The Tower Of Fools

tags: adventure, dark humor, fantasy, historical fiction, medieval, Polish, religious wars

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from GoodReads

Reinmar of Bieława, sometimes known as Reynevan, is a doctor, a magician and, according to some, a charlatan. And when a thoughtless indiscretion finds him caught in the crosshairs of powerful noble family, he is forced to flee his home.

But once he passes beyond the city borders, he finds that there are dangers ahead as well as behind. Strange mystical forces are gathering in the shadows. And pursued not only by the affronted Stercza brothers, bent on vengeance, but also by the Holy Inquisition, Reynevan finds himself in the Narrenturm, the Tower of Fools.

The Tower is an asylum for the mad, or for those who dare to think differently and challenge the prevailing order. And escaping the Tower, avoiding the conflict around him, and keeping his own sanity might prove a greater challenge than Reynevan ever imagined.

I've watched and liked but never read Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher. After reading the synopsis of the newly translated from Polish to English The Tower Of Fools, I got the book because I love novels set in the Middle Ages. It became an instant favorite and I'm eagerly awaiting for the second book, Warriors of God.

This book is the first of a trilogy set in Silesia during the late Middle Ages Hussite Wars - Christians against Christians. The names and places are Polish and it took me longer to finish reading because I had to familiarize myself with the correct pronunciations. For example, the city of Wrocław is pronounced Vrotswahf. There are also plenty of passages in Latin and other languages with no English translations, much like Umberto Eco's novels. The passages are not that hard to understand if read in context. I didn't spend too much time in understanding songs and poems in Latin or German as they don't affect the overall story. The language in the book is a bit modern for the period and it has a tolerable amount of cussing.

Reynevan is a 23 year old doctor of medicine [studied in a university in Prague] who also dabbles in herbal medicine and simple magic. Reynevan, because of his age, is very foolish falling in love with a married girl, got caught by her husband's brothers who vowed to capture Reynevan in order to torture him to death. He tries to elude them, yet he continues acting irresponsibly throughout the whole novel putting his two companions/protectors and himself constantly in peril. He always gets rescued by the two and twice by the fair and beautiful Katarzyna of Bieberstein who insists in calling him "my Aucassin" and herself Nicolette. Reynevan is a male Damsel in Distress. 😏

I love that the novel is bursting with action and gore, a little magic, plenty of dark humor, fantasy, satire, witches, real historical people such as Johannes Gutenberg and Master of the Playing Cards, plus a scary creepy shapeshifter assassin and some odd characters. One of his companions, Samson Honey-Eater, is a giant who looks like a half wit. He at first reminds me of the characters the giant Turk Fezzik in The Princess Bride and the monk Salvatore in The Name of the Rose. The difference is, Samson actually is erudite, knows several languages, and is agile. He pretends being dumb when necessary. The most interesting are the inmates in The Tower of Fools, one in particular reminds me of Umberto Eco's weird characters. 

Highly recommended for historical fiction and fantasy readers.

You'll Never Walk Alone

You'll Never Walk Alone performed by Gerry and The Pacemakers. RIP, Gerry Marsden. 

Mr. Queen

tags: comedy, Kdrama, mystery, sageuk, time-slip

This new Korean drama sageuk (historical fiction) has 16 episodes that started December 12 and 13. The first 2 episodes are mostly comedy with a present day male chef who drowns and finds himself in the body of the designated queen during Joseon period. The male chef in a female's body creates hilarious scenes. Shin Hye Sun's performance of the male chef played by Choi Jin Hyuk is nothing but perfection IMHO. 

Shin Hye Sun as queen on her wedding day

Highly recommended for Korean sageuk drama and comedy fans.

Alice In Borderland

Coming to Netflix streaming on December 10, 2020 - Alice In Borderland, starring the busiest young actor in Japan, Yamazaki Kento. The TV series is based on Manga. An aimless gamer and his two friends find themselves in a parallel Tokyo, where they're forced to compete in a series of sadistic games to survive. 

Derry Girls On The Great British Bake Off

Must watch: Derry Girls (and Boy) on The Great British Baking Show Holidays, Episode 2, now streaming on Netflix. It was so much fun watching actors with zero or limited baking experience do their very best to bake cakes. They are as funny and genuine as their characters on the show, Derry Girls.  

Watch seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix streaming (warning: salty language). I can't wait for the new season to stream.

Adam Bede

tags: classics, George Eliot, historical fiction
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from Wikipedia

According to The Oxford Companion to English Literature (1967), "the plot is founded on a story told to George Eliot by her aunt Elizabeth Evans, a Methodist preacher, and the original of Dinah Morris of the novel, of a confession of child-murder, made to her by a girl in prison."

The novel follows four characters' rural lives in the fictional community of Hayslope, a rural, pastoral, and close-knit community in 1799. The novel revolves around the beautiful but self-absorbed Hetty Sorrel, Captain Arthur Donnithorne - the young squire who seduces her, Adam Bede - her unacknowledged suitor, and Dinah Morris - Hetty's cousin, a fervent, virtuous, and beautiful Methodist lay preacher.

Adam Bede is the first novel written by George Eliot, published in 1859, the story set in 1799 spanning 8 years. The novel is a little over 600 pages and I initially found it a bit difficult to read because of the language at the beginning and scattered throughout the book. Once I got used to the language, it became easier to follow the story and I couldn't put it down. The book has it all - normal village life, death, romance, religion, tragedy, comedy, satire, and a tiny bit of politics. There are pages and pages of religious teachings by Dinah Morris, the young travelling Methodist lay preacher, which readers may not appreciate. They can be skipped and won't affect the story. I actually read them and didn't get bored.

Dinah Morris as a Methodist wears the drabbest clothing and discourages suitors, telling them she will never marry. At 22 years old, she does nothing but preach and minister to the sick and poor. Her aunt, Mrs. Poyser, once stated that she will only marry a Methodist and cripple. Mrs. Poyser is proven wrong. Dinah eventually marries the man she loves who is neither a Methodist nor a cripple.

The book has numerous characters to keep track of, summary from Wikipedia:

• The Bede family:
  • Adam Bede is described as a tall, stalwart, moral, and unusually competent carpenter. He is 26 years old at the beginning of the novel, and bears an "expression of large-hearted intelligence."
  • Seth Bede is Adam's younger brother, and is also a carpenter, but he is not particularly competent, and "...his glance, instead of being keen, is confiding and benign."
  • Lisbeth Bede is Adam's and Seth's mother. She is "an anxious, spare, yet vigorous old woman, clean as a snowdrop."
  • Thias (Matthias) Bede is Adam's and Seth's father. He has become an alcoholic, and drowns in Chapter IV while returning from a tavern.
  • Gyp is Adam's dog, who follows his every move, and looks "..up in his master's face with patient expectation."
• The Poyser family:
  • Martin Poyser and his wife Rachel rent Hall Farm from Squire Donnithorne and have turned it into a very successful enterprise.
  • Marty and Tommy Poyser are their sons.
  • Totty Poyser is their somewhat spoiled and frequently petulant toddler.
  • "Old Martin" Poyser is Mr. Poyser's elderly father, who lives in retirement with his son's family.
  • Hetty Sorrel is Mr. Poyser's orphaned niece, who lives and works at the Poyser farm. Her beauty, as described by George Eliot, is the sort "which seems made to turn the heads not only of men, but of all intelligent mammals, even of women."
  • Dinah Morris is another orphaned niece of the Poysers. She is also beautiful – "It was one of those faces that make one think of white flowers with light touches of colour on their pure petals" – but has chosen to become an itinerant Methodist preacher, and dresses very plainly.
• The Irwine family:
  • Adolphus Irwine is the Rector of Broxton. He is patient and tolerant, and his expression is a "mixture of bonhomie and distinction". He lives with his mother and sisters.
  • Mrs. Irwine, his mother, is "...clearly one of those children of royalty who have never doubted their right divine and never met with any one so absurd as to question it."
  • Pastor Irwine's youngest sister, Miss Anne, is an invalid. His gentleness is illustrated by a passage in which he takes the time to remove his boots before going upstairs to visit her, lest she be disturbed by noise. She and the pastor's other sister Kate are unmarried.
• The Donnithorne family:
  • Squire Donnithorne owns an estate.
  • Arthur Donnithorne, his grandson, stands to inherit the estate; he is twenty years old at the opening of the novel. He is a handsome and charming sportsman.
  • Miss Lydia Donnithorne, the old squire's daughter, is Arthur's unmarried aunt.
• Other characters
• Bartle Massey is the local schoolteacher, a misogynist bachelor who has taught Adam Bede.
• Mr. Craig is the gardener at the Donnithorne estate.
• Jonathan Burge is Adam's employer at a carpentry workshop. Some expect his daughter Mary to make a match with Adam Bede.
• Villagers in the area include Ben Cranage, Chad Cranage, his daughter Chad's Bess, and Joshua Rann.

George Eliot was a great writer, IMHO. I love her satirical, lyrical, and often times comedic scenes. I laughed out loud at the following conversation among the men of the village having a drink, almost at the end of the book. I wonder if Alexandre Dumas who called Adam Bede the masterpiece of the century was also amused. 

Meanwhile the conversation at the head of the table had taken a political turn. Mr. Craig was not above talking politics occasionally, though he piqued himself rather on a wise insight than on specific information. 

 "I'm not again' it - mark my words - I'm not again' it. But it's my opinion as there's them at the head o' this country as are worse enemies to us nor Bony and all the mounseers he's got at his back; for as for the mounseers, you may skewer half-a-dozen of 'em at once as if they war frogs."

"Aye, aye," said Martin Poyser, listening with an air of much intelligence and edification, "they ne'er ate a bit o' beef i' their lives. Mostly sallet, I reckon." 

I also laughed at the village misogynist's descriptions and reasons why he doesn't like women which are always funny and most of his complaints are true anyway. He has a dog which he named Vixen after discovering it is a female but kept it. He refers to Vixen as woman and her puppies babbes as if they are humans. Feminists and the easily offended won't like Mr. Bartle Massey. 

Highly recommended.

Hetty and Arthur story

The Call

tags, fantasy, horror, Korean movie, Netflix streaming, thriller

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form AsianWiki

Two women live in different times. Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye) lives in the present day and Young-sook (Jun Jong-seo) lives in the past. They connect with one phone call.

I've been waiting for this movie since the start of the year and was surprised to see it on Netflix this morning available for streaming. It's another satisfying thriller from South Korea and starring one of my favorite actresses, Park Shin-hye. 

2 women from different time lines connect via a land line phone call. The woman from 1999, Young-sook pleaded to Seo-yeon, the woman from 2020, to save her from her stepmother who tries to exorcise her by flogging. The 2 women became friends over the phone and Young-sook changed the past by saving Seo-yeon's father from dying by a fire accident in their house. Changing the past is never a good idea because it unleashed a serial killer, and the evil past of one of the women.

The almost 2 hour movie never lets you relax for even more than 2 minutes as you don't know who's going to die a bloody death next. Park Shin-hye and Jun Jong-seo (Burning) are both very good in the movie.

Highly recommended for Korean movie fans 

Elsewhere

tags: parallel multiverse, mystery, sci-fi, thriller

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from GoodReads

The fate of the world is in the hands of a father and daughter in an epic novel of wonder and terror by Dean Koontz, the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

Since his wife, Michelle, left seven years ago, Jeffy Coltrane has worked to maintain a normal life for himself and his eleven-year-old daughter, Amity, in Suavidad Beach. It’s a quiet life, until a local eccentric known as Spooky Ed shows up on their doorstep.

Ed entrusts Jeffy with hiding a strange and dangerous object—something he calls “the key to everything”—and tells Jeffy that he must never use the device. But after a visit from a group of ominous men, Jeffy and Amity find themselves accidentally activating the key and discovering an extraordinary truth. The device allows them to jump between parallel planes at once familiar and bizarre, wondrous and terrifying. And Jeffy and Amity can’t help but wonder, could Michelle be just a click away?

Jeffy and Amity aren’t the only ones interested in the device. A man with a dark purpose is in pursuit, determined to use its grand potential for profound evil. Unless Amity and Jeffy can outwit him, the place they call home may never be safe again.

Dean Koontz does it again. The highly entertaining yet scary novel is a short sci-fi thriller with some horrific people and machines alike. Father, daughter, and a new friend face danger while travelling in parallel universes. Dean Koontz is clever by subtly reminding free people what antifa fascists are up to and to be vigilant. Amity's pet domesticated mouse accidentally activates the "key to everything" and travels with Jeffy and Amity to a parallel city. It's cute and a welcome change to Dean Koontz favorite golden retriever.

Highly recommended for Dean Koontz fans.

Christmas With A Prince

tags: Christmas movie, Netflix streaming, romance

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from imdb

Pediatric specialist Tasha Mason is focused on keeping the kids in her ward as healthy as possible. But when the handsome Prince Alexander Cavalieri breaks his leg on a nearby ski-slope, Tasha is forced to allow him to secretly get well on her floor, and she's furious that a spoiled Royal is interrupting the precious healing time her kids need. Soon, however, Tasha learns that some tough love and a lot of Christmas spirit could turn this royal pain into a knight in shining armor.

Netflix and Amazon have started streaming Christmas themed romance movies in November which I think is waaay too early. 

I watched maybe less than half an hour of this movie that should carry a warning: CONTRIVED SCENARIOS AHEAD. The acting and dialog are awful, too clichéd, and cringe-inducing. Both leads are far from the usual beautiful people inhabiting fantasy romances involving princes and princesses. The actor playing the prince has no charisma; he's tall, dark, and retarded. Prince Humperdinck is more charming and princely IMHO. 😉

Do not watch. You'll thank me.

Antifa: Rise of the Black Flags