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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is *hilarious*. It's not so much anything that happens (though there are a couple of wacky slapstick scenes), it's the totally insane dialogue. Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. have the most hyped-up banter I've ever seen. Seriously, it makes Sorkin's writing seem like ... I don't know, like the work of some writer who's known for being really slow and ponderous. It has a convoluted plot and narrative structure, but those really don't even matter, 'cause it's just hyper and cracked out and *funny*.
And also, I just finished reading The World Before, by Karen Traviss. The main character is an eco-cop who travels to another planet, where she makes first-ish contact with an alien who carries a parasite that makes him pretty much immortal. It does this by constantly changing his DNA and modifying his body to incorporate bits of other species' DNA as needed.
Things happen, and in order to save her life he winds up infecting her with the parasite. And the two of them eventually set up housekeeping, and because they share the same flexible DNA they are able to become lovers. And then more things happen and another human guy (one she already knows and likes) becomes infected with the parasite and moves in. He's just a houseguest at first, but the alien guy's species is polyandrous, so he really wants the human guy to become a "housebrother." Thanks to the DNA they all share, the human guy is more receptive to this idea than his characterization thus far would lead the reader to expect.
So the humans are kinda wrestling with the idea, and only one really hung up about it is the woman -- because she *loves* the alien guy, and she's always been really attracted to the human guy, but she just can't get it out of her head that humans are supposed to be monogamous, and that if she sleeps with both of these guys, she's a *slut*.
And that's where the book lost me. I mean, think about it -- how many people currently on the planet are in non-monogamous sexual relationships, and how many are in sexual relationships with other species? We've already seen her adapt readily to a relationship with an alien -- an ALIEN -- and she's balking at a threesome?
And also, I just finished reading The World Before, by Karen Traviss. The main character is an eco-cop who travels to another planet, where she makes first-ish contact with an alien who carries a parasite that makes him pretty much immortal. It does this by constantly changing his DNA and modifying his body to incorporate bits of other species' DNA as needed.
Things happen, and in order to save her life he winds up infecting her with the parasite. And the two of them eventually set up housekeeping, and because they share the same flexible DNA they are able to become lovers. And then more things happen and another human guy (one she already knows and likes) becomes infected with the parasite and moves in. He's just a houseguest at first, but the alien guy's species is polyandrous, so he really wants the human guy to become a "housebrother." Thanks to the DNA they all share, the human guy is more receptive to this idea than his characterization thus far would lead the reader to expect.
So the humans are kinda wrestling with the idea, and only one really hung up about it is the woman -- because she *loves* the alien guy, and she's always been really attracted to the human guy, but she just can't get it out of her head that humans are supposed to be monogamous, and that if she sleeps with both of these guys, she's a *slut*.
And that's where the book lost me. I mean, think about it -- how many people currently on the planet are in non-monogamous sexual relationships, and how many are in sexual relationships with other species? We've already seen her adapt readily to a relationship with an alien -- an ALIEN -- and she's balking at a threesome?