What are you reading? - Page 6

J A Eyers · 11-26-2004, 05:27 PM

I've nearly finished reading Pic by Jack Kerouac. I picked that one instead of On The Road because it's much shorter and I wanted to know if his style was sufficiently interesting to keep me reading. It was okay, I suppose, but I won't be in a hurry to read him again.

Everlong · 11-27-2004, 05:53 AM

I've just read "Things Can Only Get Better: 18 Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter" by John O'Farrell. Very, very funny.

J A Eyers · 11-27-2004, 05:54 PM

Is that an ironic book? "Better"? I personally was better off under the Tories. And as a liberal, that's a terrible thing to have to admit.

The Idiot · 11-27-2004, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by J A Eyers
I've nearly finished reading Pic by Jack Kerouac. I picked that one instead of On The Road because it's much shorter and I wanted to know if his style was sufficiently interesting to keep me reading. It was okay, I suppose, but I won't be in a hurry to read him again.

kerouac's IS "on the road". i've read a lot of kerouac and other beat authors and "on the road" can't be compared to either. kerouac's style shifted thoughout his literary career. i'm not sure about "pic". i've never heard of it. don't ghive up on kerouac until you read "on the road". dharma bums is good as well. i wasn't as engaged by anyting else.

J A Eyers · 11-28-2004, 05:08 PM

Because Pic is such a slight novel it was included in a "double feature" with The Subterraneans, which is what I intended to read, I just wasn't sure whether to commit myself. I have On The Road and the Dharma Buns. And I will read them some day.

pred19 · 12-09-2004, 08:30 PM

I started reading R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden novels recently. I just started 'Starless Night', it's excellent. Probably the best fantasy series I've read.

J A Eyers · 12-10-2004, 04:56 PM

I'm currently reading "Consider Phlebas" by Iain M Banks, and even though I'm only about a fifth of the way into it, I think that's enough to be able to wholeheartedly recommend the book. I've avoided the man for years, mainly because he's got this aura of sniffiness about him, and because he writes science fiction. There's truly nothing worse than pretentious sci-fi. However, as with most literary reputations, they're generated by the people who surround the writer, not the writer themselves. I wonder who else I might have missed because snooty Times Literary Supplement critics have jumped on their bandwagon and put me off.

"Consider Phlebas" is the story of Horza, who is a Changer. That means he can assume the features of any other humanoid. He's not strictly a shapeshifter, because it takes him ages to turn into someone else, and ages to turn back. Naturally, then, he's a much sought after spy in this intergalactic war that's being waged between the Idirans and the Culture. The Idirans are spiritual aliens who believe their race alone are the people of God. So a bit like deep space Rastafarians, then. They view everyone else as being on the level of beasts, though they're willing to cosset Horza for his services in their fight against the Culture. The Culture is this quasi-socialist Utopian society that spans hundreds of humanoid worlds. Everyone in the Culture is educated and healthy. It is the perfect society. So of course, the Culture thinks everyone else should be like them, and wages war after war against those who refuse to join. All for their own good, of course.

Having set up that neither side are worth rooting for, Banks concentrates on the characters caught in the middle, namely the band of mercenaries Horza joins. There is definitely something of "Star Wars" about it, yet whilst "Star Wars" was all heart, "Consider Phlebas" has a bit of a mean streak. This is a universe where everyone and everything exists in the moral grey areas. There's no evil Darth Vader, nor any pure Luke Skywalker. People are out for themselves, not any great cause. I cite the opening of the book, where Horza first has to barter for his place on the mercenary ship. Could you imagine a laughing drunk Han Solo telling Luke Skywalker he has to make room on the Millennium Falcon by fighting Chewbacca to the death?

pred19 · 12-10-2004, 10:52 PM

*search:consider/phlebas*....

That sounds excellent. The last decent scifi novels I read were the Halo' prequel and sequel, by Eric Nylund. The man's an amazing author, by far the best "made for" adaptations I've ever read. And hey, they're far better written than the dialogue in Halo itself...

J A Eyers · 12-11-2004, 06:24 PM

Don't get me wrong. It's not particularly political, howveer I described it. It's just a ripping yarn. Read it. You won't be diappointed.

SM · 12-12-2004, 06:06 PM

Recently finished the last few Hornblower books - The Commodore, Lord Hornblower and Hornblower In The West Indies. Rather sad to have run out of Hornblower adventures to read.

Now reading Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces. Not quite what I initially expected, as there's quite a bit of talk about psychology and dreams early on, but once you get used to the writing style it's pretty interesting.

Everlong · 12-19-2004, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by J A Eyers
Is that an ironic book? "Better"? I personally was better off under the Tories. And as a liberal, that's a terrible thing to have to admit.

Old Labour's theories seemed to make perfect sense, I don't know why people didn't like the ideas that, to me would have solved many of the problems in the country. Don't have nuclear weapons, that makes sense. Own major industries such as utilities and communications, that makes sense because you could ensure the workers didn't get ripped off and the customers got a fair deal. I won't go into others but you can understand that I agree with them.
Living under New Labour is just living under the Conservatives with a different name. Saying that I'd rather live under New Labour any day.

J A Eyers · 12-19-2004, 06:12 PM

It was a Labour government in the 1960s who introduced the policy that we should have 1000 nuclear warheads - enough to defeat the USSR (in contrast to the 15 it would take to defeat us). That was still policy until the mid-1980s, when Thatcher decided to replace our old nuclear deterrent with the Trident submarines.

So, yes, in theory, Old Labour was against nuclear weapons. In practice, it just did what everyone else was doing. A bit like New Labour in that regard, then.

The thing that killed socialism dead for at least the next thirty or forty years in the UK was the unions. In the late 1970s they weren't just representing workers, they were going militant, blackmailing the Labour government with strikes in an attempt to change government policy. This, of course, pissed off everyone who had a vested interest in democracy: an unelected body should have no influence over an elected one. In 1979, plenty of liberals voted for Thatcher. Just like they're voting for Blair now, simply because he doesn't appear to be what's come before. Except he is. They never learn, unfortunately.

I, however, intend to vote LibDem next year.

Pie · 12-20-2004, 05:08 AM

I've just finsihed reading 'American Psycho ' by Bret Easton Ellis. I decided to get it after seeing the film, which I though was pretty damn good.

The book gives a whole different insight into the character of Pat Bateman, and includes various scenarios missing from the film. (Such as when Pat stabs an 8 year old in the throat). Pretty damn good read.

Also, anyone should read Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. Check some amazon reviews or something, I read it ages ago, too long to remember in great detail why it was so good, but it was.

Cybro · 12-20-2004, 07:13 AM

Quote:

I, however, intend to vote LibDem next year.

The extreme moderates...

Anyway, I've just finished reading 'Fahrenheit 451' by Ray Bradbury. This is a fabulous awesome book which everyone should buy. And it's beautifully written aswell; very descriptive and atmospheric. It's another futuristic 'government warning' book, where individuality is crushed and literature is burned (with obvious references to the Nazi book burnings.) A brilliant and subversive read.

J A Eyers · 12-21-2004, 02:50 PM

If you liked American Psycho, Pie, try some of BEE's other books. I've read Less Than Zero, Rules Of Attraction and The Informers and they were all better than American Psycho.

Pie · 12-22-2004, 05:43 AM

Cheers, J A. I told my mum to get me any of those books, since our crappy town now has a Waterstones bookstore

.

J A Eyers · 12-22-2004, 06:23 PM

Rules Of Attraction was my favourite. I read eighty pages in one sitting, at 3am in the morning when I had an exam starting a few hours later. I really couldn't put it down. And that never happens to me. I can usually only manage ten pages before my mind starts to wander, no matter how much I like a book. If you've seen the Rules Of Attraction film, it kinda has the same plot, except there's more flesh to the bones, more depth to the characters, and it goes on after the ending of the movie. The book's better, but it was a good adaptation.

Dettol · 12-27-2004, 11:58 AM

I've just finished the Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown; and it is by far one of the best books I've ever read. It made me rethink my entire view on religion, art, literature, and Jesus's Wife. Heh.
For university I've had to read Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, King Lear by the Big Guy Himself, Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, Confesions by Rousseau and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. I enjoyed them all, despite having to rush them, and write essays on them.

The Idiot · 12-29-2004, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dettol
I enjoyed them all, despite having to rush them, and write essays on them.

i always hated the rushing. in lit courses, they'd try to cram as many books as possible down your throat because they thought that more was better. some of my favority books were from classes where we only read 3, and discusssed them in detail. these are the ones i remember today.

Dettol · 12-29-2004, 03:10 PM

My thoughts exactly, hopefully as the year progresses I might have a chance to actually do some stuff in serious depth...

SM · 01-03-2005, 06:09 PM

Recently re-read Hitch-hikers Guide To The Galaxy, Restaurant At The End Of The Universe, Life, The Universe & Everything - and then the First Lady gave me the original Hitch-Hiker radio scripts which are rather interesting with all the notes from Adamsa and the show's producer.

Also reading There and Back Again by Sean Astin and The Time Machine by HG Wells.

boab · 01-10-2005, 09:35 AM

Recently finished the Abyss,Sphere,Dragon master book 2:Knighthood of the dragon and stephen kings desperation(exellent book i must admit).I'm currently reading Firestarter.This is also quite good for those of you who haven't read it.

BullpupDFWM · 01-16-2005, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pie
I've just finsihed reading 'American Psycho ' by Bret Easton Ellis. I decided to get it after seeing the film, which I though was pretty damn good.

Excellent book that. Unfortunately my copy was stolen shortly after I finished reading it, and I've had trouble finding a replacement.

Over the last few weeks I've read:

The Abyss, by Orson Scott Card. A great book that offer some really good insight into the characters and gives the movie a completely different feel.

The Street Lawyer, by John Grisham. I'd never read Grisham before, I always enjoyed the movies, but never sought to read the books. Anyway, it was a good book and it made me think about the homeless and (if the stats quoted in the book are accurate) it actually scared me a little to think what people go through.

Currently reading:
The Pinocchio Syndrome, by David Zeman. I've barely started it yet, but so far, so good. I'd never heard of the author before (probably because this is his first and only book), but the story is well told so far.

shirbz · 01-16-2005, 07:32 AM

'The Coming Of The Third Reich' by Richard J. Evans

A massively detailed account of the rise of the Nazis and all it encompasses - culture, pre-unification history of Germany, economic factors etc. I believe there are two other books in the series.

Totally fascinating.

SM · 01-16-2005, 03:42 PM

Now on The Acid House by Irvine Welsh.

J A Eyers · 01-18-2005, 05:23 PM

After all the hype (including in this thread, I see), I started reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. And I love it. It started a little awkwardly, like a cut-price bargain-bin Tom Clancy replacing damn Ruskies with a load of vicars who spoke like Dr Evil... and were meant to be serious villains. Anyway, it's really picked up now and I read over 100 pages the other day - and I usually only manage 10. I even turned off a DVD to go read some more. I've just got to the bit where the caricature English Lord reveals just WHAT the Holy Grail was/is. Very interesting.

Skibadee · 01-20-2005, 09:17 PM

Currently reading 'The Mandalorian Armor: Book One' in the Star Wars Bounty Hunter Wars series.

SM · 01-23-2005, 06:12 PM

Boy those Bounty Hunter Wars books sucked. I like most Star Wars books, but Jeter's effort on these was just shite.

Finished The Acid House which was great. Very black.

Even blacker was Filth also by Irvine Welsh. This is probably the best Welsh gets as far as I've read. It's better than Trainspotting, The Acid House, Glue, and just slightly ahead of Porno, because Filth has a better ending. Brilliant stuff.

J A Eyers · 01-23-2005, 06:23 PM

Yeah. The tapeworm falls out of his arse and he dies.

Or am I thinking of another one?

SM · 01-23-2005, 10:11 PM

That's the one. The gradual descent of those total ♥♥♥♥ of a polis is riveting, then it throws the curve ball right towards the end. I didn't really see it coming, but suspected something even more bizarre was going to surface, so it wasn't totally out of left field.

As good as Porno was, the ending was a bit too much like it's prequel.

11-26-2004, 05:27 PM	#151 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	I've nearly finished reading Pic by Jack Kerouac. I picked that one instead of On The Road because it's much shorter and I wanted to know if his style was sufficiently interesting to keep me reading. It was okay, I suppose, but I won't be in a hurry to read him again.

11-27-2004, 05:53 AM	#152 (permalink)
Everlong Man up. Have a wank. Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England Posts: 5,616	I've just read "Things Can Only Get Better: 18 Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter" by John O'Farrell. Very, very funny.

11-27-2004, 05:54 PM	#153 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	Is that an ironic book? "Better"? I personally was better off under the Tories. And as a liberal, that's a terrible thing to have to admit.

11-28-2004, 05:08 PM	#155 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	Because Pic is such a slight novel it was included in a "double feature" with The Subterraneans, which is what I intended to read, I just wasn't sure whether to commit myself. I have On The Road and the Dharma Buns. And I will read them some day.

12-09-2004, 08:30 PM	#156 (permalink)
pred19 Pucker Up Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 2,269	I started reading R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden novels recently. I just started 'Starless Night', it's excellent. Probably the best fantasy series I've read.

12-10-2004, 04:56 PM	#157 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	I'm currently reading "Consider Phlebas" by Iain M Banks, and even though I'm only about a fifth of the way into it, I think that's enough to be able to wholeheartedly recommend the book. I've avoided the man for years, mainly because he's got this aura of sniffiness about him, and because he writes science fiction. There's truly nothing worse than pretentious sci-fi. However, as with most literary reputations, they're generated by the people who surround the writer, not the writer themselves. I wonder who else I might have missed because snooty Times Literary Supplement critics have jumped on their bandwagon and put me off. "Consider Phlebas" is the story of Horza, who is a Changer. That means he can assume the features of any other humanoid. He's not strictly a shapeshifter, because it takes him ages to turn into someone else, and ages to turn back. Naturally, then, he's a much sought after spy in this intergalactic war that's being waged between the Idirans and the Culture. The Idirans are spiritual aliens who believe their race alone are the people of God. So a bit like deep space Rastafarians, then. They view everyone else as being on the level of beasts, though they're willing to cosset Horza for his services in their fight against the Culture. The Culture is this quasi-socialist Utopian society that spans hundreds of humanoid worlds. Everyone in the Culture is educated and healthy. It is the perfect society. So of course, the Culture thinks everyone else should be like them, and wages war after war against those who refuse to join. All for their own good, of course. Having set up that neither side are worth rooting for, Banks concentrates on the characters caught in the middle, namely the band of mercenaries Horza joins. There is definitely something of "Star Wars" about it, yet whilst "Star Wars" was all heart, "Consider Phlebas" has a bit of a mean streak. This is a universe where everyone and everything exists in the moral grey areas. There's no evil Darth Vader, nor any pure Luke Skywalker. People are out for themselves, not any great cause. I cite the opening of the book, where Horza first has to barter for his place on the mercenary ship. Could you imagine a laughing drunk Han Solo telling Luke Skywalker he has to make room on the Millennium Falcon by fighting Chewbacca to the death?

12-10-2004, 10:52 PM	#158 (permalink)
pred19 Pucker Up Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 2,269	search:consider/phlebas.... That sounds excellent. The last decent scifi novels I read were the Halo' prequel and sequel, by Eric Nylund. The man's an amazing author, by far the best "made for" adaptations I've ever read. And hey, they're far better written than the dialogue in Halo itself...

12-11-2004, 06:24 PM	#159 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	Don't get me wrong. It's not particularly political, howveer I described it. It's just a ripping yarn. Read it. You won't be diappointed.

12-12-2004, 06:06 PM	#160 (permalink)
SM Network Interface 2037 Epic Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Network Interface 2037, WY Melbourne Posts: 15,284	Recently finished the last few Hornblower books - The Commodore, Lord Hornblower and Hornblower In The West Indies. Rather sad to have run out of Hornblower adventures to read. Now reading Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces. Not quite what I initially expected, as there's quite a bit of talk about psychology and dreams early on, but once you get used to the writing style it's pretty interesting.

12-19-2004, 06:12 PM	#162 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	It was a Labour government in the 1960s who introduced the policy that we should have 1000 nuclear warheads - enough to defeat the USSR (in contrast to the 15 it would take to defeat us). That was still policy until the mid-1980s, when Thatcher decided to replace our old nuclear deterrent with the Trident submarines. So, yes, in theory, Old Labour was against nuclear weapons. In practice, it just did what everyone else was doing. A bit like New Labour in that regard, then. The thing that killed socialism dead for at least the next thirty or forty years in the UK was the unions. In the late 1970s they weren't just representing workers, they were going militant, blackmailing the Labour government with strikes in an attempt to change government policy. This, of course, pissed off everyone who had a vested interest in democracy: an unelected body should have no influence over an elected one. In 1979, plenty of liberals voted for Thatcher. Just like they're voting for Blair now, simply because he doesn't appear to be what's come before. Except he is. They never learn, unfortunately. I, however, intend to vote LibDem next year.

12-20-2004, 05:08 AM	#163 (permalink)
Pie zoooooom Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Lisburn , Northern Ireland Posts: 5,162	I've just finsihed reading 'American Psycho ' by Bret Easton Ellis. I decided to get it after seeing the film, which I though was pretty damn good. The book gives a whole different insight into the character of Pat Bateman, and includes various scenarios missing from the film. (Such as when Pat stabs an 8 year old in the throat). Pretty damn good read. Also, anyone should read Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. Check some amazon reviews or something, I read it ages ago, too long to remember in great detail why it was so good, but it was.

12-21-2004, 02:50 PM	#165 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	If you liked American Psycho, Pie, try some of BEE's other books. I've read Less Than Zero, Rules Of Attraction and The Informers and they were all better than American Psycho.

12-22-2004, 05:43 AM	#166 (permalink)
Pie zoooooom Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Lisburn , Northern Ireland Posts: 5,162	Cheers, J A. I told my mum to get me any of those books, since our crappy town now has a Waterstones bookstore .

12-22-2004, 06:23 PM	#167 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	Rules Of Attraction was my favourite. I read eighty pages in one sitting, at 3am in the morning when I had an exam starting a few hours later. I really couldn't put it down. And that never happens to me. I can usually only manage ten pages before my mind starts to wander, no matter how much I like a book. If you've seen the Rules Of Attraction film, it kinda has the same plot, except there's more flesh to the bones, more depth to the characters, and it goes on after the ending of the movie. The book's better, but it was a good adaptation.

12-27-2004, 11:58 AM	#168 (permalink)
Dettol Registered User Forum Fodder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Bath Spa University Posts: 41	I've just finished the Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown; and it is by far one of the best books I've ever read. It made me rethink my entire view on religion, art, literature, and Jesus's Wife. Heh. For university I've had to read Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, King Lear by the Big Guy Himself, Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, Confesions by Rousseau and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. I enjoyed them all, despite having to rush them, and write essays on them.

12-29-2004, 03:10 PM	#170 (permalink)
Dettol Registered User Forum Fodder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Bath Spa University Posts: 41	My thoughts exactly, hopefully as the year progresses I might have a chance to actually do some stuff in serious depth...

01-03-2005, 06:09 PM	#171 (permalink)
SM Network Interface 2037 Epic Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Network Interface 2037, WY Melbourne Posts: 15,284	Recently re-read Hitch-hikers Guide To The Galaxy, Restaurant At The End Of The Universe, Life, The Universe & Everything - and then the First Lady gave me the original Hitch-Hiker radio scripts which are rather interesting with all the notes from Adamsa and the show's producer. Also reading There and Back Again by Sean Astin and The Time Machine by HG Wells.

01-10-2005, 09:35 AM	#172 (permalink)
boab By the beard of zeus Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: scotland Posts: 1,492	Recently finished the Abyss,Sphere,Dragon master book 2:Knighthood of the dragon and stephen kings desperation(exellent book i must admit).I'm currently reading Firestarter.This is also quite good for those of you who haven't read it.

01-16-2005, 07:32 AM	#174 (permalink)
shirbz ZORG Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 4,294	'The Coming Of The Third Reich' by Richard J. Evans A massively detailed account of the rise of the Nazis and all it encompasses - culture, pre-unification history of Germany, economic factors etc. I believe there are two other books in the series. Totally fascinating.

01-16-2005, 03:42 PM	#175 (permalink)
SM Network Interface 2037 Epic Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Network Interface 2037, WY Melbourne Posts: 15,284	Now on The Acid House by Irvine Welsh.

01-18-2005, 05:23 PM	#176 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	After all the hype (including in this thread, I see), I started reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. And I love it. It started a little awkwardly, like a cut-price bargain-bin Tom Clancy replacing damn Ruskies with a load of vicars who spoke like Dr Evil... and were meant to be serious villains. Anyway, it's really picked up now and I read over 100 pages the other day - and I usually only manage 10. I even turned off a DVD to go read some more. I've just got to the bit where the caricature English Lord reveals just WHAT the Holy Grail was/is. Very interesting.

01-20-2005, 09:17 PM	#177 (permalink)
Skibadee Transdimensional War Machine > Turtles Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 8,243	Currently reading 'The Mandalorian Armor: Book One' in the Star Wars Bounty Hunter Wars series.

01-23-2005, 06:12 PM	#178 (permalink)
SM Network Interface 2037 Epic Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Network Interface 2037, WY Melbourne Posts: 15,284	Boy those Bounty Hunter Wars books sucked. I like most Star Wars books, but Jeter's effort on these was just shite. Finished The Acid House which was great. Very black. Even blacker was Filth also by Irvine Welsh. This is probably the best Welsh gets as far as I've read. It's better than Trainspotting, The Acid House, Glue, and just slightly ahead of Porno, because Filth has a better ending. Brilliant stuff.

01-23-2005, 06:23 PM	#179 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	Yeah. The tapeworm falls out of his arse and he dies. Or am I thinking of another one?

01-23-2005, 10:11 PM	#180 (permalink)
SM Network Interface 2037 Epic Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Network Interface 2037, WY Melbourne Posts: 15,284	That's the one. The gradual descent of those total ♥♥♥♥ of a polis is riveting, then it throws the curve ball right towards the end. I didn't really see it coming, but suspected something even more bizarre was going to surface, so it wasn't totally out of left field. As good as Porno was, the ending was a bit too much like it's prequel.