Mark Reece's Blog, page 6

Review- The nutcracker at the Birmingham Hippodrome

From the moment the curtain raises to reveal Clara's mother in a vibrant red dress gazing at a Christmas tree over the playful sound of Tchaikovsky, one is immersed in the world of The nutcracker.

The sets have changed slightly in recent years- in particular, the flight sequence looked a little different this time, but the performance by the Birmingham Royal Ballet has remained largely unchanged over many years- and there is no good reason why it should change much.

Rosanna Ely debuted as Clara this year, and danced very skillfully. In a minority of dancers from the BRB as being born in the UK, the programme reveals the global reach of the company, which must partly explain its predominance, and the exceptional skill of its dancers.

For some reason, there is currently only a single announced BRB performance in 2024; hopefully, more shows will become available soon.

Review- Xanathar's guide to everything

Xanathar's Guide to Everything by Wizards of the Coast

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An addendum to the dungeons and dragons basic rules and classes, Xanathar's guide to everything is of a similar quality to the other D&D books I've read. The lore and writing is rarely more than adequate, but the book is still curiously enjoyable. This perhaps reflect the versatility of the game, the basic ruleset of which is minimalistic.

The new subclasses and spells add to the possibilities for character creation, and the artwork is impressive, adding evocative backdrops.



View all my reviews

The last white man

The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The last white man tells the story of a town, and possibly a wider society, where the skin colour of the white people darkens at intervals. At first, there are outbreaks of violence and conspiracy theories, before most people accept what has happened. Although the events are far reaching, the narrative is heavily focused on the protagonist Anders, who lives a difficult life working in a gym, and his partner, Oona.

The book reminds me of similar 'transformation' stories such as Jose Saramago's 'blindness', and Naomi Alderman's 'the power'. Although 'the last white man' isn't as good as those works, and the book feels too short, giving itself too little time to fully explore the theme, the prose has a great lyrical quality that made it enjoyable to read.

At the start of the book the relationship between Anders and Oona seems to be in trouble, drifting as a result of a distance between them, and, perhaps, a lack of effort. Anders is one of the first people to transform, which has a curious effect of providing new life into their relationship. Perhaps caused by Anders giving more time to introspection, or because the adverse reaction he receives makes him more sympathetic, Anders and Oona communicate more effectively, and the renewal of their relationship forms the heart of the book.

The two characters' relationships with their parents serve as a proxy to wider events. Anders' father is an emotional restricted man, living alone and often in pain as a result of a progressively advancing illness. Although disturbed by what has happened to his son, he stoically protects him from a mob, allowing him to live at his home, despite his discomfort caused by his son seeing his physical decline. There seems to be a contrast drawn between the widening of Anders' perspective, and the conservatism of his father.

Similarly, Oona's mother becomes drawn to conspiracy theories that the change is caused by a plot to destroy white people. The blossoming of Oona's relationship is contrasted with her mother becoming isolated and paranoid. Both literary analogies work well, and the characters are rich and well drawn.

There is a curious feel to the novel, the lyrical qualities of the prose making the focus seem parochial; one of the only outward responses Anders makes to the political aspects of the crisis is when he talks to a cleaner at his gym, who mentions that he would like higher wages. I think that the scope of the novel could have been widened without detracting from its focus, but in any case, this was an enjoyable and interesting book.



View all my reviews

Review- La Traviata (opera)

I recently watched a second opera by the Welsh national opera- La Traviata. With beautiful costumes, an excellent location at the Birmingham Hippodrome, and outstanding singing, it was a wonderful experience.

The story had a classical nineteenth century feel, focused around a love affair doomed by the social mores of the time, which snobbishly and hypocritically damned the central character, Violetta, who falls in love with an aristocrat.

The social satire was done with a light touch, the central character largely accepting her fate and accepting suffering as a religious virtue.

There were subtitles to enable the audience to better follow the story.

It was a great experience, and I hope the Welsh national opera return to the Hippodrome again soon.

Story reading

I recently read two short story at the 'City Voices' event hosted by Offa's Press.

https://offaspress.co.uk/events/

Many of the people have been doing the event for years; it was pleasant to see them again after a long time.

Review- the age of the horse

The Age of the Horse: An Equine Journey Through Human History by Susanna Forrest

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book gives a history of horses, broken down into sections where the author talks about the different ways in which humans have interacted with horses, including the ways in which horses have been used in war, for food, and how they have been conceived culturally.

There are many interesting sections, although in several places, the book becomes highly discursive, the author giving her experiences of travel, in ways that are both boring and irrelevant to the subject matter. It's still worth reading, although I skim read some parts. The book is in need of a good editor.



View all my reviews

Review- The well of ascension

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this second book in the mistborn series. The lord ruler, who commanded the world with his almost divine power, was killed at the end of the first book, and the second book deals with the consequent fallout, in which various factions vie for power, including the crew of thieves involved in the revolution described in the first novel.

'Allomancers', who can ingest metals to gain a series of extraordinary powers, such as enhanced strength and sensory perception, play a major part in this world. This has a tendency to dominate the plot to a greater extent that I would like, as the powers described are so strong that some characters can fight armies almost single handedly, which has the potential to make other plot points irrelevant. Nevertheless, the author does a good job of keeping the story focused on the political aspects of the novel, describing the instability caused by the collapse of a dictatorship. Despite the fantasy setting, this feels realistic.

Although a long book, it is very well written and readable, meaning that I finished it in a small number of sittings. The characters are vibrant and memorable, despite there being many of them. I'm very likely to read the remaining four books in the series.



View all my reviews

Review- The dungeon anarchist's cookbook

The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The third book in the series sticks to the same formula as the first two books. I'd have liked the novel to have spent more time in the meta story outside the game, and the premise of this floor- a series of interconnected train tracks- didn't come across clearly. I was confused by a lot of the descriptions. Nevertheless, the premise of the book is still original enough to make it fun to read, and I want to know what will happen to Carl and Princess Donut.

I'm sticking with this series.



View all my reviews

Review- D&D monster manual

Monster Manual by Mike Mearls

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this alongside the player's handbook to get a sense of how to play D&D. The monster manual is a good guide, and I liked the illustrations, which gave a fuller sense of what the monsters were like. There is enough content to populate many campaigns.

I didn't get much of a sense about how the D&D world is thematically coherent. This is a place in which fantastical creatures exist alongside dinosaurs, intelligent but evil races, and also animals such as bears and wolves. It often seems like a lot of creatures thrown together with little thought to the wider world building, but perhaps that could reflect the extensive nature of the D&D world.



View all my reviews

Review- D&D player's handbook

Player's Handbook by James Wyatt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm going to start playing D&D for the first time soon, and have been reading about the rules and lore in preparation. This book focuses on the mechanics of gameplay and character creation.

The system is mostly intuitive, particularly for anyone who has played RPGs before. Not having played the game previously, I couldn't say whether it counts as an improvement on previous iterations. I thought more imagination could have been applied to the races that populate the world. Too many of them seemed to be either 'solid community' types, or 'wild tribesman'. I often think that not enough thought is given to social setups in fantasy settings, where a great variety of ways of living should be possible. I'd imagine this is why many players create their worlds.

Overall, the book provided a good manual for new players.



View all my reviews