Monday, March 28, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - The Well of Darkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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I've just started book 4 of The Gandalara Cycle, and I'm still thoroughly enjoying the series!  I'm going to try to get some more reviews up later this week, so stay tuned!!

The Tease:
"I woke up to a sense of panic. The cloud layer above us was luminous with the spreading waves of color that marked sunrise in Gandalara, and a sleek shadow wheeled overhead." -The Gandalara Cycle: #4 The Well of Darkness, by Randall Garrett & Vicki Ann Heydron

What's your Tease?

Book Review - Flood, by Stephen Baxter

Flood, Stephen Baxter, 03/12/2011, * * * * *

According to the blurb on the front cover, The Washington Post called "Flood," "Horrifyingly Believable."  I was unable to find the actual quote, but if they did in fact say that, then I must wholeheartedly agree.  Stephen Baxter has taken his premise of a worldwide flood and thought out each of the ramifications of the disaster to their logical conclusions, and quite frankly, some of those conclusions are somewhat terrifying.

The primary viewpoint character is Lily, who is one of four hostages who have been held in captivity for nearly five years by various religious and political extremist groups in Spain.  Living in abandoned warehouses and sub-basements, blindfolded whenever they are moved or taken outside, the group has no knowledge of the outside world until they are finally rescued by Nathan Lammockson, a billionaire and owner of the multinational AxysCorp.  Nathan vows to always care for the hostages as they return to the world, and the four  - who've grown close during their years together - also vow to always stay in touch and be there for each when and as needed.

The world they return to is not the world they left.  Technology, climate change, and politics have marched on during their captivity and at first the group seems to be adrift on an ocean of change.  The media blames the incessant rain and flooding in London and around the world on global warming, but only a few days after their release and return to civilization, an earthquake below the ocean floor sends a massive tsunami speeding towards the English coastline, completely overwhelming the already strained flood defenses.  Lily and her friends are caught up in the flood in London, only to be once again saved by Nathan's seemingly endless army of workers, and as the flood waters recede and the city begins to clean up from the disaster, they each become involved in various aspects of Nathan's plans.  Nathan doesn't believe the rising sea levels are only due to global warming; the scientists on his payroll believe all the extra water is coming from somewhere deep within the Earth's mantle, and they predict that the water will continue to rise.

 The story spans nearly 36 years, following Lily and her fractured family and friends as they try to survive the rising waters.  I was amazed at the foresight and forward thinking displayed by the character of Nathan, who could imagine the worst that could happen and how to survive it, but I was simultaneously appalled at his own shortsightedness of how his actions and attitudes affected those around him.  Lily continually and desperately tries to save her sister, niece, and nephew, who never quite seem to grasp the seriousness of the situations they find themselves in.

Hordes of displaced people and species of animals head for higher ground, and entire cities on the move fight over the rapidly dwindling supply of land, food and technology scavenged from the drowning cities.  The rich and powerful create "green zones" on high ground, surrounded by shanty towns of the poor and displaced, but eventually, as these mountain refuges begin to disappear, the surviving populations must transfer to giant floating rafts.

The way that author Stephen Baxter imagines the changes to the planet, the way they affect different areas of the world, and different cultures, were amazing.  From the fractured US government military camps in the Rocky Mountains to the cannibalistic slave farms in the Himalayas, Baxter follows the ramifications and consequences of the choices that humanity makes to survive as civilization dissolves, as religion evolves, and as new generations are born who have never known cities, animals, or land.  By the time I got to the final scene in the novel, where a large number of raft cities have gathered to watch a prominent landmark disappear below the waves, I have to admit I got a little emotional - it was both scary and sad to think that life as we know it could change so drastically and completely within one person's lifetime.  Since I finished reading the novel the day after the Sendai Japan earthquake, and had spent most of the day watching videos of the tsunami and flooding in the coastal cities of Japan, several of the scenes in the book gained an additional impact, such as the flooding of London and New York and the destruction caused in those cities.

I'm giving "Flood" 5 stars.  It's horrific and amazing and scary and wonderful. I don't know that I would ever want to read it again - which is what I usually reserve 5 stars for - but it really is that good.  I am eagerly looking forward to reading the sequel "Ark," which will be available in paperback in May.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

News - Game of Thrones

If you haven't yet seen them, there are new photos available from the Game of Thrones website.  This time they're showing us some of the high-res CGI background landscapes, and they are gorgeous!!  I especially like the Wall, and King's Landing - those two are the best, in my opinion.

Check out the photos here at the HBO website!  They seem to be doing a fantastic job and I can hardly wait until the premiere next month.  Mark your calendars, y'all - April 17, 2011!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - The Glass of Dyskornis

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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So far I'm really enjoying The Gandalara Cycle, even though I'm only on the second book.  I've wanted to read this series ever since I first stumbled across them in the early 1990's, but somehow never managed to.  So far, they're quite good!

The Tease:
"I had strange dreams, filled with the sound of Tarani's humming. When I woke, just after dawn, my eyes focused on the point of a sword, about four inches from my face." -The Gandalara Cycle: #2 The Glass of Dyskornis, by Randall Garrett & Vicki Ann Heydron

What's your Tease?

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Movie Review - Rango, and Beastly

Rango (2011)
PG, 107 Minutes, Animation | Action | Adventure
Director: Gore Verbinski
Stars: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher and Timothy Olyphant
Viewed on 03.11.2011, Rating: * *

The combination of Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp should have resulted in the magical and wonderful creation of an enchanting movie that would be much beloved by all forever and ever amen.  I mean, come on, it's Verbinski & Depp, and we've seen this combination be a winner multiple times now.  Unfortunately, this time around we get Rango, which on the surface seemed like it should be good, but just ended up flat and boring and bad.  So bad.  But not quite bad enough that it becomes good again - just bad.  I'm not even sure that kids would get the jokes or enjoy this story.  Bob hated it, whereas I was merely disappointed, although I must admit I did laugh most of the way through, but not because the jokes were funny, but because they were sooooooooo baaaaaaad!


Beastly (2011)
PG13, 86 Minutes, Drama | Fantasy | Romance
Director: Daniel Barnz
Stars: Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, Mary-Kate Olsen, Peter Krause, Neil Patrick Harris, Lisa Gay Hamilton

Viewed on 03.12.2011, Rating: * * * *

Beastly, on the other hand, I thought was quite good.  Alex Pettyfer plays Kyle, a teenage New York Socialite brat who treats everyone who isn't rich and beautiful like crap.  He's a jerk, a bully, and ass all rolled up into one, but we do see glimpses of someone with a good heart underneath, but he's been taught by his selfish jerk of a father to be an even bigger selfish jerk.  Of course Lindy, played by Vanessa Hudgens, has a crush on him, even though he barely acknowledges her existence.  

Along comes Kendra, played amazingly well by Mary-Kate Olsen, an extremely well-dressed witch, who happens to be his favorite target to torment, and soon she has enough and places a curse on him that turns him as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside, a tattooed and pierced freak, complete with some truly horrible scars.  (The previews and poster - like the one above - actually made the tattoos and scars kind of sexy, but I was quite glad to see that in the actual movie they were pretty awful - open flesh wounds are rarely sexy and I was glad they didn't try to make them so).  One of the tattoos is alive, a flowering rose tree, and the curse specifies that he must find someone to see beyond the exterior and say they love him before one year has passed and the flowers in the tattoo bloom again.  His loving, kind, and caring father (not), played by Peter Krause, immediately ships his son off to a crappy house in Brooklyn where no one will see him, and refuses to ever visit or spend time with his son, instead sending a maid, Zola, to care for him and a blind tutor, Will, (played flawlessly by Neil Patrick Harris) so he doesn't fall behind in school.

After sulking and pouting for months he finally realizes he's beginning to care for Lindy, but is sure that she could never love him (and of course she doesn't recognize him as her crush from school).  As the year end approaches he begs Kendra to give him more time, and when she refuses, he begs her to help the people he cares about (giving Will his sight back and the Zola her family), but she replies that she can't unless he succeeds in getting Lindy to say the magic words.

So I won't ruin the ending, although it's totally predictable, and you know that it will be, but you don't care because the journey is just fun.  I will say that the jerk father seems to get what's coming to him at the end of the movie, which was a very pleasant surprise!  

I completely enjoyed this movie, in spite of, or perhaps because of its' predictability.  Mary-Kate Olsen did a surprisingly good job as the witch (although why someone with her magical abilities and wardrobe was in high school I have no idea), and Alex and Vanessa seem to have good chemistry.  Their acting wasn't the best ever, but they're young and will get better in time, I imagine.  

So while I can't recommend Rango, I do strongly recommend Beastly for the fun factor.

Have you seen either of these movies?  Do you agree or disagree with my ratings?  What's your opinion?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Totally Random Thoughts

1. Why am I so frakkin' obsessed with ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars?  And when I say obsessed, I mean it - I can't stop thinking about it for days after I watch each new episode on Monday nights!  Who the hell is "A", and how does he/she know so much?!?!?!  OMG, you guys!!  The weird thing about the show is that each episode generally has one huge reveal near or at the end of each episode, something that shocks and surprises you, yet that HUGE reveal usually means absolutely nothing and doesn't really go anywhere, and might even be completely ignored for several episodes - all it does is make the mystery even deeper!

But I can't stop watching...

Right now my favorite candidate for "A" is Jenna - I don't believe that she is really blind - OMG, I think she's totally faking it!!  I don't think that it's Ian, because he's way too obvious, although he definitely has something going on and I think he was totally involved in Allison's death, (and I think he's the prime suspect for locking Spencer in the tiny closet), but I don't think he's "A" 'cause it just doesn't seem his style.
Also, I can't decide if the romance/relationship between Ezra and Aria is totally "Awwwwww..." or completely "Ewwwww!"  The responsible adult me thinks that it's totally inappropriate and wrong, but the 12-year-girl who lives in the back of my head thinks it's the sweetest thing ever.

I'm conflicted, y'all.

Oh yeah, Hannah totally needs to kick Mona to the curb!  So. Completely. Annoying.

Ok, I think I'm done obsessing - until next Monday night, at least!

2. Still listening non-stop to "Hold It Against Me."  I cannot get enough of that song! Yes, I'm a Britney fan.  However, I wasn't crazy about "Till The World Ends."   Not sure why, but just didn't really care for it at all.  Also, I'm refusing to listen to any of the other songs until the official release, no matter what.

3. On the same page, I totally dislike Lady Gaga's "Born this Way," both the song AND the video (well, mostly the video - the song may grow on me in time).  Sorry Lady Gaga, I still love you, and I appreciate what you are trying to do with the message, but this was an Epic Fail.  And don't even get me started on the stupid egg...

4. We saw two movies this last weekend, Rango, & Beastly.  I'll try to get reviews up in a few days, but the short version is Rango = Bad, Beastly = Good.  Stay tuned to find out why!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - The Steel of Raithskar

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm posting this way early this week, I know, but I may not have time to do it later.  In other news, this weekend I finished "Flood" and saw two movies, "Rango" and "Beastly" - reviews will be up later this week, if all goes well.  Happy Tuesday!!

The Tease:
"I had made that adjustment. Painfully. Finally. I had been prepared to die.
And now I am alive in another world, young in another world, with another lifetime of experiences - new experiences - ahead of me." -The Gandalara Cycle: #1 The Steel of Raithskar, by Randall Garrett & Vicki Ann Heydron

What's your Tease?

Monday, March 7, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - Flood

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!


The Tease:
"They all looked so similar, Lily thought, male and female, British and American, military and civilian, young and not so young, in their grimy underwear, pasty pale from the lack of daylight, their eyes hollow, their scalps and faces shaved bare.  But they were all white, and all British or American, the categories that made them valuable as hostages." - Flood, by Stephen Baxter

What's your Tease?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - Red Seas Under Red Skies - One more time!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

Ok - I'm starting to feel a little embarrassed that it's taking me so long to read this novel.  It's not that long of a book, and I am totally loving it, so please don't think that the length of time it's taking me to read it has any bearing on whether it's good or not.  It's GOOD!  I've just been busy with lots of stuff that don't include reading.  But I'm almost to the end and so without further ado I present one more Teaser from Red Seas Under Red Skies!

The Tease:
"Even an experienced thief will find occasion to learn new tricks if he lives long enough.  That morning and afternoon, Locke had learned how to properly loot a captured ship. " - Red Seas Under Red Skies (The Gentlemen Bastards #2), by Scott Lynch.

So....What's your Tease?