[Art] The Summer Maiden

 

This completes the Maidens of the Year cycle. Maiden of Spring, now The Summer Maiden, then the Lady of the Fall and finally The Maiden of Christmas Solstice.

I like that the sunlight is that syrupy gold that just whispers of drowsy sleepiness as the insects drone in the background. It is so quiet you can hear the butterflies as they flap their wings. August is always the height of summer here. Hot, humid, sunny. Makes you want to sit on a porch swing and just look out over the landscape while your brain slumbers. 

Wizardborn (Runelords #3) 2.5Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Wizardborn
Series: Runelords #3
Author: David Farland
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 477
Words: 148K
Publish: 2001

Sigh. This is not a good series and Farland isn’t a very good author. It doesn’t help at all that this is the book I was reading while in the ER and hospital while I was originally dealing with my eye palsy. I was stressed to the breaking point. But even with that, this just isn’t very good. There’s a reason why (besides Farland dying before finishing the series) this never became “the next big thing” in the literary fantasy world. Too many words and too many pages are used to describe completely unnecessary things. Which means Farland skimps on the things that actually DO matter.

I have one more book to finish this story arc in the series and then I’ll be done with it. I’m not staying until the bitter, unfinished, end. Just until this particular arc is done.

★★✬☆☆

From the Publisher

After Raj Ahten attempts to murder the Earth King at the end of Brotherhood of the Wolf, his men turn on him and declare him a marked man in his own kingdom of Indhopal. Raj Ahten, fleeing the battlefield and struggling with wounds inflicted to him by Binnesman's wylde, encounters some of his flameweavers, who warn him that his earthly body is dying from the Earth's curse. However, Raj Ahten has no time to waste, as word reaches him that the Lord of the Underworld himself has arisen in Kartish, and he races off to defend his people.

Meanwhile, Gaborn and his companions rest in the nearby village of Balington until dawn, when they will give chase to the fleeing Reaver horde. Binnesman, sensing strong Earth powers within Averan, promptly begins to train her, as well as train his own wylde, Spring. Binnesman also does his best to heal the injured Sir Borenson, and Gaborn, upon learning of Averan's special powers, hatches a plan to track down and extract information from the Waymaker, the only Reaver that knows the underworld path to the One True Master of the Reavers.

While Erin Connal and Prince Celinor travel north to gain support for the Earth King, Gaborn and his company move south, attacking and harassing the Reavers whenever possible. Borenson and Myrrima travel south towards Inkarra, to seek out Daylan Hammer, the Sum of All Men, and to ask the Storm King Zandaros for aid.

In a final battle, Gaborn and his warriors defeat the remaining Reavers, sending the few remaining creatures scuttling back into the underworld. Averan finds the Waymaker and learns from him the path to the One True Master, afterwards agreeing to lead Gaborn to him. Raj Ahten, after a disastrous battle against the Reavers in his own nation of Indhopal, manages to slay the Reaver Fell Mage, but his own life fails him. In order to remain in the world of the living, he gives himself to the element fire, transforming into Scathain, Lord of Ash. Borenson and Myrrima are attacked by wights on their journey to Inkarra, and Myrrima apparently dies from her wounds. Stunningly though, she comes back from near death, and we learn that she is in fact a water wizard.

Mrs Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha (Mrs Pollifax #7) 3.5Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Mrs Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha
Series: Mrs Pollifax #7
Author: Dorothy Gilman
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 166
Words: 58K
Publish: 1985

A good story, but ugh, two issues.

First, Mrs Pollifax is kidnapped and tortured. I was not happy with having that in this series. I don’t like women being tortured and I really don’t like older women being tortured. It wasn’t graphic, but the very idea really blunted my enjoyment.

Second, once again, was Gilman’s deliberate blind eye to how evil the Chinese Communist Party was/is. This story revolves around the silent civil war that went on between Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek after their deaths. The Nationalists (led by Kai-shek) were not good people. They were corrupt and despotic, like any other tyranny. Gilman focuses on that, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. My problem is that she deliberately turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed by Zedong and the Communists. Much like in “Mrs Pollifax on the China Station”, Gilman sounds more like a propagandist for the Communists than anything else. I can’t turn a blind eye to that. I wondered about looking more into this, but so far, most of the time when I look into an author’s personal life, it doesn’t turn out well. I think I’ll save that for when I’ve finished the “Mrs P” series.

The story itself is filled with exciting twists and turns and Mrs P once again mostly figures things out using her outsiders perspective. Since she is now married, that adds a bit of tension as we get things from her husband’s perspective as well. Given that she was tortured and almost killed, and given how her superior (an agent named Carstairs) reacted to that, I don’t see how Mrs P won’t be forcibly retired. If I was her husband, torture is where I would draw the line. So I’m looking forward to how that conundrum is going to be solved, since we’re only at the halfway mark of the series :-D

★★★✬☆

From Wikipedia.org

Mrs. Pollifax flies on a moment's notice to Hong Kong, to contact Sheng Ti, whom she met in an earlier book, and find out what is going on at Feng Imports where Sheng Ti is working for an agent named Detwiler. Detwiler's reports to the CIA have proved to be false, so he is suspected of being a counterspy and giving evidence to the enemy. Mrs. Pollifax meets some other interesting characters, including a psychic and another old friend, who is a reformed cat burglar, while in pursuit of the truth about Feng Imports. She is captured and tortured, but prevails as always.

• All of my “Mrs Pollifax” Reviews

As You Wish (Non-fiction) 3.5Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: As You Wish
Series: -----
Author: Cary Elwes & Joe Layden
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 244
Words: 79K
Publish: 2014

I chose this because Mrs B and I had recently rewatched the movie The Princess Bride and we enjoyed it so much (again!) that I decided to upgrade my dvd to a bluray. When you buy something on Amazon they immediately “suggest” other things you can also buy. This popped up and I was already looking for more non-fiction to add to my list, so voila! Here we are. The full title is “As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride”. I think you can understand why I didn’t include that subtitle :-)

If nonfiction books are coffee, that strong, bitter, scalding hot that perks you right up kind of reading, then this was a double latte mocha soy frappucino with whipped cream on top and caramel syrup with cinnamon sprinkles. It is “technically” still coffee, but the reality is something else. That perfectly describes this book. Frothy, sugary and light. It was yummy and delicious, but there wasn’t one dark bitter taste like coffee should have.

This was a fun read and considering everything, I can see why the authors went this route. They weren’t out to tell all or dish the dirt, but to enhance the positive about the movie. It does that job admirably. Elwes relates little anecdotes that will make rewatching the movie MORE fun as I’ll remember snippets here and there.

This was deliberately not a critical take on the movie production. I kind of wanted that because I always want the full picture of what went on in the past. But that’s not what this is, so I just had to shrug and accept it. I enjoyed it and had a good time, so it was in no way any kind of failure. It just wasn’t the kind of non-fiction I want to read very much of. I want something with a bit more weight.

★★★✬☆☆

From the Publisher

Standing on the stage for the twenty-fifth anniversary of The Princess Bride, I felt an almost overwhelming sense of gratitude and nostalgia. It was a remarkable night and it brought back vivid memories of being part of what appears to have become a cult classic film about pirates and princesses, giants and jesters, cliffs of insanity, and of course rodents of unusual size.

It truly was as fun to make the movie as it is to watch it, from getting to work on William Goldman's brilliant screenplay to being directed by the inimitable Rob Reiner. It is not an exaggeration to say that most days on set were exhilarating, from wrestling André the Giant, to the impossibility of playing mostly dead with Billy Crystal cracking jokes above me, to choreographing the Greatest Sword Fight in Modern Times with Mandy Patinkin, to being part of the Kiss That Left All the Others Behind with Robin Wright.

In this book I've gathered many more behind-the-scenes stories and hopefully answers to many of the questions we've all received over the years from fans. Additionally, Robin, Billy, Rob, and Mandy, as well as Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Fred Savage, Chris Sarandon, Carol Kane, Norman Lear, and William Goldman graciously share their own memories and stories from making this treasured film.

If you'd like to know a little more about the making of The Princess Bride as seen through the eyes of a young actor who got much more than he bargained for, along with the rest of this brilliant cast, then all I can say is...as you wish.

Hurkyl's Recall - MTG 4E

 

Drafna, that dawg. Somebody should punch him in the head for stealing his own wife's work. And then give him another punch in the head for hitting on his own student. Shame on Drafna!

Behind the Death Ball 3.5Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Behind the Death Ball
Series: ----------
Editor: Alfred Hitchcock
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 155
Words: 58K
Publish: 1974

Whenever I see August Derleth’s name in these collections, I grimace, because I know I am getting a “Solar Pons” story. Pons is a poorly executed Sherlock Holmes ripoff and Derleth’s story telling just isn’t up to the original. So I grit my teeth, read as fast as I can and try to get it done with, much like eating broccoli. Thankfully, other stories were much better.

Voodoo Doll had an ending I simply did not see coming. I WAS expecting the voodoo doll (it was going to be a toyline) to end up having real power, but when it was given to the little girl who always broke her toys, well, the story ends with one of the creators sitting in a chair while his head is on the other side of the room. It was absolutely ghoulish :-D

The Hitchhikers was also rather ghoulish. It had something like 4-5 double crosses within the story and it was like getting walloped with a couple of left-right-left-right-right in the boxing ring. I did see the final double cross coming, but it was so obvious that I didn’t feel “clever” knowing it was coming. It had that “inevitable” feel more than anything.

The Fat Jow stories, unlike the Solar Pons, are always a good read. I suspect Fat Jow is a ripoff of Charlie Chan, but I am not familiar enough with Chan to know for sure. Jow is a student of human nature and the stories just kind of flow, not a lot of drama. But they still have kick and I like that.

The final story, The Ghost & Mr. Grebner, was amusing, quiet and yet possibly horrific. It didn’t strike me as horrific when I read it, unlike The Hitchhikers. In fact, I thought it was a gentle, amusing end to the collection. A widower is contemplating marriage to a widow and his dead wife’s ghost appears to him and tells him “no”. He argues with the ghost in that distracted, old man way and the ghost goes away. Mr Grebner proposes and leaves the building. Once he gets to the street, he sees a crowd clustered around a body that obviously came from the apartment he was just in. And it ends. So we’re left with that ambiguity of did the ghost somehow force the widow out the window? Is Mr Grebner completely insane and he threw the widow out the window? Is he having hallucinations about everything? We simply don’t know. The entire story is written in that distracted old man way. He doesn’t question talking to his wife’s ghost, he’s more concerned about what is for dinner. It’s a very mellow story and I thought it was a great book end to this collection.

★★★✬☆

Publisher’s Blurb & Table of Contents
Any artist is only as good as his audience. That master orchestrator of terror, Alfred Hitchcock, is no exception. What good is his fearful brand of fiendish fun if he's no nerves to twist, no teeth to set chattering, no vocal chords to strum into high notes of terrified hysteria? That’s where you come in, dear reader. Just put yourself in his skillful hands. He’ll give you a screaming good time with personally selected stories & novelettes by masters of menace & the macabre

1. Perfect Shot-Lawrence Treat

2. The Amateur Philologist-August Derleth

3. The Glint-Arthur Porges

4. The Seventh Man-Helen Nielsen

5. Voodoo Doll-Henry Slesar

6. A Friendly Exorcise-Talmage Powell

7. Many Women Too Many-C.B. Gilford

8. Till Death-Fletcher Flora

9. The Hitchhikers-Bruce Hunsberger

10. Store Cop-Ed Lacy

11. Doom Signal-John Lutz

12. See What’s in the Bag-Hal Ellson

13. Fat Jow & the Walking Woman-Robert Alan Blair

14. The Ghost & Mr. Grebner-Syd Hoff

• All of My “Alfred Hitchcock” Reviews

A Kiss Before Dying (Standalone) 1.5Stars

 

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 by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: A Kiss Before Dying
Series: ----------
Author: Ira Levin
Rating: 1.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 268
Words: 79K
Publish: 1953

I hated almost every second of this book. It was Levin’s debut novel and while his talent was top notch, his choice of material made me sick. We follow the trail of a psychopath as he murders his way through a family because he’s trying to marry into said family for their money. What really set me off was the first murder, where the main character pushes his pregnant girlfriend off of a tall building. That’s when I knew I was in for a bad time.

I think I reacted so strongly against this book because more attention is given to Bud Corliss, the murderer than anything. While some may claim that Levin isn’t glorifying such behavior because Corliss dies at the end, I find that fatuous given that Levin decided to make Bud the main character. It made me sick when we got into Bud’s head.

I regret reading this and I will be assiduously avoiding Levin’s works from here on out.

★✬☆☆☆

From Wikipedia

Burton “Bud” Corliss is a young man with a ruthless drive to rise above his working-class origins to a life of wealth and importance. He serves in the Pacific in World War II, and upon his honorable discharge in 1947 he learns that his father was killed in an automobile accident while he was overseas.

The most pivotal moment in his life occurs during the war, when he first wounds, then kills, a Japanese sniper, who is so terrified that he wets his pants and begs for mercy. Corliss is elated by the total power he holds over the soldier; at the same time, he is disgusted by the man's display of abject terror.

Upon returning to the U.S., he enrolls in college and meets Dorothy Kingship, the daughter of a wealthy copper tycoon. Seeing an opportunity to attain the riches he has always craved, he becomes Dorothy's lover. When she tells him she is pregnant, however, he panics; he is sure that her stern, conservative father will disinherit her. Resolving to get rid of Dorothy, he tricks her into writing a letter that, to an unknowing observer, would look like a suicide note, and then throws her from the roof of a tall building. He runs no risk of getting caught, having urged Dorothy to keep their relationship a secret from her family and friends. He continues to live with his mother, who dotes on him and has no clue as to what he has done.

Corliss lies low for a few months until the press coverage of Dorothy's death has subsided. Then he pursues Dorothy's sister, Ellen, who does not know he was Dorothy's boyfriend. The romance is going according to plan until Ellen begins to probe into Dorothy's death, convinced her sister did not kill herself. Eventually, Ellen uncovers the truth about Corliss and confronts him. Corliss nonchalantly confesses to the crime and kills Ellen as well.

Unfazed by this setback, Corliss courts the last remaining Kingship daughter, Marion. This affair is the most successful; Corliss sweeps her off her feet and charms her father, and soon he and Marion are engaged.

Local college DJ Gordon Gant, who met Ellen during her investigation of Dorothy's death, begins investigating the case, and is immediately suspicious of Corliss. He breaks into Corliss' childhood home and steals a written plan for meeting and seducing Marion to get her family's money. Days before the wedding, he shows up at the Kingship family home and presents Marion and her father with the evidence of Corliss' deception.

Marion, her father, and Gant all corner Corliss during a visit to one of the Kingship family's copper manufacturing plants, threatening to push him into a vat of molten copper unless he confesses his crimes. When they refuse to believe his protestations of innocence, Corliss panics and wets his pants – just as the Japanese soldier, his symbol of pathetic cowardice, had done. He begins to confess, then, delirious with fear and shame, falls to his death in the vat below. The accusers, whose threat was only a bluff, return home in shock. They face the prospect of explaining the incident to Corliss' mother.