The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more

Movie Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Movie #10 of 2017:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

I’ve seen every Planet of the Apes movie multiple times, and this one is definitely my favorite. It helps that it’s modeled closely on Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), my favorite of the original series, but Rise definitely carves out a distinct place for itself in the Apes franchise. [I’ve talked about this before, but the new series that began with Rise is actually in the same continuity as the original five films, with Rise technically occurring earliest in the timeline but somewhat mirroring the alternate history that’s created due to time travel in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971).]

The story is pretty grounded once you accept the idea of the medical research breakthrough, and it charts a plausible course from our world to that of the ape-dominated future society of the first movie. Plus the characters are great – Caesar has a Moses arc that is still generating new insights for me – and the motion-capture / CGI brings the apes to life in a way where you often genuinely forget that you’re not watching trained animal actors. This is one of the all-time great series reboots, helped along by writers who clearly love the original films and worked hard at small continuity details to make sure it all fits. The movie works well as an introduction to the franchise for new viewers, but for a super-fan like me it’s a real treat.

★★★★★

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Book Review: Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig

Book #147 of 2017:

Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig (Aftermath #1)

Star Wars: Aftermath was one of the first novels published in that franchise after the entire Star Wars Expanded Universe was reclassified as noncanonical ‘legends’ in 2014. (In other words, earlier Star Wars spinoff literature is no longer considered to have happened in the same continuity as the movies, whereas Aftermath belongs to a new batch of stories that explicitly take place alongside the films.) Aftermath itself aims to fill in some of the narrative gaps between the movies Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, clarifying that the Galactic Empire didn’t fall all at once with the death of the Emperor and the destruction of the second Death Star.

Unfortunately, the story in Aftermath is pretty lackluster, focusing on a few Imperial officers squabbling over the new power vacuum and the ragtag group of Rebel agents trying to interrupt their planning meeting. That’s ultimately a rather small-scale affair that doesn’t provide any major revelations or move the series plot any closer to The Force Awakens. The action also keeps cutting away between full chapters to show brief vignettes of random figures around the galaxy, and while it’s possible these are intended to be recurring characters in future Star Wars literature, their stories are too threadbare and scattered to add much to the narrative here. In a way, that’s a perfect encapsulation of Aftermath itself, though. Read Star Wars: Bloodline for a more satisfying look at the time in between the film trilogies, but don’t bother with this one unless you’re an absolute completionist.

★★☆☆☆

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Book Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Book #146 of 2017:

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

A terrific – and terrifically feminist – contemporary Young Adult novel about a wickedly clever teenage girl at an elite prep school with an all-male secret society / good old boys alumni network. Frankie’s frustrations with how she is held back because of her gender (and her Jewish religion) feel real but never preachy, as do her conflicted feelings over whether it’s better to beat the boys at their own game or start a new game all of her own. It’s great to see how this wonderful character grows over the course of her sophomore year, and the escalating pranks she pulls off to draw attention to social issues on campus are simply a joy to read. Frankie Landau-Banks is an excellent teen role model, and I wish I had read her story when I was younger myself.

★★★★★

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Book Review: Mindswap by Robert Sheckley

Book #145 of 2017:

Mindswap by Robert Sheckley

This mid-twentieth-century book is an overlooked gem, more or less the missing link in literature’s progression from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s the delightful comic adventure of a broke college student who gets scammed out of his body by a Martian scoundrel, then is forced to take odd jobs across the universe in a variety of borrowed alien bodies in order to find his way back to earth. It raises some interesting philosophical points, but mostly it’s just a perfect lighthearted piece of 1960s sci-fi fluff. It’s goofy and cheesy and the audiobook kept making me laugh out loud while I was trying to work quietly at my desk. I love it.

★★★★★

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Book Review: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

Book #144 of 2017:

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

I’m a big fan of reclaiming H. P. Lovecraft narratives from the old racist himself, but this novella doesn’t work nearly as well on that front as its fellow Hugo nominee The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe. Author Victor LaValle’s choice of a story to critique is apt: Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook” offers one of his most bigoted visions, in which multiculturalism, dark skin, and non-English languages are presented as awful forces conspiring to bring down civilization, so it’s a perfect candidate for a modern retelling. And for the first half of this version, LaValle paints a compelling picture of a black man in 1920s Harlem caught up in the events of that original short story. But then the perspective shifts to that of the protagonist of the Lovecraft tale, a white detective who is not nearly as interesting as Black Tom himself, and the LaValle version ultimately limps to the finish line.

Still, the story is short enough to be worth the read – far more so than the Lovecraft original – and its themes of police brutality and the perception and power of black rage are interesting to see explored through a Lovecraftian filter. Plus Kevin R. Free (the voice of Kevin from Desert Bluffs on Welcome to Night Vale) offers some delightful narration for the audiobook. But this isn’t quite an instant classic like Vellitt Boe, and I’ll be truly shocked if it takes home the Hugo Award.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: The Passage by Justin Cronin

Book #143 of 2017:

The Passage by Justin Cronin (The Passage #1)

This post-apocalyptic vampire novel has a real early Stephen King feel to it. The most direct King parallel is probably The Stand, which similarly details the outbreak and aftermath of a deadly plague virus, but there are also classic King tropes like a psychic child and the gradual corrosive destruction of a small-town community, to say nothing of the vampire/zombie creatures themselves. I did prefer the first third of this novel, spanning the buildup to the outbreak, over the remainder of the text, which then jumps forward a century to show how society has adapted. Still, the whole book is definitely worth reading for any Stephen King fans, and I’ll probably check out the two sequels at some point as well.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: Marian by Ella Lyons

Book #142 of 2017:

Marian by Ella Lyons

I’m of two minds about this book. On the one hand, I love the idea of a lesbian retelling of Robin Hood, and this is a cute story of two girls falling in love in quasi-medieval England. On the other hand, it bears almost no resemblance to any classic Robin Hood tales, to the point where if the characters had had different names I doubt I would have even realized the intended connection. It’s a short book and there are some indications that this could just be the opening chapter of a longer narrative about Marian and Robin, so maybe more of those classic details will come if the author turns this into a full series. But don’t go into this one expecting a Robin Hood story.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

Book #141 of 2017:

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

Although the fact is not widely known, the government agency that preceded NASA began hiring black female mathematicians to work as human ‘computers’ during World War II, and they played an integral role in both that war and the space race that followed. Author Margot Lee Shetterly, whose father was a black research scientist at NASA, grew up hearing these women’s stories but also knowing they were missing from most popular narratives of America’s space program. In this engaging account, she presents the true story of the black women who helped launch our first rockets – and who did so in a time when their home state of Virginia was still actively resisting desegregation.

Shetterly has done a great job in researching and writing this book, especially with emphasizing the historical context and neither minimizing nor sensationalizing her subjects. I haven’t seen the fictionalized movie adaptation yet, but this nonfiction book presents a remarkable piece of American history that has been left in the shadows for far too long.

★★★★☆

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TV Review: Elementary, season 5

TV #26 of 2017:

Elementary, season 5

Okay, I’m done with this show. It hasn’t been great TV for a while now, but I’ve still kept watching on the strength of the cast and the hope that the writers will rediscover the magic of that first season. And every once in a while there are hints of life, but I just haven’t felt at all invested in this world in a long time. I think the sudden appearance of Sherlock’s mom as a Tyler Durden / Dexter’s dad style ghost hallucination is as good an exit point as I could have asked for. If that’s not jumping the shark, I don’t know what is.

★★☆☆☆

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TV Review: The West Wing, season 5

TV #25 of 2017:

The West Wing, season 5

This show never quite gets bad during its run, but this season is probably the closest it gets (which makes it all the more surprising that 5×17 The Supremes is one of the show’s all-time best episodes). Josh’s annoying intern is a big part of the season’s weakness, but there’s also the staff shakeup involving the new VP, where Will has barely had time to settle into his role as the new Sam before he’s rerouted to be Russell’s chief of staff and de facto villain anytime the President and Vice President have a difference of opinion. Knowing that the season was rocky due to series creator and initial showrunner Aaron Sorkin departing at the end of season 4 doesn’t make it any easier to watch.

But luckily we’re past it now, and season 6 is about to kick off the next presidential election storyline, which is one of my favorite plots of the whole show. This season is unfortunately essential – I can’t imagine going from the cliffhanger end of season 4 straight into the season 6 premiere – but as always I’m relieved to finally put it in the rearview.

★★☆☆☆

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