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dangersquirrel's reviews
59 reviews
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There’s something unpleasantly Avengers-y about how all of the characters are balanced in this. Someone needs to introduce these kids to polyamory and ethical nonmonogamy, it would make this all much shorter. Still, the characters are overall really compelling still. I don't really care that the Amazing Race-type plots are redundant, they're still fun in a childish way.
The Son of Neptune: The Graphic Novel by Robert Venditti, Rick Riordan
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Maybe it's just recency bias, but I find these characters more complex and compelling than most of the rest of Riordan's work. Or maybe it's just because in this one they go to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Either way, the art felt a little more fitting in this one as well, other than Percy's stupid hair.
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Amazing that Howl is just as gay in the book as he is in the movie. Some of the plot is rather more comprehensible here, but honestly this is one of the rare instances where both the book and the movie are worthwhile.
The Lost Hero: The Graphic Novel by Robert Venditti, Rick Riordan
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
At this point I've spent so long getting caught up on the graphic novels that the fact that they're just sparks notes versions of the story is good for me. No shade on the Percy Jackson series, but I really think it's noticeable that these ones were more thought out. Still pretty goofy, though. Like, is he eventually gonna loop in every pantheon in world mythology?
Jaws by Peter Benchley
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Huh.
Significantly hornier and more racist than I anticipated. The plotlines cut from the movie (Hooper’s affair with Brody’s wife, the mayor’s mob ties) build up the shark as a metaphor for general social decay, which I find pretty stupid.
Overall, the rare book significantly worse than its movie adaptation. If I was a shark I would sue the author for libel.
Significantly hornier and more racist than I anticipated. The plotlines cut from the movie
Overall, the rare book significantly worse than its movie adaptation. If I was a shark I would sue the author for libel.
Cavalcade by Noël Coward
dark
reflective
fast-paced
1.5
The best picture winning movie is fairly faithful to the play, which is rather unfortunate for both. It’s exactly the kind of Everything Happens type of story that I despise. No point, no commentary, just a couple of moments of generic anti-war sentiment scattered among annoying Brits lamenting the good old days.
The Last Olympian: The Graphic Novel by Robert Venditti, Rick Riordan
adventurous
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Of all the Percy Jackson graphic novels, this one really has an issue with feeling rushed. Like, stuff happens but there's not a lot to actually care about because there are no emotional beats in-between the action. The art is fine.
The Battle of the Labyrinth: The Graphic Novel by Robert Venditti, Rick Riordan
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The new illustrator was a lateral move. The plot moves too fast to have any emotional weight. David Bowie wasn't even there.
Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I figured I should read this if I was going to review the film Reds, which is essentially a biopic of Joh Reed, for my Patreon. My main takeaway is that the film version is essentially the opposite of this: while the movie glosses over the nitty-gritty of the politics in favor of the aesthetics of revolution, the book is extremely dense with factual reporting with virtually no focus on crafting narrative.
And for the most part that's just good journalism. This certainly earns its status as the definitive English-language account of the revolution. While it is clear that Reed is firmly supportive of the Bolsheviks, he does not editorialize. He presents accounts of critiques of the Bolsheviks and of their enemies as he has heard them, not in his own words. Sometimes this leads to confusion where factions are hard to keep track of as they all accuse each other of betraying the will of the people and selling out the revolution, but I appreciate the objectivity. I could nitpick at the framing but Reed undeniably knows more than I do, though he does stumble at times into some casual racism and misogyny.
The refreshing thing about this book -- as is the case with most of the movie -- is that it allows for there to be ambiguity about what is right and good, but from firmly within what Americans would call "the left." Politics are so often boiled down to the point where any lack of cohesion within leftist groups is seen as infighting, so it's nice to have things parsed out in detail in a context that holds "the owning class are parasites who must be overthrown by force" as a universal truth, and respects the need for more detail to develop from there.
Not gonna lie, Warren Beatty really fumbled when he made the movie about Reed's like focus for 3/4 on a stupid love triangle and barely show the revolution at all.
And for the most part that's just good journalism. This certainly earns its status as the definitive English-language account of the revolution. While it is clear that Reed is firmly supportive of the Bolsheviks, he does not editorialize. He presents accounts of critiques of the Bolsheviks and of their enemies as he has heard them, not in his own words. Sometimes this leads to confusion where factions are hard to keep track of as they all accuse each other of betraying the will of the people and selling out the revolution, but I appreciate the objectivity. I could nitpick at the framing but Reed undeniably knows more than I do, though he does stumble at times into some casual racism and misogyny.
The refreshing thing about this book -- as is the case with most of the movie -- is that it allows for there to be ambiguity about what is right and good, but from firmly within what Americans would call "the left." Politics are so often boiled down to the point where any lack of cohesion within leftist groups is seen as infighting, so it's nice to have things parsed out in detail in a context that holds "the owning class are parasites who must be overthrown by force" as a universal truth, and respects the need for more detail to develop from there.
Not gonna lie, Warren Beatty really fumbled when he made the movie about Reed's like focus for 3/4 on a stupid love triangle and barely show the revolution at all.
Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Strange read. Some good prose but the story mostly felt useless and interminable, which makes sense because the movie has some good acting and cinematography but the story feels bizarre and uneven. There’s something almost-interesting about this as a class analysis, slice of life, character study, existential musing, and window into the general vibe of the Weimar Republic and German society between the Great War and the rise of Hitler. But none of this is developed enough to make it feel like a truly worthwhile read.