The Salem Branch - Your thoughts

[Midnite]

Oh well, other than that, I am glad just to be reading something that is both a continuation of the show, and not a fanfiction (although I have seen the arguments that it IS a fanfiction, however, if this is the case, then the entire works of Anne Rice should be classified as fanfiction.)

One poster, I believe, called it fanfiction, and I suppose it is in the sense that LP did not have any hand in creating the series or its characters.  However, it is a professional novel, and this is why I'm so critical of it, just as I would point a finger at Anne Rice (whose characters are completely original, btw, so I don't get your analogy) if she were guilty of making the same writing mistakes.  Fans are standing in long lines to purchase this book, and for the money I feel she should have done better.  And I have read better [free] fanfic on the net.

I did offer that The Salem Branch qualifies as a Mary Sue, though I never explained that comment.  LP introduced an original character (Antoinette)-- a stand-in for herself who is overly perfect-- while the flaws of other fictional characters, who are not her creations, are emphasized.  The author even admits in Q&As to providing Antoinette with some of her own personal experiences.

I did notice something though. Everywhere and everything causes leaves to move, in every possible way. Cars cause leaves to fly, digging makes leaves fall in holes, and leaves turn colors of gemstones. Is it overkill, I don't think so (so far). I am still hoping I will see the symbolism once I have finished the book.

Ha!  Yes, the autumn leaves.  We discussed that in the preceding pages of this topic.  It does get quite annoying, at least that's my be-leaf. 

[Raineypark]

It just occurred to me that perhaps poor Lara suffers from "leaf envy" because she lives in California.

I know I would be sad to live through an October without leaves.......

[MsCriseyde]

It just occurred to me that perhaps poor Lara suffers from "leaf envy" because she lives in California.

I know I would be sad to live through an October without leaves.......

LOL. You know, the sad thing is that she warned us about the tree imagery. Ever since her book has had a title, at DS events, she would smile and say, "It's about trees." Most of us simply assumed it was a bad pun on the title. Turns out, it wasn't. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

OMG, MsCriseyde - I LOVE the new Darth Vader/Toaster Oven avatar/text!! Hilarious!! 

[MsCriseyde]

OMG, MsCriseyde - I LOVE the new Darth Vader/Toaster Oven avatar/text!! Hilarious!! 

Wish I could say it's my own creation, but I got it from Avatarist.

[Para L. Time]

Me bad: To clarify, I have seen reviews elsewhere (such as Amazon, etc) comparing "The Salem Branch" to be in the style of Bad Fanfiction. To me, "The Salem Branch" is considerably higher than Bad Fanfiction. So if TSB is in the style of "bad" fanfiction, then so is "The Mayfair Witches" or "The Vampire Chronicles", which have one or more Mary Sues in each book, described things "such as leaves" to the point of overkill, and disgusting bodily functions and/or sex. (The biggest offender being "The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned", which I still have a copy of and will never throw away, for sexy mummies are higher on a sensual level, for me, than vampires are. Don't know why.) All things that I obviously enjoy, as I read the Anne Rice books feverishly in the 1990's.

I guess I am a sucker for Mary Sues, for I am really enjoying the Miranda du Val parts of the story. I love the way she has with animals. Believe it or not, the 1600's feel very familiar to me, like a distant memory, and this part of American history has always made me feel a sort a kinship. I honestly believe that I lived through this time period in New England.

I still cannot stomach the relationship between Barnabas and Julia. Julia is being written so unappetizing, and the relationship seems so strained to the point I am starting to believe that Barnabas is only with her out of obligation, that I literally almost gagged when Barnabas kissed her. A Willie/Barnabas coupling would have been more feasible than this (at least for me), or at the very least have Barnabas with the Angelique look-alike, Antoinette.

I am still trying to realize Barnabas's need for medical treatment, in my mind, and the only conclusion that I can come up with is that somehow his 1840 self and 1970 self melded together when he returned to 1971. So that the uncursed meshed with the cursed, forming a creature with vampire dna that still needed a cure. Sounds corny, I know, but it is the only way I can reconcile this discrepancy.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I am still trying to realize Barnabas's need for medical treatment, in my mind, and the only conclusion that I can come up with is that somehow his 1840 self and 1970 self melded together when he returned to 1971. So that the uncursed meshed with the cursed, forming a creature with vampire dna that still needed a cure. Sounds corny, I know, but it is the only way I can reconcile this discrepancy.

There has always been some debate in fandom over whether or not Barnabas was still a vampire after he returned to 1971. Some fans feel that because Angelique removed his curse in 1840/41, he was no longer a vampire in 1971. However, because Barn's curse in 1971 was caused by Jeb and not Ang, other fans argue that he IS still a vampire. And adding credence to the latter belief, Sam Hall also considered Barn to still be a vampire when he wrote his TV Guide article. 

Truthfully, having had Angelique remove the curse in 1840/41 causes huge problems, the least of which is whether or not Barn is still a vampire in the present. The biggest problem is if Barn was cured back then and never rechained in his coffin, how the hell do the people in the present even know who he is because Willie would have never been able to unchain him in 1967!    But as we know only too well, the DS writers never considered that sort of stuff and often left it to the audience to figure it out for themselves, which is no doubt why we're still debating it.    And basically the only way to fathom it all is to theorize that somehow the I Ching or the stairway through time or some combination of both took care of getting Barn's 1840/41 self recursed and rechained in his coffin as Barn travelled to 1971. But how that actually took place is anyone's guess because, well, the writers weren't about to tell us - even if the show had continued past April 1971. 

[Brandon Collins]

But how that actually took place is anyone's guess because, well, the writers weren't about to tell us - even if the show had continued past April 1971. 

No, if the show had've continued, the writers would have sent Barnabas and Julia back in time, had them switch bodies Quentin and Petofi style, then sent them back to the present and had them act like their old sleves again, only to realize that once they hit 1980 that they are only masquerading because Barnabas wanted to see what it was like to be a woman and Julia wanted to see what it was like to suffer from Angelique's curse, at which point Angelique would have returned and done some kinda hocus pocus to switch them back, but only would've trapped Julia in Barnabas' body forever, getting herself (Angelique) stuck in the same body with Julia, forcing Julia to beat her (Barnabas') body to death, leaving her and Angelique BOTH dead, and Barnabas stuck in Julia's body only to realize too late that Adam REALLY had the hots for Julia, and they are destined to be together so Barnabas MUST hook up with Adam, which is really like hooking up with himself because Adam is made from his life-force.

WHEW! *wipes brow* Try THAT on for size!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'm suspecting that Brandon got into whatever some of the people posting back on September 22nd in the "Review of Grayson Hall bio in today's Bay Area Reporter" topic on the CE/A '06 board were into:

Beat you to it, MB. Look for my dealer's table at the next fest.

Nancy

I don't know what some of you posting in this topic are on tonight. But I have a feeling if I could bottle and sell it, I'd make a fortune! 

Have you been handing out free samples, Nancy?    If so, how can I get some? 

[BuzzH]

No, if the show had've continued, the writers would have sent Barnabas and Julia back in time, had them switch bodies Quentin and Petofi style, then sent them back to the present and had them act like their old sleves again, only to realize that once they hit 1980 that they are only masquerading because Barnabas wanted to see what it was like to be a woman and Julia wanted to see what it was like to suffer from Angelique's curse, at which point Angelique would have returned and done some kinda hocus pocus to switch them back, but only would've trapped Julia in Barnabas' body forever, getting herself (Angelique) stuck in the same body with Julia, forcing Julia to beat her (Barnabas') body to death, leaving her and Angelique BOTH dead, and Barnabas stuck in Julia's body only to realize too late that Adam REALLY had the hots for Julia, and they are destined to be together so Barnabas MUST hook up with Adam, which is really like hooking up with himself because Adam is made from his life-force.  WHEW! *wipes brow* Try THAT on for size!

Paging Dr. Freud!  

[Brandon Collins]

And now for another edition of:

Soap Writers Do the Stupidest Things!

And today's contestant:

Brandon Collins!

Announcer: Welcome, Mr. Collins! I hear your family hasn't been seen in over 40 years, yet people still love and adore them.

ME: Yes, it seems we have paid off quite a few people, haven't we? lol

[michael c]

i believe i'm one of the posters who refered to this book as "bad fanfiction" and for me that is how it read.

i didn't really have a problem with the part of the story set in the 1600's because i could have been reading anything.it was a totally different time and place and set of characters from what i knew of d.s..

but the part set in 1971 really annoyed me because the characters i knew(as well as anyone can "know" fictitous television characters)bore little resemblance(except for the names)to what lara parker put on the page.

again i don't think she understands the material as well as one would think.

what is most disturbing about this book(as opposed to fanfiction)is that because it was written by someone so intimately involved with the show and it had the approval of 'dan curtis productions' is that it has the air of "canon" about it.meaning it could be interpreted as being the "real" story of what happened to these people(again,of course,these being fictitious characters)when everything about it seems wrong to me(ms.parker didn't even bother to get the backstories of most of the characters correct...julia "family doctor" exchanging her services for room and board???collinwood open for tourists???where did she get that stuff?).

so again i found this book to be the absolute lamest.

[Barnabas'sBride]

I still cannot stomach the relationship between Barnabas and Julia. Julia is being written so unappetizing, and the relationship seems so strained to the point I am starting to believe that Barnabas is only with her out of obligation, that I literally almost gagged when Barnabas kissed her.

I do agree with you on this. Julia is written in a very unappealing, off putting way through out the book. The relationship between Julia and Barnabas, as it's written in the book, is nausea inducing.  Out of all the characters - none of which I think Parker writes all that well - perhaps Julia comes off the worst. I can't explain my feelings on it in a way that makes sense, but I found myself cringing a lot when Julia was on the page.

[Brandon Collins]

The only canon characters that I think were spot on were Roger, Carolyn, and David. I can accept David going through his teenage years and wanting to explore the hippie camp, as well as Carolyn wanting to go there after being forced to (mostly) lead a prudish life. Roger's remarks about how they were desecrating the land etc etc were so hilarious to me because I could picture Louis in the drawing room, brandy in hand, spouting those very things out.

BUT...

As far as Barnabas, Julia, Quentin, etc, go, I think that they were COMPLETE misrepresentations. There is no way, IMO that [spoiler]Barnabas would've agreed willy nilly to just marry Julia, especially if he didn't have the true feelings for her. I mean, look at all those times that she was demonstrating that she loved him and he never reciprocated. There's no way he would just do it to make her happy.[/spoiler]

And I also think that Julia was written wrongly, because he outlook on what is going on and particular "revenge" feel that I got from her wasn't right.

And Quentin, for the little he was included, was described totally wrong, as has been mentioned before.

[michael c]

I still cannot stomach the relationship between Barnabas and Julia. Julia is being written so unappetizing, and the relationship seems so strained to the point I am starting to believe that Barnabas is only with her out of obligation, that I literally almost gagged when Barnabas kissed her.

I do agree with you on this. Julia is written in a very unappealing, off putting way through out the book. The relationship between Julia and Barnabas, as it's written in the book, is nausea inducing.  Out of all the characters - none of which I think Parker writes all that well - perhaps Julia comes off the worst. I can't explain my feelings on it in a way that makes sense, but I found myself cringing a lot when Julia was on the page.

well put barnabas' bride.

indeed i found many of the exchanges between barnabas and julia in this book to be just that..."nausea inducing".

in general julia is written as a rather pathetic,and at times almost revolting,character here.

the final scene with julia,after a certain "transformation" takes place,is one of the most unintentionally hilarious things i have read in a long time.