Archive
Book Review: The Integral Trees by Larry Niven (Series, #1)
Summary:
Humans settled on a planet far from Earth after mutinying from their spaceship. Generations later, their descendants have formed various tribes and cities ranging in civilization from tribal to bronze age level of technology. What makes the planet unique is its lack of gravity. Most people live in “integral trees” or in “jungle clouds” with varying amounts of pull (gravity) due to the presence of the tree. In this peek at their existence, we follow a bunch of intrepid people who survive when their tree dies only to find themselves marooned in the sky, along with the flying animals, pools of water, flying fish, and more.
Review:
This book is the definition of classic hard scifi. The world is complex, alien, and unique. It manages to simultaneously be barbaric and technologically advanced in some ways. Everything is as alien from our own lives as we could possibly imagine, from what the people eat to how their cultures are to how people interact.
It takes a bit to get into the book. At first the concept of the planet and how people live on it is overwhelming. But Niven introduces things slowly, so by the time you’re reading about a jungle cloud with people with prehensile toes, it’s easy to imagine and doesn’t slow you down at all in the story. Yet simultaneously it is obvious from looking back to the beginning of the book that Niven always has a clear understanding of how his world works, even if it’s not entirely clear to the reader yet. This is the definition of good writing, and especially good scifi.
The characters have a tendency to be a bit one-dimensional and flat. This is possibly due to all of the attention being paid to the world the story is set in. However, the story still would be improved with more three-dimensional characters. One character in particular goes from a female warrior to a married woman to a concubine and seems to take it all a bit too much in stride for someone who started out as a woman warrior. It felt a bit as if Niven was changing the characters to fit the situation rather than seeing how the characters he had already developed actually would react.
There is definitely a bit of a tinge of male fantasy to the whole story. Even the jungle cloud women who participate equally in their society end up being sister wives to one guy. Personally, I thought given the way women were treated in the story that it must have come out in the 1950s or 1960s, but a quick check shows it came out in 1984. That’s a bit….disturbing. While it’s certainly logical that some cultural things will not be ideal on a foreign planet such as this, the status of women in the novel reads less as a commentary and more as something the author would very much like the world to look like.
Overall, this is an enjoyable hard scifi novel with a rich setting, weak characters, and questionable mores. I recommend it to lovers of hard scifi, but most others probably would not enjoy it.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: PaperBackSwap
Movie Review: Zombie Strippers (2008)
Summary:
In the near future, a team of American soldiers are sent to stop the outbreak of a zombie virus designed to make for super undead soldiers. Naturally, one of the infected people escapes and in turn infects a stripper in an illegal strip-joint, leading to the most interesting strip-teases in the history of stripping.
Review:
Imagine dark comedy. Toss in a handful of zombies and gore. Now top it off with some of the best strip-teases you’ve ever seen, and you have this movie. I feel like that should be enough to tell you if you’ll enjoy this movie, and honestly I’m still speechless at some parts of it, but I suppose I should do a bit more to review it.
The dialogue is gut-bustingly funny. I haven’t heard dialogue this funny since….Noises Off? In any case, the dialogue is witty, self-aware, and spot-on.
The plot-line is a bit loose, but really, you don’t watch a movie called Zombie Strippers for the plot. Yadda yadda, there are zombies, there are strippers, let’s get this show on the road.
The special effects are awesome. Personally, I found the zombies eating lap dance customers scenes to be incredibly realistic looking. (Perhaps too realistic looking?) But when you have a movie with a disembodied zombie head in a trash bag that’s a running gag, well, realistic looking gore helps.
Now, not that I particularly have experience watching a strip tease, but I ceratinly found the strip tease scenes to be enjoyable and moved the plot right along. Plus, Jenna Jameson is the lead stripper. Chew on that for a while.
Overall this movie is a random justaposition of two entirely different genres of movies, and it totally works. Yes, it would have moved into epic realm if the plot made a wee bit more sense, but it is still one of the most humorous movies I’ve seen in a while. If you like your dark humor, definitely check this one out.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Friday Fun! (Staycation Report)
Hello my lovely readers! I hope you didn’t miss me *too* terribly much while I was on vacation. ;-) I must say, a vacation was exactly what I needed. I had a lot of time to think without the stress of work or job hunting or school or any of that hanging over my head, and I feel like my head is screwed on much more straight now, I must admit. I’m re-focused and have new energy.
So what all did I get up to? Well, I went out for Asian fusion with one of my friends. The mix of sushi, seaweed salad, and kushiyaki was awesome, but of course the highlight of the meal was the White Crane sake. Nom. That is all I have to say about that. I also hit up a local pub that has a huge, huuuuge beer selection. My friend calls it “the cheesecake factory of beer.” Damn straight. It just so happened that the final game of Bruins vs. Montreal was on, so we got to take that in with the crowd as well. It was quite the memorable night.
I also met up with a member of Team Unicorn for lunch. I so rarely get to see any of them outside of our periodic gatherings. I also spent an afternoon reading by the Charles (and getting sunburned), as well as taking in the sights at the MFA. I wanted to see the Chihuly exhibit, but I never did find it. In fact, I had trouble getting out of the Asian and Ancient Europe section. Ah well.
A friend and I hung out and made this incredible recipe of doom. It was amazing. And there was strawberry jam all over my floor the next morning.
As you can see from my post earlier this week, I also took in the Boston Ballet for the first time since I was very young. I had a fun time, but I must say it was not what I was expecting. I also finally tried Zaftig’s restaurant for the first time after hearing it highly praised among Team Unicorn for a very long time. I had an in-house made black bean burger, and I admit, it was the best one I’ve had in the Boston area.
I spent a day riding my bike around the city, partaking in a session with my trainer, and lounging around Harvard Square and on the river. After that, I got the urge to spring clean. I sorted, organized, recycled, and bagged up four trash bags of items to donate this week. I also started scrubbing down the walls, but still have a few left to do. My whole apartment feels so much lighter, fresher, and more homey now. I’m so glad I took the time to spring clean.
That was pretty much my staycation, and I think I did a fairly good job keeping it well-rounded. I’ve returned refreshed, and I must say that I fully intend to not let so much time go on before I take another one again. Happy weekends!
Review of the Boston Ballet’s Performance of Bella Figura (2011)
While on my staycation, I decided to take in some of the cultural sights/events around my fair city that it’s normally difficult to find the time to do. One of these was the Boston Ballet. I just went with whatever show happened to be playing the weekend of my vacation, and this happened to be Bella Figura–a modern ballet.
Since we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the Boston Opera House at all, we’re just going to hope that my words will suffice in explaining the complete unexpectedness of the ballet.
My friend and I were uncertain as to what, exactly, the ballet was supposed to be about, so naturally we consulted our programs. The most clear line in the entire description was, “Standing in the darkness and staring into a sharp light with eyes closed.” There is so much wrong with that sentence. If you are standing in the darkness, there is no sharp light. If your eyes are closed, you aren’t staring into anything…..
In any case, the first act opened on a blue background with stools in the back. The word “the” on a plaque was on the floor at the front of the stage. This, combined with the dancers’ blue and white traditional attire, conspired to give the appearance of a typical dance studio. The music was electrical and came from the speakers, not the orchestra pit. The dancing was firm, vibrant, and called to mind the gang dance scenes from West Side Story. Simultaneously crazy and choreographed, it elicited pure joy in myself at the playfulness of the whole thing. I honestly wasn’t entirely sure what the message was, but to me, it was that craziness can be fun. It ended with one of the male dancers firmly kicking over the plaque. To me, this symbolized defeating the norm.
The second act consisted of three scenes of pairs of dancers obviously supposed to be emulating romantic relationships. This was the only act that the orchestra made an appearance for. All three dances were clearly about romantic relationships, yet each relationship was unique and exquisite. Of particular note was the second romantic pairing which had a gorgeous moon background, dry ice fog, and the most sensual ballet dancing I personally have ever seen. It brought tears to my eyes and my friend and I commented to each other that the dances beautifully represented the push and pull, good and bad of all romantic relationships. It was touching in the pure universality of such relationships.
The third act, however, was quite simply, baffling. It opened with a set of flashing blue tubes rising from the floor, giving the illusion that the dancers had set up a bomb or something. The dancers then started dancing in time with the music, which was again pre-recorded, but not with each other. The lead female dancer then came out in a tribal red skirt and topless. The men were dancing in, essentially, boxer-briefs, which in and of itself was enjoyable, but evidently the outfit choice was to allow for the men to punctuate their dance moves by slapping themselves on the thigh. The female lead then danced in front of a curtain with someone else behind the curtain who periodically groped her through the curtain, alternately hiding her breasts and showing them to the audience. The toplessness came and went throughout the act with approximately six dancers (three male and three female) periodically appearing topless. The other portions were taken up by dancers who, while clothed, essentially seemed to be doing a more graceful version of the robot. Frequently during this portion there were three dancers on stage. The only message I got from this act was that “threesomes can be really fun.”
Overall, I entirely enjoyed my visit to the ballet. It was not at all the stuffy visit I was expecting. Our usher was truly an awesome lady who just wanted us to enjoy our afternoons. Our section was full of other 20-somethings who were capable of both strong emotions and simultaneously didn’t take anything too seriously. Seeing such disciplined bodies in action was inspiring, and the first act spoke to my preference for alternative music and dance styles. However, it must be said, what touched me the most at my core was the most traditional portion of the show–the second act. Seeing relationships played out exquisitely in dance hearkens back to the origins of dance. It is the second act that would make me go to the Boston Ballet again.
Support my work with a tip or browse my shop for curated book club guides, how to guides, cross-stitch patterns, and more!
This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Opinions of a Wolf 
Movie Review: Dawn of the Dead (1978)
The zombie uprising has struck, and chances of survival are looking dire. Two American soldiers, a newscaster, and a helicopter pilot go on the lam looking for a place to hole up and hopefully survive. They find it in a classic suburban mall, but how long will they be able to hold off the hordes–not just of zombies, but of other survivors?
Review:
This Romero classic is the follow-up to Night of the Living Dead (review). Some similar themes may be found–holding off both the zombies and fear–but new ones exist as well, such as the danger presented by groups of other survivors. Perhaps most interestingly, the question of how much does this apocalypse create a new world and how much of the old world should be held onto.
The beginning sequence in this film is less strong than in the previous one. It is jumbled and confusing as we land right in the middle of the uprising, as opposed to at the beginning of it. Everyone is talking at once, and it takes the viewer a bit to get acclimated. Additionally, the scene in which the soldiers are introduced is confusing. Plot-wise, it makes perfect sense, but logically, it makes no sense why the people the soldiers are going after are refusing to kill the zombies. It does not seem like it should even be a problem, and yet it is. This hesitance at killing zombies as if they were still people is present throughout the film. Perhaps this reflects the ideals of the 1970s, but as a modern-day woman, I was completely unable to relate.
After the opening scenes, however, the story quickly picks up. The four main characters are all well-rounded and interact well together. Moving the plot to the mall was a brilliant choice on Romero’s part. Much could be said about the commentary on the zombie movements through a shopping center, relentlessly wandering, up and down, around and around, surrounded by consumerism. In fact, after the opening scenes, the entire film seems to be a commentary on consumerism. Characters get into trouble when they want too much or try for too much. In any case, the scenes of zombies wandering through the mall are incredible and clearly became iconic for a reason.
The concept of being able to have fun in the middle of a zombie uprising shows up here. The characters run around the mall, blasting zombies, looting, learning to shoot, and more, and mostly seem to have fun doing so. The distress mostly comes from boredom and feeling trapped, not so much from the zombies themselves. This theme is certainly its own special section of zombie stories. There are the stories that focus on the virus and the being eaten alive, and then there are the stories that focus on being trapped.
The special effects are dismal. In fact, they are worse than in a black and white film because in color, it’s easy to see that the colors are off. Obvious face-paint is used on the zombies. Incredibly fake-looking blood that flows too slowly is present throughout the film. One does wonder why they couldn’t at least get realistic-looking blood.
Overall, although the reasons this became iconic are abundantly evident, I still did not fall in love with it. The plot was rather meandering, followed-up by a cliche ending, and there were portions that were just too illogical to suspend disbelief. It is a fun watch for fans of zombies curious to see how they have developed over time, and it is those people to whom I recommend it.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Buy It