The Silver Chair

On January 29, 2014January 20, 2014 By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Juvenile, Reviews4 Comments

Next in line on my adventure through the Chronicles of Narnia on audiobook is The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis, read by Jeremy Northam. This one feels like a more direct sequel to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, following most closely on those events and characters.

The Silver Chair begins in our world, at the very dreadful school, Experiment House. Eustace Clarence Scrubb (much improved and no longer deserving his name) attends here, along with Jill Pole. Fleeing from a pack of bullies, the two children find an open door in the school wall—and go through into Aslan’s Country. Despite some mishaps, Aslan sends them to Narnia, charged with finding the missing Prince Rillian. In Narnia, they learn that Rillian is the son of the aged King Caspian. They set off into Giant Country in search of Rillian, guided by Puddleglum the Marshwiggle.

This is reminiscent of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, as a journey story, but it has a much tighter focus on the quest. Even when not immediately apparent, the various adventures (like being taken captive first by giants, and then by subterranean “earth men”) all lead towards the rescue of Prince Rillian.

Eustace and Jill are satisfying lead characters, not as noble as the Pevensies perhaps but good-hearted on the whole. I enjoy characters who are good people trying to do the right thing, but who still descend to bickering and complaints when trudging through a snowstorm. It’s very human, without making the characters unlikable.

My favorite character may be the non-human one, Puddleglum the Marshwiggle. His name fits him perfectly, as he’s hopelessly doleful and apt to predict the worst. Even though he seems like a wet blanket Eeyore at first, he comes through as courageous, sensible and dedicated.

My favorite scene is well along in the book, so spoilers beware! After they find Rillian, there’s a confrontation with the witch who has been holding him captive. It’s a wonderful, tense scene with an enemy who doesn’t swing a sword but uses words instead. She uses magic, too, but the fascinating part is her mind-twisting arguments that the world above must not really exist.

This isn’t a new favorite of mine in the series (that’s still a toss-up between The Magician’s Nephew and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). It is a solid installment with a compelling plot and likable (but not too likable!) characters, and some nice creepy moments from truly dangerous villains.

Only the last book in the series left, the appropriately named The Last Battle. Coming up soon (with a very exciting reader, by the way…)

Author’s Site: https://www.cslewis.com/

Other reviews:
The Bookworm Chronicles
Living on Literary Lane
The Day Dreaming, Candy Eating Red-Headed Bookworm
Anyone else?

Buy it here: The Silver Chair

Top Ten Tuesdays: Fictional Worlds Not Suitable for Housekeeping

On January 28, 2014January 28, 2014 By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations8 Comments

I’ve been reading other people’s Top Ten Tuesday posts for quite a while, and always enjoy the lists of books on interesting topics. This week I’m finally joining in myself!

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this week’s topic is: Top Ten Worlds I’d Never Want to Live In

This is an interesting reverse on how I usually look at books–as places I enjoy spending time. That’s why I read them! Still, I found some books with worlds I enjoy reading about…but would never want to live in. Links, naturally, go to reviews, and the order is entirely random.

1) Tarzan’s Jungle, in the Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs – This is an exciting setting for stories, but if I ever found myself here, I’d probably be dead inside of one afternoon. The first lion would get me, as Burroughs’ characters are constantly scrambling up trees to escape charging lions. And if a lion didn’t get me, then I’d definitely starve.

2) Jane Austen’s England – Austen gives us lovely, serene stories of elegant women and dashing men…but Shannon Hale’s Austenland convinced me that I would probably run mad with boredom living in Austen’s England.

3) Airstrip One, Oceania, in 1984 by George Orwell – Big Brother is watching everything. And this is not a pleasant place to live at all.

4) The Districts, in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – I don’t suppose this one requires any real explanation? The Capital controls Districts 1-12, life is nasty, brutish and short, and every year kids are offered up in the Hunger Games.

5) Ceti Alpha V, in To Reign in Hell by Greg Cox – The few minutes of sandstorm we see in The Wrath of Khan are bad enough, but the book gets into far more detail about dwindling water supplies, acidic oceans, and the complete lack of vegetation and animal life–apart from the eels that crawl into people’s ears and drive them mad.

6) Jonas’ Community, in The Giver by Lois Lowry – Life here is controlled, ordered, clean and pristine. The organizers have removed all doubt, all fear, all negative emotions–and taken away all creativity, individuality and positive emotions too. No one really feels anything, and most terrifying of all, they don’t even have the vocabulary or understanding to articulate what’s missing.

7) Earth circa 2044, in Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – The economy has collapsed, the climate is shifting, and the entire population spends as much time as it can in a virtual world. The virtual world is pretty amazing, but the outside world is hideous–and all the worse because it feels alarmingly plausible as a future.

8) London circa the Traction Era in Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve – Cities have all gone mobile, which doesn’t mean they’re on cell phones. They’re all on enormous treads and travel across the Earth. Like Ceti Alpha V, plant and animal life are all but destroyed, and the cities survive as hostile scavengers preying on each other.

9) Brakebills Academy and/or Fillory, in The Magicians by Lev Grossman – The academy and the magical world of Fillory are clearly set up as deliberate contrasts to, respectively, Hogwarts and Narnia. As such, they’re crude, uncomfortable and (worst of all) populated by dull, unpleasant characters who spend a lot of time complaining about their existential crises. I don’t want to live in any of the books on this list, but this is the only book I don’t recommend (with the note that many people love it–so make of that what you will).

10) Earth circa 2083, in Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 – Similar to Ready Player One, in a collapsing economy people have turned towards television for everything, from school to entertainment to hope for a better life. You might win a scholarship in a game show–or by participating in Historical Survivor, a reality show taken to an extreme, re-enacting history with deaths included.

Whew…it makes the present world look pretty good, doesn’t it? Have you “spent time” in any of these worlds? Or do you know of another world that’s good for a visit, but not to live in?

Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy

On January 27, 2014January 20, 2014 By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews, Science Fiction2 Comments

I’ve spent a lot of time in the Star Trek universe these past two months for the Sci Fi Experience, but I also spent some time in another major sci fi franchise, rereading Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy. These three books are set about five years after Return of the Jedi and, I believe, largely set the stage for the Star Wars Expanded Universe in the books. The story begins in Heir to the Empire and continues in Dark Force Rising and The Last Command.

Following the victory at Endor, the Rebel Alliance has pushed the Empire back into the fringes of the galaxy. They have retaken Coruscant and set up the New Republic in the old Imperial Palace. Trouble begins brewing with rumors of a new and brilliant tactician leading the Imperial forces. Grand Admiral Thrawn is frighteningly intuitive with a flair for multi-layered plans and intrigue. Meanwhile on Coruscant, Leia and Han are expecting Force-strong twins, and Luke worries about someday training them to be Jedi. More immediate worries arise when Leia becomes the target of repeated kidnapping attempts. And then we also have thrown into the mix Joruus C’baoth, a dangerously unstable Jedi Master with an obsession about Luke and Leia; the Noghri, a gray-skinned alien race with a complex and tragic history; and Mara Jade, second-in-command to smuggler Talon Karrde, with a mysterious history and a burning enmity for Luke Skywalker.

As you can see, lots going on here! The complex web of plot stretches through all three books, and keeps the action tense and the excitement high. There are clever twists to the plot and usually some kind of complicated strategy going on at Thrawn’s direction at any time. In some ways it becomes a galactic chess match, with moves and counter-moves, victories and defeats for both the New Republic and the Empire. Or maybe it’s more like poker, considering there’s plenty of bluffing and psychology at work too.

The plot is solid, and the characters are equally good. Luke, Leia and Han are all strongly present, feeling very much like the movie characters, plus more insight and depth that’s hard to show on film. Lando and Chewie also get plenty to do and some very nice moments. C3PO and RT-DT felt a little under-represented, though they are definitely present. More impressive, perhaps, even some minor (but important) characters from the film, like Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar and Wedge Antilles, have their stories continue here.

Many of the new characters are just as strong and compelling as the familiar ones, Mara Jade in particular. With her shadowy past and Force-sensitivity, she’s complex and hard-edged yet still sympathetic–which is saying a lot, considering one of her driving goals (stated, at least) is to kill Luke.

Thrawn is a brilliant villain, very different from the Emperor or Vader. The terrifying thing about Thrawn is that he is not mindlessly evil. I think it’s telling that he wears a white uniform. Vader is famous for strangling subordinates if they make any mistake; Zahn does a nice play on that. Thrawn does kill one subordinate for a mistake–and in a later scene commends another for original thinking, even though the man’s effort failed. Thrawn thinks before he acts–though when he acts, he is ruthless and cold. We always see Thrawn through the eyes of his second-in-command, Captain Pellaeon. He’s a fascinating character too, a good soldier who really believes in the Empire. He can be a little contemptuous at times, but there’s nothing really villainous about Pellaeon. He’s just on the wrong side.

Seeing the continuing lives of familiar characters is of course a strong appeal here. Having seen other franchises go into bizarre places with characters, I think I owe thanks to Timothy Zahn. At the end of Return of the Jedi, I (most of us?) want Leia and Han to get married, and Luke to become the new leader of the returning Jedis. And that’s what happens in the Expanded Universe books, I think because Zahn set it up in these three. There might instead have been new romantic triangles for Leia and Han, beloved characters could have gone over to the Dark Side, someone might have been tragically killed…and all of that would have created plot and drama, but I’m so glad Zahn found his plot in other ways, and sent the characters down the path I for one feel they should have the opportunity to walk.

Beyond the plot and the characters we also have the universe. In three books, there’s enough time to visit many planets, and I love that. We get little glimpses into many, many different cultures and civilizations. It doesn’t generally get into the kind of depth that Star Trek offers, but in a way I like the sampling. It gives a sense of the vastness and variety of the galaxy. It actually reminds me of The Magician’s Nephew or The Lives of Christopher Chant, with the opportunity to travel to many different worlds, whether in different planes of existence or just different star systems!

The usual rule (in Star Trek, at least, and I think elsewhere) is that for cross-medium franchises, film counts as officially canon while books do not. For my personal canon of the Star Wars universe, the status of the prequel trilogy is decidedly iffy, but these three books are definitely accepted. I’ve read many good Star Wars books, but I recommend this trilogy as the must-read for fans!

Other reviews:
Speculiction
Reviews and Musings From a Geek
Sci Fi Bloggers
Randomly Yours, Alex
Anyone else?

Buy it here: Thrawn Trilogy

Fiction Friday: The Wrath of Khan, Spoofed (Part One)

On January 24, 2014January 20, 2014 By cherylmahoneyIn Fiction Friday5 Comments

My recent explorations through the Star Trek universe on The Great Khan Adventure have reminded me of some writing I once did, long ago and far away… I don’t remember exactly when anymore, but I think it was the first year or two of high school. I decided it would be fun to spoof the Star Trek movies. Mostly I spoofed the bad ones (you know which they are), but I had some fun with The Wrath of Khan too.

I don’t claim that this is deep or insightful or even great literature (and it’s not proper screenwriting format either) but you may find it amusing… Oh, and fanfiction disclaimer, I don’t own any of the characters, etc., etc.

STAR TREK II: THE SOMEWHAT PERTURBED REACTION AND SUBSEQUENT ACTIVITIES OF KHAN

[The bridge of a starship; a young Vulcan woman named Saavik is in command]

Communications officer: We’re picking up a distress call from the Kobayashi Maru. They need help, but they’re in the Klingon neutral zone.

Saavik: Hmm. If we enter, we could very easily start an intergalactic war, with dire consequences for the entire galaxy. Logically, we should not enter. I am a Vulcan. Therefore, I should be logical. [considers] I think I’ll enter anyway.

Navigator: Klingon ships approaching.

Saavik: Oops.

[Battle ensues. When the smoke clears, Saavik’s ship is destroyed. Fortunately, this turns out to be just a test on the holodeck. Kirk enters through a broken wall, looking very impressive silhouetted against the light.]

Kirk: Nice work, Cadet Saavik.

Saavik: The ship blew up. Everyone died.

Kirk: Don’t worry! That was supposed to happen.

Saavik: That’s illogical. Also pretty stupid. Continue reading “Fiction Friday: The Wrath of Khan, Spoofed (Part One)” →

Sherlock: The Empty Hearse

On January 22, 2014January 21, 2014 By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews7 Comments

I hear that there was something important going on with football this past weekend… Personally, I found it far more exciting that the BBC’s Sherlock was finally back! It already aired in England, but it was back at last in America. Sherlock is on its third series (or season), so there will be spoilers for the previous two. I’ll try to avoid spoilers for this episode.

The usual method for each 90-minute episode of Sherlock is to solve one major case. There is a case here, one involving a terrorist attack, but that takes a backseat to Sherlock’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) return from the dead, and his reunion with all the other characters, particularly John Watson (Martin Freeman). And then, of course, there is THE question–how he managed to fake his death to begin with.

Series Two ended with that absolutely killer cliffhanger, on how Sherlock faked dying by jumping off a building, and we’ve been waiting two years for an answer. In many ways, I think the show writers set themselves up for an impossible task, to somehow deliver an episode that can live up to that kind of anticipation. And yet, I feel like they succeeded, mostly by deft uses of humor and occasional sleight of hand.

The answer to THE question? Well, I’m certainly not going to tell you that! But I will tell you that the show provides three possible explanations, and winds up by being a bit ambiguous about whether we have the true answer or not (and makes a joke about the listener being disappointed). I think it would be enormously fun if they keep providing alternate explanations over the rest of the season! If they don’t, I still feel satisfied. I have an answer, and if Sherlock wants to be enigmatic about the answer, I can live with that.

Sherlock’s reunion with John is an absolute work of genius. It’s hilariously funny, while somehow also having some real character depth to it as well. And there’s a less funny, more sentimental moment later on too. They could have gone completely towards the dramatic for the reunion, but I think it could so easily have gone cloying or flat. Comedy was the right choice, and those scenes reminded me just how brilliant this show really is. I’ve been so focused on THE question of the cliffhanger that I almost forgot to miss the show for itself, rather than for the answer to the mystery.

For Doyle fans, there are some nice moments harkening back to the original stories. Mrs. Hudson first knows Sherlock is back when she sees his silhouette through a window, which directly reflects how Watson knew Holmes was alive in the short story. There’s also a minor case Sherlock solves in this episode that reflects the plotline of one of the short stories. And then the title, of course–“The Empty Hearse” is such a fun play on “The Empty House,” Holmes’ return short story.

This episode is definitely not a starting place for the series on a whole, but if you saw the previous two series, this is a wonderful return.

And I swear, Sherlock really is the good-Khan (or Khan is the evil-Sherlock, however you want to look at that!)