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Review: Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I give this book a 4.

 

This is a story that I thought that I’d already read. I have read other Austen books in the past and since so many people talk about this book, I guess I just felt that I’d already read it. I even thought maybe I saw a film adaptation of it and that was the reason I hadn’t read it. Going back and truly thinking about it, I realized that I had made it to the ripe old age of, none of your business, without reading this book and then decided to rectify that.

When I started reading the book I remembered why I hadn’t read it in the past. I read Sense and Sensibility in high school and it was a really tough read for me. The language is almost Shakespearean but not so poetic, and the conversation are more humorous. I quickly remembered that back then I was not much of a fan of Elizabethan culture and I’m still not, but this is still a good story.

It doesn’t take too much imagination to get to the core of this book’s overall message and apply it to modern times, thus the title. This book is the perfect example of how pride, perceived pride, jealousy, prejudice, stereotypes, and so much more are a part of our everyday lives and how they can twist things about so innocently, and not so innocently.

Since I read mostly fantasy and sci-fi, my classic literature muscles were strained when reading this, but it was a good strain. Austen’s creativity is obvious and the amount of emotion she is able to express is astounding. Always one to consider the high and low points of social interaction, I found the ideas of etiquette in this story to be quite amusing.

I wish there was more I could say, but I am at a loss for words. This is an excellent story and one I feel more young people should read or maybe even be used as a tool to explain the pros and cons of social etiquette. I must, however, admit that I prefer reading a more modern vernacular. For that reason, I can’t say that I love this book, but I do really like it.

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

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Review: Mercury Falls

Mercury Falls (Mercury Series #1) by Robert Kroese

I give this book a 4.

 

I must start off by saying that this book isn’t for everyone, but if you have a good sense of humor it’s worth your time.

Here you meet Christine, a journalist having second thoughts about her career choices, as she heads out to cover yet another apocalyptic cult story. Soon near death experiences begin to follow her around like mosquitos to which you’d think the angel, Mercury, she picks up along the way would at least try to swat away from her. It may take a while to get everyone involved, and I’m talking a lot of “people”, on the same page, but at least before long Mercury decides to help Christine as she tries to thwart the coming Apocalypse.

This book tells the story of the coming Apocalypse that gets wrapped up in red tape and sits in a holding queue of bickering egos, but that’s probably over-simplifying things. On the surface, it seems that this story will have you questioning faith, but it goes far beyond that. It has you questioning everything with any kind of assumed order. I feel like this book is making fun of every major aspect of modern society, not just religion. Not all the issues of concern are as obvious and developed as others, but there are hints of issues concerning: faith, religion, government, relationships, media, legal systems, education, social standards, and even a barely mentionable jab at race.

The main reason I didn’t give this book a 5 was because there were too many times when I had to re-read a passages just to be sure I clearly understood what I read. The text is complex and the dialog is heavy, but I still liked it.

I just don’t know if social satire is quite the term to sum this up, but it’s all I have for the moment. This book is very funny and would recommend it to adults with a good sense of humor, but if you are sensitive to ideas that question “the system” or religion, you might want to pass.

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

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Review: Batman: Death Mask

Batman: Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume

I give this book a 5.

 

Because I don’t want to frighten people with my uber geekness, I will keep this short.

Always a fan of most things Batman, I welcomed this dark Japanese tale of Bruce Wayne and the Death Mask. This four-part series is a semi-origin story as it goes back in time to show where and how Bruce was trained to fight in his quest to become the Batman, but the story goes far beyond that. It tells the legend of a mask that brings out the darkness in the one who wears it, but now Batman is wondering whether the mask is really cursed or if it is the person wearing it that is cursed.

This tales is not without the typical comic book violence that us geeks are so used to, but it also has a very physiological spin to it in the area of intimidation and fear. The Dark Night is a little bright in comparison to the darkness of the Death Mask. People’s faces get chopped off; that’s all I have to say about that.

Great for veteran comic book readers and Batman fans, but not recommended as your first comic book or Batman read.

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