Who Framed the Micro Reviews?

Sorry. I’m working on a more essay-type blogs for the next few weeks, I swear. But in case you need your mind to be blown right the heck now: when I was at Dollarama the other day, one of the Hallowe’en decorations they had for sale was a plastic SKULL DRUMSTICK. Not like, for hitting drums with, but the chicken-leg kind. Only, instead of plastic meat around the plastic bone, there was a mass of little plastic skulls in the shape of meat. Um… WUT?

Anyway.

IN THIS EDITION: (click on the link to jump to the micro review)

Movies

Cowboys and Aliens (***** – loved)

Books

YA/MG fiction:
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos (**** – liked)
I Am the Messenger (***** – loved)

adult fiction:
A Scholar of Magics (**** – liked)
The Sirens of Titan (*** – enjoyed)
All Clear (**** – liked)
Graveminder (*** – enjoyed)
Midnight Riot (***** – loved)
The Poacher’s Son (*** – enjoyed)

Cowboys and Aliens by Jon Favreau (film, 2011) – This movie is amazing if and only if you’re seeing it: 1) for the very first time; 2) with a bunch of friends who are also seeing it for the very first time; 3) in theatres; and 4) while consuming as much hot, buttered popcorn and soft drink as you can. It’s just… I mean, the title says it all. My friends, my sister, and I think that instead of numbering any sequels, they should just continue to add “and _____s” to the title — as in, the second movie could be: Cowboys and Aliens and Pirates, the third: Cowboys and Aliens and Pirates and Werewolves, etc.

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers (MG fantasy novel, 2007) – I should say that this book set in the Edwardian era is probably a very different experience if, unlike me, you don’t spend the rest of your time reading Edwardian and Victorian sources about the city in which it’s set. In any case, this engaging and fun story is about a clever girl who finds herself saddled with tracking down an ancient Egyptian artifact in order to reverse the curse its removal has placed on the British Empire. I found the ultimate revelations-of-villainous-identities to be a teensy bit predictable; however, the system of magic is intriguing, and once I’m done reading the mountain of books on my living room floor, I’ll be checking out the sequel.

A Scholar of Magics by Caroline Stevermer (fantasy novel, 2004) – This slow but evocative story is all about the atmosphere. During the Edwardian era, Glasscastle University (aka magical Oxbridge) has hired Sam Lambert, a sharpshooter, in order to help develop an imperial superweapon, but when Lambert’s roommate goes missing, he must join forces with his friend’s visiting sister, Jane Brailsford, to find out who’s behind it and why. Though the payoff is a comfortable hearth of embers instead of fireworks, every page is a pleasure.

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott (MG fantasy novel, 2007) – There’s something about opening a children’s fantasy book and finding out that the joint viewpoint protagonists are twins that sends up a red flag for me, possibly because many of the books I read and/or tried to write as a kid stopped the characterization right there (“The boy is the active fun one! The girl is the thoughtful quiet one! Maybe they will solve a mystery together!”) Anyway, our twin heroes get embroiled in a centuries-old struggle between Nicholas Flamel and Dr. John Dee, in which the latter is attempting to unleash old gods on the world and return humanity to servitude. The pacing was great, and I liked the mix of historical figures with the mythologies of various cultures, but I couldn’t quite connect to the characters.

The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut (science fiction novel, 1959) – Thanks, Ken, for recommending this to me! I did like it better than the other Vonnegut novels I’ve read, although I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters. I guess I preferred it because of the slight glint of hope at the end, despite all its petty, unlikeable people. Sometimes I think that the main difficulty I have with Vonnegut is he doesn’t seem to see beauty in anything, and the writers I like best seem to see it in everything (Pratchett, Shakespeare, even Lewis sometimes).

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (YA novel, 2002) – This is a beautiful book until the last chapter. You see: in the first part of the book, a nineteen-year-old cab driver suddenly finds himself getting mysterious cards in the mail with do-gooder missions for him to complete, and the last chapter is where the reader finds out who the cards are coming from. I liked the twist, but many may not; in any case, this book has a great voice, a compelling narrative, and vivid (if not necessarily surprising) characters.

All Clear by Connie Willis (science fiction novel, 2010) – I wouldn’t recommend tackling this book without having read To Say Nothing of the Dog and Blackout first. I’d read the former but not the latter, so I could follow the sci-fi premise but had to trudge through confusing new characters and plotlines for the first several chapters until I could put the pieces together. Regardless, I still love Willis’s unique concept of Oxford historians who live in a world where you study history by going back in time and infiltrating the past, and this careful and subtle story of what happens when three historians get stuck in London during the Blitz was full of vivid characters and fascinating detail.

Graveminder by Melissa Marr (fantasy novel, 2011) – I don’t know what it is, but I can’t seem to find things to grab onto with Ms. Marr’s characters. It’s not that they aren’t well drawn, it’s that we (the characters and I) seem to have little in common. So it’s probably just me who felt like this book held her at arm’s length — otherwise, it’s an original and interesting story about two young people who find themselves thrust into hereditary roles to keep the Hungry Dead from walking in their small town.

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (fantasy/mystery novel, 2011) – Read this.

Okay, it has its problems like any other book, but still…
– great voice coming from funny main character: CHECK;
– science + magic that =/= fail:  CHECK;
– cast of intriguing multi-ethnic characters appropriate to said setting: CHECK;
and
– exciting murder-mayhem-mystery with satisfying conclusion that doesn’t pull punches: CHECK.

The Poacher’s Son by Paul Doiron (mystery novel, 2010) – Our protagonist Mike Bowditch is just settling in to his dream job as Maine game warden when he learns his estranged father is on the lam after allegedly having committed a double murder, with a cop as one of the victims. I liked the evocative setting, peppered with Mike’s knowledge of the wilderness and details that make his life as a warden stand out. But I found the plot itself to be a little too straightforward to really capture my imagination.