Archive for the 'Fiction' Category

Star Wars: The Paradise Snare by A.C. Crispin (1997)

Published by Scott on January 9, 2008 in Books, Fiction and Reviews. 0 Comments

211jlnrwxel_aa_sl110_.jpgOverview
Volume one of the Han Solo Trilogy chronicles the young scoundrel’s rise from an Oliver Twist-like background to his first job as a pilot running illegal spice loads for the priests of a religious cult.

The Good
It was interesting to read Solo’s back story. Fun facts and trivia:

  • As a boy Han befriends a female Wookie named Dewlanna, who later helps him escape from his cruel master’s ship so that he may pursue his dream to become an Imperial Navy pilot.
  • His first love is a young cult member named Bria Tharen. After discovering that disciples are eventually sold into slavery to work the spice mines or Imperial pleasure houses, he tries to help her escape. What a softie!
  • Han has an affinity for hulking, hairy humanoids. In addition to his pre-Chewbacca Wookie relationship with Dewlanna, he becomes friendly with a giant cat-like Togorian named Muuurgh.

The Bad
I stalled out on this one after the Big Escape. There was still a quarter of the book left and it felt like that segment should have been the end. It does pick up and Crispin ties it all together nicely, but I had to make myself finish after a nearly two week layoff.

Bottom Line
Despite being populated by familiar species (Hutts, Wookies, Sullustans, etc.) and locales (Corellia, Alderaan, Coruscant) as well as the usual space ship travel and laser gun play, it somehow didn’t feel especially Star Wars-y. The missing ingredients of politics and Jedi are probably the reason for this. It came across as a straight forward adventure, and not a particularly compelling one, without those elements.

Star Wars nerd rating: 6 / 10

Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron by Michael A. Stackpole (1996)

Published by Scott on December 6, 2007 in Books, Fiction and Reviews. 0 Comments

31ssybmisxl_aa_sl160_.jpg

Overview
Book one in the adventures of the Rebel Alliance’s elite starfighter force. Led by Wedge Antilles, a minor character in Episodes IV-VI, the intrepid daredevils of Rogue Squadron embark on seemingly impossible missions against the evil Empire two-and-a-half years after Return of the Jedi.

The Good
This is a interesting look at the non-Jedi side of the struggle in the Star Wars universe. The Emperor’s defeat didn’t mean that the Imperials suddenly lost their grip on the galaxy. Even without their feared Sith leader they are still very much in control. And while it’s not always exciting to read about the political infighting behind the scenes of the Rebel movement, it’s kind of fun to find out “what happens next.”

Most of the action sequences take place in X-Wing dogfights with Tie Fighters. The odds are of course always stacked against them but at least some of the expendable good guys are killed off before the Rogues’ inevitable successes.

Future Jedi Corran Horn is introduced, with vague hints about his Force wielding destiny. As a former Corellian security officer, he is conflicted about his role as a member of the Rebel Alliance. I was never really sure what the big deal was. Something about how the Alliance was too easy on the smugglers he used to zealously pursue. Despite this dubious motivation, his character was pretty well-developed and I wanted to find out more about him when the book ended.

The Bad
As mentioned above, the politicking behind the scenes could be dull. It was also hard to figure out what exactly was going on in some of the battles. Stackpole uses a lot of military jargon that made all of the surely awesome maneuvers difficult to imagine. Finally, there were strong female characters but unfortunately they were subject to romantic fantasies of adolescent proportions. Here’s my version:

Space Chick #1: My father and Corran’s were bitter enemies. If I would have known it was him I was rescuing, I would have killed him instead.

Space Chick #2: I think he’s hot.

Space Chick #1: Back off, bitch! I saw him first.

Bottom Line
I can’t pretend for one second that this book would be of any interest to anyone but a Star Wars fan. As one myself I thought it was a good read. I have the second book in the series and will definitely check it out some day.

Star Wars nerd rating: 7 / 10

Stuart Little - E.B. White (1945)

Published by Scott on February 13, 2007 in Books, Chatter and Fiction. 2 Comments

006026395401lzzzzzzz.jpgMy boys got a three-pack E.B. White collection for Christmas and we’ve been slogging our way through each of the books. I read this one to them after Charlotte’s Web. It’s an odd story and I didn’t particularly care for it. Stuart Little boosters might describe it as a spirited, whimsical series of adventures involving a free-spirit trying to find his place in the world. “A funny and special story,” says the blurb on the back of a slightly older edition we already had. I would add nonsensical, plotless, and just plain weird to the list of descriptors.

So this Stuart Little character is born into a human family but in size and looks he appears exactly like a mouse. He’s not a mouse though. He just looks like one. Hmm. I imagine his birth must have been a traumatic occasion for Mrs. White. “What the hell is that?!” she probably screamed. “Uh, ma’am, it’s your new baby boy. Congratulations.”

The book chronicles Stuart’s mishaps and adventures, like fishing a ring out of a drain, matching wits with the family cat, driving a toy car, racing a model sailboat, substitute teaching (huh?), and going out on a date with a miniature girl. This last episode was about the only chapter I really enjoyed. Dopey Stuart is so fixated on carrying out his perfectly planned evening that when things go awry he can’t adjust to the situation and ruins what is probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hook up with someone his own size. It’s kind of funny.

As I mentioned, I didn’t think too highly of this book. I had less than kind words to say about Charlotte’s Web in my last post too. You’ve probably figured out by now that I’m not much of an E.B. White fan. My kids liked both stories, especially Stuart Little, so what do I know? They were really caught up in the possibilities that being two inches tall must offer. It reminded them of the PBS cartoon George Shrinks, which they also enjoy.

We’re about two-thirds of the way through The Trumpet of the Swan and I think it’s easily the best of the three White books. Hopefully it will hold up until the end. I’ll report back when we’re finished.

Kat Kong - Dav Pilkey (1993)

Published by Scott on December 26, 2006 in Books, Chatter and Fiction. 2 Comments

0152049509.jpgI could practically start a fan site about Dav Pilkey. The guy is a genius! I’ll save commenting on his greatest contribution to English letters (the Captain Underpants series) for another day, but will instead say a few things about this earlier work.

As you could probably guess from the title, Kat Kong is a retelling of the King Kong story. One thing that is particularly striking about the book is that Pilkey took real pictures of a cat and several mice, his pets I’m guessing, and worked them into the illustrations. Nowadays this is a ubiquitous Photoshop type effect. But for Kat Kong it looks like Dav cut out photos and glued them to his paintings, collage style. It’s very charming and, well, COOL!

Also noteworthy is the humor. Sure, having the native mice on the island offer Kat Kong a can of tuna fish and chanting “Heeeer, Ki-tee Ki-tee!” is amusing. But what really tickled our funny bones when I just read it to my boys were the cat related expressions gags, like when they capture Kong and place him on the ship tied up tightly in a burlap sack, taking special care “not to let the cat out of the bag.” There are a couple of other hilarious bordering on groan inducing incidents that I won’t spoil. Taken together they actually served as a nice prompt for a mini-discussion about idioms. (Yes, we’re nerds.)

If you like this one, be sure to check out Pilkey’s similarly styled book, Dogzilla.

Get Dressed, Santa! - Tomie dePaola (1996)

Published by Scott on December 21, 2006 in Chatter and Fiction. 0 Comments

santas-got-to-go.jpgTomie dePaola has written some great books for children, most notably the Strega Nona series. This board book begins with the narrator urging Santa to hurry up and get ready to deliver toys on Christmas Eve. The jolly fat elf finally dresses and heads out to his sleigh when wouldn’t you know it, he’s got to GO! Santa hightails it back to the bathroom in the St. Nick of time. Fortunately he’s able to take care of business and get back to work without too much delay. Get Dressed, Santa! is cute and funny with some mild pre-K potty humor.

Unnatural Disasters

Published by Scott on December 20, 2006 in Books, Chatter and Fiction. 0 Comments

Here’s a trio of books with a similar unnatural disaster theme. In each one something unusual invades and threatens to destroy the small town in which it is set.

bk20060112104550471l0.jpgCloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
By Judi Barrett, Illustrated by Ron Barrett (1978)

Chewandswallow is like most other towns except for its strange weather: food falls from the sky! This turns from a source of sustenance to one of danger when the portions become ominously large.

Kids eat this book up and it ranks as one of my boys’ all-time favorites. They love to imagine what it would be like if food fell from the heavens. The illustrations are wonderfully detailed and filled with sight gags. The story-within-a-story narrative structure is neat too.

039567347x01lzzzzzzz.jpgBad Day at Riverbend
Written/Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg (1995)

Sheriff Ned Hardy keeps law and order in the quiet little Old West town of Riverbend. “It was the kind of place where one day was just like all the rest.” That is until mysterious stripes of shiny, greasy slime begin to cover everything. The townspeople freak and Sheriff Hardy does his best to figure out the cause of the sinister markings.

This is a pretty dark story with a surprising twist at the end. It’s best the first time through if you don’t know how it plays out. I’ll only say that it neatly resolves itself for the reader, but not for the hapless folks of Riverbend. It’s this sense of ambiguity that makes it somewhat unsettling and extremely memorable.

turkey-creek-monster.jpgThe Great Green Turkey Creek Monster
Written/Illustrated by James Flora (1976)

When I first came across books by James Flora I was struck by his unique art style. His bizarre settings are intricately detailed and characterized by humans and creatures with often grotesque profiles. Turns out Mr. Flora created album covers for jazz artists in the 40’s and 50’s before turning to children’s books. You can check out a bunch of his early here.

The Great Green Turkey Creek Monster is a whimsical tale of a snakelike plant creature called the Hooligan Vine that takes over the town of Turkey Creek, creating mischief and causing the citizens to panic. The vines resemble Richard Scarry’s worms in a way. Turns out the only defense against it is to play the trombone. It’s not the greatest story but the illustrations are fun.

The Marvelous Land Of Oz - L. Frank Baum (1904)

Published by Scott on November 29, 2006 in Chatter and Fiction. 0 Comments

9780064409636.jpgMy boys and I are officially caught up in L. Frank Baum’s classic series. We just can’t get enough! They are truly remarkable works of imagination and hold up quite well a century later. We’re actually reading the fourth book right now but I’ve been meaning to post about this second one while it’s still fresh in my mind.

Baum writes in his introduction that he received so many letters from fans begging for further adventures of their favorite characters in the land of Oz that he had no choice but to give it another go. I think it helped that the book and stage adaptation were financially very successful. I’ve read that Baum wrote The Marvelous Land of Ozwith a future stage version in mind and that’s why it features the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow so prominently. They were the real stars of the first play.

The Land of Oz, as it’s sometimes referred to and published as, is the only book in the series in which Dorothy is absent. In her place as the human protagonist is a boy named Tip. The new, unofficial wicked witch is Mombi, whose magic Powder of Life helps create the perpetually worried Jack Pumpkinhead, trusty steed Sawhorse, and a morose flying monstrosity known as Gump. Also introduced are the Highly Magnified and Thoroughly Educated Wogglebug and General Jinjur, a proto-feminist whose army of knitting needle wielding girls ousts Scarecrow from his position as king of the Emerald City. Good witch Glinda also makes another appearance and plays a key role near the end of the tale.

Plotting is a little looser this time around, but just as in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the heroes gradually meet up with one another. Together they come across fantastic creatures in strange lands and must extricate themselves from a host of scrapes.

One of the most striking aspects of this Oz book is its humor. There are some truly funny verbal exchanges. The Wogglebug, for example, is overly fond of puns, most of them groan inducing, and Tip’s chagrined reactions and subsequent threats are hilarious. And the scene in which Jack Pumpkinhead and Scarecrow first meet each other is pure comic gold. They speak through a translator because after all they are from different lands and therefore must speak different languages. The translator purposefully mangles what they say into insults and they slowly realize that they not only understand each other perfectly well but are in fact speaking the same language!

Another difference I noticed, in comparison to the first book, is the sophisticated language. Young readers would certainly struggle to get through it independently. I’ll guestimate that it’s at least at a fifth grade reading level. As a read-aloud book though it’s well suited for audiences a couple of years younger than that.

Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped At Birth? - Louis Sachar (1992)

Published by Scott on November 28, 2006 in Books, Chatter and Fiction. 0 Comments

n58839.jpgEight year old Marvin Redpost learns from a current events newspaper in class that the King of Shampoon is searching for his red haired son who was kidnapped as an infant eight years ago. Marvin happens to have red hair and looks nothing like the rest of his family. Could he be the lost prince?

The plot is pretty far fetched but Kidnapped at Birth?is the perfect book to generate some critical thinking and discussion for the six to eight year old set. It’s just ambiguous enough for young readers to have to make a decision about whether or not Marvin could actually be Prince Robert. There are some clues that maybe support the remote possibility but plenty of arguments against it.

I read this to my class and most of my students believed that Marvin had been kidnapped as a baby. I had them write a journal entry to explain their position and offer evidence to back it up. It was an excellent activity because it really forced them to think about the events and details from the story. They were excited about it too because each child was convinced that he or she was right.

Most kids failed to pick up on perhaps the most important clue in the story: Marvin only said he was Prince Robert to distract his friends and keep them from fighting. From there he gets caught up in the idea through his peers’ encouragement. I don’t think he ever actually believes he’s heir to the Shampoon throne. But maybe I’m wrong…

The (Wonderful) Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum (1900)

Published by Scott on October 12, 2006 in Books, Chatter and Fiction. 1 Comment

n15441.jpgI’ve been missing out! For some reason I never read this book before. I was of course familiar with the movie but it never occurred to me to check out the story it was based on. I don’t recall anyone ever recommending it and even my wife, who in a lifetime of reading has probably read a hundred books for every one that I have, only vaguely suspects she read it when she was younger. I’m glad I finally stumbled across it because it is truly, ahem, wonderful.

Let me back up a bit and give a little context as to how I finally got around to it. We recently checked out the movie from the library and watched it as a family. My seven year old boys had seen it a few years earlier but didn’t really remember it. I was a little concerned about how my two year old daughter would react because there are a couple of somewhat intense parts for younger viewers. At least the boys were a little scared when they first saw it, but then again they were afraid of a lot of things like motorcycles and vacuum cleaners. Anyway, she was fine and we were all equally enthralled.

It was funny because my boys are used to better special effects. They were quick to point out that Munchkinland looked like it was made of plastic. They also noticed the wires that made the monkeys fly and held up the Lion’s tale. It didn’t diminish their enjoyment at all, but they definitely picked up on it. I had never noticed the wires before but that may have been because I had only seen it on a crappy tv or perhaps the digital restoration made such flaws noticeable. I realize they were probably pretty groundbreaking at the time, but I couldn’t help imagining Beavis and Butthead complaining, “These effects aren’t very special.”

So it was after seeing how much my lads enjoyed the movie that I thought I’d read the book to them. We were very impressed. I mainly read them a couple of chapters before putting them to bed each night but we wanted to know what happened next so badly that we’d occasionally sneak a few chapters in during the daytime.

If you’ve never read it, it’s quite different from the movie. The main characters and their quests for home, brain, heart, and courage are the same but they visit more of Oz’s locales, meet even stranger residents, and face numerous additional obstacles in the course of their adventure. The more whimsical touches, like the Tin Woodman slaughtering forty wolves while the others sleep peacefully nearby, are admittedly quaint. And some of the language, like referring to Oz as a “humbug,” is a bit dated. It’s such a thoroughly engrossing adventure though that such quibbles are barely worth mentioning.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, as it was originally titled, is in the public domain and available for free as an ebook through Project Guttenberg. You’d be doing yourself a disservice reading it that way. Borrow the book from the library or grab a copy from Amazon so that you can also appreciate W. W. Denslow’s fantastic original illustrations. We enjoyed it so much that we’ve moved on to its first sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz.