Evil Dead 1 and 2
29 October 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Evil Dead I and II, Sam Raimi, Stainless Steel Droppings R.I.P.
So to gear up for the Halloweeny-mood we watched the above two films over the past two nights. All the lights out and just a couple of candles to add to the drama – not that you really need any such effects!
Evil Dead was a low budget horror movie directed by Sam Raimi at the tender age of 21 (I think? but correct me if I’m wrong!). It has developed something of a cult status with it’s puss-oozing zombies, bad acting, excessive gore and poor and, now, dated effects. But, that being said it’s a great film – so long as you’re not squeamish that is. I must admit that over the years I’ve tended to think that this particular film was made almost tongue in cheek as though it was taking a mocking look at horror. And, yet, watching or reading other people’s reactions that doesn’t seem to be the case. Evil Dead basically takes the concept of a group of friends spending some time in a lonely cabin in the woods, they unwittingly unleash a demonic creature into the forest and one by one they become possessed. This probably all sounds very cliched nowadays and yet for me personally I think this film had some ground breaking moments.
Evil Dead II on the other hand definitely is meant to be a comedy horror and succeeds extremely well in that. It’s not actually a sequel to the first film however but more of a remake without as much gore and with some undoubtedly funny scenes. As with the first film, we have the cabin in the woods – and how big is that cabin – it’s like a bijou mansion! Room upon room with strange little corridors and never ending doors and yet from the outside it’s tiny – it’s lika a tardis. I love the scene where we have the rushing through the trees of some demon like beast, before crashing through the cottage and snatching Ash (played by Bruce Campbell) up and hurtling him through the trees then dropping him into a puddle (a rather large and deep puddle). Bruce Campbell does play such an excellent role in this film – much more so than in the first! My favourite part of this film is of course ‘the thing in the cellar’! Sweet Henrietta! She’ll swallow your soul (before morning apparently!)
Without a doubt these films are not for everyone but they do bring a new meaning to ‘not going to the woods alone’.
In the words of Bruce Campbell “groovy”.
I think this definitely qualifies for Stainless Steel’s RIP event.
The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
27 October 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Chris Bohjalian, R.I.P., The Night Strangers
Just finished reading The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian. For a description of this story and in order not to give away spoilers I’ve stolen the text from the jacket:
‘It begins with a door in a dusky corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire. A door that someone has sealed shut with thirty-nine bolts.’
Now, down to the nitty gritty. I have mixed feelings about this book I must admit. It starts off and is really gripping. We begin with the story of Chip, an airline pilot, or at least he was a pilot until he had to crash land his plane onto a lake – killing 39 passengers with only 9 survivors including himself. This introductory chapter was OMG unputdownable and quite enough to put me off flying forever, or until I forget about it (so about 2 weeks). As you would expect, Chip is suffering from major PTSD and also will clearly never be able to fly again. He is suffering from major survivor guilt and his wife Emily, trying to come up with a solution to help, decides upon a change of home. A new place, different home, new people and a different vista. So, the family up and move to a large, rambling, 3 story Victorian abode in North Hampshire. However, far from being the relaxing retreat they imagined with the stunning views they find themselves in a house that now, instead of appearing quirky, seems more sinister, a town that seems to be held in the grip of paranoia and almost approaching hysteria and a bunch of grey haired, green fingered women who have an almost unhealthy interest in Chip and Emily’s twin daughters.
The strange thing that I can’t put my finger on with this book is exactly where it is trying to go or more to the point what to be. It starts off with a very sinister feel. I basically let my imagination run riot and was expecting all sorts. And, to a certain extent there are elements of horror. But, if you’re an ardent horror fan you probably won’t agree. Then it seems to move into another area, more psychological thriller (not to mention a bit of ghostly visitations thrown in). I don’t have a problem, personally, with the book spanning different genres in fact I think it made for an interesting read and clearly CB can write and set a scene, but, not only did there seem to be a mix up with what sort of story was going on but also the perspectives kept changing and there were in fact two stories going on, and, on top of that, there were too many unanswered questions – at least two major ones that I won’t go into further as they will spoil the plot.
To be honest, my main problem with this novel, is the ending, which I felt let down by and yet I can’t really pinpoint why. It gave me the sort of feeling that I experienced with the end of Her Fearful Symmetry which actually made me a little cross for some reason. I mean, to a certain extent I can appreciate what the author has done here and as I said he is a lovely writer. He sets the scene, he draws you in, you feel for the characters, you think you have an understanding of them, he introduces other elements that are a bit more twisted, he explores the vulnerabilities of the family, he draws upon their weaknesses and then he sort of lets it down a little bit at the end.
All this being said, I can’t deny that I enjoyed this book. It has a lot of tension, fear, horror and just plain scary factors going on. But, as I said, I did have issues and I think the story tried to become too many things. I’m thinking of elements from The Shining (check the cover out!), Rosemary’s Baby, then cut to your basic horror where visitations occur (remember Pet Sematary), followed almost by a Stepford Wives control freak type of thing!
I did have a number of criticisms for this book and yet I also enjoyed it. There was a slight feeling of drag in the middle and a little bit of repetition but apart from that it is very well written and engaging. I came away with queries and a sense of dissatisfaction in the ending but I also can’t say that I didn’t like it. I’ve read The Midwives by this author, which was a great story and I won’t hesitate to read more.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente
22 October 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Catherynne M Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Just finished reading The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (henceforth known as TGWCF) which in the words of Holly Black is “A mad, toothsome romp of a fairy tale”
The GWCF is a lovely, beautifully written fairytale come adventure which I think both adults and children would equally enjoy and I think it would make an excellent story to read out loud.
The story features a 12 year old girl called September who is spirited away one evening on the back of a Leopard of Little Breezes accompanied by a Green Wind. September is a somewhat lonely child, her father is away at war, her mother works long hours in a factory and September, being of a whimsical nature, longs for adventure. Her wish is, of course, about to be granted.
This is a lovely tale beautifully written and illustrated and incorporating such a lot of new ideas. As I was reading I had so many things running through my mind, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and the Chronicles of Narnia not to mention Labyrinthe, The Never Ending Story and Peter Pan and the author clearly gives a shout out to a few of these during the chapter headed ‘The Island of the Nasnas’ where during a discussion regarding how one enters fairyland, apart from as a changeling or ravished ‘… there’s those that Stumble through a gap in the hedgerows or a mushroom ring or a tornado or a wardrobe full of winter coats.” But, for me, the beauty of this book is that whilst feeling similar to so many family favourites and provoking such nostalgia in me as I read, it is actually not like any particular one. Sometimes it was as though I had a fleeting notion of something but it disappeared before I could give it more thought or pin it firmly down.
In terms of characters – of which there are an abundance – let’s firstly talk about September. An odd little girl, strangely down to earth. She’s described in the book as irascible and heartless and yet clearly neither is really true as she proves on a number of occasions by putting herself at risk and refusing the easy way out, insisting instead upon helping her friends. She shows plenty of heart really and is quite the adventurer. I did feel so sorry for her on a number of occasions but she never really moped about – she shed the odd tear but pretty soon recovered and continued on her quest. Alongside this we have the Marquess and her pet cat – the villain of the piece – I won’t mention more here except the Marquess turns out to be something of a surprise on more than one count My absolute favourite of the peace though, without doubt – was A through L, otherwise known as Ell, a gorgeous scaly Wyverary (which I’ve never heard of before and simply thought was a dragon which shows how much I know). I love this character. On top of this we have an abundance of characters, usually strangely named, who put in an appearance at the appropriate time.
I don’t really want to say much more here as it will spoil the story. Simply, if you’re young at heart and enjoy a good fairy tale then The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making could be for you and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The end.
Now, I had a think about whether I could include this for my RIP event, so I rechecked and I think I can – I think this falls into ‘supernatural’ – come on – it has a Wyverary! Check out this event here – you’re still not too late to join in!
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (All Souls Trilogy)
19 October 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: All Souls Trilogy, Deborah Harkness, Shadow of Night
Just finished reading Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness. The second in the All Souls Trilogy and following on where a Discovery of Witches left off. I enjoyed very much A Discovery of Witches. I mean, I love books and there was lots of bookishness going on – libraries, ancient manuscripts, research, shelves and shelves of books…. And, there was all the supernatural elements involved as well. Another world of creatures living amongst us, that we’re not really aware of. Witches, Demons and Vampires. Now, I wasn’t always smitten with the romance – I thought it was a little hasty but as the book ended I was eager to get on to No.2, it had a very interesting sounding premise. And, its felt like a long wait. Basically the ending set us up for some time travelling, and not just any time travelling, back to the 16th century, to Elizabethan England in search of the manuscript that will answer the question of their beginnings. So Diana and Matthew travel back to England, they only have a short space of time to recover the manuscript, intact, before they start to alter the course of history.
I mean, this really did sound very promising and I was looking forward to it, but, to be frank, it was a bit disappointing. I do like the author’s style of writing. She knows a lot about the period and I loved all the little tidbits of information. But, it was incredibly slow paced. It just felt like we sacrificed the story for the detail. By about page 250 it felt like the only thing that had happened was Matthew and Diana had travelled back in time and then had got married, again. The writing is lovely and the level and attention to detail is second to none but the story just got lost in there somehow. Now, to be honest the last 150/200 pages were pretty good and I will say that I’ll read the third book to check out the conclusion. But, in a book this size there has to be something more.
Okay, I’m not going to bang on a drum too much about this. I didn’t hate it but it didn’t, for me, live up to it’s potential. It was well written, but too much, it’s got the romance going on – but could the two of them be any more juvenile. How old exactly is Matthew after all – surely he should be a little more mature. It’s like the two of them are afraid to have a good time and just be happy. And there’s something about this whole ‘Matthew is so scary with his blood rages’ thing. In a fix he’s not really that much use.
On the good side because I don’t want to be all down about it after all. The writing is good, there are plenty of good and interesting characters not to mention a lot of historical characters (its like a 16th century almanac or who’s who)! The detail is amazing and there’s time travel – oh, actually that does bring me to something else – spoiler ahead – what is all that Matthew from the 16th century disappearing when Matthew from the here and now appears – because he can’t stay in the same time. How is that possible? I’ve never heard of that before. So, if I’m sat here tonight, minding my own business when the future me travels back in time – instead of being able to give me some solid advice I’m just going to disappear! And, how many months did they stay in the 16th century – come on, they must have made a massive impact. Perhaps we’ll find out that they actually have done in the next.
Okay, I might have been a little more critical than I intended. It’s not a bad book by any means. I suppose my biggest criticism was the lack of pace and the sacrifice of story for detail. I love detail but I want it there to give me a context for the rest of the story – not to overwhelm it or swamp it completely.
Coming of Age
As part of Stainless Steel Droppings R.I.P. today Carl is hosting another discussion topic which specifically looks at coming of age – inspired by Gaiman’s Graveyard book. The link is here.
It’s a curious topic and given the number of books and films that share the theme it’s obviously a source of great interest and speculation. Coming of age – the strange phenomenon of passing from childhood to adulthood. How does it happen and how can you tell whether it did or not. It’s not just an age thing. You don’t go to sleep one night age 15, wake up the following day, on your sixteenth birthday, and change into a different person. I suppose it’s a gradual process and more tricky for some than others. I confess that I had a very easy transition – so much so that I hadn’t a clue it had even happened! But in spite of growing up, having a family and responsibilities I still feel like a child inside. I think that’s a good thing and I love the fact that I can enjoy a good book or film – even if I’m not the target audience. It’s all about going down that wormhole (thanks Geekybooksnob for that phrase) and immersing yourself in the world contained in the pages. You’re never too old to enjoy this and don’t let anyone tell you different.
Anyway, as with my other discussion topic I’ve decided to focus on books that explore the coming of age theme and have the following offers:
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens – I really love this story of Dickens. It was one of my earliest reads and it has such a lot going on that it totally appealed to me. Young Pip, living with his older sister and her husband Joe. He has a tough life but one which changes dramatically when he is elevated from his expectations of becoming a blacksmith to become a gentleman with a secret patron. There are so many emotions in this book as we look at Pip as a young boy moving to a young man. He suffers constant conflicts, fear and guilt over his early crime (stealing food from his sister’s pantry) he wants to do better and has ambitions, he definitely feels shame over his early social status and then once his status has risen he feels ashamed of Joe and his way of life. He aspires to love young Estelle – but is this because of her beauty and personality or her wealth and social status. We do go through quite a bit with young Pip and it’s definitely an interesting journey.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – another young orphan being raised by her aunt (who is less than pleased at the intrusion). She certainly isn’t treated like a member of the family and dislikes and resents her cousins – with little surprise given the bullying involved. Eventually Jane is palmed off to a boarding school – a rather impoverished and bleak placed with harsh task masters – until she eventually comes of a reasonable age and decides to take care of her own destiny by applying for the position of governess to a child under the care of Mr Rochester. Again, a young child at the beginning, we watch as Jane progresses through the years before eventually falling in love.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. A fantasy novel. A tale told by an innkeeper called Kote who over three days is going to tell his story – the story of a young boy called Kvothe. A gifted young boy who travels with his family and a troupe of entertainers – that is until disaster strikes and he’s left to fend for himself. Kvothe, dreams of going to University. He’s incredibly intelligent and a gifted musician but he also has a tendency to be reckless and seems to have a knack for making people dislike him – particularly his tutors and fellow students – a lot who also look down on his poor social status. I love this book. I love reading about Kvothe and the progress he’s making, the second book is also excellent and I literally can hardly contain myself waiting for No.3
Atonement by Ian McEwan – this is a really interesting book about a young girl, Briony, and her perception of the events going on in her family – and how this perception is skewed. It shows how something can get terribly out of hand and how something that starts as a simple mistake can have such a big impact on the lives of other people. It then shows us how these events will stay with Briony and shape her character, she will continually carry that guilt and spend a lot of her life trying to atone for her mistake.
And, finally, I’m going to say The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Which is, I suppose an unusual choice given that Susie is murdered at the start of the story – so how can she come of age. But, you do see Susie change and develop, she goes through the inevitable feelings of anger and loss at having been so cruelly robbed of life and the experiences that she will never have but she does continue to change whilst watching her family cope with her death. Eventually, Susie is able to move on from her own personal heaven to a different place. this is an amazing book – that I didn’t expect to enjoy given the subject matter – and yes, I loved this.
Interesting fact for today: did you know that a book with a coming of age them is called a Bildungsroman – try saying that three times very fast! (And, no, I didn’t know that until about 5 minutes ago Wiki definition –
“a Bildungsroman is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood and in which character change is thus extremely important”
Happy reading one and all.
