error on his part as well as an ironic one, considering films were also once viewed as a passing fad before becoming well regarded when better and more sophisticated techniques were used to improve film and allow it to be seen as an art form. Ebert would go on to inadvertently invalidate his own argument once he admitted that he had not played very many video games, so he had no position to really comment upon if video games should be considered art, but he wasn't going to take back his statement. Much as I admire and respect Ebert, I have to say that it was one of the few blunders of his career.
I would counter Ebert and say that I've played many video games that have been just as profound, beautiful, and touching as any other creative medium that I've encountered. I found The Last of Us, as well as its sequel, to be just as touching of an exploration of the post-apocalyptic genre alongside McCarthy's The Road, Romero's 'Dead' films, and Kirkman's The Walking Dead.
Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic, from the widely praised Bioware, is another game that I found to be not just as good, but more complex, entertaining, and nuanced than all of the recent Star Wars films combined, giving us a familiar world but one that is just as complicated, difficult, and nuanced as our own. What makes it so revolutionary and lasting is its daring to question the foundations of what the original films established. I have also heard its sequel is also audacious and ambitious in scope, though I've still yet to play it.
Another game I discovered through my journey of going through the best games is the Fallout series. I particularly found New Vegas to be an engaging, immersive, and thoughtful entry into the series with its explorations of war, power, and responsibility. In my curiosity, I decided to look through the game's history to find its influences, which is where I found A Boy and His Dog (ah, we're getting somewhere), which proved itself to be a disturbing, cynical, and even darkly funny take on the post-apocalyptic setting.
Ellison's reputation precedes him, as cantankerous and bitter as he could be, he certainly showed a willingness to explore new creative mediums, such as with comics and video games and his influence has been felt through many mediums from comics to television to video games, particularly with the Fallout games. I've found, however, that much like some of the other science fiction writers of his era, his persona and antics were sometimes more interesting than the stories that he wrote, there are certainly a few that he did that are worth the read, much like with this one.
Ellison's story is neatly paced and full of wit and cynicism, his world sometimes becoming as strange, alien, and disturbing as the worlds that he would later come to inspire. Though I sadly didn't find much of the political commentary and satire that I would find in the Fallout games, though Ellison does come close due to his acidic wit. Sometimes the pacing doesn't allow the characters to fully develop and absorb their surroundings, but I enjoyed the psychology and the depravity of the characters. Much of the story's focus is of the titular boy and his dog and their reactions to the world around them, alongside the many other people that they come across and their view of the worlds. I just never found that the story went deep enough with them, but I found it to be good enough.
The world is full of despair and hopelessness, and Ellison sometimes seems to be enjoying the awful situations that the characters are often finding themselves in, but Ellison makes a key point about humanity that the Fallout games would later expand upon: that humanity, being as frustrating as it is, never seems to learn the lessons that should have been learned from our history and even after we destroy ourselves, we'll still be killing each other over things like food, women, and weapons. Though unlike with Fallout, Ellison doesn't seem to offer a safety net or even a shred of hope, but much like the other writers of his time, seeks to offer us a glimpse of what our arrogance and ignorance could bring and it's never looked so bleak.
A Boy and His Dog is a classic for a reason, and one of my favorite stories from Ellison as well as one of my favorite post-apocalyptic stories of all time. However, I've found that perhaps the games and films that this story inspired may have surpassed this story in some ways, while also expanding upon the themes that Ellison put out. It makes me disheartened though, that video games are still struggling to be taken seriously as an art form. Though I do yearn for the day that we can not be judged for the way that we experience stories, no matter what format that it's in.
Roger Ebert once asserted that video games would never be art, an egregious error on his part as well as an ironic one, considering films were also once viewed as a passing fad before becoming well regarded when better and more sophisticated techniques were used to improve film and allow it to be seen as an art form. Ebert would go on to inadvertently invalidate his own argument once he admitted that he had not played very many video games, so he had no position to really comment upon if video games should be considered art, but he wasn't going to take back his statement. Much as I admire and respect Ebert, I have to say that it was one of the few blunders of his career.
I would counter Ebert and say that I've played many video games that have been just as profound, beautiful, and touching as any other creative medium that I've encountered. I found The Last of Us, as well as its sequel, to be just as touching of an exploration of the post-apocalyptic genre alongside McCarthy's The Road, Romero's 'Dead' films, and Kirkman's The Walking Dead.
Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic, from the widely praised Bioware, is another game that I found to be not just as good, but more complex, entertaining, and nuanced than all of the recent Star Wars films combined, giving us a familiar world but one that is just as complicated, difficult, and nuanced as our own. What makes it so revolutionary and lasting is its daring to question the foundations of what the original films established. I have also heard its sequel is also audacious and ambitious in scope, though I've still yet to play it.
Another game I discovered through my journey of going through the best games is the Fallout series. I particularly found New Vegas to be an engaging, immersive, and thoughtful entry into the series with its explorations of war, power, and responsibility. In my curiosity, I decided to look through the game's history to find its influences, which is where I found A Boy and His Dog (ah, we're getting somewhere), which proved itself to be a disturbing, cynical, and even darkly funny take on the post-apocalyptic setting.
Ellison's reputation precedes him, as cantankerous and bitter as he could be, he certainly showed a willingness to explore new creative mediums, such as with comics and video games and his influence has been felt through many mediums from comics to television to video games, particularly with the Fallout games. I've found, however, that much like some of the other science fiction writers of his era, his persona and antics were sometimes more interesting than the stories that he wrote, there are certainly a few that he did that are worth the read, much like with this one.
Ellison's story is neatly paced and full of wit and cynicism, his world sometimes becoming as strange, alien, and disturbing as the worlds that he would later come to inspire. Though I sadly didn't find much of the political commentary and satire that I would find in the Fallout games, though Ellison does come close due to his acidic wit. Sometimes the pacing doesn't allow the characters to fully develop and absorb their surroundings, but I enjoyed the psychology and the depravity of the characters. Much of the story's focus is of the titular boy and his dog and their reactions to the world around them, alongside the many other people that they come across and their view of the worlds. I just never found that the story went deep enough with them, but I found it to be good enough.
The world is full of despair and hopelessness, and Ellison sometimes seems to be enjoying the awful situations that the characters are often finding themselves in, but Ellison makes a key point about humanity that the Fallout games would later expand upon: that humanity, being as frustrating as it is, never seems to learn the lessons that should have been learned from our history and even after we destroy ourselves, we'll still be killing each other over things like food, women, and weapons. Though unlike with Fallout, Ellison doesn't seem to offer a safety net or even a shred of hope, but much like the other writers of his time, seeks to offer us a glimpse of what our arrogance and ignorance could bring and it's never looked so bleak.
A Boy and His Dog is a classic for a reason, and one of my favorite stories from Ellison as well as one of my favorite post-apocalyptic stories of all time. However, I've found that perhaps the games and films that this story inspired may have surpassed this story in some ways, while also expanding upon the themes that Ellison put out. It makes me disheartened though, that video games are still struggling to be taken seriously as an art form. Though I do yearn for the day that we can not be judged for the way that we experience stories, no matter what format that it's in.
aroldo's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0