Tyson Adams's Blog, page 52
March 22, 2017
Book review: The Time Machine by HG Wells
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I wonder if vegans object to the Morlocks’ diet?
In what is now a classic of the Science Fiction genre, an un-named narrator has local dignitaries over to his place once a week to tell tall tales and show off his latest inventions to. On one of these evenings he limps in the worse for wear, in desperate need of a steak, and discusses his pocket flower collection.
When I was a kid I read a lot of the classic science fiction stories from the likes of HG Wells and Jules Verne. It has been so long since I’ve read them that I thought it was time to revisit these classics. While I can still fondly remember the 1960 movie – let us not ever speak of the 2002 adaptation – the book felt unfamiliar and akin to virgin reading material.
Whilst The Time Machine does deserve its place in history for influencing/creating Science Fiction as we know it (fantastical ideas explored, social issues analogised), as a novel it is lacking. One example of this is the lack of tension in scenes that are literally life or death struggles. Instead of fearing for the narrator’s life and wondering how he’ll survive, we are treated to a recounting of the events that could have instead been describing someone having a cup of tea while watching the rain out of the dining room window. A wondrous adventure told as though it was just another day at the office.
Tagged: Book review, Book reviews, HG Wells, Jules Verne, Reading, Right What You No, Sci-fi, science fiction, The Time Machine, Tyson Adams
March 20, 2017
Book review: The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When someone launders your money do they also iron and starch it? Why yes, I am a dad, why do you ask?
Nick Fox and Kate O’Hare are once again using Nick’s talents as a conman to take down criminals on the FBI’s list of bad guys. This time they are after a casino owner who is helping launder money for anyone from mobsters to terrorists. Given the company he keeps, is it any surprise he has a tank of piranha in his office for ‘negotiations’.
After being disappointed in the second instalment in this series, The Chase, I was unsure if I would read any more of the Evanovich and Goldberg series. I already had The Scam on loan from the library, so I decided to chance it. This was a rewarding decision as The Scam delivers an entertaining read.
I was disappointed with The Chase because it felt like an episode from one of those will-they-won’t-they crime shows – such as Castle or Bones – during their declining years. You know, just as they are lining up the ramp over the shark cage. But The Scam felt like an early episode at the beginning of the series when Castle or Bones are still awesome, even though there are plot elements here that set this firmly later in the series (can’t say more without major spoilers).
So skip The Chase and read The Scam.
Tagged: Book review, Book reviews, Crime comedy, Crime thriller, Fox and O'Hare, Janet Evanovich, Kate O'Hare, Lee Goldberg, Nick Fox, Right What You No, The Chase, The Scam, Tyson Adams
March 14, 2017
Book to Movie: Lord of the Rings – What’s the Difference?
This month’s What’s the Difference? from CineFix covers the Fellowship of the Ring section of Lord of the Rings.
Let’s be honest here, the movies were better.
Whilst I enjoyed the Lord of the Rings in both movie and book form, to call the books waffly and slow-moving is an understatement. As pointed out in the CineFix video, huge passages of time elapse before anything actually happens in the book. The adventure Frodo sets out upon literally takes decades to start, such that you forget what the inciting call to adventure is.
The movie also establishes the stakes and opposing forces better. This not only sets the clock ticking but raises tension and consequence. Meanwhile the book has plenty of pipe smoking and walking. In fairness, Tom Bombadil is a highlight that is sorely missing from the movie – although I doubt that the lyricism of his presence would translate to the screen from the page.
In all, this is one of the few examples where the movie was superior. And shorter. Much shorter.
Tagged: Book to film, Book to movie, Book vs film, Book vs Movie, CineFix, Fellowship of the Ring, Film vs book, JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, Right What You No, Tolkein, Tom Bombadil, Tyson Adams, What's the difference
March 12, 2017
March 1, 2017
Book review: The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
The Chase by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
There is no con you can pull on a politician, given that they invented them all.
Nick Fox and Kate O’Hare are once again teamed up as the will-they-won’t-they odd couple. This time their mission is to recover a stolen artefact of national significance to the Chinese government. They have to steal it from the people who stole it before someone realises it was stol….. You get the idea.
I’ve read many Lee Goldberg and Janet Evanovich novels and have always found them humorous and entertaining. But The Chase felt like a by-the-numbers follow up to The Heist, a book that established a potentially good series. This was like an episode from a TV crime show like Castle, or Bones, or any of the dozens of those similarly constructed dramedies. And not an episode from the start of the series when it was good, but in those later episodes when they are lining up the ramp over the shark tank.
That isn’t to say that The Chase fails to entertain, quite the contrary. This is a fun novel and series, but could feel a bit too formulaic.
Tagged: Bones, Book review, Book reviews, Castle, Crime comedy, crime fiction, Dramedy, Janet Evanovich, Kate O'Hare, Lee Goldberg, Nick Fox, Reading, The Chase, The Heist, Tyson Adams
February 28, 2017
Book review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Who knew trolls were brightly coloured down there. Something to keep in mind during your next internet argument.
Adam and Mercy’s pack is quickly becoming the go-to problem solving group. Vampire dispute: call the pack. Wayward fae: call the pack. Troll rampaging on a bridge in town and threatening to kill everyone: call the pack. Since that isn’t happening anywhere else, Mercy claims the Tri-cities as their territory and any and all are under their protection. Only took a few seconds for someone to take up the protection offer and give them another headache in the form of a fire-touched human hunted by the fae.
This instalment in the Mercy Thompson series sees some of the older conflicts resolved, only to be replaced by new conflicts as the importance of the Columbia Basin pack in the wider world grows. The way Patricia Briggs has gradually grown the Mercy’s world, and the characters who live within it, has felt natural, whilst upping the stakes. Of course now that I’m up-to-date with the series, I have a fortnight to wait for the next instalment to be published.
Tagged: Book review, Book reviews, Mercy Thompson, Patricia Briggs, Reading, Tyson Adams, Urban fantasy, Urban paranormal, Werecoyote, Werewolf, Werewolves
February 22, 2017
February 20, 2017
Book Review: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs
Night Broken by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
If you are dyed blue are you at risk of being abducted by Smurfs?
Mercy and Adam have an unwelcome house guest, Christy, Adam’s ex-wife. She is fleeing a stalker who has killed at least one person and burned down a condo. Oh, and he might be a volcano god. Even more reason for Christy to try to manipulate her way back into Adam and the pack’s life.
This instalment of the Mercy Thompson series is filled with tension. The injection of Christy back into the werewolf pack politics, the new enemy, the need to protect people who are trying to hurt you, and the suspicion of the werewolves being responsible for a rash of murders, could induce reader anxiety. Patricia Briggs has certainly left no obstacle out of Mercy’s way in Night Broken.
Needless to say, the review of the next instalment, Fire Touched, will be coming soon.
Tagged: Book review, Book reviews, Mercy Thompson, Mercy Thompson series, Night Broken, Patricia Briggs, Reading, Right What You No, Tri-city werewolves, Tyson Adams, Urban paranormal, Werecoyote, Werewolf, Werewolves
February 16, 2017
February 15, 2017
Book vs Movie: Shawshank Redemption – What’s the Difference?
Nothing quite like comparing one of the best movies of all time with its source material. This month CineFix do with What’s the Difference? on The Shawshank Redemption.
It’s odd that I have read Stephen King’s The Body but haven’t read Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, given that they shared space in the same collection. But then I don’t often read novellas and short stories, as I prefer novels. I often think that shorter stories make for easier movie adaptations as the filmmakers don’t have to trim material the same way. Of course there are two problems with that thinking:
It assumes that filmmakers actually read the source material (see here, here, here, here….)
It assumes that filmmakers aren’t quite content to stretch source material out to fill as much cinema time as possible, no matter how bad an idea that is. *cough* The Hobbit *cough*
I recently saw a listicle that suggested Shawshank was one of the movies you should have in your collection. That is clearly wrong. If you can’t turn on the TV and catch it on rerun then your TV is broken or you have found Die Hard on instead. Why own it? Which brings me to possibly the only real gripe there is to be had with Shawshank, and that is its over-popularity. Exactly how many times can it play on TV before people start becoming annoyed? At what point does the audience start to groan at what was once a great movie? Can great art remain timeless if you beat everyone over the head with it? I fear the answers.
Tagged: Book adaptation, Book adaptations, Book to movie, Book vs Movie, CineFix, Movies, Reading, Right What You No, Shawshank Redemption, Stephen King, Tyson Adams, What's the difference
