Astounding Stories

I’ve just loaded a whole batch of Astounding Stories onto my Google Books to read when I’m bored. They’re these fun little sci-fi stories from the 1930s, issued in a monthly magazine. Check them out on Project Gutenberg!

The Queen's Necklace // Alexandre Dumas

Why I'm reading
After Monte Cristo, I wanted to check out the author’s other works. I picked The Queen’s Necklace at random.

Where I got the book
Project Gutenberg (again!)

Expectations
I’m going into this blind, for once. I'm expecting something like Monte Cristo, maybe a little more mystery - robbery? - and less action. But I must say, the first line… "Our old acquaintance, the Marshal de Richelieu, having with his own hands colored his eyebrows with a perfumed dye." What have I gotten myself into?!

So how was it?

I found out after the fact that this is the second book in a series, so... yeah. I might look into reading Memoirs of a Physician and The Marie Antoinette Romances.

The story has three plots intertwined - and when I say “plots” I do mean “plots”. One, enterprising young Jeanne maneuvers herself into the high life she believes she deserves; two, the mysterious Monsieur de Cagliostro takes interest in a doppelganger to the queen; and three, Beausire, the doppelganger’s seedy boyfriend, plans the elaborate theft of a necklace made for the queen.

Recommendation
For readers who enjoy court intrigue, historical dramas, and mistaken identity. Not for fans of action and adventure. If the slow parts of The Count of Monte Cristo were too slow for you, avoid The Queen’s Necklace.

Feels
Sedate, with sparks of mystery and surprise. Lacks closure.

Favorites
The introduction is extremely engaging; unfortunately, it doesn’t have much to do with the story. M. de Cagliostro was my favorite character - almost like the Count, but we’re not told much about his motivations.

Least favorites
The story was slow, and lacked a lot of the tension that made Monte Cristo such a good read. I’m not a huge fan of the whole doppelganger trope - and, even though the queen figures it out fairly early, she does nothing to avoid the typical doppelganger shenanigans. At least everything falls apart quickly and realistically (if not intelligently) instead of building an improbably web of assumptions and mistakes.

Writing style
This is episodic, just like Monte Cristo. Once again the different perspectives are used to create dramatic irony.

So what did I really think?

Click "read more"... massive spoilers ahead!

Gone Girl // Directed by David Fincher {Movie}

Why I'm watching

I’ve heard great things about it, one of my favorite musicians did the soundtrack, and the book was flying off the shelves this summer. Alas, I am a bad librarian, and didn’t read the book. 

Where I saw the movie
Our local theater.

So how was it?

How well do you know your loved ones? Nick and Amy live a placid married life, until one day Amy disappears from their suburban home. Her diary, and a romantic scavenger hunt set up for their anniversary, point to her husband as the killer. I can’t summarize too much, because this is the kind of movie you don’t want spoilers for.

Alan came home the next day and said “oh good, you’re still here.” Jerk.

Let’s talk about the music.
Gone Girl is the third soundtrack created by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, of Nine Inch Nails fame, in collaboration with director David Fincher. They won an Oscar for their first effort in The Social Network, and later won a Grammy for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Fincher found inspiration at the spa/chiropractor, where the new-age background music was "inauthentically trying to make him feel alright." And… yeah, even if they’d never worked together before, Reznor is exactly the guy you want for music that’s just a little bit off.

I knew about the soundtrack before seeing the movie, but conveniently forgot… until a completely normal, run-of-the-mill, boring cocktail party had me on edge. Without the music, it was a fairly boring expository conversation between two characters; with the music, you can pick up on the claustrophobia and anxiety.

The Wikipedia page has a great write-up of the soundtrack’s development and response from critics. NPR has a great First Listen article. USA Today has some great insight into the theory and mechanics behind the music.

Recommendation
For fans of psychological thrillers. I know it stars Ben Affleck, but this is not a date movie. I repeat: this. is not. a. date. movie.

Feels
Uneasy into downright terrifying. The movie is best described with the inspiration for its soundtrack: new-age music gone bad.

Favorites
Can I pick the whole thing? Because wow, that blew me away. The casting was perfect (yes, even Affleck), the cinematography was great, the pacing of the story was excellent, the plot was interesting and original, the surprises were surprising, and the music - oh my god the music.

Least favorites
I’m not sure how well the movie will stand up to re-watching. The movie doesn’t rely on a big twist (like, say, the 6th Sense) but part of the thrill comes from not knowing what will happen next.

Astounding Stories // multiple authors

Finished the October 1930 Astounding Stories of Super-Science!

Some of these would make good Twilight Zone style TV episodes. A couple of them are hilari-bad. They’re chock full of familiar Sci-Fi tropes and early imaginings of the future, along with some fairly awful science.

Stolen Brains // S. P. Meek 
A Sherlock/Watson-style duo solve a case involving mysterious amnesia, an unexplained spherical ship, and a brain-goo-stealing megalomaniac dwarf. Simple, but not painful.

The Invisible Death // Victor Rousseau 
Invisible Comrad Mad-Scientist-cum-Emperor decimates the United States with fuzzy science, Explains His Plan to the Manly Hero, and is betrayed by Misguided Female Love Interest. An adventure in thirteen verbose chapters.

Prisoners of the Electron // Robert H. Leitfred 
A honey-I-shrunk-the kids plot, with kitschy futuristic inventions, dumb-as-bricks female characters, awkward and uncomfortable romance, heaps of treknobabble, and -- I kid you not -- subatomic dinosaurs. The author tortures his thesaurus and describes his characters’ eyes no less than 9 times before anyone even gets shrunk. I could go on. and on. and ON. A fantastic candidate for literary MST3000.

Nanette gazed with staring eyes... 

Also, can we appreciate this stunning feat of metaphor and thesaurus abuse?

Dazzling white teeth caught the glow of the blue-white incandescents along the platform, and became under the bow of her red lips a string of priceless pearls.

Jetta of the Lowlands (Part 2 of 3) // Ray Cummings 
An interesting look at climate change from a 1930s perspective.

An Extra Man // Jackson Gee 
Something goes wrong in the invention of a Victoria-age transporter -- yes, a transporter, like Star Trek. In terms of prose, this one strikes an incredible balance between vivid and (deliberately?) absurd; it reminds me of Doctor Who, somehow. Best of the bunch.

John Wick // Keanu Reeves {Movie}

Why I'm watching
Keanu Reeves + action movie = AWESOME. 

Where I saw the movie
Our local theater. I LOVE our local theater… matinee tickets are like $5, and the chairs are super comfy. You can even move the armrests out of the way to snuggle. We went by ourselves on a weeknight, so the theater was mostly empty.

So how was it?

John Wick is your typical, formulaic action/revenge movie. And it. is. awesome. John Wick is the guy you send to take out the guy from Taken.

The story is pretty basic. After his wife’s death, ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement for revenge. And by revenge, I mean take down the Russian mob and kill everyone involved. It has all the tropes: retired hitman, deceased wife, revenge, cool cars, seedy underground crime organizations, Russian mobsters, annoying sons of Russian mobsters, gun fights, knife fights, car chases, a chase scene through a crowded club, dramatic one-liners and sarcastic quips… everything you could want in an action movie, and it’s all done really, really well. And it keeps a perfect balance between stylized and realistic.

Recommendation
This is an action movie that will appeal to pretty much everyone, as long as you don't mind a little blood. There is a lot of violence, but no excessive gore.  

Feels
Touching, sad, cheesy, hilarious. You will sniffle, you will laugh, you will cheer.

Favorites
The realism and detail in the fight choreography, especially the club scene. What action movie is really complete without a chase scene through a crowded club, techno music blasting? And NO ONE can deliver a cheesy action hero one-liner like Keanu Reeves. I don’t want to give anything away about the (very sparse) plot, but the opening scenes definitely get you ready for some serious hardcore revenge.

Least favorites
There was one death that I wish hadn’t happened, although I can see why it was sort of necessary for the plot.  

Related viewing
If you liked this movie, check out the Korean action movie Man From Nowhere starring Bin Won. The fight choreography has a similar level of realism and intricacy, and Bin Won has a similar deadpan delivery.

So what did I really think?

Click "read more"... massive spoilers ahead!

The Count of Monte Cristo // Alexandre Dumas

The 1800s version of an action movie : love, jealousy, revenge, unbelievable wealth, badassery, and triumph over your enemies. 

This month has been a mixture of sending out all sorts of job applications (hire me!!!!), taking two ballroom lessons a week (yikes!), competing, and getting ready for Halloween (shoulder angel and devil!). Oh, and we just started planning Friendsgiving.

In between all that, I’ve been reading The Count of Monte Cristo… which, as it turns out, is a great frickin’ read. I’ve also figured out how to get Google Books to read eBooks from Project Gutenberg. Not gonna lie, I did a little victory dance.
 
Why I'm reading
So, I’ve got a weird reason for finally reading this. I’ve been watching anime on Crunchyroll recently, and came across an anime adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. More specifically, a psychedelic-space-vampire-demon anime adaptation called Gankutsuou. So I’ve got the gist of the story, but I’m guessing the Count isn’t actually possessed by a vampire-space-demon.

Where I got the book
Project Gutenberg! The Project Gutenberg library hosts eBooks that can be freely used in the United States, because they are not protected by U.S. copyright law (or authors have given permission). That means entirely free (no ads) and entirely legal.

Expectations
A long story about betrayal, revenge, and setting things right. I wonder if the Count will be a more sympathetic character in the original, and if I will agree with his idea of “setting things right.” I’m also expecting it to be a little hard to read, in terms of writing style/complexity.

So how was it? 

First of all, why hasn’t HBO or AMC made this into a miniseries yet?! The characters are so engaging - the servants, the enemies, the frenemies, the good guys; they all have backstory and personality. And the whole thing is so full of suffering and delicious revenge.

The story follows Edmund Dantes, a salt-of-the-earth (salt-of-the-sea?) first mate aboard the Phaeron. Things are going pretty well for Dantes: he’s young, attractive, does his job well, he’s engaged to a pretty woman, and he’s about to be made captain. Then politics and jealousy get in the way, and he ends up in prison for fourteen years. He escapes and acquires a massive fortune; for the rest of the story, he uses his money to exact sweet, sweet revenge.

The book is separated into volumes, but I would separate it into six thematic sections: before prison, during prison, recovering from prison, rewarding friends, building revenge, and closure. Each one has a different feel to it. The revenge section is by far the longest, and perhaps the slowest - but by then, I was hooked, and I liked waiting for the hammer to fall on the count’s enemies.

Recommendation
Anyone who loves a historical fiction, adventure, or suspense. This is also a great read when you only have time for a chapter or two in one sitting. 

Feels
Well-rounded, exciting, colorful. Satisfying (lots of revenge and wish-fulfillment).

Favorites
The side characters are fantastic, and I’m a sucker for good villains. The thing is, no one is “the evil villain” - they’re regular people, and you understand them even as you hate them. I also loved the way storylines intertwine, but without cheesy parallels. A lot of modern books/TV/movies tie the story up in a perfect little bow, everything symmetrical and no loose ends. 

Least favorites
The ending was satisfying, but it did feel a little rushed.  

Writing style
Just as elaborate as I was expecting, but surprisingly easy to read, once you get used to the names. The perspective bounces around to different characters/locations every chapter or so, letting you see each new event in a slightly different light. You see the Count as himself in one chapter, then you meet a “mysterious stranger” in the next (with a wink and a nod from the author). Dumas doesn’t always tell you what the count is doing, so much as he leads you gently down the path to figuring it out yourself. 

So what did I really think?

Click "read more" - massive spoilers ahead!