Book #32: Children of Hurin

The Children of Hurin, by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien. Unabridged audio, read by Christopher Lee.

This book was released 5 years ago, a new release designed to take advantage of renewed interest in Tolkien after the success of the movie trilogy. This was compiled and edited by Christopher Tolkien, from his father’s notes and various versions of the story he had written over the years. Christopher’s introduction is helpful for putting the story into context, both in terms of Tolkien's life and his other works of Middle-Earth.

The events of this book take place more than six millennia before the War of the Ring, concentrating on the character Túrin Turambar and his sister Niënor. The Dark Lord (Morgoth) has cursed this pair, along with their father Húrin.  Their story is touched upon in the Silmarillion, but this book expands on the little that is written elsewhere about these characters elsewhere.

Morgoth excapes from the Blessed Realm and makes a fortress for himself in Angband. He wages war against elves to gain control of Middle-Earth, but his efforts fail. Centuries later, after men arise in the land, and the House of Bëor rules over part of the land. Other men, loyal of Morgoth, aid in war against Bëor and his elf allies. Húrin eventually become Lord over Dor-lómin, one of the realms that remained unconquered. Then there are dragons and swords and cliffs.

This book is easier to read than The Silmarillion, where shortened versions of the tale first appeared. This is because this novel tells one narrative story, as opposed to the tales told in The Silmarillion. Tolkien’s use of interesting and poetic language is of course strong. But that being said, this work is only for the most diehard of Tolkien fans.

The narration by Christopher Lee is terrific, making the audio version of this book the one I heartily recommend.

A Fond Farewell

As I have written before, the bane of my life as a podcast fan is pod-fading ... when a show just disappears without a final show, it just ... fades away. But when a podcast wraps its run up with an official finale, with an offical "goodbye," I feel like I should point out the show and thank the hosts for actually bringing their show to an end.

The New 52 Adventures of Superman recently released episode #45, the show's final episode. The hosts announced this well in advance, giving their listeners a chance to send emails, and for them to reflect on the entire run of comic book issues that they covered. This allowed for them to release a three-hour final episode that felt like a final episode should feel like. It was a good show, and a great last episode.

Hosts J David Weter and Jon Wilson have other shows that they host, so their podcasting careers will continue. But they did a great job taking on this latest iteration of Superman and the other "super-books" -- my own desire to read Supergirl and World's Finest was spurred on by this podcast, and their enthusiasm for those titles.

I recommend their catalog of episodes for anyone interested in this latest iteration of the Man of Steel and related comics.

Good job, fellas.

Brit-Casts

Podcasts + people with British accents = fun listening, what what?

Here are brief reviews of some of may favorite podcasts that come from over the pond.  Enjoy your fish and chips, maybe grab a scone, and listen to these fine funny-sounding shows!

The Fantasticast -- One of my favorite shows ever, mostly because they had me on as a guest, to talk about the awesomeness that is Doctor Doom. Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland do a great job hosting this show.

20-Minute Longbox -- This is Steve Lacey's solo show, a random jaunt through his comic-book collection. I talked about the show here.

Hey Kids, Comics! -- This is Andy Leyland's other show, hosted with his son Micheal. They talk about comic books, and have done a lot of Batman issues, but also have covered Preacher, Spider-Man, the New 52 and Marvel Now, and even some TV show. The recently moved to the ever-expanding Two True Freaks network.

Moving away from shows that feature Steve and/or Andy, we have:

Stacey's Pop Culture Parlour -- She puts a "u" in parlor, so you know she's British! This is a monthly podcast, where Stacey and a guest (no repeats through the first 15 episodes) talk about comic books, music, movies, and TV shows. And enjoy cakes and tea.  

Chequered Flag Podcast -- They spell "checkered" funny, so you know they're British! This is a BBC production, hosted by Jennie Gow (although the BBC website spells is "Jenny" at least once). They release shows around the Formual One racing schedule, with a preview show released a few days before the race, and a wrap-up show a few days after the race.

Babble-On Podcast -- I wrote about this excellent Babylon 5 rewatch show before, and I still am enjoying it!

Book #31: Atlantyx

Atlantyx, by Chase Dalton. Paperback.

Gamers are disappearing around the world, including college student Teddy Reams. His professors have been studying the mega-popular  game Atlantyx, which was Teddy's main vice -- as it was for the seventy other gamers who have disappeared around the world lately. Valerie Russell and Garland King set out to discover what exactly is happening, and they find themselves in over their heads.

Atlantyx players must take a drug to fully immerse in the virtual world, and most lose track of what is real and what is fantasy. When Valerie enters the game under the influence, things go from bad to worse for her. This is a multi-billion dollar game, and Atlantyx 2 is on the verge of release -- what will the gaming company do to keep Valerie and Garland from discovering the truth behind the disappearances?

The action in the story is well-paced, and the novel is a nice quick read. Dalton does a good job describing the action inside the virtual world, and the hallucinations that effect the gamers in the real world. We only get the briefest glimpses into what makes the characters the people they are, and perhaps slowing the action to give more character development would been preferable to my taste.

The connection between drug addiction and video games seemed far-fetched when the book was published in 2002, but the place of energy drinks caffeine pills among youth culture today makes the book seem forward-thinking.  As the years have gone by, the specifics of the technology are less important, and a book like this becomes more enjoyable. It has become retro in the eleven years since it was first published, and without the distraction of deciding if the virtual world described is "cutting edge" or "realistic," the reader can focus on the story itself.

As a university professor, I commend the attempt to turn my colleagues into action heroes, a trend started by Indiana Jones, and one of which I heartily approve. There are also enough references to intra-departmental squabbles and academic competition that I wonder if Dalton spent some time in front of a classroom as an adjunct instructor at some point in his career.

The Christian message of the story is fairly subtle throughout most of the book, manifesting in basic good vs. evil stuff, and a few references to Garland's work teaching Sunday School and leading prayer group. The last few pages of the story put a more specific spiritual message out front, and it does frankly feel a bit tacked on.

source: Friends of the Library book sale.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

Grab your current read.

Open to a random page.

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

From Chapter 2 of The Maze, by Jason Brannon: I motioned for Karen to give the bill to me. She had planned to anyway - I saw her phone number and address written on the receipt.  "Call me," she whispered in my ear before disappearing like a beautiful mermaid back into a sea of hungry diners. "Your wife never has to know."

New 52 Review: Catwoman

NEW 52 Review: Catwoman Volume 1: The Game, trade paperback. Collects issues 1-6, by Judd Winick & Guillem March.

As Catwoman, Selina Kyle was an anti-hero before anti-heroes were everywhere in comics. As a matter of fact, her flirtatious nature and ability to beguile Batman were present in her very first appearances in the comic books, which occurred more than seven decades ago.

When Catwoman's friend Lola, (also her fence for stolen goods), is killed as a direct result of her connections to Catwoman, Selina investigates. When money she is stealing turns out be from dirty Gotham cops instead of the drug dealers she thought she was robbing, things go from bad to worse. Detective Alvarez has long been trying to apprehend Catwoman, but when she sees her being abused by her dirty colleagues in the police force, Alvarez sets her free. I assume these two ladies will cross paths in future issues. The dirty cops use Reach, a thug for hire with electrical powers, to take down Catwoman.

I did not need the obligitory sex scene with Batman in issue #1, as it does little more than make sure that Catwoman fits as a member of the "bat-family" of titles. That connection probably helps keep the title in the top half of DC's sales, as it is continually DC's leading female-focused solo title in the New 52.

The fight scenes between Catwoman and Reach are predictable but energetic. In the last few pages, we see Catwoman working with her new fence and friend Gwen. This is a nice narrative moment, as we fear that there is a cycle at work here that is bound to repeat.

In a prior entry I reviewed a trade paperback from an earlier run, and probably preferred those issues (written by Ed Brubabker) to these. The dynamic energy that was evident before in Catwoman's prior incarnation is not here, making these issues more of a standard street-level comic book than something special.

Source: public library.

Book #30

Callahan's Secret, by Spider Robinson. Unabridged audio. 

This is the third book in this series -- I have previously reviewed books 1 & 2.

The most interesting point about this series as each successive volume was released was how it morphed from a mostly disconnected series of stories into a single narrative. By this point, he has written almost a novel with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Many of the recognizable characteristics of other Callahan books are here -- the puns, the wacky characters, and more puns.

And the focus in this book is definitely the end, as in the end of the Earth. A character we have met in prior stories, whom we have come to like, is on the run from his otherwordly overlords. Well, they have finally tracked him down to Earth, and to Callahan's. and threaten to destroy the entire planet if the customers at Callahan's don't turn over the refugee alien.

But when Spider Robinson actually shows up at the end of the book, I thought maybe the meta-narrative had gone too far. But most of what this story was, was an extended "author's note," where Spider talks about the online community that had sprung up around his books, and talked about the latest books that were coming 

out (Callahan's-related and non).

There are a few moments where this reads like it was written in the mid-1980s, but that’s because it was written in the mid-1980s.The concerns, the drama, the angst, was a bit dated, but Robinson's sincerity overcomes that, and the book is still a fun read.