Jacksprat Gets Lost in Fiction

Review of “Ship of Magic” By: Robin Hobb             The one consolation of Althea’s father’s passing was that she would inherit the captaincy of her father’s Live Ship “Vivacia”, but her mother had other plans.  She gave the ship to Althea’s brother in-law Kyle, who saw the ship as a business asset, and expected Althea to bec0me a lady.  Althea decided to run away and prove her worth on another ship disguised as a young man, but she learned she had some growing up to do.  Meanwhile the pirate Captain Kennit planned to steal a Live ship to prove he was destined to become the Pirate King.             Robin Hobb was a master at writing immersive stories using a writing that was easy to read, but with great descriptions of the setting and characters. This seafaring adventure took readers to a nautical culture where ships would come alive with...

Review of “Heart Shaped Box” By: Joe Hill, Narrated by: Stephen Lang Judas Coyne was an aging rock star who loved to collect macabre items such as a used hangman’s noose or a cannibal’s cookbook. He found a heart shaped box on eBay containing a Deadman’s suit inside and it was haunted by the ghost of the owner of the suit. Buying this was a mistake, because the ghost was a real, and he blamed Judas for his stepdaughter committing suicide.  Judas was determined to get rid of the ghost before he and the few people in his life end up dead himself. I’m glad I gave this book another chance, because my first attempt didn’t work out, but listening to it on audio book helped.  This story was dark with it discussing suicide, depression, abuse, and alcoholism. There’s also some kinky sex and a lot of swearing.  I’m not a prude but I have to admit it was a lot.  I’m well aware that the main character is rockstar and that comes with the territory. Though, the...

Review of “The Silmarillion” By: JRR Tolkien             This was the creation story of Middle Earth and the history leading up to the third age when Sauron created the rings and the war between the beings of Middle Earth and Sauron.             “The Silmarillion” was organized into five distinctive parts that gave the history of Middle Earth up until the third age.  Tolkien started with the creation story via Iluvatar and Valar.  Iluvatar was like God, Melkor was the Devil, and the Valar were like the Angels.  The third part was the story of the Silmarils and the wars with Melkor, whose name was changed to Morgoth. The last two parts covered “The Fall of Numenor” and related the events of the third age, which were what “Lord of the Rings” was about.              Unlike “Lord...

Review of Beren and Luthien By: JRR Tolkien             A man, Beren, saw the beautiful Elf princess, Luthien, dancing in the forest and it was love at first sight. He wanted to marry her, so Beren went to her father, the Elf Lord Thingol and asked for her hand. Lord Thingol didn’t approve of humans and opposed the marriage and sent Beren on an impossible quest to retrieve a Simaril, a jewel, that was currently on the crown of the Dark Lord Morgoth.             Beren and Luthien’s the story of a mortal and immortal falling love, was the story he wrote before Aragorn and Arwen’s epic love story in the Appendices of “Lord of the Rings”. Like a lot of Tolkien’s early work, it was written in the form of an epic poem and explored the theme of love conquering evil, though the ending was bittersweet.  Since it was fairytale, it had the love at first trope on Beren’s...

Review of “The Trouble with Mrs. Montgomery Hurst” By: Katie Lumsden             In the county of Wickenshire the most eligible bachelor Mr. Montgomery Hurst got engaged to an outsider, a widow from London with 3 children, and everyone in the community had an opinion on it. The older generation of county were determined to get their children married, and the younger generation felt the pressure to get married even when they didn’t desire it.             “Montgomery Hurst” was a fun and joyful read with an atmosphere that was cozy with its suburban setting, despite the characters being surrounded by gossipy neighbors. As I was reading, I was eager to turn the pages and consume the next chapter to find out what would happen next.  The drama was familiar for those of us who were entertained by Jane Austen and Anthony Trollop novels where the conflict was, who wa...

Review of “The Pillow Book” By: Sei Shonagon             In the Heian period Noble women living at court kept Diaries of their time at court and most memorable experiences. The authors intended these Diaries to be autobiographical. “The Pillow Book” was like these Diaries but had considerable differences from them, which were its structure and general character.  Sei Shonagon hadn’t written it it to be autobiographical, but it was an account of what she saw during her ten years at court and her reflections on her experiences there.             Sei Shonagon had quite the personality with her strong opinions and love of pretty things.  She reminded me of Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse with her charm and opinionated, as well as judgmental nature.  Throughout there were entries on her things that annoyed her or things that gave her pleasure that...