Book Review: “The Fortunes of Captain Blood,” by Rafael Sabatini

Genre: historical fiction; adventure

Playlist…

Plot Summary: The adventures of Captain Blood—gentleman doctor, turned rebel– continue to exasperate fellow pirates and the Spanish Main!

My Book Review: My enjoyable experiences with the first two Captain Blood books (Captain Blood; Captain Blood Returns) led me to the third and final installment of the trilogy by Rafael Sabatini.  As it was with #2 in the series, the short story adventures of #3 take place within the time frame of #1.

However, I was a little disappointed in this one.  The exploits are still witty and exciting, but I could have done with more sword fighting, battle scenes, and tales of Blood’s comrades.  Instead we get much more solo adventures of Peter Blood and how he cleverly navigates the upper hand in various situations such as freeing a slave, seeking revenge, or helping damsels out of their distresses.  Books 2 and 3 could have been better if they’d featured Blood’s love interest, Arabella.  But they do include other females of both good and ill repute that provide some feminine interest.

One troubling issue was that although enslaved whites in the Caribbean (political prisoners) were viewed as a terrible thing by the Captain, blacks in slavery did not seem to bother him or effect the same kind of sympathy.  I would have liked to have seen his abhorrence toward ALL slavery.

The Peter Blood books all contain much swearing, but the author keeps us from hearing the worst of it.  The Captain is always chivalrous and considers himself as answering to a higher moral code than most other seafaring rapscallions or government authorities.  This particular book contained five or six short stories (lengthy chapters).  It was hard to determine which story was my favorite, as each one seemed just as interesting as the last.  However, it did become difficult to keep all the different villains straight and I would often forget who characters were from one chapter to the next.  I’m sure in a few months, I won’t remember any of it—but the best part of the adventures was the exciting atmosphere itself!

This book will complete your Peter Blood-lust.  Unfortunately, it just wasn’t as great as the preceding books.

 

Book Review: “The Country Beyond”

Genre: classic; romance

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Plot Summary: An outlaw living on the edge of civilization falls in love with a girl who is abused by her foster parents.  But how can there be a future for them with him on the run?  When an unexpected killing turns the tables on them, he finds his path marked with loneliness.  He is told his destiny lies with Nada in the Country Beyond, but where will he ever find them?  Told through the eyes of a dog named Peter.

My Book Review: I remember trying to read “Old Yeller” when I was a kid.  I must have tried starting three or four times, and never could get much beyond “Little Arliss…”  I guess it just wasn’t for me.  I haven’t read many dog stories in my life, but this one seemed different from the typical.  For one thing, it wasn’t a children’s book.  Set in the Canadian north woods, this classic contained sweeping descriptions and all the atmosphere one could desire.  You could nearly smell the spruce, cedar and balsam the author talked endlessly about.

The first third of the story was full of action and I made it through quickly.  Unfortunately, the middle lags as the main character named Roger McKay and his dog Peter cover mile after weary mile on foot through the Canadian wilderness, always trying to outsmart and outrun the Mounties.  I don’t want to give anything away, but the last few chapters pick up again and there was no way I could have guessed how the ending would turn out.

I can see why this author is a classic and I don’t believe the dog’s point of view hurt the story any.  It gave it an interesting perspective that elevated it from the ordinary.  However, the plodding middle had me yawning a bit.  It also contains Native American spirituality, and the Christian missionary lacks a solid doctrinal stand which made the book’s philosophy a bit wishy washy.  By the time the book ended, I was just ready to return it to the library and check out something else.

Apparently this book was made into a movie twice (1926 and 1936) but both deviate from the plot drastically.  After doing some research on the author James Oliver Curwood, I learned that he had at one time been the highest paid author per word in the world at his time (he died in 1927 from a bug bite).  I found that he lived not too far from where I do and that he built a French chateau-inspired mansion which has been turned into a museum.  So I’m thinking of planning a day trip and checking this thing out!  You know… some day after COVID. 😉

You can listen to the audiobook for free here.

PS- After spending most of the book trying to figure out what these characters looked like in my head, I came up with the following pair:

Alicia Vikander as Nada Hawkins

James McAvoy as Jolly Roger McKay

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Book Review: “Saffire,” by Sigmund Brouwer

Genre: historical fiction; Inspirational; intrigue; mystery; humor

Playlist… 

Plot Summary: James Holt has held a lot of jobs in his life: rancher, Rough Rider, Wild West showman, father.  But being hired as an investigator has never been one of them until now.  Arriving in Panama in 1910, he figures he will quickly turn the job down and return to his ranch in the Badlands.  But a young girl who reminds him of his daughter needs his help, and he soon finds himself in the hot mess of political intrigue.  What happened to Saffire’s mother?  What are the canal builders hiding about the recent mysterious deaths?  Who are the masked men behind his torture?  And just why has he been hired in the first place?

My Book Review: I remember enjoying Brouwer’s Accidental Detective mystery series when I was a kid.  I could never get enough of them!  But it’s been my experience that good children’s writers don’t make such good adult ones.  Since this was the first adult book I’d read by him, I wondered how this would prove.

It turns out that I didn’t have a problem with his level of writing.  A lot of the elements of what I loved from the kids’ mysteries were present in Saffire: lots of witty banter, surprising plot twists, hints of romance and lots of danger.  James Holt surely did get a few chuckles out of me.

However, as a mystery novel this escaped me but good.  Even when I concentrated hard, reread and reread what I just reread, I couldn’t get the same connections Holt seemed to be drawing.  The “revealing epilogue” only got me more confused and I still don’t understand what was supposed to have happened.  It sort of felt like Brouwer had had a lot of editing to do, the result being lots of missing links.

There were lots of characters- many of them the same type so that they all ran together, or wait- maybe they were the same ones just playing charades, except I couldn’t remember them from their previous appearance in the story.  The most interesting ones only surfaced two or three times at most and the title character was dropped a third of the way into the story.  T.B. Miskimon (who serves as Holt’s comedic dart board) was almost overused.

This book is published under the Inspirational genre, but there really isn’t more than a sentence to categorize it as such.  Just know it’s a clean read and that’s a plus.  One of my favorite parts was Holt’s tender father-daughter connection with Saffire.  I also liked that the romance wasn’t an overt theme.

I always enjoy learning history in my novels, so it was fascinating reading about the determined American spirit which built the Panama canal, how enormous and innovating the project was.  This was one of the things that made Theodore Roosevelt such a great president.  What new advances could Americans make with the same grit and ardor, I wonder?

If you like dry, sarcastic humor, I think you will like this one.  But if you’re going into it for the intrigue you might be disappointed.

This video the author made is pretty cool!  Check it out if you’re at all curious about T.B. Miskimon… Brouwer makes a remarkable discovery.

 

Book Review: “Arsene Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes”

Genre: suspense; mystery; early 1900’s

Playlist… 

Plot Summary: It all starts in an antique shop, where a professor purchases a convenient little writing desk for his daughter.  What he doesn’t know will ultimately be his downfall… which will then lead to his windfall.  Next, the murder of the Baron D’hautrec leads to confusion… and then order.  And lastly, the theft of a priceless ancient artifact leads to a false trail… which then becomes the true one.  All of these conundrums sound like the French superthief Lupin is involved, and English supersleuth Sholmes is on the trail!  Will they be able to escape each other?

My Book Review: Oh, these obscure vintage mysteries don’t get enough love in the book world!  They make for lively reads with very original plot twists.  Lupin makes an interesting heist-genre character in that he is too bad to be a Robin Hood, yet has a heart enough not to be a complete cold blooded con man.  He’s very choosy—not every valuable is worth stealing in his estimation.  And he plays matchmaker on occasion!  Even so, we should know enough not to believe one word of what he says.

The battle of English and French wits was fun and Sholmes’ interactions with his worshiping sidekick Wilson were hilarious and made for some of my favorite scenes.  A spoof on the popular Sherlock, of course.  But this isn’t purely a case of bumbling investigator against brilliant villain.  No, both are geniuses in their own vein—the question is, who is a step ahead of whom?

Arsene Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes is the second in the series by Maurice LeBlanc and they are translated from the original French.  I believe I enjoyed this book better than the previous, as the first one was more of a collection of short stories about Lupin whereas this felt connected enough to make a novel.  Short stories have just never been a thing with me.

These stories might have been written over a century ago, but there is something about them that make them so modernly appealing.  I encourage you to give these a try!

*This book also goes by the titles: The Blonde Lady or Arsene Lupin Versus Sherlock Holmes

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Movie Review: “The Way Back”

Based on the book, “The Long Walk,” by Slavomir Rawicz

Version: 2010; starring Ed Harris, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrel, Mark Strong

Genre: adventure; based on true story; survival

Plot Summary: [from IMDb:] “Siberian gulag escapees travel 4,000 miles by foot to freedom in India.”

My Review: I read this riveting account of a handful of men who escaped a labor camp in Siberia during WWII and lived to tell about it.  It was a great book, which I recommend.  I was glad to find it on film, although they changed the name and gave it a seeming misnomer (as they don’t ‘go back’).

I was surprised to see some familiar faces and the acting talent helped to elevate the movie experience.  That’s good, because I was smirking a little over some of the details—men with open coat collars in the middle of a Siberian winter storm, moss so conveniently growing on the northside of trees in Siberia…  The accents were incomprehensible a lot of the time and I felt like I was straining to hear what they were saying.  They really needed better articulation which has been a growing complaint over the last several years over modern movie trends.

Apart from these issues, I thought Ed Harris and Jim Sturgess were great in their roles as the leaders (tough and softhearted, respectively).  Even Colin Farrel made a great selfish ‘bad guy’, and a very young Saoirse Ronan doing a Russian accent with a sneaky Irish lilt.  From fighting off wolves and catching and roasting snakes, to sweltering under the desert sun, this band of survivors endured over a year of hard travel by foot to reach freedom.  The most touching parts were played between the American (Harris) and the sweet Irena (Ronan) the men encounter on their travels.

At first I thought this would be a movie I’d need to read, but after a few early scenes they switch to English (?) but it might have been better if they’d left the subtitles on. If there were swear words, I couldn’t make them out most of the time but there were some snatches of graphic, hand drawn pornography passed around at the camp.

Some parts were changed from the original story, for example how the group escaped their camp to begin with (a Russian commander’s wife helped them in reality).  I also believe the ending was changed, as I don’t think the author ever made it back to Poland.  If I remember correctly, he eventually settled in England after the war.  But the main core of the story was kept in tact.

If you can suspend some disbelief over storytelling hiccups, I could recommend this movie (though definitely not for children).

 

Book Review: “Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Thief,” by Maurice LeBlanc

Genre: classic; adventure; mystery

Plot Summary: [from goodreads:] “The suave adventures of a gentleman rogue—a French Thomas Crown Created by Maurice LeBlanc during the early twentieth century, Arsene Lupin is a witty confidence man and burglar, the Sherlock Holmes of crime. The poor and innocent have nothing to fear from him; often they profit from his spontaneous generosity. The rich and powerful, and the detective who tries to spoil his fun, however, must beware. They are the target of Arsene’s mischief and tomfoolery. A masterful thief, his plans frequently evolve into elaborate capers, a precursor to such cinematic creations as Ocean’s Eleven and The Sting. Sparkling with amusing banter, these stories—the best of the Lupin series—are outrageous, melodramatic, and literate.”

My Book Review: This series grabbed my attention on Librivox a while back.  I wasn’t expecting too much out of them, but I at least wanted to try the first book, “…Gentleman-Thief”.  Each chapter is basically its own standalone short story featuring the hero (or antihero) Arsene Lupin.  I tend not to like short stories, but I was surprised by how delightfully colorful and entertaining these were!  They all kept me guessing and contained much cleverness and wit.  Is it really him, or not him, or him pretending to not be him pretending to be him?  How will he get out of that pickle in time… or did he plan the pickle and is already gone… or was he there all the time?  I second guessed myself until the last page of each story!

It was a bit hard for me to conquer the long chapters, but I pushed myself.  The copy I read was a Penguin edition which had annotated notes in the back for lots of references and cross references in Le Blanc’s stories.  I started to read them, but then felt they gave away too many surprises for later in the book and series.

I will definitely be continuing with more Arsene Lupin books.  If you’re looking for something a little different, if you love roguish, daring characters, if you’re looking for adventures in France—I think you’ll enjoy this read.

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Movie Review: “King Solomon’s Mines”

Based on the book by Henry Rider Haggard. 

Version: 2004 

Genre: adventure; romance

Plot Summary:  When Elizabeth Maitland’s father, a learned archaeologist, is kidnapped and held for ransom by a native African tribe, she goes in search of her father’s guide—the hunter known as Allan Quartermain.  Together they search for the ancient mines of King Solomon, and the African king Twala who seeks total power.

My Review: I am well aware that “King Solomon’s Mines” has been made into various films and tv series during the length and breadth of cinema’s history.  For good reason—the Haggard classic holds much danger, adventure, and extraordinary exploits.  It’s ripe for Hollywood’s picking!  I also am aware of the temptation said industry has of injecting a love affair in the middle of the drama where there was none in the book.  (Actually, there was but only between two minor characters.)

Richard Chamberlain as Allan Quartermain.

I much prefer when movies stick at least relatively close to the book.  That being said, I wanted to watch at least one film version.  Even though I pictured Quartermain looking more like Robert Chamberlain, I determined not to watch the 1985 one starring him and Sharon Stone.  As a comedy, the trailer of it looked more painful than Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  I have high pain tolerance, but not that high.  I would love to see the one with Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr, but that is unavailable to me at the time being so I settled for the more recent two part series starring Patrick Swayze and Alison Doody.

I mentioned I have high pain tolerance, yes.  Or else I wouldn’t have stuck with this version to the end.  Story was completely reduced, gutted, and stuffed.  Acting was middling at best, accents fake, the landscapes dubious, the suspense killed, and the romantic chemistry: zilch.  The only thing that resembled the book were the characters’ names.  A new plot was entirely made up, containing villainous… Russians.

“What the hell are Russians doing here?!” shouts Quartermain.

I nearly laughed my head off.  Yes, really!  Even the time period was scooched from the Victorian era closer to WWI in order to create a rivalry quest between Miss Maitland, her amorous hero and the Tsar and his goons.  Sort of like, a resuscitated Raiders of the Lost Ark plotline or something.

My land.  They even have the mythical love of King Solomon for the Queen of Sheba being the cause for why he built the Temple.  As though it were some Hebrew Taj Mahal and not the dwelling place of the Most High God.

There is very little content to be afraid of as far as language, bedroom scenes or gore.  (There might have been one or two uses of ‘damn.’)  For a standalone piece of entertainment, this might pacify an evening.  But seriously folks, read the book.  It is much more exciting!  [read my book review here]

 

Book Review: “King Solomon’s Mines,” by H. Rider Haggard

Genre: classic; adventure

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Plot Summary: Experienced hunter Allan Quartermain is approached by two gentlemen proposing a search party/treasure hunt into unexplored deepest Africa.  Though he is skeptical about their success, he agrees to accompany them in hopes of leaving a legacy for his son.  Setting out, the trio encounter extremely hazardous conditions in the form of natural phenomenon, climate, and native hostility.  Will they even find what is rumored to have been Solomon’s ancient diamond mines?  Or will they succumb to the dangers along the way?

My Book Review: Oh my.  This is an oldie I’ve had on my list since way back as a mid teenager.  It’s always had this appeal for me as an armchair adventurer.  Ancient treasure, connected to true-life history while at the same time mysterious and mythical, including drama in far-off lands…!  I was finally able to read it this summer and hoped that my thirst for excitement would be fulfilled.

Although the actual story is fictitious, many of the characteristics of the novel are closer to the reality of the time period of which it was written.  It was not uncommon for adventurers to explore Africa in the latter part of the 1800’s, and many ancient secrets and geological treasures were discovered.  Haggard loosely based his characters on people he had met.  I would also like to further read on the topic of Solomon’s mines in particular and have added “In Search of King Solomon’s Mines,” by Tahir Shah to my TBR.

The thing I loved most about this exciting, atmospheric novel was the poetic descriptions of the land and people.  Africa has never been my favorite place to read about, but this book awoke more interest in it for me.  So many curious observations are made by the travelers that it gives the story a feeling of authenticity.  The battle scenes were also most exciting and it was easy to picture Chris Helmsworth as Sir Henry Curtis, standing his ground in battle clothed in ancient chain mail armor and wielding a battle-axe.

I also wondered how much this book might have influenced J. R. R. Tolkien in his Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I could see many similarities between the two.  For instance, SPOILER ALERT: the story starts out with a band of men coming together to start a quest, — a fellowship, if you will.  There is no doubting the three individuals’ sincerity and their implicit trust in each other from the beginning.  The adventurers eventually encounter ‘The Silent Ones’– three gigantic statues that had been carved long ago and set before the entrance to the treasure cave.  Is anybody seeing the Argonath here?  After this, they enter the “Place of Death” (so called by the natives) where they are awed by the enormous cathedral-like caverns underneath the mountain Suliman’s Berg.  I couldn’t help but picture the mines of Moriah.  At last they meet a table surrounded by dead kings of the past.  At this moment I began to picture Dwimorberg and the Paths of the Dead.  Or, Lewis fans might think of the sleeping lords on the island of Ramandu.  Another Narnian similarity I spotted was the underground diggings (of course, common to mines) and the underground lake they fell into while escaping from the treasure cave.  They eventually came to an animal hole in the earth where they popped through.  Reminded me so much of The Silver Chair!  END OF SPOILER

Although there is some sense of ‘white superiority’ on the part of our narrator Quartermain, I was actually surprised at how progressive he was for that time period in how he and his friends came to view the local natives as dear friends, comrades in arms, brothers, and noble people.

This was a book I finished at 12:30 in the morning, so you know I was pretty happy with my reading experience.  I think I will even say it surpassed my hopes!  I can’t wait to watch some film adaptations, although I doubt they’ll be faithful.   If you like your PCness, this won’t be the book for you.  But as I’ve just learned, Haggard was highly respected by the Oxford Inklings after all and one of them (Roger Lancelyn Green) is quoted as praising him “with the highest level of skill and sheer imaginative power.”  Need I say more?  I’m delighted to know there are 14 more books in the series!  What more bizarre situations can Quartermain find himself in?

*One note of caution for parents- a pair of mountains are described by Quartermain as “Sheba’s Breasts” because of their shape.  At times, it seems to go into unnecessary description over it.

Listen to King Solomon’s Mines for free!

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Book Review: “Captain Blood Returns,” by Rafael Sabatini

Genre: classic; adventure; historical fiction (1600’s)

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Plot Summary: The second in a rollicking trilogy about the adventures and exploits of one Dr. Peter Blood… turned pirate!

My Book Review: “Captain Blood” was an enjoyable read for me several years ago (you can read my review of it here).  I was happy to learn there were more books in the series, however one thing one must know going in is that the adventures in the second and third books are not in chronological order.  In other words, they are interspersed within the timeline of the first.  This also means that there is no appearance of Blood’s sweetheart, Arabella Bishop.  Boo-hoo!

 

Despite this drawback, there is plenty of romance—both in the classical sense and in the emotional lives of some of the side characters.  There are plenty of women to keep the story lively!  Another thing I appreciated was that each chapter was pretty much a completely different scene altogether.  No repeats here!  Sea battles are described in such a way as to not get too much over one’s head, and still be exciting.

Chivalry, courage, wit, and strategy… They say Ryan Gosling has it all, but I rather think it’s Peter Blood.

 

Movie Review: “The Jungle Book”

Based on the Rudyard Kipling.

Version: 2016; starring Ben Kingsley; Bill Murray; Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken

Genre: adventure; children’s classic

Plot Summary: [from goodreads:] “After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan forces him to flee the jungle, a man-cub named Mowgli embarks on a journey of self discovery with the help of panther, Bagheera, and free spirited bear, Baloo.”

My Review: Disclaimer*: I have not read the original book, so this review will not by comparing it to that novel.  Only as a story in and of itself, totally unrelated to the book.  

Alright, an amendment: as a teenager I did try to read the Jungle Books, but did not get very far because it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I remember watching the Disney animation a few times as a child though, and I would also recommend the Masterpiece classic “My Boy Jack” based on the true story of author Rudyard Kipling and his son during the Great War (starring Daniel Radcliffe).

Even though reading the book escaped me, I was excited to see the live action version. I think the most fun for me was listening to all the great voice actors (obviously, we see only one human throughout the whole film, except in distant portrayals of the villagers).  I did not know beforehand who was playing most of the characters, so it was fun guessing.  I absolutely loved Ben Kingsley’s noble sounding voice as Bagheera.  What a perfect match for one of my favorite actors!  Another favorite was Christopher Walken as King Louie.  Although it took me a little bit, I soon recognized his famous voice and I thought it was hysterical!

It was genius to change the voice of Kaa the Python to a woman’s. For one, it provides more female roles to the story, and also the thought of an alto voice can be very hypnotizing.  However, Scarlett Johansson just didn’t do it for me (I don’t know why this is).  It also did not seem to make sense why this villain was in the story in the first place.  It didn’t flow connectively to other parts.

Is this live action a musical? Not really, though it does include some snippets of songs from the cartoon, but this primarily weighs in favor of the drama.  The characters who do sing are not exactly noted for their musical capabilities.

The special effects were great and there was an appropriate atmosphere of fear throughout, balanced by Mowgli’s faithful and loving friends. Raksha, Mowgli’s mother-wolf, is nurturing and Baloo the bear provides cute, comic relief.  My personal favorites were the little wolf cubs.  🙂

Despite all of this, I disliked how this movie ended. In both the book and 1967 version, Mowgli the boy goes to live in a human village where he is adopted by parents.  Baloo and Bagheera sacrifice and do what is best in their friend’s interest, making for a bittersweet but satisfying ending.  In this newest adaptation, after all of the struggle for keeping Mowgli safe, the boy stays with his animal friends.  Perhaps this is a bridge to a Jungle Book II?  Who knows.  But one has to wonder what the purpose was in Mowgli living isolated from his own kind.  In the earlier version Bagheera shows wisdom (and joy) in seeing Mowgli off to a home among people who can nurture him better than the animals can.  In version 2016, nature seems elevated above the benefit of human love and relationships.  Man is evil, and Shere Khan cannot really be held responsible for his actions because man *made* him what he is.  It all boils down to your world view.

Most will probably find this movie family friendly, though it is sad to see a tiger kill a wolf (not graphically), and there are some scary parts (snakes, teeth, etc.) that may bother little children.

*Of interest, I find that another live-action version of The Jungle Book, directed by Andy Serkis is due in the near future.