Normally I wouldn’t do this.  I have read plenty of books that became movies and disregarded plenty of movies based on books.  I suppose, had the most recent Indiana Jones feature been based on a book, I would have blogged about it in my excitement.  What people truly close to me know is that I waited an agonizing number of years for my big screen hero to emerge from the cinematic fields of Elysium.  But now, a truly staggering event is occurring.  Edgar Rice Burroughs, the man who created arguably the most popular fictional character of all time, will finally, after almost one hundred years, have his science fiction epic novels given the silver screen treatment.  A Princess of Mars hits theatres as John Carter of Mars this Friday.  In honor of this event, here is my book review. Read the rest of this entry »

The opening of a book can be just as or even more important than the ending.  Sometime, long ago, in my Junior High years, I read a novel entitled The Cay for class, and I remember how my teacher lured us into the book by just focusing on the first sentence.  The Meaning of Night, although thematically a much different book, lures the reader into its pages with its very first sentences made up of very sinister words:  “After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn’s for an oyster dinner”. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the moral powerful themes in the literary world, and the one that resonates most with people of all ages is the coming of age story.  It has been done in spectacular fashion (see Harry Potter for details).  It has been done in muted tones and shades of black and white (see To Kill A Mockingbird).  It has been done in space (see Ender’s Game), and it has been done on the streets of Barcelona (see Shadow of the Wind).  And I would argue, in all those cases, the theme was carried out successfully and with enough fanfare to warrant a good, thorough reading.  I wish I could say the same for The Magicians. Read the rest of this entry »