Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug's left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance!
Whisked from his comfortable hobbit-hole by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon...
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Bilbo Baggins is living a quiet and respectable life in his cozy hobbit-hole when one day an old acquaintance appears and tricks him into hosting a party for 13 dwarves. At the party, Bilbo is persuaded to join the dwarves on a quest to reclaim treasure stolen from the dwarves' forefathers by a fierce dragon named Smaug.
On the journey, which takes six months, Bilbo, the dwarves and Bilbo's acquaintance, Gandalf the Wizard maneuver through many perilous situations. In the midst of one of their adventures, Bilbo gets separated from his traveling party and finds himself in a tunnel. In the tunnel he finds a magic ring that allows him to disappear when he wears it. Armed with the magic ring, Bilbo finds his friends and they continue to make their way to the mountain to reclaim the dwarves' stolen treasure.
Despite the never-ending adventures I had a hard time getting through The Hobbit. This wasn't my first attempt at reading this book, I read the first chapter as a kid. Now that I've finally read the book in its entirety, I'll admit it's pretty good. It's fantasy and adventures with lots of morals wound in.
The biggest moral comes towards the end of the novel, in the chapter titled "The Return Journey."
"This is a bitter adventure, if it must end so; and not a mountain of gold can amend it. Yet I am glad that I have shared in your perils - that has been more than any Baggins deserves." "No!" said Thorin. "There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
My only criticism surrounds Bilbo's magic ring that allows him to disappear. It feels like a cop-out and a cliche. It seems like every other fantasy character has some kind of tool that makes them invisible. The Hobbit was first published in 1937, so I imagine a lot of authors probably got the idea from J.R.R. Tolkien.
At the end of the day, The Hobbit is a legend in the fantasy genre, and with good reason. I recommend this book to those looking for a fantastic escape.
4/5
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Hugh Jackman is producing The Hobbit the movie. It's due for release in 2012, until then here's the link to the official blog - http://www.thehobbitblog.com/
Lyra Belacqua is content to run wild among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon familiar, Pantalaimon, always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle - a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold far North, Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: she alone is destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle. Beautifully crafted and thrillingly told, this first book of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is now hailed as a modern fantasy classic. Along with The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, The Golden Compass is a masterwork of storytelling and suspense, beloved by readers of all ages around the world. ---------
The Golden Compass (published as The Northern Lights in the United Kingdom) is the first book in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials.
The Golden Compass is fantasy at its best. In this fantasy world, set in another era, every human has a daemon, a animal manifestation of their soul. Before children reach puberty their daemons change constantly to reflect their mood, after puberty the daemon adopts one form that is thought to be reflective of the person's true personality
When Lyra's best friend Roger is kidnapped by Gobblers, a group that's been travelling through England kidnapping poor kids, Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon, embark on a quest to rescue him and the other kids. In her journey, Lyra comes into contact with gyptians, talking armored bears, witches and mad scientists, sanctioned by the church to experiment with ways of stopping Dust (original sin) by separating children from their daemons.
This book is marketed as young adult fantasy, but many have expressed concern that it is anti-christian and have even gone so far as to refuse to let their children read it. As a true book lover, I can never advocate banning books. I didn't find this book to be too heavily anti-religion. There are definitely a few areas where the subject matter is focused on christian views, but I think this type of literature serves a purpose in providing a jumping off point for discussion. At the end of the day, this novel is fantasy and should be read with that fact in mind.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The characters are fascinating and original and the action sequences come off the page. There's just the right amount of foreshadowing so you're constantly wondering if the characters are what they appear to be. This is the type of book that one could easily read in a day or two, schedule permitting. Once you start reading you'll be so riveted you won't want to put it down.
I would recommend this book to just about anyone.
5
Trailer for the major motion picture The Golden Compass.
From the book cover February 1999. On Mars, Mrs. K closed her golden eyes...and dreamed of a very tall man with very white skin, who came out of the sky. He was from Earth, the third planet, he explained in her dream. But when she told Mr. K about it, he scoffed. "The third planet is incapable of supporting life...." Shortly thereafter, the First Expedition from Earth landed on Mars. Colonization had begun.
December 2001. Young Benjamin Driscoll had found his niche at last. He wanted Mars green with trees - to cool the towns in the boiling summer, hold back the winter winds, add color, drop fruit, provide shade, become a child's playground...and, above all, to distill fresh, icy air. So he set out with a bin full of rich seeds and sprouts, Johnny Appleseeding his way across the harsh Martian landscape. And there were trees.
November 2005. Everyone came out to look at the sky that night, to watch the green star of Earth. It was a move without conscious effort; they all did it to help them understand the news that had just come over the radio. There was Earth, and there the coming war, and there hundreds of thousands of friends and relatives, so very far away. At 9:00 Earth seemed to explode, catch fire and burn....
A brilliant account of the human settlement of Mars, from 1999-2026, THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES is vintage Bradbury...a haunting blend of terror and wonder, the familiar and the fantastic, set against the incredible beauty of a fabulous new world.
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I couldn't have a Science Fiction and Fantasy Month without reading Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. Most of the chapters were published as short stories in the 1940s, and with some editing for continuity published as a novel in 1950.
I loved the first half of this novel. Some of the chapters read like a Dr. Seuss story. The people and scenarios are just so out of this world!
This text really examines human nature and shines a light on our "earth" centric attitude. We assume that ours is the the only civilization. In "April 2000: The Third Expedition", Hinkson speculates that Mars' civilization is a result of earlier human travelers who settled Mars to resemble earth.
"June 2003: Way in the middle of the air" is one of my favorite chapters. It's more about life in the south (racism and injustice) than about Mars. In a small southern town in the United States all of the black folks have built a rocket and are planning a move to Mars. The story centers around Samuel Teece, a white hardware store owner who's domestic helper and one of his employees are scheduled to take off on the rocket. Teece is a bully, a racist and possibly a clan member.
I can't figure why they left now. With things lookin' up. I mean, everyday they get more rights. What they want, anyway? Here's the poll tax gone, and more and more states passin' anti-lynchin' bills, and all kinds of equal rights. What more they want? They make almost as good money as a white man, but there they go.
This chapter really had nothing to do with science fiction at all. It's just nice that Bradbury thought to add some colour to The Martian Chronicles, and imagine how society's marginalized might have viewed the possibility of an inhabitable Mars.
The Martian Chronicles is classic science fiction. It's not your typical novel, rather it's a bunch of short stories centering around Mars. Characters appear for one chapter and are never heard from again. If you're a true science fiction fan, you've probably already read The Martian Chronicles. For the rest of you, if it falls in your lap read it, otherwise don't worry about it, you're not missing much.
3/5
Scene from The Martian Chronicles mini-series which is based on Ray Bradbury's novel.
From the book cover Woman on the Edge of Time is the fascinating story of Connie Ramos, a Chicana woman in her mid-thirties, living in New York and labeled insane, and committed to a mental institution. But the truth is that Connie is overwhelmingly sane, heroically sane, and tuned in to the future.
Connie is able to communicate with the year 2137. Two totally different ways of life are competing. One is beautiful - communal, nonsexist, environmentally pure, open to ritual and magic. The other is horror - totalitarian, exploitative, rigidly technological.
In Connie's struggle to keep the institution's doctors from forcing her into a brain control operation, we find the timeless struggle between beauty and terror, between good and evil... with an astonishing outcome. --------------
Baby Storm's parent would love the world in 2137, as depicted by Marge Piercy in this hybrid chic-lit science fiction novel. In this future people are very close to being genderless. Males and females still have the same external sex organs they have today, but women no longer give birth (all babies are created in incubators) and men can choose to breastfeed by taking lactate pills. Gender titles don't exist, everyone is referred to as 'per' short for person. Bisexuality and homosexuality are on par with heterosexual relations.
Woman on the Edge of Time has been labelled an angry and violent text. I feel it's more honest and unpretentious than anything. Connie is angry and violent because society has backed her into a corner:
If only they had left me something!" she whispered. Still trembling, she thought, If only they had left me Martin, or Claud, or Angelina, if they had even left me Dolly and Nita, I would have minded my own business. I'd have bowed my head and kept down. I was not born and raised to fight battles, but to be modest and gentle and still. Only one person to love. Just one little corner of loving of my own. For that love I'd borne it all and I'd never have fought back. I would have obeyed. I would have agreed that I'm sick, that I'm sick to be hungry and sick to be lonely and sick to be robbed and used. But you were so greedy, so cruel! One of them, just one, you could have left me! But I have nothing. Why shouldn't I strike back?
Yet her hands shook with fear. She lay cold and trembling, all the night.
Connie is not a naturally violent or angry person. If she were, the thought of intentionally harming the people she thinks are going to cause her death would not keep her up at night trying to come up with non-violent solutions. This is a story about how society can bring out the worse in people, especially when money and technology are in play. The people on the edge of society feel the brunt of society's cruelty. Connie and the other patients who are subjected to the experimental surgery are either minorities, poor or homosexual.
Woman on the Edge of Time is one of the most enjoyable novels I've read in a while. I have no hesitation about recommending this novel. If all science fiction and fantasy novels were like this gripping tale of the future, science fiction and fantasy would be my favourite genre.
From the book cover From Del Rey Books and award-winning editor Ellen Datlow, two of the most respected names in science fiction and fantasy, comes a collection of fifteen all-new short stories, plus a science fiction novella, that add up to a virtual "best of the year" anthology. Here you will find slyly twisted alternate histories, fractured fairy tales, topical science fiction, and edgy urban fantasy.
In "Daltharee," World Fantasy Award-winning author Jeffrey Ford spins a chilling take of a city in a bottle - and the demented genius who put it there. In "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall," John W. Campbell Award-winning author Elizabeth Bear pens a poignant and eerie requiem for the heavyweight forever associated with his controversial loss to Cassius Clay. From hot new writer Margo Lanagan comes "The Goosle," a dark, astonishing take on the Hansel and Gretal tale. In the novella "Prisoners of the Action," Paul McAuley and Kim Newman take a trip down a rabbit hole that leads to a Guantanamo-like prison whose inmates are not just illegal but extraterrestrial. Many of the writers you'll recognize. Others you may not. But one thing is certain: These stars of the today and tomorrow demonstrate that the field of speculative fiction is not only alive and well - it's better than ever.
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The Elephant Ironclads by Jason Stoddard
In this short story, two young Dine boys agree to serve as guides to two white men in exchange for $30 US - a large sum of money to the boys. Shortly after setting off through Dinetah, the boys, Niyol and Wallace, learn that the men are not rock hounds, as they've been told but are in fact looking for uranium, which is considered the heart of the Diyin Dine (the god who lives in the earth). The boys are caught in a moral and ethical dilemma. Will they go against all the beliefs they've been taught about honouring the Diyin Dine or will they opt for the power that comes with owning weapons of mass destruction?
Ardent Clouds by Lucy Sussex
Bet is a documentarian and volcano chaser who is on the caldera of a volcano in South America when it erupts. She was with a group of volcano chaser but she's the only one who survives.This short story gets its name from nuee ardente (ardent clouds in French). Ardent clouds describe the fast-moving clouds of hot ash and other materials produced by a volcanic eruption.
Gather by Christopher Rowe
Despite reading this story twice I didn't it. This is what I could make out:
Gather, an autistic? man, finds God in a piece of paper he and his scientist neighbour, Miss. Charlie, were using for an experiment. Set in Virginia, somewhere in the future, only a select few members of the community are allowed to read the bible and 'God' lives across the river on the far bank. To go to the house of God is forbidden, according to the bible. So, when Gather and Miss. Charlie find God they have three choices: take it to the preacher; hide it and never speak of it; or return God to the other side of the river.
Sonny Liston Takes the Fall by Elizabeth Bear
In this alternate history the author suggests that maybe Sonny Liston lost his two fights with Cassius Clay (later known as Mohammad Ali) not because he was threatened by the mob but because he knew that the black community needed a symbol, and he (Sonny Liston) couldn't be that symbol.
North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
This short story is about two monsters: the one that washes up from the lake and the recently paroled father who has rage issues and is unintentionally alienating his wife and daughter. The story spans one day. While contemplating how to dispose of the dead monster's body, Grady downs his sorrows in a bottle of vodka and comes to the realization that he is a monster.
All Washed Up While Looking for a Better World by Carol Emshwiller
After wishing for a fresh start, the protagonist finds herself washed up on a shore inhabited by human-like people who treat her like a pet. She can understand them but they can't understand her.
Special Economics by Maureen F. McHugh
Jieling is a 19-year-old girl who's leaves her home in Northern China to take advantage of the job boom in Shenzhen and ends up working for a company that practice serf-like work conditions. Instead of getting a pay cheque she gets a debt notice. The company charges its workers more for food and board than they make resulting the workers being in constant debt to the company.
Aka St. Mark's Place by Richard Bowes
The lives of three young people intertwine when they find each other on St. Mark's Place in the summer of 1965. All three are able to see visions of the future and realize that they will meet again in 1971. Are the visions self-fulling prophecies?
The Goosle by Margo Lanagan
This controversial retelling of the classic fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" is not for the faint of heart. Gretel is eaten by the witch and Hansel is repeatedly raped by Grinnan, a thief who rescues him from the witch's cage.
Shira by Lavie Tidhar
Nur, a Damascus University students, finds herself the protagonist of a science fiction short story. Shira is set in the Middle East sometime in the future. A 'small holocaust' has taken place and Jerusalem is no more. The pain and destruction of losing Jerusalem has resulted in peace throughout the Middle East.
The Passion of Azazel by Barry N. Malzberg
This twisted tale explores reincarnation and animal sacrifices. Schmuel, the narrator and protagonist believes that he was a scapegoat in a previous life. In his current life, as a soon-to-be-rabbi and Kabbalist, he creates a golem in the form of a goat. The golem, Azazel, turns out to be Schmuel's brother from his previous. Schmuel's goat brother was sacrificed before Schmuel and is now determined to get his revenge on all rabbis.
The Lagerstatte by Laird Barron
When Danni's husband and son are killed in a plane crash she suffers from depression and eventually starts to see her husband in every man she sees.
Gladiolus Exposed by Anna Tambour
When the protagonist and his wife go to a couples retreat he finds a bone specimen that he calls a gladiolus because it is so perfect. His fondness for the gladiolus drives a deep wedge in the strained relationship he has with his wife, who can't stand the gladiolus.One night he returns from a business trip to find that his wife has thrown the gladiolus away.
Daltharee by Jeffrey Ford
Mando Paige is a mad scientist obsessed with creating miniature life. After serving a prison sentence for creating the town of Daltharee in a bottle, he returns to the lab and shrinks himself!
Jimmy by Pat Cadigan
When Jimmy a troubled boy goes missing, no one cares with the exception of his social worker and his only friend, the story's narrator. The narrator discovers Jimmy in a force field where humans can't see or hear you, even when you are directly in front of them. In the force field strange creatures impart knowledge. To receive their knowledge is to be marked an outsider in the regular world.
Prisoners of the Action by Paul McAuley and Kim Newman
The story takes place on St.James Island, a Guantanamo-like army based that is the centre of a national controversy because alien Prisoners of the Action (POTA) are being held captive and have been abused, and a large portion of the army's officers are suffering from St. James Syndrome (island fever). When the army sends Colonel Dice to investigate, he must go into an Alice in Wonderland type rabbit hole to understand what is going on the island.
2/5
