Concerning Black As Night

Once upon a time... A young woman escapes from a pair of muggers and runs to an old church for refuge. When she wakes up in the vestibule, she is surprised to see a group of monks standing over her. Check that. She is surprised to see a group of friars standing over her. The seven friars, which range from gruff Father Francis to jolly novice Brother Leon, take the young woman under their wings. Afraid to return to her family, the young lady remains with the friars, desperately trying to puzzle out who would want her out of the way.

Pros: I absolutely love this book! The heroine and hero are my favorite couple ever! The friars are great, the story is good, the bad person is sufficiently creepy... and I love how Regina Doman works Through the Looking Glass into the story! The slapstick humor can be pretty funny, too, particularly the dogs.

Cons: There is nothing that I don't like about this book.

My Rating: T (fairly intense, drugs)

Picture from fairytalenovels.com

Pertaining to The Sable Quean

In Brian Jacques's The Sable Quean, an evil female sable named Vilaya has a plot to take over Redwall Abbey. Her minions, an assortment of villains called the Ravagers, kidnap any young creatures they see out in the woodlands. When the captive young ones reach a sufficient number, Vilaya will threaten to kill the little tykes unless the Redwallers give up their abbey and slave for her. But she didn't plan on Buckler, the master swords-hare from Salamandastron, and his tubby friend Diggs paying the Redwallers a visit just when her plan begins to ripen.

Pros: Diggs is hilarious; a true Brian Jacques character! I'm also quite fond of Buckler... and just about all the good characters, for that matter! Also, the story was much more complex than most Redwall tales.

Cons: I don't like Flib, the shrew maid.

Note: This book is darker than any of the other Redwall tales. I haven't decided whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes it was difficult to remember that the book was about animals. Which is good! But, on the other hand, I generally like Redwall books because they're harmless...

My Rating: OK (good creatures torturing, a little violent)

Picture from redwall.org

On Dragon Slippers

In Jessica Day George's Dragon Slippers, Creel Carlbrun is a poor orphan who gets captured by an evil dragon. That is, she gives herself up to a not-so-evil dragon. Her aunt planned for Creel to get captured by a dragon so she could be rescued by a knight in shining armor, who would marry her and raise the whole family from poverty. But Creel talks her way out of the dragon's lair herself, and gets a pair of beautiful slippers in the process. She then makes her way to the King's Seat to become a professional embroiderer. Then she trips over a little lap dog... and her entire life is thrown into turmoil.

Pros: At first I thought this would be a "grrl" power book. The girl rescues herself from the dragon and the lord's son is pathetic? Blech! But the hero turned out to be a hero, so I'm good. (By the by, I really like the hero, Luka.) The dragons are really cool, and pretty original, too.

Cons: I don't like the ending.

Note: Jessica Day George is a Mormon. I didn't notice any exclusively Mormon beliefs or themes in the book, but then, I don't know that much about Mormonism.

My Rating: T (thematic elements)

Picture from jessicadaygeorge.com

In Relation To Secondhand Lions

When young Walter (Haley Joel Osmont) is dropped off on his old great-uncles' farm, his mother tells him he'll only have to stay a few weeks. Two months at the most. Walter knows better. At first he thinks he's stuck in the middle of nowhere with the two crabbiest men on the planet. Uncle Hub (Robert Duvall) and Uncle Garth (Michael Caine) are so crabby, in fact, they shoot shotguns at traveling salesmen. But then Walter's curiosity starts getting the better of him as he begins to wonder about their past... How did they become filthy rich? Where do they hide all their money? And who is the beautiful woman in the picture he found in the attic?

Pros: Anyone who knows a crusty old man will think this movie is hilarious. I must admit, it wasn't quite like what I expected, though. Half of the movie is taken up with a yarn Uncle Garth spins about what he and Hub were doing during the forty years they were missing. But that's a good thing! I love adventure stories that take place in Africa!

Cons: There are fairly slow parts, but none of them last long.

My Rating: T (uncaring mother, steady stream of mild language)

Picture from impawards.com

Concerning Silver Canyon

In Louis L'Amour's Silver Canyon, Matt Brennan rides into dusty Hattan's Point - and almost instantly falls in love. Beautiful Moira Maclaren catches his eye, and he decides he wants to marry her. Unfortunately, Matt ends up siding against Moira's father in a land dispute. As the tension (and body count) escalates, Matt must find a way to bring peace back to Hattan's Point before he ends up on the wrong end of a bullet.

Pros: There ain't nothin' like a good ol' western! In this one, I like both the hero and the heroine, which is rather rare. There was an unusual twist to the storyline that I didn't see coming at the beginning of the book, though it became clearer to me as the book went on.

Cons: A fist fight lasts waaaaay too long. Matt got overly aggresive (and bloodthirsty) at times. **Spoiler warning** The title totally gives away a key part of the story (which I picked up on anyway, long after I forgot the title of the book!)

My Rating: T (aggresive hero)

Help!

Does anyone know the copyright laws concerning internet photo usage? Is it legal to post a still from a movie if I include the title of the movie, the names of any actors or actresses in the photo, the year the movie was released, and what studio released it? What if I post the photo, the title of the movie, year it was released, and who released it, along with my source for the photo (i.e. the name of the website I saved it off of)?

Regarding The 39 Steps

Richard Hannay (Rupert Penry-Jones) is bored. Recently returned to England after living in Africa for a time, he finds English people dull and stuffy. Then a secret agent pushes his way into Hannay's apartment and is promptly killed - after giving Hannay a coded notebook and instructions to give the book to Captain Kell of the secret service. Hannay is accused of the murder and soons finds himself on the run from the police and a German spy ring.

Pros: I really like Hannay. His morals aren't quite on line, but he's really nice. I also really like Victoria Sinclair (Lydia Leonard), the harum-scarum suffragette who joins Hannay. The story is pretty good - an amalgamation of the book by John Buchan and the earlier movie by Alfred Hitchcock, with a few new parts thrown in. For the most part, they really handled the guy and girl traveling together alone angle well. They could have made it really sleazy, but they stayed pretty clean considering how new the movie is.

Cons: The ending is extremely frustrating!! There are a couple of scenes I sincerely wish they had left out. And, of course, the "mysterious" German spies are rather too shifty looking for my taste.

My Rating: T (sexual references, content)