Review of the 2007 film 'The Darjeeling Limited'

The Darjeeling Limited opens with a slightly abstract scene of a man in a hotel room, meeting with a girl he has been running away from. There is little holding the scene together, aside from some good acting on the part of Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman. It is quietly humorous, without being outright hilarious, the on-screen action is beautifully filmed, even if there is little by way of plot to cement the scene. Then, this scene closes as a short (with its own credits), mostly unrelated to the rest of the film, except in as much as it introduced one of the characters, Jack, and explains references that are mentioned later on.

The main body of the film opens with Bill Murray rushing to catch a train, somewhere in India. This, like the short, is a beautifully filmed misdirection, as the actual plot takes off with another man running past him on the station, to actually catch the train as it is pulling away. This man joins his two brothers in a compartment, for a journey across India together. The Whitman brothers, Francis, Peter and Jack, are a very believable trio, with quirky personalities that don't delve too far into the extremes. It is here that the theme of the movie is revealed. The oldest brother, Francis, has had a near-fatal car accident, and wishes to bond with his brothers on a spiritual journey through India.

All three brothers have their own issues, wonderfully explored throughout the film. The journey takes them to many places, beautiful scenes, and strange situations. The film is funny, whilst giving an interesting view of the characters and their lives. Their past is hinted at from early on, but not explained fully till much later.

There are recurring themes, which get more amusing each time they are repeated. In particular the inherited set of suitcases that the brothers religiously carry around with them for the entire journey act as a comedic device, while later being used as extremely poignant symbolism. Over the course of the film, it becomes clear that all three brothers have problems that they need to sort out... and by the end, you feel that they are on the way to doing that.

The Darjeeling Limited is a comedy that manages to delve into human nature and relationships and come up with a good plot and characters, whilst still remaining funny. It is slightly off-the-wall while not slipping off the rails into outright fantasy. Then there are the occasional poignant moments, which enforce that this film is not pure comedy. The acting was outstanding, and the direction emphasised the themes, whilst making the most of the some beautiful settings. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and it left me with that wholesome feeling that I had been entertained whilst still watching something that was, beneath the surface, a very 'good' film.

Review of 'Stardust' by Neil Gaiman

This is an adorable fairytale about a boy who leaves his (mostly ordinary) home village, and sets out on a quest through the (magical) land of Faerie, to find a fallen star. As such quests tend to go, he is not the only person looking for the star, and at the same time, two other groups set out, both seeking it for different reasons.

Often sweet, regularly amusing and occasionally slightly gruesome, this book juxtaposes the childlike telling of a fairytale quest, with hints of the more realistic, the more worldly, and certainly the more adult perspective. The story is incredibly easy to read, because it is told in language that is, if not simplistic, at least easily comprehensible. And the tale that is woven is a wonderful mixture of the best that fairytales have to offer.

The strengths of this book, and its main source of charm, come from the way in which the protagonist, Tristran Thorn, finds himself in totally new and unfamiliar circumstances and how he deals with them. With his goal always in mind, he trips and stumbles through semi-typical fairytale adventures (all with a slight twist, so as to hold interest). There are those that help and hinder. There are witches, and princes, a unicorn, and talking trees, and almost all of the woodland animals seem to be enchanted humans of some form or other. The picture presented of this world is beautiful and magical, and it is described and explored wonderfully through Tristran's unfamiliarity.

Where I felt the book fell down slightly was in conveying the interactions between characters. While I often dislike books that over-labour the love-story aspect of the tale, I felt this book completely glossed over it, so that although you can tell from quite early on how the story will end, you don't quite believe it until it has already happened. It made more of a brief encounter between two other characters than it did of the love story that the book was leading towards.

However, in spite of this, this book was a very entertaining read, told in elegant style and well worth reading.

Review of 'The Wasp Factory' by Iain Banks

The first person narrator of this piece is a sixteen-year-old boy, with macabre habits, strange fascinations, and dark secrets. Frank Cauldhame, as he is called, lives on a small island, just off the coast of Scotland, with his father. The island is his world, his domain. Within it, he believes he has almost total power. Frank also has an older brother, Eric, who does not live on the island. But Eric is coming home.

There is only one way to tell a tale from the perspective of a mind as unconventional as Frank’s, and that is in a completely matter-of-fact tone of voice, that makes every bizarre event and belief seem completely reasonable. Frank describes his day, his thoughts and emotions, and at times there is the strong sensation that he is an inevitable consequence of his past and upbringing.

Each event is described with precision, each ritual is mentioned with the assurance of someone that feels such things are completely necessary. The narrator alludes to much in the first chapters, but does not describe any of these things in full till much later. It is this curiousity, as much as anything, which draws the reader through the book. But these things, when finally revealed, do not disappoint.

While there is much about this novel that is almost otherworldly, or at the very least slightly dubious, as a horror novel, it is disturbing in its plausibility. The characters, while skewed from the norm, are definitely not outside the realms of possibility, which makes their actions all the more emotionally wrenching. From beginning to end, The Wasp Factory is intensely readable, and equally disturbing.

Review of 'Endymion' by Dan Simmons

Endymion is the sequel to Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion. Reading these two first makes everything much clearer, but I would not say it is completely necessary. Most of the necessary information is referenced somewhere within the book, although sometimes events that occurred in Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion that aren't important to the plot of Endymion are mentioned, which might be a little confusing without having read the first two books first. However, I will try not to spoil the plot of Hyperion in the review below:


Set 250 years after the end of ‘Fall of Hyperion’, this book picks up with completely different characters, a new world order, a completely different feel to the worlds. This is space opera in its richest form; a chase across planetary systems, new space drives, new technologies. The main characters include a child, a convict that narrowly escaped a death sentence, an android and a priest. Raul Endymion is the main character and the narrator. The story starts with an act of anger, of revenge. The harsh consequences lead Raul to meet a man that asks him to go on a seemingly impossible quest. And of course, he accepts.

The story gets increasingly improbable from there on in. But it is told in beautiful style, each new world described so as to make it seem completely believable. And all of the events fit seamlessly into the framework already described in the two Hyperion books. Each new twist of the plot draws the reader further into the story. This is one of those books you just don't want to put down. Each time it seems the pursuers are gaining, you worry for the main characters, you wonder how they can possibly escape in time. Occasionally you are lulled into a false sense of security, only to be shocked completely in the next chapter.

Endymion is beautifully written, wonderfully described. The leader is led through the story by a desire to know how Raul got into the situation from which he is writing, and by the tense, exciting events that are happening in his ‘past’. Perhaps Dan Simmons overuses the cliffhanger as a dramatic device, so that you are almost forced to read through the next two chapters before you even think about putting the book down. But if he is guilty of this sin, then he is acquitted by his skill at using the device. The two connected, interweaving narratives drive the reader through the world, seeing it from two jarring perspectives, and wishing the main characters forward, away from harm.

While I would definitely recommend reading Hyperion first, I can most assuredly recommend Endymion as a very worthwhile read. Dan Simmons has created a universe both beautiful and terrifying, and I believe that all science fiction lovers will revel in it.

Review of 'Young Miles' by Lois McMaster Bujold.

Miles Vorkosigan, biochemically damaged son of the Prime Minister on his home planet of Barrayar, was determined to join the Imperial military, despite his physical fragilities. When he fails the physical part of the entrance exam (breaking both his legs in the process), he decides to pay a visit to his grandmother on a distant planet. Once there, he manages to start off a sequence of events that eventually puts him at the head of a newly formed mercenary fleet, under the guise of 'Admiral Naismith.' And this is just the start of his problems...

The story 'Young Miles' comes in three parts, relating to Miles' adventures between the ages of 17 and 20. The first part covers his rise to the admiralty. The second, slower-moving, more poignant section, relates a tale on his own planet involving the murder of a baby for the simple reason that the baby had a cleft pallet. The third part tells the story of Miles' first six months after graduating from the military academy. Each separate incident is a stream of events, with Miles an unwitting, but very clever, passenger on the path of destiny. His intelligence and natural leadership skills get him into and out of scrapes, with each attempt to solve things leading to yet another complication.

The twists and turns in the plot happen quickly, but they aren't hard to follow, the writer making sudden changes clear and comprehensible. This novel is a real ripping yarn, with each new turn almost forcing the reader on to the next page without pause for breath. Pausing to think, the story line is often quite ridiculous, with everything that occurs seeming utterly unbelievable. But the point of the novel seems to be that there isn't time to think, for reader or characters. When there is time to think, it tends to be during a juncture in the story line where the more ridiculous events are behind, or ahead.

Alongside the winding plot, there is a wonderful cast of characters, each one believable in their own way. The characters are far more real than any of the events they take part in, which allows the reader to suspend disbelief while they overcome yet another complication. Each character is completely internally consistent, their interactions with their world seamless, so that you take their surroundings for granted, no matter how they got there.

With an extremely clever, fast-moving plot and brilliant characterisation, 'Young Miles' is entertaining, amusing and occasionally very thought provoking. It comes highly recommended.

Review of 'Anno-Dracula' by Kim Newman

Imagine yourself back to Victorian London: the time of Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Sherlock Holmes... Imagine, more specifically, the novel 'Dracula.' Imagine that Van Helsing failed.

This novel deals with the aftermath of such a failure... the success of Count Dracula's incursion into England and the propagation of his vampiric bloodline. Vampirism becomes more than myth in this story; it has become an accepted part of modern existence. It has bred new levels of society. But it has also bred Silver Knife; a vampire killer acting in Whitechapel. The principle characters of this novel include Genevieve, an elder vampire, older than Count Dracula and from a different bloodline, and Charles Beauregard, a member of a mysterious secret society, who has been ordered to investigate Silver Knife. The novel investigates the effect of vampirism on Victorian society, in the context of a variety of characters from different walks of life, and all coming back to the killer, Silver Knife.

The author has remained true to the original Dracula vampire legend, except for the vampiric abhorrence of religious artifacts, which has been written-off as superstition in this novel. The writer has also expanded some of the myths to include a series of different Vampire bloodlines, which encompass a variety of strengths and powers that are not available to all vampires. For example, the ability to shape-change seems to exist exclusively within Count Dracula's bloodline. The author has obviously thought in great detail about these differences and similarities, and carefully explores them through the whole course of the novel. Everything is given away in slow, easy steps so that readers find themselves drawn further and further into the world, until it seems completely real and believable.

While the predominant plot in the novel, the search for Silver Knife, seems relatively simple, the way in which it is developed and explored leaves a much greater insight into the society the author has created. This story is not a murder mystery with vampires; it is a much more detailed account, showing how people have changed and adapted to something that seems mostly inconceivable. Throughout some of the book, the Silver Knife murders seem almost incidental, just a background on which to paint a rich story of life in Victorian London under the Vampire.

The novel makes it incredibly easy to suspend disbelief. The characters, both primary and incidental, are utterly believable, even when they reach into the fantastical. There are repeated mentions of characters from the time (both real and fictional) and how they have fitted themselves into the new world that has arisen, which makes the book slip far more easily from fantasy into potential reality. On occasion, modern attitudes creep into the novel, which sometimes do not entirely seem to fit the time period. At other times the more graphic descriptions do border on the gratuitous, but for the most part, even these things allow the reader to be more thoroughly immersed in the world that has been created.

Whether the reader is looking for a ripping-yarn plot, and intriguing story line, or a beautifully described world and characters, this book delivers, in excellent style. Above this, it is possibly the best vampire novel I have ever read.

Review of 'Goodnight Lady' by Martina Cole.

This novel is about a family with five daughters, the Cavanaghs, who were born in the deepest of poverty at the beginning of the 20th century. Their way out of this poverty was a rather reprehensible member of the middle classes. Briony was the second eldest of the five. She had a burning ambition to leave life in the slums behind, and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. The novel winds its way from her childhood, aged 10 or 11, all the way up to her late old age. She starts a chain of whore-houses, is a notorious east-end 'madam.' Her and her consort, Tommy Lane, become undisputed rulers of the East End. She passes on the torch to younger members of the family, but she keeps her hand in. Throughout her life, she's the one that everyone goes to when they need a hand out of a fix. She's the archetypal strong female lead.

The story is quite well written, and most of the characters have a depth that makes them believable, at least most of the time. Briony and her sisters have surprisingly modern attitudes, considering that they were born at the beginning of the last century, but you can tell that they are very conscious that the rest of the world at that time does not think the same way. And despite the fact that the main character runs a string of brothels, you can't help but have a grudging respect for the way she treats people, the way she does what she feels she must, and the way that, to her, family always comes first.

Martina Cole's writing style sometimes detracts from the important character traits by over-emphasizing them. She will state things explicitly that should, perhaps, be left unsaid so that the reader can make up their own mind about the characters. Also, readers expecting, or wanting, a twisting-turning plot will be somewhat disappointed. This is definitely the story of a life. It details events that happen along the way, and how they shape the people. This in itself can be a good thing, but there is no coherent plot line, no thread to string you along through the story.

With Goodnight Lady, Martina Cole has produced an entertaining novel that deals with some evocative themes. However, consistent readers of Martina Cole may find there is a recurrence of certain themes and some repetitiveness in style and characterisation. If this had been the first Martina Cole novel I had ever read, I would probably have enjoyed it a lot more. I would recommend it to people who were looking for a good crime novel, but only if they had not read any work by the same author.

Review of 'Stargate Atlantis: The Chosen' by Sonny Whitelaw & Elizabeth Christensen.

Before I start, I should explain *why* I am reading Stargate novelisations. The answer is 'my mother.' I bought one, to see what it was like... and my mother noticed, and bought subsequent ones. I didn't really mind at first, as the first novel was actually pretty good, but she was buying faster than I was reading, so it took me a long time to realise that the rest weren't as good, and I had many better things to read. She has now been told to stop buying them... but I have several left. And I don't want to get rid of them before reading them... and so...

'The Chosen' is a fairly typical Atlantis adventure... they go to a new planet, find a bunch of people with a connection to the Ancients... in this case, an Ancient mated with one of the natives and founded their society and left behind a lot of tech that can only be operated by 'the chosen' (or people with the gene that allows them to operate Ancient tech). The nature of this technology means that the Ancient also has to impose a strict set of rules to ensure that it works to protect the people against the Wraith. There are societal problems... it looks as though the Chosen are being typical elitist rulers, filling their bellies at the expense of the poor, who need them to protect from the wraith. But things aren't quite that simple, and by opening his mouth, Rodney unwittingly causes a massive uprising, with several factions fighting it out... and then the Wraith show up, and the Chosen have been killed, and are unable to protect everyone.

And it's just one thing after another in this story. Really. It's actually quite irritating. The writing style is simplistic, to say the least, and the writers employ all-too-obvious techniques to keep the reader reading, trying to make it compulsive. But in making it too obvious, they made it less enjoyable. There's only so many times you can enjoy the feeling of suspense when it looks like one of the team have died. It's even more ridiculous, because anyone who's watched the show will *know* that they all survive... they're not going to have an unexplained disappearance between episodes. So the suspense of 'have they died or haven't they?' becomes 'how the hell do they get out of this one?’. Usually it's overuse of plot-no-jutsu, and the main-character-protective-shielding. And I'm not sure that it would have worked even if you didn't know the characters survived.

The eventual defeat of the Wraith (yes, a spoiler... but you know they're going to do it somehow. It's what they do), arises because of one of the more ridiculous Deus Ex Machina ever used... even on Stargate. Some of it is alluded to in previous parts of the story... but not in anywhere near enough detail to make it any less annoying when the Wraith are finally vanquished after a long and unnecessarily arduous battle. It might have even been less annoying if the final Deus Ex Machina was the first... but at several instances throughout the plot, other Deus Ex Machina are used, which makes the last and worst one, the final nail in the coffin of respect for the authors.

The style of plotting has more in common with a small child telling a story of an exciting day out (and then X and then Y and then Z.... who needs punctuation anyway?). The characters that sometimes only partially resemble the characters in the actual series, and the original characters are paper thin. This should have been posted on fanfiction.net, rather than published as an official Stargate novel. Then at least, it might be considered 'good' compared to what is around it. As it was, I read it with an increasing bitterness that my mother has ingrained a sense that I must always finish the books I start to read. I felt like throwing it against a wall, or burning it, but I finished it. And it has not enriched my life in the slightest.

I am well aware that a good review should mention the strengths and weakness of the item under review and allow the reader to make up their own mind. But I have too strong an emotional feeling that hours of my life have just been stolen, that I cannot be impartial. And as far as I can tell, the strengths pretty much came down to decent grammar and reasonable descriptions of people and places. But descriptions do not a novel make, and there was very little about this novel that redeemed the weak plot and characters. So, I ask, no beg, you to save yourselves. Do not read this book. You could probably write something better yourself, and enjoy it far more.

Review of 'The Algebraist' by Iain M Banks

In this particular incarnation of Banks-ist Sci-fi, most of the gas giant planets in the galaxy are inhabited by extremely long-lived, eccentric alien life-forms known as 'Dwellers.' They aren't particularly interested in the other inhabitants of the galaxy, but a few of them allow a few of us, the humans, to visit them and chat, and exchange information. Seer Fassin Taak is one such individual, and in the course of his studies of the Dwellers, he finds a piece of information that a lot of people think is worthy of a lot of attention. And he has to find the rest of it, before the attention arrives.

The actual plot of the book is fairly solid, and has the kind of twists that I expected of Banks, after reading 'Consider Phlebas'. Unfortunately, the first 20 pages or so could put off a lot of people. He starts quite slowly... using long, flowery, over-complicated sentences to describe people and events that turn out to be almost completely irrelevant in later parts of the story. Whether he meant to provide an explanation for Seer Taak's uncle transforming himself into a Walrus, or whether this was just an off-hand way of describing the kind of technologies available isn't really clear. But that, and a few other things, could have been omitted to no detriment (and possibly an improvement).

However, perhaps Iain M has earned some indulgence over the years. If you press on past the first few pages, which require a lot of concentration and perseverance, you are rewarded with some superb descriptions of the Dweller, one of the most original sci-fi species I have ever heard of. It seems that Iain M Banks' talent lies very squarely in his aliens, which in this novel were entertaining and original, while still having a necessary ring-of-truth. The Dwellers are eccentric, and utterly alien. Their interactions with each other and with the Seers make for amusing reading. They are without-doubt the best part of the book.

There are some plot side-lines, as well. Some don’t seem to be completely necessary, but most of them at least gave some good character-development. For a reader that can go-with-the-flow and indulge the author, it is still quite enjoyable, though perhaps the book did suffer a little from a lack of editing, as so many really famous authors seem to.

This isn't the kind of book that I'd tell all my friends to go out and buy... for Banks novels, I'd put 'Consider Phlebas' quite a long way above 'the Algebraist', in readability and entertainment value. For those that do decide to read it, I’d recommend skim reading the first few pages, to avoid some of the more detailed descriptions. However, once past this, it becomes a very enjoyable read.