Quatermass' Book Reading Blog...Round Two

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Review 22, and I have matched my previous record, to a certain degree...

REVIEW: Dragon Ball Z Volume 24 by Akira Toriyama

As much of the obsession of youth as it sounds now, I used to like Dragon Ball Z. I still do, to a certain degree, now, but it has been a long time since this was an obsession of mine. That being said, I have read every manga in the Dragon Ball Z series...except this one, as the library, up till now, hasn't stocked it. Now that I have read it (albeit what I have already watched from the anime), I intend to review it.

At this point in the series, main protagonist Son Goku is dead, having sacrificed himself to stop the monstrous Cell. However, some years after his death, Goku has been allowed back to life for a single day to participate in a martial arts contest. But things have gotten out of hand, badly. A powerful wizard called Bobbidi (I'm using the manga spelling here instead of the anime's Babidi) has used power from the strongest fighters in the world to unleash a childish monster known as Boo (aka Majin Buu), with whom he intends to conquer the universe. Goku needs to buy time in order to teach his youngest son Goten and Vegeta's son Trunks the Fusion Dance. Meanwhile, Goku's older son Gohan trains under the Kaioshin, determined to beat Boo, and Hercule, the man who took the credit for beating Cell, has a plan to stop Boo which might just work.

It is hard to follow the Dragon Ball saga without knowing what has gone on before. Dragon Ball can best be described as a mixture of martial arts, science fiction, fantasy and comedy. Akira Toriyama has been known to use scatological humour in his manga, and there are a few of these incidents here.

As a stand-alone, this volume isn't very spectacular. After being set up as Goku's successor, Gohan is almost completely sidelined in favour of Goku demonstrating Super Saiyan Level 3, and Goten and Trunks' first Fusion attempts. That being said, it is far more laconic than the TV series, which has been known to drag out fights for hours at a time. And Boo is as entertaining on the printed page as he is on the screen, being a sort of sociopathic child trapped in a large-girthed creature. In fact, at this point of the saga, Boo is the most interesting character, as it is in this volume that he gets some character development, first murdering his master, then much of the Earth, and, surprisingly, befriending a blind boy, Hercule, and a puppy. Hercule also gets strong character development here, turning from a coward into something approaching a true hero.

I liked this volume. It's not really spectacular, and I have seen it all before in the anime, but it is still good. Just don't read it as a stand-alone, you might not understand it.


7/10

First words: We don't have much time.

Last words: ...

Review 23. I have beaten my record with...

REVIEW: Monty Python Live! edited by Eric Idle


Monty Python has remained one of my favourite comedy teams for some time, but I have to say, I didn't pay much attention to the live shows. I have watched the Live at the Hollwood Bowl DVD, but I haven't heard much of the audio recordings of, say, Live at Drury Lane. But I am interested in what went on behind the scenes, and this is what Monty Python Live! is about.

Monty Python Live! is to the Python stage shows what The Pythons: An Autobiography by The Pythons and Monty Python: Almost the Truth were to the Python's entire career. It is basically a book of anecdotes from the surviving Pythons, along with extracts from Gaham Chapman's writings, as well as anecdotes from Carol Cleveland (the most prominent female performer in Python), Neil Innes (who did a lot of musical numbers in the films and stage shows), promoter Tony Smith, US manager Nancy Lewis, Python biographer Kim Howard Johnson, and Carl Reiner, American actor and comedian. As well as anecdotes, there are transcripts of various sketches used in the stage shows and extracts from the programs used in the shows.

Is it any good? It was alright to kill a little time, and the sketch transcripts would do well to anyone looking to find ones that aren't in other Python books. The anecdotes are interesting, but if you have read either The Pythons (I haven't not from cover to cover, so another project for me?) or Michael Palin's diaries (which I have read the first volume, cover to cover), there isn't that much that is very new. We find the point where John Cleese really started to get fed up with Python, and some of the outrageous behaviour of Graham Chapman will be sure to get a few laughs.

All the same, I can't help but feel that this was done by Eric Idle to, once more, wring some more coins for the Python purse, and his in particular. Eric Idle has gone down in my estimation lately, given his prostitution of Python and attention-seeking tendencies, and this book seems symptomatic of this. It was interesting, but there could have been more to this than a collection of sketches and anecdotes.


7.5/10

First words: I was surprised and a little aroused to witness an evening of Monty Python performed entirely by women. (From the foreword, or 'foreplay', by Eric Idle)

Last words: *No. [Ed.] (Comment at the end of 'Book Credits by Stanley Baldwin')

4 books per week? Do you speed read? If I tried to read that quickly, I would probably not remember what I had read.

It's 23 books in just under 6 weeks now.

iamnotaparakeet, remember that 6 of them are graphic novels and a few more are children's books. However, yes, I do speed read. And I read books simultaneously. Not literally at the same time, but having several being read at once.

At the moment, I am reading The Wizard of Oz, Doctor Who: The Massacre, Michael Palin Diaries: Halfway to Hollywood, and West of Eden. I'll probably restart reading Unseen Academicals, as well as start Heretics of Dune and Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony. I also have a number of books from the library to have a look at coming soon, like The Invisible Man, On Basilisk Station, and The Princess Bride.

My 24th book, on the six week mark.

REVIEW: The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum

I don't really have that much of a soft spot for The Wizard of Oz. I watched the movie, of course, when I was a kid, and last year, I read the Wicked trilogy by Gregory Maguire that puts a whole new spin on the original stories. I decided, to kill time while I finish West of Eden and The Michael Palin Diaries, to read the original novel.

If you don't know the story already, chances are, you've been living in a non-English speaking country. The Wizard of Oz follows the trials and tribulations of Dorothy, a young girl whose house in Kansas is swept up in a cyclone (technically a tornado) and deposited in the land of Oz, killing the Wicked Witch of the East in the process by accident. Heading to Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz, she picks up a trio of companions, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Lion. Problem is, when they finally meet the Wizard, he won't help them for free, and demands that they kill the Wicked Witch of the West...

Okay, okay, I know this story is meant for kids, but it's not exactly substantial. It's basically a journey from one part of a magical world to another. In this, it is not unlike Alice in Wonderland. Unlike Alice in Wonderland, however, it has less in the way of confusing nonsense. I managed to read Wizard of Oz without getting a headache, a real point in its favour.

Although I personally prefer the darker, more complex world of Oz seen in the Wicked trilogy, this book was adequate to kill a little time. There are a lot of sequences in the book that weren't in the movie, and there were a number of changes, some substantial. It's interesting, at least, to see the original tale.

That being said, I much prefer the Wicked version of Oz, and this, while a good fairytale for kids, has little in it for adults.


6/10

First words: Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife.

Last words: (Removed for spoilers. I know it's The Wizard of Oz, but I'm keeping a spoiler on it)

Book no. 25, and it took its bloody time...

REVIEW: West of Eden by Harry Harrison

Okay, okay. You've seen that cliche in bad movies and comic books that show cavemen duking it out with dinosaurs? Haven't you felt secretly excited by such a clash, a sort of prehistoric crossover? Well, West of Eden is not only a book that does this, but also tries to justify it. And succeeds in not only being exciting, but well thought-out.

West of Eden is set on an Earth where the Yucatan comet never hit. Thus, the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and other large reptiles never happened. So, an intelligent race of reptiles called the Yilane (evolved not from dinosaurs, but marine reptiles) have evolved, and have colonised Eurasia and Africa. However, they have yet to colonise North America, as it is too cold, and New World primates living there evolve into various races of humans, called the Tanu. However, when the Yilane are forced by population pressures to colonise near the Florida Keys, the two cultures collide. The Yilane consider the Tanu to be repulsive animals, and the Tanu have a xenophobic hatred of anything reptilian. When a young human boy called Kerrick is captured during a massacre of his tribe, and learns the (very complex) language of the Yilane, he becomes embroiled in the political machinations of a Yilane leader, Vainte. And there seems to be no hope of reconciliation between the two, as events spiral towards a terrible war between the species.

West of Eden reminds me somewhat of a number of Doctor Who stories involving the Silurians and the Sea Devils, intelligent reptiles who evolved on Earth before humanity. In a way, West of Eden reminds me of the first, and the best (in my opinion), of these stories, Doctor Who and the Silurians. Both stories are about the substantial shock of two species and cultures meeting, which ends badly, particularly on the part of the reptilian characters. I have to wonder, then, whether Harry Harrison took inspiration from the story written by Malcolm Hulke. Unlikely, but I still see similarities.

Despite their horrid attitudes towards humans (indeed, any mammal, which they call ustuzou), the Yilane are never portrayed in black and white. Indeed, their culture is shown to be highly sophisticated and technologically advanced, with genetic engineering forming the bedrock of their culture. The same goes for the humans, although to a lesser degree than I would have liked. That is, they are not shown to be as complex characters as the Yilane, but this is a relatively minor quibble.

Harry Harrison had put a lot of thought into the background and culture of the Yilane, not to mention, in particular, the Sasku, a group of neolithic farmers. While not as impressive as Dune or Lord of the Rings, one can see the effort coming through in the writing. Although there are some aspects of Yilane culture that are painfully homogenous, this is due to their dislike of change.

Amongst the disappointments is that, although I don't think that it is intentional, there's a mildly misogynistic slant throughout West of Eden. Yilane society has females filling all important roles, and females, therefore, in the most villainous roles. Males, in Yilane culture, are sidelined. Kerrick's thoughts about the death of a fellow captive, a female Tanu called Ysel, aren't kind, although he thinks better of a hare-lipped Tanu called Armun, albeit because she nurses him back to health and he doesn't remark on her appearance. There is also the sympathetic Yilane known as Enge, one of the few good Yilane in the book, belonging to a pacifistic cult called the Daughters of Life. So maybe I am just reading a little too much into this.

Another disappointment, however, was the failure to develop an interesting plot point. Yilane are incapable of lying, and when Vainte learns of the concept of lying from Kerrick's actions, she uses it in one incident alone to help consolidate her power. I felt this was a badly wasted opportunity to have the Yilane society shaken up by lying, make Vainte a more interesting villain by having her learn to lie, and not just conceal her thoughts from others. Perhaps this occurs in the sequels. I dunno.

Regardless, I enjoyed West of Eden. You might need a strong stomach to deal with a few sequences, but it is still an excellent novel that is well worth the time of anyone into speculative fiction, and alternate history fiction.


8.5/10

First words: The great reptiles were the most successful lifeforms ever to populate this world.

Last words: "Let us go home."

Don't know what will be next. Possibly Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony.

Book 26 is going to cause a little controversy...

REVIEW: Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion by Mark Cotta Vaz

I have to admit something before I embark on this review: I tried reading Twilight some time ago, and never got to get more than about a third of the way before thinking, 'bugger this for a laugh, this is boring'. Off hand, I can only think of one other fiction book that was more boring: Atlas Shrugged. And I read all of that because of a bet. If I want to read or watch something that involves vampires and teen angst, I'd watch the Doctor Who story, The Curse of Fenric. However, in searching for a quick book to read for this current book blog, I decided to grab the official movie companion, which is basically a making-of of the movie. And I was pleasantly surprised.

I enjoy reading books about the making of movies and television series, and while this tie-in to the Twilight movie is nothing spectacular, it is infinitely more interesting and readable than the book the movie was based on. There is even a little discussion about how Stephanie Meyer conceived of the idea for Twilight, as part of a dream that apparently became the 13th chapter of the novel.

It is also interesting to read about the fact that they tried to shoot a lot of the movie physically, and reserved CGI for only a few shots. Considering that I have a long-term interest in the creation and usage of special effects, this was intriguing. And how they shot various sequences, such as Edward's rescue of Bella from a car crash, the baseball game, and the climactic fight, was interesting. Not to mention the set design anecdotes.

That being said, this is not a book you would want to buy unless you are either a die-hard Twilight freak, or else you are a die-hard making-of book reader. Otherwise, get this from the library, read it, and return it.


7/10

First words: Edward and Bella were falling in love.

Last words: Actually, I want [someone who's seen the movie] to grab their boyfriend or girlfriend and go and make out, then turn around and go back and see the movie again, then make out again! (Squick)

Next may be The Prisoner of Zenda.

Book 27 is a classic...

REVIEW: The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope

I haven't read (and more to the point, finished) that many novels written before 1900. Probably this is partly because the writing style demands a different attitude to reading, as well as the language involved. But there is also the problem of values dissonance, as TV Tropes puts it. What seems relevant and proper then is irrelevant and even offensive now. It is with this in mind, then, that I review Anthony Hope's famous swashbuckler, The Prisoner of Zenda.

The Prisoner of Zenda tells the story of Rudolf Rassendyl, the younger brother of an English earl, and the look-alike of the soon to be crowned Rudolf V, crown prince of Ruritania (due to a dalliance involving an ancestor of Rudolf V). Deciding to take a holiday to Ruritania, Rassendyl is drawn against his will into a conspiracy by Rudolf V's half-brother, Black Michael, Duke of Strelsau, to take the throne. With the king-to-be drugged and unable to get to coronation, Rassendyl is persuaded to make an audacious step: take the king's place...

Doubtless, you have heard the above plot over and over again before. The Prisoner of Zenda has been adapted a number of times, and my attention was actually brought to it firstly by the Doctor Who adaptation, The Androids of Tara. So I knew a little about the story's general nature, if not the specifics.

There is significant values dissonance between the world of Zenda and the world of today. Rassendyl is called upon to support a drunken jealous lout of a king who nonetheless has the support of the aristocracy and the Church. His opponent, Black Michael, has the support of the masses (who are unimpressed with Rudolf V's antics), but is a ruthless SOB who will stop at nothing to get to the throne. And Rassendyl proves to be better at the king's job than the king, winning the support of both the people and Princess Flavia, the betrothed of the king, leaving only honour the only reason for Rassendyl to save the real king.

Despite this, this is a quick trot and a ripping yarn. It is simple and farcical, and is a triumph of style over substance, but The Prisoner of Zenda does not overstay its welcome. However, I can't help but compare it to a similarly plotted and paced story which shares similar elements, the Tintin adventure King Ottokar's Sceptre. As much as people would hate for me to compare a minor classic of 19th Century literature to a comic, King Ottokar's Sceptre had at least an added layer of complexity, as well as historical context (it was written around the time of the annexation of Austria by Germany).

The Prisoner of Zenda was a mildly diverting and enjoyable read. It could have been more complex, and it has aged badly compared to, say, The Count of Monte Cristo. But it was still good, and I recommend it to anyone trying to look at 19th Century literature.


7/10

First words: 'I wonder when in the world you are going to do anything, Rudolf?' said my brother's wife.

Last words: But if it be never- if I can never hold sweet converse again with her, or look upon her face, or know from her her love; why, then, this side the grave, I will live as becomes the man whom she loves; and, for the other side, I must pray a dreamless sleep.

Book 28....

REVIEW: Halfway to Hollywood: Diaries 1980-1988 by Michael Palin

During my trip to the UK last year, one of the books I bought (interestingly enough, in Bath, that paragon of literary Britain) was a copy of Michael Palin's diaries, which detailed the years between 1969 and 1979, when he, along with five others, created Monty Python's Flying Circus, and saw it grow into a phenomenon. These were his fairly unedited diaries, detailing the disputes, trials and tribulations involved, not just in making the series, but the movies, and other events.

But his diaries also had a strong personal touch to them. Even amongst the fame, we see Palin dealing with the increasing sickness of his father at the hands of Parkinson's Disease, the birth of his three children, and how Palin dealt with his fame.

This second volume picks up more or less where the first volume left off, with Life of Brian still in the theaters, and Palin working on Time Bandits with Terry Gilliam. This time, not surprisingly, the emphasis is less on Python (although there is talk of video releases and The Meaning of Life), and more on Michael Palin's projects during the 1980s, including The Missionary, A Private Function, and other Python collaborations such as Brazil, A Fish Called Wanda, and ending on Palin about to embark on the documentary of Around the World in 80 Days.

It's strange reading about such personal things. Michael Palin took up diary-writing in order to help him give up smoking, and it is interesting to see how dedicated he is to diary-writing. The professiona travails of Palin's work mingles with the personal triumphs and tragedies in Palin's personal life, like seeing his children go through school, or having his sister commit suicide. You feel that Palin, by publishing these diaries, is letting you into his confidence, and these entries, from the fantastic to the mundane, drive home the point that celebrities do have a life to go back to.

The biggest complaint that I have is that the diary entries weren't edited to be tighter (not the entries themselves altered, but rather some removed), as it was quite a substantial book to get through.

But this was an interesting look behind the scenes of the life of one of the Pythons, as well as his life beyond Python. I recommend it to Python fans, and anyone who wants to see what being a celebrity is really like.

8/10

First words: These diaries cover a period of my life when, briefly, the prospect of international stardom shimmered on the horizon.

Last words: There's no turning back now.

Book 29...

REVIEW: The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison

I like science fiction comedy. I have been a fan of, amongst other things, Douglas Adams' Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the sitcom Red Dwarf, not to mention Futurama. But, believe it or not, there was science fiction comedy before these. And Harry Harrison wrote a rather quirky little novel (that later became a series of novels) called The Stainless Steel Rat.

In the future, crime has been all but wiped out, thanks to laws and psychological treatment at an early age. That being said, there are still criminals who managed to slip through the net. James Bolivar diGriz, aka Slippery Jim, is one of them, a con-merchant and bank robber, who is finally caught by the Special Corps...and recruited into them. Many in the Special Corps are former criminals, and Harold Inskipp, the commander of the Special Corps, wants Slippery Jim. Problem is, Jim has ideas of his own, but a chance encounter during his first assignment with a psychopathic woman leads Jim on an obsessive mission.

The last (and, ironically, the first) Harry Harrison book that I read, West of Eden, was rather different in style. A far more serious work, it is also, unfortunately, a better one than The Stainless Steel Rat. This is by no means to say that The Stainless Steel Rat is bad. It's actually quite an exciting little romp. It has a layer of quirky humour that reminds me of the later-written (but read earlier by me) Lucifer Box novels, which are to The Stainless Steel Rat what Victorian spy novels are to crime caper novels.

I detect another layer of misogyny, like in West of Eden, but whether or not this is intentional is hard to tell. It's really because the only female character of any note is also the main villain (and a psychopath) that I say this. That being said, this character at least has a little development, although the emphasis on this novel, like The Prisoner of Zenda, is style over substance. It moves swiftly from one incident to the next, with humourous and whimsical asides.

There is also another set of novels the series reminds me of: the Discworld novels Going Postal and Making Money, about a con-artist who is hired to revamp the Post Office and Bank of Ankh-Morpork respectively. Regardless of priority (the two Discworld novels were written recently, while The Stainless Steel Rat was written in 1961), I much prefer the Discworld novels.

Would I read the rest of the series? I probably would. But they're not a high priority to read. Don't get me wrong, read them, and find out exactly why they are called The Stainless Steel Rat. Just get them for a quick entertaining yarn. Nothing really deep.


7.5/10

First words: When the office door opened suddenly, I knew the game was up.

Last words: "Here's to crime."

Book 30, a milestone....

REVIEW: Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery by Richard Hollingham

Ever since reading Monster and Making the Cut for this round of the book-reading blog, my interest in medicine and surgery has increased, regarding the politics involved. Now, I come to a book based on a TV series, one which, due to conflicting TV schedules in the family, I've had to miss out. But the book was available at the library, so I borrowed it...

Blood and Guts tells the history of surgery in five distinct areas: the first section describes how the first antiseptic procedures and anaesthetics transformed surgery from a lightning-fast but dangerous procedure into a far more carefully considered one. The second section tells of the first heart operations, and how they evolved into open-heart surgery. Section three tells of the struggles to transplant organs and limbs. The fourth section tells of the beginnings of plastic surgery. And the final section reveals how the brain was finally operated upon.

I'll be absolutely frank here: Blood and Guts is not for everyone. It is definitely not for the squeamish or the faint-hearted. Many of the anecdotes and pictures will squick you out. If you ever wondered whether the head of one animal could be transplanted onto another, well, they show the results of a technically successful experiment on a dog. Amongst other charming sights.

And we read of distressing tales where some surgeons who were brilliant end up suffering downfalls, like Ignaz Semmelweis, whose advice to doctors could have saved lives, but his attitude lead to his downfall. Or Walter Freeman, pioneer of the lobotomy. Or Alexis Carrel, whose ideas of organ transplantation and earlier career was overshadowed by his enthusiasm for eugenics and his support for the Nazi occupation of France.

But there are heartwarming moments, such as the Guinea Pig Club founded by Archibald McIndoe and his facial reconstruction patients during World War II, the various people whose lives had been saved by the various surgeries, and even Harvey Cushing, a tyrant of the operating room who nonetheless cared strongly for his patients.

Once again, Blood and Guts is not for everyone, but if you are interested in medical history, and have a strong stomach, you could do far worse than read this. By turns interesting, heartwarming, and squicky, this is a decent enough book for those interested in how surgery evolved into what it is today.


8/10

First words: In the early 1980s I trained to be a doctor at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London. (From the introduction by Michael Mosley)

Last words: If you need an operation, just be grateful that you are alive today and not 170 years ago- the next patient on Robert Liston's operating schedule.

Book 31...

REVIEW: For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming+James Bond by Ben MacIntyre

When I went to the UK last year, one of the things that I wanted to go to was the For Your Eyes Only exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London. Unfortunately, pressures of time scuppered these plans. However, with the book of the exhibition, I have a chance to look at what I missed, as well as read the background about one of the most famous authors of all time, and his fictional creation.

Ian Fleming and James Bond are fictional characters whom, naturally, I feel somewhat ambiguous towards. I have actually read many of Ian Fleming's novels, and find that, although I enjoyed them, there is a certain amount of values dissonance, even though Fleming said that he was writing for someone like me, aka a 'red-blooded heterosexual'. Goldfinger (particularly how p**** Galore switches sides) and Doctor No (with Chinese and Chinese-Black villains) are the worst offenders, in my opinion.

However, this book puts a lot of Ian Fleming's life into context, talking about his early life, how he came to create Bond, and who might have influenced him in the various characters, from M to Blofeld. We even get comparisons between the Bond of the novels, and the Bond of the movies, with the literary Bond being, more often than not, a more human character than the cold-blooded quipper of the films.

This is a book that will interest fans of either or both the movies and the novels, and strives to show the origins of the most famous spy of all time. I recommend it, particularly to those who want to have some background on Ian Fleming and the novels.


8/10

First words: One morning in February 1952, in a holiday hideaway on the island of Jamaica, a middle-aged British journalist sat down at his desk and set about creating a fictional secret agent, a character that would go on to become one of the most successful, enduring and lucrative creations in literature.

Last words: But 007 is still young, and ageless.

Dalton and Craig play him closest to literary Bond, I think. Did this book express an opinion on it?

I don't recall that specifically, but they did say that Daniel Craig wouldn't have been seen by either Fleming (in that he didn't give a damn whether his martini was shaken or stirred or doesn't smoke) or by Connery as being like Bond. They do say in passing that George Lazenby was perhaps closest to the literary Bond.

I'm probably going to finish Fight Club next, and probably The Princess Bride shortly thereafter. Both were novels before they became movies.

Book 32 is troperiffic...

REVIEW: The Princess Bride by William Goldman

One website that I have been enjoying lately has been the TV Tropes website. A veritable plethora of storytelling techniques and aspects, it has often been a source of many new reading material. It is probably only thanks to the TV Tropes website that I have really even heard of The Princess Bride, and after looking over the movie, I decided to check out the book. The reverse of my usual procedure, but there you go.

The Princess Bride is, supposedly, a tale of true love and high adventure written by S Morgenstern, and read to a young William Goldman as a child. However, he finds that his father cut out a lot of boring bits, changing a heavy-handed satire on the aristocracy into a fast-paced Ruritanian romance. Goldman abridges the original work, which tells of farm-hand Westley, and farm-girl Buttercup, and how events conspire to tear them apart and pull them back together.

The plot itself is just an adventurous romp. Admittedly, this novel has inspired a number of tropes on the TV Tropes website, but there are elements which don't ring true, such as Westley's almost abusive treatment of Buttercup when they meet again for the first time in years (albeit while Westley is in disguise as the Dread Pirate Roberts, 'scuse the spoilers), although her treatment of him at the beginning is pretty nasty. Personally, my favourite character is the driven Inigo Montoya, who has the famous line 'Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.'

However, the thing that really elevates The Princess Bride to the next level is a trope that I first read about in House of Leaves, which is to psychological horror what The Princess Bride is to Ruritanian romance. An extra layer, and a more interesting one, is added by having Goldman reminisce about the circumstances surrounding his attempt to abridge The Princess Bride, his family life, why he cut certain scenes out, and forewords and afterwords involving legal troubles and the movie. Quite a significant chunk of his family life as he describes it in The Princess Bride is a load of BS, as a quick look at the relevant Wikipedia pages (here for the context of the novel
and here for the relevant section of his biography) will attest. Mark Z Danielewski pulled a similar stunt in House of Leaves, albeit with his fictional narrator Johnny Truant. I like this idea of faking annotations and references, because the line between fact and fiction blurs. It is interesting to pretend that there are further references out there.

If you liked the movie, try reading this novel. If you like metafiction, or enjoy finding where tropes come from, read it. This is the guy who wrote the screenplays for Marathon Man, The Stepford Wives (the original) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Give it a read. You might like it, despite the crappy name.


8.5/10

First words: This is my favourite book in all the world, though I have never read it. (This is from the start of the book proper. The introductions and forewords do waffle on)

Last words: It's just fairer than death, that's all. (Again, this is from the end of the book proper, rather than the various additions)

Next book will probably be Fight Club.