Speaking of books becoming movies, if you don’t go for all the god is dead stuff of The Golden Compass – apparently not included in the movie – you can look forward to the next installment of The Chronicles of Narnia. Here is the trailer for Prince Caspian due out in May 2008:
Opening Atlantis, by Harry Turtledove
Opening Atlantis
Harry Turtledove is widely regarded to be one of the best, if not the best, in this field; he has explored most of the popular themes in this genre and has probably created a few of his own. In the Atlantis series he has chosen as his divergence point either the independent formation of a small continent in the mid-Atlantic, or the breakup of the existing North American tectonic plate to create one (the cover suggests the latter). The first English explorers of the island – the first discoverers being Basque fishermen in the mid-15th century who had traded the knowledge of its existence – called it “Atlantis,” and immediately began independently settling there, as did French and Spanish fishermen. The general narrative traces the fortunes of several members of the Radcliffe family, who are descendants of the head of the original English settler, over the next three centuries, in three separate vignettes.
There are two things that are of note regarding this book. The first is the land of Atlantis itself, which has clearly been a separate continent for a long time. Fans of Turtledove’s work will know that he has explored ecological divergences in his work before (see A Different Flesh and Down In The Bottomlands for well-developed examples), and in Opening Atlantishe takes the time to discuss the implications of an ecology where there are no native four-legged mammals, let alone human beings, prior to discovery. Weather patterns also have an effect on the narrative, although not to the same extent: Atlantis is southern enough to enjoy balmy-to-tropical weather over a large part of its surface, which informs some of the geopolitical decisions made about it.
he takes the time to discuss the implications of an ecology where there are no native four-legged mammals, let alone human beings, prior to discovery. Weather patterns also have an effect on the narrative, although not to the same extent: Atlantis is southern enough to enjoy balmy-to-tropical weather over a large part of its surface, which informs some of the geopolitical decisions made about it. Time America: An Illustrated History
It seems once you start reviewing coffee table type books you start getting coffee table type books. This time I
am not discussing yet another book published by DK, however. but rather one published by Time. Time America: An Illustrated History is a collection drawn from Time magazine’s “wealth of reporting” and “the vast archives of the Time Inc. Picture collection.” Here is how the publishers describe it:
The volume features over 500 unforgettable portraits that capture some of the most influential figures of our nation’s time, partaking in momentous events that have taken place in the United States over more than two centuries–from our nations birth in 1776, as it chronicles our early struggles for freedom and equality, to more modern events including the first moon landing and the arrival of rock-n-roll and the age of technology.
As compared to the DK volumes I discussed, this one seems much more visual and iconic. It really is an attempt to capture not just history through photography by historical photography. Not in an artistic sense but in a more journalistic sense.
I will admit that I found it a tad politically correct; from Native Americans and McCarthy to Vietnam, Katrina, and global warming it had that sense to me of looking back and capturing a modern liberal perspective on those events.
But if you are a history or a photo buff this volume will surely appeal to you. It really is a visual tour through American history and the photos and illustrations included are sure to spark learning as well as discussion and debate. It is an effective companion to the study of the events themselves.
Time America: An Illustrated History
It seems once you start reviewing coffee table type books you start getting coffee table type books. This time I
am not discussing yet another book published by DK, however. but rather one published by Time. Time America: An Illustrated History is a collection drawn from Time magazine’s “wealth of reporting” and “the vast archives of the Time Inc. Picture collection.” Here is how the publishers describe it:
The volume features over 500 unforgettable portraits that capture some of the most influential figures of our nation’s time, partaking in momentous events that have taken place in the United States over more than two centuries–from our nations birth in 1776, as it chronicles our early struggles for freedom and equality, to more modern events including the first moon landing and the arrival of rock-n-roll and the age of technology.
As compared to the DK volumes I discussed, this one seems much more visual and iconic. It really is an attempt to capture not just history through photography by historical photography. Not in an artistic sense but in a more journalistic sense.
I will admit that I found it a tad politically correct; from Native Americans and McCarthy to Vietnam, Katrina, and global warming it had that sense to me of looking back and capturing a modern liberal perspective on those events.
But if you are a history or a photo buff this volume will surely appeal to you. It really is a visual tour through American history and the photos and illustrations included are sure to spark learning as well as discussion and debate. It is an effective companion to the study of the events themselves.
His Dark Materials: a fascist fable?
Is Phillip Pullman’s controversial trilogy a fascist fable? Tom Smith thinks so:
Pullman’s trilogy is a work of considerable literary merit, which does not keep it from being pretty poisonous stuff. Madame Bovary is a really great novel but I suspect that to write it Flaubert had to have been a really twisted guy. The literary organs are falling all over themselves to heap praise upon Pullman’s books, of course, having been nauseated by the success of the Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and the Harry Potter series, all of the latter being, in one way or another, powerful teachers of essential bits of the Judeo-Christian world view and virtues, especially for kids. All of these books I am happy to see my kids reading, and they have all (except 4 year old Mark) read all of them. Pullman, naturally, hates Narnia, and is probably not fond of the other books either. He appears to have set out to write the anti-Narnia, and to be fair, has done a pretty good job. Well, if there weren’t a battle of good and evil in the real world, LOTR and the rest wouldn’t be so entertaining, would they?
The main point of this post, however, is to point out an irony. The villains in the Golden Compass and sequels are the Catholic-Nazis — a fair characterization of the book’s point, since anytime you have villains running concentration camps with medical experiments, that is psychic charge you are invoking. But in fact, if you want to experience the flavor that contemporary fascism would have when translated into first rate children’s literature, you cannot, in my view, do better than Pullman’s series.
I have been furiously re-reading The Golden Compass in order to be able to comment more intelligently on the controversy and the movie when it is released. So I am not going to comment in depth right now. But I found the above post thought provoking and not as shocking as you might think from the title.
My initial impression was that The Golden Compass was a great book and not as hampered by Pullman’s worldview and/or message. Subsequent books got bogged down in the metaphysics to the point of harming the story.
For more on the controversy surrounding the movie from a Christian perspective read this article by Peter T. Chattaway, a film critic for ChristianityTodayMovies.com and this Q&A type post from Jeffrey Overstreet.
Sorrow Without End by Priscilla Royal
Priscilla Royal’s Sorrow Without End is the third installment in her mystery series that follows Prioress Eleanor at the Tyndal Priory. In this book, Royal continues the excellence of the first two books.
Here is a brief synopsis of the book from the book’s website:
As the autumn storms of 1271 ravage the East Anglian coast, Crowner Ralf finds the corpse of a brutally murdered soldier in the woods near Tyndal Priory. The dagger in the man’s chest is engraved with a strange, cursive design, and the body is wrapped in a crusader’s cloak. Was this the act of a member of the Assassin sect or was the weapon meant to mislead him in finding the killer
Ralf’s decision to take the corpse to the priory for advice may be reasonable, but he is soon caught up in a maelstrom of conflict, both personal and political. The priory is deeply divided over whether to purchase a relic, a decision that endangers both Prioress Eleanor’s leadership and the future of the hospital. Brother Thomas becomes a suspect in the murder itself, and Ralf must choose between the demands of his brother, the sheriff, and loyalty to a friend.
Meanwhile, the murderer watches and waits.
The book is filled with suspense – especially after another person is murdered and a nun is raped. Royal expertly weaves the various suspects together to keep you guessing at who the malcontent is.
The character development is superb. The tension between Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas continues in this book – a tension that is caused by Eleanor’s lustful thoughts of Thomas. Thomas is thoroughly confused at the signals he receives from his prioress. Royal does not fall into the trap of portraying monks and nuns without sin – it is quite refreshing to see characters that are portrayed as real human beings.