I liked it a lot overall, the twists and turns - it's got elements of murder mystery and detective story, a comedy of manners, and then a bit of demonI liked it a lot overall, the twists and turns - it's got elements of murder mystery and detective story, a comedy of manners, and then a bit of demonic possession for the horror genre. Two of the villains are a bit stereotyped for modern tastes, and their evil scheme is perhaps somewhat underwhelming, but otherwise it works if you don't mind everything getting all entangled with the supernatural.
The opening scene is a lot of fun, as is the best-developed villain and his amoral collaborator. And the good guys do a glorious bit of social engineering at one point to evade the villains.
But perhaps my favorite scene is one where three members of London's police force are trying to get to a particular address. The underlings haven't been able to find it, so the Big Cheese heads out to see what's going on:
At what he hoped was the corner of Lord Mayor's Street he ran directly into a stationary figure.
"What the hell——" he began. "Sorry, sir. Oh, it's you, Pewitt. Damnation, man, why don't you shout instead of knocking me down? All right, all right. But standing at the corner of the street won't find the house, you know. Where's the constable? Why don't you keep together? Oh, he's here, is he! Couldn't even one of you look for the house instead of holding a revival meeting at the street corner? Now for God's sake don't apologize or I shall have to begin too, and we shall look like a ring of chimpanzees at the Zoo. I know as well as you do that I'm in a vile temper. Come along and let's have a look. Where's the grocer's?"
He was shown it. Then, he first, Pewitt second, and the constable last, they edged along the houses, their torches turned on the windows. "That's the grocer's," the Commissioner went on. "And here—this blasted fog's thicker than ever—is the end of the grocer's, I suppose; at least it's the end of a window. Then this must be the confectioner's. I believe I saw a cake; the blind's only half down. And here's a door, the confectioner's door. Didn't you think of doing it this way, Pewitt?"
"Yes, sir," Pewitt said, "the constable and I have done it about seventeen times."
Alas, I did not love the other novels as much as the first. And the deleted sections of A Wrinkle in Time would not have improved it, I fear. Of the aAlas, I did not love the other novels as much as the first. And the deleted sections of A Wrinkle in Time would not have improved it, I fear. Of the additional materials, I liked best the essay on fantasy and science fiction (her remarks on receiving the Newbery Award)....more
I'm pretty sure I read the poem in junior high, but absolutely certain I didn't read it since then! So I read the two versions printed in Martin GardnI'm pretty sure I read the poem in junior high, but absolutely certain I didn't read it since then! So I read the two versions printed in Martin Gardner's annotated volume.
Read about half of the introduction before moving on to the poetry -- loved his comment that if any actual Coleridge scholars "stoop" to read his edition, they won't learn anything new from it! ...more
A nice collection for a Gaiman newbie like me. Especially liked the excerpt from The Graveyard Book (which I've never read). A nice collection for a Gaiman newbie like me. Especially liked the excerpt from The Graveyard Book (which I've never read). ...more
The book is clearly intended for a popular audience, rather than a scholarly one. (You can tell by the selection and modernization of the quotations aThe book is clearly intended for a popular audience, rather than a scholarly one. (You can tell by the selection and modernization of the quotations and by the paltry citations.)
It's a bit dated in its assumptions, and I believe the vaire/verre theory to explain Cinderella's slipper is no longer widely accepted, but I really liked the book overall for the terminology, stories, and illustrations.
Especially loved reading about the heraldic symbols and conventions, including how to represent the various tinctures in hatching or in trick. Pauline Baynes's drawings are perfect for this. ...more