A little bit of Paradis

Paradis | November 25, 2009

Just  a few plot notes on some of Dickens’ books:

David Copperfield

Dickens always considered David Copperfield his best work, and his favourite.
David Copperfield concerns the growing-up of a boy, who, orphaned at an early age, experiences considerable hardship. He is ill-treated by his stepfather, Mr. Murdstone, then forced to work under appalling conditions in a London warehouse. This is a marked contrast to his idyllic early childhood, before the re-marriage and death of his gentle mother.

David’s life improves greatly when he runs away from his job to seek out his Aunt, Betsey Trotwood. She sends him to school and arranges for him to board with kindly lawyer, Mr. Wickfield, whose daughter, Agnes, proves to be a good friend to David. Once his education is completed, David is articled in law and meets Dora, whom he loves passionately and marries.

The main action of the plot concerns Mr. Wickfield’s clerk, Uriah Heep, who is both ambitious and malicious. Heep secretly plots his employer’s riun. Once his wicked schemes are exposed, it only remains for David, now an accomplished writer, to find true fulfilment. When Dora dies, David turns to Agnes for comfort. She has quietly loved him all along and, by the end of the book, David has matured enough to return her love.

A Christmas Carol

Scrooge sits in his counting house ignoring the sounds of Christmas Eve. His nephew Fred invites him to Christmas dinner, but Scrooge rudely refuses. Christmas is humbug, he declares. He even begrudges giving his clerk, Bob Cratchet, the day off.

Back at home Scrooge sits by a meagre fire. The ghost of Scrooge’s long-dead partner, Marley, appears to warn him of the dreadful life after death. Three spirits will visit, says Marley, and offer Scrooge a chance to avoid eternal wandering. Marley departs and the first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past, arrives. Scrooge is transported back to his youth, when he enjoyed Christmas to the full. Scrooge’s old heart begins to soften.

Scrooge then meets to Ghost of Christmas Present who takes him to the Cratchits, who are celebrating despite their poverty, then onto his nephew Fred, who is making merry, and then to festivities across the globe. Now comes Scrooge’s third visitor: Christmas Yet To Come. It shows Scrooge his unlamented end, his death a blessing to his debtors.

Scrooge awakes on Christmas morning and, having fully repented of his past life, he rushes to make amends: he sends the Cratchits a turkey, goes to Fred’s party and next day raises Bob Cratchit’s salary.

Great Expectations

Pip, an orphan, is being brought up by his sister and her husband, Joe, a blacksmith. They live on the Kent marches. with prison ships nearby. One night Pip meets Magwitch, an escaped convict, who coerces him into bringing him food and a file. The next day, soldiers come in search of Magwitch, find him fighting with another escapee and recapture them both.

Soon after a strange recluse, Miss Havisham, invites Pip to play with her young ward, Estella. Pip falls in love with Estella who scorns him. When a lawyer, Jaggers, tells Pip that he has “great expectations” as a secret benefactor is to pay for him to become a gentleman, Pip thinks the benefactor is Miss Havisham. He goes off to London ignoring Joe and the maid Biddy who have both been devoted to him.

Many years later when Pip is a man of 23, Magwitch suddenly appears again. As a convict in Australia he made his fortune, and risks his life in returning to see Pip. Magwitch reveals that it is he who is the provider of Pip’s wealth, in gratitude for Pip’s help on the marshes so many years before. Pip tries to organise Magwitch’s escape, but in vain, and Magwitch dies in prison. Pip learns that Estella is Magwitch’s daughter and that the second convict on the marshes was Compeyson, the man who deserted Miss Havisham so long ago.

Joe marries Biddy and Pip goes abroad. Later he meets Estella whose life is in ruins. Pip and Estella are both wiser, but their future, together or apart, is left a mystery.

Oliver Twist

Orphaned at birth, Oliver must endure the cruelties of workhouse life before being apprenticed to an undertaker. Here, he is treated little better than a slave and so runs away to the city, where he is adopted by the evil Fagin and his family of pickpockets.

Oliver is soon arrested, although innocent, and is taken in by kind Mr. Brownlow, only to recaptured by Nancy, the lover of housebreaker Bill Sikes. When Oliver assists Sikes in a robbery, he is shot in the arm. Again he is rescued from the streets – this time by the compassionate Rose and Mrs. Maylie.

Despite living in the country, Oliver is hunted down by Fagin and a tall, gaunt stranger called Monks, who later turns out to be Oliver’s half-brother. But Nancy betrays their plotting and is murdered by Sikes.

The net then closes in on Sikes and Fagin. The rest of the book unravels the mystery of Oliver’s birth: he is found to be related to his benefactor, Mr. Brownlow. No longer a pauper and an orphan, Oliver lives happily ever after.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The unfinished novel Dickens was working on when he died The Mystery of Edwin Drood was the fifteenth novel of Charles Dickens. Dickens was only halfway finished with the book when he died leaving it to become the biggest mystery ever.

Possible Endings
There is much speculation about how The Mystery of Edwin Drood was to have ended. Dickens didn’t leave any notes so no one will ever really know what he intended.

One of the most popular beliefs is that John Jasper, Edwin’s uncle, is the murderer. Jasper lead the double life of a choirmaster and opium addict. He was also in love with Rosa Bud, the woman his nephew was to marry.
Conversations Dickens had before he died support this theory. Dickens good friend, John Forester, said Dickens told him that Jasper had indeed murdered Drood. Dickens’s son, Charley, also stated that his father told him Drood really was dead.

Some people speculate that Edwin Drood, like John Harmon in Our Mutual Friend, wasn’t really dead. The fact that Edwin’s body was never found adds weight to this theory.

Paradis

Category: Books to Read |
Tags: Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Dickens, Edwin Drood, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist

Paradis | October 21, 2009

The story is about Boone, a man who is told by his psychotherapist, that while under hypnosis he admitted to several gruesome killings. The man goes into hiding, fearing his own sanity, ending up in a cemetery filled with half human monsters known as the Nightbreed…

Clive Barker tells a tale of Midian, a dark underworld, located under the cemetery, where the Nightbreed are found. This is where you can have immortality, where everything you dreamed of can come true…at a price.

Boone has been having nightmares and visions of the Nightbreed, he can’t get them out of his head, so he goes to a phsyciatrist to try and find out why these visions are happening, thinking he is going mad. Some madman at the local hospital tells him of Midian, the place where the Nightbreed are to be found. When Boone, accused of being a serial killer, is shot dead outside the gates of Midian, he becomes the last hope for the Nightbreed. They resurrects him and give him the name, ‘Cabal’ and he becomes their messiah.

This is one of the finest Clive Barker book you will ever read. The characters are very detailed and the plot is gripping, it twists and turns so much, you really do not know what to expect next. Barker paints a picture where good and evil are not so very different. It makes a statement about the state of the world, that deep down, Humans are monsters too.

Cabal, was later released as a film named “Nightbreed”, written and directed by Clive Barker, the author of the book. The film was not a scratch on the book. How could it be? the book’s story relies on thoughts. This is it’s engine, and it is hard to translate that into a movie successfully. This is why so many movie adaptions fail and a good book is (in my opinion) far superior. The one good thing about a novelist scripting and directing his own work is that he knows it very well, and knows how to treat it.

This book is a tale of horror to rival Stephen King’s finest. Shame then it is such a short book. The Nightbreed seem in the beginning, terrifying but as you absorb yourself into the book, you pity them. The story flows along, and you just can’t help but keep turning the pages. Without giving away the plot, I can say, it isn’t the Nightbreed who are the real evil, there is something far more sinister a lot closer to reality. If you find yourself a copy of this great book, pick it up and read it. You won’t be disappointed.

Paradis

Category: Books to Read |
Tags: Barker

Paradis | October 19, 2009

‘In the beginning Eru, the Supreme One, created other beings like himself (The Valar) Then he began creating Middle Earth by singing a song, which formed into reality…

…The Valar sang in harmony with him, and all was good. But Melkor (also sometimes called Morgoth) began to sing his own song out of harmony with Eru’s. Eru sang more powerfully, drowning out Melkor’s song’.

There are those that would say, reading the Silmarillion is as much fun as chewing cardboard, or watching paint dry, but I found it fascinating and beautiful, and although I have always loved LotR, it is the Silmarillion that sets Tolkien apart. The Silmarillion is a far better work of imaginative fiction than LotR and The Hobbit combined.

It is very dense and difficult at times, more like a history book than fiction, but the stunning imagination in some of the scenes are far more than anything found in the LotR, rather like finding some ancient tome, that describes the very beginning of time itself.

I think you really have to be a Tolkien fan to appreciate the Silmarillion, but it isn’t the hard book that people think it is. I guess it just depends what you are expecting from it. Yes, the first 40 or 50 pages are tough to digest, and that is where most people will give up, but if you persist with it, it does get better and I am sure you will like it a lot.  It is more like an epic encyclopedia, full of myth and legend, but with small stories embedded in it, that unravel the mystery of Middle Earth. It is a touching epitaph of Tolkien’s imagination and took him all his life to finish, and with the help of his son Christopher, after Tolkien’s death, the book became a reality.

The great thing about the Silmarillion, is the fact that all the stories and events that are recorded in it, give the history to LotR, so that suddenly it all comes together and you understand everything in LotR far more. It was his life’s work and it contained the tale that meant the most to him, Beren and Luthien.
The book starts by describing the beginning of the world, involving an omnipotent god who ruled the universe. Lesser gods who created the music which brought Middle Earth into existence, served under him, and the greatest of the lesser gods was Melkor, who became envious of his master’s works.

The rest of the Silmarillion is all about Melkor, later renamed Morgroth, and Sauron, his strongest underling and the creation of the rings of power and Middle Earth, not forgetting the home of the gods, Valinor. The book focuses on the elves and their expulsion from Valinor, for Kin slaying (Elves killing other Elves) We also get a brief description of the Istari (The Wizards) and see how a rift develops between the elves and the dwarves.

The Silmarillion is about the creation of the first age of Tolkien’s world, a world shaped by both good and evil gods and is set before the Lord of the Rings.
Do you want to know why the Balrogs were created, who Elrond really was? How Gandalf got his power or how Sauron came to power and what the land of Valinor is?

Well, I am not going to tell you, the answers are in the book, read it. There are so many little tales about the First Age, the elves, and their battles against Morgoth the original Dark Lord (Who makes Sauron look like the local vicar by comparison), and his Balrogs and Dragons. if you persevere through those opening pages, you won’t regret reading it. But be warned, it is not a happy book, in fact it is quite a tragic works. You really need to read LotR first, before ploughing into this work, but having said that, the stories contained in The Silmarillion do not clash or run into those in LotR.

My only nit with this book, is there are far too many characters to keep up with, so many tales, so much information, such a long time span, that it all gets a little overwhelming. Whole centuries can disappear in a sentence, due to the vast scope of time covered in this book.

My last word on the book is; Feanor, (the Elf who made the Silmarils, thus causing all the trouble) has a whole lot to answer for.

Paradis

Category: Books to Read |
Tags: Tolkien

Paradis | October 18, 2009

Shea Ohmsford  lives in the peaceful town of Shady Vale. One day, when his adopted brother, Flick, brings a strange Druid to town, Shea finds himself drawn into an adventure quest to save the world. Never would his life be the same again…

The mysterious stranger, a legendary druid named Allanon, reveals to Shea, a half-elf and adopted son of a humble innkeeper, that he is the last of the bloodline of Jerle Shannara, a great elven king. A chain of events ensues, that will have them fighting for their lives in order to find the mystical Sword of Shannara, and to face the ultimate evil,  the Warlock Lord.

Theres one very interesting concept to this story:
We are led to the conclusion that this world of magic is meant to be the future of our world, the result of a nuclear holocaust or mass destruction.

‘But it has a medieval setting’, I hear you say, ‘with primitive technology’
‘Ahh’, I reply, ‘If you read the book properly, and didn’t skim the pages, you will have read the bit where a character talks about a past time when Humans mastered science and power, and ended up destroying most of the life on the planet’.

There are many hints throughout the book, Intriguing sentences such as: ‘But while man worked all those years to discover the secrets of life, he never managed to escape his overpowering fascination for death’, and, ‘When man first discovered remnants of this lost race, they called them Dwarfs, after a fictional race of the old days’, and, ‘Man was almost completely destroyed and even the geography he had known was completely altered, completely reconstructed’.

Back to the plot: Allanon tells Shea that the dead Warlock Lord, an ex-Druid, is plotting the downfall of the world. The only weapon that can stop the Warlock Lord is the Sword of Shannara which can only be wielded by a true heir of Shannara. Allanon convinces Shea  to proceed with the quest to recover the sword and save the world. The Druid, very secretive and mysterious, as most Druids are, gives Shea some magical Elfstones to protect him on his quest.

This was Terry Brooks’ first Shannara novel, and now the series has spawned another eight books to date. A very enjoyable novel, with all the familiar races from other fantasy novels here, like elves, dwarves, trolls and gnomes. Brooks has used the standard cliche of good versus evil. Many people compare the plot of The Sword of Shannara to The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien, but don’t go thinking this is the same story, it isn’t.  My tip: don’t try comparing this to LotR, just read it and enjoy, and after you finish, definitely give the second book in the series, Elfstones of Shannara, a go.

The Sword of Shannara is one adventure after another. Shea must defeat the evil Warlock, and save the world, but to do that, he will need to find the only weapon capable of helping him, the fabled sword of Shannara, and so a quest is set in motion. Ok, so the plot isn’t an original, but there are only so many tales to tell, and many stories are the same basic plot told differently, but Brooks has managed to come up with a winner. I have to say, this 726 page novel is an excellent read. Terry Brooks brings the world of Shannara to life, from Shady Vale to Skull Mountain, from the city of Tyrsis to the Dragons Teeth.

Pick up the book and immerse yourself in the atmosphere he has created for you. You will like this a lot. I found the tale very nice, even if I had heard the premise before. I especially liked the subtle way Brooks tells you about the ‘original world’ throwing hints in your direction to help you understand that though this story has a medieval flavour, it doesn’t mean it is the past as we know it. It is the future, yet still medieval. An odd quirk to the story.

Paradis

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Tags: Brooks

Paradis | October 17, 2009

In a world where everyone is controlled and everything is decided for you, the main character, Winston Smith relies on his subconscious to maintain his sanity…

When George Orwell wrote 1984, just a year before his death, even he could not have imagined how much influence this book would have, indeed this book is school required reading in the UK, just as Shakespeare is. The words ‘Big Brother’ have almost become part of our culture, but you can’t truely know what that term means without reading this book, 1984 is the epitome of big brother.

The protaganist in this story, a middle aged man named Winston Smith, has a job that involves rewriting the past for the Party so that it is consistent with current policy. He constantly dreams about his utopia and past events and is a very confused character, and thinks he is losing his mind. The dreams and fantasies that Winston has, keep him in a positive state of mind; it is because of this that the Party does not overpower him. Winston’s memory is what sets him apart from others. The Party has failed in making him believe their lies. He has won so far, by remembering the truth and trying to remind others of how things were before the past was rewritten. He joins a secret organisation working against the Party, not wanting to give up the possibility that the Party could be destroyed. Winston knows that the Party is wrong and unjust, but he cannot let anyone know what he is thinking…or can he?

Everything in the world is owned and controlled by the ‘Party’, they know all, and they see all. The Party rules Oceania, one of three superstates in the world of 1984, and is constantly battling the other two states of Eastasia, and Eurasia. The Party manipulates its citizens into convenient modes of thinking. However, instead of only using propaganda techniques it uses Newspeak, the official language of Oceania, and its purpose is abolishing all unorthodox and free thought.

The narrative can sometimes be a little monotonous, but it is certainly a great read. On a personal note, I think the moral of the story is: trust our gut feelings and believe in yourself. Don’t let people change your individuality, and it is very important to find strength in yourself and in the relationships you have with others. This was a very enjoyable book and reminds us of what has gone wrong, what can go wrong, and what will go wrong when governments becomes all powerful. It is because of this political and social insight that 1984 has remained one of the best books of all time.

Paradis

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Tags: Orwell

Paradis | October 17, 2009

This Discworld story opens with a legend: that the world is flat and supported on the back of four elephants who themselves are on the back of a giant turtle. Back in the mists of time, a fifth elephant came hurtling in through the atmostphere and crash-landed with enough force to “split continents and raise mountains.” The legend has special meaning for this entry in the Discworld saga, for the dwarves are about to crown a new Low King.
Lord Vetinari orders Sam Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork city watch, to go as ambassador to the new Low King’s coronation. So along with his wife, a troll, a female dwarf and an administrative assistant Vimes reluctantly leaves Ankh-Morpork.
The usual motley cast of Discworld characters are in The Fifth Elephant, werewolves, dwarves, twelve step vampires, even a cameo appearance by Death. The nice thing about Discworld is that you can jump in anytime, it doesn’t matter that The Fifth Elephant is Pratchett’s hundredth foray into this satirical society [a slight exaggeration there, but I think you know what I mean] The point is, you will enjoy it anyway. Whether you are a fan and have read them all or not. One a personal note, I am not a great fantasy reader, and satire isn’t really my thing. But I found it mildly entertaining.

Paradis

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Tags: Pratchett

Paradis | October 17, 2009

Sam Vimes has spent years keeping the peace and has finally become a Duke in the sprawling city of Ankh-Morpork. A former Lance Corporal in the Night Watch, the city’s police force. Vimes learns a highly intelligent killer by the name of Carcer has been cornered in part of the city. While pursuing Carcer, both Vimes and Carcer are caught in a magical storm that deposits them in the past.
So begins the chase in Terry Pratchett’s 27th installment in the Discworld series. Fans of the series will enjoy the peek into returning protagonist Sam Vimes’ past. Those readers unfamiliar with Discworld will enjoy the humour and the time-travel puzzle Vimes is faced with in the book. In the city of his youth, Vimes finds himself having to subdue Carcer, while ensuring that history stays intact. This is made all the more difficult by the rebellion that is set to explode at any moment in the city, a city that is protected by a corrupt, Night Watch.
Pratchett’s cast of characters, as usual, are colourful and memorable, from the broom wielding monks who monitor time, to the doctor whose clientele list is almost made up of ladies of the night. Pratchett is at his best when he places his characters in impossible situations and plays their inner turmoil against their actions.

Paradis

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Tags: Pratchett

Paradis | October 17, 2009

The Colour Of Magic is the very first novel in what is a very large series of books by Terry Pratchett about Discworld, a disc-shaped world which is on top of four giant elephants who stand on top of a giant turtle crawling slowly through space. Sounds absurd? It is, and very funny too. A must if light fantasy is what you are after. If you read this and enjoyed it, then you will be hooked and may go on to read some of the other books that follow in the series, of which there are many.
The story concerns many of the inhabitants of the Disc and include a contrary wizard named Rincewind, who is banished from the Unseen University for messing, up his spells. One of which gets embedded in his mind. Enter Twoflower, a tourist who owns a chest of gold named Trunkie, that has a life of it’s own and ambles around with the pair. Rincewind shows this guy around the Disc thinking he could maybe get rich quick and take advantage of him. But he is given orders to protect him and not let anything happen to him being as he is the Disc’s first tourist and all that. So Rincewind gets stuck with being a tour guide for this guy and they travel together all around the Disc.
Where else would you will meet rocks that stroll along by themselves, a seven foot skeleton named Death, Trolls, witches, and a monkey for a librarian? Everything on the Disc has a life of it’s own. For your own safety you should not travel without a guide. The Colour Of Magic is a good introduction to the Discworld series.

Paradis

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Tags: Pratchett

Paradis | October 17, 2009

For the newcomer, the Discworld can be a fatally confusing planet. From the great city of Ankh-Morpork, to the distant Ramptop Mountains and the mysterious Counterweight Continent, the Discworld is a place where Death waits around every corner… For safety’s sake, you need a guide to show you around.
Ankh-Morpork, City of One Thousand Surprises, according to the famous publication by the Guild of Merchants…

The Discworld Companion by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs
Terry Pratchett, chronicler and Stephen Briggs, cartographer of the Discworld, have produced a definitive guide to the flat planet, its geography, its flora and fauna, its architecture and customs, and its personalities. What does Death keep on his desk? How are the kings of Ankh-Morpork different from the kings of Ankh? Everything the Discworld traveller needs to know is contained within these pages.
Now travellers on this circular world can see it all, from Klatch to the Ramtops, from Cori Celesti to the Circle Sea. The great cities of Al Khali and Ankh-Morpork are placed with loving care upon this world which is carried through space by A’Tuin the Great, a giant turtle.
Magic glues the Discworld together and a lot of it ends up in Lancre, principal Kingdom of the Ramtop Mountains. The Ramtops supply Discworld with most of its witches and wizards. The leaves on the trees in the Ramtops move even when there is no breeze. Rocks go for a stroll in the evening. Even the land at times seems alive. And remember: NVNC ID VIDES, NVNC NE VIDES (Now you see it, now you don’t) For those unfamiliar with Discworld, it’s the old school motto.
Plenty of well laid out facts about everything to do with the Discworld and everyone in it. Whether you are a big follower, or just a curious onlooker as I am, it is worth the cash. It also has a lot of very nice pencil drawings adorning the pages too. So if you see it, buy it. It is certainly worth a read.

Paradis

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Tags: Pratchett

Paradis | October 17, 2009

War of the Worlds, written by H G Wells in 1898, was a post Apocalyptic tale of a Martian invasion. Now more than a hundred years old, this masterpiece about the possible extinction of the human race, deals with a theme that humans have been wondering for many years. Is there life on other planets?

Well, in this book, there are, and they are technologically advanced, and they have landed on Earth. The Martians are evacuating their own planet because its resources are depleted, they no choice but to find another planet to live on, and they arrive in England, just outside London to be more precise, and go on a 15 day siege, a rampage of destruction, it seems nothing can stop them as they spread fear and death across the planet.

At first the Martians go about their business, leaving the Human’s alone, taking no notice of them, but soon they turn hostile as they kill a big crowd of people with their deadly heat rays, as the Humans gather inquisitively around the Martian craft. The Martians are weak under Earth’s higher gravitation, they enjoy the oxygen rich atmosphere on Earth and use100 foot tall tripod, rapid moving machines to get around.

The Earthlings put up a brave fight, but seem powerless against the might and force of the more advanced aliens, but as we all know, Human’s are known for their fighting spirit, and if there is a way, they will find it, and in the end, the answer lies right under their noses (No pun intended). These pesky little invaders are not so tough against Earth’s bacteria and germs, and eventually they fall prey to the common cold and capitulate.

The novel begins with the voice of a narrator relating to it’s readers that ‘No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s…’ This opening sentence is enough to make you want to continue already, as Well starts to unwind the story for you. A story that was way ahead of it’s time. When you think that this was written in 1898, I guess it is even more fantastic, as Wells talks of Martian enemies and world domination by alien blobs, with tentacles, weilding lasers. What imagination this man had.

The War of the Worlds has been translated into many languages, and has inspired many film makers and novelists, and has experienced a dramatic success, becoming one of the most influential science fiction books ever written. It has also spawned many comic books, radio, film, stage, and even computer games, and on Halloween night in 1938, Orson Welles took the step of broadcasting a version of the novel, adapted and written by Howard Koch, on the radio to six million listeners, and we later learned over one and a half million of those people believed what they were hearing was a real invasion, live on the radio, such was the fear that the tale evoked in peoples minds. What happened that night that made all those people panic? Why did they believe the broadcast to be the real thing? H G Wells instilled fear into his readers, but Orson Welles’ prank instilled almost mass hysteria into his listeners.

Personally, I like this book a whole lot. It is old, it is a classic, and it is good. It may not the best book you will ever read, but it is certainly one of the most influential and well remembered. Full of philosophy and intrigue, culminating in good triumphing over evil. It speaks volumes about the arrogance and ignorance of mankind. At the time of this story’s emmergence, Britain was enjoying the fruits of a large Empire, it was considered a successful and powerful country, yet here, Wells paints a picture of incompetence and stupidity amongst our fellow men.

The back cover tells: ‘They came from outer space, Mars to be exact, with deadly heat rays, and giant fighting machines, and Earth will never be the same’. This is the father of Science Fiction books, and a very important one too, written in great detail, that you can’t fail to take in the atmosphere and the fear as the aliens land, kill and begin their take over of Earth. You will think about this story for a long long time. If you have never read this (Where have you been?) I suggest you get hold of a copy and settle yourself in a corner and read it. You can pick it up very cheaply these days. You will be pleasantly surprised by this detailed, yet simplistic tale.

Paradis

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Tags: HG Wells

Paradis | October 17, 2009

As a fantasy reader when you pick up the first book in an established series like the ‘Riftwar Saga’ by Raymond E. Feist, you know you will be getting a good read. At least seven books make up this series. So a book like Magician: Apprentice is probably a fair bet for when you’re in the mood to commit to a new series…

Magician: Apprentice probably won’t be the best book you’ve ever read, but will likely keep you curious enough to read through the next book, and the next…Magician: Apprentice starts the Riftwar Saga, a collection about the war that rages between two worlds linked only by a magical rift through space and time. The story is set on two planets at war with one another and chronicles the life and times of two characters, Pug and his foster brother Tomas. The story starts in the sleepy little town of Crydee, an outpost in the western province of Midkemia.

The hero of Midkemia is named Pug, the book has elves, dwarves, a treasure hoarding dragon, with the token eccentric magician, scattered with mad kings and nobles. Pug narrowly escapes the embarassment of remaining unchosen on the day of Choosing, when masters of various crafts select adolescent boys of an age for apprenticeships. Kulgan, the court magician, selects Pug for his apprentice. While out riding with the young princess Carline, she is attacked by marauding trolls, Pug’s magic comes to the fore. The trolls die, and the princess is saved, and the Duke of Crydee is grateful enough to bestow on Pug the rank of Squire and the title Forest Keep. Pug suddenly finds himself landed, titled and the object of the Princess Carline’s affections. The besieged keep of Crydee suddenly gains a new defender in one of the strangest ways possible.

Pug gets little time to adjust to his new place in the world. One day Pug and Tomas find a wreck on the coast, the wreck of a whole strange ship, the first signs that warriors from a foreign world have arrived on Midkemia. And so the merciless war begins. At this time Tomas and Pug are on their way with Kulgan and others to get information about the invaders, On their way Tomas gets lost and finds a magic armor. As he puts on the armor a dangerous development starts with his mind and body. Pug and the others get involved in a fight with the Tsuranis, the invading warriors and Pug gets captured and is brought as a slave to the world of the invaders.

You get the feeling that Midkemia is absolutely real. Feist’s novels are descriptive, eventful, and possess a strong sense of adventure that keeps the reader turning pages. Silverthorn is my favorite of the Riftwar series, but they are all very good. If, like me, you are not so big on fantasy, but would like to give the genre a try, then I would recommend this book.

Paradis

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Tags: Feist

Paradis | October 14, 2009

In the year 2000, a large asteroid appears in orbit around the Earth, inside there are manmade chambers, indicating inhabitants had once lived there, and scientists discover that it was made by Earth people…

It is discovered, that the asteroid, called ‘the Stone’, is from the future, though maybe not our own future, The United Nations, NASA, and NATO send explorers to the 300 kilometre long asteroid which had suddenly appeared in our solar orbit. Inside the hollow asteroid exists a vanished human civilization called Thistledown, and a tunnel without end in space or time where the human explorers locate chambers to other worlds and dimensions. These chambers are larger than the asteroid itself and all filled with prairies, cities and lakes that are abandoned. This continuum of chambers, known as the Way, is actually a singularity. The Americans keep to themselves the discovery that the Stone is hollow, not revealling this fact to the Russians or the Chinese nations.

The wonder of this asteroid that is finite on the outside, but has a gateway on the inside to “the way” is absolutely captivating. This is a world where mankind is becoming dependent on computers and implants. Libraries full of books published over a hundred years in the future, claim that the asteroid, named Thistledown, will be launched by Earth. The books are also talking about a major thermonuclear war that nearly destroys Earth – a war which will supposedly start in just a few weeks… massive use of holography and other things that our modern life reflects as an almost certainty for our future, a world on the brink of nuclear war. Though these people are technologically advanced, they are not terribly bright.

There is no main character; the story moves with many characters, alternately concentrating on each one’s place in the story and his or her perspective of the events and goals for the future. Most of our time is spent on the Stone, concentrating on various scientists and military personnel who live and work there.

This book, written in 1985 by Greg Bear, gives a political and social view of the world that may seem outdated, but the underlying issues are still highly prevalent. It is reminiscent of both the Rama saga created by Arthur C. Clarke and the Heechee’s Gateway series by Fred Pohl. Shame that a work so concerned with extra dimensions, has such wooden characters. Overall though, I would reccommend this story to sci-fi fans. This book certainly makes you think on many levels. Also try Eternity, which is the sequel, and Legacy, which is the prequel. Eon is a great read and I was as totally engrossed with it as I was with the Rama saga. An excellent example of world building, with a large cast of characters, and a huge plotline that keeps you guessing for most of the book. There is a wonderful moment in this book when Vasquez discovers the secret of the seventh chamber. A strange ending with a fast pace conclusion.

Paradis

Category: Books to Read |
Tags: Greg Bear

Paradis | October 13, 2009

“I swear sometimes I think I’m crazy, surrounded by these goddam princes making out like life’s perfect and all. That kills me. You can’t ever find a place that is nice and peaceful, because there isn’t any…”

You have probably heard the title ‘The Catcher In The Rye’ by J.D.Saliger, and knew it was a classic. You also probably knew this book when it came out in 1951 it was considered subversive and controversial, and was banned in many places, including America, and that it was the book Mark Chapman asked John Lennon to sign the day he shot him dead, because that caused a lot of TV news about it.

Also it was the book Lee Harvey Oswald had on him when he was arrested. So you probably thought, hmm, someday I will read it and see what all the fuss is about. If this sounds like you, then I am telling you, read it. You will be pleasantly surprised. Since the John Lennon murder, this book has taken some blame for Mark Chapman’s mind on that infamous day, but there is nothing in the book that could be held responsible. It’s a book every teenager can relate to, and those who have passed that age can look back and see some truths in what the protaganist, Holden says. And though it is done as a monologue, it is the extremely interesting. This is a required reading book in UK schools, so it is a surprise to say, this is actually good reading.

The writings of JD Salinger should have taught us the appreciation of human individuality, and this is schoed in Salinger’s real life, when after writing this extraordinary novel, and gaining huge success, thrusting him into the limelight, he turned his back on it all, and went into seclusion. This did not stop people’s fascination on the man, indeed, it is still speculated upon. Despite the fact that he hadn’t published anything since the 60s, JD Salinger has remained a widely read, and highly influential author.

So what is The Catcher in the Rye actually about?

Holden Caulfield, is a confused adoloscent growing up in 50’s New York,  who tells you about what happened to him one Christmas, epitomizing the growing pains of a generation of college students. The boredom, excitement, the depression and philosophy of a sixteen year old is a tough thing to handle. After all, he feels responsibile for the mortality and morality of the whole human race. He tells you all about his dull life and how he hates it. Holden hides nothing, telling us, the readers, all about the range of his emotions. He talks about his school, his friends and family, in fact everthing, including the death of a younger brother that troubles him greatly. After getting expelled from school, he takes a short holiday in New York, before returning home to face his parents, which is the lead up to his nervous breakdown, brought on in part by the pressure of being expected to do well, and what he sees as failure on his part to live up to it all. He doesn’t want to face the thought of turning into an adult, because he sees all adults as fakes. He believes the world is evil and corrupt, and that he is powerless to do anything about this.

In the end, we are left to wonder, whether it is Holden who is going insane, or society which has lost it’s mind for failing to see the hopelessness of their own lives. The story feels all the more real, for the fact that it feels like Holden is actually talking to you, and telling you what is happening. I have read this book twice now, many years apart, and it still feels as fresh now as it did then. It serves as a reminder, of how fragile a teenage mind is, emotions so exaggerated and confusing.

After reading most books, you are usually clear what has happened, but Catcher in the Rye leaves you thinking and wondering about what happened to Holden. Holden told his sister, all he wanted to do, was to be the catcher of little kids in a rye field, saving them from running straight over the edge. He wanted simplicity in his life, he wanted to save the world and the kids in it from all the fake and phoney things that hide the truth.

It really is a simple dream, yet it doesn’t exist for most. A small fact, the use of the word, ‘goddamn’ is documented at around 200 times in this short book. Seemingly one of the Narrator’s favourite words. The title comes from a Robert Burns lyric “if a body catch a body coming through the rye” which the protaganist has remembered wrongly. This book is designed to make you feel uncomfortable, and it does, but it is an engrossing tale. It is telling us, society is intolerant of  the need of the individual for the freedom of self expression, and for the most part, this is true.

Paradis

Category: Books to Read |
Tags: Salinger

Paradis | October 8, 2009

What if we looked back to 60’s America, and saw it split into two sectors, half run by Nazi Germany, the other half run by the Japanese?…

Set in the 60’s on America’s west coast, Philip K Dick’s book, sets out to explore the idea of the Nazi’s winning the second world war. And what a story it makes, a very engrossing tale. The most delicious twist in this story, lies in one of the characters, going by the name of Hawthorne Abendsen, a recluse, who lives in a castle, who writes a best selling scifi book about how it would have been if the USA had won the second world war. An alternate history, within an alternate history.

Now add to the mix, the Nazi’s try suppressing the novel, but it is too popular, and the fact that they don’t like it and want him dead, and you see how this tale is starting to warm up. Hows that for ingenious?

Not only is it ingenious, it is crazy, but it certainly holds the imagination. You see, Hawthorne Abendsen has written his novel with our real history as a ‘what if alternate’ history, yet we know this is the real one. Dick on the other hand, has written the alternate reality, that we know is false, yet appears real. The point is, no form of history is reliable, all is relative. Dick suggests that any history is fundamentally unreal.

Can you imagine the Mediterranean drained and being used as farmland? Or almost all the blacks being erased? How about astronauts on mars? How about legal slavery? Dick uses thoughts and ideas that are not too far off in our own time and world, and twists them until they squeal, yet the reader is never pulled into the unbelievable.

The Japanese who hold one half of America, are the defenders of humanity and civilization against the Nazis, and seem to have a penchant for collecting American memorabilia, so it stands to reason, there will be a market for forgeries, and some make a living making and aging modern Colt guns to sell to the Japanese.

As usual in Dick’s books, there are some complex characters and solid dialogue in this book, ordinary people caught up in extreme conditions.  We see the world through their eyes and experience the horror of Nazi fascism, where everyone, except the Nazis, consults the “I Ching,” “The Book of Changes,” at every opportunity, an ancient Oriental oracle, seemingly revealing the order behind the chaos. Dick says, he did something like this in writing his book “The Man in the High Castle,” too.

So Dick explores the idea of whether historic items are tangible things, or just something in your head, for example, if you have two of those guns, a real old historic one, and a modern day, ‘aged’ one, unless you know for a fact which was which, how does it become the historic one and therefore worth more. Dick’s idea is, it is worth more, because in your mind, you think it is worth more. There is no magic to it, nothing different about these items.

The message of this bizarre book suggests that history comes back into balance when events threaten to destroy the world, not just the future changes, but the past changes as well. Hawthorne Abendsen, the author within the book, says he wrote his book to show that the Germans and the Japanese did not win the war, even though history says they did. This leaves us wondering whether the history we think we know, might be untrue, even if it is factual. One thing to remember, this book won’t give you a solid ending, it doesn’t end, it leaves the door open, the way you arrived.

First published 1962, this is 249 pages of pure joy. Philip K Dick is a brilliant writer, and excels himself in this Hugo Award winning, alternate history tale. There are many alternate history tales out there now, but when this was written, and it was considered one of the forerunners. This was Philip K Dick’s attempt at being taken seriously. A pure classic, a masterpiece  that deserves a place on your shelf. I feel this is one of Dick’s best works to date.

Highly Recommended.

Paradis

Category: Books to Read |
Tags: Philip K Dick