8.26.2013

 

1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

by Charles C. Mann, 408 pgs, hardcover
Sequel to 1491
Overall Grade: A-

Impressively readable. Mann spins a collective work looking at some of the genetic, racial, economic, agriculture and health changes and connections that grew in the years, decades and centuries after Columbus' first visit to the Americas. How quickly the desire for wealth led to trade connections between Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas! Lots of interesting chapters on topics ranging from the potato and its introduction to Europe to malaria and yellow fever to the Spanish silver mines in South America. Speaking of the latter, you may know that these mines were the key to the wealth of the Spanish empire after they gained a foothold in the Americas, but did you know that perhaps up to 90% of that silver actually went to China, via the Philippines? It was China that desperately needed the silver for their currency, and the silk, porcelain and other goods they'd trade for it were what mostly got sent back to Spain and thence Europe. It's tidbits like this that make this book worth reading.

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 6:12 AM

8.16.2013

 

Pacific Rim


PG-13, 131 minutes
Official Site | IMDb
Overall Grade: A

I think this movie took the prize for summer action popcorn movie. An excellent scifi, effects film that doesn't try to wedge itself into other genres. It delivers what it promises in the trailers, big robots fighting big monsters. That's the jist of it. Sure there are some character backstories, actually surprisingly well delivered, and the pace is a little leggy after the first fight sequence, because they need to build up some plot so you actually care about the characters. And amazingly even the romance is toned-down (they don't even kiss) so it doesn't feel forced.

Also it's REALLY hard to find a decent screenshot with both a kaiju and a jaeger in it.

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 7:13 PM
 

Dead Poets Society

PG, 128 min
Overall Grade: A

One of my favorite movies of all time. I recently caught it on television one night and glued to the couch for the duration, so I figured I should probably get around to adding it to my review blog.

Set at an boys' boarding school in the late 1950's, it follows the lives of the main cadre of high-school boys as they encounter a new English teacher, Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams), who challenges them to throw away the idea of dry, analytical poetry and embrace the emotions and feeling behind it. He also encourages them to 'seize the day' outside of the classroom, and they take up the challenge by refounding a secret club, the Dead Poets Society, and pursuing their own dreams, unknown  and sometimes inspite of, their parents' wishes.

This movie stirs up a lot of emotions for me, probably more so when I first saw it during high school. There's happy, funny moments, but there's also angst and darkness. Despire the low, PG rating, I should add a warning here for those who might be sensitive to the topic of suicide.

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 6:58 PM
 

Somewhere Beneath Those Waves

by Sarah Monette, 327 pgs, paperback
Overall Grade: A+

Monette's prose is gorgeous. This book is an anthology of short stories, some appearing in print for the first time. The genres vary greatly, some are fantasy, some are horror, some are sci-fi, and some are hard to pin down. As you can guess, it's a bit hard to summarize such a diverse array of literature. I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole collection, and would especially recommend it to any fans of Monette's other works!

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 6:32 PM

8.06.2013

 

Neverwhere

by Neil Gaiman, 336 pgs, hardcover
Overall Grade: A

The epitome of urban fantasy. Richard Mayhew is living a dull existence in London being bossed around by his fiancee Jessica. But on the way to an important dinner meeting with Jessica's boss, Richard makes the life-changing decision to stop and help a wounded young lady he finds on the sidewalk. The lady is named Door, and she is being pursued by the deliciously creepy pair of assassins Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. But who wants Door dead and why? Her search for answers will pull Richard along into the world of London Below, a dark, fantastical, and dangerous world that permeates the London we know, and which is full of the odd and deadly denizens who have "fallening through the cracks" of London throughout time.

I should probably add that I had previously heard the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Neverwhere (how much that influenced my read I'll never know). But it certainly gave me a glorious set of actors' voices for most of the main cast. James McAvoy as Richard; Natalie Dormer as Door; Anthony Head as Mr. Croup; Benedict Cumberbatch as the angel Islington; Bernard Cribbins as Old Bailey; Christopher Lee as the Earl of Earl's Court. And that's only the names I recognize!

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 12:40 PM
 

Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess

by Phil & Kaja Foglio, 461 pgs, paperback
Girl Genius webcomic/website 
Series: Girl Genius novel #2
Overall Grade: A


A heftier beast than novel #1, covering the material from volumes 4-6 of the graphic novels, this takes us from Agatha & Krosp's escape from Castle Wulfenbach travels with Master Payne's circus through the events at Sturmhalten Castle and Agatha's arrival at Mechanicsburg. Perhaps it's been a while since I read the comics, but I think the prose version not only helped flesh out some of the "off-frame" action of the comics, but also helped keep track of things that got confusing in the comics. That said, I thoroughly recommend reading the Sturmhalten arc of the comics either before or after the novel, because they express the authors' true visualization of the characters and what's happening.

 

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 12:18 PM
 

The Charioteer of Delphi

by Caroline Lawrence, 210 pgs, hardcover
Series: The Roman Mysteries XII
Overall Grade: A-

Flavia's father is suddenly called on to sail his patron to Greece, fortuitously allowing Flavia & company to travel to Rome in time to find a missing, prized racing horse. But why was the horse so easy to find? Our young sleuths uncover a deeper mystery amidst the excitement of the chariot races.

I particularly liked all the details about chariot racing and the Circus Maximus this book lovingly used. That's exactly how I imagine I would use my own scholarship in a work of fiction. Also the scene with the morning worship of the lares and penates was interesting to me.

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# posted by Cptn. Suz @ 12:07 PM

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