Literature News

[Ozymandias]

Thursday, March 8th, 2007.

 

Captain America has been killed, and perhaps so has my mad adventure with Marvel Comics.

 

More later.

[reverie]

Oh? Who did it?

[Venefyxatu]

In completely other news : poetry is now the new weapon for crime fighters. An anonymous poet who was one of the witnesses to a murder has been leaving an anonymous poem near the murder scene.

 

The full article (with poem goodness), can be found here.

[reverie]

Best Poem Ever!

 

This be The Verse

 

by Philip Larkin

Edited April 29, 2007 by reverie

[Patrick]

The Name of the Wind ~ by Patrick Rothfuss

 

Unquestionably the best book I've read in almost a decade. It can definitely be placed next to Lord of the Rings, and perhaps, just perhaps, it is even better. Since it is just the first part of a trilogy, I'll just have to wait for the next two books before passing judgment. It also just happens to be the very first book written by the author.

 

For a resume, it has been done better, than I could at the website of the author: http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/content/books.asp

 

Clicking on book one excerpt can also show you a bit from the 90 odd chapters that the book has.

 

The book is only out in hardcover for the moment, but even though it measures a hefty 650 pages, it took me less than 8 hours to read it (split up during several days, I mostly read it on the train while going to and back from work). Once you start you can't stop. I haven't felt this sensation since reading the dune series for the first time. The story is mostly told in first person, but when interludes come in the narrative, it adds richness to the story and the mystery. The characters are very believable and easy to identify with. Magic doesn't go as overboard as it sometimes does in Harry Potter. There is no visible fate the main characters move towards like in Lord of the Rings. The usual clichés are very skillfully avoided, yet you don't feel their absence.

 

If I were giving marks for this book, I'd definitely give at least 9.8 out of 10. The missing 0.2 is because I have to wait until next March for the second part of the trilogy. It's going to be a long wait.

[reverie]

Went on a date with self described Neil Gaiman fanatic about two weeks ago. Long story short, we didn't hit it off, but she did rekindle my interest for the current rock star of contemporary literature. I was into him years ago, so was delighted to find out he had written a few more books that I hadn't heard of...

 

 

Coroline

 

Short fiction novel for kids. Think Alice in Wonderland meets Evil Dead meets a Rudyard Kipling "Dear Reader" Fable. Dark, very dark, but not obscenely so. Basically precocious young girl gets kidnapped into a strange parallel universe by a spider like creature claiming to be her "other mother." Girl gets help from talking cat.

 

Stardust

 

Decently sized fantasy novel for adults. Brilliant work. Is very episodic, by not annoyingly so like you would get out of a Robert Jordon Novel. Reads very much like one of Neil's Graphic Novels minus the pictures. But I could picture this being a graphic novel first or at least story boarded out. Book in a nut shell: The english villiage of Wall rest on the boundary between the normal world and the land of fairy (sp). People of wall have been charged with protecting this boundary on their side, but ever nine years the guard is relaxed for grand market hosted by the residents of the fairy lands. Is a cute little love story with some heavy influence from LOTR and the Hobbit, but then again every modern fantasy novel has been influenced by Tolkien whether or not they choose to admit it, so no big deal there. Also reminds me of more serious The Princess Bride.

 

 

Anansi Boys

 

 

Adult-oriented fiction. Not exactly traditional "let's go on an adventure" fantasy. It's more like Gaiman's other novel American Gods, but filtered through the comedic lens of A Confederacy of Dunces. Some reviews say this book is scary as well as funny. I just think it's funny. I guess you would call it Dark Comedy. Hmm, but if you're afraid of spiders, then you should probably skip this one. Two competing love stories figure into the plot as well, but the book is really about the relationship between a father and son.

Edited June 24, 2007 by reverie

[Zadown]

Reverie: Stardust (the movie)

 

I wonder how that'll turn out. I liked the book but as usual with Gaiman there are moments when I feel I'm not quite on the same wavelength as he is. Out of all his stuff the only two books I really like are American Gods and Good Omens, and the latter is a collab with Pratchett. Fragile Things, his new short story collection, also had some individual stories that were superb, though from my point of view the quality of the various stories was rather random. Nice guy though, I saw him when he was in Finland a few years back and he read us a snippet from then yet unpublished American Gods.

[reverie]

Oh yeah, I heard about the movie. Hadn't seen the trailer though. I love Clare Danes, but have a few misgivings after her representation in the movie. She's seems more aloof and ethereal than more rooted Gaiman Character. Hmm, hard to tell though from a trailer, though. I'm sure it will be a great film.

[Ozymandias]

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

 

Dunno how much time i have, so I'll start w/the easy stuff.

 

Movies

 

In theaters now:

 

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

 

 

Coming:

 

The Dark is Rising: The Seeker based on at least The Dark is Rising, book one of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Sequence, if not including some later elements as well. We'll see.

 

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns DC Comics

 

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

 

Iron Man Marvel Comics

 

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

 

Superman: The Man of Steel DC Comics (Kevin Spacey is back as Luthor!)

 

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman

 

Wolverine Marvel Comics

 

The Mist by Stephen King (starring Thomas Jane! Yay! ^^)

 

The Flash DC Comics

 

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

 

Wonder Woman DC Comics

 

Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane

 

Incredible Hulk 2 Marvel Comics (starring Edward Norton...hmm.)

 

 

Oz recommends

 

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

 

Awesome novel about the small island nation of Nollop just off of the coast of Rhode Island, and their healthy (and unhealthy) obsession with Nevin Nollop (the creator of the sentece "The quick brown fox jumps ove rthe lazy dog") and as a result, the writing and reading of the english language.

 

Trouble begins when the government decides that when the letters begin falling off of the famous sentence, as it is displayed on the commerative Nevin statue, mean that they must outlaw the use of each letter that falls.

 

A fascinating vibe of Jonathan Swift and Aldous Huxley run throughout this one, but fair warning: as the letters are outlawed, they disappear from the book at the same time...

 

 

Spider-Man: Reign by Kaare Andrews

 

This is read-me-in-one-sitting enaging and ooh, aah pretty to look at too. Fans of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns will probably get a kick out of this one, despite its' seeming knockoff nature.

 

Fast forward about forty years into Marvel Comics future: NYC is falling apart. The Daily Bugle is no longer a newspaper, but the major news network. Peter Parker is a little old man, and Spider-Man hasn't been seen for years. The air is pregnant with despair and menace remaining barely hidden for just a little while longer...

 

 

 

Drat. And of course, it's time to leave for work. Ta!

[The Portrait of Zool]

For the Scarlet Pimpernel fans among us...

 

http://www.blakeneymanor.com/series.html

[Ozymandias]

Monday, October 22, 4:04 PM EST

 

Movies

 

30 Days of Night the movie based on Steve Nile's comic book series of the same name, opened in American theaters this past Friday.

 

The Spiderwick Chronicles is going to be the next children's fantasy novel series to hit the movies. Reportedly, the movie will be based on books 1-6, in similar fashion to the A Series of Unfortunate Events movie.

 

Recommended

 

Captain America Omnibus, by Ed Brubaker. This is twenty-five out of the thirty issues (to date) that Ed has written of the Captain. As you can see from the top of this page, I was initially VERY upset with the assassination of Cap - not so much that it happened, but that it was as a direct result of Marvel Comics' Civil War (by Mark Millar), and as such, I became immediately concerned that it was going to be a graceless and tacky metaphor for losing our personal lives here in America thanks to the Patriot Act, as so many have insisted has happened.

 

It wasn't, and I was gratified to see that Mr. Brubaker has fantastically woven the story he began telling from issue one of his work on this title into Civil War, instead of the reverse. It's a very meaningful tale to the characters, and those who love them- there is NO bully pulpiting here. Yay. ^^

 

Plus, he writes a terrifically intense story about our favorite Star-Spangled Avenger.

 

The Pirates! in an Adventure with Communists, by Gideon Defoe.

 

The Pirate Captain and his crew dabble in philosophy, raw meat, and opera. Also starring Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche. Ridiculous and fun in only the way a Brit with a less than firm grip of the serious can bring. Splendid quick read, too, if you've been looking for one.

 

I'm Reading

 

Death Takes Passage, by Sue Henry.

 

Thieves and murderers rear their ugly heads on an 1897 gold rush re-enactment cruise. It flows quite well as travelogue AND mystery. Ms. Henry expertly and seamlessly blends traveler's notes with a very well-paced build-up of suspense in the course of a well publcized and eagerly awaited history buff's pleasure cruise punctuated with desperate killing and a strange string of thefts.

[Patrick]

Some recent reads:

 

Tom Clancy - Sum of All Fears

 

I'll admit having seen the film first and reading the book second. Liked the film, like the book even better. I can understand some people not really wanting to get into a book of "Tom Clancy-size", but it's a pretty fast read actually. I've read more recent books by him before reading this, and it sure is nice to see how Jack Ryan gets where he is in those books.

 

Robert Ludlum - Bourne Identity

 

Again, I saw the film first. And the book is definitely better. Better in its plot mostly, which doesn't feel as thin as the one of the movie. I have the other two Bourne books also lined up for reading, but need a break before continuing the storyline.

 

Neil Gaiman - American Gods

 

This was a Christmas gift for my dad, but I was curious enough to read the book before giving it to him. Very interesting concept, well-written, the only weak point for me was the end, which felt a bit rushed. Still, great book, will have to check out other books by the same author.

 

On I go now to read some George R.R. Martin (that R.R. reminds me of Tolkien ). Finally managed to convince myself that I wanted to see what the hype about Song of Ice and Fire was about and helped out a friend, who didn't really know what to give me for Christmas. Also got some other well-known and by me unread fantasy authors lined-up, like Feist, Hobb,...looks to be a good year bookwise, even if the books are old.

[reverie]

Am studying the Life and Work of Louisa May Alcott for class and have recently finished "Little Women." As a side bar, it appears that in a class of 15 that I am the only guy. Four others have come, but have never lasted more than one day.

So it appears that I am the only guy secure enough in his gender to read "Little Women" and like it. Go me.

 

Anyway, I find it an outstanding and compelling read and was only bored by the last chapter because the author intentionally dashed her readers' expectations (I gleamed this through reading correspondence with her fans and editors between the publishing's of the first and second part). I think everyone should read this book, it's like manual for how to live a rewarding and happy life (for girls granted) in the 19th century.

 

 

Since this is an American Studies class, I have to study more than just the text: such as films, other contemporary novels, and critic's reviews of the time, Alcott's letters etc. While reading through the Critical Reviews I found it interesting that some reviewers such as the "Zion's Herald" did not recommend "Little Women" for Sunday Schools, while on other hand the "The Ladies' Repository" enthusiastically recommended it for it's Sabbath Schools in December of 1868 while only a month earlier the same publication stated, "It is not a good book for the Sunday school library (65)."

 

***

 

The Ladies? Repository [Cincinnati] 2.5 (November 1868): 472.

 

"This is a very readable juvenile book. It is beautifully printed and bound, and well illustrated. The story of four lively girls is vivaciously told. But it is not a Christian

book. It is religion without spirituality,

and salvation without Christ. It is not a good book for the Sunday school library (65)"

 

***

 

The Ladies' Repository

[boston] 40.[6] (December

1868): 472.

 

"Capital! The little folks, and the children

of larger growth like it. Our Sabbath

Schools will all want it (66)."

 

***

 

Zion's Herald 45.43

(22 October 1868): 509: 3.

 

"Little Women, by Miss Alcott, (Roberts

Bros.), is a vivacious story of four girls and

their hardly older mother, judging from the

picture. What she should know of poverty

is hard to conceive. We dislike the disspiritualizing

in it of Bunyon's [bunyan's] great Allegory [Pilgrim's Progress]. No child should be taught any less evangelism than that. The fight with Apollyon is reduced to a conflict with an evil temper, and the Palace Beautiful

and Vanity Fair are made to be only ordinary

virtues or temptations. We cannot commend the book as its quality merits. It is without Christ, and hence perilous in proportion to its assimilation to Christian

forms. Don't put in the Sunday School library (63-64)."

 

***

 

This conflict of spiritual appropriateness perplexed me particularly the contradicting statements between the two "The Ladies' Repository" Reviews. (Though in hindsight it appears that the TLR reviews are from different cities, so that might explain it in part.)

 

So, I did a few google searchers and it appears "The Ladies' Repository" had some support from the Universalist Church, and it turns out that the Universalist also call their Sunday Schools: Sabbath Schools. Which is of interest to me because the Universalist were kissing cousins to the Unitarians (both united as the Unitarian-Universalist Association in 1960s) and pre-transcendental Emerson was a Unitarian Minister, which had to have some measure of influence on Louisa growing up. Ralph W. Emerson was best friend's with Alcott's Father and Henry D. Thoreau lived down the lane from her.

 

I wonder if given Alcott's general background and education she received from her Father, if she wrote her work conscious of the reception it might receive from mainstream Sunday Schools sects of the day?

 

hmm... Might turn this into a paper.

Edited February 2, 2008 by reverie

[Brute]

Eh.. coupla good books I've read recently... George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series. The books so far have been IMHO better than WoT series. Lots of political maneuvering and Martin seems to have a knack for creating likable and believable characters only to kill 'em off unexpectedly.

Another book I'm currently reading is the Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It's an interesting read about craftsmen, Benedictine monks, and minor nobles in twelveth century England. If I ad more time to rea, I'd have finished it by now. Anyway.. just a few more books to consider for those of you with nothing better to do

[Patrick]

A couple recent reads:

 

Steven Erikson - The Bonehunters

 

I needed a book to read during a nine hour Greyhound trip in the US and this was the one that caught my attention, as it had the required size, and the description on the back was interesting. It is the sixth book in a series and it really shows. It was very hard to get in and even when I got to the end I wasn't sure that I understood everything. Obviously, had I read the other five first, it would have in all probability helped a lot, but as things are the book just doesn't stand on its own. It was intriguing enough for me to want to read the series though, expect reviews in the coming months.

 

On its own: 2.5/5

Will review again once I get there in the series.

 

Terry Goodkind - Wizard's First Rule

 

Another book picked up during my US trip, this one at least was the first in a series. I was left perplexed by the apparent difference between the writing style and the contents of the book. At times the writing style felt really as though the book had been written for children, explaining everything thoroughly, maybe even too thoroughly. Reading scenes of quite brutal torture (which the book does contain) written in that overexplained style was rather weird. Oh, and I guessed the ending a quarter of the way through the book, which adds another negative point. Still, the other day I did pick up the second book in the series, for which I already predict a predictable plot...just from evil wanting to take over the world and only one man able to save it description on the back cover, but I guess we all need a little bit of predictable fantasy in our lives.

 

3.5/5

 

Stephen King - The Dark Tower

 

I'm finally jumping on the bandwagon. Well-written book which has a non-stereotypic plot and a main character who seems to be well worked out.

 

4.5/5

 

Frank Schätzing - Swarm

 

The back cover calls it an eco-thriller, so I'll settle with that. Probably the only reason I picked this one up was because of its size...it is big. I needed a book for a long night in Geneva airport... It is also surprisingly well-written and well-researched. Although most of the insignificant scientific details are right, the author does manage to describe a strong methane smell on several occasions. Apart from the ending it is a really intelligent book. The end felt just a little bit weak, and had a "ok, book needs to end, how about trying this" feeling to it. Still, a solid read, and had me coming back to it when I should have been doing other things.

 

4/5

[Ozymandias]

• Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson's Wheel of Time, book twelve, will be released on October Twenty-ninth. There are two more to follow.
• Where the Wild Things Are hits theatres on October Fifteenth. Even though the Wild Things seem less violent than they should, I hope they do pre sales on the tickets. It looks PRETTY, like your first image ever of a castle pretty.
• Star Wars: Death Troopers is out in hardback. Star Wars has zombies now, too. Huzzah! No sparkling!!

[Ozymandias]

• Unseen Academicals, the new Discworld proper (not Tiffany Aching & the Wee Free Men) novel is in stores. Haven't read it yet, but it's Pratchett, so it's safe to assume engaging plot, and effing funny.
• And Another Thing, part six of Douglas Adams' The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy, by Eoin Colfer (of Artemis Fowl fame) is in stores now, and I can only say. GOOD. Maybe we'll finally get "Young Zaphod Plays it Safe" #$@%&wrapped up!! Gah!!
• Arkham Asylum: 15th Anniversary Edition, by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean just hit stores in hardback and paperback. If anyone's wondering, yes it IS the Dave-McKean-who's-painted- about-50%-of-Neil-Gaiman's-comic-books-AND-created-Mirrormask-with-him Dave McKean. All else I have to say is, Poor Two-Face.

[Ozymandias]

The Gathering Storm, book twelve in The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and now Brandon Sanderson as well will release on Tuesday.

For anyone on the East Coast of the U.S.A, Brandon Sanderson will be in Arundel Mills mall in Hanover, MD, autographing it on Thursday at seven o'clock P.M. sharp.

 

I'll be there too- just look for the only nametag that says 'Peter'.

 

(wish me luck!! O_o)

[Patrick]

Coming back to Steven Erikson (reviewed above), I have now read 7 books from the series and all I can say is "wow". George Martin not only has a competitor when it comes to scope, complexity and gritty realism, but he might have been outdone. An awesome series.

[Wyvern]

I feel like I don't read nearly as much as the majority of the Pen does, but did want to touch upon a few things that I read in recent months ever so briefly.

 

Going back quite a while ago, I read through Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy i.e "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass." I thought that Pullman had quite a few creative concepts in them that made them interesting, particularly the concept of Daemons and the parallel dimension world hopping. It had some nice headstrong characters and some cool dramatic moments, including a few memorably sad ones. The third book took me a lot longer to read than the others for some reason (possibly because it's the longest of the three?), and included a period where I put it down for a while and had to go back and re-read it from the beginning when I got back to it. Still, I found it on par with the other two, though "The Subtle Knife" may have been my favorite of the three for the way that it strung the storyline of Will into that of Lyra and introduced our world as a foreign place. One quip of mine for the trilogy is that the angels and witches were both a little too all-knowing and powerful, both aware of the future and essentially having the ability to mold it. All the fate stuff kind of detracted from some of the dramatic tension of the story (Will's father was a little overpowered as well, as I recall). Still, a fine fantasy trilogy that I enjoyed quite a bit.

 

More recently, I read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," which was a very bleak tale of post-Apocalyptic survival. It was written in McCarthy's signature style of very curt and simple sentences, which were even more emphasized than usual and added to the bleakness of the unsettling setting. One thing that I found very effective about the book is that there were hardly any encounters between the main characters and other people in it, yet when there were they were often terrifying affairs due to what mankind has turned to in order to survive when natural resources have gone extinct. It was a very quick and engaging read, though it was very dark and had quite a few moments that were tough to take, the most memorable of these being a scene where the main character stops someone who's trying to steal his only cart of provisions and forces him to strip naked in the rain, in front of his son. I thought it was a very good book, and am looking forward to seeing the film adaptation of it with Viggo Mortenson as the lead.

 

My most recent read was "Watchmen," Alan Moore's famous graphic novel that I need a serious late pass for. "Watchmen" is possibly the most interesting and realistic take on superheroes that I've read, and rightfully deserves the copious amounts of awards and praise that it gets. The comic covers a great deal of intriguing historical and psychological ground, examining the former heroes of the story in great depth and the impact that they had on events such as the Cold War and Vietnam. It presents great moral questions of what heroism truly means when the world's problems stretch far beyond mere bank robbers and inner-city crime. Rorschach is an excellent bad-ass lead, and the way that the Comedian and other character's are developed over the course of the story is fascinating. I'm curious whether the Pen's own Ozymandias had some inspiration for choosing his moniker from this comic, or if it was purely Percy Byrce Shelley's work... enlighten me, Ozy? ;-D

[Ozymandias]

Stephen King sold J.J. Abrams the movie rights to The Dark Tower for $19.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/me screams girlishly.

[Appy]

*squeeel*

[Loki Wyrd]

That's awesome news--I love The Dark Tower series. =)

 

Ozymandias: Brandon Sanderson has taken over the Wheel of Time series with Robert Jordan's death? I read up to the 7th book, and then figured I would wait until the whole series was out to read the others (I prefer not having to wait between books). Then I read that Robert Jordan had died and I figured that it would be pointless ever reading the rest of the books that have come out.

[Snypiuer]

When the Wheel of Time series first came out, they gave away the first half of the first book as a stand alone novel at comic/sci-fi conventions, book fairs and such. This is how I got hooked. Then, Mr. Jordan not only took his time writing each subsequent book, he missed deadlines and actually stopped to write Conan novels. You have no idea how many times I fantasized about reenacting the scene from Misery where James Caan's character is tied to the bed and gets his ankles broken, with Mr. Jordan so that he was forced to finish writing his series. Then he died. This REALLY upset me. I have my suspicions, but I believe he planned it - just to p*ss me off (yes, I AM that self-centered). Anyways, let's hope the new guy finishes it in a timely manner - each book is HUGE and having to go back and read each to refresh my memory EVERY SINGLE TIME a new one comes out grows old and takes away from my enjoyment.

 

Oh yeah, try these fun books:

 

Villains by Necessity - by Eve Forward (Fantasy)

Illegal Aliens - by Phil Foglio and Nick Pollotta (Sci-Fi)

Faerie Tale - by Raymond E. Feist (Horror/Fantasy)

Songs of Earth and Power (combines The Infinity Concerto and The Serpent Mage) - by Greg Bear (Fantasy)

Iron Tower Trilogy and Silver Call Duology - by Dennis L. McKiernan (Fantasy) I believe there is now one book combining all five books.

[Ozymandias]

Only have time for a quickie.

 

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians is coming to movie theaters.
• So is 'How to Tame a Dragon'-from the creatirs of Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, no less.
• Dark Tower! SQUEEEEEE!
• The Marvelous Land of Oz, from Marvel Comics, issue #2 hit stores today.

 

Snyp- Eve Forward? Hot damn, man!! The fact alone that you know it EXISTS...!

 

(are you Superman? O_o)