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Felipe (17 KP) rated The Name of the Rose in Books

Dec 3, 2020  
The Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
A labyrinth of mystery with multiple dimensions, pitfalls, dead ends and revelations. (2 more)
The story and structure are brilliant.
The characters are genius and the narrative is written in way that you get sucked into and are part of the narrative.
Brilliant and entertaining introduction to semiotics.
I first read this book in my freshman or sophomore year in college after having seen the Sean Connery film adaptation. Like most novels that movies are based on, the book was far better than the movie. The movie was just a superficial touching on the themes of the book but the book was a multi dimensional journey through art, philosophy, literature and theology while captivating the reader in a very good murder mystery. The tragedy of the book is the revelation to the reader that our tendency to try to form connections between random events as and ideas is futile. The library is an allegory to the house of cards that comes crashing down when we create false narratives on tenuous connections between randomn events and ideas; connections that don't really exist.

Eco takes all of his academic experience that he has absorbed in the years and uses fiction to not only tell a good story but also to challenge us on how we see the world and interpret the signs and symbols we come into contact.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated When the Tripods Came (The Tripods #4) in Books

Sep 18, 2019  
When the Tripods Came (The Tripods #4)
When the Tripods Came (The Tripods #4)
John Christopher | 1988 | Dystopia, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fourth books in trilogies are inherently inelegant and awkward beasts; Christopher's final Tripods novel is unsurprisingly no exception. 1980s Earth is visited by alien invaders, who (initially at least) are easily repelled. But it turns out that your mum was right when she said that too much TV was bad for your health...

A bit dated, but that's the least of the book's issues. A prequel to the main series was really not required, and the main catalyst for writing it seems to have been the Tripods TV show which was broadcast three or four years earlier. (The TV show the Masters use to take over the world bears a suspicious resemblance to the TV adaptation of the first two books.) It's not really meta, more sort of peeved: peeved at critics of the show's shortcomings, but also peeved at the makers of the show for not doing a better job. As well as being dated, the relationship subplots of the book feel a bit proforma, but the depiction of the world slowly sliding out of human control and the end of modern civilisation is vividly presented in the usual compelling fashion. Whether it should all feel a bit more downbeat and bleak is probably a question of personal taste; Christopher's prose retains its good manners as well as its readability.
  
    The Witcher Adventure Game

    The Witcher Adventure Game

    Games and Entertainment

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    App

    ***NOTE: Compatible with iPad 2/iPad mini and up – WILL NOT RUN ON EARLIER DEVICES*** The Witcher...

    iSwimPlans

    iSwimPlans

    Sports and Lifestyle

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    App

    The iSwimPlan app is designed for swimmers, coaches, managers and club administrators. However all...

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Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Batman: The Court of Owls in Books

Nov 30, 2020  
Batman: The Court of Owls
Batman: The Court of Owls
Greg Cox | 2018 | Film & TV
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm going to be upfront here. When I saw this available as an ebook for my Kindle, I was like "Hmmmm..", but then I was thinking "Greg Cox is quite good, but did I really want to read a prose adaptation of Snyder's <i>Court of Owls</i> story from BATMAN?". Reading users' reviews on here told me that it was not an adaptation, but an original tale involving Bats and yet another confrontation involving the Court of Owls. So, yup, I was sold on that point alone!

****

Cox does a brilliant job with Batman! Seriously, I wish <u>he</u> had been writing BATMAN instead of Tom King! The characterization is one that shows us the "I'm Batman!" version, as well as allowing us to see a side of him not always presented well in the comics of late: he has a human side, but he also has a dedication to see cases/mysteries through to the end, as it is what he feels he has to do for the city of Gotham, as well as her citizens. The great thing with the way Cox presented both sides was balanced, neither too much of one or the other.

I also quite liked how Cox returned to the Court of Owl's previous "lair", the one with that marbleized labyrinth and that huge marble owl statue in its center. Reading throughout, it really seemed as if Cox had spent more than enough time reading the source material, taking all of it in, and then presenting his addition to Batman's dealings with the Court of Owls. So, so brilliant!

And, while she was not in it as much as Bats, the little bit that Batgirl/Barbara Gordon appeared was spot on. Her dialogue interactions with Bats are tense, in relation to the case, as well as fun and playful, when the situation called for it. Again, just as his treatment of Batman's character, Cox presents us with a balanced Barbara Gordon, making her inclusion a welcome treat!

As much as I loved seeing both Bats and Barbara, I was equally invested in the supporting characters. No one felt like cardboard or trope-ish. Everyone had roles to play within the story, and the roles were played well and memorable, even after the book was finished! Definitely well appreciated of all the effort invested in both the main characters, as well as the not-so-main folks!

I don't know that this would be considered canonical as far as Batman and the Court of Owls, but it should be! The story flows well, offering an edgy, exciting adventure that succeeds in being memorable as well as being taken as canonical! Good stuff, folks, and one not to be missed! Unless, of course, you don't like Batman, and then, well, it would just be a lot of suck! Just sayin'..