Piers Anthony, Under a Velvet Cloak [2007] 225 pages
For a Shelfari group challenge -- The Incarnations of Immortality series was one of the most origiPiers Anthony, Under a Velvet Cloak [2007] 225 pages
For a Shelfari group challenge -- The Incarnations of Immortality series was one of the most original and clever fantasy series I have read. The seven books dealt with the Incarnations of Death (Thanatos), Time (Chronos), War (Mars), Fate (Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos), Nature (Gaia), Evil (Satan), and Good (God). In addition to very good plots and writing style, they presented the subjects from interesting new perspectives, as fantasy ought to (and so seldom does). The last book wrapped everything up neatly to a satisfying conclusion.
This book, about the Incarnation of Night (Nox), was tacked on (I use the term advisedly) fifteen years after the series was completed. While I did not re-read the original seven before reading this, and after so many years I undoubtedly missed many of the allusions, the feel of this book was very different. It seemed much less original; there were handsome/beautiful, oversexed, sparkly vampires a la Stephanie Meyers et al. et al. et al. -- though the sparkly business I could pass over as probably a deliberate joke; saving of timelines a la Phillip Pullman; and the continual harping on sex (none described closely enough to be really erotic) was just dull. The writing began well enough, but by the end it seemed schematic, as though I were reading a plot summary rather than the novel itself. In short, a disappointing book....more
This is the original sequel to Ender's Game -- although the novel version of that was designed as a sort of prequel to this book. The buggers play a mThis is the original sequel to Ender's Game -- although the novel version of that was designed as a sort of prequel to this book. The buggers play a minor role, and another sentient alien culture a more important one, but it is primarily about a human family and the reasons for its problems. II think this is Card's best novel, at least of the ones I have read; it deals with ethical dilemmas in a serious way, and the main character is developed as someone who is tolerant and respectful of different beliefs and tries to understand others rather than judging them. The book focuses on the difficulties of deciding what is right, especially across cultures.
I just find it very hard after reading this novel to believe that this is written by the same Orson Scott Card whose own writings in his own persona, as opposed to fiction, claim to be able to decide for everyone what is right and wrong without any difficulty, and who a year ago spoke at the ALA Convention turning his "book talk" into a long rant against gays....more
Fritz Lang's Metropolis is one of the best-known and controversial of the German silent films. Lang's wife, Thea von Harbou, wrote both the screenplayFritz Lang's Metropolis is one of the best-known and controversial of the German silent films. Lang's wife, Thea von Harbou, wrote both the screenplay for the movie, and more or less simultaneously, this "novelization". The basic plot of both film and novel is this: a high-technology city, Metropolis, built and owned by Joh Fredersen, is divided between the rich oligarchs living in the high towers and the exploited workers living under the ground level. Fredersen's only son, Freder, falls in love with a working class girl named Maria, who turns out to be the leader of a clandestine, semi-religious worker's movement, which awaits the coming of a "Mediator" to improve their position. Freder, after switching places with a worker named Georgi (but known officially as 11811) decides to take on the job of "Mediator", but is discovered by his father and the villainous inventor Rotwang. Rotwang creates a kind of android with the form of Maria, and kidnaps the real Maria. The robot replacement turns the movement violent, and Metropolis is virtually destroyed in the resulting fighting, until Freder and Maria, reunited, manage to get control and reconcile the workers with Freder's father. Lesson: "The Mediator between Head and Hands is the Heart."
The interest of course is not in this simple plot, but in what it is supposed to "mean" (and in the case of the film the technical and artistic means by which it is presented. The novelization diverges somewhat from the film both in the incidents depicted and in their order. More importantly, it heavily emphasizes a religious (part Christian, part pagan) symbolism which is present but not emphasized in the film, thus presenting a somewhat different "meaning" from that projected by the movie.
Of course, nearly all novelizations fall short of the movies they're based on, but this book is totally awful. Thea von Harbou's writing is terrible, trying to be profound and poetic and achieving only a sort of absurdly pretentious melodrama. The almost illiterate anonymous translation doesn't help any, and I suspect the Kindle edition has introduced even further typos. This is a book you only want to read if you are really interested in the film....more
A smart, handsome, sexy, debonaire library cataloger who fights vampires. Just like me, actually. ( Except for the vampire business.)
This is a fantasyA smart, handsome, sexy, debonaire library cataloger who fights vampires. Just like me, actually. ( Except for the vampire business.)
This is a fantasy novel with a more original premise than I've seen for a while; a type of magic based on books, called Libriomancy. There are a lot of humorous allusions to popular culture, from Stephanie Meyers and Charlotte Harris (of course) to Doctor Who and many classic science fiction writers (Hines won a Hugo in 2012 for Best Fan Writer). Nothing profound, but a fun read. Although this is complete in itself, there is a sequel called Codex Born and a third book called Unbound is due out next month; I'm not sure if this is intended as a trilogy or a continuing series....more
The classic adventure of Phineas Fogg; a fast-paced series of episodes in what were then exotic locations, such as Salt Lake City. A fun, entertainingThe classic adventure of Phineas Fogg; a fast-paced series of episodes in what were then exotic locations, such as Salt Lake City. A fun, entertaining read about the modern progress of the nineteenth century....more
I was a longtime fan of the original Doctor Who series from the sixties, seventies, and eighties, and have read nearly all the novelizations of that, I was a longtime fan of the original Doctor Who series from the sixties, seventies, and eighties, and have read nearly all the novelizations of that, but have just begun watching the videos of the new series beginning with Season One and this is the first book I have read based on the new series. I read this particular book because it was the group read for a Doctor Who group here on Shelfari, but it is also one of the earliest, maybe even the first, of the new series books chronologically, with the Tenth Doctor (first of the new series) and his first companion, Rose Tyler. Unlike the novelizations of the older series, these do not seem to be based directly on actual episodes of the show, but are additional episodes with the same characters. The writing style is fairly simple, but like the show itself the action is nonstop, there is always a mystery to be solved, and the dialogue is far wittier and more intelligent than in any American television show I ever watched except possibly MASH (but I admit I have never watched much television). A good light read for fans of the show and a good introduction to the new series....more
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