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"Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars—Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed,sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."
BOOK 27
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
by Douglas Adams
I’m a scientist, a science fiction buff and a fan of intelligent comedy. THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY makes sense as a part of my personal library, doesn’t it? Yes, I suppose it does. In fact, I also love the film adaptation, starring Alan Rickman, Sam Rockwell, Martin Freeman and others. But now I’m going to shatter some glass by saying that I am, at best, a cautious fan of Douglas Adams’ works. How can I tell? I have read and enjoyed THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY at least five times at this point. And every time I start again, I keep telling myself that this time I will also read the follow-up books, which, by the way, I have in my library too. And every time I try to finish the second book, I fail and halfway through, I close the book and my enthusiasm has frozen for another two years or so, until I try again, only to fail again.
Wait, what? Everybody loves THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, right? What is my problem then? Let me tell you. The first book is wonderful. The story works, the characters work and the comedy works. It all works very well, in fact, and Adams has made his comedy unique, nerdy and intelligent, combining perfect wordplays and delicious sarcasm with a pleasant science fiction story. In fact, almost every line of dialogue is witty, from start to finish; almost every page in the book contains several delicious jokes. So actually, the problem more or less speaks for itself. Adams’ writing style becomes downright exhausting after a while! One book is more than enough for me. But it is also the first chapter in something much bigger, and while I often make a deal with myself to finally get through the entire thing, I just can’t. I'm tired after the first book; I have to recover before I proceed.
The first THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY is a great and by all means inspiring book, like ALICE IN WONDERLAND but then in the science fiction genre. It’s absurd and intelligent at the same time, and it offers the kind of humor I recognize from my peers way back in my college days. I can recommend that you read THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, but whether you can still eat more after this pretty rich meal, I leave entirely to you.
9/10
DD's 2018 book ranking
1) Casino Royale - 10/10
2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 9.5/10
3) Moonraker - 9.5/10
4) Star Wars: Darth Plagueis - 9.5/10
5) From Russia With Love - 9/10
6) The Making Of Casino Royale (1967) - 9/10
7) The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - 9/10
8) Dr No - 8.5/10
9) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path Of Destruction - 8.5/10
10) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty Of Evil - 8.5/10
11) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule Of Two - 8.5/10
12) Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown - 8.5/10
13) Star Wars: Maul: Shadow Hunter - 8.5/10
14) You Only Live Twice - 8/10
15) The Spy Who Loved Me - 8/10
16) Live And Let Die - 8/10
17) Stanley Kubrick. The Complete Films - 8/10
18) Diamonds Are Forever - 7.5/10
19) The Man With The Golden Gun - 7.5/10
20) Colonel Sun - 7.5/10
21) Goldfinger - 7/10
22) Octopussy And The Living Daylights - 7/10
23) For Your Eyes Only - 7/10
24) Thunderball - 6.5/10
25) Star Wars: Cloak Of Deception - 4.5/10
26) James Bond The Secret World Of 007 - 4/10
27) So You Think You Know James Bond - 1.5/10
Got it for Christmas so I will start that now
It is still very faithful to the Jacobs series.
Gosh I used to love these when I was a kid! The Yellow Mark especially.
1942
I loved the film version from 1958, but the book is infinitely better.
BOOK 28
ENLIGHTENMENT NOW: THE CASE FOR REASON, SCIENCE, HUMANISM, AND PROGRESS
by Steven Pinker
Canadian-American cognitive scientist Steven Pinker, the successful author of several books on psycholinguistics and cognitive science, argues in ENLIGHTENMENT NOW that the human condition has, in recent times, improved much more than ever before since the dawn of Man. For that purpose, he has selected close to 70 graphical representations of statistical data assembled from reliable sources in various fields of study. Pinker effectively demonstrates that while we often shout that we’re living in the worst of times, only the opposite is, objectively speaking, true.
ENLIGHTENMENT NOW: THE CASE FOR REASON, SCIENCE, HUMANISM, AND PROGRESS is a densely printed book, containing hours’ worth of reading material, written in Pinker’s signature style. Clever, clear and not devoid of a few quips here and there, the prose itself allows for a great time with this book. But even more than that, Pinker actually builds a convincing case for an optimistic view of our modern society. He doesn’t come off as naïve or uninformed; instead, his arguments are educated, nuanced, balanced and above all backed up by numbers we all have access to if desired. Pinker acknowledges the many challenges we must soon face but shows that our species has a penchant for creatively working out solutions to problems as well. Don’t mistake him for an ultra-left tree-hugger; he doesn’t position himself either on the right or the left side of the political spectrum. He speaks harshly about Trump’s administration but also about several liberal parties; he leaves his own views somewhere in the middle. For example, Pinker detests the rightwing notion that going back to some “golden age” that really never was is a good way to solve the immigration issue or other problems. But by the same token, he worries that leftwing fear mongering about our environment, our reliance on nuclear energy and global overpopulation has deprived us of a clear and correct view of things. He actually maintains that a capitalist society has a positive side to it that cannot be overstated. Even Al Gore takes a small beating for politically colouring our environmental concerns. Every time one might begin to think that Pinker is surfing either the left or the rightwing wave, he shows that he’s doing neither.
I was surprised by how quickly Pinker was able to change my mind. A born cynic, I can truthfully say that the book has altered my geopolitical views, or rather made them more nuanced. The chapters on terrorism, global warming, poverty and education rank high among my favourites. Rational thinking can take away so many fears, as Pinker shows, and with hope and trust restored, one sleeps better at night and finds a stronger imperative for contributing to a better world. Fatalism was an obstacle still left for me, personally, to eradicate. Pinker did it for me.
Though I can safely recommend this highly acclaimed book to everyone, I must also warn some future readers. Despite his tendency for choosing no political sides, for writing in an overall non-judgmental and pleasant fashion, Pinker does present a case against nationalism (referring to Trump, Brexit and other tribalist regimes on the rise), against the literal implementation of religious dogma and against a few other modern sensitivities. But perhaps that’ll make the book all the more interesting for those who aren’t afraid to have their strong beliefs tested by reason, science, humanism and progress. Of all the books I have read this year—and admittedly, most were fiction—I consider this one the very best. Like an addict, I absorbed page after page of Pinker’s wonderfully written dissertations, and I constantly corrected my own pessimism in the light of easily verifiable and “un-disturbing” truths that newspapers refuse to print. Or to half-borrow a phrase from Pinker himself: I started to look at the trendlines rather than the headlines. Whether it’s going to be an eye-opener or an aggravating experience probably depends on how firm some of the reader’s personal beliefs are. When one refuses to have one’s own “truths” falsified by empirical data, nothing will ever work. I’m glad that despite my own stubbornness, I can at least listen to reason and concede that some views I have so far held are incomplete or incorrect. Pinker did more for me with ENLIGHTENMENT NOW: THE CASE FOR REASON, SCIENCE, HUMANISM, AND PROGRESS than any collection of blog posts, any thesis or any other similar book ever has. I will re-read this book soon. I owe it to myself, my students and my fellow-man to do so.
10/10
DD's 2018 book ranking
1) Casino Royale - 10/10
2) Enlightenment Now: The Case For Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress - 10/10
3) On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 9.5/10
4) Moonraker - 9.5/10
5) Star Wars: Darth Plagueis - 9.5/10
6) From Russia With Love - 9/10
7) The Making Of Casino Royale (1967) - 9/10
8) The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - 9/10
9) Dr No - 8.5/10
10) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path Of Destruction - 8.5/10
11) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty Of Evil - 8.5/10
12) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule Of Two - 8.5/10
13) Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown - 8.5/10
14) Star Wars: Maul: Shadow Hunter - 8.5/10
15) You Only Live Twice - 8/10
16) The Spy Who Loved Me - 8/10
17) Live And Let Die - 8/10
18) Stanley Kubrick. The Complete Films - 8/10
19) Diamonds Are Forever - 7.5/10
20) The Man With The Golden Gun - 7.5/10
21) Colonel Sun - 7.5/10
22) Goldfinger - 7/10
23) Octopussy And The Living Daylights - 7/10
24) For Your Eyes Only - 7/10
25) Thunderball - 6.5/10
26) Star Wars: Cloak Of Deception - 4.5/10
27) James Bond The Secret World Of 007 - 4/10
28) So You Think You Know James Bond - 1.5/10
While Edgar P. Jacobs did complete 11 during his lifetime, the second installment of the three formula's of Doctor Sato was finished by a guest illustrator.
By now there are 25 comics in the series and the 26th is forthcoming next year, the series is still going strong. Less science fiction and more thriller aspects these days.
The first new one "the Blake affair" has a spy story in it which has strong links to "the thirty-nine steps"by John Buchan.
1947
1950
"The bun-sellers or cake-makers were in nothing inclinable to their request; but, which was worse, did injure them most outrageously, calling them prattling gabblers, lickorous gluttons, freckled bittors, mangy rascals, shite-a-bed scoundrels, drunken roysters, sly knaves, drowsy loiterers, slapsauce fellows, slabberdegullion druggels, lubberly louts, cozening foxes, ruffian rogues, paltry customers, sycophant-varlets, drawlatch hoydens, flouting milksops, jeering companions, staring clowns, forlorn snakes, ninny lobcocks, scurvy sneaksbies, fondling fops, base loons, saucy coxcombs, idle lusks, scoffing braggarts, noddy meacocks, blockish grutnols, doddipol-joltheads, jobbernol goosecaps, foolish loggerheads, flutch calf-lollies, grouthead gnat-snappers, lob-dotterels, gaping changelings, codshead loobies, woodcock slangams, ninny-hammer flycatchers, noddypeak simpletons, turdy gut, sh*tten shepherds, and other suchlike defamatory epithets; saying further, that it was not for them to eat of these dainty cakes, but might very well content themselves with the coarse unranged bread, or to eat of the great brown household loaf."
1899
BOOK 29
HORROR CINEMA
by Paul Duncan
The recently revised edition of HORROR CINEMA, edited by Paul Duncan and Jürgen Müller, is part of an impressive collection of film-related books published by Taschen. The idea is to fill up over 600 pages with short introductions to and tons of images from famous horror films. First, the book explores a number of subgenres of horror (e.g. “slashers and serial killers”, “ghosts and haunted houses”, “the living dead”), and then it looks at individual horror films, starting with THE GOLEM and ending, a tad disappointingly, with THE OTHERS. (Surely, there’s no need to neglect almost two decades of horror films since 2001; it is a revised edition after all.)
The book does what it’s supposed to do. It goes for “plenty” rather than for “deep” as it covers, in broad strokes, the spectacularly fascinating history of the horror genre and a plethora of films firmly locked within said genre. It also squanders away a lot of space for copious amounts of photographic material. With that in mind, the book can never do more than “introduce” something; thorough essays are not what you’ll get out of it. So who might want to read this book then?
Well, 600 pages of material, with at least half of that nice, quality photos, is worth something. A horror fan like myself can still enjoy flipping through the book, agreeing or disagreeing with the selection, with the authors’ thoughts and so on. But really, any student of the horror genre will by now probably know and understand a lot more about the films than what’s in this book. As such, reading the book feels like reading one of your students’ papers. You can applaud the insightful bits, the pleasant phrasing of things and the beautiful images; but you’re unlikely to be whipped into a state of excitement. Sometimes less is more, and if these 600 pages had been devoted to just a handful of landmark films, each of those minutely analyzed over dozens of pages, the book might have been a truly fascinating read. James Marriott’s HORROR FILMS from the “Virgin Film Series” collection does exactly that. Twenty films, only three hundred something pages, but densely packed with insightful knowledge and cultural references.
Then again, some books are written for seasoned fans, others for a wider spectrum of readers seeking concise, uncomplicated entrance points to a subject that may yet lie mostly in obscurity for them. For those people, HORROR CINEMA qualifies as a nice place to start. It whets the appetite for most of the films discussed and already provides a rudimentary sense of classification of subgenres. Though it comes more or less in the size (and weight) of a brick, it’s an easy book to take with you on train or bus rides, and even with but a few minutes to spare, you can at least complete one or two essays as provided in this book. It served me well in distracting my mind from all the hectic events which take place around me at work, a horrific experience in and by itself.
HORROR CINEMA isn’t the best or most interesting book on the subject of my favorite film genre, but it’s a sufficiently entertaining exercise in stuffing as much as possible in a book that, despite its number of pages, leaves relatively little room for that. The authors and editors must have been working hard to make the most of it. Whether for their literary efforts or for the pictures, the book is well worth going through at least once. Knowing what to expect, however, makes all the difference. It's taught me nothing new, but to its credit, it's never bored me either.
7/10
DD's 2018 book ranking
1) Casino Royale - 10/10
2) Enlightenment Now: The Case For Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress - 10/10
3) On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 9.5/10
4) Moonraker - 9.5/10
5) Star Wars: Darth Plagueis - 9.5/10
6) From Russia With Love - 9/10
7) The Making Of Casino Royale (1967) - 9/10
8) The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - 9/10
9) Dr No - 8.5/10
10) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path Of Destruction - 8.5/10
11) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty Of Evil - 8.5/10
12) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule Of Two - 8.5/10
13) Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown - 8.5/10
14) Star Wars: Maul: Shadow Hunter - 8.5/10
15) You Only Live Twice - 8/10
16) The Spy Who Loved Me - 8/10
17) Live And Let Die - 8/10
18) Stanley Kubrick. The Complete Films - 8/10
19) Diamonds Are Forever - 7.5/10
20) The Man With The Golden Gun - 7.5/10
21) Colonel Sun - 7.5/10
22) Goldfinger - 7/10
23) Taschen's Horror Cinema - 7/10
24) Octopussy And The Living Daylights - 7/10
25) For Your Eyes Only - 7/10
26) Thunderball - 6.5/10
27) Star Wars: Cloak Of Deception - 4.5/10
28) James Bond The Secret World Of 007 - 4/10
29) So You Think You Know James Bond - 1.5/10
I read a few of his Keller hitman novels back in my teens, I recall them being not too shabby.
They are good fun and great reads not unlike his Matthew Scudder series which a must read in my humble opinion.
I've read two Matt Scudder novels. This is the third Block I will have read. Need to read more of him.
The first book that I read was In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, by Jean Shepherd, the basis for A Christmas Story. I laughed out loud at several times while reading it. Next I did The Chris Farley Show, the biography of Chris Farley. It made laugh and cry at the unique talent that was Chris Farley. Next, I did two James Bond books: The Body and Some Kind of Hero. I greatly enjoyed SKOH, and the amount of detail that was in it. The Body was ok, but it was the lack of material that keeps it from a full recommendation. Now, I'm reading The Godfather Returns. I should be done by this weekend and I'll let you know what I think.
Well done, @MaxCasino! What did you graduate in?
My late father was a big Shute fan and I've inherited his collection. I noticed the movie version of this one, No Highway in the Sky, is on Talking Pictures TV tomorrow so I'm trying to get the book read in advance.