Kingsman: The Secret Service (CBR8 #75)

I, like so many other dedicated Cannonball Book Clubbers, am working my way through The Count of Monte Cristo. I have gone abridged, and it is still a long book. In that time, I have also been interspersing my reading with quicker, lighter, fare. Enter, Kingsman.

This is lighter fare if you are a particular kind of reader, or find certain kinds of jokes funny. The first few pages of issue one, where (SPOILER) Mark Hamill gets killed, by accident? Perfection as far as I’m concerned.

I am vaguely familiar with the work of author Mark Millar. He is perhaps best known for Kick-Ass and Wanted? I’m just not sure, I know that he’s a name in the industry and I’ll hope that you’ll forgive me since comics are a new area for me. I was turned onto this series by the movie that was based on it, which I enjoyed (right up until the very end). The movie and the comics share a lot of the same DNA, with a few changes in the movie which I think were for the better.

The comic builds around the idea of the world’s greatest secret agent – named Jack London – has a punk nephew who he decides should follow in his footsteps in the service. Small problem, he’s on a case trying to discover the link between a series of kidnapped stars. Under Uncle Jack’s supervision, Gary’s spy skills only increase, but solving the celebrity kidnappings isn’t without a price.

While the pacing was a bit hit or miss, the visuals by Dave Gibbons were fantastic. There are parts of the movie version I’ll always enjoy more (Mark Strong and Michael Caine’s parts being two distinct characters instead of one in the comic, more time spent in training, and with *gasp* girls also in the training), but all in all a good read.

This book was read and reviewed as part of the charitable Cannonball Read. 

A Spy in the House (CBR8 #74)

It isn’t a book’s fault when you’ve read a version of it better suited to your own personal tastes. I feel poorly for nor liking A Spy in the House more, since as a straight on 1850s historical fiction mystery should be right up my alley. I am a fan of Alex Grecian’s Murder Squad series which starts with The Yard, which is the same basic set up, but 40 years later. But I was left underwhelmed.

I think it may be because Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series is more recently in my memory and it was quite a bit more enjoyable for me. Here’s a synopsis from Goodreads so you can decide for yourself if this book sounds like fun to you:

Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction in fine manners — and an unusual vocation. Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen, Mary is about to put her training to the test. Assuming the guise of a lady’s companion, she must infiltrate a rich merchant’s home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the household is full of dangerous deceptions, and there is no one to trust — or is there? Packed with action and suspense, banter and romance, and evoking the gritty backstreets of Victorian London, this breezy mystery debuts a daring young detective who lives by her wits while uncovering secrets — including those of her own past.

While I was finishing this book and contemplating both my star rating (2.5) and my review in general the twittersphere blew up about a YA book The Continent, and one of our favorite authors, Courtney Milan, got involved in the discussion, which meant that I got caught up quick. What it basically boils down to is that persons of color in The Continent were mishandled (racist and demeaning descriptors of POC, per the reports), and people spoke out via the methods available to them. The author and her supporters are falling back on a free expression.

Free expression means that everyone is going to be made uncomfortable by others at some point.

— Courtney Milan (@courtneymilan) November 7, 2016

But what stood out to me was Milan’s point and emphasis about reading more POC authors, which is actually how I got to this book in the first place, and realizing that I as a white reader need to be aware of my reactions to what I’m reading.  I can’t just sit back and say “I didn’t connect with this for some reason” and not look into the idea of is it simply that this book is handling a viewpoint different than my own, and different to the conventional story arc? I stepped back from this review and thought about it long and hard. Was the trouble I had because the narrative was typical and from a POC author? I’ve come to the conclusion of no, that my real struggle with this book is that it is Y. S. Lee’s first book, the pacing is slow, and it’s a bit more YA than I prefer. But if you are looking for more insight into the conversations surrounding representation in books, particularly YA, Becky Albertelli and Justina Ireland had a great threads on Twitter as well.

I have some thoughts on empathy, kindness, and representation in kidlit, and this probably won’t be super concise.

— Becky Albertalli (@beckyalbertalli) November 6, 2016

 

Here is the complete summary for racist garbage fire #TheContinent spoilers abound:

— Justina Ireland (@justinaireland) November 4, 2016

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (CBR8 #73)

I have, in my life, attempted to read The Hobbit on three separate occasions. The fourth try was the charm because I gave in to the power of the BBC Radio Drama. As many of you know Ale is working on her thesis about the origins of fantasy, and she is my roommate. What you may not know, is that I retrieve all our library needs, since I’m there every week. My latest pick up for her was the audio version of The Hobbit, and I decided she should listen to the BBC Radio version, so that I could try it too. I figured if it was another failure on my part, no harm, she needed it anyway.

Here’s my honest take: I found The Hobbit to be merely okay. Here’s perhaps another highly unpopular opinion: I think Peter Jackson’s greatly expanded movies fill in plot points quite admirably, most of the time (I still hate the dues ex goats in the final battle in the third movie and think all the invented characters along the way are unnecessary). I do love the complexity of Tolkien’s world of Middle-Earth, but I will never know for sure if I could love it just from the written word, since I was constantly referring to what I already knew of the world from Jackson’s version (and the earlier animated one) because what I was listening to felt lacking.

As befits the original intended audience, Tolkien uses an informal narrator to open his world. The reader is provided glimpses into the various realms which populate the world, and the great battles yet to come. Since Tolkien is working in these glimpses, and the lyrical devices of songs and poems, I as a reader saw the gaps and here is where the genre of high fantasy seems to leave me behind. I as a reader am looking for more explicit information.  But I will say that this version has the benefit of bringing those poems and songs to life for the reader.

This book was read and reviewed as part of the charitable Cannonball Read.