At the very core of this tale of fantasy are the ideas of warfare and the use of espionage, but before you get to all that, you meet Seraphina Dombegh. In this world of Goredd, humans and dragons (in human forms) live side by side, but not necessarily amicably and Seraphina is caught in the middle of these two peoples, just trying to keep the peace.
There is so much I could say about this story to hype it up, but I’ll keep it short and simple.
1. I really enjoy the world building of this book and the background story. This new take and twist on the dragons’ tale is refreshing, but I do wish there had been more time spent with the dragons overall.
2. The way this book handles issues of politics and social etiquette is very matter of fact. There is a sense of realism that takes you out of the fantasy and lets you see the underline meanings and how these things can relate to your life.
3. Seraphina is a wonderful and relatable character. She can be whiny at times, but that only makes her seem more real, especially in times when she’s not whining, but fighting and taking charge. Seraphina represents the insecurities of humanity (or should I say, of sentient beings). We never see ourselves as others do and we tend to be more critical of ourselves than is necessary, and that’s what Seraphina does. However, she does actually have a very good reason for being self-conscious, but through it all, she continues to fight.
4. There are many sub plots to this story that sometimes outshine the happenings of the overall plot, but it all works together in the end. The subtle sense of romance is down played quite a bit, in a realistic manner since the characters are on the verge of war. There are stories of loss, revenge, honor, and discovery within the pages of this book and they all mesh quite well together.
The only other thing that slightly soured my reading experience was the flashback technique of sharing someone else’s experiences and memories. That was a little hard to read, but since everything was ultimately explained, it didn’t take too much away from the story.
If you like dragons and have an open mind, you should enjoy this story.
This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords
This review will consist of me asking myself 10 questions and answering them to the best of my ability.
1. What is this film about?
Napoleon Dynamite is an awkwardly entertaining film that follows a few days in the awkward life of a very awkward teenage boy in a time I haven’t quite been able to determine. I guess I missed something here. In any case, Napoleon is a dreamer fully aware that he’s not one of the popular kids, but he seems to okay with that. As odd as he is, like all teenagers, he’s normal enough to be embarrassed by his strange family. While Napoleon seems content to be who he is, he’s also happy to accept the prospects of friendship when Pedro moves into town and Deb drops her gear on his doorstep. Between first meetings and the big school election at the end, Napoleon learns a lot about friendship and has a moment in the spotlight as a hero instead of an underdog.
2. What did I think of the title, poster, and or trailer?
When I first hear of this film I was excited to see it only because I was expecting it to be absolutely crazy. I was not disappointed, but it still wasn’t what I had expected. It’s quite wholesome and sweet. It still blows my mind that there is no foul language in this movie at all. Even Goonies, a 1985 release, has a handful of curse words in it; all the major characters are middle school or junior high aged kids, not high schoolers like this film.
Once I started to watch the movie, I was afraid I’d made a big mistake. The opening scene still perplexes me to this day. While “What are you gonna do today, Napoleon?…Whatever I feel like I wanna do. Gosh!” are great lines, I still don’t understand why he wanted to drag that poor action figure behind the bus.
Also, when I first heard of this film, I was expecting the title to be a nickname or code word. I was amused to learn that is the character’s actual name. Too bad though that there’s forever a controversy over where the name came from, but I’m not talking about that today.
3. What did I think of the main character(s) and how the actors performed them?
This movie starred Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite, Aaron Ruell as Kip, Efren Ramirez as Pedro, and Tina Majorino as Deb. There are many more characters I could list, but these are the ones I liked the most. I was excited to see Tina in this teenage role having been a fan of her childhood work. People can say what they want, but I still think the best film version of Alice in Wonderland is the one she’s in from 1999; no disrespect to Disney or Jonny Depp.
As far as I know Heder was a newcomer in this role. Not sure how true this is, but I member people saying that he was paid like a $1000 up front and part of the profits, if there were any. True or false, lucky for him, this movie did make money and built up a cult following.
I’ve seen Efren in a few other things since the movie, but I haven’t really liked any of it; I do, however, think that he’s very talented. He’s played some very strange role quite convincingly.
Don’t know much about Aaron Ruell other than he looks nothing like the Kip character he plays. I think it must be a sign of good acting since he’s not wearing any lavish special effects make-up or prosthetics. He’s just playing his part well.
4. What did I think of the direction and cinematography?
I don’t know much about director Jared Hess other than he also did Nacho Libre, a film I’ve grown to appreciate thanks to my husband’s repeated showing of it in our living room and random quotes belted out throughout our daily routine.
Hess seems to have a very laid back approach to filmmaking. He doesn’t focus or zoom in a lot. He lets you, the viewer, take in the whole picture and focus on what you choose. Aside from occasional crowd scenes that prove necessary at some point, most of Hess’s scenes are intimate, with few characters in each shot. It seems like, in most movies, even when you are focusing on two characters, those two characters are sounded by other people in the background via: coffee shop, dinner, drug store, busy street, etc… Hess isolates his characters so you can look around them and see what there is to see and then focus in when you’re ready.
Whoa, I think I just got a little too deep there.
5. What did I think of the soundtrack and score?
I was excited about this soundtrack so I did just a little bit of research. This movie’s soundtrack included a score, but not all the songs that appeared in the movie, which is understandable, but… The opening song? Yeah, the opening song and the montage music isn’t part of this soundtrack, but I’ll come back to this in a minute.
The score was written and or performed by John Swihart, I think. I’m going to assume that many of quirky organ pieces and the some of the poppy instrumentals I heard came from this guy. I like it. It gave the movie a very light feel, which was needed, since some of the movie was uncomfortable to watch, but not in a bad way. You’re just constantly wandering and wondering with this film.
Back to that opening song, “We’re Going to Be Friends” by The White Stripes- why is this not part of this soundtrack? I mean, this movie is about friendship. That was the perfect intro song. I can’t talk about this anymore. Visit Wikipedia to see what other songs didn’t make it.
6. What did I like about the story as a whole?
It took a while, but after making it through the first screening, I loved this movie and appreciate the creativity that went into writing this story.
I do wish that someone would clarify for me, what year exactly this is supposed to take place. What year has walkmans, VHS, and Backstreet boys? Seriously, why don’t I know this?…
I really should do more research on these movies.
7. What did I not like about the story?
The whole chicken coop and egg lunch scene could have been omitted for my taste. It was just gross to me, but maybe I’m weird like that.
Also, not to rock the boat, break the peace, or start trouble, but why does it seem like Deb likes Napoleon more along when Pedro is a perfectly good guy?
8. Would I recommend this movie to others?
Yes. I get that this will not be for all those strictly mainstream Hollywood Blockbuster lovers, but I feel like most people would like if they gave it a chance and it’s totally family friendly.
9. If yes, who? What would I rate this movie?
I’d recommend this anyone. On a scale of 1 to 5 movie reels, I give this film 5 reels.
10. Was there anything in this movie that could be related to me or anything I have written?
We’ll I’ve not written anything this quirky, but there’s always hope for the future.
Unfortunately, everyone seems to know someone like Uncle Rico and out of respect I won’t mention the person I’m thinking of. It’s tough to live your life feeling and or knowing that you hit your peak in high school, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something special for you in the future.
While I’m not going to be trying to time travel anytime soon, it did write about time travel in my short story “Clepher’s Heart”, which is featured in the Of Past and Future anthology.
MOCK! and The Armchair Squid are proud to introduce Mock Squid Soup: A Film Society. Each month, on the second Friday, we shall host a bloghop devoted to a particular movie. We invite others to watch the same film and post their own reviews…Don’t be shy; come join the fun! 😀
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss
I give this book a 5.
This is the story of Kvothe, who also has many other names, as told by the man himself. He is a wizard, but he’s something else too. He is powerful and defiant and “the stuff of legends”. This story beckons to a time when stories were told as song or poems, like the Iliad, but it goes far beyond that.
The Name of the Wind is one of those stories that I think people will either love or hate for two reasons. 1, the story of a wizard in this day and age can’t escape a comparison to Harry Potter. You either like the differences or not. 2, this is not a typical high fantasy tale of a wizard. Kvothe is a multifaceted character that doesn’t fit neatly into any specific category and readers will either appreciate that or not.
This story is crammed full of themes and elements that trigger excitement and emotion in my heart and mind, and I’m not just talking books. There are orphans, criminals, outcasts, demons, common folk, royalty, drug dealers, fairies, actors and there’s ageism, racism, classism, religion, and magic and more.
Having this story be told from Kvothe’s point of view is also atypical. He goes out of his way sometimes to down play or up play certain parts of his tale, but he can only fool half the people half the time. He tells his tale with such realism that you forgive the times when he goes off on an exaggerated tangent. Reading the part where Kvothe tries to describe the beauty of woman speaks volumes to perception versus reality, and the notion of telling people what they want to hear versus telling them what you want them to hear.
Now that I’ve gone and thoroughly confused you, let me say this. I love this book and will be glad to read the next installment. While this is probably not a good bedtime story, it should be suitable for most teens, but this is definitely a story any adult with an interest in fantasy and or adventure will appreciate.
This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We assume you agree with this.
If you do not agree, we ask that you read no further or consider deleting your cookies after your visit. Thank you. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
