Nuclear Jellyfish

You’re walking down the aisles of the bookstore and perusing the titles, trying to find one that might jump out at you as something appealing and different.  Unfortunately nothing is catching your eye.  Boring.  Read it.  Not likely.  Who would want to read something with that title?  Gross.  Yeah…like that would make a good read.  And then you finally see something that makes you laugh and, if the title hadn’t caught your attention the cover certainly would have.  Staring at you, on the top shelf, strategically placed at eye level, is a garish green cover with a pink jellyfish floating in the center and bright blue lettering spelling out the title Nuclear Jellyfish.  Ding Ding Ding!  We have a winner.  So you pick it up and read the synopsis, hoping that it will explain what could possibly bring someone to write a book and title it Nuclear Jellyfish – certainly there were drugs involved.  But no, Tim Dorsey decides it is best to reveal nothing about the book on the back cover; or, at least, nothing that I could possibly understand.  The one piece of information that I did garner from it was that this was one book in a series in which Serge Storms is the main character.  So, deciding that even if the book turns out to be completely boring it would at least add a bit of color to my bookshelf, I buy the book and set about reading it.

One page in and I’m already hooked.  I am one to write down quotes I find humorous and I found this one in the first paragraph:  “Murder is such a charged word.  You know how some people fixate and won’t let things go?  They’re called cops.”  As you might be able to deduce, Serge Storms is no ordinary person, he happens to be a murderer.  However, he doesn’t kill people for no reason.  Oh no!  He kills people who deserve it.  In this particular book he drives down the Florida coast chasing a gang of men who murder the diamond couriers they hire.  Unfortunately for the murderers Serge happens to be psychotic as well as murderous which means that he doesn’t just kill them…he rigs up intricate systems a la Rube Goldberg that require little more than what one can pick up at Home Depot (a place he happens to love and where he admits that he gets most of his ideas).  So, when Serge wraps his victims in garden hoses they don’t think much of it, until he explains what will be happening when he leaves them alone.

Maybe this doesn’t sound like your kind of book, but add to it one sidekick that often leaves you wondering if he might be mentally special, and a tag-along that is picked up on the way and you have the perfect combination for side splitting entertainment that will leave you wanting more.  So do yourself a favor and pick it up the next time you are out, you definitely won’t regret it, and you might even find yourself with a sudden urge to go roadtripping to Florida!

- S

Avatar

     If you haven't seen Avatar yet, I suggest you go see it before it leaves theaters! (I highly recommend seeing it in 3-D and/or IMAX, if possible.)  I have seen it 4 times and will see it at least once more before it leaves theaters.  James Cameron did an absolutely AMAZING job with this.  The cinematography is amazing, the cast perfect, story imaginative, the score (by James Horner) is beautiful.  The scenery created in the movie is amazingly beautiful, the native people, animals and plant life are unique.  The ways of the people remind me of both Native American and African tribes.  This is definitely one of those times where I wish the fictional land actually existed.  I would really love to see the jungle and wildlife that exist on the planet Pandora.  Each time I've seen this movie I love it more and more (and it even took me 4 times of seeing the movie to notice something that I'd thought I'd have noticed sooner...).  I can't wait until the movie comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray (and until I get myself a Blu-Ray player and HD TV...)!!
     Short synopsis:  Jake Sully is a former Marine who suffered an injury and is now wheelchair bound.  He takes the place of his murdered twin brother on a scientific mission on the planet Pandora.  He initially takes on the mission as if it were just another military operation, but once he begins to know and understand the people better, that changes.  When the military destroys a sacred place of the people because of a certain element buried beneath it (something worth millions of dollars a kilo), Jake takes the side of the people and helps eliminate the American military presence on the planet.  And, of course, he falls in love with one of the natives.  A happy ending.

~E

Twilight Saga

The Books:
     I finally bought the books at the end of August.  Starting the night I received them, I proceeded to read the books straight through 4 times in a row (and have since read them twice more).  I was completely absorbed and obsessed with them.  I literally couldn't put down the books.  I read Twilight (the first book, not the whole saga) through overnight the first time I read it.  I had (and still haven't) read any book like them.  Stephenie Meyer is an amazing writer with a writing style that completely draws you into the story.  She has a great imagination (one I'm quite jealous of).  She puts a whole new twist on the idea of the vampire - their physical qualities defy much of the previous stereotypes used in books and movies, making the story much more intriguing.
     In case you haven't heard what the series is about, here goes a synopsis, of sorts:  The story centers around 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to Forks, WA from Phoenix, AZ to live with her father.  While there, she learns that vampires, werewolves (or "Children of the Moon"), and "shape shifters" (who refer to themselves as "werewolves") exist.  She struggles to survive as a human in the world of vampires - because humans aren't supposed to know about vampires - they must either die or become one - until she can become one of them (because of her love for one of the vampires: Edward Cullen).  He, in turn, struggles with her desire to become a vampire because he does not want Bella to lose her soul, as he believes she will (as he and the rest of vampire-kind did upon becoming vampires).  Although the shape shifters and vampires are enemies, they band together at two different times to save Bella and the Cullens.  And, of course, everyone lives happily ever after!
     And, of course, romantic that I am, I wished very hard that I would find my Edward at some point in my life.

The Movies:

     Twilight:  The storyline is pretty much kept to, as far as what things are supposed to happen.  However, the director took a few too many artistic liberties (in my opinion) with certain aspects of the story.  This did not make me happy.  I would have preferred the movie to follow the book more closely.  (And, yes, I realize that because of time restraints movies made from books will never follow the book exactly and that some liberties will have to be taken - like rearranging some scenes to go earlier or later.  However, this movie removes scenes that should have been put in and changes others so that those of us who've read the books think "Ummm, ok, and you did that because...?")  As far as acting goes, Kristen Stewart could have done better, especially with what was supposed to be a long dialogue near the end of the story and she just stutters through it... disappointed!

     New Moon:  This movie followed the book much better than Twilight did.  I was very happy.  The new director for this movie was excellent.  The special effects required for the shifting of the men to wolves was perfect.  (Comes out on DVD March 20th.)
     I am looking forward to seeing Eclipse this summer and can't wait for Breaking Dawn!

On a side note:  If you read (or have read) the Twilight Saga and like Stephenie Meyer's writing style and imaginative story, you should check out her other book: The Host.  I read that one twice in a row once I finally got the chance to read it.  It, too, is really amazing.  Her ability to create stories is amazing.  This particular story, as was described to me by a friend before I read the book, is similar to the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", and though I've never actually seen that movie, the title says enough.  Again, after finishing the book, I wished I could find a love like that.  ...Sometimes being a romantic stinks!

~E