book reviews: "Last Son" and "Quantum of Solace"
I had such great plans for reading on that last travel swing, and great plans for writing as well. I did get some writing done (close to 7000 words), and I did get some reading done (posted reviews of the two books I read already, and blew through a nice pile of short stories that have been mostly reviewed over at 365shortstories ) but didn't read as many books as I thought I would.
Of course, this next travel swing involves flights between every city, which is plenty of airport and plane time to both read and write. So in the interest of that, I thought I'd better get my reviews up to date. Here are two book reviews, and then there will be a small spate of short story reviews in the aforementioned community.
Superman: Last Son by Geoff Johns, Richard Donner and Adam Kubert, isbn 9781401213435, 160 pages, DC Comics, $19.99
Much was made a few years ago about the release of Richard Donner's original version of Superman II, the version he would have released had he not been fired from the project. You remember the movie: Superman marries Lois and loses his powers, Zod and his two minions escape from the Phantom Zone ("Kneel before Zod!"), Superman saves the day and then sucks Lois' memory of his dual identity away with a kiss.
This is yet another iteration of that story, but in the currently-established Superman mythos (which thanks to Geoff Johns is becoming more and more like the classic pre-1980 Superman mythos every month, and I mostly consider that a good thing). The story starts out with the arrival in Metropolis of another young "strange visitor from another planet," but this one is an eleven-or-so-year-old boy. How that leads to the release from the Zone of Zod, Ursa and Non, I'll let you read.
There were lots of nice "Silver Age Superman" nods while still allowing for a more modern sensibility and look. The supporting cast is in classic mode: "Gee whiz" Jimmy Olsen, blustery Perry White, megalomaniacal Lex Luthor, too-brave-for-her-own-good Lois, and of course Clark/Superman, who would like nothing more than a son of his own and asks his parents for advice on how they did it. There's also a great cameo appearance by one of my favorite DC characters, Mon-El (the teenager who arrived on Earth when Clark was a teenager, but with amnesia, and they both thought he might be Kal-El's older brother).
It's a tight story that doesn't need a deep knowledge of DC Comics in order to be enjoyed. The pacing is good, the dialogue works. It has some kinks that those more well-versed in DCU lore may be annoyed by, but for the casual reader the story works just fine.
And the art. I'm a fan of just about any Kubert who draws comics. I have to say, though, I think this is the closest either Andy or Adam has come to channeling their amazingly talented (and still drawing at 82!) father Joe. I was amazed. To say I loved the look of this story is an understatement.
The hardcover collection of this story just came out a month or so ago, so it may be awhile before the trade paperback shows up. It's worth the price as a hardcover, in my humble opinion.
Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories by Ian Fleming, isbn 9780143114581, 279 pages, Penguin, $15.00
One of the funnier comments I've read about this book on the "visual bookshelf" application on Facebook was "I have no idea how they're going to make a movie out of this -- it's a book of short stories with no characters that overlap except Bond!" I think said commenter missed the fact that the titles of four out of the nine stories herein have already been appropriated for movies in the franchise -- movies which pretty much shared nothing plot wise with the original story.
It'd actually be hard for most of these stories to make what we'd now consider a "good" Bond movie. Especially because of the nine, there are two in which Bond barely appears ("Quantum of Solace" and "Octopussy"), one which is more of a comedy piece ("007 In New York"), and two which are more murder-mystery than spy-thriller ("The Hildebrand Rarity" and "The Property of A Lady"). "From A View To A Kill," "For Your Eyes Only," and "The Living Daylights" come close to "classic" Bond action but are still short of being a major summer blockbuster (in fact, I think all three are perhaps longer on characterization and mood than they are on action -- which might work for Daniel Craig's Bond, but certainly would not have for Moore or Dalton. The story that comes closest to the kind of movie we expect of our James is "Risico," a tightly-plotted but still action-filled case of misdirection and double-cross.
It is humorous that I'm reading a book of Bond short stories even though I've never read a Bond novel ... I'll get to that one of these days!
Of course, this next travel swing involves flights between every city, which is plenty of airport and plane time to both read and write. So in the interest of that, I thought I'd better get my reviews up to date. Here are two book reviews, and then there will be a small spate of short story reviews in the aforementioned community.
Superman: Last Son by Geoff Johns, Richard Donner and Adam Kubert, isbn 9781401213435, 160 pages, DC Comics, $19.99
Much was made a few years ago about the release of Richard Donner's original version of Superman II, the version he would have released had he not been fired from the project. You remember the movie: Superman marries Lois and loses his powers, Zod and his two minions escape from the Phantom Zone ("Kneel before Zod!"), Superman saves the day and then sucks Lois' memory of his dual identity away with a kiss.
This is yet another iteration of that story, but in the currently-established Superman mythos (which thanks to Geoff Johns is becoming more and more like the classic pre-1980 Superman mythos every month, and I mostly consider that a good thing). The story starts out with the arrival in Metropolis of another young "strange visitor from another planet," but this one is an eleven-or-so-year-old boy. How that leads to the release from the Zone of Zod, Ursa and Non, I'll let you read.
There were lots of nice "Silver Age Superman" nods while still allowing for a more modern sensibility and look. The supporting cast is in classic mode: "Gee whiz" Jimmy Olsen, blustery Perry White, megalomaniacal Lex Luthor, too-brave-for-her-own-good Lois, and of course Clark/Superman, who would like nothing more than a son of his own and asks his parents for advice on how they did it. There's also a great cameo appearance by one of my favorite DC characters, Mon-El (the teenager who arrived on Earth when Clark was a teenager, but with amnesia, and they both thought he might be Kal-El's older brother).
It's a tight story that doesn't need a deep knowledge of DC Comics in order to be enjoyed. The pacing is good, the dialogue works. It has some kinks that those more well-versed in DCU lore may be annoyed by, but for the casual reader the story works just fine.
And the art. I'm a fan of just about any Kubert who draws comics. I have to say, though, I think this is the closest either Andy or Adam has come to channeling their amazingly talented (and still drawing at 82!) father Joe. I was amazed. To say I loved the look of this story is an understatement.
The hardcover collection of this story just came out a month or so ago, so it may be awhile before the trade paperback shows up. It's worth the price as a hardcover, in my humble opinion.
Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories by Ian Fleming, isbn 9780143114581, 279 pages, Penguin, $15.00
One of the funnier comments I've read about this book on the "visual bookshelf" application on Facebook was "I have no idea how they're going to make a movie out of this -- it's a book of short stories with no characters that overlap except Bond!" I think said commenter missed the fact that the titles of four out of the nine stories herein have already been appropriated for movies in the franchise -- movies which pretty much shared nothing plot wise with the original story.
It'd actually be hard for most of these stories to make what we'd now consider a "good" Bond movie. Especially because of the nine, there are two in which Bond barely appears ("Quantum of Solace" and "Octopussy"), one which is more of a comedy piece ("007 In New York"), and two which are more murder-mystery than spy-thriller ("The Hildebrand Rarity" and "The Property of A Lady"). "From A View To A Kill," "For Your Eyes Only," and "The Living Daylights" come close to "classic" Bond action but are still short of being a major summer blockbuster (in fact, I think all three are perhaps longer on characterization and mood than they are on action -- which might work for Daniel Craig's Bond, but certainly would not have for Moore or Dalton. The story that comes closest to the kind of movie we expect of our James is "Risico," a tightly-plotted but still action-filled case of misdirection and double-cross.
It is humorous that I'm reading a book of Bond short stories even though I've never read a Bond novel ... I'll get to that one of these days!