American Gods by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I first read this book back in ’06 and remembered liking it a great deal. Listening to this full cast recording of the author’s preferred text, I didn’t particularly notice much difference (that being said, I didn’t really remember the Hinzelman scene or the coming to America passages from before so who knows).
I may be in the minority here, but I absolutely adored Richard Curtis‘s new film, About Time. I know it’s not a perfect film but then, really, what is? Yes, there are some logic issues and you are asked to let your disbelief suspend mightily, but I don’t care. For me, it works.
The only major conceit, and the reason this film is listed as speculative as opposed to a straight romantic dramedy, is that in the family of Tim, the male lead, all the men have the ability to travel through time. I’m not giving anything away here, this is in the trailer. The caveat is that they can only travel within their own time line and the so called “butterfly effect” is dealt with by means of a little hand waving. But once you buy into that one concept, the rest of the film falls into place beautifully.
Tim meets Mary near the start of the film and, the way some people do, just knows she’s the one for him. Now, again, from the trailers this much seems fairly obvious and the film itself seems like it’s going to be a fun little romp about how the get together. It is and it isn’t. Continue reading “Review: About Time”
Alfonso Cuarón‘s new film, Gravity, is stunning. Pure and simple. These words can describe the plot as well. There’s nothing complex about some people working out of the space Shuttle Explorer when they hit the debris field of a an exploded satellite. This happens within the first few minutes and for the rest of the hour and a half film it’s left for the two survivors, Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) to try and get home. That’s it. But in the hands of a master of suspense like Cuarón, you don’t need any more.
The filmmaking gets us as close to being in space as we can get on this planet. Honestly, I have no idea how he filmed half the scenes he did, I can only assume it’s a seamless mix of CG and greenscreen and a flying rig that puts David Copperfield to shame. And if Bullock or Clooney wanted to take a run at “Ashes to Ashes” to go along with Chris Hadfield‘s “Space Oddity” I’m not sure many would be able to spot the difference between the reality and the movie magic. Continue reading “Review: Gravity”
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a wonderful book!
Hazel Grace is a 17 year old dying of cancer. This is not romance cancer which will miraculously get cured by the final act, by the way. Nope, this is terminal from the moment the book opens. She did have a miracle slowing of the cancer at one point about three years before the book starts, but at this point, she’s just waiting for her time to come. She’s pretty much resigned to it and lives her life accordingly. Continue reading “Review: The Fault in Our Stars”
Soulless by Gail Carriger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
There are some books which are a mix of genres, like a steampunk novel with romance, say, or a romance novel set in a steampunk world. Soulless is most definitely the former. This isn’t a bad thing, not by a long shot, but it’s not really my cup of (very well-written and beautifully described) tea. Gail Carriger’s book is a fun read, rife with the social obstacle course which is Victorian England. Add in a healthy mix of supernatural beasties (werewolves, vampires and ghosts) and a steampunk-ish sensibility and you have all the ingredients for great romp. Continue reading “Review: Soulless”
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book won all kinds of awards and came highly recommended and yet… I was mostly bored.
The premise, that of a boy walking up in an elevator which is going to deposit him into Lord of the Flies type setting with no memories of his past life could be interesting. The “Glade,” where the boy, Thomas, is deposited, is the center area of a huge maze which some of the boys of this compound (and yes, it’s all boys) go through on a daily basis, trying to “solve” it. They’ve been doing this for two years and all they’ve discovered is that some of the walls move at night (which is also when “scary” monsters come out). Continue reading “Review: The Maze Runner”
I’ve been horribly remiss in my book reviews as the semester has started and I’ve been swamped. So… here’s a a few short reviews of what I’ve been reading.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a wonderful book! Helene Wecker draws three dimensional characters who change and grow and evolve before our eyes. Even her stock characters, the old arab gossip, the lapsed jew, the pampered socialite, all have an extra quality to them which allows us, as readers, to be fully invested in their lives. Continue reading “A Few Short Book Reviews”
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a book you need to focus on to read and fully appreciate. It’s not easy, mostly because they’re not stories, not in the sense we are conditioned to think of them. No real beginnings, middles or ends, more like Borges’ thoughts as he’s sitting at a typewriter and doing writing exercises.
This book in particular didn’t quite work for me for that reason. On a sentence by sentence level, the language and imagery are beautiful but that’s like looking at the scattered pieces of a mosaic and commenting on their attractiveness. Unless they’re put together to make a picture of some sort, something with coherence and fusion, they remain just lovely pieces.
That all said, it’s fascinating to see his influence and how far reaching it is. Anyone who reads this and Murakami and doesn’t see how the one affected the other is missing a fairly important link in the chain.
Not quite sure what to say about this one. In today’s world of YA urban fantasy action love stories, you’re obviously going to draw some comparison to Harry Potter and Twilight – the heavyweights of that genre. And the film of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (which is WAY too long for a title) certainly doesn’t disappoint in that regard.
Is there a love triangle (or two)? Check.
Teen Protagonist who doesn’t know about their magical abilities? Check.
Werewolves (as protectorate, close family friend and biker gang)? Check.
Love sick best friend pining for a love which will never be reciprocated (and possibly being a vampire)? Check.
Really beautiful people who would be at home on a CW show? Check.
It’s got everything we’ve come to expect from a film like this… so why doesn’t it work? Continue reading “Review: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”
I know there were two “OMG, the terrorists have the White House” films this year, and I will freely admit one looked stupid and the other looked… well, maybe a little less stupid. That second one is Olympus Has Fallen and it’s got some street cred to go along with the silly premise so I figured it was worth a shot. Antoine Fuqua, who did Training Day, was behind the camera and Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman were out in front so at least it would be fun watching them chew up the scenery if nothing else.
And honestly, there was nothing else. Continue reading “Review: Olympus Has Fallen”
I was very excited to see the new Neill Blomkamp film Elysium from the first time I saw a trailer. It looked like someone was doing a realistic space epic, pulling in all sorts of SF tropes (Ringworld anyone?) and that someone was the same guy who gave us the incredibly impressive District 9 in his debut.
Shame his sophomore effort is a shallow, almost pointless retread of similar territory albeit with a bigger budget and impressive cast. Continue reading “Review: Elysium”
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Seems like I’ve been on a Jules Verne kick lately, slowly working my way through the classics. I’d heard about Mysterious Island before, and seen several of the films, but like watching the movie version of Around the World in 80 Days, the book is very much different! Continue reading “Review: The Mysterious Island”
Ethan Hawke has been making some interesting filmic choices lately, the latest being in James DeMonaco’s The Purge, which postulates a future (2022) where, in order to combat the growing tensions and anxiety, all law enforcement is suspended for 12 hours, one night (March 21, 7pm – March 22, 7am) a year. During this time period, (almost) anything goes (high ranking politicians and certain military grade weapons are exempt) including murder. In fact, the argument could be made that murder is the primary reason for this annual “purge” of negative emotions. And things seem to be working. As of 2022, unemployment is down to 1% and violent crime is on a serious decline. Continue reading “Review: The Purge”
The Black Book by Ian Rankin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I picked this up because I was in Edinburgh, Scotland and had been on a Literary Walking Tour of the city’s most famous writers and Rankin’s name kept coming up. We passed places he hung out, locations from his books, and heard stories about his life. So when I had the opportunity to grab one of his Rebus thrillers I took it, feeling like it’s a good thing to read local writers. Continue reading “Review: The Black Book”
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
That was a good book. Not a great one, but very very good. It’s a classic Gaiman story; young people, shadowlands, ancient beings, “beating of giant wings”… all the good stuff. I listened to it, read by the author, which at times can be a tricky proposition but Gaiman is a performer and he does a great job with his own words (This is not always the case, mind you) and at just under 6 hours listening time, this isn’t a long piece of fiction. So why isn’t it great? For me, length is actually one of the factors. Continue reading “Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 