Category: Reviews

Catching Up with Catching Fire

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews, Science Fiction, Young Adult6 Comments

I just finished Book Two of the enormously popular Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.  Read my review of Book One here.  Be warned, there will be spoilers for the first book, going forward!

I enjoyed Catching Fire, and it had much of the same page-turning quality of the first book.  In fact, I was late for something because I wanted to finish reading the last chapter!  However, enjoyable as it was, it didn’t feel as strong as the first book.  My hope is that this is just the common fate of the Part Two’s of many trilogies.  The first one is new and different and introduces you to everything; the third one is the final epic battle.  The second one is doomed to be primarily a bridge between the two.

The book felt somewhat unfocused, and it may be because of everything it was trying to do, as that bridge for the trilogy.  It begins after Katniss and Peeta have returned to District 12 as the two victors of the Hunger Games.  Quite unintentionally on their part, their dual victory has become a symbol of resistance against the Capital.  The Districts are growing increasingly restless, with rumblings in some and actual uprisings in others.  The first part of the book is mostly about Katniss and Peeta’s attempt to carry on their (mostly) fake love affair, in an effort to present themselves as not at all trying to incite rebellion.  The second part of the book takes us through the 75th Hunger Games.  In the midst of it all, Katniss is still trying to choose between Gale and Peeta, and to decide if she even wants a romance with either, and to figure out how to keep the people she loves safe as the world gets even more precarious.

I think this book definitely succeeded in raising the stakes.  Between the beginnings of a revolution and the Capital’s much more targeted enmity towards Katniss, the scope of the conflicts seems larger.  The dangers feel bigger (and considering it was literally life and death before, that’s impressive).  The threats seem more far-reaching.  I never had to worry about Gale in the first book.  In the second book, anyone could be a victim.  In terms of building towards a climax in the third book, I think this book does do really well.

Catching Fire also carries on Collins’ skill at developing characters in pretty much no time at all.  We get to know some characters from the first book better, and get to meet a lot of interesting new characters too.

I was a little disappointed when it became clear we were going back to the arena for another round of the Hunger Games, because it felt too much like it would be a repeat.  In some ways it was, but it was also very different in very interesting ways–although I was hoping for more dramatic twists than actually developed.

As much as I liked a lot of the characters, I somehow liked Katniss less in this book, and I can’t quite put my finger on why.  Maybe it was that some of her reactions didn’t make her quite as sympathetic.  Maybe it was because there’s clearly something really big developing in terms of a revolution, and Katniss can’t quite seem to figure out how to engage with it, or even if she definitely wants to.  Maybe it’s that she still can’t quite commit definitely to Gale or Peeta, even though she has both time and opportunity (unlike in the first book).  Maybe it’s that she completely fails to see a clue to the twist ending that I found almost painfully obvious (though maybe that’s the author’s fault).  I still like Katniss–but something was a little bit off, and I wasn’t staunchly with her in the same way I was in the first book.  On the other hand, I might’ve liked Peeta better–except I can’t quite decide if he’s skirting too close to being too good.

I think it’s the unfocused plot and whatever it is that’s bothering me about Katniss that leads me to rank this one a bit below the first one.  But don’t get me wrong–it’s still better than a lot of other books!  I’m really hopeful for the conclusion to the trilogy.

And I will say this for Catching Fire–there’s a fantastic moment in here that is probably my favorite of the trilogy so far.  I don’t want to give it away for anyone who hasn’t read it, but for those who have–it’s the interviews with Caesar, especially Peeta’s.  Brilliant.

Author’s site: http://www.thehungergames.co.uk/

A Brilliantly Mad Sherlock

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews5 Comments
I don't have the TV DVD, so here's my battered original instead.

I may never have mentioned this, but I love Sherlock Holmes.  And I don’t mean any of the various incarnations–I mean the original, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes.  The Hound of the Baskervilles is on my to-be-reread list, and when I get to it I’ll probably give you a review.

But in the meantime, I wanted to review one of those incarnations.  The BBC is doing a TV version called simply Sherlock.  It’s amazing.  And part of what’s amazing is how well they have balanced changing it completely, while keeping it faithful to the original.

Sherlock translates the original stories into the modern day.  That, of course, changes everything–but within that context, it’s beautifully on track to the original.  Watson is recently-returned from the war in Afghanistan, rather than returning from India.  Holmes deduces clues from cell phones and digital watches.  It’s modernized–but faithful to the original.

The characters are brilliant.  Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock is the most accurate-to-the-book Holmes I’ve seen.  He’s completely insane–but a genius, and totally in control, all the time.  Holmes is a delicate mix–when he’s on an investigation (and sometimes when he isn’t) he runs about doing things that look totally mad, and because he has a distinct arrogant and disdainful streak he probably won’t bother to explain at the time.  When he does finally stop and lay out his thought process, you suddenly realize that it all made sense.  You also realize he was in control of himself and the situation the whole time–and he always looks dignified no matter what he’s doing, probably because he always knows he’s in control.

Sherlock pulls this off.  There’s a scene where Sherlock is investigating a crime scene when suddenly something comes together for him, he rushes off, and the only explanation he yells behind him is “PINK!”  Totally mad.  But it turns out that pink really is the key to the whole mystery.  I couldn’t help comparing this version to the Robert Downey, Jr. Holmes.  That movie, though very entertaining, just makes him look insane and out of control.  Undignified, too.

Also, Benedict Cumberbatch has Sherlock Holmes hands.  And the right nose for the role.

Martin Freeman is great as Dr. John Watson, the often-confused but intrigued sidekick.  I think there’s more complexity added to his role than we sometimes get in the Doyle stories, where to some extent he tries to fade out in his position of narrator.  John is the comparatively normal and rational one compared to Sherlock’s brilliant semi-madness.  He’s also ex-military and realizes that he loves the adrenaline of helping on Sherlock’s cases, even while he’s often frustrated by Sherlock too.  There’s a somewhat delicate balance of a relationship here, with two men who really do care about each other, but will never admit it–except possibly in a “we’re about to die” moment.

The mysteries are loosely based on some of Doyle’s original stories, but more by pulling in elements than by duplicating complete plots.  The mysteries are genuine and suspenseful, somewhat wild but that’s the whole point–they only call Sherlock in for the weird ones.  There are occasional twists, and quite a bit of humor.

If you decide to seek this out, American viewers may be a little baffled by British television schedules.  The first season/series has three, ninety-minute episodes.  The third one ends with a cliffhanger (not literally, although in a Holmes-remake it could be an option!) and they’re currently planning the next season.  Sadly, it won’t be available for a while.  I for one am eagerly awaiting it!

The Quintessential Diana Wynne Jones Book

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Juvenile, Reviews2 Comments

I loved reading Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones.  It was a delightful book, especially in its Diana Wynne Jones-ness.  I’ve been trying to think how to explain it.  It’s original, and new, and independent of her other books.  But so many elements I expect from her were here.

There was the earnest young boy, presently displaced, possessed of powerful magic.  There was a well-meaning though absent-minded man, also possessed of powerful magic, who holds a position of responsibility in the magical world.  There was a full cast of quirky supporting characters.  Many characters were somehow paired with others (I don’t mean romantically–in a more thematic sense).  There’s a mysterious magical threat, involving another world.  And it’s all set in an English village amidst rolling hills.

It’s like the quintessential Diana Wynne Jones book.  It all comes together to create a charming and, for fans, familiar atmosphere, while being a new book.  It makes it all rather poignant to know it was the last one published during her lifetime.

The story centers around Aidan, the earnest young boy, and Andrew, the well-meaning, absent-minded man.  Aidan is an orphan, fleeing from mysterious, magical Stalkers.  He ends up at Andrew’s big old house in the country, where Andrew is trying to figure out how to take over the magical reins from his recently-deceased grandfather.  They have adventures with magic, the Stalkers, a village fair, and an enemy neighbor with his own magic.  Also, there’s a giant, a werewolf, bizarrely large vegetables, and colored glass windows they’re sure have magic somehow.

The book is lovely–though not totally without flaws.  The point of view jumps haphazardly between Andrew and Aidan, which mixed me up occasionally.  It doesn’t help that their names have similar letters in them, making them run together sometimes so I lost track of who was thinking.

I also had a little trouble with the state of magic in this world.  Most of the characters seem to accept magic as perfectly natural–one character even mentions it when convincing Andrew to hire her as a secretary, and refers to it much the way she might refer to ability with typing.  However, I think most of the characters accept magic because they live in a particular place where magic is strong, as there are some hints that most of the rest of the world doesn’t believe in magic.  The complicated part is that Andrew has managed to forget most of what his grandfather taught him about magic.  When there’s a host of characters who think magic is ordinary, coupled with a main character who accepts magic but can’t remember much about it, I don’t know whether to view magic as ordinary or mysterious.

But both these problems, the magic and the point of view, seem to improve as the book goes on, and neither is serious enough at any point to spoil the book.  Definitely a high recommendation here.

Author’s site: http://www.dianawynnejones.com and http://www.leemac.freeserve.co.uk/

Romance and Religion in the Middle Ages

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Reviews, Young Adult1 Comment

In my ongoing quest to find fairy tale retellings, I recently found The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson.  I’m actually not sure how, because it’s only very loosely Cinderella, and equally loosely Sleeping Beauty.  But it was a good read regardless.

The healer’s apprentice is Rose, who became an apprentice to dodge the arranged marriage her mother wants for her.  The setting is Germany, somewhere in the Middle Ages.  There’s a little bit of fairy tale in it, but it reminds me much more of Karen Cushman‘s books, which so vividly bring history to life (another review, perhaps).  Rose finds herself torn between the two sons of the local baron, Wilhelm and Rupert.  Meanwhile, she’s also trying to figure out if a healer is really what she wants to be.  In the background, there’s a story about an evil magician stalking Wilhelm’s betrothed.

There’s a little bit of a Mary Sue situation here, where every man seems to be intensely interested in Rose.  But a couple potential interests turn out otherwise, and Rose goes through enough ups and downs in her romances that it’s not too painful a Mary Sue.  Besides, I can deal with it better when the heroine is actually a decent person with some admirable character traits (unlike, say, Twilight).

Rose and especially Wilhelm struggle a lot with trying to do the right thing.  Part of this is centered around their religious faith, which I found very interesting.  You (or at least, I) don’t often see religious characters in fiction, especially not in something that has even a mild fairy tale element to it.  I thought Dickerson handled it very well, in that their religious convictions seem plausible for their time period, without feeling archaic either.  Some of the morality tales and religious beliefs of past centuries don’t sit well with modern concepts, but there was a good balance here.

On the whole I enjoyed the book–better than Sleeping Helena, not as good as Spindle’s End (although a more satisfying romance)–and all in all a good read.

Author’s Site: http://melaniedickerson.com/

The Red Badge of…Well, Something

On By cherylmahoneyIn Historical Fiction, Reviews1 Comment

One of the most interesting parts about finally reading books I’ve always heard about is seeing how my vague impressions have differed from the actuality of the book.  Take The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.  Not at all what I was expecting when I finally read it this week.

My impression was always that it was about a boy in the Civil War, who deserted during his first battle, then returned, fought bravely in a second battle, and felt that he had earned his “red badge of courage.”

As it turns out, the hero’s not that young.  I think this mis-impression was the fault of whatever kid did an oral presentation on this book years ago, during elementary school.  And to be fair, the hero, Henry Fleming, is referred to 99.5% of the time as “the youth.”  If you’re twelve, I can see how you’d conclude that a youth is probably also twelve.  But, while his age is never really given, he and the other soldiers seem to accept him simply as another one of themselves, definitely not a drummer boy or otherwise marked out as significantly younger than the average.  Even in the Civil War, that has to mean he’s at least sixteen, and probably eighteen.

Second, this cowardice to bravery business is so much more complicated than I always thought.  The youth does run during his first battle, but so does many soldiers.  He does return, and fight in a subsequent battle, and this time he’s marked out for bravery.  But it didn’t feel like a nice, noble character growth.  In the first battle, he’s overcome by the sheer animal instinct of fear.  In the second battle, he’s swept away by the no more admirable quality of hate.  In both cases, it feels more like a kind of madness than any kind of nobler instinct.

I’m not sure if this was Crane’s point.  If his intent was to paint the reality of war, to demonstrate that it isn’t noble and courage is a very iffy thing, I think that’s what he illustrated.  Yet somehow he never quite brought it to the point that I could feel completely sure that’s what he was trying to do.  Maybe the title is the most telling part.  The youth gets his “red badge of courage.”  But the red badge turns out to be a wound, and the youth gets his when he tries to ask another fleeing soldier what’s going on, and the man whacks him one with his rifle.  There’s nothing courageous about it.

My favorite part of the book was early on, before the first battle.  The youth is really troubled about whether he’ll run when he’s put to the test.  He thrashes it out, and wonders, and worries–and looks around him and thinks that no one else feels this way.  That’s what I found most interesting.  It’s the idea of these hidden fears and worries that we’re desperate not to tell anyone, and that we think only we have because no one else expresses them…but maybe it’s just that everyone else is equally desperate not to tell about theirs.

My least favorite aspect of the book was the youth himself.  I liked him well enough in the beginning, but after the first battle I found his behavior totally repugnant–and I don’t mean the running.  I guess I don’t have the battle instinct.  I know that cowardice in the face of danger is practically the highest crime for a military man, and I certainly don’t find it admirable–but I found it easy to forgive him for getting scared and running in the complete chaos of a Civil War battle.

After the battle, though–the youth falls in with a group of wounded men, who are all trudging (as much as they can) back towards the camp.  Although he himself is unhurt at this point, the youth seems to demonstrate almost no instinct to help them.  He helps one friend in a very minimal way, but actually abandons another man.  This troubles him a little later on, but more because he’s afraid someone else will find out than because he feels any actual guilt.  I guess I can let go of the glorious battle ideal easily, but have much more trouble letting go of the ideal of comrades in arms and no man left behind.

When the youth is injured himself, a friend (who thinks he was wounded in battle) takes care of him, bandaging up the wound and giving the youth his own blanket.  The youth expresses no gratitude, very little acknowledgement even, and is in fact quite rude and contemptuous to the friend later on.  Besides which, he just begins to come off as very arrogant and unfeeling on the whole.

Maybe some of this goes back to Crane’s point about war not being glorious, and about soldiers not being saints.  But I’d rather have likable characters.

An interesting book, and I’m glad to have my own opinion on it now…but I don’t know that I’d push it on a kid if they asked for a recommendation for a book report.