Headcanon- Yea or Nay?

Headcanon is generally defined as someone's own take on a certain fandom, or an aspect of the fandom that may be widely accepted or known but is not official. An example would be The 100, where many fans believe (or pine for) a situation where the leads, Clarke and Bellamy (aka Bellarke) are in love or together. It hasn't happened yet on the show, but many are sure it will. Another example might be the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the body of books and various media that were recently un- canonized by Disney so they could make their new movies, starting from scratch. Many fans would say the Expanded stuff is canon to them- hence their own headcanon.

So I thought I would discuss this a bit because it's kind of fascinating. We relate to fandoms so differently now than in the past, with social media and the internet and the 24/7 entertainment news cycle. There's shipping now and Twitter wars and the whole diversity/ SJW debates. How do you feel about headcanon? Do you have a fandom or interest where your own view differs from the official canon? I think having a canon of one's own can be a bit comforting. If you hate the new Star War movies like I do, you can take refuge in the fact that the three original movies are still there, and can be enjoyed regardless of what Disney is doing now. In my mind of course I have my own version of what happens after Return of the Jedi, and I like mine better!

What I'd really like to do is generate some discussion on this, and also start off by sharing some headcanons of my own. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Star Wars

I'm not a fan of the new Star Wars movies, so in my headcanon they don't exist. Some of the deaths of major characters that have happened- nope. While I may not have my own extensive history worked out, I have ideas where those characters would go, and they don't correspond with Disney very much. They track more with the old Expanded Universe stuff, initially at least, but I don't subscribe fully to that either. And that's alright. It works for me. 

The 100

Bellarke is canon to me! Because of course. :) 

The Lord of the Rings

Now here's an example of a canon that I have no issues with. Tolkien's world is perfect to me as is, probably because no one else has written in that world. Often (but not always) once other people start playing in the sandbox, you soon have disagreements about whether they understand the setting, or share the creator's vision. Luckily that hasn't happened with Tolkien, other than the films.

Orphan Black

In my headcanon Clone Club gets together every Friday night for dance party weekend.

Can't Wait Wednesday #7/ Midweek Stuff

 So here's a midweek round up of what I'm reading watching, etc. Plus Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Wishful endings. So sit back, raise a cuppa, and see what's new! And share what you're up to.  

This week my Can't Wait pick is Chaotic Good, because that premise plus the tagline???        

What I'm Reading

What I'm Watching

Listening 

Misc Stuff

Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Read

  

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted. Everyone is welcome to join. Link back so everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. It's a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers.

This week is Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Read. Ooh fun. 

  

I'm not into zombie books so this was different for me. 

I don't read a lot of middle grade but this was a buddy read with LaLa in the Library and Random Redheaded Ramblings and was a ton of fun! 

Not usually my kinda read but I loved it! 

Another one sorta outside my comfort zone but I liked it. 

Same. 

I think I mainly read this because of the movie?  



This wasn't bad but it went on for five!!! books and could have two or three???



Not my usual kind of read, although it is sort of a thriller. Didn't love it tho. 



Definitely not my typical read but it was good! And the author is the first one I ever interviewed. 



I'm not sure what drew me to this one but it was fun. And surprisingly dark at times. 

Tuesday Tagline #76

  

 Family is duty. Magic is power. Honor is everything. 

The Extinction Trials

Guys... this book. I need the sequel so bad. You have a world where environmental devastation and overpopulation have ruined the continent of Earthasia, most people live in squalor or have very limited resources, and across the sea is a continent called Piloria, full of natural resources. The problem is it's full of dinosaurs too. Every year the rulers of Earthasia send a team to Piloria to find new sources of food, and very few come back. But this year is different- this year it's been decided that the dinosaurs need to go, so that humanity can claim Piloria for its own.  

Stormchaser and Lincoln both make the team heading to Piloria, but for vastly different reasons. Storm is doing it on a lark, at the urging of her friend, mainly to get more rations as the tryouts get better food- she doesn't really care initially about Piloria- whereas Lincoln is going to save his sister, who is dying of a wasting disease. Those who go to Piloria and return successfully get better health care for their family, among other perks. So Lincoln is deadly serious about winning, but he and Storm (and a few others) are thrown together and need to find a way to survive. The trials referred to in the book title are the obstacles the tryouts must face to make the team. 

Once they get to Piloria of course things get crazy, with dinosaurs running around and well- laid plans going out the window. The mission this time is to retrieve dinosaur eggs so that they can be analyzed back home, with the goal being to extract DNA and develop a virus or something to kill the dinosaurs. After all, they're just mindless beasts, right? But as the mission goes on Storm and Lincoln start to realize that these creatures, or at least some of them, are intelligent, perhaps even compassionate. Is it right to steal their eggs and maybe consign them to death? 

It's kind of like The Hunger Games where a few live in luxury while the rest suffer, and while I'm not saying this is as good as The Hunger Games, it did work for me. It is also very much a YA novel, so if that's an issue for you just a heads- up. The POV shifts between Storm and Lincoln and we get to see their take on things, including their feelings towards the dinosaurs. 

The pace really picks up when they hit Piloria, with lots of dinosaur action and a pretty high body count. I loved it. I need more Piloria. I was actually hooked when I saw the map- yes, there's a map, with dinosaur locations and everything- and while some of the world building is iffy (why is Earthasia devoid of resources? Why are humans on one continent and dinosaurs on another?) I was able to easily overlook that, as the story was so compelling. This was a totally fun read and when the sequel arrives in June I'll be dropping everything to grab it.  

FURTHER DISCUSSION

This might be mildly spoilery but I won't give away anything major. I just wanted to discuss a bit more without dragging the review out forever. I'm intrigued by Storm's connection with the plesiosaur in the loch- this happens in the first chapter so I don't think it's a spoiler- and I thought it would play more of a role. There's definitely something going on there.  

One thing I really liked was the disconnect between Storm and Lincoln- she's kind of going along for the ride, while he is focused like a laser on winning the eggs and helping his sister. Who wouldn't do the same under similar circumstances? But it does force him to make decisions that might run counter to what is best for Storm and their companions, and that was a great part of the story. They make a good team, but of course working at cross purposes can take a toll. 

As I said above the biggest issue here is the world building. We learn almost nothing about Earthasia and why it is the way it is- is it Earth in the future, and why hasn't Piloria been settled at all? But maybe this is all for future books. And there are some interesting themes here about how we treat other species, our assumptions about their intelligence, and that was a winning element for me also.