The Ricochet Reviewer: Books, Movies, and Comics

by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels Archer and crew try to get to the bottom of Romulan  shenanigans and Trip Tucker continues his espionage behind enemy lines on the eve of the Romulan War.   I don’t expect top-notch literature from a Star Trek novel--and I’m certainly not getting it--but this was a pleasant enough read.   Some far-fetched activities are required on the part of some characters to get them to meet up with each other, but this is mostly a well-plotted and plausible lead-up to interstellar war.  I just wish authors Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels would move things along a little more quickly.  Michael A. Martin There is too much exposition and internal perspective.  Andy Mangels Go ahead and write a shorter book and stop padding; I wouldn’t mind. I hope Hoshi and Mayweather have more to do in the next installment. They’ve been relegated to tertiary character status.

  Marvel Events and Crossovers Project Taking a broad historical overview of the Marvel Universe by reading through the major events and crossover events in order. (Thanks to The Marvel Event Timeline at https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/ and Marvel Unlimited) Writer: Mike Friedrich Artists: Jim Starlin - Joe Sinnott  The Thing is hoofing it back to civilization after an adventure with the Hulk w hen Iron Man happens to fly by without offering an assist. His reaction is to abandon his homeward journey to track the Golden Avenger down with the intent of beating his ass, thereby displaying less emotional maturity than the twelve-year-old boys in the target demographic. Shellhead is investigating one of Thanos’ former Earth bases in the hopes of finding a clue to the Mad Titan’s whereabouts, unaware that a welcoming committee awaits. The Blood Brothers attack. The Thing arrives in time to land a hand. Of course, there is only one way this can end. A pretty uninspir

Director: Sean Penn Writers: Sean Penn, based on the book by Jon Krakauer Stars: Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Brian H. Dierker, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook, Jena Malone Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) walks away  from a promising but conventional future and a difficult family (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden), seeking to free himself from human connection and experience the ultimate freedom of an “authentic” life alone in the wilds of Alaska.  Writer/director Sean Penn does an extraordinary job of exploring the various facets of this mysterious personality.   It is easy enough to see why he left home in the first place, given the cold, loveless, abusive marriage of his parents, but he has many experiences that also contradict any idea he may have formed that human relationships are essentially toxic.  He forms real connections with many of the people that he meets (Brian H. Dierker, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Ste

by Larry Niven This is my first Niven novel and, given his popularity,  I have to assume it's not one of his better works.  The explanation for the hero's talent was a bit too far-fetched and his motivation for penetrating into the dangerous Hospital was extremely weak.   There was also that unfortunate streak of fascism that surfaces so often in science fiction, particularly that of the "Old Masters."  Both oppressor and oppressed alike seem to recognize both a need for capital punishment and also the need to conceal the true circumstances surrounding it from the public.   It is up to extraordinary individuals to make rational choices about what is good for the common man.   It has solid prose and an imaginative story that kept me reading despite the above-mentioned flaws.  Still, maybe I should have begun with "Ringworld." Larry Niven "A Gift from Earth" (Italian) "Gift of the Earth" (Russian) "A Gift from the Earth" (German)