Mi cro Rev iew s
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January 2006
War in Heaven by Charles Williams - A
murder in a publishing leads to the Holy Graal. Its up to an
English Deacon and freinds to protect the Graal from those with evil
intentions. This was wriiten by a member of the literary group
called the Inklings. Its member included J.R.R Tolkien and C.S.
Lewis. The story is well plotted. The bad guys and good
guys are trying to possess the Graal. You feel the stakes are
high. Can good succeed? It is given a good challenge
here.
Going
Postal by Terry Pratchett (Readers' Group Choice)
- A con man is made postmaster of Ankh-Morpork. It is an
offfer he cannot refuse since the alternative is death. At first
reluctant, he gets into the job. Our hero brings the decaying post
office in line. He faces a golems, ghosts, a competing
communication system and bizarre initiations. Fun as
always. Its incredible the ease of reading a Discworld novel with
only reading a small fraction of the novels.
Startide Rising by David Brin (Readers' Group
Choice) - The Streaker, a ship crewed by
dolphins, humans and one chimp, have made a discovery which can change
Galactic culture. A number of races would like to capture the Streaker
for this discovery. The ship crashes on the planet Kithrup.
The crew must make repairs and escape from the alien races fighting in
space for the right to capture them. They will face challenges
from within and without. Part of the crew will mutiny.
Aboringines are discovered. Kithrup may be hiding a long lost
secret. This is part of the Uplift series. It is
awesome. This is an interesting universe. The dolphins are
engaging. So are their human companions. The hostile aliens
really feel alien. There are plots and counter plots. A SF
masterpiece.
Tithe by Holly Black - Kaye is a teenager
wihose mom is a rock musician. Kaye and her mom return to their
hometown. Kaye renews a childhood freindship with local
faeries. Kaye finds out she will be used a tithe to bind the
unaligned faeries to the Unseelie court. As is common in Faerie not all
as it seems. Will a valiant faerie named Roiben help her or kill
her. Can she rescue her friend Corny from Faerie. In the process
Kaye finds a startling truth about herself. Can Kaye sort out the
problem which will throw the entire relationship between the mortal
world and faery out of whack. Kaye is intresting
heroine. She is a slacker who drinks and smokes too much.
Yet Kaye uses what talent she has to overcome the challenges she
faces. Black has great take on faery. It is both beautiful
and sinister. Need to read more of this universe.
Bleak
House (TV Mini Series) - Another rendition of the
Charles Dickens classic. Incredible cast. Everybody nails
thier part. It looks great. Only annoying thing was the
quick cuts. Gillian Anderson is great as
Lady Deadlock (worthy successor to Diana Rigg who did it in the
80s). Its cool to see Denis Lawson outside of a flight
suit.
Hoodwinked (Theatrical Film) - An interesting
take on a classic story. A little bit like the old "Fractured
Fairy Tales" segment on Bullwinkle.
Animation was OK but not as good as Pixar. Good songs. Fun
had by all.
Shadows of Ecstasy by Charles Williams - A man
may have discovered the secret of immortality. Is it worth the
price? While the debate goes on Africa revolts against Europen
rule and takes the fight to Europe. This Williams novel is a
little harder to get into. Intriguing characters. People
have to face and overcome their weaknesses. May need to
reread later. The ideas were that intriguing.
February
2006
Pay the Piper: A Rock and Roll
Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple -
High school reporter Callie goes to cover a rock concert around
Halloween. Unknown to her there is a cursed fairy prince in the
group who needs either gold or children to pay a debt. When the
promoter stiffs the group, the fairy prince must resort to taking the
children to Faerie. Callie's little brother is led to
Faerie. Can Callie figure out a way to save her brother and
the other children? Is there a way around the curse? This
is a great mixing of the old and new. Mixing the legend of The Pied Piper and
rock and roll. Callie is sxcellent. She is a typical
teen. Callie is smart and is able to work out her problems.
This book is for all ages.
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (Readers' Group
Choice) - In alternate world where magicians rule Britain.
Nathaniel is apprentice magician. After Nathaniel is humilated by
other magicians he vows revenge. In order to obtain this revenge,
Nathaniel summons a demon named Bartimaeus. Soon Nathaniel
get imbroiled in a plot to overthrow the government. Can
Nathaniel stop this? Is he over his head. Will Bartimaeus
help him? Good story. I like Bartimaeus asides during his
part of the narration. I am intrigued in this world. A
combo of the present day with magic. We know a bit about Europe
but little else about the world is known. I may have to read the
rest of the series to explore this world.
Curious George (Theatrical Film) -
This was good adaption of the classic children's book. Its nice
The Man in Yellow Hat is given a name and a life. The King Kong
sequence was fun. The only thing that irritated me
was the fact that they kept calling George a monkey. He is an
ape! He has no tail! What could they not have called him a chimp.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - Ender
Wiggins is sent to school to learn how to fight a future war against
aliens. He singled out by his teachers to become a leader.
To do so they make endure all sorts of hardships. Back home,
Ender's sadistic older brother Peter coerces their sister, Valentine,
to his plan to take over the world. Peter intends to this by
making him and Valentine online pundits. This deserves its
reputation as a classic. It moves quickly. It has aged
well. It is surprising to see how on the mark Card was
about the Internet. The Internet was very exclusive at the
time of writing the book. I wish I had ignored its critics and
read it sooner. Will definitely check out the second and third
books.
Valiant by Holly Black - Young Val
shaves her head and runs away to New York after seeing her boyfriend
cheat with her mother. Val comes into the company of other
runaways. They have connection to Faerie. Through
them she meets Ravus, an exiled troll who lives under the Manhattan
Bridge. Val's friends help Ravus distribute a drug which
enables others fairies living in the City. They however
find the drug has interesting effects on humans. Val and her
fellow runwawys inject the drug, "Never", like heroin. Someone is
killing Ravus customers. Can Val help Ravus figure out who is
doing or will she be consumed by the "Never". Another great look
into the world of fairy that Black introduced in Tithe.
We are again given another flawed lead character. Worse Val is
becoming addicted to mind altering susbatnce. The only way she
can help Ravus is if she can beat the addiction. She has to first
overcome her own weaknesses to help her freinds.
Engrossing. Also nice subtle ties into the previous novel.
March 2006
On Basilisk Staion by David Weber (Readers' Group
Choice) - The first Honor Harrington adventure. After getting a
major command, Honor alienates her superiors and crew during fleet
exercises. Her ship is assigned to a distant and mismanged
outpost. Despite having limited resources, Honor goes forth
and does her duties the best she can. This creates more enemies both
domestic and foreign. Can she stop the Republic of Haven's plot
to take the system? It is gripping yarn. The battle
sequences are well done. The characterization is great.
Honor is believable as a commanding officer. The only thing that
bothers is me is we have another monarchy in space. I think Weber
put this is in to explain why Honor gets to tak her treecat, Nimitz in
space. Still its fun. May come back in the future.
It's Superman by Tom De Haven - A retelling of the
Man of Tomorrow's story. We see what led up to his 1938 debut.
Clark Kent is Kansas farm boy trying to deal with his gifts. Lois
Lane is child prodigy trying to become a newspaper reported in New
York. Her ex boyfriend Willi Berg has crossed paths with a
corrupt New York City aldeman named Lex Luthor. While on the run
from Luthor, Berg meets Clark in Smallville and they decide to travel
together. The end up in Hollywood for awhile. There Clark becomes
a stuntman. There he receives a certain blue suit from falied
science fiction serial. Clark and Berg return to New York to
stop Luthor. This is an interesting take on Superman. Its
cool seeing how the era could have made Clark Kent the man he was when
he burst on the scene in 1938.
V for Vendetta (Theatrical Movie) - This is a good
translation of the Moore/Lloyd comic of the 80s. Not an exact
translation but one which tries to get the high ponts of the
original. The best part was the realization of Valerie's story
which was one of the most powerful part of the book. A
must see movie.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (Readers'
Group Choice) - The Lunar colony (initially a penal colony) was
to revolt from Earth control. Young technican Manual Garcia
O'Kelly Davis gets caught up in the revolution. He brings to the
table access to the Moon's central computer which unknown to the
authorities has become sentinent. Mycroft or Mike, as the
computer, helps Manny and his friends to fight Earth. This is
still great. I like it we go into the mechanics of
revolution. The actual fighting is actually small. It is
trying to plan out where the revolution is going after the fighting
starts which is the challenge. One of Heinlein's best and still
holds up well.
April
2006
Armor by John Steakley - Felix is caught
in future war with sentient ants. He is fighting the ants using a
sophisticated armored suit. This suit seems to a live of its
own. A life which can change the nature of the world he lives
in. I hard time getting into this book. It seems like Starship
Troopers without the detailed world building. The
action was pretty good. Still I had to struggle with this one.
Carrie's War (TV Movie) - An adaptation of a
Nina Bauden novel about a young girl and her brother evacuated to Wales
during World War II. It interesting how during what was a
very scary time kids can find an escape. The kids get involved in
some local intrigue. Some of which will haunt Carrie for
years. A great production.
Lincoln's
Dream by Connie Willis - Researcher Jeff Johnston
is working for Civil War novelist. An old college friend Richard
Madison introduces him to Annie. A young woman who is having
dreams about the Civil War. Jeff recognizes what she is
describing as actual events during the war. Jeff takes Annie to
Fredericksburg to try sort out her dreams. Jeff thinks that Annie
is having Robert E. Lee's dreams. Annie feels she should have
these dreams to give Lee peace. Jeff wonders if he should let her
or take her back to Richard who would use drugs to suppress the
dreams. This was Connie Willis first novels. There are some
really good stuff about this book. I did not like the
ending. I think Jeff made the wrong move. Still worth
reading to because of Willis style and characterization.
The
Ultimate Avengers - I never liked the art style of the
Ultimate Marvel line. The good thing is there is not a lot of it
here. I thought this retelling of the Avengers was
interesting. A good plot was used to bring these guys together.
Captain America was great as always. Wish he had wings
back. Still its Marvel in fine form.
Learning
the World by Ken MacLeod (Hugo Nominee) - A generation
starship approaches a system. Its intent is to have the younger
generation colonize the system. They discover the second planet
is inhabited by a sentient bat like race. Scientists on the
planet discover the ship through astronomical observation. The
bats are at the same level as Earth was during the 1940s. The
knowledge of each other existence will change each race forever.
We get the human story from Atomic Discourse Gale. A member of
the generation to colonize the system and a blogger. The
delay caused by the aliens existence will cause friction on the
ship. How will the conflict be resolved? This is the first
MacLeod novel which I got into. The only weakness was that the
aliens were not alien enough for me. The were interesting but the
did not have that mysterious quality which makes them feel really alien.
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (Hugo
Nominee) - One day in the future the stars all go out. A field is
place around the Earth. While the sun still works as a heat
source there are no more stars. Time outside the field flows
faster than inside. Millions of years can pass in the space of
months on Earth. In the space of 40-50 Earth years the sun will
die. We follow the life of Dr. Tyler Dupree and his best friends
Jason and Diane Lawton. Jason will use all of his scientific
talent and wealth to solve the riddle of this phenomenon called
Spin. Tyler will work with as the medical officer of the
project. Diane on the other hand will try to find more spiritual
answers to the Spin. Can the Spin be solved? Who created it and
why? Again like in Chronoliths ,
we are given a world where doom seems inevitable. Yet Jason will
do everything he can to prevent this doom. Tyler gives us a front
row seat in the struggle. It engaging. You want to the
why. I like Jason's determination to solve the problem while
others give up hope. Tyler sticks by his friends no matter what.
The book shows the worst and best of
mankind.
May 2006
Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Hugo Nominee) - In
the future, one must be 75 years old to enlist in the Colonial Defense
Forces (CDF). Inductees are given new bodies. These bodies
are designed to fight. After 10 years of service, members of the
CDF may settle on a colony world. The odds of surviving are not
good. The need for habitable worlds is great. Such worlds
are scarce and humans and aliens will do wahtever it tales to secure
them for themselves. This novel follows one recruit through his
career in the service. Scalzi creates a plausible situation where
you want older people in a war. Its scary that the competition
for habitable is so intense. There is a lot of Startship Troopers
here and that its in a good way. A new talent is on the rise in
SF.
Accelerado by Charles Stross (Hugo Nominee)
- This novel gives us three generations of a family dealing with
the onset of the singularity. Manfred Macx is a free enterprise
broker making others extremly rich. This frustrates his IRS
agent/dominatrix wife Pamela. She chooses to raise their daughter
Amber in a anti-technology way. Amber rebels and with the help of her
father escapes to Jovian system. She eventually becomes the
soverign of a new state to escape her mother's control. Amber
will lead an expedition to what is believed to be an alien internet
hub. This expedition is virtual, the crew are downloaded copies
of real people. The plan is to go out at high sublight speed
return and download the crew into physical bodies. When the crew
returns singularity has happened and the solar system itlself is being
redefined. This started out as several stories published in Asimov's. Its great. Stross builds an
intricate world and draw us all in. This world is populated by
fascinating people. Some who represent extremes. I
hear there is more. I'll be there.
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patrica McKillip (Reader's Group
Choice) - Sybel takes care of several mystical animals up on
mountains. She is given a boy to raise. The boy,
Tamlorn grows up and becomes the center of a powerplay in a
nearby kingdom. Sybel reluctantly lest Tamlorn goes to face
this. Sybel is then attacked by a wizard sent out by one of the
kings . She chooses to take sides and to take revenge on the
kingdom in question. Can she do this without endangering the ones
she loves. Fun book. I think the language was too formal
but that can be the way people in this world talk.
X-Men: The Last Stand (Theatrical Film) - More plot
than character in this one. I did love the scene where Kitty
Pryde has to deal with the Juggernaut. There story does a good
job of dealing with the Phoenix saga. I like the fact that there
is a coda at the end of the film. If this is the last it ended
well.
June 2006
Boy's Life by Robert C. McCammon -
In 1964 Zephyr, Alabama, Cory Mackenson goes with his
dad on
his milkman run. On the way they see a car plunge into a lake.
Cory's
father makes a valaint attempt to rescue the driver. The driver
was dead before the car hit the water and Cory's father could not get
the body out before the car sank. This strange incident will
aeffect Cory and his father. Can Cory find out what happen before the
nightmares drive Cory's father insane. This about a different
time before the great social changes in the years
ahead. A lot is going on here. An interesting
look at a
transitional time in American history.
The
Notorious Betty Page (Theatrical Film) Another look at a
different time in American history. This one focuses on what was
and was not acceptable in porn/erotica. Gretchen Mol is great as
Betty. The title suggests irony. Betty was a woman trying to do a
honest living and found something she was good for a number of
years. Then some killjoys had to put their nose into it. It
is
slow at times. The cinematography looks great. The
recreation of the photo sets are fantastic. I like the combination of
black and white and color in the movie. Each seems to capture the
mood of the given scene.
Hex
(Televison Series) - Hmmm this is odd. It starts of on a
good premise. A young girl discovers she is decended from a
18th century witch. The idea of having a lesbian ghost friend is
interesting but they do not make clear what the rules are. Thelma
(the ghost) seems to need to use doors and eat. It seems like the
writers do not realize the full ghost ptential or do not think the can
afford the effects. Still I want to see how it plays out.
Peter
and the Star Catchers by
Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (Readers' Group Choice) - The first in a
series of prequels for Peter Pan. One learns how Peter was an orphan,
how gets his amazing abilities, and how his enemies and friends
came to be. Its interesting. The problem is I was never really
fond
of the character. To be fair I am basing on the Disney and Fox
(if anyone remembers that) interpretations. I always was more
fond of Wendy who is not in this book although a similar girl befriends
Peter. Peter Pan fans may like it a lot. To me it is
OK. I like the
almost SF like explainnation for Peter.
The
Greenstone Grail by Amanda Hemingway - Years
ago Annie Ward gave birth to a son Nathan. Annie and Nathan live in
a small English villiage. Annie runs a bookstore for a mysterious man
named Bartlemy. Bartlemy is very good to Nathan and Annie.
As Nathan grows older he starts having odd dreams. Dreams of an
incredible world of flying dinosaurs and of a kingdom on the brink of
disaster. He soon is able to move into this dream. This
world seems to be connected to a grail that once belong to a
local family and has been found again. Can this be the part
of key to save this world. This is great. Hemingway is
writing an incredible fantasy. I like when they make refrences to
other fantasies like Harry Potter and Narnia. This is part of a
triliogy. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Kingdom of
Cages by Sarah Zettel - A great castrophe has befallen human
colonies. The Diversity Crisis is the result of environmental
disasters on several planets. One planet, Pandora, seems to be
the
most perfect world for human life. It is stricitly controlled by
several families. Pandora is forced to take on refugees.
The are also working on a cure to the crisis. They think they may
have come across a cure. To test it they need a woman, Helice
Trust to give birth to a child. At first she refuses to
particpate but is forced to. She gives in for her daughters'
sake. Before the birth of the child, Helice is murdered by
someone unknown. This is impossible since each city or
hothouse
have an AI which monitors everything. Furthermore the inhabitants
of the hothouse all have implants which function as consciences.
Helice daughters, Chena and Trust, go back to the villiage where they
started as refugees. Chena becomes a healer and vows to discover
what happened to her mother. There are plots within plots
here. There is a lot going on here and its all good. We
wonder of who watches the watchers in regards to the implants.
Chena is a great character. She tries to do right for her family
at
whatever the cost. It is some satisfying SF.
A
Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman - Sixteen year
old Sally Lockhart's father dies at sea. This brings her
into the midst of a Victorian mystery. Sally pursued by ruthless
individuals for information she may have on an Indian treasure.
Can she figure out before its too late. Sally is a resourceful
character. She is able stand on her on two feet. Sally is
even able to come up with a new business for herself and her
friends. There something about the style which bothers me.
I cannot put my finger on it. Still a good read and may look into
other works.
Superman
Returns (Theatrical Film) Singer does a good job of
hitting the marks. I think with a comic adaptation that is what
you are looking for. You want certain things to happen like
seeing the S underneath the shirt. Love the hommages to the first
film. maybe the can do the marriage in a sequel.
July
2006
Not Like
Everyone Else (TV Movie) - This shows what it is
like to grow up in the post-Colombine world. Brandi Blackbear is
harassed for being different. She gets this treatement by simple
accusation. Hopefully her case can prevent others having the same
problems.
My
Super Ex-Girlfriend (Theatrical Film) - All right she
overeacts but the guy is somewhat of a cad to her. He leads her
on a bit. Uma Thruman is great as G-Girl/ Jenny Johnson.
She does a good job of the secret identity with no mask. Anna
Faris is great as the other girl. An OK variation of the
superhero story.
The
Ant Bully (Theatrical Film) - This does a good job
distinguishing itself from A Bug's Life and Antz.
In fact the film a worthy companion to those films. Good way to
teach a moral against bullying. The only part I wish the gotten
rid off was the alien conspiracy grandma.
Clerks
II (Theatrical Film) - Another look at Dante and
Randall. It was fun. Although Dante was horrible to poor
Emma. I mean he should not have not let it go so far. Dante
and Randall seem to get their act together at the end. A nice
wrap up of the View Askew Universe (although I have said that before).
Life
on Mars (TV
Series) - Is it time travel or an
elaborate dream? Either way its interesting to see how
police work or police shows have changed in 30 years. I want to
see how it turns out.
Lady
in the Water (Theatrical Film) -
This film is attempts to tell a modern fantasy story. I think it
works. Although I can also see why some people may not like
it. I think the story works even when our protagonists get it
wrong. I think this film is a noble effort ot something
different.
August
2006
Cars (Theatrical Film) - Its
amazing the thought that went into this. The world here is
fascinating. I bel;ieve in car world. The story is
OK. The characters and the design is great.
Great
Sky Woman by Steven Barnes - This takes place in
prehistoric Tanzania near Mount Kilamanjaro or the Great Sky Mountain
as the locals call it. We follow the lives of two individuals, a
boy named Frog Hopping and girl named T'Cori (which means to have no
name). T'Cori was abandon by her family and was reared by
the holy woman of the tribe. Frog is trained to be hunter.
Both of them become players in their people's struggles. The main
problem is an invasion form another tribe. All the characters a
very well defined. We know their motivations for their
actions. Plot is a bit loose but it goes somewhere. This
allows the development of the main characters whom we follow from birth
to adulthood. Some great descriptions of the area. Makes
you feel like you have been there.
The
Sword of Straw by Amada Hemigway - The second book
of The Sangreal Trilogy. Nathan must recover
the second item, a sword. He
has the found the location of it and a beautiful princess who's family
the sword belongs too. Nathan's friend Hazel is using her gifts as a
witch to make a boy fall for her. Nathan has to deal with a bully
at school. Is there more to this bully than meets the eye.
Is someone trying to steal the Grail from Uncle Bartlemy's house?
Can Nathan's mother cope with the fact here son is in danger. can
Nathan recover the sword and help Princess nell's family. This keeps
the same eneregy in the first book. There is still reference to
other works of fantsay and science fiction. There are some
obvious set ups that will resolved in the last book.
Basic
Instinct 2 (DVD) - Well the first one was no great work
of art. This one seems to copy the major plot elements of the
first one. Sharon Stone looks great. Nothing more than a
pleasant distraction.
September
2006
Fntastic Four (TV Series) - Do not like the
art and the stories. It just seems off. The last version
they did in the 90s was better. May watch the Galactus/Silver
Surfer story should they do one.
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher (Readers' Group
Choice) - The country of Alera is on the brink of
invasion. Amara, an agent of kingdom, is sent to find out what
the enemy plans. On this mission she meets a young shepherd named
tavi. Tavi becomes involved in the fight at the border.
This was well plotted. There was nothing to get me interested
into reading the rest of the triology. Its an OK medieval
fantasy. I need a hook to keep me interested in those.
Teen
Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (TV Movie)- A nice little
coda to the fun series. It had all the fun and charm the
show. It would have been nice to see this one on the big screen.
Studio
60 on the Sunset Strip (TV Series) - My first Sorkin
show. Very nice. Characters are pretty
interesting. Liked Judd Hirsch's opening rant. I also like
the us against them attitude between the management and the
talent. I also liked the fact Jordan is on the side of the
talent. Hope they can keep it up.
Smith
(TV Series) - I was kind of into it until they
offed a guard and one of their own for the caper. Its hard
for me to sympathize with any of them after that.
Legion
of the Super-Heroes (TV Series) - Another
series which feels off. I wish they had not made Braniac 5
into a mech. Still there seems to be more here than Fantasic Four.
I may have to accept than Bruce Timm and Paul Dini are not doing DC
animated series anymore.
October
2006
Circus of Hells by Poul
Anderson - Lt. Dominic Flandry explores a moon for a local
gangster. A very beautiful woman named Djana comes with
him. Can Flandry solve the mystery this moon holds? Can he
deal with Earth's enenemies, the Merisians? Another adventure
with one SFs best super agents is fun as always. Again I like how
it has a Cold War fee but it is not exactly like the Cold War (the
Mersians do not have any communistic traits). Slowly but surely I
will accumulate this series.
Heroes (TV Series) - This reminds me
of Strazynski's Rising Stars and the Wild
Cards seeries. A different take on meta
humans. The story is going somewhere. Sometimes slow
but it makes up for it for the characters. Cannot wait to
see where this goes.
Freedom's
Landing by Anne McCaffrey - An alien race conquers
Earth and its people are sent to be slaves in space. The
send some humans to another world. Apparently the intention is
use humans and other races to help colonize this world.
Some interesting bits. I like how a robot encountered by the
humans is described as Dalek-like. Still I am scratching my head why a
technologically advcanced society would need slaves.
Machines would do the work needed. Its OK. Not drawn into
the rest of the series unless they explain the alien need for slaves.
Casanova
(TV Mini series) - Very Good. Not sure how
faithful it is too history but very fun. I can see why Russell
Davies made Tennant the Doctor. The satire is great.
Good to see Davies' pre-Doctor Who stuff.
Flags
of Our Fathers (Theatrical Feature) - Powerful.
What Saving
Private Ryan did for the European theater, this does for the
Pacific Theater. The battle sequence are excellent. It
interesting to see how one picture can have an effect on the
world. Will watch Eastwood's follow up which shows the battle
from the Japanese point of view.
November
2006
Immortality Inc. by Robert Sheckley - Thomas Blaine
is killed in a car crash. He is resurrected in the future where the
afterlife is a fact, suicides booth exists, and hunting humans is
legal. Thomas Blaine is being chased by the powers that be
in this world for his body. Can he survive in this world?
What a nove! So many ideas and Sheckley brings them to
live. Still reads pretty well for a 40 year old novel. It
is easy to undertsnad from this why Sheckley was one the great masters
of his generation.
Witches
of Karres by James Schmitz (Reader's Group Choice) -
Merchant ship captain Pausert frees three sisters from slavery.
These sisters are from the mysterious planet Karres where technology
equals magic. The sisters are considered witches. One of
the sisters, Goth stays with Pausert. Pausert becomes the part of
incredible adventures involving powerful beings, hidden planets, and
super stardrives. I cannot seem to get into Schmitz. These
ideas are interesting. I cannot seem get it together for this
book.
Flushed
Away (Theatrical Feature) - This was a great
surprise. I had not heard about this. There were some nice
surprises hidden in the film (look at the newspapers in the mice's
houses). A great heroine, a great villian, a great hero and the
World Cup. What more does one need?
Exit to Eden by Anne Rampling (Anne Rice)
- Elliot becomes a slave of the Club, an island resort which
caters to BDSM crowd. One of the founders of the club Lisa finds
Elliot intriguing. Soon they go off in journey which will test
their emotional and physical limits. A good story. The Club
is an interesting construct. The relationship between Elliot and
Lisa is believable and interesting. I cannot believe they screwed
up the movie so bad, but adding a stupid subplot. This about a
different world and two people caught in this world.
Pirates
of the Carribean: Dead's Man Chest - This film was just
plain fun. Great story. Great action. This film
should win the Oscar for best makup. Davy Jones and his crew are
some best monsters I have ever seen.
December
2006
Full
Metal Apache:Transactions Between Cyberpunk Japan and Avant-Pop America by Takayumi Tatsumi - A very interesting work. Tatsumi
shows that American and Japanese culuture have been influencing each
other for years. Both cultures have benefited. Some
of stuff relating to postmodernism went over my head. That
term has always confused me. Still want to search for more
of Tatsumi's articles elsewhere.
This Film is Not Yet Rated (Theatrical Film) - If you want to see how films get rated, you have to see this. What scary is how arbitrary it seems. There is no guidance and the fate of a film is the taste of a dozen people. People who do this in secrecy yet get to smooze with the princes of Hollywood. It was great how they discovered the identity of the raters. Maybe we may see some reform becuase of this.
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Readers' Group
Choice) - In an alternate world dragons exist and are used for air
war. This series is set during the Napoleanic era. Captain
William Laurence of the British Navy finds a dragon egg on a captured
French ship. The dragon hatches and bonds with Laurence.
Laurence is reassigned to the Aerial Corps with his dragon
Temeraire. There they learn how to fight in the air. They
will help in the Battle of Trafalger. This was fun. Nice
details. The breed of dragon that only binds with women is
interesting and make an interesting changes in British society.
May read the other books. I like to see dragons from all
over the world.
Mindscan by Robert J. Sawyer - In the
mid 21st century, a technique is developed to copy the human
consciousness. These copies can be placed in to robot
bodies. This allows people to cheat death. The flesh
bodies are sent to the moon to live out the natural lives and the
andriod copies take on the lives of their originals. Jake
Sullivan does this in his forties since he has a heredity
ailment which killed his father at a young age. Sullivan's
copy meets up with a fellow immortal, writer Karen Bessarian.
They begin a relationship. On the moon the original Jake finds a
cure for his problem and wants his life back. On Earth, Karen's
family sues to get there inheritence claiming the android copies have
nor right to the originals property. A very straightforward
novel. Again the genre examines what it is to be human.
Some interesting questions on consciousness are brought up. I
just hope the country does not as far to the right as Sawyer presents.
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