Deja Vu Halloo (Reeves and Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #5) 3Stars

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Title: Deja Vu Halloo
Series: Reeves and Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #5
Author: Chris Dolley
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Steampunk Mystery
Pages: 139
Words: 42K

---

It’s been about 2 years since I read the previous Reeves and Worcester book, The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall, and I was hoping that would breathe some new life into this fifth book. Unfortunately, it did not.

Don’t get me wrong, this was still amusing and I don’t regret reading it at all, but it was starting to feel tired. Time machines, the faux-PG Wodehouse expressions, it seemed like Dolley (the author) was just going through the motions. Considering this was published in ‘20 and there’s not been another one, I suspect Dolley realized where things were headed and just stopped before he ran off a cliff. I can respect that in an author.

The timey-wimey aspect of this, with Reeves and Worcester repeating the same day over and over again, glazed my eyes over. When Reeves began explaining how they were going to break the time loop I completely checked out until they did. Worcester getting sloshed every night so he’d remember the time loop was amusing and when you throw in the various things he and Reeves get up to, it was a good time all around. There was one particular amusing part to the story where Worcester meets the Aunt and Uncle of his fiance and they are 8^th Day Secessionists. I just laughed my head off, what with being a 7^th Day Adventist myself.

One thing I would like to see is Worcester and his fiance get married. That has all the hallmarks of some serious Wodehousian shenanigan potential. But sadly, I doubt it will happen. Ahhh, it is better to have read and not got the ending you wanted than to have never read at all. Some bloke named Bookstodge made up that quote. Quite a genius, eh? I thought so. If I could track him down, I’d like to give him a solid gold dumptruck just to show him how appreciative I am of his input into the literary world.

★★★☆☆

---

From the Publisher

It's Groundhog Day, 1906. February 2nd is stuck on repeat, and only our intrepid trio appear to have noticed. Emmeline senses the meddling of a higher power - possibly her aunt. Reggie's sure it'll be the handiwork of the subterranean horror one least suspects. And Reeves considers it all "most disturbing."

Can our heroes save the world from perpetual winter? And could ending the time loop be just the start of an even thornier problem?

This short novel is the sixth Reeves & Worcester Steampunk mystery and is set a few months after The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall.

• All of My “Reeves and Worcester” Reviews 

The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall (Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #4) ★★★✬☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall
Series: Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #4
Author: Chris Dolley
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Steampunk Mystery
Pages: 212
Words: 74K

Synopsis:

From the Publisher

An escaped cannibal, a family curse ... and Reginald Worcester turning up on the doorstep. Could things get any worse for the Baskerville-Smythe family?

As the bodies pile up, only a detective with a rare brain - and Reggie's is so rare it's positively endangered - can even hope to solve the case.

But... there is the small matter that most of the guests aren't who they say they are, the main suspect has cloven feet, and a strange mist hangs over great Grimdark Mire.

Luckily the young master has Reeves, his automaton valet, and Emmeline, his suffragette fiancee, on hand to assist.

My Thoughts:

While this is the 4^th (or fifth depending on how you add/subtract/multipy/divide the series) book in the series, it is the first full length novel and I have to say, it suffered for that. Which is why it is getting 3.5stars instead of 4.

There was nothing bad about this, but the Wodehousian humor, just like with the original Jeeves and Wooster, can wear thin if spread too thick (ironic isn't it?) Novellas and short stories work best it would seem for both Wodehouse and Dolley.

There is another novel after this one but I think I'm going to hold off on it until I see if Dolley produces any more and if he does, whether they are more novellas or full length novels. There is no overarching plot to draw me on and I have to admit, I am thankful Dolley didn't go that route.

The title is a clever mix of both Sherlock Holmes (Hound of the Baskervilles) and Lord Peter Wimsey (Unpleasantness at the Belona Club). I didn't make much of a connection to the Wimsey novel outside of the title but a more seasoned mystery reader might be able to put the puzzle together better than I did.

I am glad I read this series, as it tided me over until I felt like reading some books by Wodehouse himself. Kind of ease my way back into that brand of humor.

★★★✬☆

• What Ho, Automaton! (Book 1)

• Reggiecide (Book 2)

• The Aunt Paradox (Book 3)

The Aunt Paradox (Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #3) ★★★★☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Aunt Paradox
Series: Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #3
Author: Chris Dolley
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Steampunk Mystery
Pages: 91
Words: 28K

Synopsis:

From the Publisher

HG Wells has a problem. His Aunt Charlotte has borrowed his time machine and won’t give it back. Now she’s rewriting history!

Reggie Worcester, gentleman’s consulting detective, and his automaton valet, Reeves, are hired to retrieve the time machine and put the timeline back together. But things get complicated. Dead bodies start piling up behind Reggie’s sofa, as he finds himself embroiled in an ever-changing murder mystery. A murder mystery where facts can be rewritten, and the dead don’t always stay dead.

My Thoughts:

This was SO MUCH FUN!!!!! Being familiar with HG Wells' story The Time Machine, while not an absolute necessity, definitely makes everything that much funnier. And the author plays around a LOT with Babbage and uses him as the kind of “every genius”, as in Babbage's Cat, ie, is it dead or alive? I'm sure you all know it wasn't Babbage's Cat, but since Babbage is the one who helped the automatons to be created, he gets to be the resident world genius.

Dolley gets right into the horror of Aunts that is prevalent in Wodehouse and really amps things up. Wells' Aunt takes 40+ copies of herself from history for her upcoming birthday and obviously chaos insues. In fact, HG Wells turns into a girl in one of the iterations. It was hilarious.

I also thought Dolley did a good job of wrapping things up so that the timeline established was the only timeline. Nice and neat and orderly. Speaking of neatly, all of this was done in under 100 pages. For feth's sake Sanderson, Gwynne and some of you other frakking authors, take note. A good story can be told without drowning me in your pomposity and super-overabundance of words. Mr Dolley, I salute you for your brevity and wit. More authors should be like you.

★★★★☆

• What Ho, Automaton! (Book 1)

• Reggiecide (Book 2)

Reggiecide (Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #2) ★★★★☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Reggiecide
Series: Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #2
Author: Chris Dolley
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Steampunk Mystery
Pages: 68
Words: 21.5K

Synopsis:

From the Publisher

Guy Fawkes is back and this time it's a toss up who's going to be blown up first - Parliament or Reginald Worcester, gentleman consulting detective.

But Guy might not be the only regicide to have been dug up and reanimated. He might be a mere pawn in a plan of diabolical twistiness.

Only a detective with a rare brain - and Reggie's is amongst the rarest - could possibly solve this 'five-cocktail problem.' With the aid of Reeves, his automaton valet, Emmeline, his suffragette fiancée, and Farquharson, a reconstituted dog with an issue with Anglicans, Reggie sets out to save both Queen Victoria and the Empire.

My Thoughts:

I laughed almost the entire way through this book. Dolley has captured the spirit of PG Wodehouse and while I won't say he's improved it, he's distilled it to its essence and captured it in under 100 pages. I hadn't even realized how short it was until I went looking for the data. It didn't feel like a long book but it still felt like a complete story. That takes some talent as far as I'm concerned.

I do like that Reggie is affianced and not a single guy bumbling around. So far there have been no marriage proposal shenanigans and I'm guessing Dolley is staying away from that particular aspect of the original Jeeves & Wooster. Emmeline makes for a great catalyst to “make things happen” as she's a spitfire, dynamite and ball of wax all rolled into one.

A small part of me wants to complain that these novellas about Reeves & Worcester aren't long enough, but if I am being honest, they are just the right length. Long enough to be funny but not so long that they wear out the humor and send the reader off in a bad mood.

★★★★☆

• What Ho, Automaton! (Book 1)

[Manga Monday] Romance Dawn (One Piece #1) ★★★★☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Romance Dawn
Series: One Piece #1
Arc: East Blue Part 1
Author: Eiichiro Oda
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 211
Words: 8K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_One_Piece_chapters_(1_186)

Seven-year-old Monkey D. Luffy tries to join "Red-Haired" Shanks' pirate crew, but is rejected as too young. He accidentally eats a devil fruit which causes his body to gain the properties of rubber, but makes him unable to swim. After an ordeal with mountain bandits, Luffy abandons his plan to join Shanks' crew; instead, he vows to surpass Shanks, build up a crew of his own and become the next king of the pirates. Ten years later Luffy sets out to sea, frees the young Coby from a slave's life in Alvida's pirate crew and saves three-sword-wielding bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro from being executed by the Navy. With Zoro Luffy's first crewman, they set sail for the Grand Line (the sea where the One Piece – the treasure of the last king of the pirates – is supposedly hidden), and meet thief (and expert navigator) Nami.

My Thoughts:

I first started reading One Piece back in 2007. By 2011 I was up to Volume 29 and then Viz, the American company with the english rights, started playing catch up and publishing a volume every month. I couldn't afford that and neither could the library. So I stopped reading One Piece. Fast forward to 2021 and One Piece is up to Volume 97 this August. Digital manga is now a thing, which is good because my eyes can't handle the paper copies any more.

I was hesitant to start this series simply because you just never know how much you have changed in 14 years. Apparently, while I have changed, what I find funny hasn't. This still had me in stitches even while not laughing out loud.

Luffy D Monkey is a supremely confidant young man who isn't exactly humble but neither is he arrogant. He knows his powers and strengths and his weaknesses. He's just the kind of main character I like to read about. He's also insanely silly sometimes :-D

The original english translations use the name Roronoa Zolo instead of Roronoa Zoro. It should have been Zoro, as Zoro is a great swordsman of the 3 sword style (he literally holds and uses the third sword with his mouth) and his goal is to become the world's greatest swordsman. Just wanted to put that out there in case I ever include a picture and it he's referenced as Zolo instead of Zoro.

The most important thing to realize as you start this manga is to realize that the manga-ka is deliberately holding a Romantic View of pirates and the pirate life. Just accept it and you're good to go.

I'll talk more about other stuff in later volumes. This is enough for now.

★★★★☆

• All My "One Piece" Reviews

Ticktock ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Ticktock
Series: ----------
Author: Dean Koontz
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comedy Horror
Pages: 352
Words: 90K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia

Tommy Phan is a first-generation Vietnamese American in southern California, a successful detective novelist whose greatest ambition is to live the American Dream.[3] The story opens with Tommy getting a new Corvette. He argues with his mother, refusing her offer for dinner. In a fit of rebellion, he eats two cheeseburgers, something his mother dislikes. He meets a blond waitress there (which he will meet later in the story again). His radio quits working during one of these two trips, and in the static are eerie voices.

Once home, he finds a Rag doll on his front steps, along with a note, written in Vietnamese, which he knew when he was a child but has forgotten in his quest to be a true American. After taking the doll into his study, it soon bursts open to reveal an evil creature who seems intent on killing Tommy. A message is left on his computer screen saying he has until dawn, but what will happen at dawn, Tommy does not know. After fate brings a meeting with Del, a woman who appears to speak somewhat cryptically, they embark on a race to flee the creature. She believes him too quickly, and often has mixed stories for all of her abilities. (At one point she stole a car, saying one minute she hotwired it, and the next that the key was in the ignition.)

The doll appears to be growing larger as their journey continues. They visit Tommy's brother, Gi, to try and translate the note. They then go to Del's apartment, where we learn she's quite rich, but is a waitress anyway. She also shows another side to her when Tommy wants to see her paintings, and she threatens to shoot him if he does. Her dog seems incredibly smart, something that unnerves Tommy.

In their journey to escape the ever-growing doll, Tommy's Corvette is trashed, two cars are stolen, and one large boat is trashed. They arrive at Del's mother's home, which seems utterly odd. They claim to be able to listen to live stuff from the past with their radio. Del's mother shows an uncanny sense of time when she knows exactly when the rain will stop.

Gi calls and tells Tommy to go to their mother, and not to bring the blonde along. Tommy brings Del along anyway, where he then learns the doll was conjured to scare him back home by a friend of his mother. They begin a ritual that, after a few harrowing minutes, completely dispels the monster.

Tommy sees Del's paintings and they're of him. She had remotely viewed him over the past 2 years because she knows he is her destiny.

He and Del get married in Vegas. Then they go back to their normal town

My Thoughts:

This started out horrifically creepy and I was all set to get some real chills. Then by slow degrees things started to get silly. By the end, things were just ridiculous.

In the afterwords, Koontz explains how it was all deliberate and WHY it was done that way.

A good romp but I have to admit, I was looking forward to something actually creepy by Koontz. Ah well.

★★★☆½

Two Noble Kinsmen ★☆☆☆½

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Title: Two Noble Kinsmen
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 1.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Tragic Comedy?
Pages: 246
Words: 71K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia

A prologue informs the audience that the play is based on a story from Chaucer.

Three queens come to plead with Theseus and Hippolyta, rulers of Athens, to avenge the deaths of their husbands by the hand of the tyrant Creon of Thebes. Creon has killed the three kings and refuses to allow them proper burial. Theseus agrees to wage war on Creon.

In Thebes, Palamon and Arcite, cousins and close friends, are bound by duty to fight for Creon, though they are appalled by his tyranny. In a hard-fought battle Palamon and Arcite enact prodigies of courage, but the Thebans are defeated by Theseus. Palamon and Arcite are imprisoned, but philosophically resign themselves to their fate. Their stoicism is instantly destroyed when from their prison window they see Princess Emilia, Hippolyta's sister. Both fall in love with her, and their friendship turns to bitter rivalry. Arcite is released after a relative intercedes on his behalf. He is banished from Athens, but he disguises himself, wins a local wrestling match, and is appointed as Emilia's bodyguard.

Meanwhile, the jailer's daughter has fallen in love with Palamon and helps him escape. She follows him, but he ignores her: still obsessed with Emilia. He lives in the forest half-starved, where he meets Arcite. The two argue, but Arcite offers to bring Palamon food, drink and armaments so that they can meet in an equal fight over Emilia.

The jailer's daughter, forsaken, has gone mad. She sings and babbles in the forest. She meets a troupe of local countrymen who want to perform a Morris dance before the king and queen. Local schoolmaster Gerald invites the mad daughter to join the performance. Theseus and Hippolyta appear, hunting. Gerald hails them, and they agree to watch the yokels perform a bizarre act for them, with the jailer's mad daughter dancing. The royal couple reward them.

Arcite returns with the food and weapons. After a convivial dinner with reminiscences, the two fight. Theseus and his entourage arrive on the scene. He orders that Palamon and Arcite be arrested and executed. Hippolyta and Emilia intervene, and so Theseus agrees to a public tournament between the two for Emilia's hand. Each warrior will be allowed three companions to assist them. The loser and his companion knights will be executed.

The jailer finds his daughter with the help of friends. He tries to restore her mental health. On the advice of a doctor, he encourages her former suitor to pretend to be Palamon so that she will be gradually accustomed to see him as her true love. His devotion slowly wins her over.

Before the tournament, Arcite prays to Mars that he win the battle; Palamon prays to Venus that he marry Emilia; Emilia prays to Diana that she be wed to the one who loves her best. Each prayer is granted: Arcite wins the combat, but is then thrown from his horse and dies, leaving Palamon to wed Emilia.

My Thoughts:

I did not enjoy this at all.

For one thing, there wasn't any comedy. I can see where you could mine comedic gold from 2 cousins fighting over the princess of the country they were just fighting against, but this was all serious business.

Secondly, reading Shakespeare can be hard enough, but this time around he used what is I'm guessing his equivalent of “old timey language” to make it appear as if this was some old story. There were times I simply could not comprehend what was being said or what was trying to be conveyed.

Thirdly, in conjunction with that, the plot was almost opaque to me. It wasn't until I read the Wiki synopsis that I felt like I had a grasp of what I had actually read.

Really felt like I wasted my time and I simply tried to get through this as fast as possible to get it over with. That is NOT how I like to read my books nor do I recommend it to anyone. Poop.

★☆☆☆½

• Previous Shakespeare Reviews

Two Gentlemen of Verona ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Two Gentlemen of Verona
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Comedy
Pages: 84
Words: 24K

Synopsis:

Two young friends, Valentine and Proteus, go their separate ways as Valentine wants adventure and Proteus wants to woo a local girl, Julia. Valentine heads to Milan.

Proteus father sends him to Milan as well, as he's afraid of Proteus becoming a namby-pamby wuss. Proteus and Julia vow undying love for each other and Proteus gives Julia a ring as his troth.

Valentine and Proteus are united in Milan. Valentine, who excoriated Proteus for falling in love and allowing his love for Julia to keep him home, has fallen in love with Silvia, the Duke of Milan's daughter. The Duke has other plans for her though, ie, to marry her to Thurio, a rich man from another city state. Valentine tells Proteus that he and Silvia will steal away and secretly get married. Proteus has himself fallen in love with Silvia and betrays Valentine to the duke.

Valentine is banished and ends up becoming King of the Outlaws, a noble group of men who have been unjustly banished and rob the rich from Milan.

Proteus, under the cover of pretending to help Thurio, woos Silvia himself. She scorns him as a base man who betrayed not only his friend but his lover Julia and also his vows to her. Meanwhile Julia has secretly left Verona to find Proteus and becomes his squire, dressed as a page. She see's Proteus infidelity and vows to get him back.

Silvia runs away rather than marry Thurio and gets captured by the Noble Outlaws and taken to Valentine. Everyone else is chasing her and also get captured by the Outlaws. Valentine challenges Thurio to a duel for Silvia and Thurio declines, as he has no love for Siliva. The Duke is disgusted, gives his blessing to Valentine and Silvia's nuptials. Julia faints and Valentine discovers who she is. He and Proteus make up, as Proteus realizes his behavior has been abominable and repents. Valentine then reveals that his page is Julia. The Duke pardons everyone and they all head off for a double wedding in Milan.

My Thoughts:

Part way through this play I turned to Mrs B (as is our wont, we were sitting on our couch side by side reading) and said “I just don't like Shakespeare's plays. She nodded and agreed. The low-brow humor that Shakespeare uses just doesn't appeal to either of us.

That being said, I have no intention of stopping. These plays are foundational to Literature as we know it and yes, that is Literature with a Capital L. I don't plan on becoming a Shakespeare expert by any means, but I do want to have a passing familiarity with them.

One of the things that has bothered me about these plays is how characters can change at the drop of a hat. For example, in this play Proteus proclaims undying love for Julia and then wham, suddenly he's destroying his own and his friend's life for another woman. Then at the end of the play suddenly he reverts back to loving Julia. I'm beginning to realize that that is simply how a play operates. It isn't a book with all the time that a book has. It is a play and many of the things that we expect from a book simply aren't possible in a play. I don't like it but I am beginning to be able to accept it. For me, that is a big step forward.

★★★☆☆

• Previous Shakespeare Reviews

Taming of the Shrew ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Taming of the Shrew
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Comedy
Pages: 133
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

The play starts with a rich lord taking a drunk at an inn and doing everything in his power to convince the drunk that he, the drunk, is actually a lord who has been crazy for the last several years. He brings in some players to put on a play and thus the main story begins.

Younger Daughter is sought by all and sundry, as she is beautiful, accomplished and generally pleasing in every way. Her Older Sister is a Shrew with a tongue that can remove metal. Their father declares that he won't allow the younger daughter to even be courted until the Older Sister is married. Thus several suitors put into action a plan to be tutors to the Younger Daughter and secretly woo her while teaching her.

A Bold Young Man enters the city and hears about the situation from his friends. He decides that Older Sister is the woman for him and he'll have her no matter her tongue. He approaches the father, gets his approval, has a run in with the Older Sister where words are exchanged like primed grenades and the wedding is set for a week later. Bold Young Man begins acting irrationally to drive his almost wife to distraction and after they are married head back to his home. There he tames her to his behavior and forces her to accept his behavior and mood or go hungry. They return to the city.

The Younger Daughter has fallen in love and with some shenanigans she and the Suitor are married. The Older Sister and her husband return for the wedding and the Tamed Shrew is shown to all, eliciting amazement from all and sundry.

The End.

My Thoughts:

I was very annoyed when the play ended and the secondary play about the drunk and the nobleman didn't end as well. It was obviously just a ploy to start the primary play and to get the audience into a jocular mood. I however, wasn't jocular at the end, as I like things wrapped up neatly.

I definitely enjoyed this more than some of the other Shakespeare plays I've read. I am realizing that in those old books where characters quote Shakespeare from memory and everybody in the book recognizes it, well, that is a lot of bilge. Much like Pop Culture references, it isn't somethat that EVERYBODY gets, but only the group that cares about it. Reading Shakespeare doesn't mean you'll recognize the many quotes that were tossed around in yesteryear. Only those who study the Bard will be able to do that.

Ok, enough of that. Let's talk about that cover shall we? It took me a tiny bit to realize it was a movie cover, but once that clicked, 5 seconds of Gugle-Fu showed that it was from the 1967 movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Obviously THIS cover was meant to draw the male eye while the movie poster I found has a virile Burton striding along with a huge smile while carrying Taylor over his shoulder while she pounds on his back with her fists. I wish I had chosen another cover from Librarything but that was the highest resolution one, I think, and the others (if I'm remembering correctly) reminded me of modern impressionistic paintings, brrrrrr!

Cover aside, I'd call this a successful foray into Shakespeare. With my enjoyment level so varied, I simply never know what I'm going to like or dislike every time I crack the cover on one of these plays.

★★★☆½

• Previous Shakespeare Reviews

Much Ado About Nothing ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Much Ado About Nothing
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Comedy
Pages: 84
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Benedick, a womanizing batchelor who regularly speaks out against marriage, has come home from the wars with his friend Claudio. Claudio sees Hero, the daughter of a Don and immediately falls in love and she with him. Benedick claims he'll never get married and spars verbally with Hero's cousin Beatrice, who has as sharp a tongue as him. They both claim hatred of the other.

Claudio and Hero conspire to get Benedick and Beatrice together. Using gossip and reverse psychology, it works. However, Claudio's illegitimate brother decides to cause problems. He makes it appear that Hero is a whore and discredits her before her father and Claudio. She feigns death while her name is cleared.

Then Hero & Claudio and Benedick & Beatrice get married and the rascally brother gets caught by the law.

My Thoughts:

I went into this with a heavy heart. I was thinking to myself “Oh, not another Shakespeare, maybe I can skip a cycle”. I am glad I didn't though. I had a blast reading this.

Beatrice was the kind of loud mouth woman that most men just want to put a rag in her mouth because she won't shut up. It was hilarious. It also helped that she was one of the witty characters. Now, I did have some issues parsing what she was trying to say, what with her english being 400'ish years old, but for the most part I was able to get the gist of what she was trying to get across.

The only reason I gave this just a 4star instead of higher was because of how quickly both Beatrice and Benedick change their minds about the other. Yes, it is a very short play and for time constraints I understand, but it was almost literally a 180 degree reversal in the space of a minute.

Other than that, this was a true comedy. I'm thinking about tracking down a video version and seeing how it compares. Does anyone have any suggestions?

★★★★☆

• Previous Shakespeare Reviews

A Midsummer Night's Dream ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Comedy
Pages: 111
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Lysander and Hermia are in love. Hermia's father however, wants her to marry Demetrius. Demetrius claims he's in love with Hermia but had previously woo'd and declared his love to Helena. Helena is in love with Demetrius. Lysander and Hermia plan to run away from Athens and get married. Helena tells Demetrius (I'm not sure why) and all 4 meet in the woods at night.

During this time, the King and Queen of the fairies are having a tiff because of a little serving boy. Oberon, the king, gives his servant Puck some magic herbs to cause trouble for Titania, the Queen. Puck also uses this magic herb on Lysander and Demetrius and lots of problems ensure between the 4 humans.

At the same time, a group of workmen are practicing a play in the same woods for the Duke of Athen's upcoming nuptials. Puck turns one of them into a creature with a donkey's head and everyone runs away. Titania ends up falling in love with Bottom due to the magic herbs. Oberon tells Puck to fix everything, which he does and it is all sweetness and light between everyone.

The play is performed at the wedding and the Duke and Company have as much making fun of the play as they watching it. The players are rewarded and everyone is happy.

My Thoughts:

I read this back in highschool in the 90's and have watched the movie, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, at least twice since 2000 so I'm relatively familiar with the story.

Finally, a “comedy” that I could laugh at. There is a reason this is one of Shakespeare's more produced plays. There is something for everyone and for almost every kind of humor. Whether word plays or physical comedy or situational comedy, this has it all.

I don't have much to say. I enjoyed this, am glad I really enjoyed something by Shakespeare and it has given me a shot in the arm to keep on reading. You're never going to hear me quoting Shakespeare like Jeeves though.

★★★★☆

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The Merchant of Venice ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Merchant of Venice
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Comedy
Pages: 140
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

A merchant of Venice, Merchantio has all his funds tied up in ships out at sea. His friend, Romancio, needs to borrow money to woo a rich woman from another town. Merchantio allows Romancio to stretch his credit to the limit with a moneylender named Shylock. Shylock hates Merchantio and makes part of the credit deal that if Merchantio defaults Shylock gets to cut off a pound of flesh.

Shylock's daughter runs off with a friend of Merchantio's and takes a small fortune with her. Shylock doesn't know which he misses more.

Things go well for Romancio. The woman's father had setup a riddle to win her hand. If a suitor guessed wrong, he couldn't tell anyone what he had guessed AND he had to remain single for the rest of his life. Romancio guesses right and marries the woman. His friend, Friendo, then marries the maid servant.

Things go bad for Merchantio and all his ships are sunk, pirated or go missing. Shylock claims the Law and says he'll sue Venice and ruin her international reputation of Law Abidingness if the Duke of Venice won't fulfill the law.

Romancio and Friendio run back to Venice with treble the amount owed so buy back Merchantio's life. Unknown to them, their wives follow, dressed up as young men and claiming to be the friends of a very important Judge. The Duke of Venice brings the case before them. Shylock turns down the treble payment and wants his pound of flesh.

Romancio's wife decides in his favor and Shylock rejoices. Then she drops the bombshell that he can only take a pound of flesh, no blood, nothing. If he does so and Merchantio dies, then Shylock will die and all his estates go to the City of Venice. The Duke rules that if Shylock won't take his pound of flesh, the only way to avoid the punishment is to convert to Christianity and give half his estates away and lots of it to his estranged daughter. Everyone but Shylock is happy.

Then the wives decide to be clever and cause problems for their husbands. They beg, as the young men, to have some rings from Romancio and Friendio, who cave like $3 bills. Then the wives meet their husbands at home and demand to see the rings. Upon not seeing them, the wives claim they will sleep with whoever has the rings and follow that up immediately that it has already happened. Romancio and Friendio moan about being cuckolds and then the wives reveal the truth, everyone laughs and goes into a feast.

My Thoughts:

I was really enjoying this up until the end. I dont' think I'm going to ever find amusing made up drama between husbands and wives. Also, the names completely eluded me 5minutes after I finished the book, hence my little nicknames there.

There were boatloads of quotes that lots of people today know. When people here them, they know they're from Shakespeare even if they have no idea which play. It made me wonder why certain quotes have attained that status and not others. Not all of them are epic, or particularly wise or stand out above other bits, as far as I can see. Just rather random.

I did laugh when Shylock's daughter ran off and became a “Christian”. Shylock is bemoaning his loss of ducats and jewels and is complaining to a non-Jew about it. The non-jew starts complaining about how the price of pork is now going to rise because there is another pork eater (because obviously it follows that to show one is a Christian one must eat pork). It was so silly and ridiculous that I was just grinning through the whole back and forth.

★★★☆½

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The Merry Wives of Windsor ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Merry Wives of Windsor
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Comedy
Pages: 80
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Falstaff, a fat, flagrant lecher, pursues two married women of Windsor at the same time. The two wives decide to turn the tables on him and put him through all sorts of trials at the hands of their unsuspecting husbands. One time Falstaff is taken out of the house in a basket of laundry and thrown into the river. Another time he has to dress up like an ill-favored Aunt and is beaten by one of the husbands who hates the Aunt.Finally, he ismade to dress up in deer antlers and beset upon by a group of children and pinched and beaten at midnight.

There is a smaller sub-plot of a young man and woman who want to get married and that is carried out under the nose of the father and mother, who each want the girl to marry the suitor of their choice.

Everyone but Falstaff ends up happy.

My Thoughts:

I wonder, why would a fat old man think he could woo happily married women? If I'd been one of the husbands, I'd have stuck a sword through Falstaff first chance I got.

I enjoyed this a good bit as I was able to make the play happen in my head. I had to consciously do it, but picturing it in my mind made it so much more palatable than just words on the page. Falstaff getting dumped in the river and beaten had me laughing out loud, like it was supposed to.

I have to admit that the whole “jealous husband testing his wife” thing that Shakespeare seems to thrive on (in regards to almost any married couple) doesn't work for me. I don't know if its a cultural thing or a personal thing or what, but if I ever suspected something untoward regarding Mrs B, I'd ask her. If there was another man then a 1^st degree homicide would occur, but I wouldn't be setting up scenarios to try to trap her or to try to make her act unfaithfully. That isn't how real love works. Good old murder now, that's how Twue Wuv weally works. * Fezzik cheers *

I am thankful this was as entertaining as it was. I was afraid I was going to have to put some more space in my reading rotation so I could continue on, but this helps keep me interested. Reading a Complete Shakespeare is kind of like a marathon. Don't do it lightly and for phrack's sake, don't ever, ever, EVER sprint.

★★★☆½

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Measure for Measure ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Measure for Measure
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Comedy
Pages: 96
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Duke Somebody leaves his city-state in the hands of a man the Duke trusts, or so he says. His real plan is for the stand-in, Angelo, to enforce the moral laws of the land that the Duke has been ignoring. Thus the Duke will get a more moral populace without having the outrage directed against him.

Unfortunately for him, Angelo turns into a tyrant and condemns a man to death for fornication. When the doomed man's sister pleads for mercy, Angelo says he'll forego the death sentence if she'll have sex with him. The Duke, disguised as a monk, over hears everything that is going on and sets things up so that a woman Angelo spurned years ago takes the sister place. Angelo is fooled but reneges on his word. The Duke reveals himself to the jailor and comes up with a plan to save the doomed man.

The Duke sets everything in motion, then “returns” publicly. The sister and spurned woman cry for justice, Angelo says everything is all lies and then the doomed man comes forth, not dead after all. Angelo is forced to marry the spurned woman, so she has all the legal rights of a wife. The Duke then sentences Angelo to die just like Angelo sentenced the doomed brother to die.

The sister marries the Duke and everything turns out alright for everyone who is good.

My Thoughts:

There was a lot of wordplay humor here that amused me. Almost no physical comedy so that also helped. The story of a hypocrite getting his just desserts is always a good one.

That being said, I think the Duke is an ass. He supposedly knows Angelo from all the way back “when” and even knows he spurned the poor girl when her dowry fell through and yet he seems so surprised at how Angelo acts once he's in control.

The way Angelo is presented at first came across as a hard nosed, take no nonsense kind of guy. I was rooting for him in fact. Time somebody cleaned up the filth. But of course, nobody can actually be good if they want to enforce the laws, oh no! They're heartless brutes who secretly break the law themselves at every turn. Now, doesn't THAT narrative sound terribly familiar? Wouldn't surprise me if Democrats read Shakespeare as a How To instead of as a warning.

The whole thing with the Duke and the sister getting married just made me laugh. She is going to be a nun but puts her final vows on hold so she can save her brother. A couple of days later the Duke pretty much says 'Woman, marry me!” and she's all “You got it, you sexy beast”. Somehow I wonder if she would have turned into a “Naughty” nun, hahahahaa.

Overall, this was MUCH more enjoyable than the previous plays. I needed that, as reading unlikeable plays time after time was getting a bit wearisome.

★★★☆☆

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