In my write-up of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I said that, if done right, I could totally get behind the upcoming five-part Harry Potter-prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie-franchise, as it (supposedly) expands the Harry Potter-universe, while leaving The Boy Who Lived the hell alone. Fantastic Beasts and Where to… Read more »
Monthly Archives: July 2017
First Lines: The Simarillion
If it hadn’t been for my “thou shalt not put any books by authors of whom you have already read any work on thy list” rule, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Simarillion would most certainly have made my list of 40 books to read before my 40th birthday. It has that certain je ne sais quois, that… Read more »
First Lines: The Boys from Brazil
It is 1974, we are in South America, and witness Josef Mengele sending several SS-officers on a mission, which, if successful, should bring about the Fourth Reich. Elderly Nazi-hunter Yakov Liebermann gets tipped off, and we follow him while he tries to figure out what is happening, and then, trying to stop it. My problem… Read more »
First Lines: Time and Time Again
Ben Elton’s Time and Time Again got me. There are plenty of reasons why the book should not work: most importantly, the story is completely bonkers — it’s 2024, the word is in shambles, and a former special-ops soldier gets involved in a plot set up by Sir Isaac Newton to travel back in time… Read more »
First Lines: Unidentified Funny Objects 5
Unidentified Funny Objects 5 contains, again, a series of humours Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories. This time, my favorites were “The Trouble with Hairy”, in which David Gerrold explores using computer models to solve traffic congestion. Afterwards, they all agreed it had been a bad idea. Laura Resnick’s “The ? Files” is a gloriously convoluted X-Files/Star Trek/Wars/Doctor Who… Read more »