bees and trekkies
What do you do with a Trekkie mother on a conveniently cold Mother's Day? Take her to the movies, of course!
Also, I've done a short review of a new book I'm reading.
I don't know how Trekkie-ish she would rate on the scale, seeing that she's a Voyager fanatic, liked Enterprise and the original series, but not Next Generation or Deep Space Nine, but nonetheless. She's into Star Trek. Once threatened to get that Enterprise-shaped weather vane you can see on the QEW in Oakville.
Anyhow, we both liked the movie very much. I had little idea what to expect, so everything that happened in the movie was refreshing and surprising. The characters were brilliant, making it easy to like them or feel empathy with them. I almost burst into tears at Kirk Sr.'s death, then at Spock's mother's death. Chekov and Scotty were worth oodles of laughs, though the Russian stereotyping was almost too much, however cute.
Then the whole trapped in the past and alternate universe ideas... exciting and well-handled in the script. No tackiness there. What I liked was how certain technologies were still visibly being developed, but not yet perfected, like the transporter. It was most interesting to see how the character relations developed, particularly the ultimate bromance-cum-slash ship in existence.
There are imperfections, but mostly along the lines of stereotyping, and that's more the fault of the original series than the movie, which was meant to build off of what the canon already had to offer. So Uhura couldn't just save the world and Kirk wouldn't think of his own mother.
So now to Bees, The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King, another in the Mary Russell feat. Sherlock Holmes series that's been my favourite series for a while. The reviews for it are iffy, both by readers and critics - I agree with some, but not others. It is a good book. I'll leave out the summary
There's a lot to the plot, many off-shoots and red herrings, so, like a detective, one has to sort through the material before coming to the conclusion. No cut-and-dried answers here; although they know who the murderer is, he's such an elusive character that you can't be sure if they'll actually get him. What caught my attention most were the character dynamics. The partnership between Holmes and Russell that's been building the whole rest of the series is still there, but deeply affected by the case. They work apart for most of the book, which makes the times that they're together more meaningful (LRK has a great way of making simple moments into excellent romance). I won't say that Russell comes into her own as a detective, because she did so many books ago, but there's something different about the way she works alone in this book that places her more on equal ground with Holmes. It seems to me that she ends up being the stronger of the two.
I like how this book bookends the previous one, in which Russell had to face her own ghosts of the past. Here in "Bees", Holmes is the one having to face the ghost, though I prefer his way of handling the trauma than how Russell did in "Locked Rooms". While I did enjoy both books very much, this new one is better. Hard to go wrong with religious fanatics, especially in the twenties, and it's good to see the characters back in England.
The only thing that's irking me is how the last five books have all been set close together in time, within the space of a year. I don't know why LRK has done this, and I sort of wish that Holmes and Russell had been given more of a break. There were a number of missing years between the earlier books, and that worked out. Unless I'm just complaining because the close proximity of cases leaves little room for fanfiction. Not that Russell fanfics are mind-blowingly brilliant, but there are exceptions, however rare.
As for the cliffhanger ending, it only makes me more excited for the next book. I'd already peeked ahead to the conclusion ahead of time, not liking conclusions as a rule (as they mean the book has ended), but this one ending with a non-ending is another point in favour of the book. It's the middle section that I like most, however, with the interaction between Mycroft and Russell, and the things Russell learns about herself and her relationship with Holmes.
All in all, a satisfying read and a good addition to the series. Perhaps the only notable series continuation I've read all year.
Also, I've done a short review of a new book I'm reading.
I don't know how Trekkie-ish she would rate on the scale, seeing that she's a Voyager fanatic, liked Enterprise and the original series, but not Next Generation or Deep Space Nine, but nonetheless. She's into Star Trek. Once threatened to get that Enterprise-shaped weather vane you can see on the QEW in Oakville.
Anyhow, we both liked the movie very much. I had little idea what to expect, so everything that happened in the movie was refreshing and surprising. The characters were brilliant, making it easy to like them or feel empathy with them. I almost burst into tears at Kirk Sr.'s death, then at Spock's mother's death. Chekov and Scotty were worth oodles of laughs, though the Russian stereotyping was almost too much, however cute.
Then the whole trapped in the past and alternate universe ideas... exciting and well-handled in the script. No tackiness there. What I liked was how certain technologies were still visibly being developed, but not yet perfected, like the transporter. It was most interesting to see how the character relations developed, particularly the ultimate bromance-cum-slash ship in existence.
There are imperfections, but mostly along the lines of stereotyping, and that's more the fault of the original series than the movie, which was meant to build off of what the canon already had to offer. So Uhura couldn't just save the world and Kirk wouldn't think of his own mother.
So now to Bees, The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King, another in the Mary Russell feat. Sherlock Holmes series that's been my favourite series for a while. The reviews for it are iffy, both by readers and critics - I agree with some, but not others. It is a good book. I'll leave out the summary
There's a lot to the plot, many off-shoots and red herrings, so, like a detective, one has to sort through the material before coming to the conclusion. No cut-and-dried answers here; although they know who the murderer is, he's such an elusive character that you can't be sure if they'll actually get him. What caught my attention most were the character dynamics. The partnership between Holmes and Russell that's been building the whole rest of the series is still there, but deeply affected by the case. They work apart for most of the book, which makes the times that they're together more meaningful (LRK has a great way of making simple moments into excellent romance). I won't say that Russell comes into her own as a detective, because she did so many books ago, but there's something different about the way she works alone in this book that places her more on equal ground with Holmes. It seems to me that she ends up being the stronger of the two.
I like how this book bookends the previous one, in which Russell had to face her own ghosts of the past. Here in "Bees", Holmes is the one having to face the ghost, though I prefer his way of handling the trauma than how Russell did in "Locked Rooms". While I did enjoy both books very much, this new one is better. Hard to go wrong with religious fanatics, especially in the twenties, and it's good to see the characters back in England.
The only thing that's irking me is how the last five books have all been set close together in time, within the space of a year. I don't know why LRK has done this, and I sort of wish that Holmes and Russell had been given more of a break. There were a number of missing years between the earlier books, and that worked out. Unless I'm just complaining because the close proximity of cases leaves little room for fanfiction. Not that Russell fanfics are mind-blowingly brilliant, but there are exceptions, however rare.
As for the cliffhanger ending, it only makes me more excited for the next book. I'd already peeked ahead to the conclusion ahead of time, not liking conclusions as a rule (as they mean the book has ended), but this one ending with a non-ending is another point in favour of the book. It's the middle section that I like most, however, with the interaction between Mycroft and Russell, and the things Russell learns about herself and her relationship with Holmes.
All in all, a satisfying read and a good addition to the series. Perhaps the only notable series continuation I've read all year.