Persy -- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

If you follow my vlog (hint hint?), then you'll know that I recently (as in a month or so ago) read the great classic dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and...was disappointed.

Guy Montag is a fireman of the future, which means he doesn't stop fires, he starts them. Books of all kinds are illegal (and yet, everyone is still taught to read?), and when books ar discovered, the firemen appear on the scene to destroy all traces. He has always enjoyed his job, but then he meets his new next door neighbor, Clarisse McClellan. After many conversations with her, he suddenly begins to wonder, begins to think, begins to imagine.

Montag's perfect world of order begins to crumble until he barely knows up from down. And, to make it all even worse, he begins reading.

This novel held me in rapt attention all the way to the end, where...it stopped. The last chapter left me with a strange and very unsatisfied feeling, which is a shame because the rest of it was so good.

It was like being Guy Montag. When he's going about his monotonous, grey life, you feel like you really are going about your own monotonous, grey life. When he starts falling into insanity, you feel like clutching your hair and screaming along with him as your brain explodes in confusion. The writing is that good.

I think Ray Bradbury just didn't quite know how to end it, or maybe he was in a hurry and so just scribbled something off without giving it much thought (or hey, maybe he thought it was brilliant), but I'm just not feeling it. It didn't have any of the same atmosphere as the first part of the book and seemed like a random addition that might've made sense if added to another book, but just feels...random. It even touches on the edge of ridiculous.

And the first part was SO GOOD. It's a CRIME against LITERATURE!

Well, maybe not that bad. But you know me and endings. If it's not just right, no matter how good the rest of the book is, it doesn't sit right in my mind. Once again, if you want a truly amazing dystopian novel, I have to point you in the direction of Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

While I do agree that Fahrenheit 451 is an important piece of classic literature, and I can understand why it's on so many reading lists, I do not think it is one of the best books ever. I can think of better dystopian novels (with way better endings), and other authors who can not only write an amzing beginning and middle, but also an end. So perhaps it is worth a quick read, but it's not destined to end up on my bookshelf.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like dystopian novels; want to read all the "great works of literature"; read for excellent writing; or if you find it on your required reading list for school.

Wednesday Scrolls - Belated January Review

January already feels like fifteen years ago, but here am I, Persy, to tell you about the best and worst of the first month of 2012! In Janury, I read a total of 22 books and 3726 pages! I'm definitely off to a good start (I'm not going to say anything about February, though...

Best January Book: I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. Go read this book. Right now. It'll take you five seconds.

Honorable Mention: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and Marco's Millions by William Sleator (out of 22 books, of course I'm going to have multiple honorable mentions).
Worst January Book: What Happens In Vegas, Dies In Vegas by Mark Everett Stone. All the characters were the same, and...need I really get into the completely bizarre time travel?

Dishonorable Mention: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong. Stay far away. I'm getting my wisdom teeth plus four premolars surgically removed tomorrow, so stay tuned for a probably late and senseless review by me this weekend.

--Persy

Konnichiwa, everyone! Arty at your service. This January, I read 20 books, three of which were manga.

Best January Book: The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan, the eighth Ranger's Apprentice book. RA is like How To Train Your Dragon for me... only ten times worse. I'm an addict.

Honorable Mention: Inheritance by Christopher Paolini (don't look at me like that - I like the books, okay?) and Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner.

Worst January Book: Behind The Gates by Eva Gray, the first Tomorrow Girls book. The Hunger Games for tweens. Just... don't. Unless you're having trouble sleeping.

Dishonorable Mention: I... really don't have any other books that I particularly disliked. January was a rather lukewarm month.

And that was my literary January. (Whoa, that almost rhymes. Almost.) Next Wednesday I hope to have another Scrolls up, but we know how that goes. Sayonara!

-Arty

Arty -- Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner

Hermes is my favorite Greek god. (Since I got over my Artemis kick, anyway - y'know, like ARTYmis? MOONLIT Library of the Underworld? I love it.) However, he's not the most publicized god, and I had never considered that there might be a whole book about him.

BUT! There is Quicksilver.

Quicksilver is a short little book that covers a few of the tales in which Hermes appears - Persephone and Hades (Persephone as PERSY, get it?), Perseus and Medusa/Andromeda, and Calypso and Odysseus. It also sheds some light on where he wasn't in the tales - what Hermes was doing, most importantly, during the Trojan War.

The best thing about the book is - surprise surprise - Hermes himself. Of course he's got the sense of humor and sarcasm that I expect. (The first sentence: "It's dark and gloomy and it smells like dead sheep, but when Zeus says go to Hell, I go.") But what I love about Spinner's Hermes is his vulnerability. As arguably the most mortal of all Greek gods, Hermes is very human. He needs Zeus's attention and approval as any son would; he misses his half-brother, Apollo; and the pointless Trojan War, as well as his family's involvement, makes him irritated. He's actually kind of a pathetic character, with no special talents besides his feathered sandals and his job as messenger/leader of the dead. But it's a sympathetic kind of pathetic, and it works well against his cheery exterior.

The retellings of the myths are good: more in-depth, with non-traditional details thrown in. The details are necessary, since Hermes has few to none of his own myths, and he of course has to be doing something while Calypso frees Odysseus or while the Trojan War goes on. My personal favorite was the Perseus/Medusa myth - Hermes's interactions with Perseus are great to read.

Spinner's style is clear and understated, which is good for Hermes's voice. Sometimes I wish she had been a little more involved with her story, because there are times when it's hard to get into it - especially with the Trojan War, or his later falling in love with Calypso. If she had dug more into the stories and made the book longer, then it would have been easier to read.

But maybe cutting it short would cut out some of Quicksilver's charm. As is, it's a pleasing little tome that splits the difference between retelling and reimagining very successfully.

Persy -- Marco's Millions by William Sleator

We've all been in that sticky situation where you find something creepy in your basement. We've all experienced that terror and uncertainty, but Lilly's got something we don't. Her brave older brother, Marco.

Lilly's always been a bit strange. She...knows things. Oh, you're missing a sock? You dropped it behind your bed. Where's Marco? He went for a walk in the park. What's the secret you've been hiding from everyone? Lily knows. But Lilly's very timid and shy, so when she finds the strange glowing lights on the wall in the basement, she fetches her brother Marco.

Marco can't see the lights, but when he reaches out (under Lilly's instruction), his hands go right through the wall! It is in fact a portal to another world, a strange and frightening one full of strange and frightening creatures...who want Lilly.

As things unfold, it turns out that the other world is in terrible danger, danger that could also affect Earth. So Lilly and Marco set out to solve the problem, but with a vast time difference between the two worlds (five minutes in the alien world is an entire afternoon on Earth), will they be able to save the universe in time?

William Sleator is, without a doubt, one of the greatest authors of all time. He's the man who brought us Interstellar Pig and the horrifying House of Stairs. And despite a slow beginning, Marco's Millions is another amazing piece of literature.

While it seems like something for a younger audience, it gets so intense at the end that I really couldn't put it down all afternoon. The characters may be a bit two-dimensional, but there's so much action going on that anything more about the characters would just clutter up the book. Mr. Sleator knows when to focus on the plot.

And don't get me started on time travel. It's a dangerous and tragic thing, and absolutely awesome when in the right hands. And let me tell you, Mr. Sleator definitely owns a good pair. While it is a bit awkward when he suddenly starts throwing in heavier scientific terms (singularity, complex time difference equations), it's very easy to get past. Only for a moment do you stop and go, "Wait, what?"

This is actually a prequel to Mr. Sleator's earlier novel, The Boxes, which is quite good, but not nearly as good as "Marco". Nevertheless, "Marco" holds a certain hint of awesome that only comes into effect if you've already read The Boxes, so I'd recommend reading that first if you can get your hands on both books.

I'm also very sad to report that William Sleator died last year on August 3rd in Thailand (apparently he had a house there). He will be sorely missed.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like time travel; like other William Sleator novels; like books like Last Stop; are a fan of scifi, but not the hard stuff; or if you have a dark and scary basement.