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David McK (3496 KP) rated Around the world in 80 days in TV

Jan 30, 2022  
Around the world in 80 days
Around the world in 80 days
2021 | Adventure, Comedy
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Around the world in 80 days.

One of Jules Vernes most famous novels, and the inspiration for many a movie (and even a 80s cartoon).

I've never seen or heard of a TV series until this one, which - in retrospect - actually surprised me quite a bit, as you think the story would (and does) lend itself perfectly to the episodic nature of the journey.

This adaptation stars David Tennant in the lead role, alongside strong support from Ibrahim Koma as the French valet Passepartout and Leonie Benesch as the gender flipped/reimagined journalist Abigail Fix (instead of Inspector Fix), while still keeping its late Victorian setting.

Yes, you know how it is going to end.

Still very enjoyable!
  
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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated That Inevitable Victorian Thing in Books

Jan 11, 2018  
That Inevitable Victorian Thing
That Inevitable Victorian Thing
E.K. Johnston | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A fun escape (0 more)
A little TOO lighthearted (0 more)
A fun alternate history romp
Representation, people! This book features a bisexual, intersex young woman. (I say woman, because she is female-presenting and uses female pronouns.) It also features a not-quite-love-triangle that turns into something more like polyamory. (Sorry, that's a bit of a spoiler, but you can see it coming from a mile away, and the cover description heavily implies the same.)

It's not realistic in the least - everything falls together nicely and it's a bit of a "princess saves the day by virtue of being a princess" kind of plot. But the twist on the history is a very pleasant one - and making the British Empire an Empire that values diversity and the melding of cultures and not looking down on anyone because they're different is a really nice change of pace. It's a WONDERFUL bit of escapist fantasy given today's world, I have to say.

I'd actually really like to see the darker side of this same world explored. One of the main plot points in the book is that there is a computer database of genetics. Everyone in the British Empire, when they turn 18, is encouraged to have their DNA sequenced and entered into the computer to find good genetic matches. They then have the opportunity to chat with those matches and eventually meet them. It's accepted custom, and you're definitely viewed as odd if you choose NOT to do it, though Helena's parents were a love match and never had their DNA matched through the computer. Helena's love interest is a boy she grew up with, she really only ran her DNA through the computer for kicks. So it's not mandatory - except for royals. But that this computer and database exists leaves room for a darker side. What about genetic modification? Forced marriages for certain genetic outcomes? That has to be happening somewhere. That Inevitable Victorian Thing really only looked at the fun, light-hearted, good uses of this technology. I'd love to see the other side.

Oh - while the book definitely has a Victorian flavor, it's definitely set in modern day, or perhaps a little past. It's not Victorian era.

Fun little book. A good escape from a racist, homophobic world to a more diverse, accepting one. But a little TOO fluffy bunny for my personal tastes.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
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David McK (3496 KP) rated Fugitive in Books

May 31, 2021  
Fugitive
Fugitive
Paul Fraser Collard | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Entry number 9 in Paul Fraser Collard's Jack Lark series, this is an entry which - speaking personally - I very much found could be split into two main parts: the first part of the novel primarily concerns itself with the Victorian pursuit of 'slumming' (where rich toffs paid good money to see how their poorer counterparts lived in the slums and tenements of London), and the second with the Abyssinian campaign against the mad 'Gorilla King' (in modern day Ethiopia, I believe)

I'd heard, and even knew a bit, about the former. The latter? Sad to say, not so much.

So, for my part, a little new knowledge is a good thing!

As the novel begins, Jack Lark is back in England after his exploits in America (during the Civil War) and Mexico of the previous entries; back where - I feel - he belongs (ummm, speaking internationally, that is, rather than his precise circumstances!) and running Victorian slumming 'tours' (for want of a better word) for the rich who have more money than sense!

I don't *think* I'm giving anything away when I say that one such tour inevitably goes wrong, leading Jack - and a few companions - to flee the country, travelling to Ethiopia to join the expedition against the Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, more concerned with what they can purloin along the way than the rights and wrongs of the situation that led to the campaign in the first place!

All in all, another solid entry in the series: I'm looking forward to where Jack ends up next!