Well, my birthday was celebrated earlier this week (as to my age, it’s like Faith the Vampire Slayer, five by five) and as these yearly occasions go, it was pretty nice there.
Naturally, I asked for books as presents and received a trilogy that I’ve been hearing great things about on BookTube-in particular from Books Like Whoa and Ellias Reads but no doubt, the fans of Robin Hobb’s fantasy novels are legion.
The Farseer trilogy, which is composed of Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest , introduces us to Fitz, who is the illegitimate son of a prince yet possesses the telepathic power known as Skill that runs through the royal bloodline.
He is allowed to train as an assassin but thwarted in his efforts by those seeking to weaken any potential threats to their political schemes. Fitz also has an ability called Wit that grants him psychic connections to animals, a power that is very much frowned upon by society.
That forbidden power may come in handy, however as a real threat to the throne arises that he may be the only one to stop in time. Yet at what ultimate cost?
This trilogy is the first of five sets of stories known as The Realm of the Elderlings and while I don’t know if I will get to them all, it feels like the right time to give Robin Hobb a try. From the fan love that I’ve seen so far, these books sound like an epic journey worth taking indeed:
For my big day, I went to my local library and the book gods were definitely smiling down on me as I found some recent releases readily available on the shelves.
One of those was Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s latest novel, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. The leading lady of the title is Carlotta, who has lived her entire life on her father’s remote estate in the Yucatán and has grown used to the hybrid beings that his experiments have brought to life.
When her father’s financial backer grows weary of waiting for viable results, his son Eduardo is sent to the Moreau household to investigate and he winds up falling in love with Carlota instead.
She returns his feelings but the future of their relationship depends on the not so good doctor’s true intentions with his complicated creations.
Moreno-Garcia’s take on the H.G. Wells classic should be as creatively engaging and at times as heartrending as many of her wonderful works tend to be. Such a treat to borrow this on my birthday of all days!:
I was able to pair this up with the follow up to Stephen Graham Jones’ brilliant horror movie homage, My Heart is a Chainsaw.
Don’t Fear the Reaper brings Jade-now called Jennifer-Daniels back to her home town four years after the gruesome Independence Day massacre that she was accused of committing.
Cleared legally of those charges, Jennifer plans on starting her life over yet the escape of a justly convicted killer who is making his deadly way towards her promises to put those potential new possibilities on permanent hold. Using her extensive film knowledge to save the day might be even more difficult as it becomes apparent that the killer has done his gory cinematic homework as well.
I really enjoyed My Heart Is A Chainsaw and glad to see the second installment in this terror trilogy out and about. Finding it at the library was such a pleasant surprise, as odd as that may sound, yet a weirdly welcome invitation to meta horror that would a crime to turn down:
The birthday vibes are going strong still as this upcoming weekend, my sister and I are going to a special screening of the 2007 animated adaptation of Persepolis.
I’ve seen this film before (and read both volumes of the graphic novel memoir by Marjane Satrapi) but not in a theater which makes all the difference.
Plus, I can’t help but notice how eerily relevant this tale of trying to survive in more ways than one living under a repressive regime is these days. Yes, I do mean the incessant “culture wars “ that are causing real damage to many marginalized communities in our country right now.
It’s sad that we still can’t learn from the mistakes of the past and head for a better future together without some pathetic fools and manipulators insisting on dragging us back to their twisted version of “the good old days”.
What gives me hope, however, is seeing the determination of the younger generation not to let them
get away with this as well as the support of those of us growing older in these mutually beneficial efforts.
Books like Persepolis have been targeted by censors for showing readers the universality of such struggles and this movie should bolster up many a worn out spirit to take on these challenges with renewed energy. Perhaps by this time next year, my birthday book bliss will have less of these dark clouds on the horizon-never hurts to hope:
Movie monsters never truly die, it seems,especially when their origin stories are based upon books.
Despite notions to the contrary, Dracula and Frankenstein(both doctor and creation) are making their pop culture presence known yet again. This time, however, fresh imaginative twists are given to these creature feature cocktails.
Most recently, we have the horror comedy Renfield which stars Nicholas Hoult as the iconic henchman to the infamous vampire king(Nicholas Cage, who clearly sinks his acting chops into this role).
Renfield has been serving Dracula for decades but now with the assistance of a 12 step group and a new friend (Awkwafina), realizes that he has more to offer in life than bloody blue plate specials to his master. Naturally, his “boss” is not quick to accept Renfield’s resignation and decides to take matters into his own fangs.
So far, the reviews have been positive from audiences and critics alike with the movie making the top five at the opening weekend box office. This certainly sounds like fun and probably worth it just to see Cage in all of his gruesome glory:
For something a bit more seriously scary arriving later this summer, The Last Voyage of the Demeter takes an entire chapter from the Bram Stoker novel to bring to terrifying life onscreen.
As the captain (Liam Cunningham) and crew, which includes a doctor named Clemens(Corey Hawkins) and a stowaway (Aisling Franciosi) , must face the fact the body count on this nautical trip is higher due to a dangerous stranger in their midst, they have to work together against that bloodthirsty foe as well as the sea storms that threaten them all with mutual destruction.
Granted, if you’re familiar with Dracula, how this ends may not be surprising but then again, it is possible that some of these characters manage to live to tell this tale entertainingly well:
Meanwhile, this June brings a modern take on the Frankenstein front with The Angry Black Girl and her Monster.
Laya Deleon Hayes stars as Vicaria, a brilliant teen scientist that decides to test her theory that death is curable by attempting to revive her newly deceased brother via electricity.
The results are more unpredictable than she anticipated and ultimately, Vicaria must find a way to halt the path of destruction that she never intended to make worse for her loved ones.
This movie has garnered early praise on the film festival circuit and this mix of Mary Shelley and modern horror promises to be a hauntingly emotional take on grief as well as the terror of trying to take control of chaos:
With all of the focus that Hollywood gives to rebooting and recreating formerly successful movies and television shows these days, it’s refreshing to see a few folks take up the mantle of reviving the tried and true classics of literature by using a new perspective or two there.
Sure, not every project turns out top notch but points at least trying to add something new to established material ought to be given.
One definite benefit of such artistic attempts is introducing these stories to a whole new generation of readers who may be inspired to create freshly made tales of imagination via film, TV or theater. Even Shakespeare makes everything old new again in this brave new world of ours:
As spring is finally here, it’s somewhat fitting that the last of the first third of my Triple Play books for this year’s Series-ous Reading challenge has an outdoor theme.
Murder in the Secret Garden is the third title in Ellery Adams’ Book Retreat Mystery series, set at the quaint Storyton Hall where a hidden library is under the protection of Jane Steward and the band of guardians known as the Finns.
While those valuable books are not in danger this time around, Jane finds that she has a lot to contend as the resort is double booked for a wedding and a gathering of plant enthusiasts who call themselves the Medieval Herbalists.
Since one of the Herbalists is attending the wedding, the arrangements aren’t too bad at first. However when one of the flora admirers. a free spirited woman named Kira Grace, is found supposedly drowned during a local event, things start to get rather thorny.
When it’s determined that Kira died from poisoning, Jane suspects one of the Herbalists, a celebrity true crime maven who proudly calls herself “The Poison Princess”. While there’s not much evidence of her direct involvement, she’s not well liked within her group and a little too gleeful about the gruesome death details:
Jane and the Finns soon realize that they must look elsewhere for the killer, particularly when a local hermit aka “The Druid” is discovered to be poisoned as well.
The secret garden of the title is grown by The Druid in order to provide natural remedies to those who can’t afford regular medicine and research materials for modern medicinal purposes.
However, his demise occurred not long after the Medieval Herbalists paid an unannounced visit to his private plantings and to find out how his death ties in with Kira’s passing, a few secrets and lies need to be unearthed.
After taking this third trip to Storyton Hall, I have to say that this series is definitely one that grows on you.
Adams is very adapt at creating small communities of characters that feel like folks you’d like to visit and live among on a regular basis.
Having the extra bonus of a secret network of book protectors around to assist in solving the murders that turn up here enhances the various plot points and gives Jane a solid team of hero support to rely on.
Speaking of support, Jane’s love life is fortunately not neglected as suspected book thief Edwin Alcott turns out to be more of an ally than an enemy in that department , making him eligible for a romantic entanglement indeed!
I also like the subtle bookish hints within the stories such as in this entry, two of the supporting characters are reimagined gender swapped versions of the lead from the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic alluded to in the title.
All in all, this trio of Book Retreat mysteries was a fine introduction to this charming corner of Ellery Adam’s literary world that I will return to in the near future:
For my next set of Triple Play reading, I’ll be catching up on Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen Mysteries starting with book six, Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House.
Our Dear Jane is staying with her naval brother Frank to not only support his wife Mary during her first pregnancy but to help save one of his good friends from the gallows.
Captain Tom Seagrave is accused of unjustly killing a French officer during a boating raid and although Frank would benefit by taking over Seagrave’s ship if convicted, he would prefer to save his friend from death and dishonor.
While Jane is only familiar with the navy from her civilian perspective, the keen eye for human folly that she’s developed over time should be a key part in saving one man and perhaps advancing the other’s career.
As Persuasion is one of my favorite Austen novels, this particular book has quite the hold on my interests indeed and it will be interesting to see any potential Captain Wentworth types appear on this horizon:
As I’ve mentioned before, I have been a member of the Book of the Month club for about a year now, which makes me eligible for certain perks now.
Since April is my birth month (I share that particular day with Al Pacino!), BOMC gives me a free book in my regular order and I was excited indeed to receive such an early birthday gift!
My special selection for this occasion was a new release ,Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti. The leading lady of this story and the title is a young woman who went to Hollywood hoping to become a screenwriter but instead finds the closest she can get to stardom is by tending bar at an Oscar party.
At that party, she meets Julian, a big league film producer who has won numerous awards and has at least three ex-wives to his dubious credit. Despite that background, Advika is swept off her feet and marries Julian rather quickly, which brings her into a whole new world of drama.
For one thing, Evie Lockhart, actress and one of Julian’s former wives, has a clause in her will that grants Advika a million dollars if she divorces him. Another of her new husband’s exes, Nova, a singer has several of her albums discussing her marriage and Wife number Three is headlining a reality show based on the infamous nature of that marriage.
Harboring some serious regrets about rushing into this relationship, Advika decides to look further into Julian’s life to see if she can undo this hasty misstep into marriage without too much damage done.
I haven’t read Ramisetti before but I do like the premise and it sounds like a mix of heartfelt emotions and behind the scenes of La La Land fun. I do hope that there’s a bit of satirical snark tossed in for fictitious flavor as well:
I paired that with Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy , set in the small screen world of late night television.
Sally Milz is one of the top writers for The Night Owls, a long running sketch comedy show that allows her to blow off steam about the double standards that she and other women still deal with in the entertainment industry.
This week’s celebrity host is Noah Brewster, a singer/songwriter that Sally would love to loathe but she just can’t. He happens to be a decent person and the chemistry between them is almost impossible to ignore.
Nevertheless, she manages to resist his charms as sincere as they might be, in order to avoid having her heart broken yet again by another too-good-to-be-true man. Is Sally right to hit pause on this relationship or should she fast forward to her true heart’s desire?
Sittenfeld does know her way around a smartly written romance with pop culture punch and adding some Saturday Night Live vibes to this plot line platform promises to be next level, Nora Ephron style with a tasty TV twist:
To round this out, my third pick was something completely different in the best sense of the term.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle takes place in 1915, as Adelaide Henry sets out for Montana to claim a piece of land under a provision in the law that lets single women and/or widows expand the US territories. All she has with her is a knowledge of farming and a locked trunk that holds more than family secrets.
Staking her claim among the folks of Big Sandy is not as bad as it seems at first. Yet it’s not long before suspicious eyes are turned in her direction and the true terrors contained within that trunk are not held back. Adelaide wants nothing more than to find some peace in life but the past may come back to haunt her in more ways than one and dangerous to others as well.
I have heard nothing but positive word of mouth about this book, plus critical praises to the skies. Historical horror fiction is tricky to pull off but LaValle has clearly done his homework here and adds his own engaging flair to the material. Sounds like good fright night fun to me:
As pleased as I am with my BOMC blue box selections, there was another book related development that gave me bore-birthday joy recently.
Over this past weekend, I was able to finally go to a physical bookstore which I haven’t been able to do in years.
I know this sounds trivial but for me, it was like touching grass. To be in such a bookish space with brand new hardcovers, paperbacks and other literary items as far as the eye can see was exhilarating.
Sure, my local library is great and ordering books online has it’s advantages but walking among freshly printed books is akin to breathing in the aromas of a bakery that has just set out their fresh batch of treats for the day.
Picking only one book was difficult but fortunately, Mike Chen’s Vampire Weekend called out to me from the shelf it was waiting for me on.
The story is centered around Louise, who had to abandon her musical dreams due to becoming a vampire but with the arrival of her young cousin Ian, might have those doused flames reignited by introducing him to the best that punk rock has to offer.
The best birthday presents are the unexpected ones, if you ask me and one way or another, I hope to have more of the page turning variety by the time my actual birthday cake is ready to be sliced:
