Literature of Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

For this week I read Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane . I really enjoyed this short novel and the underlying themes that went along with it. Some of the things I noticed were the revealing of reality and how it is never as it seems, comparison of adulthood versus childhood, and the idea of other universes. The one theme that I want to mention and expand on is the idea that every person or being has a different side to them, that is not outwardly visible. In the father's case, it seemed that he was being controlled by the "flea" Ursula Monkton and almost drowned his son in the bathtub. This makes you wonder - did the evil person/creature make him do this or was there something evil and resenting in him the entire time? With the main antagonist, Ursula Monkton, she is an evil creature from another world that entered the world that we know it, disguised as a human. This provides some interesting perspective, that sometimes the evilest traits and experiences...

Interview with a Vampire

In this weeks reading, Interview with a Vampire, something that stood out to me was the way the author depicted what was considered good versus evil. Since the majority of the book is told from Louis's perspective, through dialogue in his interview, we get to learn about his beliefs as a vampire versus the other vampires around him. For example, Louis is depicted as a generally good character at the beginning. This is shown through his squeamish and hesitant nature about killing humans and his empathy towards their lives. He also points out that he doesn't realize he is able to take animal's blood rather than a humans. This appears as a sense of morality. This morality is directly contradicted with the personality of Lestat. He is depicted as a tough vampire who doesn't feel empathy and will hunt anyone he pleases. Later in the book he turns a little girl into a vampire which leads to his "death." He later comes back to life on more than one occasion to get h...

Future

What does the future look like in 15 years? Everything is mostly the same. Advanced technology has progressed more and more. We have either signed a deal to switch to all-natural energy resources and have regenerated many dying species or gone in the opposite direction and destroyed the Earth even more. The water levels have continued to rise, causing most of the coastal areas to disappear and move people inland. Millions of more people have been displaced by a changing climate and economy, making overpopulation more of a problem in the "cooler" areas of the planet. Automation is in it's fullest form, causing little human interaction and resulting in problems of anxiety and public speaking to grow. I'm 35 years old, and I have made enough money to pay off my student loans or the department of education has decided to pay off student loan debt (how great would that be). I am a senior designer or CEO of my own design studio, using new programs and technology that did...

Allyssa Ellis

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