Book Review: December's Thorn

A giant pet peeve of mine is reading books out of order. When I stumble upon an author who is new to me, whose work I enjoy, I like to go to the beginning and start with their first book and read them in order from there. Many books stand alone and can be read in any order and still be entertaining, but reading all the books by an author, especially those with a recurring character, builds layers of comprehension and enjoyment that is missed if you go in random order.

Get Arrested

It's been a while since I posted anything, and even longer since I posted anything of even moderate value, so I apologize and thank you for sticking with me anyway. I appreciate it. 

Book Review: The Warded Man

In the genre of Fantasy there are a few norms, and "The Warded Man" by Peter V. Brett includes these norms, but manages to do so without being formulaic. In fact, his unique angle on these expected elements is refreshing and compelling.

1. World-building. Fans who are patient with the world-building of series such as "The Wheel of Time" and really get into the meat of the story are richly rewarded. In "The Warded Man",  There are three protagonists, whose stories are very different, and Brett is an excellent storyteller, so the three disparate locations of these protagonists are built from detail, secondary characters, vocabulary and setting. It's all done very well. The best world-building happens without the reader really noticing it, intertwining it into the characters' stories in such a way that readers just float along the narrative and get carried away with it.

A Short Musing on Literature and Language

Isn't it interesting how we may read or watch something and think it's wonderful entertainment until we read or watch it with our children? 

I just finished re-reading "Relic" by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, which is among my favorite books. I keep telling my husband to read it, and I was even encouraging my teenage sons to read it, but as I finished it again I am hesitating now on the latter recommendation. There is a lot more language in it than I remembered. It's not on every page, nor is it every character, but there are a large handful of f-bombs and other such swears that make me hesitate to share it with my kids. 

Fan Fiction & Art

Do you read fan fiction? If so, comment below and tell me what you think of it. I tend to be a purist and I think I would just be annoyed by it, so I've never read any. Fan fiction, on first glance, seems to be one of two things. Either it's an homage without any intent to publish, or it's an amateur's attempt to ride the coattails of someone else's success as a way of breaking into writing. Either way, I just don't find myself interested. 

A Retraction of Sorts: Sorry, Jeremy

Tonight we watched "The Bourne Legacy" on Blu-Ray. I am embarrassed to have to do this, but... I admit I may have been too hard on this movie when I first saw it last August.

This time around, I watched it without high expectations, and I tried to allow it to be its own movie and not an extension of the original Bourne trilogy, and I liked it much better.  Renner's not bad, and though I would have liked less talking, it wasn't quite as "blah" as I thought it was the first time.

This makes me wonder about critiques in general. How much do my moods or emotions or expectations affect what I think about my entertainment choices? I tend to be critical, but maybe some of that is worse during certain high-emotion times in life, while at other times I'm more forgiving of a movie or book or TV show's weaknesses...

A topic for a future blog post, perhaps?

Anyway, here's my original review, and I have to disagree with my past self, having giving "Legacy" a second look. There are still certain inexplicable plot points-- seriously, would the entire police force in Manila really mobilize when the U.S. government faxed them the photos of the two fugitives? They seemed to have every cop in the country on their tails, and how in the heck did they find them in that crowded, crazy city?

But it is decent cinematic entertainment, and I feel I should retract my harsh criticism of Renner's performance. I thought he wasn't so bad this time. And overall, I enjoyed the movie a lot more this time, which was unexpected. So, Jeremy, I'm sorry. It wasn't a blah movie after all.

Book Review: A Killer in the Wind

I first became aware of author Andrew Klavan when I randomly chose his "Homelanders" series from the YA section of the library for my teenage son. He loved those books, so when I saw "A Killer in the Wind" on the new adult fiction shelves, I thought it might be one both my son and I would enjoy.

The story is compelling, and the character of Dan Champion is likeable, honest, courageous and moral, and just crazy enough to be sympathetic. The story centers on Champion's years-long hunt for the kingpin of a large child sex slave and torture/murder business. This is not subject matter I would want to pass on to my teenage son, however, so I'm glad I read it first.

Klavan's writing style is direct, honest and clear, and he managed the subject material well, walking that fine line of facing the brutality of the crimes while avoiding being too graphic about children kidnapped, locked up and sold to perverts. I appreciate the balance. I was nervous as I realized that was what the book was about, but it wasn't horrifying like it could have been.

Making Changes

I'm going to try and make a new banner for this blog. I have had some struggles getting Blogger to do what I want, in large part because I don't have a good banner to begin with... so pardon the boring-ness while I work on something. It might take me a few weeks to hammer out what I want... In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

Three Times Back to the Future

Did you read my post about "Back to the Future" parts 1 and 2? Tonight we finally finished up the trilogy. I realized I had, in fact seen the third movie, many, many years ago. (Decades, really, but who's counting?) I didn't remember much about the plot, but I did remember Mary Steenburgen grossing me out by kissing (and falling quickly in love with) Christopher Lloyd's Doc Brown, and I remembered something about horses pulling the Deloreon and the train pushing it back to the future (ahem), and a few other tidbits, but not details.

This is a better pic than the movie poster, I think.

At the End of "The Wheel of Time" (no spoilers)

I don't even know where to begin. I put down my book and felt... speechless. In a good way.

I have loved these people and these books for 15 years. Last January, I started re-reading "The Eye of the World", and was surprised by how much it felt like visiting good friends I hadn't seen in years. Now, all these months later, having finished "A Memory of Light", I am left feeling satisfied, enriched and... oddly, refreshed. (Maybe from all that crying!)