The Book of Lost Fragrances

Posted on January 29, 2012

The House of L’Etoile is a parfumerie in Paris which dates back to pre-revolutionary France, and M.J. Rose’s “The Book of Lost Fragrances” is a thriller/romance in which Jac L’Etoile searches for her missing brother, while helping her former lover decipher the meaning of some inscriptions on ancient Egyptian pottery found in the shop. While most of the story takes place in the here-and-now, the story covers historic episodes in the House of L’Etoile.

The book’s MacGuffin is an ancient Egyptian fragrance dating to the time of Cleopatra which may, or may not, provide the ability to view past lives. This leads to a subplot involving Tibetan Buddhists who want it in order to prove reincarnation is real, and Chinese communists who want to keep any such proof away from the Dalai Lama and his followers.

“The Book of Lost Fragrances” is also infused with an abundance of scent and fragrance related metaphors, which makes it potent reading for anyone steeped in a thesaurus of the English language. My only regret is that the virtual scratch-n-sniff hasn’t been invented yet, because if any story calls for smell-o-vision (smell-o-lit?), this is it.

Overall, I thought the book was very entertaining, and was well written enough to make me want to read other books from M.J. Rose.

Rating:  

Ragnarök: The End of the Gods

Posted on December 17, 2011

Ragnarök: The End of the Gods, by A.S. Byatt

Ragnarök: The End of the Gods is a frame story about the Norse pantheon, as it is discovered by a young girl who is reading Asgard and the Gods. The girl, who is only referred to as the Thin Child, lives in the English countryside during World War II. She is mostly bored by school and church, and she is sometimes sick, but she loves to read and as she reads Asgard, its stories become metaphoric for the events in the Thin Child’s life.

The story comes in at about 150 pages, but they’re laden with stories of Norse mythology, from Yggdrasil and the creation stories to Ragnarök – the final battle of the gods. It’s more of a primer on the Norse stories than an encyclopedia, but it’s fascinating nonetheless. Having read Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, A.S. Byatt’s Ragnarök provides insight to many of the characters that Gaiman based on Norse myth. Despite this, I was disappointed by Ragnarök‘s brevity. I wish there was more to it, regarding either the Thin Child, the gods, or both.

The book is interesting, but doesn’t feel very compelling. While the stories that the Thin Child reads about the gods are richly detailed, information on her own life is vague. While this is likely the author’s intention, it leads me not to care so much about the Thin Child as a character. If the Thin Child isn’t worth caring about, I might as well skip directly to reading Asgard and the Gods.

Rating:  

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Posted on October 23, 2011

I’ve always considered myself a bit of an introvert. I never felt there was anything wrong with that; it’s just the way I am. Introspective. Contemplative. Quiet. Reading Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking gave me an insight into myself.

Many of the chapters in the book present some research, then use the research to help the reader understand some facet of introversion. To help provide some context, the author presents some hypothetical scenarios in which the lessons of research can be used to help introverts, or help people understand introverts. The author also provides some real-life scenarios based upon interviews with people who consider themselves introverted. Considering the nature versus nurture debates, it was interesting to read that genetics plays at least a partial role in introversion. However, the author also makes clear that the role isn’t fully understood yet, and that lots of other things affect our personalities and temperaments.

Towards the end of the book I found myself being torn by some conflicting messages in the book. One of the first messages that comes across is that there’s nothing wrong with being an introvert. It’s as if the book grabs you and says, “Look. Look at this! Research and more research, study after study proves there’s nothing wrong with being an introvert. Some people are destined to be introverts. Introversion is a natural tendency. It has a genetic basis. It’s part of who you are. There’s nothing wrong with you.” Okay, I get it. The conflicting message, however, is a subtle one.

In addition to research, most of the chapters also present coping mechanisms of some sort; tricks introverts use to survive and interact in a world full of extroverts. The idea that introverted people have to find some way to cope; to change some part of who they are and how they act, seems to conflict with the idea that there’s nothing wrong with being an introvert. If there’s nothing wrong with being an introvert, why would they need to change? The answer is perhaps the most subtle part of the book: our society doesn’t value, fully understand, or care about introverts. Maybe that’s something that this book aims to change in the long run.

I found Quiet to be an interesting and informative book, even if I don’t agree with everything it presents.

Rating:  

Reality 36

Posted on August 20, 2011

A cyberpunk crime novel that’s part Neal Stephenson’s “The Diamond Age”, part William Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy, and part Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes mystery.

The Sherlock Holmes of this book is Richards, an Artificial Intelligence who likes to wear a fedora and trenchcoat in the style of many silver screen detectives. The Dr. Watson in this book is Otto von Klein, a cyborg and former soldier, who provides the brawn to Richards’ brain. The pair are private investigators with offices around the world. Their latest case deals with the mysterious death of Professor Zhang Qifang, a prominent activist for sentient rights. The problem is that it appears he’s been murdered twice.

The name Reality 36 derives from a virtual reality world in the book, which is the location of subplot involving Veronique Valdaire, a former student of Prof. Zhang. Reality 36 and the other virtual reality worlds are akin to Second Life and Worlds of Warcraft, except the worlds in this book are populated by non-human sentient beings.

As cyberpunk novels go, this is as good as those written by Gibson and Stephenson. The only downside is that it ends as a cliffhanger. This also means the book is thrilling to the last page. “Reality 36″ is meant to be first in a series of books based on Richards and Klein Investigations.

Reality 36 at Amazon

Rating:  

Rulebreaker

Posted on August 8, 2011

Olivia has a bunch of rules she lives by, as she finds they help in her line of (often illegal) work. Felon’s Rule Number One is “Don’t get emotionally involved.” When she is recruited by her ex-husband to do a bit of corporate espionage, she comes close to breaking this rule. However, she finds that while she still has feelings for Tonio, they both maintain a professional distance for the sake of the job. Olivia’s part in the plot is to become an executive assistant for R.J. Talbot, a VP with a mining company. The crew believes she has information on a new air filtration system. if it comes out that the company was withholding a new safety technology, the company would face huge fines. The crew intends to find information about the system and blackmail the company for millions of credits.

As Olivia becomes a hyper-efficient assistant to Regina “Zia” Talbot, she finds herself becoming more emotionally, and romantically, involved with her boss. Without wanting to give away too much of the story, Olivia eventually breaks Felon’s Rule Number One when it comes to Zia, thus the title of the book.

Like most science fiction and other works that are of another time and another place, a lot is left to the reader’s imagination. With references to different technology and economic systems, the reader mind fills in the blanks as necessary… at least I do. For this book, I found myself thinking of the anime Cowboy Bebop and the film Outland. Cowboy Bebop was useful for getting an idea about what the cities might look like, but Outland was useful because it also involved mining, and had a ruthlessly evil corporation. Like Sean Connery’s character in Outland, Olivia gets to the point where she isn’t sure who she can trust.

The book is told in the first-person, from Olivia’s point-of-view. As such, the book deals a lot with her feelings and thoughts, as well as her insecurities, hopes, and desires. The downside is that none of the other characters are as well developed. Though Tonio and Zia, characters that Olivia cares about, are described very well physically, they don’t have a lot of personality. While there are a few obvious antagonists to Olivia’s protagonist role, they’re superficial and any tension seems to come as much from Olivia’s worries and insecurities.

Overall, it’s a good book. It’s an interesting story, but I think telling it in the first-person hampered it.

Rulebreaker at Amazon

Rating:  

Rocketeer Adventures, Volume 1

Posted on July 22, 2011

My introduction to The Rocketeer came with the 1991 film. I had heard the film was based on a comic book, but I hadn’t read any of the comics. The movie was great, but the franchise sadly never took off. Recently, I had the chance to read Rocketeer Adventures, Volume 1 which is a new series based on Dave Stevens’ original character, and due to be released in November 2011 by IDW Publishing.

For those familiar with the movie or the original comic book series, this book will will seem very familiar, with the same primary characters and the same timeframe. For those unfamiliar with the Rocketeer, think of him as Iron Man set in World War II, but without Tony Stark’s wealth and ego. Cliff Secord is an American test pilot who flies around with jetpack, and does generally heroic things, like rescuing damsels in distress and fighting bad guys. Rocketeer Adventures, Volume 1 is a 44-page comic book with three short stories, plus some extra pinup artwork.

In the first story, titled “The Rocketeer”, Cliff uncovers a plot by the Maroni Gang threatening to launch a stolen rocket in an attempt to extort money from the government. As insurance, they’ve taken Cliff’s girlfriend Betty as a hostage. In a showdown at the gang’s secret desert lair, Cliff spoils the gang’s plans and rescues Betty in some high-flying action.

In “Home Again”, Cliff shows up at the house of his friend Peevey with an extra rocket engine and helmet. These extras are battered and dented, and Cliff is asked to explain what happened. He starts talking about a character he met in New York City named Mr. Jonas, but the story is cut short and is ambiguous in its meaning. Undoubtedly there is more to the story, which I hope the authors will elaborate on in future editions.

“Dear Betty” concentrates less on Cliff and more on his girlfriend. Betty (an homage to Bettie Page) is an actress and this story shows her life on the homefront while Cliff is off at war. A series of letters from Cliff are juxtaposed with scenes of Betty on stage, in a café, and fighting off frequent advances from the lecherous Mr. Stanhope.

Coming around 30 years after Dave Stevens’ original stories, Rocketeer Adventures, Volume 1 is an attempt to reboot an underappreciated franchise. The first story of this book tells us what the Rocketeer is about – he’s a superhero with a jetpack. The last story shows us more about Betty and her life. The second story, however, is the teaser for a good storyline. It raises more questions than answers. It’s mysterious and I can’t wait for more to come.

The only downside is that I was sort of hoping for a complete story. However, one person’s frustration is another’s cliffhanger. It’s more enjoyable than not.

Rocketeer Adventures, Volume 1 at Amazon

Rating:  

Some Review Haiku statistics

Posted on August 3, 2010

With 700 entries for Review Haiku, it would be easy to assume there are 700 haiku, but there aren’t. There are 737 haiku. On some entries, I created more than one haiku. It doesn’t necessarily mean that a movie was so good that it moved me to write extra haiku. It’s more to do with how I write haiku – coming up with phrases that are five syllables or seven syllables, and trying to put them into some sort of coherent order. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes I end up with extra lines that go into the extra haiku.

On top of the 737 haiku there are two tanka. A tanka is like a haiku, but a bit longer. The tanka were in “honor” of Branagh’s version of Hamlet, which was four hours and seemed worthy of something extra.

With this many entries, it’s interesting to take a look at them in different ways to see if there are any patterns. I’ll be doing some of that over the next few days, but here’s a start:

• 5 stars: 19
• 4 stars: 327
• 3 stars: 326
• 2 stars: 26
• 1 star: 0

Almost all of the films are either three or four stars. These star ratings are based more or less on Netflix rating system:

• 5 stars = I loved it
• 4 stars = I really liked it
• 3 stars = I liked it
• 2 stars = I didn’t like it
• 1 star = I hated it

As I explained a little here, I normally see films I think I’ll like. Even with “bad” films, it’s possible to get some enjoyment out of them.

Before I ever see a film, I assume I’ll like it, so it’s more or less an automatic three stars. If a film surprises me and surpasses my expectations, it might get four or five stars. However, if a film fails to meet expectations, it might earn one or two stars. I haven’t met a film I’ve truly hated…yet, but it’s possible this may happen in the future.

A few days ago, I finished Showgirls, Teen Wolves, and Astro Zombies, which is subtitled A film critic’s year-long quest to find the worst movie ever made. The premise of the book is that the author (Michael Adams) viewed at least one “bad” movie each day for a year. Sadly, he doesn’t give us detailed reviews of each film, but highlights some of the films he saw each month. He has interviews with some directors, and provides some rationale for how he scored the films he saw, so the book is pretty entertaining. On my scoring system, it gets four stars.

The only fault I have with it is the lack of a list of all the movies he saw during that year. I’ve seen a few bad movies that he didn’t mention in the book, so I don’t know if he didn’t see them, or if they just weren’t mentioned.

Tomorrow: more statistics.

Review – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Posted on May 23, 2009

I’ve never read the works of Jane Austen, and having recently finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, it can be argued that I still haven’t. Her books were never assigned reading in any English classes I took, which is probably just as well. During grade school, I disdained anything that was assigned to be read. I liked (and like) reading for pleasure, but despised being told what to read. By treating certain authors in hagiographic fashion, while ridiculing the works of others, English teachers unintentionally alienated me from a large body of literature. I didn’t have any reason to read the works of Austen, Shakespeare, or others on my own, because I held my literary tastes to be different from those of my teachers. However, in the decades that have passed since the torture of high school, my acceptance of literary works has grown broader, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has given me the opportunity to read Austen, after a fashion.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a gimmick to make money from a piece of public-domain literature. Updated with the presence of zombies (using plenty of faux Regency-era euphemisms), it becomes Pride and Prejudice meets Shaun of the Dead, and is meant to appeal to people who might otherwise forgo Austen’s works. In this cheeky mashup, the sisters Bennet, having been trained at the Shaolin monastery, are charged by His Majesty with defending Hertfordshire from the menace of “unmentionables.” Yet the story isn’t too far removed from the film Bride and Prejudice, so I assume the book isn’t a total butchery of the original work. One of the effects of reading this book is that I’ll probably read the original Pride and Prejudice in the next few months, to see how the two compare. I wouldn’t be surprised if sales of Austen’s books rise in correlation to the popularity of the updated version.

Rating:  

© Copyright gottahavacuppamocha • Powered by Wordpress • Coffee Candy is based on the Eye Candy theme.