Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass

Image courtesy of
www.booksamillion.com

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass
Lewis Carroll
1865/1872

The Summary
Lewis Carroll's dynamic duo of short novels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, follow the adventures of one imaginative and precocious young girl.  Alice, a young girl seeking to satisfy her curiosity, finds herself stepping into a brand new world after falling down a rabbit hole - and, later, after climbing through a mirrored portal.

The Good
Both Carroll's novels are imaginative and entertaining to read.  They're short, simple, and sweet, being sprinkled with ample amounts of adventure and spiced with the occasional dream-like contradictions of one young girl's imagination.

The Bad
At heart, it's honestly a child's bed-time story with wild adventures and strangely irreverent logic - and lots of talking animals and chess pieces.  While amusing and enjoyable, at times, it's less appealing as a classic piece of literature and more appropriate for a younger audience.

And, honestly, it even gets a bit dull, despite these ongoing adventures.  Alice isn't exactly the most fascinating narrator; in fact, she seems almost comically adult-ish in her short monologues as she reviews the illogical nature of her situation.

Not to mention Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are very similar in their nature:  Different passage, same insanity.

The Ugly
Admittedly, most books are far better than their movie counterparts.  But, in the case of Carroll's dual works, I might recommend watching a snippet or two of Disney's 1951 animated version of Alice in Wonderland.  Although I wouldn't call them identical, the movie possesses enough detail from the original books to provide an adequate grasp on Carroll's entire work.

Fullmetal Alchemist (Volume One)

Image courtesy of
www.booksamillion.com

Fullmetal Alchemist (Volume One)
Hiromu Arakawa
2002

The Summary
Edward and Alphonse Elric haven't exactly had an easy life.  Orphaned at a young age and irreparably damaged during their childhood attempt to bring their beloved mother back to life, the Elric brothers have fought tooth and nail for their survival.

Now, entering adulthood, the brothers have become seasoned alchemists and warriors in their pursuit of the Philospher's Stone - a strange, magical creation that can grant their every desire.  Together, they will stop at nothing to find the Stone and restore their original bodies.  But are they really willing to uncover the truth?

The Good
The plot of this story is incredibly intricate and compelling.  Hiromu Arakawa's novel is fascinatingly complex and enjoyable to read, and her illustrations are excellent.  Fullmetal Alchemist is a well-written and well-drawn piece of fiction that is not only lovely to look at but entertaining to read.

Her characters are also great to encounter.  Sometimes daring, sometimes silly, and sometimes morbidly serious, the characters of Arakawa's work are fleshed-out in the extreme with individual emotions, aspirations, and personal histories that make each one entirely unique. They are complex and simultaneously appealing.

As an aside, Arakawa crafts a graphic novel that involves equal parts science fiction, action-adventure, suspense, and political intrigue.  It can appeal to a broad base of interests and a wide variety of readers.  In short, her work is excellent.

The Bad
I wouldn't necessarily label the construction of Fullmetal Alchemist as a "bad thing" so much as a side note on how many manga series from Japan are published:  the book reads from right to left.  Where a typical Western novel starts with the spine on the left, Arakawa's novel opens with the spine on the right and you read from the top right corner to the left bottom corner.

For some readers, it's backwards.

Admittedly, it's a structure that takes some getting used to, but it isn't a quality that merits not enjoying this particular graphic novel.

The Ugly
Given the consistent number of tragedies visited upon the Elric brothers, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise the amount of violence they face and the sorrow superimposed upon their lives.

The Vampire Files: Bloodlist

Image courtesy of
www.barnesandnoble.com

The Vampire Files:  Bloodlist
P.N. Elrod
1990

The Summary
For investigative reporter, Jack Fleming, danger comes with the territory in his line of work.  But his latest story, a piece on the criminal underworld of Chicago, has gotten him into more than a little trouble.

In fact, it's even gotten him killed.

Now, undead and kicking, Jack has every intention of finding his murderer and cracking open one of the most dangerous cases of his career.  That is, if a well-intentioned private investigator doesn't get in his way.

The Good
P.N. Elrod provides a fun, fast-paced story full of twists and turns and danger that will have you hooked from page one.  Her central character and narrator, Jack Fleming, has an entertaining personality and an intriguing voice that conveys every bit of his witty if slightly jaded mentality.

Moreover, Elrod puts a twist on a centuries old concept by not only transplanting the Dracula myth to Chicago in the 1920s, but also by creating a mythos of her own that's steeped in film noir and intrigue.

More importantly, this novel is just plain, ridiculous fun.  It's quick, entertaining, and full of that special kind of charm that only vampires can ever seem to expel.

The Bad
While immensely fun and enjoyable, I occasionally questioned the historical accuracy of Elrod's work.  A minor complaint, considering it is a work of fiction - and it doesn't really matter, given the context of the work and the intent of the story - and isn't exactly based in reality.  But it remained a small question throughout the story, nonetheless.

The Ugly
Vampire Files is not a "G-rated" novel by any means.

Let's be honest, Jack Fleming has been turned into a vampire and, like all good vampires, he is capable of monstrous feats and he drinks blood to survive.  Granted, Elrod's protagonist is a gentleman at his core, which means he doesn't exactly follow in the same vein as Dracula.

But, in spite of this, he's a man accustomed to violence and he's also a bit of a ladies' man.  There's always some kind of debauchery a fellow like Jack can find, especially in the 1920s in the heart of mob-ruled Chicago.

Eragon

Image courtesy of
www.booksamillion.com

Eragon
Christopher Paolini
2002

The Summary
Eragon has spent much of his life in the dense, sheltered forests and valleys of the Spine with his uncle and cousin, Roran.  With little interest in the empire, Eragon spends much of his days working on his uncle's farm and hunting.

But everything changes in an instant, when Eragon discovers a strange stone in the forest and watches as it hatches into a dragon, one of the last known in existence.  A secret to which the mysterious storyteller, Brom, appears privy.

For Eragon, life will never be the same.

The Good
For a first novel, especially given the initial youth of the author, Eragon is an exceptional novel full of detail and depth.  Much like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Christopher Paolini's novel is a fascinatingly complex and creative endeavor that encompasses all the best qualities of fantasy literature.

Full of action and adventure, Eragon provides an entertaining tale that chronicles the surprising turn of events in one boy's life and follows his growth as an individual, as a Dragon Rider, and a hero.  More importantly, it combines all the best ingredients for a fantasy novel:  dragons, evil kings, dwarves, elves, magic, mysterious friends and allies, rebellions, and a dash of political intrigue.

The Bad
Following in the vein of Tolkien's works, Paolini's novel emphasizes an enormous journey that incorporates various characters and treks across various lands and involves various cultures all sporting different languages, beliefs, social mores, and more.  While not a bad thing, this journey may never seem to end.

I mean, after all, this is only book one of four.  And it is important to note that every succeeding novel will have more pages, more characters, and more adventures to share, which means Eragon's journey has only just begun and Paolini has only just scratched the surface.

Again, not a bad thing, but not necessarily a project to undertake if you're short on time.

The Ugly
Once or twice, Paolini fabricates wonderfully developed characters - characters which you will sincerely enjoy and admire, maybe even adore - and makes the conscious decision to get rid of them. Admittedly, I couldn't see this story developing any other way, but I experienced a bit of disappointment at the loss of certain characters and a slight suspense at the disappearance of others.