Posts

Von Ryan’s Express (Von Ryan #1) (1964)

-
Image
  by David Westheimer This is a very good adventure novel, but there is more going on beneath the surface.  During World War II, a strict American officer takes command of Allied prisoners in an Italian prison camp, and his insistence on discipline makes him deeply unpopular with the men, but they gradually come to respect him as he leads their escape.   The qualities that initially make Ryan hated—his stubbornness, attention to detail, and insistence on discipline—are largely the same qualities that make the escape possible.  Author David Westheimer also makes an interesting case that self-discipline and even basic self-care help create the frame of mind in which people can accomplish things that otherwise seem impossible.  David Westheimer Once the escape gets underway, roughly a thousand prisoners seize the train that is transporting them, converting an instrument of their captivity into the means of their liberation.  Westheimer then piles one practical...
Post a Comment
Read more

Astonishing X-Men #8 (2005)

-
Image
Writer: Joss Whedon Artist: John Cassaday We open with confusion. Meanwhile, it appears that a couple of hicks have somehow inadvertently activated a Sentinel beneath their barn. The X-Men aren’t sure whether they are under attack. Is Emma Frost collaborating with a potential enemy? I love how cinematic Cassaday’s take is on this material. It becomes clear that they are in danger when they realize that they have been isolated. Lockheed alerts the team to peril. What a great reveal. While sheltering from the attack in the Danger Room, Kitty and the students discover Wing's body from last issue. The Sentinel makes cryptic pronouncements as Wolverine moves in for the kill. And things get even weirder inside as the door of the Danger Room vanishes and Kitty considers phasing out to investigate the situation. Emma Frost regains consciousness and reveals the true identity of their foe. John Cassaday’s art is polished and cinematic, and Joss Whedon’s pacing keeps the issue moving with rea...
Post a Comment
Read more

I, the Jury (Mike Hammer #1) (1947)

-
Image
by Mickey Spillane A hard-boiled private investigator vows to avenge the murder of a friend, a decorated war veteran, relentlessly pursuing the killer with the goal of ending the perpetrator in the same painful manner that his friend died.  This is one of those books that may be more important historically than it is impressive literarily.  Mike Hammer acts as investigator, judge, jury, and executioner, and author Mickey Spillane Spillane offers no suggestion that Hammer regrets bypassing the legal system.  Mickey Spillane The book is hard-hitting, pulpy, direct, and highly readable, with short chapters, a rapid investigation, little introspection, and few digressions.  It lacks the psychological complexity and literary style of Hammett or Chandler, but it is brisk, streamlined, and compelling.  It is so hard-boiled that it sometimes feels like a parody of the genre rather than a seminal work in it.  Still, it is interesting to think about Hammer’s violence...
Post a Comment
Read more