Review catch-up
Dec. 22nd, 2013 01:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearRoyal Airs by Sharon Shinn:
I am continuing to take a break from Reacher in my literary listening, since I discovered there's a sequel to Troubled Waters, which introduced a new world by Sharon Shinn a couple of years ago. I really like the world - a society based around five elements (earth, air, fire, water - and wood, for some reason), and I'm hoping that means there will eventually be five books. This one certainly ended in a way that invites the next one to be based around fire. It's fairly predictable stuff, plot-wise, but dressed up with enough novel little details and likeable characters as to maintain interest.
Shade of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal:
Corone lent me this, selling it as "Austen with magic" and I can't argue with that description. Unfortunately, I did not agree with his opinion that it's any good... (sorry, Corone!). It's basically a patchwork of characters and plot points pulled directly from the six main Austen novels, woven together not particularly expertly, with a strange and fairly pointless magical art form added in to make it seem original. It veered away from standard Austen tropes towards the end, but in the direction of ridiculous melodrama, rather than anything interesting.
The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan:
This was a Christmas present from prunesquallormd (thank you!!) and is wonderful. The Arrival by the same author is one of the most amazing books I've ever read, and this was similarly engaging and beautifully rendered. It didn't have quite the same impact and was a lot shorter, but it was still a lovely reading experience, with an important message to impart about taking the time to notice the little things in life that make it special.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug:
Went to see this on Wednesday, after work - and it is very long. We watched the first one again the previous Sunday, and I enjoyed it more the second time around. What helped was that I also watched the nine hours of special features on the DVD (Peter Jackson DVDs are the best ever), of which I loved every minute. So, I went into the second film fully immersed in the world and the film production, which added some depth to my appreciation of it, and helped me identify the individual characteristics of the dwarves a bit more easily. One of the things that was better about the second film was that most of the dwarves got some individual character moments, which helped make the cast feel a bit more rounded. There were some fantastic sequences (the whole barrel section, right from Bilbo leading them into the cellar through to their final escape from elven lands was a stand-out), and I enjoyed the whole thing overall - but I still think (like the first one) it could easily have been two-thirds the length (or shorter) without losing anything really important. I just can't wait for the DVD to come out so I can enjoy nine more hours of special features!!
Olympia Horse Show:
Another great day with my mum yesterday at Olympia. It was the same old stuff - musical quadrille, dog agility, child and adult showjumping, shetland pony grand national) but no less entertaining for that. The jump-off for the main showjumping event was nail-biting (0.1 of a second separated the top three riders, with two of those being the last to go and the final rider riding the winning round), and everything else was just as much fun as usual. Always a great event to look forward to at the end of the year, especially after a particularly rough week at work.
So, now the Christmas period has properly begun. Newcastle on the 24th, south coast on the 27th, Edinburgh on the 30th, back home on the 3rd. Our usual whirlwind tour, but with free weekends on either end for preparation and recovery, which is nice.
Happy festive season, everyone!
I am continuing to take a break from Reacher in my literary listening, since I discovered there's a sequel to Troubled Waters, which introduced a new world by Sharon Shinn a couple of years ago. I really like the world - a society based around five elements (earth, air, fire, water - and wood, for some reason), and I'm hoping that means there will eventually be five books. This one certainly ended in a way that invites the next one to be based around fire. It's fairly predictable stuff, plot-wise, but dressed up with enough novel little details and likeable characters as to maintain interest.
Shade of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal:
Corone lent me this, selling it as "Austen with magic" and I can't argue with that description. Unfortunately, I did not agree with his opinion that it's any good... (sorry, Corone!). It's basically a patchwork of characters and plot points pulled directly from the six main Austen novels, woven together not particularly expertly, with a strange and fairly pointless magical art form added in to make it seem original. It veered away from standard Austen tropes towards the end, but in the direction of ridiculous melodrama, rather than anything interesting.
The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan:
This was a Christmas present from prunesquallormd (thank you!!) and is wonderful. The Arrival by the same author is one of the most amazing books I've ever read, and this was similarly engaging and beautifully rendered. It didn't have quite the same impact and was a lot shorter, but it was still a lovely reading experience, with an important message to impart about taking the time to notice the little things in life that make it special.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug:
Went to see this on Wednesday, after work - and it is very long. We watched the first one again the previous Sunday, and I enjoyed it more the second time around. What helped was that I also watched the nine hours of special features on the DVD (Peter Jackson DVDs are the best ever), of which I loved every minute. So, I went into the second film fully immersed in the world and the film production, which added some depth to my appreciation of it, and helped me identify the individual characteristics of the dwarves a bit more easily. One of the things that was better about the second film was that most of the dwarves got some individual character moments, which helped make the cast feel a bit more rounded. There were some fantastic sequences (the whole barrel section, right from Bilbo leading them into the cellar through to their final escape from elven lands was a stand-out), and I enjoyed the whole thing overall - but I still think (like the first one) it could easily have been two-thirds the length (or shorter) without losing anything really important. I just can't wait for the DVD to come out so I can enjoy nine more hours of special features!!
Olympia Horse Show:
Another great day with my mum yesterday at Olympia. It was the same old stuff - musical quadrille, dog agility, child and adult showjumping, shetland pony grand national) but no less entertaining for that. The jump-off for the main showjumping event was nail-biting (0.1 of a second separated the top three riders, with two of those being the last to go and the final rider riding the winning round), and everything else was just as much fun as usual. Always a great event to look forward to at the end of the year, especially after a particularly rough week at work.
So, now the Christmas period has properly begun. Newcastle on the 24th, south coast on the 27th, Edinburgh on the 30th, back home on the 3rd. Our usual whirlwind tour, but with free weekends on either end for preparation and recovery, which is nice.
Happy festive season, everyone!
